The Salty Peanut Gallery

Rick Warren will be hosting a joint appearance by presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain August 16 at Saddleback Church in a two-hour forum described by the church as a “non-debate.” Warren himself will be posing questions to each of the candidates. Rather than addressing their political positions, his purpose will be to focus on how the candidates make their leadership decisions.

Coinciding with this presidential forum, Warren will be assembling an interfaith leadership council made up of approximately 30 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders to discuss cooperation in projects for the common good of all Americans. The P.E.A.C.E. Coalition is part of “a 50-year strategy to mobilize millions of local churches around the world” to address what Warren calls five Global Giants: spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, poverty, disease and illiteracy. Through venues like the presidential forum and the P.E.A.C.E. Coalition, Warren hopes to foster interfaith cooperation “on things that involve all humans regardless of what we believe.” Quoting from Matthew 10 Warren explains:

“When Jesus sent his disciples out he said, ‘When you go into a village, you find the man of peace,’ and he said, ‘If he accepts, and he’s open, and he’s receptive and he’s willing to work with you, you start your ministry there. If you don’t find the man of peace, you dust the dust off your shoes and you go to the next village cause you can always find someone that’s willing to work with you.’”

But Christian broadcaster and author Tom McMahon takes issue with this theology. He contends Warren’s belief that the church must take the lead in solving the world’s “Giant” problems cannot be reconciled with the scripture. McMahon explains:

“You see, it’s true the world has all kinds of problems, but he’s working on the symptoms and avoiding the root cause, which is the sin nature of humanity. So how can you work with all kinds of people called ‘people of faith,’ but it’s not biblical faith?” McMahon’s point is that the message of the gospel is what changes hearts and that Warren is compromising that message by working with people who clearly reject the gospel.

One of the things that has always concerned me about Rick Warren is his tendency to come up with a concept and then go find scripture to back it up. This usually involves finding a text or translation that best says what he wants it to say and then jerking it out of context. A great example of this is his Matthew 10 proof text.

The first thing we have to understand about this passage is that Jesus was not sending the disciples out to preach a social gospel. He was sending them out to preach the gospel of the Kingdom. “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand (v.7).’” There is no mention here of any Global Giants. There is no social agenda whatsoever. Furthermore, the “man of peace,” which is actually found in a parallel passage (Luke 10:6) refers to one who is “worthy”, describing someone who would be willing to provide accommodations for the disciples, one whose moral character is such that it would not harm their testimony. This is a very different meaning then the one Warren asserts.

I would agree with McMahon’s point that the root cause of the world’s problems is the sin nature of man. Treating the symptoms may make you feel better, but it doesn’t address the heart of thre problem. Only the message of salvation has the power to transform lives and effectively impact the problems of the world.

Christian Newswire has announced the debut of a new children’s book at the International Christian Retail Show that according to them “proved to be an instant favorite” titled The Secret of Yahweh! The book is touted as The Christian Parent’s Answer to the Harry Potter Phenomenon. (I’m wondering, did we really need a Christian parent’s answer to the Harry Potter phenomenon? And if so can we also expect a Christian parent’s answer to The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Shrek, and let’s not forget the Chronicles of Narnia? But I digress.) Surprisingly the book seemed to be attracting adult readers as well as children and apparently even college students were getting into the act picking up on the slogan; “Do you know the secret yet?”

Amazon.com describes it as “a Christian look at believing in what you can’t always see.” J.C. Lamb is a cute, cuddly, sometimes invisible little lamb that wears the sign of the fish right over his heart. His purpose is to represent and remind everyone of the Savior. As the story unfolds, a little girl named Mary takes J.C. to school one day where he learns that the words “under God” have been left out of The Pledge of Allegiance. This is where J.C. (a.k.a. Un-Secret Agent 777) learns that his first mission for God is to help children understand the truth about God in school and discover the great secret of Yahweh!

Not having read the book, I won’t attempt to comment on its content; suffice to say I’m sure it’s a lovely story, although from the description I’m guessing JK Rowling has nothing to worry about. What I find particularly interesting, though, is the personal testimony of the book’s author. LeFerna Arnold-Walch shares how God used a serious tragedy to get her attention. She had not been a church goer for much of her life, but when her oldest son was in a near fatal car accident she made a promise to God. She explains, “If He gave me back my son, I would make sure more people knew about HIS!”

On its face this seems fairly compelling. I would certainly agree God uses tragedy to draw us closer to Him. However, it’s the next part of LeFerna’s testimony that gets a little out there for me. LeFerna points to many signs from God that lead up to what she considers her “calling.” For example she states, “Everything happened in nines and sevens.” The song that inspired the J.C. character was the ninth song on her CD; the deadline for the rough draft of her book was 07-07-07; things like that. She explains:

How do you “hear” God? You might ask. You learn to listen with your heart and see with your mind. I had been through so much in my life, that I learned to just close my eyes and communicate with Him by clearing my mind and taking the first thing that came to me. Then ask for signs or look for signs to know it was Him. I seemed to start waking at exactly 4:44 am. At that time I would get ideas. The lamb’s name came to me this way, as did the entire storyline for the book.

She also believes that because she came from an unchurched family, she was obviously chosen to reach other unchurched families.

I’ll be honest; I’m not a huge fan of mysticism when it comes to the will of God. I don’t believe that finding God’s will for our lives was ever intended to be some kind of Magical Mystery Tour. Now I don’t deny God sometimes uses people and circumstances to help us find clarity, but it is so important for believers to understand that God’s written word is our primary source of truth. The problem with relying on so-called signs to reveal God’s will is that they are often unreliable. When is a sign rely a sign? Or in the words of Ebenezer Scrooge, when is it only “an underdone bit of beef, or an undigested bit of potato?” The problem with signs is they are difficult to quantify and are often subjective. Not so with God’s Word. It is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” That’s a promise we can count on.

The other issue I have is with the idea that someone from an unchurched family is best suited to reach other unchurched families. While no one can deny the obvious sensitivity that LeFerna’s unique testimony affords, I think the notion that she was “obviously chosen” to reach the unchurched misinterprets the role that believers play in God’s Kingdom plan. In the first place, in case you haven’t noticed, the great commission is for all believers regardless of whether they grew up churched or unchurched. ALL believers have been chosen to share Christ with the unchurched. But let’s take this one step further, because I think we are sometimes under the false impression that unless we do something to reach the world for Christ, God’s Kingdom will be lost. If we don’t tell the world about Jesus then who will go to heaven?

Now don’t misunderstand. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t share our faith. Clearly Christ commanded it. But do you seriously think that the all powerful, infallible, sovereign Lord of all the universe is going to place sole responsibility for the outcome of His Kingdom on the shoulders of someone as imperfect, frail and fallible as you and me. I don’t think so. Rest assured, God is already at work in the world around us relentlessly pursuing a relationship with the unchurched in ways you and I can’t even possibly imagine. The question then isn’t about who is best suited to help Him out. The question then is whether or not you and I are willing to humble ourselves and join Him in the Kingdom work He is already doing.

“Do you know the secret yet?”

Between Two Worlds is running a great quote by J. I. Packer that I think bears consideration. James Innell Packer serves as the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He’s an executive editor of Christianity Today and served as general editor for the English Standard Version of the Bible. In a resent issue of Modern Reformation magazine Packer comments on the “niche” marketing approach that is creating a generational divide in many churches today:

“We have separated the ages, very much to the loss of each age. In the New Testament, the Christian church is an all-age community, and in real life the experience of the family to look no further should convince us that the interaction of the ages is enriching. The principle is that generations should be mixed up in the church for the glory of God. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t disciple groups of people of the same age or the same sex separately from time to time. That’s a good thing to do. But for the most part, the right thing is the mixed community in which everybody is making the effort to understand and empathize with all the other people in the other age groups. Make the effort is the key phrase here. Older people tend not to make the effort to understand younger people, and younger people are actually encouraged not to make the effort to understand older people. That’s a loss of a crucial Christian value in my judgment.”

This is an interesting concept when you think about it. We’ve gotten so accustomed to viewing church ministry from an age appropriate model or from the perspective of targeted demographics that the idea of “mixed community” is virtually foreign. Now Packer doesn’t completely reject specialized discipleship ministry, but the important issue here seems to be unity – bringing the body of Christ together as one. Packer goes on to describe one area that contributes greatly to this atmosphere of separation:

“If worship styles are so fixed that what’s being offered fits the expectations, the hopes, even the prejudices, of any one of these groups as opposed to the others, I don’t believe the worship style glorifies God, and some change, some reformation, some adjustment, and some enlargement of spiritual vision is really called for.”

Put simply, blended worship promotes community in the church. It brings the body of Christ together in “one accord” and “one mind” by looking out not only for our own interests, “but also for the interests of others.” In that way blended worship becomes so much more than just a transition to contemporary worship; it becomes more than just the means by which we bring our older church members out of traditionalism into a more contemporary style. It becomes a very Philippians chapter 2 approach to the way we do church ministry…by serving one another selflessly.

A funny thing happened last Monday at the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Planned Parenthood abortion clinic…absolutely nothing! That’s right. As women began showing up at 8:00 in the morning for their abortion appointments, they were met with a sign hanging on the door that read “CLOSED”! How on earth is this possible, you may ask? Here’s how. Monday marked the first day in which Planned Parenthood was required to comply with the new South Dakota Abortion Informed Consent Law.

Here’s what the new law requires:

* Abortion doctors must advise pregnant mothers, IN WRITING, that the abortion will “terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.”

* There must be full disclosure of the medical risks of abortion, including the risk of depression and the increased risk of suicide and suicidal tendencies.

* Penalties for noncompliance could include imprisonment, loss of medical license, and even civil prosecution.

In short, Planned Parenthood in South Dakota is being required to TELL THE TRUTH. What’s amazing about all this is it appears that at least for now Planned Parenthood abortion doctors would rather do business elsewhere than be honest with pregnant mothers about what it is that they’re doing, thus confirming that they’re exactly the kind of slime we all knew them to be.

Now look, I’m not naïve enough to believe that abortions have come to a screeching halt in South Dakota. At some point there will be abortionists who are willing to take the risk of performing abortions again. In addition if women want to get abortions bad enough without all the hassle, surly they’ll be willing to travel as far away as Bismarck or Minneapolis or Sioux City. But for one day at least, no unborn babies were killed in South Dakota. There is a God in heaven!

Michael Spencer has some great remarks on a recent article in “The Briefing” entitled “The Slow Death of Congregational Singing” asserting that “genuine, heartfelt congregational singing is experiencing its dying gasps.” Spencer writes:

“As a whole, we’re on our way to pretty much what you have on The Letterman Show. The band plays and Dave comes out with the monologue.”

“Congregational singing is commanded in the New Testament’s description of gathered worship. If we replace that with performance, it’s a major loss on several levels, not the least being the level of teaching and encouragement specifically mentioned in the epistles.”

It’s not that contemporary worship is bad per se, but as Spencer sees it, here’s the draw back:

“It’s designed for expressive presentation and not as much for edification through musical teaching or mutual encouragement. So you can have a lot of ‘You are holy!’ and ‘I will worship,’ as opposed to four or five verses describing the incarnation or considerations of the meaning of salvation.”

I couldn’t agree more. We utilize a lot of contemporary praise and worship at our church. I think there are a number of well written, singable worship tunes that do a good job of expressing who God is and what He has done. But let’s face it. The shelf life of even the most popular praise song is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the old hymns of the faith. It’s been said, “We don’t sing the great old songs because they’re old. We sing them because they’re great.” That’s why in addition to PowerPoint I insist on having hymnals at our church. How else are we going to pass down the rich heritage of biblical truth in corporate worship?

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not.
As thou has been Thou for ever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Who writes lyrics like that anymore?

The day we got back from camp, we had just enough time to run home, wash some cloths, pack the car, get a few hours sleep and head out around 5:00 the next morning for our Disney, Florida summer vacation. It was certainly helpful that there are three licensed drivers in the family. Fifteen hours in a minivan fighting traffic all the way down I-95 would have been a pretty daunting task otherwise.

This was pretty much a once in a life time deal thanks in part to the economic stimulus package from good ol’ Uncle Sam. I guess you could say that we were doing our part to stimulate the economy. It was also a blessing to have friends who own a membership with Resort Condominiums International (RCI) that were able to help us get a really great deal at an Orlando resort right next door to Walt Disney World.

In retrospect there are a couple of things I should point out. First of all if you’re planning a trip with teenager’s it’s probably not a good idea to go immediately after a week of youth camp, at least not if they’re like my guys who have a fond affection for sleeping in their own beds. The other thing is that the middle of the summer is not the optimal time to take a Disney vacation, since this is overwhelmingly one of the most crowded times of the year. But life is very rarely optimal. Some things you just have to deal with. That said, if you’re ever planning a trip to Disney I strongly recommend Bob Sehlinger’s “The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World”. It is by far the best travel guide for negotiating your way through the congested Orlando theme parks without losing your ever loving mind. Don’t leave home without it!

Here is my top ten list of favorite attractions on our Florida vacation:

#10 Big Thunder Mountain at the Magic Kingdom – a western-themed roller coaster

#9 Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom – a space ship roller coaster in the dark

#8 Dueling Dragons: Fire at Universal’s Islands of Adventure – a high tech duel suspension coaster; Fire has a slight zero G hump in the middle

#7 Dueling Dragons: Ice at Universal’s Islands of Adventure – the mirror to Fire; Ice seems a little faster

#6 Tower of Terror at Disney Hollywood Studios – a “Twilight Zone” themed indoor thrill ride

#5 Incredible Hulk at Universal’s Islands of Adventure – an accelerated launch coaster

#4 The Amazing adventures of Spider-Man at Universal’s Islands of Adventure – an indoor adventure simulator ride

#3 Cirque du Soleil’s “La Nouba” at Downtown Disney – an imaginative theatrical, acrobatic circus

#2 Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach – only the coolest beach T-shirts on the planet (I got three)!

And my number 1 favorite attraction on our Florida vacation…

The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney Hollywood Studios – a Rock and Roll themed coaster featuring Aerosmith

I have very fond memories of summer camp when I was in high school. Team competitions, swimming, new friends, afternoon activities, awesome counselors, daily sessions, fun games, and life-changing decisions for Christ. I also love how when you’re at youth camp you’re able to just get away from it all. No TV, no internet, no iPod, no Xbox, no modern technology, none of the distractions of contemporary culture. For one week you have teenagers’ undivided attention.

For the past three years our youth group has been teaming up with another local area church to host a week of camp. I lead the worship. We’ve been using a church owned camp facility located out in the middle of nowhere a couple of hours from where we live. It’s nothing special really. The dining hall and chapel are both open air. None of the dorms are air-conditioned. There’s no swimming pool, just a small lake with a dock. But man is it peaceful. I can’t begin to describe what comes over me whenever I drive onto that campus.

The theme for the week was “Reality Reload” using reality TV as the backdrop for helping kids realize that God is real and alive! The intent was to give them a better understanding of what living in “the real world” is really about. We learned about real life issues such as overcoming fear, running the race, understanding family, true love, and what it means to be molded into Christ’s image. What an awesome opportunity for God to impact the lives of young skulls full of mush. Overall I think we did a good job of accomplishing what we set out to do. Heaven only knows the eternal impact it will have. Our prayer is that the kids will take back something of what went on during the week that will forever change their relationship with the Lord.

I’m leaving this afternoon to take a group of teenagers to youth camp. I won’t have internet access for a week. I’ll try and post something when I get back.