Christians and Art

Michael Spencer posts this picture of Titian's Adam and Eve and asks:

Are you offended? Why or why not? Would you show this painting to your congregation (including children and young people) or Bible class as an illustration? Explain. If someone said this was offensive to them as a illustration, what would you do?

How would you respond?

Clerical Adrenalin

Christopher Gudger-Raines is missing some adrenal rush in his life:

I don't want adrenaline 24/7. I understand and glorify God for the fact that my demeanor is appropriate for the nursing home and shut-in visits. I have felt important after a sermon and I do "get up" for Bible study. But it would be nice if I had one preacherly task that required a helmet. I think I could grow in important ways through some dangerous-because-it's-that-important-work. Maybe I'll get the buzz cut--just to remind me of those who live on the edge...the good edge. Do I need the Ray-bans, too?

Lotion Soap Switch Angers Congregation

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Members at Avalon Baptist church were angered to discover that the soap used for years in the church restrooms was replaced by a new, economical foaming soap.

"You get this bubbly mound that disappears once you rub it in your hands," one man complained as he exited the restroom. "It’s all show, this new soap."

Others agree.

"What happened to the thick, slimy stuff?" one man asked. "That really worked." Last Sunday was supposed to be the kick-off of the church’s annual Missions Week. But the buzz in the foyer was about the soap change. Some suggested taking a special offering to restore the original liquid soap.

"You have to wonder about the leadership’s judgment, if they’re willing to make a poor decision like this," says one woman. "It signals weakness at the top."

Story Link.

Evangelism vs. Mission as the Primary Purpose of the Church

In our recent discussion about how to improve seminary training, regular commentor Earl responded:

Students would be required to examine the efforts and results of churches within their area as well as high profile churches that are recognized leaders in evangelism. Students would be required to interview area pastors who have demonstrated personal effectiveness in winning adults to Christ. Subsequent to these examinations and interviews students would be required to evaluate and then develop and present in a peer setting their personal understanding of evangelism not simply as a concept but as a central objective for ministry and their proposed plan for implementing an effective plan of evangelism in their local church setting.

Students would be required to demonstrate personal experience in winning adults to faith in Christ. Not a punch list of book read or sitting in classes or taking test but actual personal experience. Not working at a shelter or going on a mission trip but personal involvement in presenting the Gospel to adults in such a way that decisions are made for Christ. Evaluation would be based on the number of times a genuine attempt was made to present the Gospel as well as the number of times such a presentation was successful. Regardless of result, in each case the student would be required to do what would constitute a "after action report," in which he/she would evaluate the actual/possible factors that lead to success or failure in presenting the Gospel. This would be reviewed by fellow students in a small group setting. Regardless of any other accomplishments, success in this regard would be absolutely prerequisite to graduation.

Why this emphasis on evangelism? Because there are few if any task that a minister can do that can not be done with equal quality and integrity by a worker in a social service agency. But there is no social service agency charged with the responsibility of reaching people for Christ. Jesus did not found the Church as a social service agency. He fundamentally tasked the Church to reach, teach, win and develop men and women for Christ. Everything else is entirely related to that central imperative.

Will of Ramblings from a Red Rose has an excellent critique of this view. I enthusiastically agree with all five of Will's points.

I hope that he will correct me if I am wrong, but I suspect that Earl and I have very different presuppositions about evangelism and possibly even salvation. He appears to be advocating "propositional evangelism", where a Christian verbally confronts a non-Christian with the basic outline of Christian theology and awaits a verbal decision to accept or reject these theological propositions as true or false. Those who accept the propositions as true are now classed as "saved" and those who reject them retain the classification of "unsaved".

The problem for the Church in the West is not that people have not heard the Christian message; it is that the Church lacks credibility. As the Apostle James said:

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." You believe that God is one You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

Simply 'presenting' the Gospel message is not enough if it amounts to nothing more than empty words, as The Onion deliciously lampooned a while back.

And for this same reason, I reject Earl's distinction between evangelism and 'social service' work. What is more persuasive, a Christian who gives a starving man a tract, or a Christian who gives a starving man a meal? The latter shows out of his/her loving actions that the transformation of God's grace is more than just a switching of invisible soteriological categories; s/he shows his/her love by how s/he lives.

If the Church wishes to spread the Gospel, then it must be credible to a justifiably skeptical world. And if it wishes to be credible, then it must, as the Body of Christ, bring peace where there is conflict, healing where there are wounds, and abundance where there is poverty.*

I also disagree with Earl's position that evangelism is the primary task of the minister, and is not the primary task of other Christians:

Why this emphasis on evangelism? Because there are few if any task that a minister can do that can not be done with equal quality and integrity by a worker in a social service agency. But there is no social service agency charged with the responsibility of reaching people for Christ. Jesus did not found the Church as a social service agency. He fundamentally tasked the Church to reach, teach, win and develop men and women for Christ. Everything else is entirely related to that central imperative.

In his critique, Will notes the common complaint of pastors, "As a minister, I live in the church ghetto. I don’t come across many non-Christians." Ain't it the truth! I have to be very intentional about meeting non-Christians. If it weren't for my gym membership and the blogosphere, on most days, I'd never meet a non-Christian. That's because my workplace is the Church.

Most lay Christians can't claim that. Most are far more enmeshed in the non-Christian world than clergy, and are therefore best able to be a Christian witness to non-Christians.

At any rate, the Great Commission wasn't given to ordained clergy. It was given to the disciples. Evangelism is the job of every believer, not just clergy. But I am interested in understanding how Earl concludes otherwise.

*I would further note that we, the Church, should not do 'social service' work merely as an opening for propositional evangelism. We should not help people who are hurting just because we want them to experience a formal conversion. The Church should alleviate pain and suffering wherever they are found just because it's the right thing to do.

How To Organize Your Paperwork

By Dave Walker.

Hat tip: Richard Hall

Pastor Sells Church on eBay

BIG TIMBER, Mont. — Without their consent or knowledge, a pastor in rural Montana has sold his church and congregation on eBay for $3 million.

"I finally got good and sick of them," says Tad Marshall, pastor for 15 years who completed the secret sale last week. "This serves them right. All of them."

But many in the church are stunned by the Marshall family’s sudden departure.

"We had such a good relationship," says Winifred Barnes. "Whenever I called him in the middle of the night to pray for my psoriasis, he was happy to help. I’m surprised he would treat us this way."

Others expressed similar feelings.

"We would stop by for surprise visits every time he had a day off, and his wife was always quick to put a pot of coffee on," says Fred Souther. "We’d sit there and chat for hours. Those were wonderful times."

One woman recalls how Pastor Marshall responded to her plea to visit her ailing mother every day during her prolonged illness at a hospital 78 miles away.

"I don’t think he did it because we threatened to quit the church. I think he was genuinely concerned for Mother even though she was in a coma," she says. "We would sit with her for hours singing hymns to her. I could tell he was blessed by it."

Another longtime member recalls the day a group of women surprised the pastor’s wife with an impromptu shopping trip.

"It was clear she was unable to afford modest clothing, so we charged right in and threw away everything in her closet," she says. "Then we bought her new ankle-length dresses with long sleeves. She cried tears of joy that day. She kept saying, ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this.’ It was a bonding moment for all of us."

Story Link

Do Not Oppress the Alien

Exodus 22:21-24:

Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.

Over the years, debating immigration policy in a Christian context with Dan Trabue and Andy Bryan, I've noticed recurring reminders of passages from the OT law in which the ancient Israelites were to treat "foreigners".

On several occasions, Dan and Andy have suggested that strict immigration policy or mass deportations of illegal immigrants would be in conflict with Christian values as a result of these OT commands.

My question is to whom the OT refers to as "foreigners". Three possibilities come to mind:

1. Foreigners present in Israel with Israelite consent (assuming that immigration policy is a transferable concept).

2. All foreigners regardless of how they arrived in Israel.

3. The native Canaanites already present in Israel at the time of the conquest (comparable to Native Americans in the U.S.)

Although I would like to assert that it is option 1 or 3 because they would support my policy positions, I must admit that major exegetical research must be done to discern which of these options (if any) is correct. At this point, I just don't know.

I really struggle with this issue. As a pastor, I know that I must not turn in any illegal immigrant that I met in a pastoral context to authorities merely because s/he is an illegal immigrant. To the contrary, I must help everyone who needs the care of the Body of Christ.

So I guess that I'm advocating a position as a citizen that I must abhorr as a pastor.

One seminary professor challenged me to change my public policy positions to keep in accordance with my religious convictions. But I would find it very hard to advocate a position that I know will lead to the dismemberment of my country.

I know -- I'm not making any sense. As I said, I really struggle with this issue.

Spiritual Gift Inventories

David Wayne offers an intriguing critique, suggesting that they are often less about giftedness and more about what people like to do:

I have seen it most commonly in people who fancy themselves to have the gift of prophecy. On more than one occasion I have heard such a person say "well, I guess I just don't have the gift of mercy" after they have emotionally run over someone.

On a deeper level most spiritual gift inventories are just spiritualized versions of temperament tests. Actually, in their place I find temperament tests very helpful and recommend them as good helps for people seeking to identify their strengths, weaknesses and best ways of working with others.

If we could leave spiritual gift inventories on that level - as helpful but not determinative, then I would be fine. The trouble is, spiritual gift inventories are often accompanied with teaching that says that each one of us is given one particular gift by God and we must identify it and use it. Thus, spiritual gift inventories rise to the level of "thus saith the Lord." Others are frustrated that they haven't taken an inventory so they don't know how to serve.

As part of the Annual Clergy Assessment process last year with my PPRC, I took a spiritual gift inventory. It said that I had the gift of prophecy. I guarantee you that I do not. But that result had tallied up because I answered questions to the effect that I enjoy examining Christian ethics.

Such inventories often cheapen the truth of spiritual gifts in order to ensure that congregations have "prophets" and "healers". But a prophet is not a person who studies Christian ethics; it is a person who receives direct spiritual instruction from God. The gift of healing is not about having a good bedside manner. It means someone who can lay on hands and instantly reverse medical ailments.

I find that the benefit of spiritual gift inventories is that they get laypeople talking about what they can and should do to in ministry. The potential pitfall that David Wayne correctly points out is that they can become an overly-strict framework for lay ministry.

UPDATE: Jeff the Baptist's assessment:

I've seen these tests become crutches and stumbling blocks to many. Some things are jobs every believer should be able to do, like evangelism. If I had a nickel for everyone who used the excuse "that's not my spiritual gift" to get out of a jobing they don't want, I'd have a healthy donation to the church building fund. As if Christ said "Go forth and make disciples of all nations... unless you're a Servant, you guys just show up at church workdays."

If you want to use these things in your church, just call them what they are, aptitude or personality tests. Explain to people that they can help them figure out their talents so they can use them to better the Kingdom, but that they aren't some sort of definitive source for spiritual insight and they don't absolve them of spiritual responsibility.

Angry Priest Rant

A funny rant by a Catholic priest about the foibles of congregants:

Weddings:
1.When you call up to schedule your wedding, don't act all indignant when I ask who the hell you are, since you haven't been to church since your first communion.

2. And don't get in a little nuptial huff when I tell you can't throw rice, birdseed, confetti or any of that crap. Would you want to have to clean up a big mess of that junk from your house every Saturday afternoon? I didn't think so.

3.And do that damn paperwork, get all your certificates in. You'll be really glad you did should the day come when you have to get un-married.

4. Please get some control over your mothers. Your own outrageous demands are bad enough.

5. Have some pity on your poor priest, who has to put up with your ruse that you don't live together, your rude tardiness to your rehearsal, your showing up half-drunk, and the tasteless fashion decisions you make for your wedding party.

6. Oh, and if your forget to get a marriage license, it's not my problem. It's your marriage.

Mild language warning. HT: Anchoress

Pulpit/Stump

Andy Bryan asks if it is appropriate for churches to hold political rallies for individual political parties even if no particular candidate is endorsed. If you've read me for a while, you probably already know my answer.

Rev. Borg

DannyG on strange job titles at church:

A case in point is the "Minister of Assimilation " positon at our church and, as I have googled, many others. This usually is the person in charge of new members and, often times, recruitment (i.e. evangelism). You'd think that a title like "minister of membership" or "minister of recruitment" or something like that would be more clear and straight foreward. Instead, a $2.00 word is used when a $0.25 word would do fine. Then, there is the law of uninteded consequences: when I hear the word "assimilation" the first association that I have is "BORG". (J) had thought that I was just being sarcastic when I was talking about our Minister of Assimilation, but she actually read the staff list in a publication and there it was, the official title! She had the same thought that I did. We actually broke up laughing at the mental immage of a "Borg", in full vestments, declaring that "You will be assimilated, resistance is futile". Of course, perhaps that type of persistance would be a good thing, if not so scary an immage. I actually mentioned this to one of our senior pastors, and got a blank stare...apparently not a Star Trek fan. Now, I just wish that I was handy at Photo-Shop, to bring that mental immage to life!

Should Men Be Kicked Out of the Church Nursery?

Dr. Helen Smith responds to a reader e-mail about a church that banned men (in general) from the nursery.

Like any pastor, I have a healthy paranoia about such matters. A few weeks ago, when the church had a decorating day for Christmas, I made a run to the Family Dollar Store to pick up some light bulbs. A twelve year-old girl in the congregation asked to ride with me, and I had to tell her no. I explained why, and she understood.

I never meet alone with a woman under the age of fifty, but the demonization of men that Dr. Smith describes is abhorrent.

HT: Glenn Reynolds

New Favorite Hymns

Selecting hymns over the past seven months as the pastor of a church has given me far greater familiarity with The United Methodist Hymnal than ever before. Here are a few that I have gained a great appreciation for. These take into account how well known they are to the congregation and how easily sung they are. As our pianist learned to play the piano in order to provide music for our church and has a very busy schedule, I try to avoid very musically complex pieces

#361 Rock of Ages
This 1776 hymn by Augustus M. Toplady is saturated with good theology. It strongly emphasizes total depravity, free grace, and unmerited atonement. For example, verse two reads:

Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law's demands;
could my zeal no respite know,
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

#127 Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
An old Welsh hymn by William Williams, it was translated into English in 1771. The tune was known to my congregation (the same as 577 God of Grace and God of Glory), but the words were not. I often include it in sermons about the providential love of God for humanity. The first verse reads:

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am week, but thou are mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more;
feed me till I want no more.

#568 Christ for the World We Sing
Initially, there was no missional hymn in the church's repertoire. Looking through those available, I selected this one because of its well-expressed ecclesiology and musical simplicity. It is a great anthem of the purpose of the Church: to build the Kingdom of God on Earth. The first verse of the 1869 hymn by Samuel Wolcott reads:

Christ for the world we sing,
the world to Christ we bring,
with loving zeal;
the poor and them that mourn
sin-sick and sorrow-worn,
the faint and overborn
whom Christ doth heal.

What are your favorite hymns, and why?

UPDATE: Lyrics to the last hymn corrected.

A Map Showing the Distribution of Megachurches in America

Fascinating

Hat tip: Allan Bevere

Pastoral Prayers

At my church, I write out my "pastoral prayer" -- a sort of general purpose prayer in the standard liturgy of this local church. Here's an example from Christ the King Sunday and my rationale for parts of it:

Most gracious God, on this day in which we celebrate the reign of your Son in Heaven and Earth, we praise your name that we have a king who is faithful, just, and compassionate to his subjects. We thank you that you have ruled with such grace; for we have not deserved a merciful king, but a harsh and punishing one.

In classical collect prayers, a good prayer begins with depicting the attributes of God.

For Lord, although we have been created in your own image,

The Imago Dei is such an important doctrine that I mention it every Sunday.

we confess that we have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love, we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy.

This is our prayer of confession, lifted directly from the Service for Word and Table II. Confession should always proceed petition, so that our relationship to God is restored through justification.

And so gracious Father, we silently confess to you our transgressions.

Although we have corporate confession, we need a time of silent, individual confession as a weekly moment to be confronted by a just and holy God with our sins. It may be the only time that week a parishioner faces his/her sins, which makes it all the more important to include in the pastoral prayer. I generally count to twenty-five in my head before moving on.

Lord we make this confession with a contrite heart, but also with hope, for we know that the king has returned.

Confession is both a time of sorrow, but also one of joy, because we do not retain our sins.

We know that your Son Jesus the Christ came to earth to conquer sin and death and free us from chains of unholiness that we willingly shackled to ourselves. We accept the unearned, unmerited pardon of our king,

I have heard it said that Asbury teaches students a distorted view of atonement -- blood atonement alone. That's one reason why I've been consciously working in the other views of atonement into my pastoral prayers. This passage of the prayer will always express (1) the destruction of that sin and (2) that this change is unmerited.

and ask that you continue to give this lovingkindness to….

God's grace is manifest in not only healing us from sin, but healing us from bodily infirmity (the vast majority of prayer requests). This is how I transition into the specific prayer requests. I generally save the praise reports to the end, after expressing that these petitions are not lift up in vain, but that we make them with confidence because we have seen God's mighty hand at work.

And then we close with the Lord's Prayer.

How do pastoral prayers work at your church?

Ministerial Groupies

Angie Ward writes about the cult of celebrity that seems to surround many high-profile pastors/speakers/writers:

It's no different today than it was in the first century, when Paul noted in his first letter to the Corinthians that the Christ-followers there were dividing themselves over who they followed. "I follow Paul," said some, while others countered, "I follow Apollos."

Today it's the same story, just a different millennium: "I am of Hybels." "I am of Warren." "I am of Maxwell." "I am of Stanley." "I am of Moore." "I am of Groeschel." "I am of McLaren." "I am of Driscoll."

Others play the same game, but go back a few centuries, as if attaching yourself to an older (or dead) personality is somehow more spiritual: "I am of Calvin." "I am of Arminius." "I am of Augustine." Or impress others with their intellect: "I am of Irenaeus." "I am of Tertullian." "I am of Clement of Rome."

"Stop it!" Paul says, in essence, in 1 Corinthians 3:5. "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task."

I have nothing against any of the leaders I mentioned above. They are doing what God has called and gifted and assigned them to do, and they have all made a significant impact for the Kingdom. Many of them are worthy mentors and models. But they are also just servants, just like each of us who follows Christ. My problem is not with the celebrities, but with the groupies who have made them such.

These groupies try to become clones of their heroes, instead of becoming who God has made them and ministering in a uniquely personal way that no celebrity could ever attain. Instead of claiming their standing in Christ and asking what He wants of their leadership in their unique situation, they settle for a trinkety-bracelet approach to ministry: "What Would Hybels Do?"

Pastoral Reading Habits

Allan Bevere has an excellent post about the importance of pastors engaging in regular study in order to be effective, particularly in the pulpit:

Not only is it critical to take sufficient sermon preparation time each week, the pastor needs to read and study on a daily basis. At any one time I am reading four different books-- one in theology, one in biblical studies, one in pastoral ministry, and a final book in a miscellaneous area (American history, politics, etc.). I also make sure that I read authors with whom I know I am going to have major disagreements. It is all too easy for us to read those writers who confirm our beliefs rather than challenge them. If the pastor is not engaging with the profound theology of the ages and the wisdom of others, he or she will not preach engaging sermons. Church folk with any depth of faith can spot a shallow preacher from a mile away.

What are your reading habits?

Congressional Investigation of Televangelists

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), senior Republican on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, is investigating the financial procedures of six leading televangelists: Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, Eddie Long, and Creflo Dollar. He sent a letter each of the ministers asking detailed questions about how donations are used to support their extravagant lifestyles.

Grassley's investigation is welcomed by some pundits as an opportunity to crack down on financial abuse by these ministers, but questioned by others as a violation of First Amendment protections of religious organizations.


What do you think? Should Grassley's investigation proceed?

[cross-posted]

The Pastor As Blogger

Mark D. Roberts made an interesting speech about the pastoral role and blogging. The audio is here. A text summary of his speech is here.


Hat tip to Digital Leadnet via Andrew Conard.

Question of the Day

Should a pastor know how much money specific members are giving to the church?

[cross-posted]