Evel Knievel Dead at 69

I was taken back more than 30 years this afternoon when I read that one of my childhood heroes died today. I was born in March, 1967, and one of Evel Knievel's most defining jumps took place later that year when he flew his motorcycle 151 feet over the fountains of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas...only to crash and break a few bones. My brothers and I grew up trying to imitate Evel Knievel by jumping our bicycles on our homemade ramps. It's a wonder that we didn't break a few bones, too.

I have no moral lessons to give based on Evel Knievel's life, although I'm sure I could. He was a wild child, you know! I just wanted to pay tribute to one of my childhood heroes.

Too big for your britches

My mother used to warn us boys about getting too big for our britches. I don't know if you've ever heard that phrase...but it has to do with people exaggerating their maturity. The apostle Paul dealt with that very problem with the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, he wrote:

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?"

What the Corinthians had come to understand as being spiritual and mature were, in fact, exaggerations and misunderstandings. In other words, the Corinthians weren’t nearly as spiritual as they thought they were; and, they weren’t nearly as mature as they thought they were.

I'm reminded of the time a few years ago when my family and I attended the Southern Baptist Convention in Pheonix, AZ. We went a few days ahead of the meeting so that we could participate in the evangelistic activities going on all over that part of the state.

We handed out free, cold water on a popular hiking trail...I believe it was called "Camelback Hiking Trail" or something close to that...the water enabled us to show God's love in a tangible way and to connect people to a local Phoenix church by building bridges through kindness and service. I wish you could have seen my daughters (who were a bit younger then) with bottles of water in hand asking, "Would you like some free, cold water?"

As people traveled up the trail, most of them would say, "No, I’m fine." But on the way back down, most of them desperately took the water! Each bottle had labels containing contact information for the church we were working with—Mountain View Baptist Church—and John 4:14 that says "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."

I was privileged to talk with one man who received a bottle of water. He asked who we were and why we were doing what we were doing. I explained that we were with Mountain View Baptist Church and that we were giving away water as a tangible expression of God’s love. He was very complimentary and talkative. If you can believe it, I didn’t do most of the talking...in fact, he talked 95% of the time in our 20 minute conversation.

As the gentleman talked, it was apparent that he was familiar with Christian terminology, but he had different definitions for the terms. He talked about Christ, salvation, creation, peace, faith, love--all good Christian terms and concepts. Knowing that Arizona is a breeding ground for New Age beliefs, I asked him, "What’s your path?" In other words, I was asking him where he was headed with his beliefs?...What did he hope to realize in the end? He replied immediately that he was a "Zen Christian."

I wanted to speak his language as I sought to clarify what he had said, so I asked him, "So you’ve merged the Zen Buddhist and Christian philosophies? How’s that working for you?" He went on to explain that Zen Buddhism and Christianity are one and the same.

I don’t have time to detail our conversation completely, but when I turned our focus back onto the historical, factual, biblical "Jesus Christ and Him crucified," he became so angry that he began using profanity. He said, "I’m old enough to be your father. I’ve trained men to kill on the battlefield. I’ve watched as men died in war. I’ve had broken marriages. I was a 'Jesus Freak' in the early-70s and traveled all over the country evangelizing. Don’t even begin to think you understand where I’m coming from."

So I said, "So you were a 'Jesus Freak' in the early-70s...you’ve evangelized all over the country...so how did you or why did you move from the simple message of the historical, biblical Jesus to Zen Buddhism?"

You might be wondering why I’m telling you this story, but I tell it now because of the answer the man gave at that point. I asked "How did you or why did you move from the simple message of the historical, biblical Jesus to Zen Buddhism?" He said, and I quote: "Because I grew up!" He said, and I quote (except for the profanity): "You’re just a kid...and if you’ll ever grow up and give up your doctrines and whatever else it is that you think you believe, you’ll understand what I’m saying."

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! I was hearing the very same argument that Paul had to contend with and that precipitated the writing of 1 Corinthians. "The message of Jesus is fine...for beginners; but when you grow up, you move on to higher thoughts and higher things!" And in the belief that people become more "connected" to God through nature worship or philosophies such as Zen Buddhism, people are functionally "disconnected" from God because they’ve moved away from "Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

The same happens inside local churches sometimes...as professing Christians get too big for their britches, believing they have a direct line to God that others aren't spiritual enough to have. One of the ways that such a spirit is detectable is by the results of their presence and involvement. Paul said, "For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?" When professing Christians get too big for their britches, they bring strife with their presence like a garbage truck brings stink down the street.

In Proverbs 6:17-19, Solomon named seven things that God hates: "Haughty eyes [that's pride], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.” Did you catch that last one? "...and one who spreads strife among brothers." Once again, one of the ways that such a spirit is detectable is by the results of their presence and involvement.

You know, I think my mother was right...again.

Beware of God?

I guess we should have seen it coming…

“Parenting Beyond Belief” is a book published in April by Amacom, a wing of the American Management Association (not sure what their stake is in all of this) to help parents raise their children without religion or God. As Lisa Miller wrote in her Newsweek review of the book this summer: “It raises more serious concerns about how to bring up ethical, confident, nonbelieving kids in a culture saturated with talk about God.”

Regarding explaining the concept of death to a child when one doesn’t want to suggest the possibility of an afterlife, the Unitarian minister Kendyl Gibbons recommends such phrases as “No, honey, Grandpa won't come for Christmas. He died and is dead for always.” Boy, that’ll set the mood for the holidays, won’t it?

Never mind that most Americans say they believe in God. A 2006 Newsweek poll revealed that “Americans said they believed in God by a margin of 92 to 6—only 2 percent answered, ‘don't know.’” Now, don’t misunderstand me. I will defend an atheist’s right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression…I’m just saddened that people can be so blind. I believe Pastor Adrian Rogers was right when he said, “An atheist can't find God for the same reason a thief can’t find a policeman.”

It makes me think of a story I read once and tucked away for just a time like this. In Our Greatest Gift, Henri Nouwen tells an intriguing parable. He imagines twins—a brother and a sister—talking to each other in their mother's womb:

The sister said to the brother, “I believe there is life after birth.”

Her brother protested vehemently, “No, no, this is all there is. This is a dark and cozy place, and we have nothing else to do but to cling to the cord that feeds us.”

The little girl insisted, “There must be something more than this dark place. There must be something else, a place with light where there is freedom to move.” Still, she could not convince her twin brother.

After some silence, the sister said hesitantly, “I have something else to say, and I'm afraid you won't believe that, either, but I think there is a mother.”

Her brother became furious. “A mother!” he shouted. “What are you talking about? I have never seen a mother, and neither have you. Who put that idea in your head? As I told you, this place is all we have. Why do you always want more? This is not such a bad place, after all. We have all we need, so let's be content.”

The sister was quite overwhelmed by her brother's response and for a while didn't dare say anything more. But she couldn't let go of her thoughts, and since she had only her twin brother to speak to, she finally said, “Don't you feel these squeezes every once in a while? They're quite unpleasant and sometimes even painful.”

“Yes,” he answered. “What's special about that?”

“Well,” the sister said, “I think that these squeezes are there to get us ready for another place, much more beautiful than this, where we will see our mother face-to-face. Don't you think that's exciting?”

The brother didn't answer. He was fed up with the foolish talk of his sister and felt that the best thing would be simply to ignore her and hope that she would leave him alone.

“We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I was out and about this morning and was reminded everywhere I looked that Christmas is coming. Actually, I love this time of year like no other...it's not the commercialization of the holiday I like, I assure you, but I do love the decorations and the carols and the spirit.

I've been thinking this morning about Christmas because I'm beginning my Christmas sermon series this weekend. As challenging as preaching on Christmas is (i.e. staying fresh), I love the whole process--planning, preparing, and delivering the messages. It seems that people are especially open to hearing about Jesus during these days, so we shouldn't miss the chance to share the good news.

I heard the story recently of the little girl who came home from Sunday school waving a paper for her mother to see. “Look Mommy,” she exclaimed, “Teacher says I drew the most unusual Christmas picture she ever saw!”

Her mother took one look and had to agree with the teacher. Hoping her daughter could explain her creation, the mother asked, “Why are all these people riding in the back of an airplane?”

“Well, Mommy, that's the flight into Egypt.”

Accepting that, the mother asked another question: “Who is this mean-looking man in the front?”

Her daughter answered quickly and knowingly: “That's Pontius, the Pilot.”

Looking at the picture even more closely, the mother said, “I see you have Mary and Joseph and the baby. But who is this large man sitting behind Mary?”

“Can't you tell?” the little girl asked, beginning to shake her head in disappointment. “That's Round John Virgin.”

That story reminds me that people don’t always get the details of the Christmas story right. Maybe they’ve never read the Bible or maybe we’ve never told them. Either way, they’re missing out on the greatest news ever given to mankind! Let’s make it our purpose this Christmas to share the greatest Christmas gift ever…Jesus.

They're watching!

Did you hear about the two gas company service men—a senior training supervisor and a young trainee—who were out checking meters in a neighborhood? They parked their truck at the end of the street and worked their way to the other end. At the last house, a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter.

Finishing the meter check, the senior supervisor challenged his younger co-worker to a foot race down the street back to the truck to prove that an older guy could outrun a younger one. As they came running up to the truck, they realized that the lady from the last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong. Gasping for breath, she said, “When I see two gas men running full speed away from my house, I figure I'd better run too.”

Even when we don’t realize it, people are watching us. And to make that point even more somber, many of them will do exactly what we do . . . which causes us to ask ourselves, “How are we influencing and where are we leading those who are watching us?”

Perhaps our first thoughts drift to our family relationships or our neighborhood relationships or our workplace relationships. In any case, each of us influences someone, directly or indirectly.

The apostle Paul wrote: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1). After warning the Ephesians about giving in to flesh-centered living, Paul coached: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (5:1). But Paul equally exhorted the believers in Corinth to “be imitators of me” (1 Corinthians 4:16).

Maybe you remember the comment that NBA star, Charles Barkley, uttered a few years ago: “I’m not a role model.” Certainly we could debate the wisdom of Barkley (among many others, by the way) influencing the attitudes and actions of our children, but Barkley was dead wrong to believe that he could just absolve himself of his influence!

How often do church members say, “I’m no saint!” Yes, you are. Do a casual search of the Scriptures to see how often Christians are called saints. Or how about when church members say things like, “I’m no preacher!” Where are we ever instructed that there are two sets of ethics or expectations—one for ministers and one for “normal” people? Sure, ministers should set a high standard of holy living, but that’s only to set the example for all Christians to follow. The point is that true believers in Christ can never absolve themselves from their influence. We’re all walking, breathing, living billboards. The messages we’re all advertising are steering people toward Christ or away from Him . . . thoughts to ponder.

"...and, NO, he's not my uncle"

I should have written this weeks ago.

If you've heard me speak on politics at any point, chances are you've heard me say that I don't believe the hope of our nation's future rests with a particular political party, per se. I am involved in the political process, though; I VOTE. But I was shocked recently when a leading religious leader (albeit becoming a bit Alzheimer-ish) gave his full endorsement to a leading, socially-liberal, Republican presidential candidate. Pat Robertson put his stamp of approval on former NYC mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm glad Rudy Giuliani did such a good job as mayor of New York City. I love that place. I'm glad he responded with such good leadership after 9/ll. He jumped in and led with all the world watching. BUT...BUT...BUT...I'm not so certain I want him at the helm of the most powerful nation on earth. And I'm alarmed that Pat Robertson, a still revered leader of the Religious Right, would endorse the thrice-married, abortion-supporting, pro-gay, and anti-gun candidate.

Robertson claimed that terrorism trumps the social issues that have fueled the conservative Christian movement for more than 20 years. He said, "Our world faces deadly peril...and we need a leader with a bold vision who is not afraid to tackle the challenges ahead." Robertson said that one of the main reasons he's supporting Giuliani is "judges, judges, and judges." He said that Giuliani "has assured the American people that he's going to appoint justices in the likeness of Scalia and John Roberts, et cetera...and I believe him."

Now let's get this straight...Giuliani disdains the sanctity of marriage vows. He supports killing babies while they're still in their mother's wombs. He's an advocate of the gay agenda. He supports squelching the Second Amendment. And he's the guy Pat Robertson wants in the White House because he's going to appoint conservative judges. [Imagine me shaking my head in disbelief with a sarcastic grin on my face.]

Pat Robertson has done enough damage to the Christian cause already through his foolish, injurious rambling about world affairs. Remember him calling for the assasination of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's president/dictator? As a result, Chavez booted out about half of the Christian missionaries, claiming they were in cahoots with the CIA. I have no doubt that Chavez is mentally imbalanced and an evil man. I have no doubt that Venezuelans are being oppressed. I have no doubt that Chavez hates America. But Robertson's flippant comments about killing Chavez were irresponsible, unacceptable, and inappropriate.

Do I think terrorism is a real threat to US security? Absolutely. Most of Washington and the presidential candidates don't, though, or we'd be doing something about securing our borders! (That's a topic that'll have to wait for another day.) But do we actually have to choose between national security and national morality in the upcoming presidential election? I don't think so.

I wish I could say that Pat Robertson's voice were obsolete and irrelevant. Unfortunately, however, millions still watch him every day on CBN.

On another yet related note, it's going to be interesting to see what happens if the Republican presidential nominee is, in fact, Rudy Giuliani. How will those who believe the GOP is "God's Own Party" respond? Will they continue to tow the party line? I know they'd never cross the party line to vote Democratic, but what will they do? And what will they tell America to do? We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

Remember this, though: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Proverbs 14:34).

"Lord, thank you for my toothbrush"

In The Bible and The New York Times, author Fleming Rutledge writes:

"The life of thankfulness—biblically speaking—is lived in view of the hard things of existence. As the life of thanksgiving deepens, we discover that the more mature prayers of thanksgiving are not those offered for the obvious blessings, but those spoken in gratitude for obstacles overcome, for insights gained, for lessons learned, for increased humility, for help received in time of need, for strength to persevere, for opportunities to serve others."

That makes me wonder how thankful I am for less obvious blessings. When my family and I went to Venezuela in the summer of '06 on our first "family mission trip," part of that experience was traveling out to the jungle to minister among the Warao people. "Jungle" is probably not the best term to describe where we were, because where we went was only accessible by water...but it's the best word I have. Anyway, we were among people who live in huts, sleep in hammocks, and travel by canoe. Clothing was minimal (some of the kids were "naked as a jaybird," as we say where I grew up) and hygeine was questionable. Because of their unvarying diet, evidence of vitamin deficiencies was obvious.

What I'm getting at is that I was reminded then (and I'm reminded now) that some of our blessings are things we normally take for granted. When's the last time you thanked God for clean water or a bar of soap or a loaf of bread or a toothbrush?!? How about electricity? On a different note, when's the last time you thanked God for painting a sunset or dotting the night sky full of stars? See where I'm going with this?

May this Thanksgiving Day be filled with gratitude for the obvious and the not-so-obvious blessings! "Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns" (Philippians 1:3-6 NLT).

...but do we love Jesus?

You've seen the commercial advertising insurance or something, haven't you, that says, “Life comes at you fast”? Well, I'm ashamed and embarrassed that I haven't posted since the 5th of last month...but life just seems to be so busy!

I've got a thought on my mind this morning. I heard the story from a few years ago about a man who found himself in an elevator with Chrysler’s CEO. Wanting to be pleasant, he asked, “You’re Lee Iacocca, aren’t you?” The CEO acknowledged that he was.

The man said, “Mr. Iacocca, I want to tell you how much I enjoy your television commercials advertising Chrysler.” To this compliment Iacocca replied, “Sir, I couldn’t care less what you think of my commercials. What I want to know is what kind of car do you drive?”

The bottom line in faith, in all honesty, is not what you think of the preacher or the music or the church or the carpet or the lights or…

The bottom line in faith is whether you’re a follower of Christ (or, at least, are in the process of coming to know Him personally)! We can admire certain aspects of religiosity, but do we love Jesus?

Until next time...and hopefully it won't be a month and a half!