The Solemn Atmosphere and Purpose of Memorials

Vietnam War Memorial

During a visit to Washington, D.C., the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I was given the opportunity to visit the Vietnam War Memorial, the Iwo Jima Monument and the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

These memorials stand in honor of those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of Americans, and the freedom of people around the world. When we, as Americans, visit these monuments, we respectfully remember and consider the sacrifice of those who lost their lives fighting for our freedom. Veterans who survived those wars, men and women of whom I have the utmost respect, are overcome with emotion and reverence toward their brothers in arms who died saving freedom.

Tomb of the Unknowns
Arlington National Cemetery

I remember being in awe. I remember the feeling of reverence toward those fallen soldiers, and the ones who survived who staffed the memorials, and others who were visiting. My visit to Washington, D.C. actually motivated me to explore the option of a career in the U.S. Armed Forces. I later decided not to follow through.

That is what memorials are for. To honor the fallen, to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and to remind us that freedom is not free. These memorials are all about the men who served and sacrificed, and are not about the visitors to the memorials.

When Jesus instituted the Lord's supper, He said, "This do in remembrance of Me."

Just like the war memorials in Washington, D.C., serve to remind us of the sacrifice that our soldiers made during wartime so we could be free, so the Lord's supper is a memorial of how Christ died for us, sacrificing Himself, so that we could be free from sin and be given salvation freely. Our freedom is not free.

Iwo Jima Monument

Now, if I began to sing and dance at one of these memorials, people would be offended and the veterans who staff and monitor these sites would probably escort me out, and rightfully so. Why? Because I would be desecrating the memorial, not discerning the sacrifice that was made for my freedom. If I were to talk on and on about how much I loved visiting the memorial because it made me feel so special, no doubt folks would be offended because I would be glorying in myself, not the sacrifice made on my behalf by these soldiers.

Paul wrote in I Corinthians 11:29 "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."

Most interpret these verses to mean that you shouldn't take the Lord's supper if you have unresolved sin in your life, and rightfully so. However, the major sin is taking the Lord's supper, "not discerning the Lord's body." When you take the Lord's supper, you should take it as a memorial to Christ, not as a show of fellowship, not to show love for the brethren, not to feel closer to God and not to feel more spiritual. It is ALL about memorializing the sacrifice Christ made for us, and being reverent toward that.

Those men who gave their lives in combat to save our freedom didn't accidentally go into perilous situations. They willingly went, knowing they would probably die, but also knowing that is what it would take to win the war and keep America free. That thought takes my breath away. It doesn't make me feel special. It makes me feel inferior because I am not sure I could have made the same decision.

Christ didn't accidentally wind up on the cross. He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). It was His idea. He knew it would take His death on the cross to save us, and He willingly died that death so we could be with Him in eternity. The Lord's supper doesn't make me feel more spiritual, it reminds me that it was my sin that put Christ on the cross.

When I break that bread (at Grace Pointe, we literally break unleavened bread) before we pass it to the congregation, I feel the effect of my sin being taken out on that body. When I take that cup, I see the cup of His suffering. Therefore, I don't feel the need to take the Lord's supper every week, or even every month. It is a memorial. I take it, but I take it remembering what it means.

Don't take the Lord's supper for the wrong reasons. Don't take it to show fellowship, or to "feel closer to God." Take it as a memorial to the sacrifice that Christ made on your behalf. If you do that, you will take the Lord's supper discerning His body, and God is pleased with that.

Fighting the War on a Budget

Robert McNamara may have earned the position as the most controversial secretary of defense in U.S. history. His decisions to consolidate U.S. military bases angered congressmen and the citizens of those districts, the opposition to the war in Vietnam demonized him, and he has been widely criticized for his involvement in the acquisition of the F-4 Phantoms for the U.S. Air Force. The jets were made without machine guns, because McNamara believed the pilot could fire a missile on the enemy from 75 miles away. That would have worked, if the Sparrow didn't have an 89% failure rate in Vietnam. (The tropical conditions hindered the missile).

There are many things you can criticize about McNamara, but in some ways he was a man ahead of his time. He wanted to develop combat aircraft that could both serve as bombers and air-to-air combat jets. Though that development failed during his tenure, the military later achieved that goal with the F/A-18s and the F-16s.

McNamara made many mistakes, but his decisions were driven by a core belief that the U.S. could not afford to be wasteful when spending money on defense. He believed that the U.S. could afford whatever was necessary for national defense, but that it shouldn't just write the defense department a blank check. McNamara understood that the U.S. could bankrupt itself on defense spending, a lesson that the former Soviet Union learned the hard way in the late 1980s.

Few things will cause hurt feelings and lost fellowship quicker than financial issues. Looking at the associational mission funds of the American Baptist Association and the Missionary Baptist Association of Texas, I can tell you that financial issues are in our future. That is, unless the level of support these funds receive from the churches is greatly increased. Looking across our association at the state of our churches (not being critical, but many churches are struggling right now), the idea that more support is coming is not very realistic. Therefore, missionaries, the messengers that vote to support missionaries, their sponsoring and supporting churches will all have to make tough decisions in the years ahead.

At Mission: Brownwood, we have tried to be as cost-efficient as possible. Our biggest expenditures have been on my salary, building refurbishment and massive outreach campaigns. As time progresses, the new work will undertake more of those expenses on its own, but the work is only growing so fast despite our best efforts. None-the-less, when I look at the financial state of the MBA of Texas mission fund, I face the reality that there are not going to be many years of full salary for myself left. In fact, if something doesn't happen, the fund could be broke by 2012. At the same time, out direct support from sister churches has dropped off in the past couple of years. Two years ago, we averaged $1,800/month in direct support. In May of this year, we took in $1,200 from sister churches.

The fact of the matter is that missionaries are going to have to begin to make tough choices, because the well can run dry. We need to have a plan in place to keep our works going should that day ever come. Gone are the days when a missionary could go on salary and know that he was going to be able to draw that salary until his work organized (usually after the completion of an expensive brand new building). We're going to have to learn to purchase older church structures from protestant groups who have folded. We're going to have to learn to work out of school buildings, civic centers, and apartment community rooms. We are also going to have to learn to organize before land is purchased, buildings are built, and possibly before the pastor can draw a full-time salary from the church. We are going to have to streamline our expenses and learn to do more with less.

At the same time, it wouldn't hurt to see more support going to our associational mission programs. Over the past few years, especially when the fund balance was high (in both the Texas and national associations) men began to stand up and promote the idea of withdrawing support from these funds and directing support elsewhere. Some wanted to expend the reserves to purchase land in large cities. Others wanted to just expend it altogether. Others began to rail against our associational mission programs and call them waste of money. The discourse took its toll, and support began to erode. Now we are in a time when that support is needed, but getting the support back is always much more difficult than losing it.

There was a time when Missionary Baptists were proud of their mission programs. There was a time when having a healthy balance in the fund was a good thing, and the prayer was that more men would engage in true mission work so we could see that fund put to use. There was a time when men liked to see missionaries well-supported. Today, it seems that has all changed.

Satan is on the attack. Seminary enrollment is down, support for our associational mission programs, seminaries, mission development funds and mission efforts in general is down. Discourse on how to get new works started has been replaced with finger-pointing and back-biting. All the while, missionaries struggle on the field and supporting churches struggle back home. Let's all get back on the same page, and remember that our purpose here is to make disciples, baptize them, indoctrinate them and organize them into New Testament churches.

My pledge to you, as a missionary, is that I will do my best to streamline expenses and minimize my need. All I ask from you is that you engage in our associational mission work and help promote the Gospel in Texas, the USA, and around the world.