Still Frozen

Since the release of "Frozen" last November, the theological world has been abuzz with the film's depiction of true love being a commitment of self-sacrifice, rather than the fulfillment of self-centered emotions. Much of this discussion comes from the surprise of many that the film broke from the traditional plot-line of a princess in search of a handsome prince to whisk her away into the sunset. Instead, Frozen's climax took place when the princess Anna gives her life to save her sister, Queen Elsa. The theme of self-sacrificial love is repeated several times in the movie.

Such a definition of love from a secular movie (from Disney, no less), fired up the Christian world, whose writers then pointed to Frozen's definition and illustration of love to show the agape love Christ showed for us when He died on the cross for our sins.

Typically, I don't look for meaning or theological truth when I watch movies... especially if I went to the theater to watch them. If I go to the theater, I am going to escape reality for a couple of hours... that, and I'm going to eat popcorn and drink coke. For two hours, there are no phone calls, no texts, no Facebook messages, and no responsibilities. No breaking news, no strains of the pastoral ministry, no sermons to write, no bills to pay, and no taxes to file... it's just me, my kids, and talking snowmen, cars, planes, or minions. It's a good time.

However, Frozen was different. For you to understand why, I must first confess that I struggle with depression. No matter how much God blesses me, I find myself going through times of hopelessness and fear, doubt, and even sadness. I have a tendency to allow myself to become overwhelmed.

So, when the movie depicted two sisters who were separated by a large door... the one being kept from the other for her safety, I could relate. All the young Princess Anna wanted to do was play with her sister, Elsa, and enjoy the freedom and fun they had enjoyed before. For safety reasons, however, Elsa had to be kept from Anna. I could only think of how I wanted to go back to a time when I could freely enjoy my family. I also thought of how I would love to go back to a time when Jessica and I could spend hours together without the responsibility that come with being a missionary couple who have to work full-time to make ends meet.

At Elsa's coronation, things broke loose, the kingdom was frozen by Elsa's reaction to Anna's newfound boyfriend, and the newly crowned queen retreated to the mountains, her secret power of being able to create snow and ice having been revealed to the kingdom.

As she approached the mountain top, she broke into song... "Let It Go," an anthem of breaking free of unrealistic expectations, self-isolation, and living life on one's own terms. That song hit me, as well, because it captured the young princess' struggle with containing and concealing her power in order to maintain order in the kingdom, and to spare the fears or opinions of others. To sum it up, she basically had been living in a self-imposed prison, her every move subject to scrutiny, and the ever burdensome responsibilities of the kingdom on her shoulders.

This song is resonating with pre-teen and teenage girls, for a variety of reasons. Whether it is the increasing pressures we place on our school children, to the ever increasing social pressure being placed on tweens. You get to a point where you just want to say, "forget it!" and retreat to your own world. In an article from The Gospel Coalition, the dangers of this song are spelled out. The Gospel Coalition writes:

Thousands of little girls across the country are singing this song – a manifesto of sorts, a call to cast off restraint, rebel against unrealistic expectations and instead be true to whatever you feel most deeply inside. What’s ironic is that the movie’s storyline goes against the message of this song. When the princess decides to “let it go,” she brings terrible evil into the world. The fallout from her actions is devastating. “No right, no wrong, no rules for me” is the sin that isolates the princess and freezes her kingdom.

While Elsa's retreat into her self-made ice castle was self-centered and brought about destruction in the kingdom, the Gospel Coalition ignores the factors that led into that "meltdown," for lack of a better word. Elsa was under a lot of pressure to perform and be perfect. That is the pressure that teenagers face today, which is why the song resonates with them. While I see the danger in the lyrics being translated into a "rebel at all cost, disregard the consequences, and make yourself happy," the fact is that the song can help us better teach our kids how to deal with such emotions.

However, it's not just teenage girls that face this kind of pressure. When my family and I watched the movie, I was fresh out of the annual Missionary Baptist Association of Texas meeting, where, for the fifth consecutive year, my request for salary support for Grace Pointe MBC had been approved. We had hoped to ween ourselves off support by year three. We are two years behind schedule.

While the association was understanding of our plight, not all individuals were. Back home, I was facing pressure. The church had plateau'ed, and it was alleged that the lack of growth stemmed from a spiritual stagnation, which "begins at the top and filters down." Translation: The church is not growing, and it's my fault.

My life is lived in a glass house. My spirituality is constantly scrutinized. People can say any abusive or insulting thing they want to me, and any reaction other than "Thank you, God bless you, I'll pray that the Lord heals me of (whatever you're complaining about)" means that I am not spiritual, and am living in rebellion against God. If someone needs money, I am not a Christian unless I give it to them. If I don't witness to 100 people a day, I am not fulfilling my role as missionary. And on those rare times that I have let down my guard, and shared my weaknesses with someone else, I have found myself wishing I hadn't said anything.

So, the lyrics hit home. "Don't let them in, don't let them see, be the good (boy) you always have to be." Until, that is, the breaking point comes. Now I know that the worst thing that could happen is that I reach that breaking point and go running off into the mountains to isolate myself. I'm not justifying the character's actions at all. What I am saying, is that I can relate. (And isn't it the mark of a great writer to create characters with whom the audience can relate.)

So, as I listen to the song, "Let it Go," I don't hear a call to rebellion. I hear a character who struggles with her day to day life... and I can relate to that. I have a feeling that you can relate to it as well. Preachers, pastors and missionaries aren't the only ones who feel under the gun, who struggle with the daily pressures of life. I bet you feel those pressures, too, and if you think it'd help, you can share those struggles by commenting on this post.

I pray daily for God's healing of my heart, and for God's strength and wisdom as we forge ahead in Brownwood. If I need to add you to my prayers, please feel free to let me know. God bless you.

Profiting with God

No one disputes the fact that the Christian life comes with troubles. People ridicule your faith, some believers face persecution, and oftentimes we fore go personal pleasure, ambition or advancement in favor of something God has called us to do. While we make these sacrifices and observe people in the world living it up for themselves and enjoying life, it can become easy to be discouraged, or to blame God for all of our sufferings and problems.

That was the situation Job was in. He was perfect and upright, one who feared God and eschewed evil (Job 1:1), yet God allowed him to suffer when his livelihood was wiped out and his children killed. As Job lamented about these problems during his speeches, he accepted a premise that God will allow the righteous to suffer for no cause, and that God doesn't have a special regard for the righteous. Now, the Bible says that Job neither sinned nor charged God foolishly, but Job did misunderstand what God was doing.

Enter Elihu, a young man who quietly listened to Job lament his suffering, and his friends accuse him of bringing his suffering on himself. After the elderly men have completed their thoughts, Elihu speaks up, and says that Job goes in the company of those who work iniquity and walks with wicked men, because he said, "It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God. (Job 34:9)"

Job's words were spoken out of intense anguish, suffering and mourning, but sadly, I think many of us have accepted the same premise - If you follow God, you will have no profit on this Earth. It'll be non-stop suffering and failure till you die, then you get your reward.

It's a discouraging premise, and one that is seemingly validated when you see people who leave the church get everything they wanted. It seems to be validated when you do massive amounts of outreach and evangelism, and see people reject the message of the Bible in favor of more entertaining venues. It seems to be validated when you strive to honor and glorify God the best you know how, and nothing seems to come from it.

With that discouragement in mind, let's look to Elihu's encouraging words.

Job 34:10-12 Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity. 11 For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. 12 Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.

For God to constantly bring His people into captivity and force them into non-stop suffering and discouragement, He would have to deal wickedly with His people. However, Elihu says that goes against God's holy, righteous and just nature. God allows suffering, but God always rewards His people.

In the case of Job, (and Job didn't understand what was happening at this point), God was working a bigger picture. He was accomplishing another major victory over Satan, while simultaneously strengthening Job and bringing him closer to Himself. Job finally got it in Job 42:5-6.

In our cases, God allows our suffering, but it is never without purpose, and it is never without reward. If we are obedient, faithful, and unwavering in our trust of the Lord, we'll see the fruit of our labor and suffering, and we'll see God bless us mightily. Or as Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

So, do not accept the premise that life is nothing but suffering. Do not accept the premise that you can not make a difference. Do not accept the premise that people will no longer accept the Gospel, or that no one wants to hear the Word of God, and do not accept the premise that your church will never see better days.

Continue to labor for the Lord. He will bless you.

Something's Gotta Give

As I stand before the congregation leading Grace Pointe through the final verse of Bringing in the Sheaves, I can't help but feel conflicted, and see the conflicted nature of pastoral ministry, church ministry and church planting today. The conflicted nature doesn't have so much to do with the members' personalities (Grace Pointe enjoys a very close unity among its members), as much as the conflicted nature has to do with who the church is, and whom the church has been called to reach.

There are two groups that make up the congregation at Grace Pointe. There are the very young, and the seniors. As for reaching the 20-somethings to 40-somethings, we have not been very successful. Let me clarify. We have seen some 20-40 year olds saved, and some baptized, but few continue to be involved in the church. This happens for a number of reasons, including hectic work/family schedules, and the desire for downtime. However, those factors can be overcome to get young families into church.

As I look across the religious landscape in Brownwood, I see three churches that are excelling in bringing in young families and getting them involved. These churches have three common-denominators. (1) They are built on relationships. The young families who go there have friends there, and they feel at home in those churches. (2) These churches are not known for being dogmatic on doctrine. They tend to focus their teaching on the basic doctrines of Christ (repentance, faith, salvation, and trusting God through the storms of life). And (3) Like it or not, they have contemporary worship services.

The building of relationships takes time, and the relationship must be built out of a genuine love and concern for the other party, otherwise it is little more than a manipulative situation. We can not go building relationships for the sole purpose of building a church. If we do that, we will become guilty of using people and abusing them the same way other religious organizations have done for years. No, we must love people and be there for them, even if they feel at home at the church across the street.

As for the doctrine issue, I have found that those in the 20-40 age range have an appetite for doctrine, but don't necessarily accept or internalize it just because the preacher says so. If a doctrine is presented they disagree with, they typically will try to brush it aside in an effort to get along. If the preacher insists they accept it, they will probably be gone. The way I handle doctrinal issues is that I present them as they come up in the scriptures. I preach through books of the Bible, and when we reach passages of doctrine, I present it. The interesting thing about this approach is that you get a feel for which doctrines are God's priority, as those doctrines are presented most often in the scriptures. Do you have any idea which doctrine is presented the most in the scriptures (and by extension, is the most important to God?) Hint: It's not the Bride. When differences of belief on certain doctrines arise, if you can get back to the fundamentals of the faith and agree there, then you still have fellowship and no one gets their feelings hurt.

Then comes the contemporary worship issue. I have publicly opposed contemporary worship, not because of what it is, but rather the attitudes some people who have propagated it. Their attitudes of contempt toward the senior members of the church, and their proclamations that they couldn't worship in a traditional style were major turn-offs for me.

When I look out among the congregation of grey hair, and in some cases, no hair, I see a generation of people who not only contributed much of their lives and personal resources so that I could stand in a pulpit and preach, but I see a generation of people who built the country into what we know today. I also see a generation of people who have been left behind by our modern, technology driven, frenzied paced lifestyles.

But yet, they stay active in life, and in church. In some cases, church is the only thing that still seems normal, that still makes sense. Then comes the young, on-fire preacher who is going to totally turn the world upside down, and he tells them to sell the piano, get rid of the organ, burn the hymnals, and sing staring at a projection screen to the accompaniment of a praise band. It totally freaks them out, and with good reason.

Contemporary music makes sense to my generation, because it is what we've grown up with. When you grew up listening to Def Leppard, Belinda Carslile, or Third Eye Blind and Green Day, the praise band seems like rather tame, worshipful music. However, if you grew up to Bob Wills, Jimmie Davis, Johnny Cash, and even Buddy Holly and the Beatles, it can be downright disturbing.

To put it another way, what if your worship leader looked like Kesha or Lady Gaga? It'd freak you out. That's what contemporary worship looks like to these seniors. So, they oppose it. However, their opposition only fuels the fire of the proponents of contemporary worship, leading to a split in the church. Sometimes, the result of this split is two different churches. Other times, churches choose to have two, or three, separate worship services. In those scenarios, you have a segmented church membership that is not necessarily working as a body.

I love our seniors at Grace Pointe, and I look up to them. I definitely don't want to leave them in the dust of progress. At the same time, I realize that if we are to see younger families join and become active in our congregation, there are some methods that are going to have to change.

The question is, how do we adjust our methods for reaching people, and bring our established members along through the changes? How do we get them on board? How do we make them feel at home through the changes? If I can find the answer to those questions, then I'll be able to invite you to the dedication of our new state of the art worship facility. Until then, we meet at 1045 West Commerce in Brownwood, Texas, at 11 a.m. on Sunday mornings.

Read the Book!

If you study the history of military aviation in the United States, and don't learn about a man named Chuck Yeager, then you didn't really study the history of military aviation.

Yeager had a flight career spanning 60 years, was an accomplished fighter pilot in World War II, earned the title of "ace" in just one day (to earn the ace title, you have to score five air-to-air combat victories), scored the first victory over a figher jet, was the first man to break the sound barrier, then broke another speed record at Mach 2.44 (2.44 times the speed of sound), and commanded a figher wing to success in the Vietnam War.

Yeager's success in aerial combat and his survival through World War II (where he was shot down once) and Vietnam were the results of his committment to knowing his aircraft. Whenever he was assigned to a new aircraft, he got the instruction manual for that aircraft and learned it. He would learn its capabilities, its systems, its emergency backup systems, and emergency procedures should something go wrong. He knew his aircraft's abilities and shortcomings.

Lack of understanding of their aircraft cost many figher-pilots their lives or freedom during Vietnam. Airforce training showed the pilots how to fly and safety procedures, but many pilots didn't know their aircraft's capabilities in combat, an ignorance that cost aerial combat victories, F-4's and pilots alike. Furthermore, those pilots weren't trained in aerial combat maneuvering (a.k.a. dogfighting). Then men like Yeager, Robin Olds, and Steve Ritchie arrived in Vietnam, and taught the younger pilots those skills. A lack of knowledge killed Air Force pilots, but proper training, reading the books on the jets, and applying that knowledge saved many pilots and gave the U.S. the victory in the air.

Yeager's success was based on the fact that he took the time to read the book and learn his aircraft, then apply what he learned in combat situations. He read the book! It works the same in ministry and the Christian life.

All too often, ministers wreck their ministries, and many times their churches, because of a lack of knowledge. This lack of knowledge comes from a lack of reading, not commentaries, but the Word of God.

God gave us the Bible to thoroughly equip us for whatever forms and points of service for which he has called us. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) If a minister knows the scriptures, he will know how to counsel and work with a couple that is facing the prospect of divorce, he will be able to encourage a woman who is married to an unGodly husband, he will know that he is responsible to intervene when he knows child abuse is taking place, and he will know how important the roles of him and the church are, more importantly, he will know what those roles are. To quote the preachers from years ago, "It's in the book!"

The book is only as good as it is read, however. Those instruction books for those planes would have been little use had Yeager not read them. In order for that information to help Yeager, he would have had to read it and learn it before taking off. Imagine what would happen had Yeager taken his flight wing into the air, detected enemy aircraft at 11 o'clock, then decided, "Hey, I think I'll consult the book for this!" With most aerial combat situations (dogfights) lasting less than 60 seconds, he'd be dead before he got the book open.

It is important to make sure you are studied up on scripture BEFORE you find yourself in a Spiritual battle, position of service, or counseling session. If you wait until then, then your only hope is to consult Strong's Concordance, and at that point, scripture is likely to be taken out of context and misapplied, leading to further devastation. Or, you can just shoot from the hip, give your own advice, and disregard God's instruction.

The Bible says to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)."

Study your Bible, learn God's will, apply His truths to your Christian walk and ministry. You might just find that you have a successful 60-year ministry ahead of you.

The Biggest Problem We Face Today

What is the biggest problem that we face as Missionary Baptists and Evangelical Christians? Is it false doctrine? An ever-increasingly sinful world? The political climate? The past mistakes and misdeeds of high-profile Christian personalities?

While all of these are major factors we deal with daily, all pale in comparison to the lack of workers for the harvest. The Bible records how Jesus looked out upon the multitudes, and saw them as sheep with no shepherd, and His heart was moved with compassion. At this sight, He told the disciples that the fields are white unto harvest, and to pray for God to send more workers for the harvest.

Currently, our society is scattered as sheep with no shepherd. People are living life at a frenzied pace, but they don't know what they are living for, why they are here, or where they are going. To borrow a phrase, "We don't know where we are going, but we are getting there fast."

This tragedy is worsened when you look at the numbers of students who are enrolling in ministerial training programs to be equipped for full-time ministry. Few are surrendering to the pastoral ministry, few are surrendering to go to the mission fields, both foreign and domestic, and even fewer are willing to undertake personal evangelism.

Currently, our plans for West Central Texas are to evangelize and plant new churches in Brownwood and the surrounding areas. Provided that we are successful in that mission, who will be there to help us plant and pastor these churches? I have a hard enough time finding qualified preachers who will even fill in for one Sunday, even with room, board and honorariums factored in. (Thank God for Jim Slocumb, he really helped us out this summer).

No one wants to answer the call. I suspect part of the reason might be finances. As the churches decline in attendance and finances, it is harder to be able to pay a full-time salary to a pastor today. Add to this trend the factor that many pastors are developing more sophisticated tastes, and it becomes even harder for churches to finance a man's ministry. So, ministers opt for secular employment that affords them more comfortable lifestyles, all the while God's work goes undone. I believe this is one of the many things Christ addressed when He said, "When the Son of man returns, shall he find any faithful?"

It gets worse. Some pastors are leaving the responsibilities of the pulpits so that they can be "pastors of the pastors." We don't need pastors for pastors, we need pastors for churches. We don't need a shepherd to shepherd the shepherds (we already have One). We need shepherds for the sheep.

Meanwhile, the churches and the lost people alike wander about with no solid spiritual leadership. How do we remedy this situation?

One solution was offered a few years ago. A new ministry was launched that would set up a network of church-planting coaches that would coach missionaries to reach people on stateside mission fields. While this effort may have been pure in its intent, it didn't address the fundamental problem, need and challenge- the availability of obedient God-called men to go to the fields to work the harvest.

So, how do we remedy the situation? I'm glad you asked. I'm launching a new ministry... ah nevermind. Here's what we should do.

(1) Follow Jesus' instructions to pray for laborers for the harvest.

(2) Quit treating the call to the ministry like a one-in-a-million call. I believe God calls way more men to the ministry than we think. Instead of hoping that God might one day call a man from our church to the ministry, how about we assume that He is calling the men of our church to the ministry, and design our Christian education ministries to equip the members of the church for ministry. It's scriptural. Read Ephesians 4.

(3) Streamline the ministerial education process in order to get men to the fields as soon as possible. It amazes me that it takes less than a year to train and equip a Marine for combat, but it takes five years to teach a God-called preacher to study God's word and be able to share it with others.

(4) Constantly be looking for new mission fields and evangelistic opportunities. We need to be in expansion mode, not maintenance, nor decline.

(5) Get the right priorities in order. Preachers, God didn't call us to manage our 401k's, investment accounts, have top of the line insurance plans, nice homes, big cars or even build radio careers. He called us to proclaim the Gospel. Everything He blesses us with needs to be put toward that goal. God blesses you financially? Good. Use it to spread the Gospel. God blesses your investment portfolio? Praise Him that one day you won't have to worry about maintaining employment while you minister.

We need to quit seeing God's call to ministry as a freak of nature and begin seeing it for what it is- standard operating procedure for God. We need to get back to assuming that God is calling men to the ministry, pray for Him to call more men, and prepare our church members for that call through our teaching/preaching ministries. Also, we need to prepare our churches to send out missionaries.

When it comes time for Grace Pointe to send out missionaries, we may not be able to get anyone from East Texas, Arkansas or Louisiana to come to West Texas. Our missionaries may have to be homegrown. That's okay. We'll prepare accordingly.

My advice is for you to do likewise.

If you are one whom God is calling into the ministry, and you are resisting God's call, you need to relent and surrender to that call. God rewards nothing that is done in disobedience. If you are resisting God's call to ministry, then you are being disobedient no matter how many good works you are doing. Answer God's call.

Let's man-up and honor our responsibilities, and to quote a famous philosopher, "get 'er done!"

You Can't Serve God and Money

I don't know what it is... maybe it's my upbringing, maybe I've tasted the bitter fruit of failure, maybe I have an ego problem, but I can't stand to do anything half-hearted. Whatever I do, I feel like I have to be among the best at it. I have to always give it my best effort, or don't even bother.

This holds true with my radio stations, and my ministry. What I find, however, is that I am unable to program a top-notch, top-billing station AND give a first-class effort in ministering to our developing church. I am finding myself at odds with myself. Do I spend the extra effort building the station, or the church? (I know the Lord builds the church, but people still labor). While the answer may appear simple, when one realizes that their profession is the one that pays the bills, he is more inclined to spend some more time on that.

So I am coming to the conclusion that I can not build a top-rated radio station and at the same time, be a super-missionary. So, I have to make a decision... I can quit radio and go full-time ministry and suffer the financial consequences, I can keep the job but do a less-than-stellar performance at it, or I can continue my struggle. Giving God less than my best is not an option.

Do you ever struggle like this?