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.

IDF

IDF is a military term meaning "Indirect Fire". It is a situation where the enemy is firing morter rounds in your general direction without knowing your exact coordinates. The idea I get from talking with soldiers is that when you are taking IDF, you often hear the rounds explode in the distance, and often close to the base, sometimes too close, but rarely do you actually suffer a direct hit.

Granted, I am no expert on military matters, but soldiers I know that have been to Iraq told me that they could take IDF two-to-three times per week, sometimes daily. I never heard them discuss getting hit, though. In fact, the U.S. Army still didn't require their soldiers to wear body armor unless they were leaving base.

The reason I bring this up is that Mission: Brownwood has been taking IDF from satan's forces since May of this year, when we began the final preparations to move to Brownwood. Satan would seek to stir conflict in mine and Jessica's marriage via miscommunication. He would try to drive a wedge between me and my sponsoring church via miscommunication. Once on the field, he would attack through various people we met on the field.

Satan's attacks in these instances amount to IDF, in my opinion, because my family and ministry have been directly attacked by satan in the past. In various places in my ministry, I feel like he brought on an all-out attack. These attacks ranged from temptations to false accusations, to attempts to assassinate my ministry through the false accusations and rumors started by other preachers, to all-out rebellion by the members of the body of Christ where I ministered. I remember thinking in some instances that these attacks would literally kill me. Once, it almost did, but that's a whole other story altogether.

No, in comparison to previous experiences, these attacks have been mild... hence they are IDF.

The IDF we are experiencing right now comes from the apartment communities where my wife works, where I also minister. There are those there who love us and want us to continue ministering to them. Then, there are those who live there and would rather Jessica and I fall off the face of the planet. Neither these people, nor these complexes have ties to our mission-church, Grace Pointe. However, they still oppose our ministry.

So far, the attacks have been limited to lies, false accusations and rumor-mongering which has gained no traction with the ownership of the apartment communities, or the company for which my wife works. Still, it is annoying and is having a draining effect on my wife. (One courageous man boldly confronted my wife while she was alone in an elevator... yes, we have elevators in Brownwood). Others have also vandalized property.

Our plan is to stay the course. When God calls us to a ministry, we also understand that He calls us to a battlefield. Satan has no respect for God's people, or His creation, and will oppose the spread of God's word everywhere he can. We understand that. We just covet your prayers.

Last night, we had 10 at our Wednesday evening services at Market Place. Four were out of town at a funeral, one was having surgery, one was recovering from surgery and one was tending to her mother who just returned from surgery.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Oh, and things at Brownwood Apts. II are still going well. This will be where we build the core group (which is already taking shape) and be able to organize and launch the church.

War Zone

You've probably been sitting in a service when the preacher compared the work of the Lord to warfare. Heck, I remember a preacher at seminary who compared the Lord's churches to divisions of His army who are under orders to be on the offensive.

The Bible compares living our faith and doing God's work as warfare also.

1 Timothy 1:18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

2 Timothy 2:3-4 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

So, the scriptures also compare the work of the Lord to warfare. If we are to war a good warfare, as Paul wrote to Timothy, there are some parameters we have to identify. First, and foremost, is the enemy.

I have spoken to many Vietnam veterans. One of the most frustrating parts of fighting in that war was that you didn't know who your enemies were. The villager who is helping and supporting you by day may very well be in VC uniform fighting against you at night. Rice bags were booby-trapped. The VC rigged explosives to small children then sent them to American soldiers to ask for candy. As the soldiers would give the kids candy, the explosives were detonated, killing both soldier and child. You never knew who your enemy was.

As we wage war for Christ, we need to remember who the enemy is. It is not the church planters, traditionalists, pre, mid or post-tribbers, contemporary singers, hymn singers, progressives, conservatives, elderly pastors or young pastors... it is Satan (I Peter 5:8).

I fear that too often, we have misidentified our enemy and we are spending all of our energy fighting battles with our brothers, friends and allies that should have never been fought. I'm not saying we shouldn't debate, or stand for Biblical truth, I am just saying that in some cases, there are those who plan to ambush their brethren with more carefully planned attacks than the
Battle of Cowpens. I'm not making this up. I spent a significant amount of time in my early ministry defending myself against false accusations and misrepresentations by other preachers. Granted, these men were hardly the cream of the ABA crop, but still... these were battles that should have never been fought.

No, the enemy we war with is Satan. We should be fighting him, not each other.

Another parameter we must identify is the battlefield. I once heard a preacher say, before entering the sanctuary for morning worship, "Let's go do battle." "Battle," by and large, is not waged in the sanctuary during worship... at least, it's not supposed to be. Battle is not supposed to be waged in business meetings either, because the sanctuary is not the battlefield.

The battlefield is the hearts and souls of the people who live in our cities and countrysides. Sometimes, the battlefield is in our own hearts. We war with Satan so that we may win the souls and hearts of the lost and that we may keep our hearts clean. This is something that has been pressed on my heart as I have worked with some of the people in Brownwood and Coleman.

Now that we have identified our enemy and battlefield, we need to learn how to wage warfare. I remember watching the movie, "We Were Soldiers." Col. Hal Moore, played by Mel Gibson, was given his orders to attack Viet Cong forces in the Ia Drang Valley (translation: The Valley of Death). He was to lead the first major engagement of U.S. Forces in Vietnam. His orders were simple, "Find the enemy, and kill him."

As simple as those orders were, they were not easy. Col. Moore had to plan the attack, and do so in a way that would minimize American casualties.

Our orders are also simple, Preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). As simple as those orders are, they are not easy. To fight the battle on the battlefield, and win, we must be able to preach the Gospel to the lost in a way that they can comprehend it, accept it, and grow in their faith. Such requires planning and training. Such requires daily sword drills and range practice (a.k.a. Bible study). Such requires communication with mission command (prayer). Such also requires obedience, as disobedience on a battlefield can cost a soldier his life.

Right now, Mission: Brownwood is at war, but we are in the early phases where we have dropped covert special forces behind enemy lines, hopefully to prepare the way for the infantry who will land at the Lord's order. We know who our enemy is, and where the battlefield is. We are currently preparing and engaging in combat.

May God bless you on your battlefield.