Rocky Fork Fellowship: Writer's Notebook (part 2)

Rocky Fork Fellowship Groundbreaking Ceremony

Last week I posted portions of an interview with Scott Rice, the current Rocky Fork Fellowship chairman of the elders.

I also spent about an hour talking to Mark Butrum, RFF Senior Minister, and  Chris Collier, Executive Minister. What follows are some of the things we discussed that didn't make it into the article in the October issue of Christian Standard..

The Building Project

Chris: There’s a lot of people working on the building project. Don’t give me all the credit, and I’ll accept all the blame. I hope it relieves Mark to do what we need him to do, what he’s skilled to do.

We’re blessed to have a lot of people in the church who have experience in construction, experience working with the county. Through those people we’ve been tied into others. We’ve been leaning heavily on the professionals we’ve hired for design and engineering. That’s why it’s not fair to say I’m the guy doing it all, I’m just collecting the data, collecting the information.

Mark: Chris did a huge amount of work with cost reductions – right size, right price comparisons. Bringing all that into perspective. One of his talents is being able to pull data together and make it so we could and read it and make decisions together. It’s OK to have all this raw data, but unless you put it in one place and say, this is what it might look like, you can’t really make decisions, you’re just pulling numbers.

Chris: There’s some balance there of faith vs. fact and what you see on paper. We took a faith step in identifying the budget point. We’re still trying to hold to that budget, we’re not done holding to that budget. It takes a lot of moving things around and deciding . There’s so many options. From what kind of paving we’re going to put in the parking lot all the way to what kind of building this is going to be, how big, what the span is, how many fixtures in the bathroom.

Mark: Keeping some of our core values in mind, stewardship is very high . We want to come out with a finished product that is not only reasonable and what we can afford, but also matches the expectations of the future we want to get into as far as future growth.

Chris: Stewardship is more important than professionalism.  All indications are this is not the end of what we do, but we have to start somewhere. We looked at huge scale down to smaller than what we finally rest on, trying to fin a balance. It would be awesome if we outgrew it in 3 to 6 months, but at the same time we want to expect what ‘s going to happen. I hope it’s always about how this is going to help us accomplish our mission.

Mark: We keeping harping on it: this is a tool. We haven’t arrived. We have people ask, when are you going to become a church? They don’t see us as a church yet because we don’t have a building. I’m OK with that, but we need to change our mindset that the church isn’t the building. This is a tool, it doesn’t mean we haven’t arrived yet because we haven’t built it. There’s so much more to do.

Mark: Vision leaks. We've got to talk twice as much about vision and mission to overcome that. So we’ve got to have this balance. When we started this campaign, we knew this was the beginning of something that will probably never end. We’ll probably always be campaigning for something, whether it’s more staff or another building, a second campus, another church, plant. Something, we’re going to be constantly in this cycle of collecting funds, and not just tithing to keep the church going. We’ve got to keep the vision out front more than the other. We struggle with keeping the campaign out there. We struggle with talking about both and getting those two back in synch again.

Balancing Growth and Mission

Chris:What makes RFF unique is that family welcoming atmosphere. We have to be careful. Some of the churches I’ve attended have fallen into accepting that it can’t be done, or accepting that there’s nothing you can do about it., that if you get to a certain size, you can’t keep doing that. I don’t agree with that, I don’t agree that we always have to say society or culture has changed and people won’t come to church. It’s because nobody asked them or challenged them or got to know them enough to bring them along.

Mark: One of the things we want to do this year is to look at how we reach people. We’re refocusing a lot of energy on that right now. How do we reach people, how do we bring in new people, how to create an environment where people who are coming to RF will bring in their friends and feel comfortable about it, will want to do that. How do we, once they're here, whether it be for a picnic or special event, how do create an on-ramp to RF? It goes down to every one of us. We all have to be mission minded. We have to in a place where we know, I’m accountable for the people I invite.

Mark: Every weekend we get a sheet of people that were here the 2nd or 3rd time, or who was missing. Chris and I and other people in the church take names from that list. We text them, Facebook, call, however we can get hold of them and and say we missed you. We’re not trying to be the attendance police, but we missed you. Is there anything going on, is there a divorce or split or kids are sick. Reach out to people let them know you care. We find that when we make a special effort to do that, there’s an attendance spike the next week. You may make contact with one neighbor and suddenly there’s two families coming, because a neighbor or family member they know, someone who used to come, they’re coming back too. That’s awesome. I’m paraphrasing Andy Stanley, but we want to be the church where unchurched friends invite their unchurched neighbors. We want to be that kind of church where it’s perpetual motion, exponentially.

Mark: When we put a building up out here, we’re going to have people coming out of the woodwork to come visit us. I say visit us. How are going to get them to come back a 2nd, 3rd, 4th time? The infrastructure has to be ready for that. Small groups, things for their kids, all that has to be ready for them.

Rocky Fork Fellowship: Writer's Notebook (Part 1)

In the October issue of Christian Standard is my story, Mission-Driven Success, about how Rocky Fork Fellowship is dealing with the challenges brought on by their rapid growth. It's a follow up to the piece that appeared in Lookout two and a half years ago, Fellowship in a Small Town.

In preparation for the story, I conducted two interviews. The first was with Scott Rice, the chairman of elders. What follows are the parts of our conversation that didn't make it into the limited space of the published article. I think you'l find them informative and challenging.

Next week I'll follow up with the unpublished portions of another interview I did, this time with Mark Butrum and Chris Collier.

But first, Scott Rice:

"Five years ago I was just dreading the day that we were going to have to buy land and then build a building, because neither one of those things seemed affordable or even possible at all.

The school building gave us an incubator to work within that wasn’t very expensive, but it also provided people a safe place to come worship that wasn’t unfamiliar to them. They already kind of knew the school building so they could walk through the door and experience a service with the feeling of a church building. That’s who we were really setting our goal on was to find people who weren’t already attending church somewhere and let them have a comfortable atmosphere to attend. It really did help us that way. Honestly if we could create that same atmosphere in the new building, we’re going to try to do that. It’s going to be a challenge in its own way.

If I was to walk in here and never had been in a church before, what is it that is going to make me feel uncomfortable? A lot of it’s in the song choices or the way we dress or the traditions of standing up and greeting people around you, those kinds of things. We try to look at it from their perspective.

I want to get a cup of coffee. How many times have you been in a church where you couldn’t bring a cup of coffee into the sanctuary? Even the terminology, like sanctuary., things like that. Those are all valid terms, but people who don’t use them regularly just unfamiliar to them. It’s just one more thing that might make them feel uncomfortable. 'Meet me in the sanctuary'? I don’t even know what that is.

Another challenge is to get people behind the idea. It would seem intuitive that people would want us to be in a building, but then again, we’ve been in the school for ten years and they may thing, why don’t we just stay here, this is comfortable.

I have a feeling, the people of Hallsville themselves have kind of scratched their heads at who we are. Our founders, our leaders, weren’t people who grew up in the local community. All of us are from somewhere else. Hallsville, like a lot of small towns, has a tendency to think of itself as a network of people who have been here awhile who have a vested interest in the community. And now we’ve got an outside group that has come in and is seeing great success. There was maybe some questions about who we were and our motives, questions of whether this was even necessary. And may questions of these people are outsiders and they’re succeeding. They’re becoming a force in and of themselves.

We’ve had some people in our community who have had their kids raised up in these schools, so we’re getting involved in the graduations and local sports and those sorts of things. The familiarity of who we are now has begun easing. We’ve also begun having people who are from the established Hallsville community who have been attending and can help deliver that message to their friends and family members, to say “These people are all right, they’ve done a good thing.” We haven’t had any significant pushback.

There’s some resistance that you feel from the community itself, that we don’t need another church. Why would you decide that you should start here. You’re pulling from where we would like to pull from. You-re a competitor in the community, rather than a group with the same goal.

You address that resistance by staying focused with what you’re trying to do. You stay in communication with them, you engage them, you respect them, you honor what they’re trying to do as well. You don’t run them down, and you don’t try to take people from them, you don’t try to pull their members form them. If people come on their own, that’s something we don’t have any control over. You’re focus is on people who aren’t already attending. Beyond that you wish each other well.

You have to try to stay ahead of the curve of growth with staffing and programs and budgets. People were coming and coming but we had to bring on more staff, we had to expand our eldership.

Sometimes we wanted to stay ahead of the curve but couldn't afford it. Sometimes it was happening so fast we couldn’t get it done. There were many times we didn’t have things in place that needed to be in place, like certain parts of the by-laws weren’t done, or policies on how we handle things. Sometimes we were making decisions as things were already happening.

It's important to pay attention to the members that you have while also engaging the new ones that are coming in, and not dropping ball with them leaving out the door behind you without you knowing it. Paying attention to who you have as well as paying attention to who you might be getting.

Growth brings with it a lot of new ideas. Sometimes they’re helpful and sometimes they’re not. Sometimes they’re not mission centered - Rocky Fork’s mission. They’re nice to have, they’re community oriented, but they’re not about making disciples. So sorting through all things is difficult.

Pulling everything through the filter of our mission helps to explain why we might not participate in fund raisers for s sports team or a community banquet or a community event, why we want to dedicate our resources and our time to just that mission.

The mission is to make disciples. We used to say to make disciples by connecting with one another, growing in Christ, plugging them into services, and leading them to bring others to Christ. It’s a constant circle. We’ve shifted our language now to simply Making Disciples, with an emphasis on helping people to make Jesus the most important relationship in their lives. They will do more than just call it their church home, they will be invested in it. That’s how we’re trying to reinvigorate us to refocus.

The challenge of having a large percentage of unchurched people, they don’t understand what the commitment of being a good church member or a good Christian would entail. It’s exciting because you’re seeing the people grow, but it’s challenging because you’re trying to keep them moving in the right direction.

Ultimately it all goes back to God’s working in our lives and in this community. Now that’s hard to say because I’ve seen other people who feel like God is working in their project also, and it just doesn't go as well. So I don’t know how to reconcile all that.

Some of the things we were blessed with, through him was a set of people who were very skilled and organized and motivated and committed. There was a small group of people who were really ready to pick up and to do the hard work to make this happen, for a long term commitment. They were blessed to secure a preacher who came in with skill sets already through his job history, but was new enough in the ministry field that we could afford him. There was a good match up right there.

And then our community was hungry for this kind of church. A church that isn’t wrapped up in the traditions of how it’s been for a hundred years. A church that can deliver the Christian message in a kind and genuine and well done way.

For whatever reason, the people of Hallsville found that to be inviting, and decided to come.

We want to do it in a good way, we don’t want to cut corners. We take this seriously. We do it with an openness and a transparency and the idea that we’re on this same journey with everyone else. The church leaders and the staff are all gong through the same things everybody’s going through. We want to do this altogether."

The Church That Does the Recovery Program: Writer's Notebook

A few of the FCC-Belle Celebrate Recovery peeps

The story behind The Church That Does the Recovery Program, my current article in the October issue of Christian Standard magazine, begins nearly two years ago when I was doing research for a different story for Lookout magazine. My Lookout editor, Kelly Carr, wanted a listicle about rural and/or small churches reaching out to help their communities (Small Churches -- Big Impact, 2/12/17).

I sent out private Facebook messages to several preachers I know from our days together at Central Christian College. I wrote several more blind private messages and e-mails to churches in rural Missouri that I found in the Directory of the Ministry.

 I also reached out to David Fincher, President of Central Christian College, to ask if he knew of any such community outreach programs among CCCB's supporting churches. I've gotten some of my best story ideas from David, and he didn't let me down this time. He sent me a short note in response:

"You should talk to Mitchell Seaton at First Christian Church in Belle, Missouri. They have had a great outreach to many of the hurting people in their community."

So I wrote an e-mail to Seaton and received back an 800-word detailed description of First Christian Church's experience with Celebrate Recovery (CR), a very small part of which was included in that article.

I knew, though, that the time would come when I would tell that story in more detail.

A Sunday morning drive through the hills and hollers of the Ozarks followed. Mitch invited Karen and I to "interview" the members of one of the Sunday School classes. There wasn't much interviewing required, as this crowd of friends, all involved in one way or another in the Celebrate Recovery program, led me through a wild and crazy hour of stories and confessions and tears and laughter.

My editor, Michael Mack, after reading the finished manuscript, told me "Dude, love the quotes. Very compelling and I laughed out loud several times."

There were plenty more quotes that didn't make it into the 1,500 word article.  So here's your chance to hear more from the people at First Christian Church in Belle, MO. You will laugh out loud, you will be challenged, and you might even cry.

Tim Long 3, on what happened after he got arrested in the parking lot of the church after a Sunday morning service:

“I came back the following Sunday to church. I couldn’t take it no more. June 14, 2014, was my first day clean and sober. It was Father’s Day. I went to church because my daughters had asked me. 

I said, I’m done. I was done with it at that point. 12 days later they start the recovery program and I’m in jail again. I had warrants that I was still cleaning up. It took a while to clean the mess up that I had created behind me. . .  I felt God’s hand on me when I was in jail, I said we’ll work this out. I’ll sit here, I’m good. I’ve run out of options. 

The following week I came to the recovery program. I was at the ground level. The second week of the program they handed me a book and said, here, why don’t you do the lesson. I kind of giggled a little bit. “You know who you’re handing this off to?” 

I’m in a position now as ministry leader of CR, and I get to watch what guys like Kevin, Tony, and Mitchell got to watch through me, those aha moments. I get to watch them through guys like Todd and Pete, not just their recovery from drug addiction, but their recovery from life, moving forward, being the men and women god has intended them to be. When you’re going through it yourself, you don’t see it, but people like Kevin can tell me about the progression he sees people go through. 

The church people have been 100% supportive, and they’re not afraid to let you know where you’ve fallen short, or what you need to work on or give you the praises that keep you pushing forward."

Anna Long:

"I told him (Tim 3, her husband), he said he was coming to church, and I said, if you have a warrant, Tony will arrest you. I warned him and he said, I don’t but if I do I’ll deal with it. 

I came in a year before the recovery program started. I came here as a child, and then came back. I came in because I was at a low point in my marriage and everything else and needed to be around people. There was a lot more space in the pews. This Sunday School class at the time, there was like five of us. The stories that people were willing to share helped so much. 

CR has opened things up. We’re a little louder, so it opens it up to talk to everybody. We’re kind of loud and crazy but we love Jesus.

A lot of times people will come to CR first and then everyone tells them, come to our church. It doesn’t matter if you’ve tried church before, try our church. And then a lot of times then, again, Mitchell’s sermons are very relatable and they feel welcome and accepted when they come in the door."

Tim Long 2 (Tim 3's dad):

"Yesterday is 21 months clean and sober. I spent over 40 years out on the dark side, doing my will only. When i was a kid I used to spend my collection money by skipping church and going to the bowling alley. 

First time I came in here I heard Mitchell speak and he was right in my head talking to me. I even asked him, what did they teach you at that college, mind reading? You need to stay outta there! 

I came to CR to see about getting rid of my addiction, and I was in it for a while and then I asked Jesus Christ to take my addiction and he did. It’s now not about the addiction anymore, it’s about the recovery to change my life and living my life the way Christ wants me to live. 

That’s why I’m here. All these people here, the whole church they work with you, they help you, they lead you. The whole church is my accountability partner now. 

When some of us started coming, we asked Mitchell, are you going to be able to keep your job with all these rough people coming in? He said ‘This is a hospital for sinners, not a house for saints.”

Celebrate Recovery members playing with kids at FCC-Belle VBS

Denene Gehlert:

“When I came to CR, I’d been an addict my whole life. It was OK to come. I felt like everybody from all walks of life are being real here. 

It’s OK for me to come in and talk to others. They’ll help you through it and carry it. 

The realness of other people helps because people come in and think that can’t tell their story because their problem is so dark CR has made it OK for people from all walks of life to come in and be accepted. These are good Christian people who will take you as you are and say, we’ll help you with this. We all have problems and everyone can see. 

Tony Baritech:

It’s OK if you’ve got a problem. This is where you should be if you’ve got a problem. Romans 3:23. I’m one of those people. We’re family here. We walk through it all together.

Mitchell Seaton:

The impact and scope of CR:  “It's been an adjustment for sure. And we're still adjusting. But they're still coming, and they're lives are being changed by the power of Christ. This has brought on all kinds of changes to our approach. it's not just addiction. But really any of life's "hurts, habits, and hang-ups" (which is a Celebrate Recovery line). Depression. Anger. Sexual Addiction. Codependency. 

Church discipline: "Though we are patient to allow God's Spirit to convict, we also know we must play a role in that, too."

Clayton Johnson:

"Before I started coming to CR I was an atheist. I didn’t believe in Christ. The only time I went to church was for a wedding or a funeral, and I thought I was going to get struck by lightning for walking through the doors. 

I had multiple people tell me to come to CR and through CR I found Christ, I started coming to church, I’ve been baptized, I’ve been redeemed. 

Becoming one of the leaders for CR, as encouragement leader, has been wonderful. I believe last year we had more CR baptisms than we had baptism out of the regular church program. It’ changing lives. It changed mine. I went from a non-believer to a faithful, grateful believer, and I tell everybody now.".

Sundi JoGraham, on the close-knit community of CR and FCC-Bel:

"A friend said, the other day, I feel like the Sunday School class is the church. The people in this room, we do life together. 

We go to Carrie and Kevin’s to play whiffle ball. I remember going to my first whiffle ball game and seeing all this diverse group of people from all walks of life. You’ve got ex-convicts and ex drug dealers and a cop, you’ve got all these people. We were all playing whiffle ball together and eating hot dogs together. That’s the body of Christ, is doing life together. We have cried in this room together, we’ve been real and raw. It’s been amazing to watch. 

Margie Baretich:

"When I came there was maybe 50 or 60 people. Now we have probably as many children here as we did adults back then. 

The CR program here, I can’t even express the amount of hope that it gives me. 

We have a boy that’s in prison. Watching the transformations that I’ve been to see, gives me hope that’s still possible for my son. 

It has given me a different perspective in my work as well. I’m a paramedic, 28 years, and I go get the same people time after time after time for the same abuses, the same drugs, or for the same beatings from the same person and I have been jaded in the past. Here we go again. 

Now I understand addiction so much better and the life struggles than I did before. Now I have a diff perspective in my work. I can say with all honesty now, when I’m picking up somebody for the 43rd time, there really is hope. I know it’s there. 

Contact CR in your areas and give it a chance, you’ve got everything to gain."

An exchange during the group decision that highlights the unexpected and extraordinary relationships developing at FCC-Belle:

Tim Long 2: We tried to get Tony to come work for us, but he wouldn’t. 

Tony Baretich (police officer): No joke, I was offered a large monthly stipend to look the other way, but no. 

Tim Long 2: And now we got motorcycles and Tony don’t. 

Tim Long 3: I’m very happy that you didn’t take that offer.

Tim Long 2:

Broken Chains is part of CR, a Christian biker program. It brought me in to where I could have a bike again. I got rid of my bike and wasn’t going to get another one because of the lifestyle, but it’s allowed me to do other ministry work. 

That’s one of the things that is really amazing me is doing ministry work. When I was new, Mitchell would talk about ministry work. The other day I was standing around talking to guys about Jesus and a few months before I would have rather hit you than to talk about Jesus. I came on kind of fast. 

It’s crazy, the transformation is totally amazing. The acceptance and guidance they give is great. I’ve never met people like that my whole life.

Kevin Brown:

We came to FCC 5 or 6 years ago. Tony invited Morgan (his daughter) to come. I wasn’t sure how we would be accepted, because I had been divorced, twice. At that point there was 70ish attendance, probably. 

I’m thrilled we started at that point. I believe we were put here at that certain time. I didn’t even know Mitchell, but we hit it off immediately and became really good friends after some earnest conversation. It was good. 

So we were able to see the beginning and to see the wave start to swell. It was phenomenal. 

Everything they’re saying is 100% true. There was hardly nobody in this classroom. 

If you can help one person, and I believe there’s been more than one person that’s been helped, that gives me hope. 

Yes, we have people out for whiffle ball because God has blessed us to have a place where we can do that, and we absolutely love it. It’s not the whiffle ball, it’s the talks after whiffle ball. That’s the cool part. 

I was on vacation and met someone from Redding, CA. They’re from a Christian church out there, and they’re going to start a CR program. I said, that’s fine, but get ready to get your heart to broken. It’s been a huge blessing and it’s been quite the ride.

Margie Baretich:

When our boy was arrested, if that would have happened when I was in that plastic church we used to go to, I would not have had this acceptance, this love, this encouragement. I would have had to hide that, to put on a brave face or go elsewhere. But here, we’re not looked down upon because of what our child did, we’re love and accepted and carried through.

Tony Baretich:

The day before he left to go to prison, 30 some odd people from this church showed up. Mitchell got permission from the county sheriff and everybody got to say their piece and I love you’s and the body of Christ was alive and active. It wasn’t just words, they showed up.

 Tim Long 3:

Everybody’s situation, everything that has happened, is a chaotic mess of just beautiful. 

I couldn’t be where I’m at today without Tony and Marge’s struggles. It brought a whole new light. 

I always frowned upon . . the way I grew up there was only one way to handle that kind of situation, what he did. But what he did is a sin, but it wasn’t any difference than me being a drug dealer, spreading poison on the street. God used that to open my eyes. I’m on the register to go and see him. 

Each person’s struggle is unique, but if you can look at it and put it into perspective of what you’ve done, and the forgiveness you’ve accepted and offered, there’s nothing out of God’s grasp.

Clayton Johnson:

A sin is a sin is a sin. God still loves you, god works with sinners. There’s an acceptance for the many different walks of life that everyone has come from. I’ve buried two daughters, I’ve buried my parents. I’ve lost a whole lot in my life. Whenever I was going through all of that, I stayed so far gone, I didn’t know who I was. I literally did not recognize myself looking in a mirror.

Sundi Jo Graham:

People don’t let you stay stuck where you are. I was going through a bad time a few months ago. I teach people how to have healthy coping mechanisms and how to talk about their problems. But Tony and Mitch showed up to ask what was going on, to tell me I couldn’t lock myself off like that. If you hurt I’m going to hurt with you. If you celebrate I’m going to celebrate with you. 

Tony Baretich:

I love Mitchell so much; I’d bury a body for him. There have been leadership issues, but the one constant is their obedience. Mitchell doesn’t take the easy way out. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s how to have healthy confrontations with people.

If you would like to learn more about the Celebrate Recovery program, go to http://www.celebraterecovery.com/

Last Night: Chain Gang

The big news on the past few weeks has been the Pew Research report on Christianity in America.

America's Changing Religious Landscape: Our survey of more than 35,000 Americans http://t.co/ybR4e8ydJh pic.twitter.com/GQKqJKxT6Z

— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) May 12, 2015

According to their extensive research, the number and percentage of Americans identifying themselves as "Christian" has declined significantly. Only the percentage of those identifying themselves as "Evangelical" has remained relatively stable.

Why is that "Christians" are decreasing, but "evangelicals" are not?

While the term "evangelical" means many different things to different groups, at its core the term implies a people who possess a mission, a purpose, rather than just a label.

That's as it should be for any follower of Christ.

Jesus' final prayer with the disciples, recorded in John 17, is all about mission. God's mission, Jesus' mission, the disciples' mission, and our mission today.

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. (John 17:6-10)

We're all on a mission and we're all at different points in the never ending chain of doing our part.

God's mission: to reveal Himself to the world through His son and to sacrifice His son for the sake of the world.

Jesus' mission, passed on to Him by the Father: to live and teach in such a way as to reveal the character of God to the world, and to sacrifice Himself for the world.

The disciples' mission, passed on to them by Jesus: to reveal the character of God to the world by teaching, by living through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and by being willing to sacrifice their lives for the mission.

Our mission, passed along through the centuries is no different. We're not called to be part of the church so we can show up every Sunday, sing some songs, listen to a pep talk or a theology lesson, and then come back the next week to do it all over again. We're to be about the business of the Father, revealing His character to the people outside the church. We do that by talking to them, investing in their lives, loving them, living out the character of God in our lives through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and by being willing to sacrifice our time, our priorities, our reputations, our "cool" factor, and our lives for the sake of the mission.

The church will survive and thrive when the people of the church eagerly embrace their identity of being chained to the mission of God.

 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20-21)

Last Night: Protected Together

We don't put much stock in the meaning behind names these days.

When we chose a name for our son, we looked through books full of names, like most modern American parents do. Those books list the meaning of the name - my name, Timothy, means "worshiper of God." But while we take note of the meaning, it's not the most important reason most parents choose a name.

We pick the name that rolls of the tongue best when combined with the last night.

We consider the nicknames the other kids in school will come up with.

We often choose a name because it's popular, perhaps because of a celebrity or a character in a TV show.

We chose Cody as our son's name because we liked western-sounding cowboy names. That was it. We noticed it's an Irish name, meaning "helpful," but that was irrelevant to us. We just liked the sound of Cody.

Our son has made the name Cody mean something, carry some weight, because of who he has become and the things he does in his name.

Simon was given his name by his parents, and he made that name become known as a fisherman. Jesus then renamed him Peter, meaning "the rock," because Peter's actions and his confession called for a new name to represent the rock solid identity he was assuming.

Of most importance in the Bible is the name of God, which Jesus brings to the forefront in His final conversations with the disciples on the last night. And He includes the importance of the name of God in His last prayer.

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. (John 17:11-12)

Several years ago I did something really stupid at work, a poorly chosen moment of self-expression which didn't set well with the top administrators. I kept my job, but only because my boss spoke up for me and protected me. She had a clout of clout in the organization, so they kept me around as a favor to her.

She protected me by the power of her name.

The name of God has even more power.

When we pray in His name, we summon all of His power behind the request. When speak out in His name, our words carry His authority. When we pursue His mission in His name, His power goes before us to accomplish the tadk.

Whatever we do in His name, we don't do it alone.

Last Night: Glorify

We will glorify the King of kings We will glorify the Lamb We will glorify the Lord of lords Who is the great I am 

Those lyrics, from Twila Paris' We Will Glorfiy, are typical of many contemporary worship songs centered on glorifying the Lord.

It's certainly true that God enjoys the songs His people sing to glorify Him. Psalm 22:3 literally says He dwells within the praises of His people.

When Jesus talked about glorifying God, though, He spoke of something beyond singing songs.

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.  For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.  Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.  I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.  John 17:1-5

Jesus talks about two aspects of glorifying:

First, Jesus glorified the Father by finishing the work God gave Him to do. He was sent to live a life in such a way as to show the world how God intended humans to live, glorifying God in every action, every word, through pursuing His purposes through to the end.

Second, Jesus says God is about to glorify Him.

This is not going to happen by a simple statement like He's previously done: "This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased."

The Father is about to glorify the Son by offering Him up to die, after which He will raise Him from the dead.

If I want to glorify God with more than the songs of praise I sing, I need to be willing to live my life in a way that glorifies Him in every moment. And I need to be willing to lose my life, to take up my cross daily.

Many Christians get a thrill from joining with the worship band and the crowd of voices, singing praises on Sunday morning. But too many worshipers leave the worship hall to go on about the lives they've chosen for themselves.

Are you committed to a moment-by-moment, day-by-day life that glorifies Him? Are you willing to lose your self - and your life - for Him?

Last Night: Grief to Joy

My mother's funeral included a musical presentation few expected: her son sang at his own mother's funeral.

When people found out I was planning to sing, several asked me if I was sure I wanted to do that. Won't that be hard? We could get someone else to sing the songs you want.

A co-worker I've known for over 30 years was at the funeral. She's a nominal Catholic and I noticed she had a look of amazement on her face while my wife I were up front singing. A few days later, at work, she stopped by my office and told me how much she appreciated our singing.

"I don't know how you did that without losing it in the middle of singing," she said, "but I could tell you really believe what you were singing." We sang Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone, I Can Only Imagine, and Trading My Sorrows.

The answer to everyone's questions is simple: In the midst of my grief I was feeling the greatest joy possible. My mother, who had suffered in pain for decades, was no longer confined to the wheelchair that had been her prison for years. She had trading her sorrows and pain and shame for glory and grace. While I played my guitar and sang, I imagined her in heaven's grand ballroom, dancing the jitterbug with my dad.

Such joy in times of grief is only possible because Jesus caused His disciples temporary grief while he turned himself over to be crucified.

Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’?  Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.  A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.  So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:19-22)

Last Night: The Change Up

It was the 5th inning of a midweek college baseball game. The game had been unremarkable up to that point. Both coaches were taking the Johnny Wholestaff approach, throwing a new pitcher out there every inning or so.

Then the atmosphere changed in the ballpark. The incoming pitcher was announced and everyone came to attention and watched the 6'8" right hander stroll to the mound.

The freshman pitcher held the hopes and dreams of many Mizzou Baseball fans in his fastball-throwing hands. His coaches certainly were eager to see him throw his first inning, to see how he would do in a real college game.

I stood up from my seat in Section E, Row 4, Seat 1, and moved to my right, directly behind the batter's box. From there I could not only see the pitches coming head-on, I was also positioned behind the scouts with their radar guns.

The first hitter up to bat never took the bat off his shoulders. He never even saw the four straight 95 mph fastballs.

Then the pitcher started mixing it up a little. He still threw that 95 to 96 mph fastball more often than not, but he also tried a couple of other pitches.

First he tried a big curve, which he just couldn't seem to control enough to get it over the strike zone. Then he went for a change-up.

A change-up, to the batter's eye, looks just like a fastball. The pitcher's mechanics, if a change-up is done correctly, appear no different from the fastball. But when the ball leaves the pitcher's hand, it gets to the plate much more slowly, throwing the batter off his timing.

The difference is in the way the pitcher grips the ball, usually, along with minute changes in mechanics.

It works because the batter is expecting a fastball from this fireballer, he sees the pitcher deliver the ball in what seems to be the same fastball motion, but all the while the pitcher is lobbing in a much slower pitch.

This freshman's fastballs were blazing in at 96 mph, but his change-up arrived at 78 mph. There's no way the average college batter can make that kind of adjustment in the blink of an eye.

Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 

At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 

They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.” (John 16:16-18)

Jesus threw a lot of fastballs at the disciples, but it was the change-ups that made them look silly with their incredulous responses:

"Well then, who can be saved?" ( Mark 10:26) 

“If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” (Matthew 19:10) 

“What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” (John 16:17)

They were so sure they knew what faith is all about, what religion is all about, what God is all about, they were continually confused by what Jesus was all about.

Lest we think they're just a bunch of dullards, remember that we're not much different.

Twenty-first century Christians can get so stuck on their modern American ideas of Christianity, we miss the point of what Jesus is really trying to do in the church.

While we get bent out of shape about political parties, Jesus focuses on people.

While we become absorbed in the routines and programs of congregational life, Jesus is pushing us out into the world, to share the way, the truth, and the life with the world.

Every time you think you've got Jesus figured out, get ready for another change-up.

Last Night: The Holy Help Desk

My day job consists, in large part, of two activities:

1. Training employees to use a computerized ordering system
2. Responding to phone calls, e-mails, and anguished screams for help.  

When I'm training new users I always explain I'm only giving them the basics of what they need to know to use the system. Some of them don't believe me, because they're overwhelmed with the volume of what I do tell them, and they can't imagine there could be more.

There's always more.

I've learned, though, that some things are just to much for them to absorb all at once. They've got to get in there and start placing orders, learning to use what they do know, before they can even begin to understand the more complex details of requisitioning.

When they do come across the need to order capital equipment, or split funding, or add a rebate line with a negative value - then they can call me and learn what they need to know for the current crisis.

The same dynamic holds true in the life of the church.

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16:12-15

Jesus gave His disciples the basics of how to be His followers. I'm sure sometimes they thought He was forcing them to take an advanced course in theology, but little did they know.

It was only after they witnessed the resurrection and after they became the Church, spreading the Good News throughout the uttermost parts of the earth, that they encountered the true complexities of His mission.

For you and I in the 21st Century Church, the learning process is still taking place.

We can study the Word and learn our theology, but the real learning process takes place when we're on our feet, on our way into the world, sharing the gospel.

College students have asked me frequently whether I've actually heard God or the Holy Spirit guiding me. My answer is always the same: The Holy Spirit will speak to you and guide you most often and most clearly when you're already actively doing what you know He wants you to be doing.

If you're sitting in the church pew hoping for guidance, it might come. But when you  head outside the church walls and become messily involved in the messy lives of messy people, keep your senses attuned for the Spirit's guidance. That's why Jesus sent the Spirit, to be the heavenly help desk, troubleshooting and training when we're hip deep in His mission.

Last Night: God Wins

Rob Bell stirred up quite the uproar with his 2011 book, Love Wins. In it, he claims the Bible doesn't actually support the idea of a literal hell, and that the love of God means no one will ever actually be judged, found guilty, and be sentenced to eternal punishment. Everyone gets endless rounds of second chances.

My chief argument with Bell's book has to do with his concept of God, apart from any quibbles or debates about specific theologies of heaven and hell. He seems to believe God is just not the kind of god who would condemn anyone to eternal punishment.

That kind of God is simply devastating. Psychologically crushing. We can’t bear it. No one can.  (Love Wins)

Bell is no different than the rest of the non-believing world. He pays lip service to the idea of God, but denies He can possibly be the deity represented in the Bible. He couldn't possibly be a god of judgment.

On His last night with the disciples, Jesus emphasizes the centrality of believing in judgment:

When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.  John 16:8-11

He's sending the Holy Spirit to convince the world about three things: sin, righteousness and judgment. The three go hand in hand. You can't have just one or two of them, like the proverbial 3-legged stool.

Jesus says the the greatest evidence the Spirit will use to convince the world about judgment is that Satan has already been judged and stands condemned.

At first, that seems a bit odd as an apologetic strategy. Whatever percentage of people currently believes in God, the number who believe in a real devil, as described in the Bible, is much smaller.

Satan, though, stands in the scriptures as the prototype for rebellion against God. As one of God's angels, He was given everything. He was trusted as a servant and messenger. And yet it wasn't enough for him. He wanted freedom to do his own thing, to be the master, not the servant.

That's really what it boils down to for all of us, isn't it? Sin is rebellion against the authority of the King.

Satan isn't just a caricature, a troublemaker, like the picture about. He's not some fantasy figure we can manipulate to fit our own ideas. He's a real being, as real as you or me. As real as God Himself.

Every time we indulge the culture's fictionalizing of the devil, we undermine the reality of everything in which we believe. If Satan is a joke, so is God. If the devil is just some guy in a red outfit with horns and a pitchfork, a stereotypical bad guy, then there is no hell, there is no judgment.

So how does the Holy Spirit use the reality of Satan and his condemnation as a tool to convince the world about judgment? The same way he convinces them about sin and righteousness - through the followers of Jesus, in whom He lives.

When the Holy Spirit assists believers in shedding the sins that so easily best them, the world sees the power of Christ in overthrowing Satan. We're only able to triumph over Satan's influence because Jesus has already won that battle and has already sentenced the adversary to condemnation.

If the world sees the church as no more successful in overcoming sin than they are, why should they believe in the Lord we represent?

Last Night: Righteousness in the Hall of Mirrors

When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.  John 16:8-11

In the fun-house mirrors of modern culture, righteousness looks different depending on who's looking in which mirrors.

More righteous drinkin music @Wake_up_service http://t.co/pwuv4hbMZd
— Dissident (@HankusMackimus) March 14, 2015

Not every tweet a war to be waged; not every utterance an outrage to be discovered. But self-righteousness is strong with the Internet today
— Zombyboy (@zombyboy) March 6, 2015

I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell
— Kimberly (@kthor93) March 6, 2015

The problem with most of us is we flaunt what we do know and get excited and righteous because we have ignored the things we DON'T know
— Cuban Pete (@MelloWorldPeace) March 6, 2015

@iamcolinquinn still a distinction needs to be made between stealing as a righteous blow to authority vs stealing for the sake of the thrill
— Hrishi Somayaji (@HrishiSomayaji) March 6, 2015

When we make up our own definition of righteousness, it usually comes from our own standards of good vs. bad, mixed in with our experiences and influences from others, topped off with a little bit of pop psychology and whatever form of religion has managed to stick.

Religious people tend to set up their holy scriptures, whether the Bible, the Koran or something else, as the standard for righteousness.

For a follower of Jesus, the true image of righteousness incorporates the teachings of the Bible, but finds its perfect example in the life and character of Jesus Christ.

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  Hebrews 1:1-3

Jesus told his disciples the Holy Spirit will "prove the world wrong about righteousness." He doesn't say the Spirit will do so by arguing about right and wrong or by pointing fingers. The reason the Holy Spirit has been sent to prove the world wrong about righteousness is because "I am going to the Father."  Jesus isn't around any more in the flesh to be a walking and talking example of the character of God.

The only way many people in the world will ever be able to look past their own image, their culture, or even their religion to see the true righteous image of God and Jesus Christ is when they interact with Christians. The Holy Spirit in the heart of each believer transforms his or her life into a mirror that reflects the clear image of God's righteousness, as lived out in the believer's personality.

Sometimes when I'm participating in the assembly of the saints it seems like I'm in a carnival's hall of mirrors, a fun house of oddball personalities and widely different versions of what it means to be a Christian. That's a good thing. That's how it's supposed to be.

Righteousness isn't about cookie cutter personalities or adhering to a certain cultural ideal. It's about the character of God being expressed through the diverse personalities of the people of the church. We're not like the mass-produced, perfectly identical mirrors you'll find at Walmart. You and I are uniquely formed and polished reflections of our personalities and the righteous character of the Holy Spirit within us.

What better way to be equipped to serve as an example of righteousness to a world filled with oddballs, non-conformists, and free spirits?

Last Night: 4 Things People Get Wrong About Sin

Pieter Bruegel's Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony

On Jesus' last night with his disciples, He shares with them several details about the purpose and work of the Holy Spirit, who He's going to send to them after He leaves. One of the Spirit's tasks will be to "convict the world", as many translations put it. I like the way the NIV says it:

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:7-11)

First, the Spirit proves the world wrong about sin. There are several things the world, and sometimes even disciples of Jesus, get wrong about sin.

Sin is about breaking a list of rules

Actually, sin is about unbelief. As Jesus says, the reason Holy Spirit will convict the world about sin is not because of a list of charges against them, but because of one charge: they don't believe in Jesus.

Unbelief is the root of all sin. The unpardonable sin, at its root, is about choosing to not believe in Jesus.

It makes sense, then, that the best way to approach sinners about their sin is not by haranguing them about their sins, but by pointing them to Jesus.

What they need is to believe in Jesus.

Sin is NOT about a list of rules

In our rush to correct the legalism many Christians grew up with, we sometimes swing too far the other way in our insistence on Christianity not being about morals and obedience.

No, sin is not all about the rules and commandments, but there are indeed rules. You really have to read the Word with blinders to miss the rules. Jewish scholars say there are 613 commandments in the Old Testament. That's not even counting all the  principles, statutes, precepts - the rules - in the New Testament.

Christianity is about faith in Jesus (see point #1) and about grace. But there's no reason for Jesus' sacrifice, no reason for mercy and grace, if we all haven't fallen short of the glory of God.

We just need to remember that the list of rules is not an arbitrary list. The laws and commandments are a codified reflection of the character of God. And, again, this means the best way to approach sinners about their sin is to point them to the character of God, as lived out by Jesus.

What they need is to believe in Jesus.

Sin is about societal dysfunction

The world's definition of "sin", or of right and wrong, takes the character of God and belief in Jesus out of the equation. To non-believers, sin is all about doing harm to your neighbor.

Sins like murder, violence, and theft have been considered wrong in nearly every society throughout history, because those actions violate the social contract necessary for civilization. But if sin is defined by its impact on others, the list of what is truly wrong becomes quite short.

Sexual sins like adultery, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, prostitution - even polygamy and bestiality - can be rationalized and normalized as long as they're done in a way that doesn't oppress or harm someone. Whatever is done by consenting adults is OK, by that standard.

The traditional seven deadly sins - pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth - are all allowable within the limit of not harming other people. In fact, each of those is in some way celebrated by modern society.

If we're all just a product of evolution, the survival of the fittest, then anything that helps us survive and thrive, without inordinate cost to the survival of society, is OK.

But if we're all created in the image of God, designed to function best the more we express God's character in our lives, then there's a greater good that defines what is bad.

What we need is to believe in Jesus.

Your sin is worse than my sin

Phil Robertson, a Christian, and the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan, was asked by GQ magazine, "What in your mind, is sinful?" His answer: "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men."

He's not wrong, but his starting point betrays a skewed attitude about sin, one shared by many people.

If you begin your definition of sin by naming the nastiest, worst things you can imagine, you're basically just following a more personalized version of the "societal dysfunction" definition. Instead of sin being what's bad for society, sin is what's bad in your own eyes. Sin is truly in the eye of the beholder.

Usually this means sin begins with the things you personally find most repugnant, the sins "those other people" do. Certainly not the sins you know most easily drag yourself down.

It's a quick trip from there to the attitude of the Pharisee toward the tax collector.

God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. (Luke 18:11)

I'm frequently disturbed in the prison ministry when women who are incarcerated for murder, drug dealing, and other crimes look down on their noses at fellow inmates who are involved in sexual sins. Somehow they, along with Phil Robertson and a host of other believers, have concluded some sins are worse than others.

They're not. Sin is sin. Some believers like to argue some sins are worse because of the consequences or because of certain adjectives used to describe them in scriptures.

In the end, all sins are equal because of one inarguable point.

Jesus' sacrifice covers every sin and every sinner. The only ranking that matters is forgiven or unforgiven.

What we all need is to believe in Jesus.

Last Night: Two by Two

Nearly everyone has seen something similar to this photo. Mormon missionaries, dressed in white shirts and ties, riding bicycles, have become ubiquitous not only in every part of America, but throughout the world.

More than 88,000 missionaries are serving missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at any one time. Most are young people under the age of 25, serving in more than 400 missions throughout the world. Missionaries can be single men between the ages of 18 and 25, single women over the age of 19 or retired couples. Missionaries work with a companion of the same gender during their mission, with the exception of couples, who work with their spouse. Single men serve missions for two years and single women serve missions for 18 months. (mormonnewsroom.org)

The missionaries are sent out in pairs, according to LDS sources, because Jesus chose 72 disciples "and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go." (Luke 10)

It's always been a good idea to work side by side with a fellow Christian, no matter what the work you're doing.

For my wife, Karen, and I, one of the greatest joys of our marriage has been leading the Christian Campus House prison ministry for the past several years. We don't ride bicycles together, on the 70 mile trip to Vandalia, Mo, but we do plan together, we travel in the van together, we lead worship together, we teach together, we counsel together, we train students together. We finish each others' sentences when we're answering the prisoners' questions. We feed off each other, even if between the two of us we start off with only a thimble-full of energy. We're working as a match pair, a team.

When there's no one else going with us, we call it date night, stopping at Stacey's Place in Mexico, MO, a great little small town diner, for a meal together on our way to the prison. If you're married and you're not involved in some sort of specific ministry together, you're missing out on one of the great joys of marriage as designed by God.

If you're a dating or engaged couple, there's no better way to get to know one another and grow closer together than by being on mission together. Before Karen and I began doing the prison ministry, a pair of CCH students, Corey Rebekah, volunteered to help the prison ministry and also worked together on the CCH worship team. The Whitakers would tell you those experiences were vital to the growth of their relationship.


Jesus obviously thought being on mission in pairs is good idea. It's such a good idea, He made it possible for every Christian to never be alone when on mission for Him.

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:26-27)

The Holy Spirit, living in the heart of every Christian, has one overriding purpose. It's not to make you shiver and shout. It's not even to give you gifts or help you bear fruit.

The Holy Spirit was sent to us to speak the truth, to testify about Jesus.

That's our purpose as well. i didn't become a Christian so I could feel fulfilled in my life, or so I could bask in the glow of His glory and wallow in His blessings.

I must testify to the truth about Jesus. I must and you must, if you're a Christian.

And wherever I go on mission for God, I'm never alone. The Holy Spirit is always with me. We plan together, we travel together, we lead worship together, we teach together, we counsel together, we train students together.

If you're wanting to be field with the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit, to hear the Spirit speaking to you and through you, you've got to be on mission with the Spirit. I've seldom heard the Spirit's voice when I'm just sitting in a pew or watching TV. He finishes my sentences, He energizes me.

We work as a matched pair, a team.

Two by two.

Last Night: H8ers Gonna H8

The phrase "Haters gonna hate" is a meme used widely in popular culture. It doesn't refer simply to someone who hates something or someone else. "Haters gonna hate" because they're driven to go beyond private dislike into actively looking down on someone, The Urban Dictionary defines haters this way:

A person that simply cannot be happy for another person's success. So rather than be happy they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person. Hating, the result of being a hater, is not exactly jealousy. The hater doesnt really want to be the person he or she hates, rather the hater wants to knock somelse down a notch.

The phrase and the attitude has its roots in the code of the street. The number one principle at the core of urban street life is the issue of respect. Much of the posturing and language and attitude outsiders observe (with disdain) among the hiphop culture grows out of the need to put on a front that demands respect. Whether or not the person's life and character is actually worthy of respect, the message is constantly shouted out, "Respect me! Or else!"

As such, the rule of respect ironically results in an attitude of arrogant pride that "wants to knock somelese down a notch."

Over the past ten years of involvement in prison ministry, I've seen how the street code of respect leads many people into a violent, arrogant, and eventually self-destructive lifestyle.


On that last night, Jesus warned His followers that "haters gonna hate."

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ (John 15:18-25)

For someone raised with the code of the street, those words actually can sound very familiar. The leaders of a gang would tell the gang members and other people in their neighborhood that they can expected to be disrespected by people from other neighborhoods and other gangs. This is true because the leaders of those gangs hate each other, which naturally means one crew will hate the other crew. Even unaffiliated people in the neighborhoods may be suspicious of one another.

So does this mean Jesus is telling his disciples to have an arrogant "haters gonna hate" attitude? Obviously not. Jesus says these things within the context of talking about love and righteousness and holiness and fulfilling His mission.

Unfortunately, some Christians fall into the trap of reacting to the hatred and disrespect they receive from outsiders by developing a dismissive attitude toward the critics.

Every time I hear yet another preacher using derisive and mocking words to describe certain groups of non-believers, my ear is hearing the arrogance of "haters gonna hate." Every time I see yet another Christian friend's Facebook post dismissively making fun of atheists, Muslims, sinners, or political opponents, I have trouble seeing any difference between the the mocking heaped upon believers and mocking believers are shoveling right back.

Yes, haters are going to hate. But Christians are supposed to turn the other cheek, overcome evil with good, repay evil with blessing and respond with gentleness and respect.

We don't belong to the world. We belong to Jesus.

We don't respond to h8ers according to the code of the world; We respond according to the code of Jesus:

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ( I Peter 2:21-23)