Holy Wars and Hot Air

For someone like me, whose spiritual gifting includes stubbornness and argumentativeness  this passage from Charles Jefferson in The Minister as Shepherd provided a bracing, encouraging start to the day, as I prepare to preach on Grace Bible Church’s belief’s concerning prophecy and the future:

Every minister is is of course under bonds to proclaim the defend what he conceives to be the truth, but he is also under bonds to proclaim the truth in love.  No man is doing anything for the advancement of the religion of Jesus whose heart is vindictive and better and who attacks alleged error by misrepresenting the men who differ from him.  Every generation brings forth a company of stalwart champions who assume that they alone are the true custodians of the truth.  These high and mighty ones to whom the slaughtering of the heretics has been entrusted, are not really prophets  speakers for God; they speak for themselves.  It was when Elijah had a swollen head over his victory at Carmel that he conceived the idea that he alone in Israel had not bowed the knee to Baal.

The truth part comes easier than the love part, in my experience.  Truth can be memorized, synthesized, formulated, taught, learned, and even purchased at a college, university, or seminary.  Love (at least, the kind that bears a resemblance to God’s love) comes  from a different Teacher, in a classroom that is found everywhere from the eternal heart of God, to a filthy hill made holy just outside the  walls of ancient Jerusalem, to the sidewalks in front of our churches, and even to the pews in those churches.  The love course isn’t any bit less truth than the truth course really.  (Although both truth and love often seem comfortable existing without each other in this world!)  May we always learn, but never graduate from this course, and never skip either’s instruction!

Do they know four girls and six boys?

4/16/2013 UPDATE:  This House Bill was designed explicitly and solely to protect children who are sexually abused and who do not immediately alert the law to their abuse.  Often, by the time such a victim is emotionally prepared and willing to come forward, decades have gone by.  Our state’s lawmakers, with the encouragement and financial backing of the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers and the ACLU, have decided not to discuss this bill–effectively killing it.  Oregon remains one of 17 states in the US to willfully provide such legal loopholes as a statue of limitations protecting those who abuse children.  It was a good day for pedophiles and the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and yet another of sadness for victims of pedophiles.  But it’s not over, for certainly the lawmakers and lawyers who fought this very worthy bill each know four girls and six boys… 

I’m presenting this concern before the throne of heaven today, where there sits a King who saved His most violent condemnation for those who would hurt children (Luke 17:1-2).  Will you meet me there?

From KGW (Portland, OR) news;

Child sex abuse survivors rally for change in Ore. statute of limitations

SALEM – Advocates for reforming the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse crimes in Oregon took to the Capitol steps Monday before a public hearing to discuss HB 3284.

People who described themselves as adult survivors of child sex abuse rallied and held signs describing what happened to them.

Oregon has a six-year statute of limitations on most sex crimes. The law allows for a longer period of time if the victim is under the age of 18. In those cases, the crime can be prosecuted any time before the victim turns 30, or within 12 years after the crime is reported to police or social workers.

Nationwide, 33 states have eliminated the statute of limitations on some or all child sex offenses, but not Oregon. In 2011, the Oregon legislature considered eliminating the statute of limitations, but the bill died in committee.

People who spoke out at Monday’s rally said it often takes victims decades to come to grips with what happened to them and that’s why they support HB 3284.

“If people are finally able to speak out and the statutes of limitations have expired, it can be extremely frustrating,” said abuse survivor Margie Boule. “But, beyond that, those abusers are still out there hurting more children.”

The Oregon House Judiciary Committee was scheduled to begin the public hearing at 1 p.m.

Criminal defense attorneys have argued that statute of limitations were created because over time, witnesses may die, memories may fade, or critical evidence may be destroyed or lost.

Victim advocates noted that these cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Studies have found that in the U.S., one out of four girls and one out of six boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. 

Again, do you know four girls and six boys?

 

The recipe that leaves you hungry…

As I continue reading The Silence of Adam, author Larry Crabb is discusses “recipe theology,” an approach to Christian living in which a man’s problems, challenges, failures, etc., are all addressed by finding and applying strategies, repairs, course-alternations, and prescribed courses of action—all designed to fix our brokenness.  Crabb writes,

Recipe theologians tell us how to make life work by simplifying things and relieving confusion.  Transcendent theologians know there is a darkness of confusion that can only be entered by knowing Christ, by abiding in him, by trusting him to supply supernatural power to hover over whatever darkness we face, and then be moving into that darkness with words that bring life.

The book was written in 1995, and had a tremendous impact on my life the first time I read it.  I faced overwhelming challenges regarding the course my life had taken, some devastating poor choices I’d made, and what I clearly saw as the deterioration of my family.  I wasn’t aware of all the reasons for those troubles, but was just beginning to see their relation to me—how I was not the man I needed to be to love and lead my wife and children in a life of blessing and hope.  I was tempted to try and solve my problems in the way that had become a pattern for me—following steps, instructions, mentors, plans, etc., that all promised to manage my sin and move me along in the assembly line of spiritual growth and advancement that I desired. As I viewed my life as a set of severe problems to be solved (a life-approach that probably drew me into the field of Emergency Medicine—paramedics get paid to spend their days solving problems, after all), it made sense to look for clear, orderly solutions to those problems; a recipe for change and improvement.  Such a recipe might look like this for, say, a problem with pornography and lust:

Quik Hearty Sanctified Thought Life

1 tsp. Bible reading every morning, before 7am

2 Tbsp. prayer

3 cups Scripture memory

2 tsp. membership in men’s group

1 cup accountability to mentor/friend/group

Mix all ingredients well.  If the final result fails to sanctify your heart, you’re doing something wrong—Repeat recipe, doubling all amounts.  If doubling the recipe fails, you’ve failed, and must find another recipe.

Crabb addresses the failure of the recipe approach to genuineness and authenticity as a Christian man:

Recipes are useful in a well-lighted kitchen.  Recipe theology, that collection of practical biblical principles that tell us what to do in every situation, treats confusion as something to be solved rather than entered.  It reduces the mysteries of life to things we can manage.

Both in 1995 and today I can clearly see the place of a recipe approach to life in setting me up for frequent  failure and disappointment.  That’s the way men are—really, that’s the way everyone is.  We look for easy answers in life the same way we rummage through the cupboards to see what we might whip up for dinner when our stomachs start to rumble.  We use spiritual ingredients that are already (in our opinion) possessed, stored in the cupboards, and simply in need of the proper assembling in the form of a recipe.  Once mixed, and baked—voila, dinner is served!  But the spiritual life is not that way—it is an invitation to live in the often dim and unknown borders; places most people avoid or flee as if from a house fire.  But the life of faith stays in the dark places, the places of not knowing answers, directions…recipes, until the voice of God is heard, and the inner Spirit directs what words and actions will bring light (not always relief!) to the darkness of sin, failure, and emptiness.  And the Spirit of Christ will always show up when He is waited for in faith, despite fear and uncertainty.

I believe it is better to stay still in a dark place waiting for a Light promised than to spend a lifetime stumbling around lighting matches.

Who’s Going to Make the Call?

From NBCnews.com

A small evangelical church group has invoked the First Amendment in asking a Maryland judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing church leaders of covering up allegations of sexual abuse.

Sovereign Grace Ministries says in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit that Maryland courts can’t get involved in the internal affairs of church business.

The church group’s lawyers also say the case should be thrown out because its allegations are so vague. For instance, they say the lawsuit leaves unclear how old the plaintiffs were at the time they say suffered abuse.

The suit was filed in Montgomery County. The church recently moved its headquarters from Maryland to Louisville, Ky.

I don’t suppose many of my friends might know about this, as Sovereign Grace Ministries, and (I believe) all leaders associated with them have said little or nothing about this court case (filed in Maryland last fall), at least not publicly   It has been a growing topic of concern and discussion on various blogsites (Here, and here)—who are now beginning to draw some direct and indirect fire for their addressing of the issue.

As a paramedic, there was no need to ponder whether or not one called in the police in cases of abuse–it was the law, and was certainly the standard practice, ethically, of the profession.  Sadly, I saw a different standard practiced in my church, and others.  Today, the topic of “when to call the authorities” comes up routinely in seminary classrooms, where ministry scenarios are discussed in light of Scripture.  For the most part, the consensus of discussions that I’ve participated in has been, “You call the police when people are being hurt…”  But I now push back a bit when that answer is given;  Why wait until we know “people are being hurt”? Why not call the police, as an observant Christian, as ALL observant Christians should do, as soon as it is suspected that a crime has been (or is being) committed?  Why wait?

I’ve seen a few reasons played out in answer to the question, but before laying out some of these reasons, I should point out that all of them advance the same troubling scenario, where the leaders of a church take it upon themselves to make the legal and ethical decisions for the members of the church, even in cases where the legal rights of those members (eg, the victims) are subsequently undefended, unrecognized  or even violated.  Should the abdication of a member’s citizenship rights and obligations be an understood condition for joining a church?  Anyway, here goes…

The first reason?  “We don’t call the police when a crime has been committed against someone, or a group, because we might be wrong, and an innocent person might be accused, found guilty, punished, etc!  That’s the classic, most pragmatic reason people opposed the death penalty—wrong people get accused, and sometimes, tragically, are punished for crimes they did not commit.  Of course, this line of reasoning assumes that our pastors and elders are better police detectives than professional police detectives.  (I don’t recall a course in criminal investigation being offered in seminary!)  Although this argument is often cited as a moral/biblical/ethical response, it often is simply a cover for cowardice and indifference to victims.

The next reason?  “We can handle our own problems without calling in the (secular) authorities.  After all, aren’t we going to “judge angels” one day?  The church does not bow to Rome, Athens, or Washington, DC!  Certainly we can discern the most proper, godly course of action here that will best mirror the redemptivepurposesofourKingJesuswhoboreoursinsonthecross…”  Okay, I think that one’s just about as arrogant and goofy as can be, so please forgive my snark-writing!  I suppose it’s the same sort of condition that would lead church leaders to appeal to the First Amendment as protection from prosecution for not reporting and even condoning, chronic sexual abuse of children.  This is a very us and them based line of reasoning; first, it’s us Christians vs them outsiders…but in the end, it becomes us leaders and our lawyers vs them victims.  Not pretty.

Finally, and there is another sad and common reason that church leaders do not immediately contact the police or governing agencies when crimes, felonies, etc. are committed on their watch: They’re scared.  They know if a little truth dripped out of the church system, more truth would follow…and people (the cash crop of abusive leaders) would follow that truth right out the sanctuary, through the doors, out of the parking lot, and into the arms of another, worthier, church.  Probably one just down the street.  Careers and reputations would be ruined.  Conference invitations would dry up.  Best-sellers (okay Christian/faith bestsellers) would go for around twenty-five cents on Amazon.  Reserve funds would dry up, reputations would be ruined, buildings might be lost, the church would become a “sue-magnet,” etc.  You get the idea.

Corrupt leaders, pedophiles, thieves and embezzlers love this sort of churchified thinking!

I’ve also observed that such crimes of abuse, theft, deceit, etc., don’t go away.  They sit there, like crows perched in the back of the sanctuary, Sunday after Sunday— quietly cackling at the hypocrisy of a leader without integrity preaching of the integrity of Christ.  Few can say precisely what’s wrong—and those who know what is wrong have often long since left the troubled ministry, but many, many people begin to feel something is wrong; something has changed, some corner has been turned, a line has been crossed, and now the church seems lost, or at the very least, going in the wrong direction.  If they spoke freely, they might admit that something smells very, very off in their church these days, and the guys up front with the aerosol cans of Lysol aren’t doing a very good job of hiding the stench.

Is your church beginning to smell like Lysol?

Update:  May 17, 2013  Today a Maryland judged dismissed much of the case brought against Sovereign Grace Ministries by 11 plaintiffs (!), finding that the state’s Statue of Limitations law protected the accused from prosecution.  Apparently, all but two of the victims took too long to report the crime–though they were children when victimized, and doubtlessly were emotionally unable to come forward.  Fans of the defendants are giddy, and have already begun tweeting the news around the cyber-sphere   What was a reprieve due to a court technicality will soon be spun into a exonerating victory, I imagine.  I have seen the effects of Statue of Limitations laws in Oregon, my own state, so it is no surprise to me to see the madness at work in other places.  No trial, no truth, no healing effort from the legal system.  In this case, just continued conferences, theological debates, books, MP3s, loud, triumphant singing, and lots of good old boy back-slapping for all–that is, all except 11 victims and their families who can only hope for another judge, One greater than the state of Maryland, to intervene.

Mr. Man under the microscope: We run away or we take over

In his book on biblical manhood The Silence of Adam, author Larry Crabb opens the first chapter with a statement that I find provocative, thoughtful, and a bit unsettling:

Men are easily threatened.  And whenever a man is threatened,  when he becomes uncomfortable in places within himself that he does not understand, he naturally retreats into an arena of comfort or competence, or he dominates someone or something in order to feel powerful.  Men refuse to feel the paralyzing and humbling horror of uncertainty, a horror that could drive them to trust, a horror that could release in them the power to deeply give themselves in relationship.  As a result  most men feel close to no one, especially not to God, and no one feels close to them.  

Something good in men is stopped and needs to get moving.  When good movement stops, bad movement (retreat or domination) reliably develops.

The book’s namesake, Adam, certainly retreated when Eve took of the fruit of the tree (probably in the very presence of her husband, who did and said nothing to stop her), and later God promised Eve that despite the pain and suffering she would experience in childbirth she would nonetheless desire her husband–and the response she could expect from her husband?  He would “rule over” her! (The domination part of Crabb’s statement, I venture.)

Do you find Crabb’s dual responses reasonable, perhaps overly simplified, even spot on?

The “shortening of pastorates”: more from Charles Jefferson

Well, since my friends and family are tired of hearing me quote Charles Jefferson from The Minister as Shepherd.  I thought I’d just put this amazing quote on the blog–so my friends in the blogging world can get tired of me, too!  I’m re-reading this book (I raced through it the first time, was a required book for a course), slowly, in an attempt to sharpen up a solid pastoral theology:

The shortening of the pastorate is due to the fact that the tenderness and sacredness of the old pastoral relations are fading out.  The relations of the minister to the church is now too often that of a platform speaker to an audience, of a reformer to a community, of an engineer to a machine, and not that of a friend to a company of friends.  If the minister is simply a Sunday lecturer, he can leave town any day and no one will be sadder.  If he is only a public reformer, he can depart at the end of any week and many persons will be glad.  If he is a machinist, expert in managing organizations, his place can easily be filled by another–engineers are abundant.  If he is a shepherd, if he knows his sheep by name, and if his sheep know his voice, he cannot pass from one fold to another without a great loneliness and heaviness of spirit, and without deep wounds in the hearts of those he leaves behind him.  It is because the shepherd idea is faint and the orator or preacher idea is so largely dominate that churches are able to change ministers with such slight concern, and that ministers can pass from one parish to another with lightness of heart and even rejoicing.  If the Church of Christ is to be saved, she must be born again into the glory of the shepherd idea.

What say you?

*This book is also available on Kindle, for a great price!

Isaiah 33: Woe to the abusive pastor–hope for his victims

Yesterday I experienced an all-to-familiar episode: I heard of another “pastor” who dodged a bullet, who didn’t get caught, who seemed to have beat the rap, and got away Teflon-clean after having abused some very dear, vulnerable people.  The story isn’t over by any means, but, O how hard it is to see the rats winning the race!  So this morning in my daily reading, Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the violent, abusive Babylonian conquest of what was left of the nation of Israel in chapter 33 really jumped up and smacked me in the nose, and sunk deeply into my anguished heart, and (I felt) applied perfectly both to church leaders who abuse, and to their victims:

Woe to you, O destroyer, While you were not destroyed; And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him. As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed; As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you.

While pastors who hurt their people may “come to their senses,” and cease their abusive behavior–usually when they sense a threat of being caught–the justice of God will not be abated simply because the pastor didn’t get caught.  There is a Great Shepherd of the flock, a lover of His people; it is He who must be appeased, and His application of justice received.  The abuser’s only hope is to stop abusing, freely admit his abuse to his victims, his church, and (if a crime) the police, and trust in the forgiveness of God.  But if that last part, the trusting in the forgiveness of God, is asserted without the first part, facing up to the abuse–the abuser’s strategy has failed, and is nothing but a load of spiritual-sounding horse scat.

Verse two begins a section in which the prophet speaks of the abused, the hurting, those worn down and used by the  pseudo-leader:

O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be their strength every morning, Our salvation also in the time of distress.

These victims are called on by the prophet to do the impossible, really:  wait for the Lord, trusting His deliverance and salvation.  Why does this seem impossible?  It is an agonizing process to trust in God’s judgment to come in defense of the victim.  It rarely, if ever, comes according to our timetable.  Even after police have been notified (which they ALWAYS SHOULD BE WHEN ANY CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED), denominational authorities apprised, parents warned, audits completed, etc., there is still the unique, awesome and terrible call to simply rest in God, wait for His justice, and Never.Give.Up.Hope.  Ever.  Our Lord cares–as the rest of Isaiah chapter 33 argues, but O, doesn’t He seem to have a problem with showing up on time, by our standards!?

And so, having done all we can from our side of things, we wait for a God who promises to arrive–not on our time, but always at the perfect time.

Everytime.

With love, for those who wait.