The Conservative Pastor And Misplaced Priorities

At this season of my life and ministry, where the inevitable but natural end of my calling is nearer than the beginning, I have begun casting my eyes across the religious landscape and trying to formulate what the future holds for my grandchildren and their children. I am not encouraged by what I see. I detest cynicism. Nevertheless, what I see unfolding before me has little to do with a religious system that is conforming to a changing world culture in order to expedite the propagation of the gospel, but rather a truly worldly church that is all too willing to mirror societal modes of behavior and entertainment, while, at the same time, having a pastor who is either blatantly denying basic tenets of the Word of God or else refusing to proclaim those tenets for fear of a carnal congregation's reprisal. The great man of God and scientist, Dr Henry Morris, once told me that the way to discover if a conservative pastor is compromising the faith is rather easy. He said, "Attend his church any given Sunday and you will agree with every thing he says. However, if you attend his church every Sunday for a year, it isn't what he has preached that's wrong, it's  what he's failed to preach that's wrong."

I am not too concerned with the avowed liberal pastor. He wears his intellectual skepticism openly as a badge of honor. My inward angst is for the Bible-pounding conservative pastor who regularly flaunts his belief that the Bible is indeed the Word of God in front of an agreeable congregation who will reward his "bold stand for truth" with loud amens, roaring laughter as he excoriates social sins or sometimes applause. That breaks my heart, and I think also the heart of God. Without question a faithful pastor should denounce sin in the strongest and plainest terms but always with a broken heart for the sinner because Jesus died for him at Calvary. To use that poor sinner's plight to gain points with a complicit congregation is to diminish the depth of God's love for fifteen minutes of grandstanding. 

Reaching people for Christ is a command for all of us....including the pastor. Here are some honest questions a congregant has every right to ponder concerning his pastor. Does your pastor regularly one-on-one go into homes of unsaved people and attempt to lead them to Christ? Does your pastor regularly visit the fatherless and widows? Does your pastor regularly visit nursing homes? Does your pastor regularly visit jails and prisons? All of these are basic to pastors following the model that Jesus established for genuine ministry in His name. If your pastor is doing these things, you would know it by comments from people both inside the church and outside the church who have been blessed by his daily ministry to them. If your pastor is not involved in these commands of ministry by Jesus, you have a pastor who leads by the faulty admonition to "do as I say not do as I do." Think of that the next time you are distressed about the condition of the world. Who is visiting them bearing the good news of God's love? If not your pastor, who?

I love pastors, but I'm concerned about the future. No politician can provide the solution for our national woes. Our only hope is with pastors who not only preach boldly in the pulpit but also lead throughout the week into the highways and byways compelling the unsaved to come in and find the answer to all life's problems in Christ. Let's be honest....really honest. The pastor who makes visitation into homes, hospitals and jails a priority is a dinosaur. The modern pastor can give you plenty of reasons he doesn't have time to do it. In fact, he is so adept at giving reasons, you will probably give him a pass because, after all, he's such a good preacher. Those reasons will stand up in the court of public opinion but will miserably fail in the court of heaven. 

Pastors, Jesus loved us, all of us, enough to die for us. His mandate to us is to take the gospel to all the world, not for the world to come to us. Other than your pulpit on Sunday or your radio/TV broadcasts, are you doing it? After all, you lead better by example than by exhortation.

Time To Pray.....Whether We Like It Or Not

1 Timothy 2:1-2 says,   1First of all, then, I urge that entreaties andprayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."

There are very few things with which I agree with President Obama. In my opinion, his views are harmful to our nation in terms of military preparedness, the social culture, the economy and the general defense of the nation. However, having said that, the verse just quoted is a command that I am to pray for him and all others in authority over me. By the use of the word "kings" it is clear that Paul has in mind governmental leaders and not just leaders in the church. What does this mean? It is clear to me that I have no right to complain or criticize the president or other political individuals who agree with him in Congress unless I pray regularly for him and for them. So, I have begun praying that our Lord will protect the president and his wife and daughters, and shield them from all harm. However, on the other hand, I also pray according to Proverbs 21:1 that God will direct the president and all individuals in Congress regardless of political party affiliation.  That verse says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, asthe rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." In other words, I ask the Lord to intervene and change the president's mind if he is making a flawed decision but to affirm him if he is making a wise decision. 

Likewise, those of you who identify yourselves as Christians and hold political views that are in agreement with the president are under the same command to pray for those political figures who oppose him and with whom you strongly disagree. Before you can fairly make critical statements of criticism or condemnation of the president's opponents, you must ask yourself this question....."have I prayed for them?"

I have made my position very clear on this blog and other places of communication such as lecterns and pulpits how strongly I believe in freedom of speech as well as freedom of expression. As Americans, we should feel free to make statements of our opinions, regardless how offensive or obnoxious they may be to others. However, those of us who are believers march through life under the orders of the King of kings who requires that we obey His commandments, and one of those commands is that we pray for "kings and all who have authority," and ALL includes prayers for both sides of the aisle, be they Democrats or be they Republicans

As a believer, you need to truly put into practice what you say with your lips. The hope of America lies not in political parties, lobbying groups, presidents, senators, representatives or jurists. Since only God has the power to bring a fresh revival or a final ruin upon our country, don't you think it's time to obey His direct command and pray for our national leaders......whether we like it or not?

I'm Starting A Church....But Not With Sin Of Jeroboam

Jeroboam was one of two rulers over a divided Israel. Upon Solomon's death, he took eleven tribes to the north while Rehoboam took one tribe, Judah, to stay with the holy places of worship, including Jerusalem. When the time of the year came for worship, Jeroboam realized he had a problem. If he let his people go to Jerusalem as was their custom, Rehoboam might turn their loyalties from him. So, Jeroboam devised a plan. He would designate places of worship in the north but allow for pagan worship. Why did he allow pagan worship? He did it because much of it as evidenced in baalism centered around sexual perversions. Men would attach themselves to temple prostitutes and women would do the same in this despicable act of false worship. Jeroboam reasoned that by introducing these vile deeds, he  knew he could draw the crowds to these alternative worship sites in the north; and, after all, once the people were there, they could worship Jehovah. So, why was this endeavor by Jeroboam so hated by God and called an abomination thereafter in the Bible? Simply, God abhorred it because it was using worldly methods to get people to come to worship Him.

Let's be honest.....really honest. Much of what is being done in modern churches is nothing more than the sin of Jeroboam all over again in a modern setting. We are now subjected to a strange philosophy of turning the church worship services into a mishmash of whatever is hottest in the world. God said we are to be peculiar people but we don't want the world to see us as peculiar,  so we disregard God's direct command that we are not to be friends with the world and then build our church services to show that we can actually be worldly friendly. We change the music to be more like the world. I will address that in a moment. We dress like the world, preach like the world and apologize to the world if we accidentally say something that offends. We allow members to live virtually the way they please just as long as they are present on Sunday and put a nickel in the offering. All of the just-mentioned things sound a lot like the sin of Jeroboam.

I'm seriously considering the starting of a church, but some of the things I will install as foundational principles will probably cause you to wince if you do not actually believe I've taken leave of my senses altogether. Here are some of them:

(1) ALL MUSIC, EXCEPT FOR ISOLATED CASES, WILL BE CONGREGATIONAL. We will have at most three congregational hymns in order for everyone to sing praises to God as a body. We will have instrumental accompaniment. This keeps the worship service from turning into a spectator experience.

(2) ALL SONGS OR HYMNS MUST BE DEEPLY DOCTRINAL. Even Christian songs that are light on things of the Word of God will be excluded. The style of music  (traditional, contemporary, etc) will not be the deciding consideration for whether a song is used.  Everything done at this church will be to take the individual deeper with our Lord. I do not believe a genuine worship service should turn into an emotion-satisfying concert. Concerts are wonderful, but I am convinced they are for another night in the week. On Sunday, we are gathered for worship centered around the meat of the Word of God in song and sermon.....not sugary, easily digestible substitutes in either the songs or the sermon.

(3) TIME FOR PRAYER WILL BE A MAJOR PART OF ALL SERVICES. Jesus said that his house would be called a house of prayer. Ask yourself. How many minutes does the church you attend spend in prayer at a service? This will be different. People who attend these services with written prayer needs will have them bathed in prayer in detail regardless of the time required.

(4) ALL SERMONS WILL BE PREACHED WITH A CENTRAL GOAL OF SAYING EXACTLY WHAT GOD WANTS SAID AND SAYING IT THE WAY HE WANTS IT SAID. The unspoken secret in the American church is how many preachers plagiarize the messages God has given others. Church members have a right to expect of me and anyone who preaches for me that the messages we deliver are warm bread from the oven of God, and if we share an experience from a book or another preacher, we give credit....that's transparency. 

(5)MEMBERS WILL BE EXPECTED TO BE PRESENT AT ALL SERVICES UNLESS PROVIDENTIALLY HINDERED. The modern church has many members whose addresses are unknown and no longer attend. Yet, because of this, the church reports larger memberships than are practically true. At this new church, each year members who have not attended a single service without an understandable reason during the previous twelve months will be removed from membership. 

(6) INDIVIDUALS WHO SEEK MEMBERSHIP WILL BE TOLD THREE THINGS:

     (A) No negative words can be said about another member. Every statement must be measured by three questions:

          Is it true?

          Is it kind?                                                 

          Is it necessary?

     (B) Each member is expected to tithe.

     (C) Each member is expected to share his personal testimony each week with either another Christian or a lost person.

     (D) Each member understands that living the presence of Christ in his behavior during the week is an expectation. 

You may think this is such a radical departure from your experiences with churches. I believe I can support each point biblically. Nonetheless, I have spent a huge amount of time praying for God's wisdom for what He wants in this church and I'm convinced these are His answers.

The great man of God, Dr Peter Lord, says we proclaim that Jesus is Lord of the church but do we ever bathe in prayer the things we do? On an occasion, he asked me why my church had a choir or praise groups. I responded that when the church was formed, the founding members started a choir because the churches they came from had choirs. He answered that, in other words, it's a lot like Israel wanting a king....everyone else has a king so we should, too. Then, Dr Lord said, "Did anyone ever ask God if He wanted a choir or praise group at your church?" My honest answer was no one had...not even me. We take youth trips, have conferences, do musicals, etc....but is the church ever called to prayer and fasting to see if that's what God wants? 

Let's be honest.....really honest....we need a spiritual awakening in America but I know of no church of any significant size spending any time at all in real fasting and prayer about what they do in any of their organizations or projects. They just assume God's in them. If I follow God's leadership, which I must do because of my pledge of loyalty to Him, the modern threefold measurements of church success (more budget, more buildings, more baptisms) will not be an issue at all. What will be the measuring rod will be that absolutely nothing, large or little, will be done without His prior consent, regardless of what other churches on the other side of town or the nation are doing. I will say with Paul, "To him (Jesus) be glory in the church forever!"

In summary, I refuse the sin of Jeroboam. If the truth cannot draw individuals by lifting up Jesus, we don't need those individuals anyway. Besides, the frank truth of it all is that it is recognizably obvious to worldly individuals when the church tries to out-world the world....and they want none of it when their lives start falling apart. 

Ok....If Nobody Else Steps Up....I Volunteer

In John 16:1-4 are found these sobering words of Jesus to his followers:

   1“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. 2“They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. 3“These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. 4“But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you."

These are perilous times during which there is a global attack on Christianity. The satanic ISIS is leaving a trail of gore and blood across the Mideast with particular cruelty to those of Christian faith who are savagely beaten, raped, beheaded, burned alive, crucified and martyred in a multitude of other ways even more despicable than the human mind can conceive. These vile acts are done in a maniac passion for the false god called Allah. Other countries dominated by atheism continue their efforts to terrorize church congregations who are forced in many places to worship in secret to survive. Stories of their persecution are horrible to hear.

All of this murder and mayhem of our brothers and sisters in Christ world wide deserve our most earnest prayerful attention. They are paying the ultimate price for their faith. These accounts of such suffering are hard for those of us in America to understand. After all, we have our conflicts to suffer, too....like the arguments over traditional or contemporary worship, whether to have Kool-Aid and cookies or milk shake and Big Macs at Vacation Bible School and whether or not we should take Bibles on our mission cruise to the Caribbean this year.

But......I think we are beginning to get it.

Notice that Jesus said those of the synagogue will try to kill his followers. In other words, religious people will become the enemies of those who love Christ.....those of "politically correct" religion. Can you imagine the shock of these words as they fell on the ears of our Lord's followers, most of whom were Jewish? Jesus gave the real reason for the coming persecution. He said that these religious people of the synagogue would try to destroy them "because they had not known the Father nor me." He was actually saying that a person can know a lot ABOUT God but never really know God.  So, I disagree  with a common refrain heard so often today that the church in America is under siege. For the most part, the church in America is not under siege. Listen to the liturgies, participate in the rituals, sing the songs and listen to the sermons of the average church. There is no urgency, no desperation. The attack by politically correct social engineers is against those who are not just religious but really have a heart to know God. Jesus said his followers would be killed by the religious people of the synagogue in order to silence their witness. Similarly, those of us who strive to know Him in all of his glory are now targets of having our witness banished (killed) from the marketplace of ideas. We are now, as people of biblical conviction, being branded as hate-mongers and bigots if we dare voice a deep personal belief founded in faith.We are being admonished that if we are indeed "real" Christians that we should love the choices and behaviors of everyone. As wonderful as the love of God is, and it is indeed wonderful, love is not His primary attribute. They do not chant, "love, love, love" around the throne of God. Rather, they chant, "Holy Holy, Holy!" (Rev 4:8).  Holiness, which has to do with our behavior, should also be the hallmark of the believer. Look at this piercing warning from Hebrews 12:14, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." There it is!  Do you see this clear biblical command? There is nothing said here about loving every person, although I think we should, but it clearly says we are to have behaviors that are holy or we shall not see the Lord!

If you determine to know Jesus, really know Him, get ready to be misunderstood, persecuted and in whatever ways available, silenced; but why should you be surprised? In the opening verse of this article, our Lord advised us to remember that He warned us. Also, we are reminded by Him in John 15:18 that when we are hated by the world that the world hated him first.  He also said in Matthew 10:22 that we who love Him are destined to be hated for His name's sake. So, you have a choice. You can settle down and have a mild-mannered religious experience in a church with no zeal while listening to a sermon exhorting tolerance and cooperation with a world that by Jesus' own words hates Him, or you can choose to be maligned, scorned and ignored.

Here is my decision.

I have decided that I will accept any invitation to debate anyone who advocates a cultural or behavioral view that is in opposition  to the historic orthodox Christian position. I will affirm the validity of the orthodox Christian position and support my statements with biblical, philosophical, sociological and historical evidences. I am offering myself for such discussions before small groups, large groups, television, radio or newspaper. Only scheduling, health or other providential considerations will prevent my acceptance. 

Why am I suggesting such? Anyone can say anything from behind a pulpit, university lectern, media microphone or blog. Those are monologues with no chance for rebuttal. I believe it's time for a defense of the faith. I would rather someone more qualified than I should do it, but until that person steps forward, I volunteer.....

Is There A Champion?

Because Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary has students and alumni in over eighty denominations, I feel that I am in a unique position  to direct my remarks primarily toward these and other denominational groups as well, but also include those people  who lead and attend non-denominational churches. Additionally,  my remarks are directed at the leadership of larger churches.  From a recent flurry of cultural and political events, it is evident to even the most casual observer that our nation is spiraling out of control. By now, you may have read a myriad number of comments presenting every facet of the controversies or else you've been inundated by the views of television pundits. Perhaps my opinions that I shall present are some you have not considered and, of course, with which you will not agree. I'll take that chance. 

WE MUST RECOGNIZE THERE IS A HUGE DISCONNECT BETWEEN DENOMINATIONAL LEADERS AND GRASS ROOTS MEMBERS. Consider annual organizational meetings and highly visible conferences. Almost without exception, only very high-profile religious celebrities or pastors of large churches are listed as program personalities. It is exceedingly rare to see a pastor of a small church,  a missionary or an evangelist scheduled to speak. The religious world has adopted a Madison Avenue definition of success. Only the higher echelons of leadership in the denominational hierarchy and mega church pastors are showcased because they have been obviously successful. By that definition, the prophet Jeremiah would never be introduced as a featured speaker because, after all, he was a miserable failure......he preached forty-three years, had one convert, and that rascal backslid. Some of the most community-changing and culture-challenging pastors are nameless pastors of small, obscure churches who tirelessly minister to the needs of their entire community as well as their church families. Since I am a former mega church pastor, I can say with truthful conviction that many, yes many, mega church pastors scarcely attend to the needs of their flock much less their community by using the lame excuse that their congregation is too large for personal ministry by them. I never used that excuse, and I knew my members well. I know only a few other mega church pastors about whom that is true. The average mega church pastor is too busy getting ready to preach at an out-of state Bible Conference, go on another cruise or lead another Holy Land tour, but somehow doesn't have time for his beleaguered sheep. By comparison, I saw an article in the New England Journal of Medicine that the average family doctor works 50-60 hours per week, makes or takes 24 telephone calls per day, reads 17 emails each day, reviews 20 lab tests each day, examines 11 imaging reports each day, reads 14 consultation notes each day, processes 12 prescription refills each day, and sees 25 patients each day. Simply preaching a couple of sermons per week, even with adequate preparation time, does not begin to keep pace with the example of the family doctor. Why am I saying this? We are increasingly seeing the entire scope of evangelicalism move to a celebrity subculture that is led by the "stars" of the denomination and mega churches who preach at national conferences a message that church members should be led to challenge the culture but do not themselves return home to lead their own people on a personal level to attack the culture. All of this celebrity adoration of the "stars" and the disregard for the grassroots is having an horrendous trickle down effect that is destroying the influence of evangelicalism in the political and social world. The troops of the evangelical world are the "lesser knowns" and the "nobodies" but they are always the ones whom we must have in unity and passion if we are to win in this culture battle; yet, they are tired, disillusioned and increasingly apathetic because of the steady drift from the once powerful evangelical river that influenced politics and society that has now become a powerless swamp of polluted uselessness that is rife with gifted orators who are lazy leaders as defined by biblical examples and injunctions of true leadership. In summary, the enemies of the faith in America have nothing to fear from the once great denominations or mega churches because we are an army without committed generals who should have a "whatever it takes" attitude. Our enemies full well fear the power of the grassroots but laugh mockingly at our lack of impassioned and sacrificial leadership. Please note that every time Israel was faced with a crisis, God always used a man. Denominational committees, well-meaning petitions, proclamations, resolutions and more meetings will not suffice in this current state of affairs. We need God to raise up a man who fears no other man, a man with a sacrificial heart and a resolute devotion to the cause of national revival and righteousness. To paraphrase Israel of old, is there one among us to champion our cause, one who would rather go than give up, fight than flee, strengthen the sheep than abandon the flock, be found on the battleship instead of a cruise ship, and do everything within his being at whatever personal cost or sacrifice to stand for God by the power of the Holy Spirit and lead the American church into victory over the evil tide that is rising? Is there a champion?  As of old, I pray that God is this moment anointing one.

Thoughts About The Supreme Court Ruling On Same-sex Marriage

     The Supreme Court has made its decision in same-sex marriage. I hear shouts of anger and cries of near panic emanating from all over the Christian community. I feel I must make some observations and give the readers of this article some points to ponder. 

     FIRST, A VAST NUMBER OF THE ELIGIBLE VOTERS IN THE EVANGELICAL COMMUNITY DECIDED NOT TO VOTE IN NATIONAL ELECTIONS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. How can any among this group have the audacity to protest the Supreme Court's ruling when you failed to vote? There is a tyranny of silence that is pervading the conservative American electorate. As often said, elections have consequences. I am convinced today's ruling would have been different if those who identify themselves as evangelicals had simply voted. 

     SECOND, AMONG EVANGELICALS WHO VOTED BUT DID SO ALONG PARTY LINES INSTEAD OF BIBLE LINES, YOU MUST BEAR AS MUCH RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS RULING AS THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES. We cannot compartmentalize our faith and be one thing in church on Sunday but another thing in the voting booth on Election Day. Inconsistent compromising believers are guilty of the decisions made by those for whom they vote. 

     THIRD, NO POLITICAL PARTY, NO PRESIDENT, NO CONGRESS AND NO SUPREME COURT CAN SUSTAIN AMERICA. Only a national revival can insure our nation's future. The great evangelist, Dwight L Moody, once said that he voted in Cook County but was a citizen of heaven. If there was ever a time for the church to turn to fervent prayer, it is today.

     FOURTH, I AM CONVINCED THAT SOCIAL ACTIVISTS WILL TAKE THIS RULING TO DO DEVASTATING HARM TO CHURCHES, CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS AND FAITH-BASED GROUPS IN AN EFFORT TO SHUT THEM DOWN. Pastors and priests will be confronted by activist gays demanding marriage rites be performed or their subsequent complaint to federal authorities. 

     FIFTH, THIS WILL ULTIMATELY BE A GOOD THING FOR THE CHURCH AS THOSE WHO ARE FEEBLE IN FAITH FALL AWAY. We will see already strong believers become stronger and bolder. For those believers who belong to the cult of the comfortable and convenient, there will be an exodus of unprecedented numbers from theologically conservative churches. Those who remain strong in the faith, will find a renewed joy in serving God in an increasingly antagonistic culture. Just remember what the inimitable Ethel Waters of the Billy Graham team once said during some troublous times, "Child, there ain't no panic in heaven!"

Miracles.....and J D Sumner

     I have been often asked if I have seen certifiable miracles in my ministry. There is no question in my mind that I have witnessed the miraculous intervention of God in such supernatural manifestations of His power that I could only come to the conclusion that I had been blessed as a witness to occurrences that can only be defined as miracles. Ordinarily, we have tendencies to associate miracles to medically unexplainable recoveries from terminal illnesses or injuries. However, our Lord moves among us with His "still small  voice" more often than with thunderous proclamations, and His equally miraculous acts may be so camouflaged as coincidences that they are simply overlooked by us. Someone has said that coincidences are God's miracles when He wants to stay anonymous.

     The greatest miracles I have been blessed to see on a regular basis take place during altar calls when people move down the aisles burdened with sin but leave the service delivered and free; they are facing eternal death when they awaken in the morning before their decision for Christ but go to sleep that night resting peacefully with eternal life as their pillow; they do indeed become new creatures in Christ.

     I love talking to people about Jesus, especially those who do not know Him. I certainly am embarrassed that during my ministry I have not led more to a saving knowledge of Him. Nevertheless, I can say with neither apology not boast, that the primary goal of all I do is to lead souls to Christ and my second goal is to enrich the lives of those already saved with a deeper study of Scriptures. 

     The great Methodist evangelist, Samuel Porter Jones, is my pulpit hero and I have patterned much of my evangelistic endeavors and methods after him. His best-known person he influenced for Christ was Capt. Tom Ryman who was converted at a Sam Jones meeting in Nashville in 1885 and later built the Union Gospel Tabernacle for Jones' use for meetings each year in Nashville. Upon Ryman's death, it was renamed the Ryman Auditorium.

     Similarly, the person whose name is most recognizable in association with mine is J D Sumner, the long time bass singer for the famous Blackwood Brothers Quartet, Stamps Quartet and close friend of Elvis Presley. A few days ago I watched an old video recording of the Stamps Quartet at North Jacksonville Baptist Church in 1989.  Most touching and precious to me was when J D stood alone at a microphone with tears flowing and told the congregation about my influence in his life for Christ. Suddenly, tears filled my eyes, too. My dear friend, 

J D Sumner, is with Jesus but I will see him again. I'm humbled that he felt in some way I had helped him. 

     J D is known far and wide. His name transcends southern gospel music. Stories of his legendary life are plentiful, but I want to share a few things about him from my perspective. 

     The last conversation that I had with him before he left for his final series of concerts in Myrtle Beach, during which he passed away, J D hugged me and whispered, "It's such a miracle to me to know that Jesus loves me like he does. Before I got right with God, I just stood on the stage and sang or said something funny; but now that I've found the Lord's love for me, I want to talk about Him instead of singing but I usually just bust out crying."

     Even when J D by his own admission wasn't living as close to to the Lord as he might have done, he was a very generous, caring person. On one occasion, when I was living in Jacksonville, I needed to see my father who was very ill about an hour from Nashville but the plane would arrive so late that I could not get a rental car. When I arrived, there was J D with his car waiting for me, full tank of gas and sack of food and drinks in the front seat. Then, he asked me if either I or my parents needed some money during this time. We didn't but I was overwhelmed with his kindness.

     Although J D is widely-remembered for his straight-from-the-hip honesty, I was truly impressed to hear him defend fellow singers, musicians, pastors or evangelists who may have fallen into sin. On one occasion, I mentioned the name of someone who had actually done him wrong, but he never said a negative word . Instead, he told about a funny experience they had shared one time.

     Somehow, the miracle of miracles is that when I looked at the body of this man who was larger than life lying in a casket, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I would see him again. He wrote many, many great songs. One of my favorites is "Inside The Gate." It starts out "Oh how I happy I will be when life's journey here is run, when I look upon His face and I hear Him say well done; you have fought a faithful fight and my child you kept the faith. Enter now my joys are yours so just step inside the gate!" That, my friend, will be the greatest of miracles that we can all experience because of Christ!

     

"A few of my reasons that I believe Trinity Seminary is unique and VERY special"

     It is hard for me to believe that I have now been the president of Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary almost ten years. On August 26, 2005, I became interim president and was inaugurated as the fourth president in Trinity's history on November 5 of that same year. A rather dubious bit of trivia is that later that same day an awful and horrific tornado just barely touched the Trinity campus resulting in minor damage to seminary property but for the greater Newburgh area left a wide swath of death and destruction including the loss of twenty-six lives.  Prior to the arrival of that tornado but after my inauguration earlier that day, my first act as president was to give Trinity to God as completely and totally as I knew how to do. 

     Sometimes I am asked why a person in ministry should choose Trinity for the completion of degree programs. There are several answers I could give but for brevity's sake I will name only a few:

     (1) TRINITY HAS A WELL-CREDENTIALED FACULTY EACH OF WHOM HAS A RICH HISTORY OF MINISTRY ACCOMPLISHMENTS. It is not enough to have a professor who may be a very godly man but has never proven himself in the "foxholes and trenches" of actual ministry. At Trinity you will not only learn from academically well-trained instructors but also from people who have applied what they are teaching into practical success in ministry.

     (2) TRINITY HAS NO THEOLOGICAL HOBBY HORSE. We believe and teach without apology the five fundamentals of the faith which are the blood atonement, the deity of Jesus Christ, the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection and the inerrancy of the scriptures. These doctrines are absolutes and not open to equivocation. Trinity has a long tradition and a wide respect by peers for its adherence to these doctrines. Other institutions work hard to promote themselves as advocates of other doctrinal tenets to the point that they are identified primarily by those tenets which, in my opinion, do not rise to the level of the aforementioned five fundamental doctrines of the faith. For example, there are seminaries whose identity is the propagation of Calvinism. All guest speakers at their campus must be Calvinist. Scholars who have a non-Calvinist view are marginalized by these schools. Other institutions are identified by their anti-inerrancy views while still others are noted for their almost total lack of respect for biblical authority. At Trinity, aside from the five fundamental doctrines of the faith, we allow the student without fear to explore his own denominational distinctives so that he may be able to defend his beliefs. 

     (3) TRINITY HAS LIVE INTERACTIVE WEBINARS SO THAT A CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE IS AVAILABLE. Without leaving home or office a Trinity student via his computer can enjoy the benefits of an on-campus classroom while discussing topics with professors and fellow students. I regularly hear from students who are excitedly registering for upcoming webinars!

     (4) TRINITY HAS STATE-OF-THE-ART ONLINE CLASSES. These classes bring to the student the very finest of religious studies. I was pleased when recently I was informed that Trinity has more courses in books of the Bible than any other Bible college or seminary in the world. This is a treasure trove of material that is available to any individual who desires to learn biblical truth but simply is unable to leave his home to pursue it!

     (5) TRINITY PROVIDES A QUALITY EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE.  Our founder, Dr John Brooke, established affordability for a superior biblical education  as his goal and we have held firmly to his insistence for that throughout the forty-six years of Trinity's existence. If you speak with one of our Admissions advisers, you will be pleased with what you hear that will make it possible for you to learn at a cost that will not shipwreck your family budget.

     (6) TRINITY PROVIDES YOU WITH LIFELONG MINISTRY ASSISTANCE.  My pastoral ministry includes churches in sizes of 42 to 5100 and  of hundreds of revivals and area crusades as an evangelist in churches large and small in a variety of denominations. I have developed a ministerial network across the nation as well as other parts of the world. When you complete your Trinity program, I commit myself to you as a consultant to help you deal with organizational problems, to give ideas for church growth or to be a person who can submit your name with a personal recommendation if a relocation is needed by you; and, of course, there is no additional charge. When you walk off the platform with degree in hand, we look forward to being there for you in the future whenever you face a crisis.

     These are only a few of the many reasons to choose Trinity. I encourage you to go to our website, www.trinitysem.edu for more information. Once at the website, if you simply fill out the Evaluation Form for more information, you will receive, if you desire, a free e-book by Dr Braxton Hunter, entitled "CORE Facts," a truly outstanding book on Apologetics. It is a book you will reference often in your ministry and daily life. You may choose to call 812.853.0611 and ask to speak to one of our friendly Admissions advisers. They will help you overcome any anxieties and put you on a joyful path to the realization of your dreams. 

     I hope very soon I will be able to welcome you to our worldwide Trinity family! 

     

A Sad Secret In The Church Some Pastors Don't Want Known

       I am about to address a subject that I have never seen discussed in any book or blog article. It is the peculiar plight of the former pastor who has been "forgotten" by some ungrateful church.....or current pastor.

     Over the last month, I have had  an unusual cluster of conversations with five dear men of God, three of whom are retired. Each of the five shared with me the deep inner pain they suffer on a daily basis of being "forgotten" by some church at which they had previously served as pastor before God had moved them elsewhere. I know each of these men. I know their hearts and the battles they fought and the expenditure of tireless personal work as they selflessly gave of themselves at those churches. 

Now, Satan attacks them with ferocity, especially one dear man  who is ill in a nursing home as the Evil One laughingly sneers that his labors at that thankless church were all in vain. I tried to assure them that the lack of respect was not coming from the people of the congregation but rather from the pastor.

     When I was a pastor, I made sure that my congregation knew that I was standing on the shoulders of each pastor who had preceded me, because I believe that every pastor is brought to a church for a specific reason. Some of my predecessors were men with whom I had serious philosophical or procedural disagreements, some were men who were controversial, some were men with whom I had virtually nothing in common, but the undeniable fact was that they had  been the pastor of my church at some point in history. So, I asked myself, "How can I preach to my people the biblical injunction of giving honor to whom honor is due unless I showed honor to every living predecessor of mine by inviting them back to preach, whether I personally liked that previous  pastor as a person or not?"

     This is an ugly problem. It is far more prevalent than one might ever suspect. Since I have travelled much in my ministry and listened carefully to hundreds, if not thousands, of pastors in private conversations, I am glad to report that the vast majority are humble men of God who sincerely love our Lord with all their hearts. However, many of the more visible pastors see themselves as pulpit celebrities who will jealously protect their exalted opinions about their own preaching ability  by refusing to invite a former pastor for fear that that previous pastor will be welcomed too heartily.

     To me, ingratitude is the worst of human sins, especially when we fail to pay tribute to those who have placed themselves in a position to protect us. That is the reason that all veterans of the military deserve our respect. That is the reason that retired policemen and firefighters deserve a warm thank you. And, that is the reason that former pastors, who may have  fought bloody spiritual battles on behalf of us,  deserve our undying gratitude. 

     A few days ago, as I held the frail frame of one of these dear men against my chest and saw the tears wet his cheeks, I purposed to call the man who is now the pastor of my friend's former church. He is a well-known speaker at Bible conferences. The conversation was rather brief and, to me, very discouraging. He informed me very curtly that he knew the former pastor, but had never contacted him by phone or mail, and that he would not make contact with him in the future. Additionally, he would not invite him back to the church for anything. His simple response to my question as to why was blunt, "We've moved on, it's my church now."  To that reply, I answered, "Paul says that even if he were a great orator who spoke with the tongues of men and angels but did not have love, he would be nothing more than sounding brass or tinkling cymbal. You, sir, are a great preacher, but Jesus says we will recognize each other by our love. I cannot recommend you as a pastor to people who need a pastor since you obviously lack love and gratitude for your predecessor. It would be better for me to recommend a less gifted preacher than you, less educated than you, but a man who ardently loves God and all people, including his predecessors. I simply cannot recommend someone who by his own words is sounding brass and tinkling cymbal."

     A tragedy in America is that we have literally thousands of veterans of the military who fought for us in World War II, the Korean Confict, Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan and other dangerous places around the world. They are dying and leaving us daily without our young people hearing their stories directly from them. Likewise, we have a vast number of former pastors, heroes of the faith, who sacrificed much and asked for little in return, but they are largely ignored or bypassed. They still have much to give even yet in the ever-present spiritual war. Our younger people need to hear from them; and, in return, it would do us all good, as a church, to simply say, "Thank you."

     This is a sad secret; we have an almost invisible army of veteran former pastors. They still stand tall and courageous. Unfortunately, too many current pastors, for whatever reason, never use them or honor them, but instead they silently hope the congregations of their churches never notice nor question their arrogant neglect.

     

Are you a "friend" or a "good friend"?

     Mark Twain said, "Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience. This is the ideal life."  Note that Twain said "good" friends; unfortunately, not all friends are good friends. 

     Jesse Owens was the brilliant American athlete who won four gold medals at the Olympics of 1936 in front of Adolph Hitler in Germany. Owens was an African-American and the son of a sharecropper. Understandably, he was very nervous, actually frightened, because of Hitler's vicious racist views that non-Jewish, white people with Nordic features were the master race and all other groups were inferior. Although the previous year Owens had set a record of twenty-six feet, eight and one-half inches in the broad jump, a record that would stand for twenty-five years, his anxiety increased when he watched the tall, blond, white-skinned Luz Long of Germany leap in the range of twenty-six feet during practice. Surprisingly, Long approached Owens and sensed his fears. He encouraged Owens and suggested that during practice he should move his takeoff for his jump back a few

inches in order to build his confidence. Long stayed close by Owens throughout the practices and later the competition. 

After Owens won the event and claimed the second of his four gold medals, he was the first person to hug Owens and congratulate him in full view of Hitler who was in the grandstands. Long was later killed in battle in World War II. Throughout the remainder of his life Owens often said that Long was so dear to him that you could melt down all his medals and cups he had ever won and they would not begin to compare to the 24-carat gold of Luz Long. He always considered Long not just a friend, but a good friend, a close friend.

     Jesus talks about a friend who sticks closer than a brother. I have noticed a strange phenomenon where a sense of loyalty such as existed between David and Jonathan is a very rare attribute today. I have dealt regularly with hurting people who have friends who are now friends with people who have tried to injure them. All I can say to the shell-shocked individuals who feel betrayed is that it is sad when people you know become people you knew. 

I am quite sure that Jesse Owens concerning his friend, Luz Long, would agree with this memorable quote from Michael Bassey Johnson:

     "People will walk in and out of your life, but the one whose footstep made a long, lasting impression is the one person you should never allow to walk out."

Jesus Is A Personal Savior

       Who is Jesus? I can discuss His role as the most important historical figure in the entire history of the world. Or, I am always happy to share his miraculous  life as revealed in the Word of God. Or, I can shed tears with you as we discuss his awful death to purchase our salvation but punctuate the conversation with "Hallelujah" because of His resurrection. 

     The wonder of Jesus is that He is not only God Incarnate for all mankind, but as Mosie Lister wrote in song and the Statesmen Quartet made famous and I have often sung if to nobody else but myself. This is the chorus:

     "He's a personal Savior

     He's mine I know

     I love Him so

     He did my heart 

     A personal favor 

     That's why I tell it out

     Wherever I may go. 

     When I am blue

     And feeling oh so low down

     He'll take me through

     Old Satan can't get me down 

     And from the path

     I'll never more waver

     For He's a friend

     A personal friend."

     

     There is so much I'd like to tell you about what He means to me. He has never failed to be near me in my darkest hours. He has been my Great Physician when hope was gone. He has lifted me up when I've stumbled. He's given me direction when I've been confused as to what to do or where to turn. 

     Most of all, He is my personal Savior because on the day we celebrated His resurrection, I watched my four grandchildren hunting eggs, scurrying here and there while laughing with childhood glee....and His resurrection means death will not permanently separate me from them. Jesus makes all of that possible. 

     I was in an elevator one day and a fellow rider began to use our Lord's name in a vile profane way, I turned to him and said, "Sir, I wish you would not speak of Jesus in such a way, my beloved mother and father are dead, and one day I'll be dead and my grandchildren whom I love dearly will live their lives without me. The only hope I have of seeing them again is the Jesus you are using as a curse word."

     I would have loved to sing for him the first two verses of Mosie Lister's song:

     "You've heard about a place called 

          heaven up in the blue

     I'm glad that all my sins are forgiven

     I'm telling you

     I'd like to see you get this feeling

     You can receive

     God's ready now to give you 

          this feeling

     If you believe.

     Don't ever try to quench the Spirit

     When God's around

     Some people seem to get

          so near it 

     Then turn Him down.

     Judgment you're going

          to see the Savior

     That you passed by

     Think how you're going 

          to feel that morning

     When others cry"....(sing chorus)

     I love Jesus, my personal Savior, for many, many reasons. Most of all, however, it is He who will bring us all safely to the other side. 

     

A Hunter Family Tradition: Being Model Fathers To Their Children

 
 God is described as a father. That being the case, it behooves earthly fathers to do everything that's within their power to faithfully portray our Lord in this unique relationship of fatherhood to their children. This has been a characteristic that the men in my family, the Hunter family, have taken seriously. Though they may have failed in other ways, fatherhood has been passed down through the generations of my ancestry as a sacred trust.

     As a side note, I have found that Mother's Day crowds are among the largest on the church calendar each year while Father's Day is one of the lowest. There is a reason for this. Churches exalt motherhood with not a critical word uttered, but Father's Day at most churches finds men suffering through sermons of the failings of fathers. So, men by the tens of thousands, even godly men, look for reasons to miss an annual sermon listing the shortcomings of fathers and having to listen to that message in front of their children.  When I was a pastor and realized that sad situation, Father's Day at my churches became a day, just like Mother's Day, when noble fathers were lavished with honor and recognition. There are many godly men who more than deserve those tributes.

     Through the years, there was always an expectation of any male in the Hunter family that he would grow up and become a faithful and loving father. There are certain unwritten but ironclad guiding principles that are passed from father to son in the Hunter family tree in terms of successful parenting:

(1) THE FATHER WILL LET NO THING OR PERSON CAUSE ANY OF HIS CHILDREN TO QUESTION THAT HIS LOVE FOR THEM HAS DIMINISHED.

Here is something to remember....there should be nothing a child can do to make his father love him more and there should be nothing a child can do to make his father love him less. Be sure you read that sentence until you fully grasp it. The fragility of a child's heart in regards to his/her father, even with adult children, is such that a father who foolishly lets other activities or people build a wall between father and child may crush that heart irreparably for the duration of this life. A father is a father in that exclusive and wonderful God-given relationship that only his children, and by extension their spouses, have the right to enjoy. He may have friends, close friends or associates, who may be the age of his children or even younger, but if his son feels discomfort that a father's friend is intruding on that father/son bond, he will be wounded in spirit in very harmful ways from which he may never recover. No other male outside your family,  as a boy or later adult, should consider you as his father......and if that intruder tries to refer to you as "dad," draw a firm line that insists the title of "dad" is exclusively the title reserved for your family members. The same, in my opinion, is even more so for a daughter, as a lass or a grown woman. Absolutely no female should intrude on her position as "her daddy's girl" except her sister. Listen well, father! You are a symbol of God to your children. If you let others trespass into your father/child relationship and allow it to seem publicly that you have another child, you are a fool of the highest order. My two sons, Chad and Braxton, have only one father and it's up to me to see that though I may have other friends their ages or younger whom I love and appreciate, my two sons need to know without question my highest commitment and loyalty as a dad by far is to them. 

(2) THE FATHER WILL LAVISHLY PRAISE HIS CHILDREN MORE THAN CRITICIZE THEM.

Peter Lord put it this way. We need to eulogize them. We usually think of eulogies at funerals, but the word, "eulogize," literally means "to say a good word." We need to eulogize everybody.....the clerk at the checkout lane, the neighbors, the people in waiting rooms at doctors offices, etc. You will marvel at how spirits are lifted if you start eulogizing people. How much more so should that be true with children. I have the entire lives of my two sons told them that they can truly achieve whatever dreams God puts in their hearts. Till this day, I regularly tell them how proud I am of them as godly men, now as wonderful husbands and fathers, and also in their careers. I have always eulogized them; I eulogize them today, and I will eulogize them until I draw my last breath.

(3) THE FATHER WILL NEVER LIE TO HIS CHILDREN.  

God is truth. Jesus called himself "the truth." Children need to know that their father can be trusted to always give them a straightforward transparently honest answer to any question. I promised each of my sons as they lay as babies in cradles that I would never lie to them.

(4) THE FATHER WILL FIRMLY BUT FAIRLY DISCIPLINE BUT ALWAYS USE IT AS A LESSON ABOUT GOD'S DISCIPLINE.  

What do I mean by that? Whenever my sons were small and disciplinary actions were necessary, I made sure they heard me tell them that God sometimes disciplines people, including me their father, because He loves us. I always tried to do the discipline in private because I did not want my sons embarrassed. Then, after the penalty was done, I held them and told them that I would never mention this wrongdoing by them ever again because when God forgives us, He forgets it and never brings our sin to his memory again.

     In summary, my father was a simple man. He was hard-working and poorly educated but was a giant of the faith. The principles I laid out above were realities in his life as he lived it before me and my two brothers. I saw that same commitment to fatherhood in my father's father, my grandfather. Once I could hold my sons in my arms and playfully throw them in the air. Later, we played Atari and watched X-Files while munching mounds of popcorn. I remember teaching each of them to drive and repeatedly urging them to forget they even have a left foot....use only your right foot! But the most compelling memory was our ritual of eating Sunday lunch after church as we did on the Sunday before I had heart surgery that because of my blood disease could well be fatal. Before we left the table, I looked across at them and said, "Sons, I promised I would never lie to you, and I won't this time. There's a good chance I won't make it. If I don't, I'll go to heaven. If this is our last Sunday lunch, I have two words for you...'Be there!'"   After saying that, I looked into their eyes and knew they were ok.  Somehow, I felt the presence of my own earthly father who already had made the journey to the other side whisper in my ear, "Your sons are good....they're all right."  No greater reward on this earth is possible than knowing if a father or child is taken in death, they will see each other again....even death can't break that sacred bond!  Hallelujah!

   

"I'm tired of 'doing' church...."

     I'm tired of "doing" church.  It is apparent to anyone with an honest observation that the vast majority of churches today, both traditional and contemporary, have become nothing more than flesh  on parade.  Words like "awesome" and "exciting" have become buzz words that are regular adjectives describing church services. Flamboyant eye-catching "worship events" designed to elicit from the congregation,  depending on the mood of the preacher, either laughter and standing ovations or amazed oohs and ahs are now staples at  worship services. And, above all else, we must be sure people feel comfortable and unoffended, so worship leaders need to dress as ragged as a bouncer at a night club brawl, and ladies can forget Paul's admonition to women about dressing in modest apparel; and, for sure, men should not feel hesitation about their whiskey picture shirt or their favorite casino cap. After all, as we are so often admonished, "man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart." When I hear that phrase used to justify a church crowd that's dressed like glorified sand fleas, I ask myself, "Doesn't the Bible also say to avoid the very appearance of evil"?  Doesn't the Scriptures tell us to "be not conformed to this world?" Doesn't the Bible command us to be "peculiar" people? Say what you will, these verses, as well as host of others, either directly state or firmly imply, that God does care very much how we are dressed when we approach Him and daily represent Him. While I acknowledge that clothing should never be a test of fellowship or genuine hand of welcome to everyone, I still maintain that as we grow by the leadership of the Spirit, everything about us changes, including our dress.

     This is not simply an older generational concern. Today, in 2015, suits and ties with ladies appropriately also attired are expected by participants in wedding parties, funerals, courtroom proceedings, television sports commentators, etc. This is because the degree of  their respect for the activity in which they are participating  is visually conveyed by what they wear as much as by what they say. Casually-dressed large crowds with some religious activity do not necessarily indicate a successful church; otherwise the largest church in Tennessee is located in Knoxville during the fall at Neyland Stadium when over 100,000 are in attendance and start everything with heads bowed in prayer.

     On the other hand, some churches are rusted in tradition and frozen in procedures. Unlike the churches just mentioned, these churches exist at the other extreme. They are bastions of proper decorum. If it weren't so tragic it would be comical that these stilted congregations are so insistent on procedures that a member could be vacationing a thousand miles away from church on Sunday morning but know that at 11:06 they are singing the doxology back home and at 11:23 the pastor is beginning his sermon. 

     While I agree with the scriptural admonition that God expects things to be done decently and in order, the WAY we do worship should never replace WHOM we worship. That applies to the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of disorganized churches mentioned in my opening remarks and also the very formal almost funeral home-like churches of latter remarks.

     The great man of God, Peter Lord, challenged me one time when he asked, "How much of what you do at church, and how you do it, did you ask God if that's what He wanted for YOUR church. Did you and and your leadership get on your knees and ask Him what kind of music that He wanted? Did you ask Him what kind of organization did He want? What kind of preaching did He want? After all, if your church is not really YOUR church, but instead is HIS church, why didn't you ask Him about every detail of what your church does?" Dr Lord's words changed me forever.

     In summary, the churches I was privileged to serve each had significant numerical growth but I believe significant spiritual growth too because I followed Dr Lord's penetrating questions and started seeking God's will instead of emulating what other "successful" pastors were doing. John 22:32 became my guide for growth, both spiritual and numerical, because Jesus promised "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." For assurance, Jesus always keeps His promises, including this one. 

     Yes, I'm tired of doing church. Jesus does a much better job. And, if a church is really a New Testament church in worship, the congregation will actually meet Jesus. When a person meets Jesus, I doubt he will go dancing up shouting, "Awesome!" or formally stretch forth his hand to clasp the Savior's with a courtly "Glad to meet you."  Oh no, I believe that I and every other person who truly loves His appearing will, like John on the Isle of Patmos, fall at His feet as one dead. Friend, that won't be "doing" church, but it will be genuine worship!

     

PLEASE READ!...We Need You For A Solemn Assembly

     In Joel 1:14 are found these words, "Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather ye the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God and cry unto the Lord."

     A solemn assembly was called during times of crisis by various leaders such as Moses, Hezekiak and Josiah. Most of the time in the Bible these calls for a gathering of the people to unite solemnly for a time of fasting and prayer was to pray for Israel. A solemn assembly always consisted of three elements:

     (1) Repentance;

     (2) Confession;

     (3) Return to God as our first love.

     Thursday, May 7, is designated as the National Day of Prayer. I think we should also make it a solemn assembly. Joel 1:14 included fasting. So, I intend to fast from after my dinner is concluded on Wednesday, May 6, until dinner time, May, 7. During that time, I will drink only liquids and eat no solid food. Each time I feel hunger pangs I will use that as a trumpet call to enter a solemn assembly to pray for the nation and acute personal needs including needs shared with me by others.

     As the president of Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary, I am calling for a solemn assembly on the National Day of Prayer, May 7. We need believers everywhere to join us. I'm asking faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of Trinity to join us in fasting and prayer. I'm asking my friends and former church members to participate. I'm asking each of you to ask your family, friends and churches to be a part of this solemn assembly.

     If you plan to be a part of this solemn assembly, will you "like" this post. If you have a special need for which all of us can help you pray, please tell us what it is in a comment.

     This is a way to have a groundswell of united prayers to the very altar of heaven that day. I need it, you need it and our nation needs it. 

The Preacher President of the USA

     James A Garfield became the president of the United States in 1881. His presidency, unfortunately, was only of approximately 200 days in duration. On July 2, 1881, only a few months after his inauguration he was shot by Charles J Guiteau as he walked through a railway station. Guiteau was bitter because he had not received a political appointment he wanted. President Garfield lingered until September 19, 1881, but finally died.

     Gloriously, his decision to give his heart to Christ at the age of 18 has been for him of far greater value than being elected president of the United States. Garfield is the only president in American history to also be an ordained minister. He possessed a natural booming voice. He was in New York on Wall Street when news came of President Lincoln's assassination. A large angry mob was on the verge of rioting when Garfield used his magnificent voice and proclaimed, "Fellow citizens, God reigns and the government in Washington still lives!" Those words calmed the mob and they quietly dispersed to their homes. Though his presidency was shortened, President Garfield would often leave the White House to speak at religious gatherings or preach at evangelistic services. He thoroughly enjoyed sharing the claims of Christ with non-believers. So, you can easily see why some historians refer to him as the "Preacher President."

     Can you imagine the horror of today's politically correct crowd if they had to contend with President Garfield or another soul-winning Bible-preaching president like him? On the other hand, can you imagine the welcome Garfield received in heaven as he entered those gates after his death because he loved the "name that is above every name" and that name is Jesus? 

      President Garfield was no poorly educated wimp as those who despise Christians will suggest about faithful men and women who offer themselves for election to public office. He was no wimp because he had served valiantly in the military. He was well educated as proven in that he excelled in Latin and Greek, plus being so ambidextrous and brilliant that he could write equally well both languages at the same time with both hands!

     This may cause some of you to have a migraine, but I think I would sleep better if we had more Preacher Senators, Preacher Representatives, Preacher Justices and Preacher Presidents leading our country.....and I know for a fact that God would be pleased because Proverbs 14:34 says, "Righteousness exalteth a nation..."

What Do You Intend After Easter?

     In the KJV, the word, "Easter," is found only once in the Bible  in Acts 12:4 which includes the phrase, "intending after Easter." That leads me to ask, what are you intending after Easter? The Sunday designated as Easter will be a day of crowded churches and fresh spring clothes. What are the crowds that gather for their once a year ritual of church attendance intending after Easter?

     Dr Bobby Moore was the pastor of the great Broadway Baptist Church in Olive Branch, MS. He was a truly great man of prayer and wrote a book every Christian should read entitled, "Your Personal Devotional Life." I was privileged to preach for him many times. On one occasion, he asked me to preach his Easter service, and he asked me to preach the best evangelistic sermon I could muster. I asked him for his reason for such a request. He replied that there would be hundreds there that day who only come on Easter and probably had the resurrection message memorized. He continued by saying that some just might get saved if they heard an evangelistic message, but if they got upset, they had a year in which to get over it. I did as he asked and 121 adults were saved that day. 

     You need to honor the Risen Lord on the day we honor his resurrection but in reality the proof of whether you truly believe Christ rose from the dead is how you live that precious truth in your life the following 364 days of the year. Does Paul's desire for himself ring true for you as he expressed in Philippians 3:10 where he exclaimed that he wanted to know the power of our Lord's resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. I tell you this. That's my intention after Easter.

On Good Friday, All Of Us Will Make One Of Three Decisions

     Good Friday is a day for remembrance of the agonizing death and the shed blood of Jesus at Calvary that provided salvation for mankind. 

     Today, I have been thinking of three Roman centurions who stood at the base of the cross that day. I believe each of them made decisions that reflect decisions made by everyone in today's modern world. I think you will understand as I present each centurion for your contemplation, because I believe two made the wrong decision and are in hell today, but one made the right decision and is in heaven.

     THE FIRST CENTURION MISSED SALVATION BECAUSE OF DISTRACTION. He was gambling for the seamless coat of Jesus, probably with his back turned on the most important event in human history. There is nothing either moral or immoral about wanting a coat. His problem was that he was distracted from Jesus. Modern Americans have little or no time for Jesus because of their being distracted by sports, family, careers, politics, etc. I believe hell will have huge crowds of people who were actually moral, good people, but people whose attention was on things that in and of themselves were good things but nevertheless kept people from gazing upon the Christ of Calvary.

     THE SECOND CENTURION MISSED SALVATION BECAUSE OF A USELESS

DEED. He cast a spear into the lifeless body of Jesus. That was a useless act. It made no sense. A spear is an instrument of combat against a living person. However, he must have despised our Lord so much that he could not restrain himself from this non-productive deed. There are millions who will be in hell because like this centurion they will choose some useless, non-productive sin rather than accepting Jesus as Savior. I believe at the judgment all of heaven's angels will mock them for the choice of a useless sin over the Son of God. 

     THE THIRD CENTURION MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE BECAUSE HE GOT AS CLOSE TO JESUS AS HE COULD AND ADORED HIM. In Mark 15:39 we are told that this centurion, according to the KJV, got over "against" Jesus. To be so close that you are against someone is to be as near that person as possible. And, once he was there, according to verse 39 of Mark 15, he saw Jesus as he gave up the ghost and then said, "Truly this man was the Son of God."

     On this Good Friday, as we ponder the cross, which of these centurions represents you? Are you so distracted by even good things of this world that you have no intimacy with Jesus? Are you too committed to a useless sin that you will not obey our Lord's commands? Or, are you as near to Jesus as possible and adoring him as the Son of God?

So What If They Did Backtrack In Indiana...

    It is extremely disturbing to me that there are preachers and laymen in the Christian community who believe it is a good thing when legislators and governors change enacted laws because of an unusually heavy backlash by not only their constituents but also by economic threats coming from out-of-state groups. We are seeing this presently in Indiana, the state in which I now have my residence. It is one thing if opposition to legislation is based upon the actual statements included in the bill, but it is quite another to stir up a mob mentality through screaming vitriolic falsehoods by alleging conditions in the bill that do not exist. This acquiescence to whichever group can shout the loudest will lead to anarchy, a total breakdown of an orderly government of laws and reason.  And, lest you think of me as a right-wing fanatic, let me assure you that I have friends of a more liberal political persuasion than mine that are also very concerned about this kind of socio-political protest that distorts facts to fit its own agenda.

     We are living in a time unprecedented in the history of our nation. There is an increasing gathering of storm clouds that is speeding toward all who follow Christ. Since Trinity Seminary has students and alumni in over eighty denominations, I believe I am in a unique position to speak on this subject because we have Christian leaders in this vast array of denominations who serve across the spectrum from very conservative churches to very liberal churches. Let me warn all of you. If this trend continues, none of you will be safe from government interference to preach your convictions concerning anything that touches at all on moral issues. This activist effort to use the government to squelch the faith convictions of business owners will never be satisfied. So, if you are of a more liberal theological leaning and perhaps even agree with the backtracking in Indiana and Arkansas, please consider the history of the USSR and its evolution into an atheist state. Before the fall of that country, not only were conservative churches banned but liberal churches were outlawed as well. It is extremely important that all believers in Christ, and I mean all believers, conservative or liberal, should immediately and very soberly look toward the future of America in terms of your ability to leave your particular religious faith to your posterity. 

     The best defense against an uncertain future that includes the possibility of a religious purging in America is the election of statesmen, not mere politicians, of high moral character to serve in both major political parties. We need men and women in elected office who cannot be threatened, coerced, intimidated, bribed, bought or sold. We need people who possess a reasonable mind who will listen carefully to opposing views; men such as Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan who fiercely argued their respective positions and then went out to dinner together. We need people of a resolute spirit who will not listen to the howling mobs or watch the latest polls but rather make decisions based on earnest convictions and then firmly stand on them even if it means the loss of re-election. We need people with a religious foundation that is anchored on "Thus saith the Lord!" as found in their regular study of God's Word. We need champions, not cowards, statesmen, not snivelers; and godly, not godless. 

     Finally, my appeal to all who name the name of Christ is that you determine within yourself that "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!"

     

I Loved Being A Pastor

     Okay, I'll admit it.  I loved being a pastor.  For twenty-eight years at five different churches, I was the senior pastor; and I loved everything about it. More than once, I was told by Ministers of Music that I should march into the sanctuary with the choir instead of being out there shaking hands and visiting briefly with members already seated in the pews. Many pastors try to avoid hospital visits or nursing home worship services, but I looked forward to those times. I loved the beauty of weddings and the hope through grief of funerals. Put it down; I thoroughly enjoyed being a pastor.

     Several years ago, I was asked to preach at the very influential Morning Star Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, a predominantly African-American congregation. Dr Earl Preston was their noble pastor. After the service, I asked one of the men why he so obviously loved the pastor. He responded that several years earlier, as a young man not yet living for God, he and some of his friends were stranded on a cold wintry night when their car had broken down. They didn't know what to do. His godly aunt had told him that if he ever got into a real problem with no where to turn, he should call Pastor Preston, so that's what he did. He said Dr Preston could have sent someone to assist them, but he came himself. He continued by saying that Dr Preston took them to the finest hotel in Cleveland and paid for their rooms. They tried to persuade Dr Preston 

that a cheap hotel would be more than they deserved to which he replied, "Young men, God set this meeting up between us tonight, and God wouldn't keep you in a dump so I won't either." This church member concluded by saying that Dr Preston had a big heart that reached every member of the church individually and the unsaved outside the church too. That, dear friend, is a real pastor.

     As I write this, it is near midnight. It's also near midnight for many people in their personal lives as they struggle through day after weary day of dark despair. A kind word, a hug or a sympathetic ear by a pastor can brighten their days. I am now a seminary president, but of late I have been pondering in my heart and soul the possibility of starting a church that I could pastor.....a place to love the unlovely, to embrace the lonely, to give hope to the fear-stricken. I have always had the dream of preaching verse-by-verse through the Bible which according to my estimates could be done in eleven years although my original plan called for seventeen years. That would be a veritable fountain for the huge reservoir of Bible truth I carry in my heart.

     I try to tell the pastors who are being educated at Trinity that three  things are 

basics for a pastor's ministry.  First, he must trust the Bible completely and preach each sermon after spending time alone with God until the message burns in his heart. Forget the one-liner jokes, avoid the melodramatic stories, but instead allow the Holy Spirit to speak what God wants said exactly the way God wants it said. Second, love your people by getting to know them and being there when they need you. Third, and most important, love Jesus....really love Jesus. 

     In summary, our churches and various denominations have plenty of preachers, but the desperate need of the hour and the aching hearts of hundreds of thousands of church members is for someone to whom they can share their burdens one-on-one and not from a distant seat in a sanctuary, but someone they can, as a result of his warm personal presence in their lives, say about him, "He's MY pastor."

     

     

Palm Sunday: A Day Some People Make A Bad Decision

     It is my opinion that Palm Sunday is under appreciated in its importance. The people who greeted Jesus that day didn't realize that it was the beginning of a time of decision for them. On that day, they wanted Jesus to be the promised Messiah, their king, who would deliver them from the shackles of oppression under the Roman Empire. They wanted freedom! They wanted deliverance from earthly cares!

    Is that not so today? Is it not true that today's followers of Jesus have a vast throng among them who welcome him because they expect him to reward their praise of him with prosperity and wealth and luxury? They have willingly accepted the self-serving sermons and teachings of religious motivators, of "name it and claim it" preachers and have now succumbed to the allure of so-called worship services that are really more about satisfying themselves than honoring the Savior.  So, they, as it were, throw "palm leaves" at his feet in an outward display of adoration.

     A few days later, these same misguided and deceived individuals turn their adoration of Jesus into anger of him. Their hosannas are changed into chants of "Crucify him!" Why? Because he was not the Jesus they wanted. He chose a cross instead of a crown.  And, it became obvious that he was showing that those who follow him must make that same choice. Their disappointment turned to hatred which meant that kind of Jesus must be destroyed, so they crucified him. 

     Today is Palm Sunday. Like those of old, you have a choice and that choice will determine if you really have a biblically wonderful Easter next week.  Be honest. Do you want Jesus for what he can do to make life better for you  today or do you want Jesus, regardless of the pain and suffering that following him may bring, so that at the end of this life as you enter heaven you may hear him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

     

Dealing With Ugly Racism

     In one of the churches I served as pastor, we had some people with deep racism that had its ugly grip on them. Soon after I began my ministry there, we were blessed to have a wonderful family begin to visit our services. The husband was not only white, he was a very white white, and his African-American wife was simply lovely with a very dark complexion. Their three little children were just beautiful with a shading of skin that was a combination of their parents.

     One glorious Sunday, this precious couple came forward on the invitation and gave their hearts to God. As I later stood at the church door greeting members as they left the building, one very aristocratic gentleman leaning on his silver-tipped cane said to me, "We've never had black people in our church. You've broken tradition by letting her join." I responded by saying, "She didn't just join; she got saved!" He said to me, "Are you going to baptize her?"  I answered, "Yes, I'm going to baptize her." Then he replied, "You know good and well that she joined here to cause trouble and probably at the urging of the NAACP." To that I said, "If you're right and she's here to cause trouble and I don't baptize her, next Sunday, we will have the NAACP out here on the sidewalk protesting. On the other hand, if you're wrong, and she really got saved and I don't baptize her, I'll have trouble with God. Now if I've got to fight somebody, I'd rather fight the NAACP than fight God." So, I baptized her. Without that couple knowing of this incident, they chose to sit on the same pew with this old codger. She began to brag on him, bring him goodies to take home to eat, and call to see how he was doing. I watched his heart melt. She became like a daughter to him. And, a couple of years later he said to me, "I was such an old fool. Look what I would have missed."

     In that same church, we had an African-American couple begin to visit. They were the parents of a newly-born infant. In our nursery, we had several workers, including an elderly lady who was prejudiced through and through. She told me plainly that she would not deal with any African-American babies left in that nursery. One Sunday morning, that couple left their little baby in our nursery, and that little fellow began to cry with might and main. One worker after another tried to calm him to no avail. Finally, he was thrust into the arms of this antagonistic woman whereupon that baby began to coo and gurgle contentedly. From then on, that was HER baby and she jumped to be the first to take that child from his parents' arms each Sunday.

     Dr E V Hill was a great black pastor and orator who is now with the Lord. He was a guest preacher for me on an occasion. We were chatting in his hotel room before services about the issue of race relations. He said to me the whole issue would be resolved if we understood "racialism" and "racism."  He defined racism as being when an individual looks at people of another race as inferior. He defined racialism as being when an individual makes his own race the dominant consideration when interacting with individuals of another race. He said that both make race relations impossible to be anything other than virtually irresolvable.

     My conclusion is simple. A few years ago, I saw a news story telling of a masquerade party with first-graders at a school during Halloween. Thirty-one little boys and girls were in the class, and only one little boy was African-American. The teacher asked if the children could identify each other. Even though the little dark-skinned African-American lad's hands were exposed, he won the contest. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. was right when he exhorted us to judge each other by content of character rather than the color of skin. I will put it this way. Racism is is not a skin problem; it is a sin problem.

     

     

"I'll Vote Democrat, Republican.....But Jesus?"

   Either Jesus is Lord of all, or he isn't Lord at all.  That is not just a cliche, a trite saying; it is truth! Certainly all believers heartily attest to that!  Or do they?  Sadly, I think not; indeed, I know not.

     I will address you who are reading this blog very directly and plainly. If an open discussion is considered by you as an attack on your political party and causes you to have a defensive passion that you do not have when hearing our Lord's name being cursed, you are simply not right with God. 

     To set the record straight, I will vote for no man or woman based on whether he or she is a Democrat or Republican.  Every vote cast by a Christian to determine an election of a candidate or the fate of a referendum should be decided on one issue.....how closely does this candidate align himself with biblical moral principles? Someone might take issue with me and state that as a religious leader I should understand the principle of the separation of church and state.  While this principle has fervent arguments either supporting its existence or in opposition to its existence, there is one thing for sure....our Founding Fathers did not support separation of GOD and state. Proof? One example can be found in the Declaration of Independence which speaks of our being "endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights."

     From what authority did those early founders of our nation find the concept of the Creator? They found it in the Bible though some were Congregationalists, others Catholic, others Protestant, others deists, etc. Their religious authority held in common by them was God's Word. Therefore, common sense would dictate that that same authority which guided their penned belief that it was God who gave individuals their rights would also be the authority which governed those same individuals in the proper exercise of their rights.

     Proverbs 6:17 clearly says that one of six things God hates is "hands that shed innocent blood." This is one very good reason that I will never cast a vote for a candidate, Republican or Democrat, who supports legalized abortion. Someone may counter by asking if I support the death penalty, and if I do support the death penalty,  am I not a hypocrite because innocent men have been executed?  There is a huge difference. While I will agree innocent people have died in the executioner's chamber, the death penalty was designed as a public policy for punishment of guilty people. All of the victims of the public policy of legalized abortion are innocent. 

     Of course, another argument is that before a woman delivers, she is simply carrying a blob of fetal tissue which cannot be considered as a person with either innocence or guilt. Psalm 139:16 says, "Thine eyes did see my substance yet being imperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them." Please note that this verse totally dispels the modern myth of a fetal blob. God sees the UNFORMED baby being FASHIONED, that is, being developed in the womb. This one verse clearly confirms life begins at conception, so abortion is the ending of that innocent life, an act that Proverbs 6:17 says God hates. That being so, how in the name of all that is holy and rational  can a person who calls himself a believer politically support a candidate for any office who endorses a public policy which is a policy that God hates?

     This is only one example of the many reasons that sincere believers understand that the Bible must  trump the arguments of any pro-choice group or candidate's platform. Some of you who read this are, this very moment, angry with me and think that I am taking the Bible too seriously with a complex societal and political issue. You have an entire arsenal of non-biblical responses to shoot my way. Let me answer your concern for my narrowmindedness this way....when I stand before God, I'd rather hear Him say, "Harold, you took the Bible too seriously," as to hear Him say, "Harold, you didn't take the Bible seriously enough." For me, if Jesus is, indeed, in actuality, Lord of all, that includes the voting booth.