Sabbatical Diary: The First Week

I have a few goals for this sabbatical:
1. Visit churches with a reputation for reaching people, and see what I can learn from them.
2. Get a good start on writing a year-long devotional book.
3. Read some good books.
4. Spend a little extra time with my family.
5. Get a bit more sleep than usual.

So far, so good.  I've visited two churches so far (more on the second church in my next post).  I've done some reading, although I'm a little behind on that goal.  My family time has been great...even if a good portion of it was spent in the summer heat planting new landscaping (and naturally, chopping right through a sprinkler line.  Hello, Mr. Plumber).  And as for sleep, it has been quite nice.

The book I'm writing is tentatively titled Finding Jesus.  It's going to be a 365-day devotional look at the life of Jesus.  The goal is that Christians can use it in their daily devotionals or (even better) give it to a friend who doesn't know Christ.  This week, I managed to come up with Scripture texts and working titles for each of the 365 readings.  I also wrote an introduction and the first ten readings.  It was enough to show me this is going to take awhile; I certainly won't finish before my sabbatical is through.  But if I can get a good chunk written, I can finish (hopefully) later this year by writing a little every day.  I've pasted the intro below.  Let me know what you think.  

            Lieutenant Dan Taylor: “Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?” 

            Forrest Gump: “I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for Him, sir.” 

           

            Why do I think you should read this book?  I believe that Jesus of Nazareth is different from other great men and women of history.  Studying the lives of figures like Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, or Mother Theresa can be inspiring.  But when people strive to know Jesus, it changes their lives for the better.  The very act of seeking Him improves the seeker; I can’t think of anyone else, alive or dead, like that.  If you are already a follower of Jesus, I hope this book can help you know Him more fully.  You’ve probably discovered this by now, but time spent with Jesus--even time reading familiar stories--is always time well spent.  But I am hoping this book will enable you to see aspects of His character you’ve never considered before.  If you so choose, this book can be read as a year-long daily devotional guide.  Within the twelve chapters are three hundred sixty-five readings, each containing a Scripture reference and a paragraph or two of commentary.  The readings are undated, so you can start any time of year.  As you read, pray for God to help you know Jesus better than you ever have before.  Keep a journal of any new insights you gain.  And consider passing the book along to a friend who needs to know Jesus, too…or even reading it along with them.

            I wrote this book with non-Christians in mind, as well.  In the movie Forrest Gump, Lieutenant Dan, having lost both legs in combat, has no use for a God who seems either unaware of his problems, or impotent to help.  He especially resents the pat answers and manipulative language of religion, with its promises that He can “walk with Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven.”  (Of course, Lieutenant Dan later makes peace with God…and he does walk again.)  Perhaps you’ve experienced the same frustration with religion.  Maybe your experience with Christians can be summed up by words like “Hateful,” “Self-righteous,” “Overly political,” “Homophobic,” “Anti-Science.”  The goal of this book isn’t to make you any of those things.  In fact, if you get to know Jesus, you’ll find that He wasn’t any of those things, either (But the people who conspired to kill Him were).  Could it be that the impressions you have of Jesus are based on false assumptions?  Wouldn’t you like to know what He was really like?

            Or perhaps looking for Jesus has never really occurred to you.  You’re not particularly religious, and you can’t think of any good reason to change that.  Somehow this book has landed in your hands (Maybe one of your pushy religious friends gave it to you).  Do me a favor: Read the first chapter, and see why I believe Jesus is the most important and influential person in human history, whether you believe the Church’s claims about Him or not.  Then consider the fact that this man-- a man so influential history is literally divided into everything that happened before Him, and everything that has happened since--this man didn’t claim to know truth, He said He WAS Truth.  He didn’t come to teach us new facts about God; He said He WAS God.  Either this was the most successful con artist ever…or the key to life as we know it.  Shouldn’t you make an informed decision about such a person, just in case?  Wouldn’t that be the most responsible thing to do?    

            One thing to note: I believe we can’t truly know Jesus without studying the Bible; In other words, I assume that the Jesus of Scripture is the Jesus of history.  (I realize that’s a counter-cultural assertion, so if you’re wondering why I assume this, read Appendix: Why the Bible is the most reliable source of information about Jesus). There have been many books written about Jesus over the years, all claiming to reveal the “true” story.  But I believe the true story of Jesus was completed 2000 years ago.  My book is simply an effort to help guide you through that story.  Please don’t skip the Scriptures I reference; take time to read them carefully.  

            So come along on a journey with me.  No matter who you are, I pray you’ll find Him.  I’m confident you will.  After all, He said it Himself:  Everyone who seeks, finds(Matthew 7:8).

Here are the chapter titles:

1. Who was He?  His impact on the world.

2. The expectation of a Messiah

3. His birth and early life

4. Jesus the Teacher--His parables

5. Unimaginable power--His miracles

6. A new way of life--The Sermon on the Mount

7. Jesus and the people--His relationships

8. His enemies

9. His death

10. His resurrection

11. The promise of His return

12. Who do you say that I am?

Sabbatical Diary: Ecclesia

Each Sunday during my sabbatical, I plan to visit growing churches.  I am, of course, eager to be fed spiritually, but I also want to see how they do things.  I'm taking notes on each one for my own sake, but recording them here in case anyone else is interested.

For my first visit, I chose Ecclesia, located in Houston's historic First Ward arts district, near downtown.  Ecclesia has long been known for effectively reaching the Millennial generation and people of all ages who come from non-Christian backgrounds.

As we drove up, men in orange vests helped us find a parking spot--always a nice touch for a newcomer.  The building itself looks like a warehouse from the outside; inside, the feel is converted warehouse/coffee shop/art gallery/small conference venue.  The "conference venue" is the worship area, with seating on three sides of the stage, and screens all around.  We got into the worship area a bit late (I encouraged my family to try the coffee bar, and the line was long), so we had to sit near the back of a packed room--not my usual seating preference.  The crowd was young and racially diverse, although white folks were in the vast majority. I would say the average age in the room was 25-28.  People were well-dressed but casual; it looked like a catalog for American Eagle or some other popular clothing brand.

The worship service went as follows:

• Opening song: an upbeat version of Amazing Grace.  
• Standard stand-and-greet time
• An infant baptism; it was much like our parental dedications, in which the parents pledge to raise their kids in the faith and the church promises to do all they can to help; except with a baptism, and anointing the baby's forehead with oil.  The leader encouraged us to write a note to the baby and his family, to encourage them; I thought that was a neat idea.
• Two more upbeat worship songs: My Lighthouse and All the Poor and Powerless
•  A slower worship song, with which I wasn't familiar.  The chorus was "I can't help myself."
• The offertory was introduced by a responsive reading, then baskets were passed as the band played another song.  The kids left at this point for Children's church.
• The sermon was entitled Generously Good, based on 2 Corinthians 8.  Founding pastor Chris Seay is in Rwanda, so the preacher was introduced simply as "Gideon."  The basic question of the sermon was "How is generosity a path to good news?"  Gideon talked about how most Christian generosity produces pride and a sense of entitlement in the giver (as in, "I've given so much, I deserve something good in return").  Whereas true biblical generosity comes from a motive of gratitude which leads to abundant joy.  It was a highly biblical sermon, very challenging and very effectively presented.  The graphic presentation on the screen was well-done and helped us assimilate the information in the message.  The sermon lasted about 40 minutes.  My only complaint was that I had a tough time hearing everything Gideon said. 
• Communion was introduced by a responsive reading of confession and a prayer to bless the elements.  Church members sign up for the opportunity to serve Communion; at the appointed time, they left their seats and walked to the front, where they stood in a cluster, holding pieces of bread or cups of juice or wine (both were available).  There were also gluten free breads at other places in the room.  The band played while we streamed forward to take a pinch of bread and dip it in the juice/wine.  People who wanted prayer could approach prayer leaders during this time; people who wanted to join the church could do so as well, by filling out a card and lighting a candle.  This all took around 10 minutes.
• The service closed with a benediction.  It was just short of 90 minutes long.

Worship at Ecclesia was an interesting mix of the new and the old.  The dress was stylish casual (Gideon wore a white T-shirt and denim jacket), the music was strictly contemporary (with a five-piece band, including a steel guitar, giving it more of an indie-folk feel than the Hillsong driving rock beat that is so popular in many churches) and very well-done, and the sermon was delivered in a conversational, authentic style with plenty of humor and self-deprecating testimonial...and content fitting for any truly evangelical church.  However, elements like Baptism, anointing with oil, Communion, responsive readings, and ending all prayers with "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit" were reminiscent of more liturgical churches.  I thought the mix worked.  

As I waited for my family to get their coffee, I was standing at the back of the worship area when I was approached by a young man named Andre.  He asked how long I had been attending Ecclesia.  He had been coming there for 6-7 weeks.  We had a nice, friendly conversation (it turns out we have a mutual friend).  After a minute or two, he excused himself to close the partition that separated the worship area from the coffee area. I found it remarkable that a guy who has been attending for less than two months has already found a volunteer role, and feels a responsibility to greet newcomers.

I was impressed by Ecclesia.  If I were looking for a church home, I would go back.  

Sabbatical Diary: Mission Trip

My sabbatical officially began when this mission trip ended, but the trip was the perfect lead-in to a time of personal refreshment.  Although it was physically exhausting, it was so spiritually uplifting, I feel ready for whatever God has in mind for me over these next five weeks.

The week got off to a rather rocky start; several members of our mission team experienced health issues on the first day.  A couple had to drop out, while others were able to soldier on.  I arrived on Monday, the 13th, in mid-afternoon, just in time to join the team for the evening VBS.  Our schedule was as follows:

8:00--Breakfast at Valley Baptist Mission Education Center
9:00--Depart for Edinburg (about 40 minutes away)
10:00-11:45--Lead Vacation Bible School for kids at community center in Edinburg
1:00--Lunch back at VBMEC
4:00--Pray and load up for trip to Donna (about 45 minutes away)
5:30-7:30--VBS at Iglesia Vino Nuevo in Donna
8:30--Supper back at VBMEC

Other members of our team had a completely different schedule; the construction crew had breakfast at 6:00 each morning, and ate lunch at the Donna mission (fed by the church members).  During the course of the week, they built a wheelchair ramp and several other important additions to the church building.  They would arrive back at VBMEC each day around the time we were leaving for Donna.  Tired as they were, some would shower, then join us in Donna for VBS.  While VBS was going on, Stephen and our youth were leading teenagers in sports clinics, with games like soccer, volleyball, and dodgeball.  At Donna, there were also craft classes for ladies.

The Church in Donna has only been around for a year and a half.  It was planted by New Wine Church in Harlingen in the middle of a Colonia.  The poverty near the church is like nothing we see in Houston; the spiritual poverty is equally as palpable.  Pastor Ivan, the administrator at a trucking company. and his wife Ruth lead the church.  On our last night there, we helped the church host a block party, with hot dogs, music and other entertainment, and a message from an evangelist.  Kids received free backpacks full of school supplies.

For me, the highlights were:

• Mornings at the VBMEC, where I would have my devotions in their small prayer garden, watching the sun come up.
• Finding out that our VBS at Donna, which was expected to draw 40 kids, actually drew 90-115 kids each night, and far more on Friday.
• Hearing that, of the ladies who participated in the craft classes, 35 had never been inside a church before.
• Personally praying with ten 10-11 year olds who accepted Christ as their Savior.  In addition, 12 adults received Christ as Savior at the block party.  That means at least 22 people began following Jesus that week.
• Betsy, one of the 11-year-olds in Edinburg, who asked me on my last day, "Could you give me a prayer I can use every day?"  I wrote down the Scripture reference for the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), and "...but you can tell God whatever is on your mind, any time!"
• Watching co-workers like Randy Mitchell, Hope McNeil, and Leanne Isenhower, who never seemed to stop moving.  Randy organized the entire trip, and Hope was in charge of VBS in both locations.  Everyone on this trip worked hard, but their efforts were inspiring to me.
• Seeing people from my church of different age groups get to know one another.  
• Getting to know people I didn't know well, like the Carillo family.  
• Laying down in my own bed on Saturday night (sorry, it's the truth)!

Relationships in the Real World: Taking Jesus to Work

The Berger boys; that's me on the right, holding my BB gun right-side-up.

I’ve shared this story before, but when I was a kid, my dad would sometimes leave my brother and I with jobs to do during the summertime.  One day, he told us to dig a trench at the end of the garden in our backyard.  The garden area sloped toward the house, and Dad didn’t want water from the garden trickling down to the house.  So Bill and I decided to start in the middle and dig in opposite directions.  This way, we wouldn’t kill each other.  My philosophy on this sort of task was very simple: The objective was to get finished as quickly as possible so that I could move on to the stuff I really wanted to do.  So there I was, digging as fast as I could.  My brother, on the other hand, was moving very slowly.  He was using two shovels, a big one to scoop out the dirt, and a flat-bladed one to make the sides of his trench nice and uniform.  He was being extremely precise, making sure the trench stayed perfectly straight.  I began to tease my brother.  “Don’t you see how much time you’re wasting?  It doesn’t have to look pretty, it just has to catch water.”  Soon, I was done, but my brother worked quite a while longer in the hot sun.  Meanwhile, I sat in the AC and laughed about how hard he was working.  When my dad got home, he saw an interesting-looking trench.  One side looked more like it was the result of random seismic activity than human effort.  The other side looked like it was designed by a civil engineer…and in fact, my brother is an architect today.  Then—and anyone who has ever had a little brother will understand how painful this was—he shocked me by praising my brother and reprimanding me for my sloppy work.  He said something to me that I’ve never forgotten: The work we do, even if we don’t think it’s important, tells the world what kind of person we are.  When I did a sloppy job on that task my dad had given me, I was telling him and the whole world, “I don’t care about this.  I just want to do the minimum required to be done.”  For years into my adulthood, that trench was still there, a silent reminder that I should do everything I do to the glory of God.

This Sunday, I close out our series, Relationships in the Real World. Being a Christian doesn’t just mean we go to church and pray and avoid certain vices.  It means we relate to people in a way that is distinct, that shows the world there is something different in us.  That applies to the way we relate to the opposite gender, to children, to people of other faiths, and to people of no faith at all.  But it also applies to our relationships at work.  Specifically, workers and bosses should have a distinctively Christian way of relating to one another.  What does it mean to take Jesus to work with us?  We'll look at Colossians 3:22-4:1, a passage originally addressed to slaves and their masters.  We'll first deal with the thorny question of whether the Bible affirms the institution of slavery (spoiler alert: It doesn't.  But I'll prove that Sunday).  Then we'll talk about what this passage says to workers and bosses about how a Christ-follower should behave while on the job.  See you Sunday.  

Christ and the Unbeliever

I’m in a series right now called Relationships in the Real World.  There should be a distinctively Christian way to treat people, and we’ve already talked about how God’s people should relate across the genders, how we should see children, and how we should treat people of other faiths.  But what about people of no faith at all?  As you surely know by now, that is the fastest-growing segment of our country today.  In the old days, every town had its village atheist, who the local pastor would doggedly pursue, like Ahab hunting his white whale.  But nearly everyone else was either a church member, or had an innate respect for religion.  Today is different.  An increasing number of our neighbors have no religious affiliation at all.  They fall into a number of categories.  Some grew up in religious homes, but have drifted away for a variety of reasons. They still believe intellectually, but simply don’t have any tie to organized religion.  Some have no faith background at all.  They come from a legacy of unbelief that is one or two generations old, or more.  Most aren’t hard-core atheists, but those who are have an exponentially louder voice in society today.  This means it’s very common to read articles or hear statements or see presentations on TV or the movies which question, ridicule, or even reject the core tenets of our faith.  Many others may not be actively hostile to Christianity; they just never give it a thought. 

 These people are our co-workers, our neighbors, our friends and our relatives.  They are people for whom Christ died, precious children of our Father, whose heart weeps for them, whose Holy Spirit pursues them tirelessly.  And if our Scripture is true, none of them will experience life as it was meant to be lived, and all of them will spend eternity apart from God, unless someone introduces them to Jesus.  And that won’t happen without us doing something.  They won’t come to our worship services--unless one of you invites them.  They won’t watch a religious TV program (except to make fun of it) or randomly start reading a Bible.  The Jesus they see in you and me is the only Jesus they will ever meet or hear about.  I want you to think about one of these people.  Say their name in your mind; picture their face.  What are we supposed to do?  Colossians 4:5-6 tells us.  This is Paul’s final instruction to the church at Colossae; after this, the letter is made up of personal greetings to his friends there.  And Paul was writing from prison, so he was measuring his words carefully, not knowing if he would ever have a chance to say these things in person.  What would Paul say to us about relating to unbelievers? 

Thoughts on the Supreme Court decision on same sex marriagee

I am writing these thoughts the day after the Supreme Court ruled that states are no longer allowed to ban same sex marriage.  Although I am assuming mostly Christians--mostly members of my church, in fact--are reading this, I am sure that many of you--Christian or non-Christian--will disagree with at least some of what I say here.  I admit these are my thoughts alone; simply my way of trying to make sense of current events (and how we as Christians should respond) in light of my interpretation of God's Word.  I welcome your comments.

So with that disclaimer, I offer the three things that are most on my mind today:

First, I rejoice at what hasn't changed:   God's love hasn't changed.  He still loves every person, all of whom are made in His image, Christian and non-Christian, gay or straight, black, white, brown, red or yellow, with a love so profound He was willing to die for them...for us.  The power of Christ's blood hasn't changed.  His sacrifice on the Cross was completely and totally victorious.  He is still able to save anyone, gay or straight, who calls out to Him as a repentant sinner in need of redemption. God's commands regarding sex haven't changed.  He created sex to be a beautiful thing, which binds a man and a woman together so deeply, it presents a picture of God's love for His Church, and creates families, the building block of human society (which He made before either Church or State--Genesis 2).  Like most beautiful things, it can be misused.  Any use of sex outside of God's explicitly stated plan--whether it's a married man having a one-night stand, two teenagers in the back seat of his dad's Chrysler, or two people of the same gender--is using sex in a way God never intended.  It may produce short-term pleasure, but it produces long-term damage, physically, emotionally, relationally, and most of all, spiritually, as it pulls us further away from the God who loves us.  And the truth of God's Word hasn't changed.  For decades now, we've lived in a culture which wholeheartedly believes that sexual expression and fulfillment--however one defines it--is an inalienable right.  The logic of that thinking, if we follow it to its obvious conclusion, is horrific.  But it doesn't change the truth of God's Word.  God gave us His commands not to be restrictive, nor to create a standard for showing who is "good" and who is "bad,"  nor to give us a way to earn God's love, which cannot be earned.  His commands are intended to show us a way of living that, no matter what the world says, produces joy, hope, and peace.  His commands come from His loving desire to see us live fulfilling lives.

Second, I shudder at the anger and fear I see and hear from my fellow Christians in public and on social media.  Christians in America have been largely motivated by anger and fear in our response to the larger culture for my entire life, and frankly, I think that's a significant reason why our culture is where it is today (I'll back that statement up in a moment).  Jesus' brother James said, My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness (James 1:19-20).  You may be thinking, "But I am angry with a righteous indignation, like Jesus and the prophets."  When Jesus got angry, it was at religious leaders, whose judgmental attitudes were driving hungry sinners away from a loving God.  When the prophets got angry, it was at Israel, God's own people, for turning away from the God who had saved them and made them a nation. I can't think of one time when God or His messengers were angry at unbelievers for thinking and acting like unbelievers.

"But I love my country, and I'm afraid we'll experience the judgment of God for turning away from His commands."  In Scripture, we see God judge Israel for breaking the Covenant He established with them when He made them a nation.  We see God judge other nations (Egypt, Edom, Assyria, etc) for mistreating Israel.  But we are now under a New Covenant (Jeremiah 31).  God relates to us as individuals now, not as nations.  Besides, God never made a covenant with America; only with Old Testament Israel.  I think our situation is similar to the Jews who were deported to Babylon.  They found themselves as part of a culture they didn't understand, which mocked their beliefs and flouted their moral convictions.  Yet God's instructions to them were not to be angry and afraid, but to Seek the welfare of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it has prosperity, you will prosper Jer. 29:7).  In other words, love the people you live among now.  Be the best Babylonians there are.  But never forget that your true home is Jerusalem.  We are angry because we feel like America has been taken from us, as we see the cultural influence of Christianity drop precipitously over the past few decades.  In truth, America was never ours in the first place.  We are aliens here, even if for a time we held a substantial influence over our culture.  Our Babylon may be the best Babylon on Earth, but it's still Babylon.  Our true home is the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21).

Our anger doesn't even make sense.  What would have happened if the Supreme Court had ruled otherwise?  It wouldn't have changed the fact that millions of Americans disagree with biblical commands about sex. It wouldn't have changed the fact that an increasing number of Americans want nothing to do with Christianity.  Let's remember: Our primary mission is not to create laws that force people to behave like Christians.  Our job isn't to try to control people's behavior.  Our purpose is to represent Christ so compellingly, people of all stripes will be drawn to Him and experience eternal and abundant life. Let's face facts: Unless something extremely unforeseen happens, we will never again live in an America in which the cultural consensus agrees with us on sexuality.  The Supreme Court decision didn't change that fact.  Now that it's happened, rather than be angry or afraid, let's be hopeful: Hopeful that the American Church will finally renounce the idol she has made of politics and public rhetoric, and will return to serving our true God (not that we'll abandon politics and public rhetoric, but that we'll keep them in their proper place in our hearts).  Let's be hopeful that American Christians are finally through fighting against gay people and will start loving them as Jesus does.

Speaking of which, when the modern epidemic of AIDS hit thirty years ago, we didn’t respond like the ancient Christians did (sociologist Rodney Stark has written that ancient Christians stood out by aiding victims of epidemics, even pagan victims, even when their own families had left them to die.  Stark says this is one factor that explains how ancient Christianity outlasted the Roman Empire and its religion).  Most of us were just as afraid as everyone else was.  And a few of us said hateful things about those who were dying, as if their sins were worse than ours, as if they deserved to die--forgetting that if God held us accountable for our sins, we’d all be dead immediately.  They didn't speak for most of us, but none of us publicly rebuked their hateful speech, either.  We were too busy thinking to ourselves "I'm glad this is just a 'gay' disease." That's what I meant earlier when I said that our anger and fear are responsible in large part for the society in which we currently live.  If they had seen courageous compassion from us back then (like the world saw from Christians in the first three centuries), things would likely be very different in our culture today.  We blew a huge opportunity then.  Let's not blow another one now.

Finally, more than ever before, I am motivated to pray.  I pray for my fellow Christians, that we would renounce our fear and anger, and let our confusion push us closer to God.  I pray that we would turn away from things that feed our fear and anger--political talk shows on radio and TV, alarmist social media posts and emails that we're tempted to read and forward and "like."  I pray that, instead, we would study the life-giving truth of God's Word, and pray for our own hearts to be more like His.  I pray that I would take advantage of every opportunity in these crucial days, when people are watching--more than ever before--to see how we respond, and that I would show the world a love and compassion and courage that can only come from a gracious, righteous God in me.  I pray that the American Church would experience, at long last, the revival we've been needing.  I pray for Christians who themselves struggle with same-sex attraction.  They receive no support from the larger culture, which tells them their celibacy in obedience to God is stupidity; yet they often feel they cannot share their struggle with their churches.  These are some of the most courageous people I know. I pray for gay people in this country, many of whom see us as their bitter enemy (because that's how we've treated them), that somehow they might come to know God's saving love in spite of their feelings toward us (it happened with Saul of Tarsus, after all).  I'm praying for God's Kingdom to come, His will to be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

These days, there is often a concern to be "on the right side of history."  No matter what our political and judicial leaders say, no matter what media opinion-makers broadcast and publish, no matter how badly we Christians manage to mess up, this simple fact remains: Ultimately, whoever is on the side of Jesus is on the right side of history.  Hallelujah.  

Jesus and Other Faiths

I found this picture on the internet; so that means there are at least two gas station Halal taco joints in Houston.

Not long ago, I took a different route to the church than usual, and I passed a gas station that had a hand-written sign out front, saying, “Halal Tacos.”  I thought, “Only in Houston can you get Mexican food made in accordance with Muslim dietary restrictions, advertised in English at a gas station.”  We live in what is now the most racially diverse major city in America.  Some of you live in Ft Bend County, the most racially diverse county in the US.  As Christians, that means the mission field is here now.  If you grew up in our part of Houston, you’ve probably known Jewish people your whole life.  But many of our older members grew up in a society where the only time we saw Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists was in National Geographic or on the slideshows that missionaries on furlough would show in our churches.  Now, most of us have at least one neighbor who is of one of those faiths, or something even further from our understanding, like Wicca or Scientology.  Our kids, by contrast, think there's nothing remarkable at all about this religious diversity; their school classrooms looks like mini-United Nations assemblies.  And of course, we’ve all been visited at our homes by Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses.  

Many Christians feel threatened by this.  Some look at passages in the Old Testament that seem to indicate that other religions are threats that should be actively resisted and wonder if that should be our attitude today.  Based on what I see from Christians on social media, this seems to be the way many feel we should respond: With hostility, challenging an enemy.

Others think that talking about our faith, in such a religiously divided society, is a bad idea.  It’s better, they think, to keep our faith private instead of offending someone.  Some even believe, “We’re all worshiping the same God anyway, so let’s not worry about it.”  

What does Scripture tell us?  This Sunday, we'll look at how Jesus and His apostles, plus the Old Testament prophets, interacted with other religious faiths, and what that teaches us today.  

It's our annual International Day at WBC.  It's our chance to come together with the five ethnic mission churches we sponsor: Iranian, Spanish-speaking, Filipino, Cambodian and Korean.  We'll have fellowship around breakfast at 9:30, and worship at 11:00.  This is a unique experience, and one of my favorite services of the year.  Don't miss it!