The Salty Peanut Gallery

Dr. Kenneth L. Hutcherson is on the war path and for good reason. Dr. Hutcherson is the founder and Senior Pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, Washington. Recently Pastor “Hutch” had the opportunity to speak in an assembly at his daughter’s high school in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. He was there to share his own personal experiences in overcoming racism in America thanks in part to the legacy of Dr. King. Unfortunately, instead of the polite welcome one would normally expect mature, adult faculty members to extend to an invited guest, at least two of the teaching staff thought it necessary to heckle the speaker, presumably in the name of free speech or diversity or some other idiotic liberal reasoning whose logic completely escapes me.

As Hutcherson stood to walk to the microphone he was immediately greeted by a chorus of boos from one of the teachers, George Potratz, and apparently some others. Ignoring the interruption, Hutcherson went on with his lecture as planned. At the conclusion of his remarks another teacher, Kit McCormick, sponsor of the Gay Straight Alliance, interrupted the assembly to challenge Hutcherson further. According to Hutcherson she yelled out, “I know that I am not on the program, but why is this man here when he doesn’t believe in equal rights for everybody?”

Afterward McCormick explained, “…I felt like I couldn’t sit and not say anything. I felt like this was a moment that I had to stand up and say something. He is not about equality for everyone. He’s about equality for some people.” Well hoorah for you Ms. McCormick. And thanks so much for demonstrating before your students the proper example of respect and decorum in a public assembly. Thank you for behaving like a grownup.

School officials have since issued an apology and both teachers have reportedly received letters of reprimand for the incident, letters they plan to appeal of course. But Hutcherson is not at all satisfied that justice has been served. He doesn’t plan on taking this lying down. Hutcherson contends that this kind of behavior would never have been tolerated if the teachers had been pro-family activists criticizing a pro-homosexual speaker. “They would not only not have a job, they would never have another opportunity to teach — and that’s what makes it so bad. And that’s why I told the school board that I am waiting to see what you do with those teachers and what you do with those teachers is going to dictate what I am going to do with the school.” Stay tuned. This should get interesting.

This whole incident brings up an important issue that’s becoming more and more prevalent in American culture today. There is a growing double standard that seems especially evident in our learning intuitions. It’s what I would call “intolerant tolerance” and it’s specifically directed toward Christianity and those who seek to live their lives according the truth of God’s Word. On the one hand we hear the cry for diversity and acceptance of every kind of alternative lifestyle under the sun. But on the other hand those individuals who demonstrate a devotion to Jesus Christ, biblical morality, and traditional family values are somehow undeserving of the same level of respect. It particularly offends us because we like to think we are a “nation under God” granted religious liberty under the First Amendment. But let’s face it. An ardent campaign to silence Christianity has been going on for 2000 years now. This is nothing new.

So what are Christians to do? Without question, we are engaged in a battle. But let’s be clear about who it is we are fighting. The apostle Paul reminds us that the battle isn’t against “flesh and blood”. The enemy is the forces of darkness whose battlefield is the spiritual realm. We can’t forget that. There is a tendency for us to get caught up in fighting a “cultural war” and lose sight of the real objective, the life changing message of the gospel. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against responding to injustice, but we can’t allow ourselves to get sidetracked fighting battles on the wrong front. Being “salt” and “light” has got to be more than just fighting to free America from immorality. Wanna rid the world of evil? Then let’s give ‘em Jesus. People need the Lord now more than ever.

“…today of all days, it is brought home to me: It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life” - J.R.R. Tolkien.

No two things bring people together quite like weddings and funerals. Such was the case for me today as I had the unhappy occasion of attending the funeral of an old high school friend. It was bitter sweet really. On the one hand we were all saddened by the unexpected loss of a good man cut down in the prime of life. On the other hand it was great to reconnect with old friends, faces from my past so young in my memory now altered by the reality of the years.

One of the most amazing things about this funeral in particular was the crowd of people that showed up to mourn this man’s passing. The viewing was supposed to be last night from 6:00 until 9:00. I arrived at the funeral home around 6:45 traveling in from out of town. By then the line was already out the door and around the corner of the building. We stood in line in the cold for a full hour before entering. Once inside it was at least another hour and a half before we reached the family. We left the funeral home around 10:00 and the line remaining was still at least another hour. According to the funeral director it was by far the largest gathering that they had seen in the history of the funeral home.

About 1,100 people attended the funeral service today. With so many mourners one would think that the deceased must have been someone of great important. Surely he had some great accomplishment or contribution attributed to his name. But that was not the legacy of this man. He wasn’t eloquent or showy. He never held an office. In fact he never did anything in his entire life that would draw attention to himself. Rusty Snyder was simply a man who loved God and loved people and in so doing brought honor to the Lord.

As we reminisced about Rusty’s life, what a blessing it was to recall all of the kids whose lives he had influenced coaching soccer or softball or basketball. What an encouragement it was to rejoice in his 28 years of children’s ministry as an AWANA Sparks leader. How awesome it was to remember the love he had for his family, his lovely wife and three daughters. As I said it was bitter sweet. For while we were saddened by our loss, it was such an encouragement to be reunited with old friends and acquaintances reliving precious memories. May we be so fortunate as to leave behind such a legacy of the power of God wholly demonstrated in a simple life.

Last Tuesday night and early Wednesday dozens of tornadoes swept across the southern US leaving in their wake a path of destruction. As of Friday the death toll had risen to at least 59 with injuries in the hundreds making this the deadliest wave of tornadoes to hit the South in over twenty years. In the aftermath of such tragedy it may be difficult to make sense of it all.

There’s a great article in the Los Angeles Times about the faculty and students of Union University and how they are coping in the wake of this devastation. Union is a Southern Baptist liberal arts institution hard hit by the storm. All but one of Union’s 33 buildings were badly damaged. Some were completely destroyed with damage estimates totaling $40 million. Yet despite the carnage the hand of God is still unmistakable.

Dean of Christian studies, Gregory A. Thornbury, is looking forward to the teaching opportunities the next few weeks will provide. “If we didn’t, we’d have blown it,” Thornbury said. “We’re preparing people to become teachers of God’s word, to be missionaries, to be the leaders of relief organizations.”

But Thornbury urges caution against trying to guess the mind of God. Quoting from Deuteronomy 29:29 he said, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.”

God’s motive for destroying the school, he said, “is probably in the realm of the things that belong to the Lord. . . . But what we can say is: ‘Look at the solidarity here. Why do we have people from the whole country rallying around this cause?’ I think that says something about what God has revealed to us.”

Though he expects the tornadoes will spark vigorous theological discussions in class, Thornbury said that the true lesson — that people should respond to suffering with love and compassion — was already manifesting itself.

Many of the students were already acknowledging God’s hand of protection. Although several students sustained injury including two reportedly in intensive care, miraculously there were no fatalities. Union students openly credit God with keeping them safe.

We continuously see tragedies in the headlines such as hurricane Katrina, the Indonesian tsunami and even 9/11. In addition each of us experience suffering throughout the course of our lives. It’s easy to understand how when the trails seem too difficult, people have a tendency to blame God. If God is so loving why does He allow such suffering and death?

Romans 8:22 tells us that the whole of creation is groaning and travailing in pain. Everything is running down because of sin. Tragedies like this deadly wave of tornadoes can be traced back to the consequences of sin. But God is sovereign and He uses tragedy for His glory nonetheless. Whether in miraculously minimal losses of life or in God’s people rallying around the cause, God’s name is glorified. And that’s really all we need to know.

So if you get a chance, send up a prayer for the victims of these devastating storms. And while you’re at it, let’s give God the glory for the tremendous testimony of the people of Union University and others like them who can attest to awesome hand of the Almighty in the face of tragedy.

At first glance the answer may seem fairly obvious. “Well, because Jesus commanded it in The Great Commission.” And by the way, who invented that phrase anyway, “The Great Commission.” It’s not in the Bible. And if it’s so great, why is it that the Bible has so little to say on the subject? Why are there no epistles from Paul on soul winning? Ponder on that for a moment. I’m not trying to be a contrarian like some other bloggers I know (just a little joke), but I am trying to make a point.

This week at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida over 500 Christian leaders from around the world met for what was called the North American Global Congress, kind of a strategizing conference for spreading the gospel worldwide. Its purpose was to discuss how to reach the remaining 2 billion people who have never heard the name of Jesus. Participants were introduced to ideas and resources for sharing the Gospel including the latest technological tools for missions.

Former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Rev. Bobby Welch, was one of the conference speakers on hand emphasizing the importance of soul winning as the highest priority of the local church. “Hell is no joke. Hell is a horrible reality. Hell lasts forever. Any person that misses heaven will go to hell eternally. There must be a wholesale revival.”

Who could argue with that? But I return to my original question. Why DO we evangelize…really? As Joan Rivers says, “Can we talk?” Though we’d never admit it openly and maybe not even privately or to ourselves, I fear the real reason is somewhat less noble then we’d like to think. Let’s face it. We win souls because that’s how we build churches. Am I right? We win souls because that’s the criteria for successful church growth. I know you EV Free guys are beyond this, but when pastor’s get together, guess what they talk about? They talk about numbers. How many in attendance? How many did you baptize? How many services are you running?

And the contemporary crowd is no different. All this talk about “Post-modern” “Purpose Driven” “Seeker Friendly” programming is still designed to do one thing and one thing only and that’s stimulate church growth. Oh we may talk a good talk about how we love the Lord and have a burden for the lost and we may even really mean it. But I contend that if we were truly serious about “revival” we would stop for a moment, set aside our high tech marketing strategies and examine the New Testament biblical record of evangelism to see God’s plan for increasing His Kingdom. It’s called holiness.

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” – Acts 2:46-47.

Notice it doesn’t say “and the believers added to the church daily those who were being saved.” The work of evangelism is the work of the Lord. It always has been. I’m not saying that believers don’t play a part. Without question we are commanded to. But I maintain that real evangelism is more about surrender than it is about strategies. Where in the world did we get the idea that God somehow NEEDS our help to save sinners? God doesn’t have a single need in which His own nature has not already provided. Soul winning then is merely the blessing in which God allows believers the privilege of joining Him in the glory of ushering sinners into the Kingdom. Let’s face it, guys, we’re just along for the ride. It’s that simple.

So here’s a strategy for soul winning you might try. Let the church devote itself to God’s Word, prayer, and unity, and then step back and see what God will do. I believe that as God’s people surrender more and more to His plan for their lives He will bless them with more and more opportunities to usher people into the Kingdom and the LORD will add to the church those who are being saved.