MY CHOICE | A Missionary’s Poem

This poem was written by “Smiling Bill” McChesney. He was a missionary from the US that ministered in the Congo in the early sixties. At that time, the Congo was a volatile and dangerous place for foreign missionaries. He was killed by an angry mob in 1964. 

 “I want my breakfast served at eight, with ham and eggs upon the plate; A well-broiled steak I’ll eat at one, and dine again when day is done. I want an ultramodern home and in each room a telephone; Soft carpets, too, upon the floors, and pretty drapes to grace the doors. A cozy place of lovely things, like easy chairs with inner springs, And then I’ll get a small TV- of course, “I’m careful what I see.” I want my wardrobe, too, to be of neatest, finest quality, With latest style in suit and vest: Why should not Christians have the best? But then the Master I can hear in no uncertain voice, so clear: “I bid you come and follow Me, the lowly Man of Galilee.” “Birds of the air have made their nest, and foxes in their holes find rest, But I can offer you no bed; no place have I to lay My head.” In shame I hung my head and cried. How could I spurn the Crucified? Could I forget the way He went, the sleepless nights in prayer He spent? For forty days without a bite, alone He fasted day and night; Despised, rejected- on He went, and did not stop till veil He rent. A man of sorrows and of grief, no earthly friend to bring relief; “Smitten of God,” the prophet said- Mocked, beaten, bruised, His blood ran red. If He be God, and died for me, no sacrifice too great can be For me, a mortal man, to make; I’ll do it all for Jesus’ sake. Yes, I will tread the path He trod, no other way will please my God; So, henceforth, this my choice shall be, my choice for all eternity.”

a handy little church history chart

 

Here is an interesting chart I came across in Wikipedia..Take a glance at it, and feel free to let me know if you have any questions..After looking at this chart, I’m sure Jesus Himself might have some questions for us!

The Church Of The Future…..

Dr. Ted Roberts is an american pastor, and also the founder of Pure Desire Ministries. I have been reading his book and came across this great, straight forward statement on the church…If you are a Pilgrim, well, c’mon and check it out…

“Therefore, the Church of the future, if it is to be effective, must become a place of practical grace. It must be a place where hope is the dominant theme, and denial, especially religious pretending, is nowhere in sight. That’s a challenge for those in leadership, because personal vulnerability is the key issue. Leadership must be characterized by personal honesty that is open and forthright about their own struggles, yet at the same time able to speak from personal experience of the overwhelming victory available in Christ. In other words, servant-leadership will need to be New Testament to the core.”

What do you think the Church of the future should look be like? Leave a comment.

Tithing vs. Giving

Recently I was asked if I could write a controversial post on tithing. Realizing that this is something that could get me in trouble, I’ve decided to take up the challenge.

There are many different perspectives on the Christian responsibility of tithing. Some say it is indeed a New Testament discipline and a command to all believers.  Others affirm that it is strictly an Old Testament ordinance, but must be observed as an essential principle for new covenant believers.  Some Christians  teach, that tithing is strictly an Old testament law and there is NO obligation to observe it in light of the new covenant, and that tithing is actually a form of religious bondage.

Before we look at this matter, let’s get a working definition. What is tithing? Simply, a tithe means: a tenth . A 10% portion of an income, possessions or lands.  Tithing is certainly not only a Judean-Christian practice. The Babylonians, Islamic, as well as Sikhs have tithed since ancient times.

Biblically, the first mention of the concept of tithing is found in Genesis 14:18-19.  Here Abraham meets the mysterious figure: Melchezedek, who is a king of Salem, and a priest of the Most High God. He is also described as having no natural birth. Some scholars propose that this was an angel of God, some say it was Noah’s son Shem. I suspect that it was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. Nonetheless. We see Abram offering this priest, a tenth of all of his spoils.

There are also several places in the Pentateuch where tithing is mentioned.

Deuteronomy 14;22-27, Deuteronomy  26:12-14, Numbers 18:13-14

In the context of the Mosaic Law, tithes and offerings were a combination of ceremonial offerings, but a specific percentage essentially served as a type of tax. This tax served two chief purposes. To finance and support the temple and Priesthood, and to provide for the poor among the people.

Later, the early Catholic writer Francis Plowden wrote about tithing as “A divine ordinance and an obligation of conscience.”

Although most modern Biblical scholars agree that tithing IS NOT a direct command given in the New Testament many Catholics church leaders have cited Matthew 23:23, arguing that Jesus in fact instructed that tithing was essential.

Lastly, the common scripture used to define the act of tithing in most protestant churches today comes from Malachi 3:8-10.

This scripture eloquently describes the heart and principle of giving to God. It portrays that the failure of the Jewish people to observe it in the past was a clear sign of their lack of faith, and would now incur a curse upon them. It also showed that those who are faithful in giving to God in tithes and offerings, would be rewarded with divine provision and blessing. This scripture in Malachi is often referred to as command. Although the passage does show a great truth, it is erroneously taught as an Old Testament  command that must be observed. This proposes a doctrinal problem. Why should a New Testament believer, who is supposedly not under the “old law’, observe an obscure principle mentioned in the Prophets, but, be shunned and labeled as a Judaizer or Legalist if they decide to observe the Feasts or Festivals of Yawheh, or observe the levitical dietary laws, let alone the entire Mosaic law. In short, my tough question is: Why do we insist that our congregations obey this single Old Testament law, but encourage them that they are free from all of the other 313 laws? I think we all know the answer to that. Because the church’s need money.

Do I think it is wrong to tithe? Absolutely not! I encourage it, and practice it myself. Do I think it is a direct command that all Christians have to give ten percent of their income to the local church? No. Hermeneutically, that would be a convenient assumption. I will share my favorite verse that I use to teach my children about Christian giving and provision:

2 Corinthians 9:7 “So let each one give as they purpose in their heart to give. Not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Notice God didn’t say He loves a religious giver, or a punctual giver, or a consistent giver. He said He loves a cheerful giver.

 

Here are my conclusions on tithing, they may sound controversial, and even a little contradictive, but, here they are:

• Why tithe when you can give? When you give 8%, you may feel guilty…. when you give 10%, you may feel satisfied…….. when you give 12%,  You feel “spiritual”.    This is not a good perspective on charity. The law was designed to show sin and act as yoke,(obligation)  leading us to Christ (joy).
• Tithing is good. It is never a sin.
• Give money, give lots, give regularly
• Give to the local Church and give to pastors who bless you
• Finances can be given to increase our faith. Every financial offering is a seed sown.
• If money, and fear of lack has a grip on you, the best way to break that spirit, is to give hilariously.
• Give because you want to
• Give because God has blessed you
• Give because you trust God
• Don’t limit yourself to ten percent. Give in proportion to your faith, and joy.
• Generosity releases revival

I hope you all enjoyed this post. Please let me know if you have any questions..

 

Shalom

Pastor Darrell

The Great Tradition

What do I think the church is doing right in 2010?

 

This is a question that a WordPress pal of mine asked at the end of one of his posts: http://www.seansabourin.com/?p=871   This is a good question indeed, especially since most take a critical aim at the ‘blushing bride’ of Christ more often than commend it for anything!

At great risk of appearing controversal, I submit that ‘one’ of the good things happening within the Body of Christ is running in the same vein as what has come to be called the: ‘Ecumenical Movement’. This movement brings mixed reviews. Some hailing it as a great pilgrimage of repentance, and others (mostly fundamentalists) accusing it of being a sort of ‘unitarian apostacy’. In terms of the official movement itself, I subscribe to neither review whole heartedly, but i want to highlight some of the characteristics therein that i feel are of great benefit to the Church.

Latley we are seeing a return to liturgy. Christians everywhere are showing signs of a yearning that the post-modern church, or emerging church, can’t quite seem to satisfy. We are seeing a growing interest in The Great Tradition. I see it in the new books being written. I see it in the blogosphere. I hear it in the music and liturgy Sunday mornings…What is this Great tradition of which i speak? Lets back up a bit…

The church that was birthed in the New Testament account of Pentecost enjoyed a relatively schizm-free existence from its inception. this continued right through the Roman persecution (and after the Roman legalization in 313 AD under Constantine),  right up till about 1054 AD. Besides the outbreak of two or three notable splinterings (Nestorians, Mar Tomas) the church remained in relative unity. After nearly half a century, three major fragmentations began to happen. The three major branches are: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Reformed Protestantism.

Western Protestantism (Lutheran, Baptist, Anabaptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, Reformed, etc, etc) is what dominates the religious population in North America today. There are well over two thousand denominations within Protestantism alone. And these denominations include sub groups such as fundamentalism, liberalism, post-modernism, liturgical, etc, bla bla bla.

One can look at all of these fragments of the Body of Christ with scrutiny, and rightfully so. I have taught on the subject of denominationalism and I have expanded on its cons, and it’s pros, but, I have a hard time picturing Jesus being thrilled about division that happens every day. don’t get me wrong, i am not being a pluralist in saying that all “religions” should be unified. Not only would that be un-biblical, but a great philosophical impossibility. What i am trying to say can be best elaborated on by a quote from Walter R. Martin, author of the classic Kingdom Of The Cults. On matters of doctrine and practices withing the Church, he said:

“In the essentials; there ought to be unity.

In the non-essentials; liberty.

In all things; love.”

I believe it is time for the church to get back to its roots. There are so many gems found in studying the Great Tradition. But if we are careless, we may miss them. History holds a tutorship quality that will help us prepare for our future. In essence, we can learn about our future by looking to our past. Studying the great traditions of the early church, the lives of the martyrs, and the growth of the church has been a great source of interest to me ltely, as well as a well spring of wisdom. My admonition to the Church is to look to the past as well as the future. What were the early Christians like? what did they value? What did they believe and why? What action did their beliefs influence them to take? How did they live? What did “church’ look like to them?

Food for thought//pastor Darrell

The Holy Give and Take (part 2)

Check out this verse found in Daniel 3:67 . It’s the cry of the three youths in the fiery furnace. You think they’d be a little jaded, or at least a little disappointed that God would allow such a fate. here is what they said;

“Cold, heat, snow and ice; lightnings and clouds, winds and tempests; Bless the LORD, praise and exalt Him forever!”

Interesting response. Notice they didn’t bind satan, or rebuke their enemies. They didn’t try to conjure up more faith to pray for a miracle. they didn’t even pray for god to rescue them. it’s almost as if they just accepted what was happening with an enthusiastic attribution to God’s sovereignty. They did not desire that the circumstances would change, but only desired that God be exalted, and that they be submissive to what the terrible thing that was being exacted upon them by Nebuchadnezzar.

Below is a passage from some of the reading I’ve done. It’s some interesting food for thought;

The writer is describing God:

You are endowed with an infinite strength nothing can resist, but with us you do not use the absolute power of your sovereign authority. You treat us with extreme condescension and, adapting yourself to the weakness of nature, design to place each one of us in the best and most suitable situation for working out our salvation. You dispose of us with great favor as persons who are your living image and of noble origin and who, because of their condition, are not to be ordered in the voice of a master as if they were slaves, but with care and consideration as one who handles a vase of precious crystal or fragile pottery for fear of breaking it. When it is necessary for out good for you to afflict us or send us some illness or make us suffer some loss or pain, you always do so with a certain respect and a kind of deference. As a surgeon who has to operate on a person of importance takes extra care to cause him as little suffering as possible and only what is necessary for his recovery, or as a father unwillingly punishes a son he loves dearly only because he is obligated to do so for his son’s own good, so god treats us as noble beings for whom He has the highest regard, or as beloved children whom he chastises because he loves them.”

–TRUSTFUL SURRENDER TO DIVINE PROVIDENCE

Father Jean Baptiste Saint Jure- (1588-1657)

TAN publishers

I want to also leave you with the words of Job:

“The LORD has given and the LORD has taken away; as it has pleased the LORD so it is done. Blessed be the name of the LORD!”

 

The Quest For The Radical Middle (a book review)

A pastor friend of mine recently gave me this book to read. I’ve always been interested in church history and movements within the body of Christ. Bill Jackson starts off this book with a big picture definition of what he calls the “radical middle”. I enjoyed it. Although I’ve always been skeptical of liberal doctrine, I’ve wondered how a Christian can be a “Calv-menian” in theological terms. I guess what I mean is..how can I reconcile the obvious extremes that are found in scriptures? Extreme axioms that, to some, appear as oxy-moronic contradictions.

I think it was Frank Martin who said “The truth is always held in balance between two extremes”

Here are some examples:

Jesus is man………………………………..Jesus is God

Saved by faith alone…………………….faith w/out works is dead

The Kingdom is here…………………….the kingdom is yet to come

Follow the Spirit…………………………..let all things be done orderly

Foolish confound the wise……………..appoint qualified apostles and approved deacons and pastors

Worship in Spirit…………………………..Worship in Truth

Moses……………………………………………Elijah

Be Ye Holy (biblical legalism)…………law of liberty (license, biblical freedom)

It is finished

(work of the cross is complete )……..It is happening (sanctification, process)

And so on.

I enjoyed reading about the history of the Vineyard movement and all of the players involved in church history. Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel, The Jesus movement people, John Wimber, Jack Deere, Bill Hybels and others all play apart in the History we find ourselves making in the Bride of Christ.

I’ll leave you with one of Bill Jackson’s excerpts from the book that I loved:

“Why did Christianity spread so rapidly in the early years of the church? Over and over again we can see that the first Christians didn’t out argue pagans–they outlived them! Their relation to the world was proactive instead of reactive. They simply made Jesus their master and routinely gave to those who stole from them, loved those who were persecuting them, blessed those who cursed them, lived humbly and laid down their lives for others! It was in observing these kind of revolutionary communities that outsiders saw and understood the gospel.”

Be blessed today!