Recently the FIRE Church in Concord, NC, was to the be object of a protest by a local LGBT group. The protest, however, was abandoned when members of the LGBT community experienced “perfect love” from the church. As reported on Examiner.com the group posted their plans on Q-Notes, MAKE YOUR SIGNS, AND BANNERS!! Keep the love going as we peacefully protest Fire church Sunday after pride. During the pride event you will have a chance to hear Flip Benham and other representatives of Fire church throwing damnation our way. Lets show them that they cannot come into our community and intimidate us. We will meet just before Service begins, and protest as they gather, we will have a silent protest as service is going and let them have it as they leave for the day. Remember we will be peaceful and respectful, something they don’t understand. We are going to STAND TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY to show that our love is stronger than their hate. However, things did not exactly go as planned. Church leaders found out about the planned protest and responded with open arms toward the protesters. Scott Volk, pastor of FIRE Church commented on the protest thread: As the pastor of FIRE Church, I just want you to know that you’ll be greeted with the same love and compassion as we always endeavor to show anyone – you are more-than-welcome! You make mention of the ‘hate’ that we show. Yet, in all our years here we’ve only desired to reach out with love to everyone in the local community here whether they are labeled as gay or straight. Hopefully, you’ll see that love demonstrated on Sunday as you protest. Although Flip Benham is a friend of mine (ours), he’s not a representative of FIRE Church as he represents his own ministry and doesn’t attend church here. However, I hope he’ll be in attendance this Sunday as his son David will be preaching at our service. Dr. Brown is part of our community here, but is disappointed that he will not be here this Sunday as he’s preaching elsewhere. He told me that he’ll be giving a special word regarding your event on his daily radio show at 3PM today. Scott Volk, Pastor FIRE Church The protest consisted of about ten people who abandoned the attempt after only a few minutes, and after being politely engaged by church members. The next day the leader of the protest called a local radion program to [explain] that their “anger … was aimed [in] the wrong direction.” And then he said these words: “Once we got there Sunday morning we were greeted with absolutely perfect love. I mean, it was fantastic.” Praise God! After the broadcast, we exchanged contact information and are looking forward to sharing a meal together and, more importantly, candidly sharing our hearts. This is genuinely good news. And, as has been noted, “Perfect love casts out all fear.”
Free book: ‘The Generous Soul,’ by Marty Duren, Chapter 9 and Appendix
Welcome to the conclusion of my book, The Generous Soul. If you are late to this project you can find all the preceding chapters at this link. The Generous Soul is free for you to read or reference in teaching, but not to print or download in any format. Note that footnote references appear as full sized numerals in the text rather than superscripts. I especially think the appendix is good if I may pat myself on the back. The issue of poverty is always with us, to play off the words of Jesus, so it is important to think through whether poverty is inherently more spiritual than wealth. That subject is tackled in the appendix.
Following Jesus out of the American civil religion
As followers of Jesus Christ we face concerns of religious freedom on a regular basis. The role of religious life here and around the world being what it is, these kinds of concerns are never far from my mind. When election cycles cross swords with the calendar the most vicious attacks and reckless hyperbole seem to find their way onto Facebook, Twitter, blogs, forums, television and radio. In many instances those who claim a religious heritage built of the teachings of Jesus Christ vacillate between love and hate for months. Or at least hatefulness. It can get wearisome and wearying. This post is being reprinted from an old blog. It was written prior to the 2008 election, so it seems appropriate. I have edited only to tighten up any tenses that may have changed, and added a brief addendum and some questions. I hope you enjoy it.
The silence of God
Have you heard about the silence of God? Has that been covered in your recent Bible Study? Or, like others, have you been through it without talking about it feeling like something was wrong with your relationship–like you had failed God, found to be some kind of spiritual reject. There is a strong chance that is not the case. Close to 100 percent in fact. Imagine being one of the children of Israel during the Old Testament. Imagine knowing your ancestor Moses had once held stone tablets engraved by the finger of God. Knowing your ancestor Abraham once carried on a conversation with God under a tree, bargaining for the lives of people in his uncle’s city. Imagine hearing the prophets thunder with the warnings of God against injustice and apostasy. Straining to hear the promises of deliverance. The assurances of a Messiah. Of hearing the last words of a hopeful promise of revival so powerful the hearts of fathers and children would once again be turned toward each other. That a “Sun of Righteousness” would rise with healing in his wings. Then, on the cusp of this blessing… imagine 400 years of silence.
Did Neil Armstrong die at 3:03pm?
Did Neil Armstrong, space explorer, test pilot, fighter pilot, professor, engineer and self proclaimed “nerd” die at 3:03pm on August 25, 2012? Not very long after the death of Armstrong was announced an urban legend sprouted. I first saw a tweet to this effect: “Neil Armstrong died at 3:03pm. Genesis 3:03 says, “God set the moon opposite the sun.” Makes one feel all warm and fuzzy. But…
Muslim in America: Bob Roberts, Jr.’s surprising insights
Bob Roberts, Jr. may come closest to the apostle Paul’s missionary zeal as anyone is likely to see in our country today. Dissection of his DNA would likely reveal he is descended from both David Brainerd and Adoniram Judson. There is no doubt Bob Roberts is a direct spiritual descendant of both. The man exemplifies the zeal of God for those outside of Christ, unwilling to allow any cultural, religious, political or geographic boundary to remain between his telling of the gospel and those who need to hear it. Roberts calls Hanoi his second home, and the Vietnamese people “the most noble of all.” He is especially a friend to Muslims. If you follow Roberts’ Twitter feed you will often find him retweeting an imam he knows or an Islamic student.
Pastors and churches continue to deal with the struggling economy
LifeWay News has released a story about the continuing struggles churches and pastors have in this slow economy. Most would probably have guessed it to be this way. Below is the full text of the story with graphics from LifeWay Research. Survey: Slow economy continues to weigh on pastors By Carol Pipes NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Pastors say the economy continues to have a negative impact on their churches despite stabilized giving, according to a survey by LifeWay Research. The survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors asked respondents “how is the economy impacting your church?” Almost two-thirds (64 percent) responded negatively, with 56 percent indicating somewhat negatively and 8 percent very negatively. One quarter of the pastors surveyed said, “the economy has had no impact on my church,” while 9 percent indicated a positive impact on their churches.
God, guns and obedience: One biblical view
I am blessed to have a number of thoughtful and reflective friends who blog. Perhaps I should also mention very smart. Among them are two pastors, Todd Littleton and Alan Cross, and a church planter turned denominational worker, Joel Rainey. After the recent shootings in Aurora and Wisconsin the call for some kind of gun control was repeated once again. Two prominent missiologists, Michael Frost, of Australia, and Alan Hirsh, of Los Angeles by way of Australia, called for more/better gun control in the United States. Frost asserted it was an issue for the church to address. I was raised in a gun owning family. Much of my extended family does or has owned guns. I have been hunting though I do not particularly enjoy it. I have shot an Uzi and I did particularly enjoy it. (Apologies Mr. Gun Range Owner for that damage done to the target bracket.) The only thing I regret about target shooting is that I do not have more time and money to devote to it.
Rick Warren cancels the Obama-Romney forum at Saddleback
Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, has cancelled the planned civil forum with President Barack Obama and presumed Republican nominee Mitt Romney. This would have been the second such forum following the Obama-John McCain meeting prior to 2008’s election. The reason for the cancellation, according to the Orange County Register, is “uncivil discourse between the two campaigns.” Warren is quoted as saying, The forum was praised for its unique format and fairness. Also, the TV networks were eager to cover it again since it garnered one of the largest viewing audiences of that election. I talked with both campaigns about the possibility of doing it again, and they were both favorable to participating. […] We created the civil forums to promote civility and personal respect between people with major differences. The forums are meant to be a place where people of goodwill can seriously disagree on significant issues without being disagreeable or resorting to personal attack and name-calling. But that is not the climate of today’s campaign. I’ve never seen more irresponsible personal attacks, mean-spirited slander, and flat-out dishonest attack ads, and I don’t expect that tone to change before the election. […] It would be hypocritical to pretend civility for one evening only to have the name-calling return the next day. Saddleback has hosted seven civil forums, the most recent featuring former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Free Book: ‘The Generous Soul,’ by Marty Duren, Chapter 8
Several months ago I started on a journey to give away my book a chapter at a time. This is still in the process–through a few fits and starts–it is not far from completion. In case you need to catch up before you start Chapter 8, follow these links: Why I am giving away my book, ‘The Generous Soul’ The Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 part three the eschatology of missional giving or how does this deal end, exactly? “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Jesus Christ “The LORD knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever.” Psalm 37:18 (NKJV) He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Jim Elliott chapter eight faith’s treasure “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” Revelation 21:7 (NKJV) “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” Matthew 25:34 (HCSB) Too many of God’s children live as if their only inheritance is on earth and miss the chance to add to their inheritance in heaven.