(FREE Audiobook) If God's already planned it, what's the point of praying, preparing & sharing my faith?

There is an argument against evangelism goes like this: 

"If God knows all things, is in charge of all things, and has planned all things, my friend, neighbor or co-worker will trust Jesus no matter how much or how little I pray, prepare, or share with them."

In what is probably the New Testament's paramount passage on evangelism, the bottom-line, takeaway action verb is "persuade others" (II Corinthians 5:11). It is interesting, however: The Apostle Paul makes clear that neither the persuading nor the converting ought motivate us. Indeed, you can imagine how our persuasive performance (or lack thereof) might lead to disappointment about ourselves, bitterness toward God, and even frustration toward the slow of heart we are trying to persuade. Accordingly, Paul gives two motivations to open our mouths about Jesus: (1) The fear of God (II Corinthians 5:11); (2) The love of Christ (II Corinthians 5:14). 

He will ask us to one day give an account of how we have stewarded the good news and the tongue that GOD the Holy Spirit has entrusted to us (fear - see II Cor. 5:10) and Jesus has given his life for us (love). 

With such teaching, J.I. Packer reminds us in Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God that it's not up to us and, yet, there are enormous and compelling reasons for us to share. Indeed, adopting a vision of a God who is both Large and in Charge can significantly aid us in the cause of evangelism. J.I. Packer is arguably the greatest theologian of the late 20th century. While I don't agree with a couple of his finer points in explaining the doctrine of God's sovereignty, I wholeheartedly recommend downloading and listening to this Free audiobook for the month of May.

We need Sunday because all is not yet Sunday

I've been thinking and reading a lot this week about worship as I prepare to preach on this final avenue of how our church's leadership envisions carrying out our God-assigned mission to introduce people to Jesus and help them grow by his grace.

I am looking forward Zac Hicks leading us in praise and worship when myself and one of our elders attend the Liberate Conference in Ft Lauderdale, FL next month. He wrote a very thoughtful blog post entitled "Why the Tension between Public and Private Worship?" as to why we need to diligently drive ourselves to corporate worship every Sunday. His conclusion stems from the following quote from a book written in the 1960s (by a non-hippie named Jacques Von Allmen) called Worship: Its Theology and Practice. Von Allmen writes:

[Corporate Worship] is necessary because the Kingdom of God is not yet established in power. [Corporate worship] as such is necessary because the whole of life has not yet been transformed into worship. Thus it suggests that the Kingdom exists already, like the leaven in dough, but is not yet established. It shows that Sunday is other than weekday, that all is not yet Sunday. 

Hicks rightly relates Von Allmen's brilliant observation to the already/not yet tension of God's Kingdom that exists through Jesus Christ. One day everything will be perfect - including a perfected and constant community wearing white robes and worshipping the Lamb with no more hunger nor thirst to beset us (Revelation 7:13-17) - but until then we lean into little tastes of divine perfection to keep us going in advancing His Kingdom. God has called us to display saltiness to the world. What does this mean but a kind of set-apartness or difference that makes our lives attractive or 'taste good'.

"You are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13)  

"Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again?" (Mark 9:50)

"Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person" (Colossians 4:5-6). 

Blanding through Blending. However, Satan, through the wicked tripartite combo of sin/demonic/world, seeks to blend us in and remove our flavoring (consider, for instance, Paul's description in Ephesians 2:1-3 of lemmings following what most think is just the way of the world, but is really Satan's way and increasingly adopted as our own stubborn way). So when we chicken out of sharing a little bit of good news about Jesus with a co-worker, tell & then convince ourselves: "Hey, I have rights too!" (self-serving act to follow), throw in your coarse joke you would never say around church peeps, thoughtlessly use the person working on the project with you for your own gain (or use your child or spouse for that matter) - these are ways we lose flavoring as we begin to blend in with everyone else and, suddenly, voila! : "See! Christians aren't any different." Yet, it's always a struggle to prevent blanding through blending. In fact, it's probably why you are reading this blog entry now: You're feeling tired/blah at work or beaten down by the same ole circumstances at home and could use a pick me up. So you read this in your inbox or clicked on a link that brought you here.

Sustaining your Flava. Sunday corporate worship then becomes essential as the start-to-the-week push you need - a reminder that there are others like you on the same mission, at the same well in need of the same grace, and opportunity to remind each other of God's goodness through hearing and singing the Word of God. Likewise, M-F, private prayer closet worship re-fuels us for the day ahead. God uses time in His Word both corporately and privately to remind us of promises that HE is better, to re-focus us on His mission, and to drink in the amazing reality of grace and forgiveness through a return trip to the cross. He brings you to focused time of worship with the entire church on Sundays or with HIm alone to pray against (and in some cases for - see: people) and re-arm yourself against forces that seek to make your life blander through blending. 

The Forever Sunday. Psalm 34:8 is one of Katie's favorite verses (it hangs above our kitchen sink): "Oh,taste and see that the LORD is good! / Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"
The provocative language in this verse is the "Taste and See" as it hints that the God of

the Universe can be experienced as sweetly and readily as a good steak is tasted or a Cayman beach is beheld. But I've often failed to meditate on the means of such blessed and experienced goodness - namely, "taking refuge in Him." A refuge is not a place a person remains or lives out his/her life (notice the Psalmist doesn't say: "residence" or "place of business"), but a place to which a person returns or even runs - recognizing their need for help, safety, and re-fueling. We are promised that one day we will have no need of certain now-essential-items like four walls and a roof because God will be our home (Rev. 21:3), no need for tissues or therapists or pastors for that matter for their will be no more crying or pain (Rev. 21:4), no more places of worship because God the Father and God the Son will be ever available to satisfy our praises (Rev. 21:22), no more Sun because God will bring light through the Lamb our lamp (Rev. 21:23, 22:5), no fear because there is no one bad (Rev. 21:27). 

So until our worship looks like that, we must (and we get!) to gather on Sundays, each of us bringing along a gift to serve and encourage the other, building one another up for the week ahead so that those we encounter M-F might so taste and see God's flavor in us - the difference in us - that they'd join us first for the following Sunday and then the forever Sunday. 

Sun AM Follow-Up: How to dish out samples of God's unusual goodness

Yesterday we had opportunity to corporately examine four straight rapid-fire parables about God's Kingdom given by Jesus in Mark 4:21-34 - to which, having heard, some came to Jesus privately and asked for further explanation and understanding. I made the claim: Jesus uses parables like these to offer a sampler of unusual goodness so that those who taste might inquire within. 

Jesus used situations from everyday life to show that just as there is unusual goodness in everyday things like lamps, ingredients for baking, and the family farm - likewise life in Jesus' kingdom is both normal (lived out among marriages, work, schools, etc.) but infused with unusual goodness (eg., marriages are transformed, work becomes purposeful and redemptive, the aim of learning goes God-ward). Jesus' purpose seems to have been to doling out not an exhaustive understanding of life in the Kingdom but just enough unusual goodness that those interested might seek out Jesus afterwards for a better understanding.

As rich as our time in the Word was, I regret not having enough time to get to how those who have already tasted, seen, & taken refuge in King Jesus (Psalm 34:8) might likewise dish out little samplings of God's unusual goodness.

So here are three suggestions for giving others a taste of God's unusual goodness that might lead to further inquiry:

1) One's testimony. A couple weeks ago, we had our annual Testimonies of Thanksgiving Sunday and, per usual, it was so encouraging to hear the saints in our still young church see the pattern of God's plan and equipping in their lives, note how he was moving some of them into a season of trusting in Him alone, give praise for his faithfulness to sustain them with His Word and through Community, and trust Him to do miracles through prayer. 

I went back and re-listened to the testimonies last week. Let me share with you two powerful phrases people used & I want you to try to listen to them as if you were not yet a Christian (and maybe you aren't): "All I really need to be complete is God"; "Having made a hard decision that took some courage, God really opened up the floodgates in our lives."

"Complete in God" - there are all kinds of questions that might emerge. "What does she mean by complete? Family life, inner emotions, sense of purpose? And does this mean God guarantees to tie up all the loose ends in my life?" Those questions are good and can be asked during follow-up, but Lord willing and by the power of the Holy Spirit hopefully the person hears is, "Complete in God" and responds: "Completion sounds really, really good." "Floodgates?! I don't know exactly what that entails, but it sounds really, really good."

So testimonies rarely lead contain full explanations of the gospel - God's plan for salvation - but the Holy Spirit often uses them to give people just enough goodness to cause them to approach you about it later and inquire further.

2) Dole out a "what if" in the face of unbelief. In high school and later as a university student I was highly involved in an organization called Young Life, whose mission is to love unchurched teenagers for Christ. A Young Life club meeting consisted of games, wacky skits, some type of gross food being consumed for entertainment of the masses, fun songs, a short gospel message, and usually one serious or spiritual song. During my years of involvement in Young Life there was one song that I heard more than any other: "What if what they say is true"...

What if what they say is true? / What if you walked on water? / What if you healed disease? / Can you heal me?

What if what they say is true? / What if you rose on Easter? / What if you conquered the sea? / Can you conquer me? 

Looking back, this was a perfect song for a group of curious but unconverted people. A series of questions for people who still say: I don't believe in that stuff. But: What if you did? How would that change your life? Most have not thought through the implications to the question: What if Jesus did rise from the dead on Easter? Most haven't considered how their lives would be different if there was a man claiming to be God, offered life-saving news, predicted his body would rise from death, and then - according to all available accounts - DID! 
Asking "What if" in the face of unbelief is something I'm trying to do. I'll tell you why:

Everyone needs a carrot - a reason, reward, a clear motivating difference to invest even in investigating. I recently read the story of how advertising gave rise to the phenomena of brushing one's teeth. In America, for example, the rise of wealth in the early 20th century brought with it a concurrent rise in the consumption of sugary foods. So many American men drafted for WWI military service had rotting teeth, that the government officials declared dental hygiene a national security risk! And, yet, not even a declaration like this caused more than a few hundred people to brush their teeth. Nothing was working. So a company called Pepsodent hired a world-renowned advertising specialist named Claude Hopkins to try and popularize the use of toothpaste. There were all kinds of reasons to use toothpaste - but Hopkins was onto something - he recognized every person needed to immediately identify with a tangible reward in order to create in them a craving for it. So despite all the medical reasons for toothpaste, Hopkins zeroed in on the "mucin plaques on teeth" which he afterward called "the film." This film is a naturally occurring membrane that builds up on the teeth regardless of how much one eats or how often one brushes. In other words, the film is ultimately harmless. Nevertheless Hopkins pitch over the airwaves: Toothpaste will help get rid of that cloudy film you can feel on your teeth. He then would show people licking their teeth with their tongues and instructed his viewers to do likewise. What happened? People were immediately able to feel the film on their teeth even as they watched the ad. They immediately connected with a reason to buy-in to toothpaste. 

Likewise, if we can help people consider right away some tangible need or some attractive betterment to their life, they might buy-in to at least investigating further. Throwing back to an unbelieving person this question of "What if it was true" causes them to imagine, to visualize for themselves life with a resurrected Lord. The possibility all of sudden seems more possible. The carrot, the reason, the reward has gone from a vague romantic myth to an articulated, shared, "I just said that out loud" possibility of life change.

3) Share thanks for the smallest examples of unusual goodness in regular life. As mentioned before, Jesus used lamps, ingredients for cooking & agriculture because these were items one ran across in during regular life in 1st century Palestine. A parable in fact was, above all, culturally-relevant in its communication of truth. What are such common touch-points in today's culture that express a similar thread of uncommon goodness? This particular method takes some consideration, playfulness, and creativity. Here are just a couple examples that came to mind:

• GoogleMaps GPS. Recently Katie and I travelled to Costa Rica. We rented a car and about half way through the trip started to wonder if that was an unwise decision. Our directions took us off the paved roads and onto barely beaten paths that overlooked unprotected cliffs. And while I had no overseas data nor wifi access, the GoogleMaps GPS tracked my vehicle anyhow and gave us a way out, preventing our children whom we left at home from becoming orphans. It was a totally free service that costs Google money.
• University Scholarships. Recently my eldest stumbled onto this notion (kids are great by the way at helping adults rediscover how undeservingly good some things are). "So dad, colleges will actually pay you to go to their school." "Yes," I paused, "That's pretty great, isn't it." (I wanted to add: "And you may want to look into being a genius or a great athlete because your dad isn't loaded" - but refrained).
• Public Libraries. Books loaned out for free.
• Interest from a bank account. We will protect and insure your money plus we'll pay you for it.

Especially as we consider how accustomed people are to complaint, the hope might be to express: The King is still present here & showing Himself to us through uncommon goodness - if we would but open our eyes to see. I tested out the GoogleMaps GPS example this morning on a few people in a coffee shop I frequent - one of whom responded: "Never thought about that. That's a pretty positive outlook. Any more good news you can tell me?" Um....yes!!! I mean the Holy Spirit just opened the door to respond to the question: Any more good news you can tell me? 

Final Word. As I've tried encouraging you here with how you might give others a taste of God's goodness, I recognize the questions arise: But shouldn't I also explain about the costliness of following Jesus? Shouldn't I relate to them about how it's not always easy, that I still have doubts? Should we not also present to them a clear understanding of sin and the best news of all that trust in Jesus is the solution for sin against a Holy God? Of course, these essentials need explanation and there will be time for that - but in the knowledge that no one consumes a meal in one bite, let's first give them a taste of the unusual goodness of life in God's Kingdom that they might further inquire about these other essentials and so consume the whole message of the gospel.

Found People Find People: Tips for Finding a Hearing (Part I)

Under the Big Top on Sunday Mornings, our Sunrise Fellowship is working through a series entitled - Answers without Compromise: Sharing the Gospel in ways that answer people's most immediate needs without compromising its message. The goal is to, as best as possible in sermon format, to share how one might use the gospel message to answer very relevant, contemporary questions of friends, neighbors, co-workers in a conversational setting. People are rarely bringing up God anymore with their questions (even to question his existence or character) - but that doesn't mean their question does not relate to God. In fact, I believe that the handful of main questions/life obstacles people seem to mention are directly addressed by the God's gospel message.

My hope with the blog is, following each message, to provide a few tips for creatively yet boldly and accurately sharing the gospel as presented the previous Sunday. So for example, this past Sunday's message explored the question of suffering: Why is my life so hard? And even harder for others? I intentionally utilized certain strategies and wisdom when approaching this question. 

Tip #1: Be Prepared to Cross the Border. The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the World are different. But Christians often talk to people as if they speak the language of God's Kingdom. Even though Jesus used analogies about His own Kingdom that were agriculturally-relevant to the time (see Mustard seed, different types soils, Fig Tree), relationally-relevant to the time(see Prodigal Son, the persistent friend) and economically-relevant to the time (see Shrewd manager, Tenants). 

To cross the border into another's world you must speak seeker-sensibly. Our Sunday Morning services are not seeker-driven or even seeker-sensitive in priority because the primary purpose of corporate gatherings, as modeled in Acts, is for the strengthening and equipping of believers. So even this series is primarily for equipping believers to go out and share their faith. But while not seeker-driven or seeker-sensitive, as a church we need to be seeker-sensible. We must be thinking about how to explain truth from the Bible in ways that make sense to someone who has never read one. 

Let me give you a few examples from Sunday that I would suggest using in real conversations. I talked about both the act and disease of sin as two of the three reasons that the Bible gives for why life is hard. It's okay to use "sin" and we should as it is the chief reason Jesus needed to die. However, we need to define it. So I define sin as "that Big "No" in our heart that says: I will do a better job running my own life than any authority, especially God" and then connected that back to Genesis 3 where the key idea that Eve (and then Adam) bought into was being her own god. Instead of using the "sinful nature" as a concept, I used a "hereditary disease" that is passed down through a kind of spiritual DNA. Still accurate, but people understand the concept - its danger and pervasiveness - of a hereditary disease like alcoholism better than they do "the sin nature" or "original sin." People will graciously shake their heads but even I still barely understand it and I've got some sort of diploma.  A second example is instead of saying "salvation" or inviting people to "get saved," I termed it this way: "You can trust Jesus to make you right again with God and to run your life." I do this because people understand alienation in relationships and usually have bosses. Only if someone nearly drowned will they immediately relate to any kind of life "saver" or "getting saved."

Consider preparing for a couple more: How would you explain the term "resurrection" or "rose from the dead"? What about "church"? Take time to consider and define for people who don't know the Bible.

To cross the border you have to know what's on the other side. I do not mean that you need to indulge in the ways of the world (does planning to watch Anchorman 2 count?). Only that we should be relating with enough lost people to understand the culture and life in which they live. The Apostle Paul did this. Just a couple weeks ago we looked at Paul's sharing the gospel message in a culturally-relevant way with the people of Athens (Acts 17:16-34). While doing so he quotes a pop song and then a popular local poet to get across a spiritually relevant and still truthful point (v.28). My attempt to do this on Sunday was explain a few typical responses to the hardness of life: (1) "Stuff" Happens (usually using a different word); (2) At least my life isn't as bad as _______; (3) I try not to think about it -- and then proceeded to talk about the advantages but ultimate failings of each approach to the hardness of life. This is how real people talk. Likewise before we sang for worship, I tried to be cognizant of the fact that people brought folks to church who may have never been to church before, especially this past Sunday. So I simply said: "For many of you, the only time you get to sing in public as an adult is a "Happy Birthday to you" for an office birthday party or at a drunken Karaoke Bar. But when you trust Jesus, we are told we get to sing to Him. It's an awesome privilege and sounds far better than a Karaoke Bar." Now we've reached over into their world and invited them into the Kingdom of God.

Tip #2: Take time to read the Bible with them. This will require asking their permission for some extended time, as I attempted to demonstrate on Sunday: "Would you mind if we take a few minutes to read about this in the Bible?" But opening the Bible does a few things: (1) Exposes them to words that are more certain and powerful than your own (see the promise of Isaiah 55:10-11); (2) Demonstrates that the changes, the love, and "something different" about your life is caused not by a philosophy or set of ideas but some objective standard outside of yourself. I find people actually walk away with more respect for what you've said when you take time to show its origins in the Bible; (3) Bible Words usually stick with people AND they can later look up or Google a Bible passage online (and they can't always later find or Google you when they have questions...unless you are famous...or have your own youtube channel).

Tip #3: Be prepared to pop the question. Be ready to ask them if they want to respond by trusting their life to Jesus. Don't anxiously qualify it, wait for their answer. If they say, "no" or "not right now," you can follow-up tactfully and ask if you can speak again at a later point. But the answer is always "No" if you never ask. I'll never forget asking this of a student I had just met, he responded yes, and is still walking with the Lord today. You never know!

All of this, it goes without saying, should be done in the context of a building a relationship of love so that you are sharing with a lost person the love of Christ in both word and deed.

SCC in 2013: A Year for Found People to Find People

(Disclaimer: The following post is primarily for my peeps in Sunrise Community Church)

With everything that is in me I want to share that personal evangelism is what the Holy Spirit continues to impress on my heart for 2013 - namely, for us to grow as a church body to the next level in both breadth and depth it will be primarily through brave and faithful persons such as yourself not only building relationships with pre-Christians (most of you excel at that!) but to take the courageous next step across that bridge you've built with friends, neighbors, & co-workers to share a message of good/freakin' awesome news - a.k.a the gospel. 

This is why we build relational bridges - you earn the right to share the gospel with someone and you grow to love them enough to share the key to eternal life with them. 

Somebody in the church steps up. And it's not just me, by the way, who senses this call to GO OUT and share the love of Christ in word and deed - it's people in the church stepping up to God's call. People like my friend Sean Glidden. Last year, the elders and I prayed SCC would be blessed with the opportunity to embark on our church's first ever missions trip. Just as with praise and worship, we prayed God would call someone to step up (and we see what happened there - Lisa Welman stepped up and now we have three worship leaders!). Sean approached me toward the tail end of last year excited about a calling to reach the lost locally and abroad through missions. Lord willing, we will embark on our first missions trip this year with the help of his organization and mobilization. Sean and Kacey may even start up a Missions-based Community Group!! (To be continued...) 

Over the coming four weeks, we will spend Sunday Mornings equipping and preparing you to creatively share the gospel. I say creatively because, as we discussed on Sunday, pre-Christians are no longer asking the same questions they once did 25 or even 10 years ago. God does not factor into their questions - at least as far as they know. In actuality, I've discovered most people's immediate questions pertaining to life, though they contain no mention of God, are in fact answered by God's gospel message. If you ask a person, like I did over the past six months (a little side experiment): "Take God out of it for a moment - what's the biggest obstacle in your life right now?", you might be surprised how the gospel provides both a framework for understanding that obstacle and a solution to it.

So get ready for Answers without Compromise: Sharing the gospel in ways that answer people's most immediate questions without compromising its message... Okay, so you may only remember the first part. No worries. Here are those most immediate questions:

• Jan13: Why is life so hard for me?  (Suffering)
• Jan20: Who is going to pay?  (Justice)
• Jan27: How can I live confidently without Ego, yet humbly without Eeyore? (Humble Confidence)
• Feb3: How can my emotional & physical needs be met while I meet them in others? (Red-Hot Romance)

How it will "work." My goal with each message will be to, as best as can be done in sermon-form, make it as conversational as possible - as if I'm having a conversation with a pre-Christian about their question. So I will be trying to explain concepts about Jesus, His good news, and life from a biblical perspective in seeker-sensible ways that someone who has no clue about any of above can understand. Please also note: I'm going to get right into the conversation, which means I won't be pausing to explain to Christians why I've decided to, for example, share directly from Isaiah 53 at one moment but only summarized Sin & Satan from Genesis 3 at another. However, I am certainly open to any questions (or suggestions) afterward re: why I said x, y, or z. My hope is that you can jot down an outline of the points made, the Scripture utilized, and a story/moment/illustration that "grabs you" so that you can re-use them when you share.  

How you can prepare starting today:

• Pray. Pray for any and every pre-Christian in Cayman who comes to mind that the Holy Spirit would begin to pursue their hearts. Pray that you and your fellow brothers and sisters in SCC would have the courage to invite friends to hear the gospel message answer their most immediate question. Pray against the enemy's desire to block this message from reaching ears that need to hear it. Pray for my explanations of the message from God's Word - I need help! Pray that this effort would extend beyond Jan 2013 and that we will use what we've learned going forward. Pray that lost people would be found as they trust Jesus as God of their life who can forever forgive their rebellion.
• Wherever you are and with whatever you have nearby, jot down the names of 2-3 friends, co-workers or neighbors who immediately come to mind as you read the above questions. Now, invite them and offer to pick them up!
• Print out a flyer that one of our church members has worked on and voluntarily paid to have posted this whole week in the Cayman Compass. Post at your work bulletin board or hand to a friend. If the jpeg of the flyer pasted below isn't high quality enough, you can obtain a better image by emailing me at ryan@sunrise.ky. 

You were once lost but now are found. It's time for found people to find people!

"Should Christians participate in Halloween?" (re·dux)

(This post is a re·dux of something I posted around this time last year. It seemed to be helpful to some folks - or at least received a lot of reads for my humble blog. So I thought I'd re-post now that we're in to October. Enjoy.)

"Should Christians participate in Halloween?" 

Admittedly, this is a strange image.

Every year I've managed to dodge this question fairly successfully - preferring to respond: "But the real question is: Should Christians participate in Valentine's Day? The origin of love according to Hallmark and the Peanuts card that Ramsey Rives gave me in 3rd grade is a Greek mythological figure who shoots arrows -- not Yahweh. Well, that's heresy right there (see 1 John 4). Okay, I'll wait for that. This is a legitimate and serious question and I've been asked by a host of persons about it this year. Katie and I have actually given it quite a bit of prayerful and biblical consideration over the years so here we go...

A word of grace. Wherever we land on these types of gray-area issues, I always encourage folks from Romans 14:4: “To his own master a servant stands or falls.” In other words, We each will have to give an account to God but we should not demand others give an account to us. But we often do demand, don't we? If not in word, through our attitudes or our judgments toward others about 'other' things (but really, it's all about that thing).  Pressing accountability is not true of every or even most issues. Most issues aren't matters of Christian liberty or gray-areas. Most issues Scripture is pretty clear about. So while we should refrain from being demanding of accountability about drinking in moderation, watching R-rated films, or perhaps (??) certain language we use, the same isn't true for "sleeping with someone" before marriage - some will argue that this is a gray-area issue so they can keep doing who they are doing  but Scripture (not to mention wisdom!) gives us clear instruction with regard to "keeping the marriage bed pure" (Hebrews  13:4). So with this issue of Halloween, some will walk away happy, even smug with what the Oelschlagers have decided to do, while others will be infuriated. Which is why my intent here is not to change a person's mind as to whether they should celebrate it. It ain't gonna happen. My hope is that, by considering the matter from God's Word, we extend further grace to persons on both sides of the issue.

Where I land...in my "Megatron" costume. I do not think it is wrong for Christians, who have a clear conscience in doing so and are not causing a ‘weaker’ brother to stumble, to participate in Halloween. Let me give a few thoughts to support that statement – allowing God’s Word to be our primary guide.

The counter argument. The two major points against Halloween:  (1) That we are celebrating an ancient druidic/Celtic holiday in which spirits of the trees were worshipped and (2)  add to that the continued existence of modern day witchcraft, sorcery, ghoulishness still celebrated today around Halloween (even though isolated & amongst a small minority at least in Cayman's varied cultural landscape). These are both serious matters. We are called to be “in” the world yet not “of it” (John 17). So we are equally called to guard our hearts from evil yet also be a friend to sinners. 

God’s Word. While it doesn’t speak to this issue directly, it does speak to a surprisingly similar issue. Namely meat sacrificed to idols/false gods/demons. 

1 Corinthians 10:19-31:  ¹⁹ What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?  ²⁰ No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.  ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.  ²² Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?  ²³ "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up.  ²⁴ Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.  ²⁵ Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.  ²⁶ For "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof."  ²⁷ If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.  ²⁸ But if someone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience-  ²⁹ I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience?  ³⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?  ³¹ So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

A few notes:

• Conscience. If your conscience (see also 1 Corinthians 8) doesn’t allow you to participate & if God has convicted you it’s wrong, don’t do it until/unless God changes your mind. Far worse to do what you believe God has told you is wrong than to do it doubting with every timid step.

     >>> If you can in good conscience, dress up your kids, have them walk around the neighborhood & pilfer candy from the neighbors (but "Take only One" if they aren't home), do it without being burdened. 

     >>> If because of your past, concern for your kids, deep belief/suspicion in dark spiritual forces being harder at work, don't do it even if you acknowledge someone else's freedom to do differently.

• Idols & Candy. You might make the parallel of meat with Candy or with costumes. Were either dedicated to the Celtic figure Samhain or any sort evil spirit? Likely not. Could they have been, sure. Was that a Wiccan who just handed me a tootsie roll and cursed it with a spell that will make me prematurely bald? Perhaps. Is it likely? Depends on your culture, where you live, etc. But likely not (I hope someone put Rogaine in my bag just in case).

• So verse 28: “BUT if someone says to you, “This party, candy, costume is in honor of Samhain who we believe to be the Celtic Spirit of Halloween,” don’t eat it, put it on, participate. Lest we cause a young Christian or non-Christian to confuse our faith in Christ with hypocrisy. 

• Helpful? Then the next logical question comes from v.23: I can understand how the participation in Halloween can be “lawful” or “permissible” (NIV), but how can it actually be "helpful" or "build" someone up??  Great question (see two points below).

Your situation. If our children had a strange unhealthy interest in ghoulish, ghastly, fearful, & all things “dark,” I would certainly abstain. Also, if we weren’t being intentional about exposing our kids on a daily basis to the truth & light of God’s Word & the truth and light of the Rescuer Jesus Christ, then I might also be more hesitant about making much of any holiday lest they put all their hope & attention on a self-indulgent occasion to stuff themselves full of Laffy-Taffy (not to mention the potential of impish evil spirits...although they do act rather impish themselves after a half-bag of High Fructose Corn Syrup and a pint's worth of Red Dye #3) . If we ran into a haunted house or a block party that stressed the perverse, spiritual strangeness, fear-based entertainment, Katie and I would have no problems walking away from it. So I think, practically and with wisdom, you must take into account your own situation as well – being brutally honest about your spiritual state & influences.

Your neighbor’s situation. If you don’t think participating in Halloween poses a spiritual stumbling block for your neighbor (and that’s an important “if"), consider the immense benefit of participating, especially if you are trick-or-treating. There are few opportunities in our culture where people will actually walk up to our door and meet us face to face. There are few opportunities where we can actually walk up and down the streets in our neighborhoods with those who do not know Christ- and they will do this with you willingly and won’t think we are stalking them. Halloween can be a great opportunity to get to know people. I believe you have the opportunity to meet and enjoy some fellowship with the unbelievers God has put around you- and in a setting that they initiate. The ‘dangers’ of Halloween, for our family, do not outweigh these opportunities. Now, of course, being ‘separate’ on these days can be opportunities as well. It might be important to communicate your convictions by turning off the light and not answering the door. I'm sure in some contexts God can and does use this. But Katie and I have decided that we would rather be overtly engaging with those around us on this night with love and wisdom rather than abstain altogether.

The response of someone with a different conviction than me. I get pumped whenever people go to God's Word &, with the help of His Spirit, get it. This past week one of the person's with whom I engaged on this topic had a different personal conviction. She didn't begin to share my conviction about participating in Halloween, but she did look earnestly at God's Word & extended grace. Here are some excerpts from this person's response (which is right on!): 

Halloween is a very sacred day for those who follow Wicca - one of their most "holy" days which is where my struggle to feel ok about it all stems.   I fully realise that people aren't practising Wicca or celebrating anything with evil intent and aren't trying to glorify evil by celebrating Halloween so this is definitely where I get, just because I believe it is wrong doesn't make it wrong and it isn't wrong for somebody else to do it but if I believe it is wrong for me and I do it then it would be wrong.  Is that right?  LOL (YES it is anonymous person!!!!).....

I don't get any holy brownie points for choosing not to celebrate as opposed to another brother or sister in Christ who does but what I do get is that it is ok to feel the way I do about Halloween and at the same time make sure my heart is in check and not get self righteous and maintain a good heart attitude toward others that do.  Correct?  (Yes, and love the "holy brownie points" comment!)

In conclusion: No matter whether you decide to stay at home or participate, 1 Corinthians 10:31 is a good note to end on: “³¹ So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

I realize I responded to this question largely from a “family” point-of-view and you might not even have children, but I think trick-or-treating & carving pumpkins (not dance parties, club scenes, etc.) is where this dilemma is most visible. As just being at a club and partying is itself another dilemma over which we ought constantly to be submitting our hearts unto the Lord, examining our conscience, and striving to be ‘in’ the world but not ‘of it’ (ie. In the world, but with a mission). 

To balance out my family's conviction with the equally valid personal conviction that it's not glorifying to God to celebrate Halloween, I provide for you (BELOW) this Halloween evangelism tract, which has no doubt graced the bags of many an unsuspecting child, for your amusement/edification. My favorite part is the clown and the lone ranger praying together to trust Christ. Makes me wonder: Can clowns know Jesus? (subject of my next post).

Responding to those who knock at our door (Jehovah's Witnesses)

Perhaps you catch them walking up to your flat or up the long walkway to your front door. Admit it: Have you ever hid in your bathroom? Pretended to be on the phone? Called your spouse? Acted like you were heading to a world-defining meeting? 


Even as a pastor (called to answer the door at any hour??), I have done at least one of the above. Which one, I'll never tell...


Here in Cayman, usually around this time of year and again in the Spring is open season for Jehovah's Witnesses to come 'round & lovingly pound at your door. Usually very kind, eager to start a conversation, and unwaveringly convinced of their views about something absolutely foundational to our faith as Christians: The deity of Jesus Christ.


What they are saying. Jehovah's Witnesses are convinced that there is one God -- and Jesus Christ is not Him. One of the first evidences out of their mouth: "Even the Bible (yes, your Bible) says that Jesus Christ was a created being." 


They center this around verses like Colossians 1:15: "He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." On the surface, this may throw us for a loop -- at the very least, stopping the conversation and, at the very most, planting seeds of doubt in our own minds. 


Though you may prefer to just walk away or just say, "Ah well, they'll never change their minds," remember that the true gospel is inherently powerful (Romans 1:16) and many Jehovah's Witnesses are bringing along new (and perhaps still 'open') converts for observation. So perhaps it's worth a little time, effort, and brainpower...


How we might respond. The following is a good blog post that will help us address the claim by Jehovah's Witnesses that the Bible says Jesus Christ is not God but a created being like you and I.


The Deity of Christ - Part III   (See his other posts on topic as well)


Before you actually respond. Having said this, I would exhort each of us to recall that the power of the gospel is best demonstrated through loving our neighbor as Christ has so loved us - even in the midst of discussion/debate. I remember once talking to a brother who was a renown apologist for a pro-life stance toward unborn children. His job, at which he was quite accomplished, was engaging in dozens of public forums each year against the the best & brightest pro-choice philosophers & scientists. I asked him, "How often do you feel like you 'lose' debates?" He replied: Some of the debates that on the surface I seemed to win - made the most salient arguments and stumped the opposition - I had in fact lost."  He went on to quote 1 Peter 3:15 with an emphasis on the last part of the verse:

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give you the reason for the hope that you have, but do so with gentleness and respect." 

An approach I've found helpful is offering to listen for 20-30 minutes and then (either at that or inviting them to return again) ask if they'd be willing to listen to your thoughts & concerns for 20-30 minutes. I did this with some Mormon folks once and we struck up quite a relationship - two of the dudes even asked for some of 'my' literature.

CayHistory: Cayman Gets Religion

Rev. James Elmslie

For my readers who hail from Grand Cayman, it might be hard to imagine a time in which this island was devoid of Jesus. You see churches everywhere. On a back road recently, I saw someone had turned their old outhouse into a church (unless they were playing a cruel joke on any passerby looking for spiritual sanctuary). But this island was devoid of Christianity - in fact, its first successful missionary commented that not only was the majority of the population nonChristian but they specifically chose religious occasions to flagrantly indulge in excessive passions and pleasures. As I continue to read Michael Craton's lengthy history of Cayman Founded Upon the Seas, I found out some things about this missionary that I'd like to pass on to you. After all, we owe him a debt of gratitude for his introduction of the gospel to Cayman.

Elmslie Memorial United Church

Cayman's first long-term missionary. His name is Rev. James Elmslie. If the name sounds familiar, it's because you frequently pass by the seaside, downtown United/Presbyterian church that bears his name (or at least use its parking lot to make U-turns...as I did yesterday). Like Elmslie, the church used to be Presbyterian but has since become a mixture of two varying denominations -- but we'll steer clear of that potential land mine.


The Seeds of God's Work. In January of 1845, a Presbyterian minister arrived in Cayman via shipwreck. But what seemed misfortune was certainly Providence as the Lord was to start moving on this island. During Hope Masterton Waddell's brief stay, he was impressed "by the people's essential goodness and hunger for organised religion." When he returned to Scotland, he urged lobbied the Scottish Missionary Society to start a Mission in Cayman, but to no avail. 


But Waddell did influence a second missionary to at least visit -- Rev. William Niven. One day Niven found two local men paddling out to sell turtle on the Sabbath -- but they told him honestly and frankly that they would've been in church had their been a minister. That set Niven ablaze with excitement. His Presbyterian Missionary board gave him authorization to recruit a missionary from Jamaica. In July 1846, Niven made a impassioned plea for a Caymanian Mission before the Jamaican Presbytery at Montego Bay. But at first there were no takers. At the end of his speech, Niven quoted the the Lord from Prophet Isaiah: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" (Isaiah 6:8). After what was by all accounts a dramatic pause, the Rev. James Elmslie, pastor of Green Island, Hanover, responded to the call.


God's man. Elmslie was in many ways a surprising choice. He was already fifty years old and well-established at Green Island. Under his care, the church at Green Island grew from a scant few to around 900 persons. 


Upon arriving, Elmslie was met with immediate adversity. One of the worst hurricanes in living memory ripped through the Western Caribbean just as he was arriving. Then, many of the people made their intentions clear telling Elmslie and the few who came to assist him: "We don't not want any black coats" (and he couldn't just change into any coat from the L.L. Bean catalogue...the Presbyterians kept their coats black...like their coffee). Nothing much happened for the first year.


An enemy becomes a friend & the gospel spreads. One of the most vehement opponents to Elmslie and his message was the Custos (the top dog in the island's government). James Coe Jr., perhaps plagued by a guilty conscience, thought the Elmslie's "hellfire" sermons were aimed  directly at himself. He once had to be restrained by his fellow Magistrates from angrily confronting Elmslie after a service. After one service Elmslie writes that Coe shouted at him, "What new doctrine is this which we are getting now? Nothing but sin, sin at all times."


But perhaps it was all that talk of sin that made Coe examine to what extent it was in his own heart &, thus, his need for a Rescuer in Christ. No one seems to know. But what is certain is that the Holy Spirit worked on this stubborn, willful leader to help him trust Christ. By the wharf one day, Coe confronted Elmslie and said to him: "I can see now why you have preached the way you have done. If you had not done so, you would not have been faithful. We thought we were all well...but I am afraid we are all lost. You have kindled a light in this island that will not be extinguished when you are mouldering in the dust." Shortly thereafter Coe became a formal member of Elmlie's church and later an elder. By all accounts, he loved and faithfully served Jesus till the day he died. Amazing! The grace of God can change even the stoniest of hearts!


This fueled a fire in Elmslie, who, though an older man, began traveling by foot, on horse, by canoe sharing the good news of the gospel throughout Grand Cayman. And many responded - to the praise and glory of God.


He's now a witness to our endurance. The author of Hebrews tells us: "Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also throw aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). This man was inching toward his 60's as he went to and fro throughout Cayman, preaching, encouraging, caring with the hope of Christ. He did so by foot, horse, and canoe. Can you imagine a near 60-year old man today pulling up onshore on the East End donning a black suit? Unreal. Yet now he looks on as one of many amongst the cloud of witnesses that has gone before us. I hope he sees a people who are willing to endure similar hardship, persecution, even seeming foolishness to advance the work of the gospel that he began. We thank You, Father, for Rev. James Elmslie and his faithful witness on this Island. 


(I'm on holiday for about a month...so likely will leave the blog-o-sphere till August. Grace & Peace!) 

A Sunday Follow-up: Living & Speaking Priestly

This past Sunday, while examining Malachi 2: 1-9 in a sermon called Priesthood: Then & Now, I shared a story about a man who allowed Christ to so shine through his actions, that one cynic declare of him, "He was the only Jesus I ever knew." I argued that the story is simultaneously both encouraging and potentially dangerous. It is potentially dangerous when I start to adopt the attitude of: "I'm probably the only Jesus this person will ever know" and the subsequent conclusion: "If I don't help this person, no one will."

Consequently, we don't just serve as a bridge to Jesus with our actions but also with our words. We must always be holding out Christ with our words while we serve and tangibly love others. Otherwise people might see only the glory of what man can do -- while the reality being a Christian is something both intensely human and intensely divine. Human and divine: You may have met him...his name is Jesus.

Anywho, after the sermon, I had two persons share with me a testimony of the danger of man-glorification because of a lack of words. One brother, Ray, shared a little about his friendship with a Honduran co-worker. Ray is a hard-worker, a servant-leader, and a man of integrity. He was living out those traits at his place of work. One day, when Ray finally asked his co-worker about the Lord, his co-worker replied:

Oh, Ray, I don't believe in God. But I've watched you and I do believe in you, Ray.

Ray was floored. Now, he went on to share a bit with his co-worker about the Lord and this last week they even talked about what a "covenant" is. But Ray was describing exactly what can happen when we only share Christ's love with our actions -- we can become the only Jesus someone ever knows. And that's a problem.

This coming Sunday we'll take a more practical look at how being a priest for Jesus is a speaking role.