September 27, 2024

The Church has become like “an echo asking a shadow” to act.

The church today seems to be impoverished spiritually, starved emotionally, and incapacitated morally. It is hard to imagine a country, such as the United States of America, with its unique spiritual foundation, capitulating in such a short period of time to almost a complete eradication of its spiritual formation. Some call this progressivism leading to utopianism. However, it is a replay of the Tower of Babel and man’s desire to overthrow God. It is a restating of Romans 1:18-32. It is the retelling of the storyline of mankind and we are watching its latest and perhaps last chapter unfold. We must be reminded of the words of Francis Schaeffer: “The tragedy of our situation today is that men and women are being fundamentally affected by ideas which they do not even know about and cannot define.” I fear I see a dereliction of duty by the church and by its leadership. “For the shepherds have become stupid and have not sought the Lord.” Jeremiah 10:21 However, it is never too late to start doing what is right. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred

September 20, 2024

The Sublime Balance

There is no question that our sacred culture is becoming secularized. The deconstruction of the Christian faith and its diminishing impact on the culture is clear to all. In light of this all too obvious fact, I find myself thinking more deeply and hopefully more insightfully about how to be in the world but not of it. How do I speak the truth in love? How do I be angry and do not sin? How do I demonstrate love to those who repulse me? These are biblical questions that I find more difficult to parse in an imploding culture. I realize that I need to develop a more spiritual focus that results in mental toughness which produces determination, fortitude, endurance, resilience, and biblical love in my life. One of the ways to accomplish this is to demand the time to think and develop the habit of thought. Henry Nouwen, in his book, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, reminds me: “When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.” That is the sublime balance indeed! Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred

September 13, 2024

“In a world of competing ideologies, Christianity offers not just answers, but a relationship with the one who is the answer to every question.” -Nabeel Qureshi-

The socialistic impulse under the guise of bringing in a utopian world by “helping” people has always led to dictators and disasters. America has resisted this impulse over the years, holding to a Republic. However, much of this has changed and will continue to change. But mark it well, what has not changed is the marching orders for the Church. The Great Commission has not been rescinded. Paul reminds us that his ambition and ours is “to present every person complete in Christ.” (Col.1:28) We do this as we manifest a faithful presence in and to the world. It is proper to mourn what many sense is the slow death of a Republic. But our real focus must be on reaching the spiritually dead with the life-giving power of the gospel of Jesus. As Francis Schaeffer reminds us: “Truth carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation; loving confrontation, but confrontation nevertheless.”  We the church are being called to make our stand. The circumstances we face are indeed new. However, our God and His righteous resources are not.   Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred

September 6, 2024

The Grand Departure - The New Beginning

In a few hours, I will attend a memorial service for a dear friend. He has departed and is with the Lord. If ever the label “a good man” was true, Mike was it. I had the privilege of serving under and learning from Mike about how to be a pastor. He taught me the pragmatics of how to do weddings and funerals. He demonstrated how to work with leaders. He showed me how to love people, even when they were prickly. But more importantly, Mike taught me how to be a father and a husband. He taught me how to be positive and laugh. He taught me never to give up. Mike has died, but more accurately he has departed this life for a new beginning. He has been released from “the long slow goodbye “ and has been given an abundant entrance into the eternal kingdom of God. The dash on the tombstone is the great equalizer. Death is one for one. But as we know, Jesus defeated death and conferred eternal life to all those who believe in Him for it. It is good to go to the house of mourning for it gives us the opportunity to reflect on things that are eternal. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred