While Rome Burns…

While many in the church spent the past few weeks whining about having to wear a mask or throwing temper tantrums because they have to social distance, the Supreme Court of these United States handed down a ruling in the Bostock vs. Clayton County case. The decision that the court handed down, will have repercussions for everyone in this country, and especially the church, for the foreseeable future. This is what Kyle Blanchette, writing for National Review, in its online edition of June 18^th, 2020 had to say specifically about Neil Gorsuch and his reasoning in siding with the majority.

How Do You Feel?

"We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued," the statement said. "Causing pain was never our hearts' intention, but it doesn't change the fact that indeed, it did just that. So today, we speak up and make a change." Lady A.

Just this morning, I saw a news report that the country music group formerly known as “Lady Antebellum” is changing its name to “Lady A.” The reason offered by the group is that they wanted to distance themselves from the supposed association of the name with the slavery issue that dominated political discussions immediately preceding the American Civil War. Let me point out, in case anyone reading this article is unaware of this fact, that antebellum is the Latin word that means “before the war.” That’s it. Nothing more is implied by the term. It is what people reading the term infuse into it that make it either benign or problematic.

As We Continue To Wait

Sometimes I have a lot to say. But there are times when I have a lot to say, that someone else has said it much better than I ever could. Such is the case with the article linked here. For those of you who don’t know him, Costi Hinn is the nephew of infamous “faith healer” Benny Hinn. He used to travel around with his uncle being, in his words, a receiver in his campaigns. A receiver is one of those men you see on the videos who “receive” the people that Benny is “slaying in the Spirit.” After breaking with his uncle, Costi was truly regenerated by the Spirit and is now teaching and preaching the truth. He has collaborated with Justin Peters on a number of videos exposing the “Word of Faith” charlatans.

At any rate, in this article he tackles the elephant in the room that is facing all of us in the church today: worship and the COVID19 pandemic. Different churches have approached this problem differently. Some have appropriated the approach others are using and that seems to work for their particular situations. Others are taking a more or less measured approach depending on their leadership and membership. But whether one approach or another, there are always ways in which things could have been done better. After all of this, by the grace of God, is over we are likely to look back and point to the things we did wrong.

As you read the article, please consider our situation. We still have some folks who have not come back to the assembly. And it is important to be sensitive to them and not look down as though they were somehow lesser Christians than the rest of us. And that also goes for social media. Think of what Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7--God has given us a mind that is, in the original Sofranismos: sound and self-controlled.

Navigating Different COVID19 Convictions

The Root Cause

There are many of us in the church who think of eschatology as an esoteric topic that is best left to those who have the time to invest in its study. Not only do I not have the time (or, perhaps I should say I do not want to take the time), but I find the subject rather difficult and requiring more intense and dedicated study that I can ever give it. Add to that the fact that, when one deals with something that is yet to happen, the likelihood of being wrong is quite high! Thus, although the Bible teaches concerning the things that are yet to come, there are many areas, such as the events preceding the Second Coming, that are quite difficult and in which there is no way to know whether one is right, until the events take place. Without a doubt, whether one is right about one eschatological position or another, we will all find out once the end comes.