Beware the short cuts: cannibalism, racism and prohibition, learning from past mistakes. Part 2

 Last week I used the contrast of Abraham Lincoln and William Wilberforce as examples of two different approaches to dealing with a societal evil.  This week I will ramble into some conclusions.

The Old Testament Hebrew word translated ‘righteous’ includes the meaning of “one who by their suffering brings those in conflict into fellowship”.  Hence the crucified Lord is the ultimate expression of righteousness.  The church abrogated its righteous role to the courts and the legislatures.  For example, Christians should have looked at the conditions of black schools as contrasted with white schools and said, “Separate but equal is not working, it is foolish and it must end”.  Instead the white church in the South did little or nothing to bring about justice.  We had to wait for “Brown vs. The Board of Education”.   And when segregation ended, Christians, Bibles in hand, protested at the schoolhouses.  While the decisions of the courts and the laws to end the effects of racism are to be celebrated they never change the heart; law cannot change the heart.  This, by the way, is one of the core messages of the Gospel.  In fact, it appears that rather than change hearts, those with hard hearts become more hard hearted in response to the court rulings and the new laws. 

I am not attempting to justify the behavior of rioters in Baltimore or Ferguson, MO.  But for multiple generations, black men, women, and children have been subject to a system that has a façade of equality, but hides an inner distrust, resentment, and in some cases hostility, in both directions across the divide.  Some rioters were simply thugs and criminals using an opportunity to pillage and plunder.  But even that godlessness mindset is the result of the church not being salt and light, of abandoning a generation of black ministers to liberation theology, or other expression of liberal theology, of Christians running from the inner city in white flight to enjoy the security of the suburbs, and a white’s only community and worship hour. 

This is the legacy of a top down solution to moral ills. Let us consider, briefly, other cases where there has been an attempt to accomplish a top down approach to our society’s problems.  Prohibition was a grand success, if you were a bootlegger or a smuggler.  The War on Poverty has certainly elevated a whole class of people into the ranks of the wealthy; unfortunately, it is the tax-fattened bureaucrats that administer government entitlement programs.  The plight of the poor has not improved; but rather, it has, in many cases, grown worse.  We could again look at the success of the war on drugs.  How many millions of dollars have been poured into halting the importation, distribution, manufacturing, and consumption of illegal drugs?  How effective has it been?  Looking out of the window at this moment I can see a home that is widely known as a place to purchase pharmaceuticals you can’t get at CVS.

Here is the point: social ills reflect a spiritual and moral failure, a.k.a. sin.  There is no law solution to sin.  Yes, we need laws; they serve as wonderful moral teachers, and hopefully protect the innocent.  But for too long Christians have wanted to take the short cut of getting law to do the heavy lifting that is the responsibility of the church.  We have called for a Moral Majority and a Christian Coalition to come together and vote in God Fearing leaders that will pass laws that will make the U.S. a moral nation.  We have wanted the government to make abortion illegal, without our doing the heavy lifting of teaching about the holiness before God of sexual purity.  We have wanted the government to make sure the widows and orphans are visited in their suffering, without our doing the heavy lifting of serving the “least of these”. 

I want laws that will protect the unborn.  I want a basic social safety net.  I want to see the police working to protect innocents from the ravages of drug and alcohol addiction.  But I know there is no short cut to these ends.  Only the Gospel can change the heart.  I have two fears.  The first is that Christians are beginning to believe that if we could get the laws we want, we can make America Heaven on earth.  Please, by all means, get involved in the political process; write letters to congress, run for office if you will.  But for the love of real change, let’s stop believing in top down solutions.  Moral revival will never come from Washington, or the state capitol building, or the county courthouse.  My second fear is that Christians and politicians alike, will attempt to use Christianity as a useful means to the ends of a fair, just, and equitable society.  We must not hope for a revival for the safety or preservation of our nation. We must seek revival for the glory of God and any civil blessings are simply a joyful by-product.

Only the Lord changing the hearts of men has any real and lasting effect.  If we don’t see Christ change the hearts of our people, the blame does not fall on the world, nor in heaven, but squarely on the people of God’s church. 

Beware the short cuts: cannibalism, racism and prohibition, learning from past mistakes. Part #1

The Donnor Expedition is infamous in American history as an expedition that was caught in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains in the midst of a terribly harsh winter.   Many of the members of the expedition died in the frigid cold.  Some of those that survived did so by eating those that died.  In an act of compassion, the bundles of human flesh were labeled in such a way that no one would eat a family member.  Ironically, one of the survivors of the ill-fated expedition, after being rescued, opened a motel and restaurant.   The events of the Donner Expedition are infamous; what is perhaps less well known, is that this tragic suffering was the result of trying a short cut, the Hastings’ Cutoff. 

Short cuts can be dangerous and take us to places that we do not want to go.  Unfortunately, the allure of short cuts is often times so great that it seems impossible for us to say “no”, especially when faced with the hard work of going the long way.  I have spent countless gallons of gas, all wasted, because I was looking for a short cut.  It is not only true in issues of transportation, but also in issues of behavior and ethics.

The allure of a short cut is powerful.  They seem to promise a much anticipated and much desired reward and with less effort.  They seem to offer fulfillment much sooner than we would other wise experience.  The harder and the longer the ordeal we face, the more alluring a short cut seems.  Just the other side of the mountain is the Promised Land.  But crossing the mountain will leave us stranded, dying, and doing things we don’t want to imagine.

I believe this is true in our efforts to see a Christian ethic and morality in our society.  The current racial tension we have in the U.S. can serve as an example.  By contrast, the tension and relationship between the decedents of slaves and the general white population in Great Britain is less volatile than is the case in the U.S.  I would argue that this is the result of a short cut in U.S. history. 

Slavery in the British Empire ended as the result of the life long work of abolitionists, personified and led by William Wilberforce.  Wilberforce and the abolitionists ended the slave trade after a long battle fought for the hearts and the minds of the people.  The realization of the gross immorality of slavery was faithfully and consistently presented to a Christian nation, and ultimately the moral character of the people and the immoral character of slavery could no longer coexist.  After many years and struggles that took an emotional, physical, and mental toll on Wilberforce and the other abolitionists, the slave trade was ended in the Empire.  The battle was won in the battlefield of the heart; as the hearts changed the nation changed.  While Great Britain is not a racial paradise, it can teach significant lessons to those of us on this side of the Atlantic.

In contrast, slavery in the U.S. ended, not because of a moral revival, but because of a bloody war and a political move.  The “War to Preserve the Union”, more commonly known as the American Civil War was the end of slavery in the U.S.  But unlike the end of slavery in Great Britain it was a by-product of a political decision. 

Let me interject here a few words of rebuke for the American church.  I am not attempting to justify the position of southern states on slavery.  In fact, I believe that the greatest moral failure of American Christianity may be the failure of the American church, especially in the south, to speak out passionately concerning the evils of slavery.  The failure of the church in America to end slavery means that, not only does the church carry much of the guilt of the institution of slavery, but also the church has blood stained hands.  The war to preserve the Union might have been avoided were it not for the one issue about which there was no room for compromise-slavery.  The church, especially in the south, did not address the moral transgression of American Slavery and American’s killed each other in unimaginable numbers. 

Since the war, the church’s history in the south has been little more than abysmal.  Instead of the civil rights movement finding a passionate ally in the Evangelical church more often than not it found an obstruction.   If you want to know why 11:00 on a Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week, it is because when black Christians needed help, white Christians, especially in the south (with few exceptions), rejected their brothers in need.

Nor, am I trying to determine the political machinations of the Union.  Only President Lincoln knew the heart conviction of Abraham Lincoln concerning slavery and this is a question that is better answered by historians.  While I believe the emancipation proclamation was a carefully calculated political instrument, it was for many in the Union the deeper stirrings of conscience.  I will not try to divine the demarcation between political contrivance and impassioned moral conviction.

What I am saying is that the ending of slavery by force of arms was a short cut toward racial equality.  With the emancipation proclamation, the end of the War, and the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution, blacks and white were legally equal.  But it was an equality that came not from the heart nor did it come by godly men and women under moral persuasion.  It was an equality that came at the point of a bayonet and was recognized only in public, while rejected in secret.  The generation that lived through Reconstruction saw the rise of legalized prejudice in the form of Jim Crow laws, and the expansion of only slightly secret hate from the Ku Klux Klan.

As freed slaves moved to northern states seeking a better life they found that prejudice did not have geographic boundaries.  In fact, the Ku Klux Klan had its largest membership in Indiana in the 1920’s.  The KKK infiltrated every level of government with noted figures such as Sen. Robert Byrd, Chief Justice Edward White, Associate Justice Hugo Black, Sen. Theodore Bilbo, and Gov. Edward Jackson etc.  Both major political parties are well represented in the KKK.  The KKK even infiltrated the church.  It would even have cornerstone-setting ceremonies for new church construction, show up unexpectedly at a church for the worship service, and make denotations to the church.  On some occasions congregations would burst into applause for the KKK.  When a Klansmen was naturalized into his order he swore loyalty to his nation and Christianity.  The founder of the second Klan was a former minister.  Rather than the evils of slavery ending by the power of a moral church a short cut in some cases, by no means all or even most, turned the church over to the powers of evil.

To be continued……

In the presence of a hero

Heroes almost never self identify as such.  No one that has done something heroic says, “Yes, I am a hero and I know it.”  It is almost as if whatever causes the heroic behavior also causes the hero to be un-self-conscience that what they did is something special.  Typically they say something to the effect of “I just did what needed to be done.”  That is part of the beauty of someone being heroic.  They would defer to someone else; police officers, fire fighters or military personnel as the real heroes.  It does not change the fact that they are heroes, but they would consider himself or herself just an everyday kind of person.  They are everyday heroes.

So when I tell you that I have been in the presence of the heroic, the person I am referring to would be embarrassed by that statement, and would certainly offer denials of their role as hero.  But I will say it all the same; “I have been in the presence of a hero”.  To understand this everyday hero, let me offer a little history.

When our daughter Abby was in kindergarten, she had the kind of teacher every parent dreams of, but her first grade teacher was a nightmare.  I will spare you the details.  By Christmas break of first grade, Abby had actually digressed in her academics.  At this point, my wife and I decided to homeschool Abby for the rest of first grade.  Her progress and improvement was almost immediate.  It was not easy but it was very fulfilling.  However, her older sister began taking some grief at her school.  It seems that our decision to home school was seen as a sort of disloyalty to the school.   The result was that the next year we homeschooled both of these girls and added a kindergartener.

For a moment let me set the larger context.  In the course of five months, we started homeschooling, we planted a church and to make matters more engaging, we added a fourth child to our family.  And in the midst of this my wife made our little house a home.  As a bi-vocational church planter, I didn’t make much money.  That year our gross income was $16,000 of which we paid $4,000 in medical bills, and she kept us together without welfare.  If babies came when you can afford them earth’s population would be zero.  Undaunted by all this, my wife kept the family fed by frugality and God’s provision.  That is when she developed the mantra “God is good and beans are cheap”. 

Our four children and our son-in-law.

What brings this to mind is that this past Sunday May 3rd, 2015) she graduated her youngest child from “The Crowe Family Home School”.  In the last 18 years she has taught two children from K-5, one child from First grade, and one child from Fifth grade all the way through to graduation.  Take the elementary, middle and high school subjects,  put them together and my wife as taught them, sometimes studying late into the night before teaching it the next day.  I can’t count the times I have fallen asleep while my wife reviewed a chemistry textbook.  She taught everything from advanced mathematics to Spanish, from constitutional law and history to religion and Bible.  She also made sure the kids were ‘socialized’ (what ever that means) by having them in co-op classes and involved in extra curricular activities.  Far from cocooning in the house the kids were, at various times, in choir, band, karate, kick boxing, Krav Maga, weight lifting, flag football, track and field, Navy Sea Cadets, and church.  Let’s never forget church.  She often, with only a little help on Sunday mornings, made sure that the whole brood was in Sunday School, and made sure they were active in youth group ministries, including overseas mission trips.

Some will say, “But can the homeschool child do well in the real world?”  Let’s see; our oldest graduated with honors from a university having attended the Honors College.  With her lowest college grades coming in physical education, after classes in Greek philosophy, she tended to over think P.E. written test.  Our second child, the one who help prompt this grand adventure is a highly decorated sailor, having been award, among other citations, Junior Sailor of the Year for all U.S. Navel personnel in the European Command.  The third daughter advanced to be the head teller for her section of a bank and is now pursuing a degree in anthropology.  And our son who graduated from high school last Sunday is duel enrolled in a local community college and will graduate in a year from college as an automotive tech.  He plans on working as a mechanic while pursing his faith’s calling.  Not bad for homeschoolers. 

I could go on and on but I won’t.  Just let me offer one more description of my hero.  Before we had children we decided that my wife would be a stay at home mom.  At the time, she worked as a R.N. in labor and delivery.  She loved the work, found it very satisfying, and was very good at it, based on her evaluation.  It was also pretty lucrative.  But in a decision of self-sacrifice she committed to be a stay at home mom, to raise and educate children and make our home a sanctuary for me.  I tease her by telling her that she has been on maternity leave for 28 years.  I did a calculation of just the financial cost of her decision.  If we assume a consistent rate of pay increase and inflation her decision to stay at home has meant she turned down between $750,000 and $1,200,000 in today’s pay to be a stay at home mom.  (Assuming she worked as an RN from when maternity leave started till now)

A couple of days ago we were talking about all that has transpired in the last 18 to 28 years and I asked her if she had any regrets.  “No, not a one.  I remember one day when…”  She mentioned a specific time when she was home schooling 10^th grade, 7^th grade, 4^th grade, and 1^st grade, oh and she was helping lead the children’s ministry at church and part of the music ministry. “…I was feeling overwhelmed and I thought about work but I thought when the kids are all gone I don’t want to look back and say, ‘I wish I would have spent more time with my children.’  No I have no regrets.  If I had it to do over I would do the same thing, just try to do it better.”

My beloved Lorie I must tell you, “It would be very hard to do it better”!

Charlie Crowe

A Strange Sight.

Last week, I was in Boston to help launch a major project.  It was a great week and the project launch was a success.  While in Boston, we took a day to do the sights.  It was a great treat.  I saw so many places that I had only heard or read about.  I saw the Old North Church, I stood on the very location of the Boston Massacre, went to the King’s Chapel one of the oldest churches in America; I also had lunch at “Cheers” the tavern that inspired the TV sitcom. 

But one sight struck me more than any other and I don’t even know her name.  She looked extremely aged, but life as a homeless person is hard so she was most likely much younger than she looked.  She sat in a sort of corner formed by two of the sights on the “Freedom Trail”.  On one side was a great historic church, on the other side the cemetery that was the final resting place for many Revolutionary era heroes.  She appeared to be wearing most of her belongings and around her were bags and bundles of the rest of her possessions.   She absent-mindedly held out a small cup to accommodate any compassionate donations.  She had the vacant eyes that one sees in the homeless.  Perhaps she was mentally ill, maybe her mind had been ravaged by drugs and alcohol, maybe she was so wounded by rejections she had shut down or it could have been she didn’t notice the people walking by the way. They seemed not to notice her, maybe a combination of some or all of the above.

In the moment I looked at her (I wasn’t staring) her expression changed.  Recognition came over her face, her eyes widened and her expression went from passive to animated.  The expression that took over was one of fear, not shock or surprise; there was no momentary pause to make sense of the situation.  She knew exactly what was happening and it scared her.  She reached in her cup pulled out a dollar bill and held it out.  A young man approached well dressed and in his early 20’s with a nice haircut.  He walked over to her deliberately and took the dollar, said something I didn’t hear, and walked away.  He disappeared into the crowds and I lost sight of him and her as I moved on to look at the grave of a hero.

In the moment I couldn’t figure out what had just happened.  I thought that maybe I miss-saw something.  But the look on the older lady’s face was unmistakable.  Later that day my wife asked me, “Did you see...?”  I had seen correctly.  My wife put into words my own conclusion.  “I bet that was some kind of protection money she has to pay to organized crime to have permission to beg on that spot.”  My wife’s words rang true, and my heart ached, and I was angry.

That night, as I thought about what I saw I wanted to launch a crusade, one middle- aged small town preacher from the deep south against organized crime in a big northeastern city.  I wanted someone to write a law, but there are probably laws on the books, another law will not help.  I wanted to find the young mafia muscle and tell him if he wanted to extort someone he ought to try it with a Marine or a Navy Seal, but what would that accomplish?  I wondered if the city fathers of Boston knew they had a problem in which the powerless were oppressed by the powerful?

But as often happens the question turned a little philosophical.  Where was the faith that believed that God had a better plan for her life, a faith that would allow her to move beyond that stuck spot?  Where was the hope that would grow out of that faith, and would manifest itself in joy and confidence?  Where was the love of God for this poor little lady?  The irony of this woman sitting between the church and the graveyard was not lost on my reflections.  I was frustrated that this great American city, that this grand church, could and would leave this woman to sit there and be compelled to pay protection money to a thug.  Where was the good news for this woman?

It was inside the person who watched this all take place. 

There are heroic people doing urban ministry and doing it well.  But if I am the hands, the feet, and the voice of Jesus, in that moment, I didn’t do much in that role.  I watched this lady, I watched this interchange, I watched this crime and I did nothing.  I am not sure what I could have done.  Replaced the dollar taken from her?  Prayed with her?  Told her that a Savior is coming and that He will set all things right?  None of those would have amounted to a real solution, but that might have had some impact, certainly more than doing nothing.   

I really don’t know how Jesus would do urban ministry today.  For that matter I’m not sure how Jesus would do sub-urban ministry, rural ministry or cross cultural ministry today.  Christianity has been practiced in that area of the world for about 400 years and it seems that the Kingdom has not yet come on earth as in Heaven.

Here is the conviction that has settled on me as I reflect on what I saw on the streets of Boston.  Ministry, whatever the location on context, has to be personal.  A passing tourist might be able to pray, give a little, or offer words of good news, which is what I should have done.  But real and lasting impact is impossible without a consistent human touch.  That was the point of the Incarnation.  What do you suppose the percentage of 12 people to the whole human population would have been in Jesus’ day?  Jesus invested deeply in a dozen people.  Beyond the twelve there were 70, and beyond that, there were larger numbers, but it appears their contact with Jesus was much more limited.  Jesus’ primary connection was with twelve people He drew close to Himself.  His relationship with them was much more deep and intimate than that of a casual tourist just visiting.  In the New Testament, two things we never see is the lone Christian ministry, or the ministry where a leader only relates to the masses in mass. 

I hope there is someone in a caring relationship with that homeless woman that loves her into a relationship with Jesus.  Someone who is a lot more like Jesus than I was that day.

In the Cause of Christ

Charlie

No more pearl tossing.

Last week, I wrote that in response to gay marriage issues I would, as of this summer, stop performing weddings in which I serve as an agent of the state, performing these weddings under the civil authority of the state.

Apparently, this was a controversial blog.  On any given week, a few folks will un-subscribe to my newsletter.  Those un-subscription numbers went up about 300% last week; that, in spite of my asking for folks to wait till this week and read this second part.  This week I want to address some of the problems and objections that might occur based on my new approach.  I will attempt to sum up my new position with one sentence, “I am going to stop casting my pearls before swine, especially in wedding ceremonies.”

Objection #1

One of the possible problems of this new approach is the lost opportunity to minister to seekers.  When I was studying for ministry, I was taught that weddings and funerals for people who are not a part of the church is a great evangelistic and ministry opportunity.  Honestly, how often does that really happen?  I have done many weddings for people with no church home in the hopes of being able to reach these couples.  After almost 30 years of ministry, I have never had an occasion in which a couple, with whom I had no prior relationship, connected with the church because we ministered to them in a wedding.   I fear that by performing weddings in the hopes that people will someday decide to connect with the church cheapens the holy and sacred, and we allow ourselves to be used and manipulated by people who care nothing about God.

Objection #2

A second question that comes to mind is, “If you require essentially two weddings, when can the couple have sex?”  At one level, the answer is, “Any time they want to.” I am in no way able to prevent people from having sex.  I think this is the wrong question to ask.  If asked by a couple, “When can we start having sex?  Can we start having sex after we have the marriage license filled out by the state official, but before the religious ceremony?”  I will answer,  “Are you saving yourselves as an act of worship or legal distinction?  Are you remaining pure for the state, yourselves, each other, or your Lord?”  To be frankly honest, the only sufficient and effective motivation for sexual purity, before or during marriage, is our commitment to Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Real marriages are ordained by God and to His glory; I will teach couples to be sexually pure their whole lives.

Objection #3

What if a couple only wants a religious wedding?  What if for reasons of economics, family pressure, a disdain for government, or some other reason a couple says they won’t have a state sanctioned marriage.   I believe this reflects an unfortunate low view of marriage.  Let’s remember that we believe that in the act of sex a couple becomes one flesh.  This is not a metaphor or expression, but a spiritual reality.  In some way, that physical union will be enjoyed or endured for eternity.  This union is performed and consummated before the God of Heaven.  It is deeper, stronger, and more profound than all the laws of all the nations of the world today.  Compared to the grandeur of marriage, the U.S. Constitution is just old paper and old ink. In view of that high and holy place, why would someone not be willing to be legally bound to another person?  If it were a matter of economics, then it would appear that the couple doesn’t trust the God to whom they are appealing for blessing to be able to provide for them.  The only case or exception I could imagine is, if the government, as part of its marriage requirement, also required an oath of loyalty to Caesar or a prima nocturne type arrangement.  I am convinced that a pre-request for a spiritual commitment of marriage is the lower legal commitment.

Objection #4

Will this approach be a retreat from the world and a move toward a fortress Christianity?  We will be loosing our influence in society.  The battle for marriage is a battle that the church must fight.  I absolutely agree that this is a battle the church must fight.  I believe that what we see happening in the physical world is an expression of a spiritual reality.  I also believe that what has happened in the states of Indiana and Arkansas is evidence of the condition of our nation.  If this is primarily a spiritual battle, then the battle needs to be fought first at the spiritual level.  I believe this approach will begin to put holy back into Holy Matrimony.  If there is not holiness in the marriages we conduct, and if we cheapen the institution of marriage, we will not have a foundation from which to fight the battle in the physical, governmental, or social realm.  And in view of the results in Indiana and Arkansas, how much influence does the church have because it performs state sanctioned marriages?

Objection #5

What about the possibility of divorce?  Does the approach require, that if a couple has a secular and then sacred marriage and then decides to divorce, that the church will need to develop a sacrament of divorce?  I believe that divorce is more about the presence of ungodliness than the legal standing.  Jesus said that divorce was part of the Mosaic Law because of hardness of heart, but never God’s intended plan.  I have seen some of the couples I have married later dissolve those marriages in divorce.  In each of those cases, I see, in hindsight, there was a deeply rooted problem coming into the marriage and there was a notable lack of commitment to the Lord and the church.  I don’t believe we will need a sacrament of divorce; in fact, I believe we will see less divorce in the marriages the church sanctions because those couples will be specifically seeking the Lord’s blessing and will also be seeking Him in the difficulties of marriage.  Let me also say, that in no way, does this approach change any aspect of pre-marital counseling.

Objection #6

Will this really protect the church from persecution?  No, this is not a guarantee that the church will not be persecuted; in fact, I believe persecution is coming.  But persecution tends to require a church to really think about what it believes and helps it define its understanding on critical issues.  I believe the issue of ‘gay marriage’ can do that for the church today and my new approach is just one expression of how we can rethink our understanding of marriage.  My goal is to have an understanding of marriage that is more in line with the mind and the will of God.

Final thoughts:

I will still do weddings for couples, but the bar for my accepting those weddings has been raised.  The weddings I will perform will be sacred in nature.  That will, I hope, reflect the joy of Heaven and the will of God. They will be weddings in the highest sense of the word, but I will not do so as a representative of the state or as a civil authority.

By the authority invested in me as the author of this blog, I now pronounce that you may un-subscribe; though I hope you won’t.

In the Cause of Christ

Charlie

My last marriage

This summer over the July 4^th holiday, I will be performing my last marriage ceremony.  I am really looking forward to this wedding celebration.  The bride is a dear family friend that has found a good man and we anticipate many years of happiness for the couple.  I am really happy for the bride and groom and I am vey happy that this will, I believe, be my last wedding, well sort of. 

I generally do not like weddings.  Many times at weddings I feel the church, the minister, and the Lord Himself, are little more than props, decorations, or peripheral paraphernalia to the grand show that is being put on by the competitive families represented by the bride and groom.

I especially dislike having weddings for couples that want a “church” or “religious” wedding, but who have no, or apparently, no personal faith.  Almost every pastor can tell horror stories about weddings.  I was asked to do a wedding to cover for a friend who happened to double schedule that Saturday afternoon.  The groom was so drunk he had a hard time saying “I do” and the bride spent most of the ceremony crying, which I understood.  I did a wedding where the bride and groom danced inappropriately out of the church at the end of the service.  I did a rush wedding for a couple I did not know where the pianist played “Having My Baby” as the recessional.  I even heard a story of a preacher who was asked to perform a wedding for a couple who called out of the blue.  He found out ahead of time, thankfully, that the couple were nudists and were going to be married in the nude.

But a new dynamic has developed that has caused me to reconsider the matter of performing weddings.  That is the challenge of ‘gay marriage’.  If there is an intersection of faith and government that is a hotter, hot button in America right now than gay marriage, I don’t know what it would be.  The point of this article is not to argue for or against a given governmental policy; but, in fact, I am moving in a very different direction.  Currently, we are being told that churches will enjoy an exemption to any policy or law regarding ‘gay marriage’.  We are told that there will be no connection between a willingness to perform ‘gay marriages’ and, say, tax exempt status or 501 c3 status.  As a descendant of the Cherokees, I am not prepared to place great confidence in the promises of a government.  Should a government entity find that it could acquire significant resources by revoking the tax-exempt status of churches over ‘gay marriages’, some governmental agencies would jump at the opportunity.

Am I paranoid?  Am I crazy? Have I been listening to too many conspiracy nuts?  Maybe, yes, but I don’t listen to those guys.  Considering the current debate over ‘gay marriage’, would you have imagined this in 1970 or 1980 or 1990?  Can you tell me that you are certain that your church will enjoy a tax exempt status 30 years from now if you have a firm no ‘gay marriage’ policy?  

So is there a solution?  I have one that I am going to try.  Beginning after this summer’s wedding, I will delete one phase from my wedding ceremony.  To date, I have always concluded my wedding sermon with this phrase: “Under the civil authority of the State of Florida and as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I pronounce you husband and wife.”  What I am going to start doing is this: I am going to remove the phrase, ““Under the civil authority of the State of ….”.   Additionally, I am going to direct couples that want me to perform a wedding ceremony to get their marriage licenses and have the civil portion of the marriage performed by a justice of the peace.  Fill out the form, get the signatures from the legal authority, and in the eyes of the state they are married.

Then, I will invite the couple to come before the Lord and to celebrate their commitment to each other in an act of worship.  The sacred event of marriage is primarily an act of worship beyond and above the authority of the state.  As a minister of the Gospel, I have the authority to lead in acts of worship and hold the authority to refuse or offer the sacraments of the church. 

In the same way that I do not believe that the Lord’s Supper is purely symbolic-Paul seemed to think it was a matter of life and death-or that baptism is purely an outward act of an inward grace-Peter connects it with the remission of sin-I do not believe that holy matrimony is merely a legal agreement.  It is the sacred preparation for two individuals to become one flesh.  Holy matrimony is an expression of a unique oneness that, in some amazing ways, is a reflection of the relationship within the Trinity.  It is so holy that no purely state sanctioned legal manifestation can express its glory.

I recognize that this departure from many years of traditions will not be universally well received nor is it without some struggles.  So, before you jump on this band wagon, unsubscribe to this blog, write hate mail that I am too conservative or too liberal, or begin a heresy tribunal, let me suggest you read next week’s edition. At that time, I will talk about what I believe are some of the strengths and struggles of this approach.

But, in conclusion, let me offer this metaphor.  A swamp is essentially a very wide and slow flowing river.  The classic example is the Everglades.  This massive swamp is more or less one very wide river that flows from Lake Okeechobee to the coast, that dissipates over a vast area and flows without a ripple or a stir.  A rapid, by contrast, is where the water of a river is constricted into a very narrow channel, for example, the Colorado River.  The very narrowing and restricting causes the river to flow with energy and evident power.  My goal is to see the power and the beauty of Holy Matrimony restored by narrowing the scope.

Until next week

Charlie  

I’m serious, I am only joking.

I would like to get your help with a little project.  If you would, please reply with your average attendance for 2014 and your attendance on this past Easter Sunday.  I am working on a little research project and your data input would help.

Easter is my favorite holiday.   Christmas, July 4^th, Thanksgiving, National Submarine Day (Yes, there is such a day- it is April 17^th, the day the Submarine force was established in 1900) and all the others combined, pale in comparison to Easter, in my opinion.  I think Easter becomes more meaningful for me every year.  At every level, Easter is a thoroughly inspiring, fulfilling, and rewarding holiday.  Every Lord’s Day is sort of an Easter, but the special day is the culmination of so much excitement and hope.  I hope that your Easter was the high light of your year or even your life so far. 

On this happy and celebrative occasion, I need to address something my wife told me some time ago.  She told me that my blogs are often either serious, grave, morose, or glum.  I told her when you are trying out for the role of “prophet of doom” you had to be serious.  She told me if God told me to become the prophet of doom that would be fine, but until then, I should lighten up a little from time to time.

This seems like a good time to lighten up.  So, I have decided, having celebrated the feast of Easter and the joy of a life that anticipates the resurrection, that today I will dedicate this blog to some of my favorite jokes.  My jokes, like my golf drive, tend to be long, way off center, and always in a hazard.  Some might be useful to use in a sermon or lesson, others, not so much.  If you find them to be in bad taste, please accept my apology in advance.   Oh, and none are originally mine, so, if you don’t like them, blame the original author (who ever that may be). 

Needing a little help (best told in an Australian accent)

Two Australian sailors arrived in London, England, after a long voyage.  They decided they would spend their first night in London drinking.  They made their way to a Pub, and spent the evening, night and early morning consuming copious amounts of alcohol.   By the time they left around sun up, they were exquisitely inebriated.  They came out of the pub walking as if they were on board a ship in the midst of a terrible gale.   Steading themselves on a lamppost, they discovered that a thick fog had rolled into London.  They were not able to see much beyond their hand’s reach.

Completely lost, they looked this way and that, but couldn’t find a clue as to how to get back to their ship.  Finally, they saw a figure approaching them through the fog.  Not realizing that this mysterious man was a highly decorated 4 star admiral, the first sailor called out to him as he came near, “Hey mate, can you tell us where we are?”

The admiral, infuriated by their slovenly appearance, drunken condition, and brazen familiarity, answered back, “Do you men have any idea who I am?”  

The second Aussie then said to the first, “Oh, were in trouble now, we don’t know where we are, and he doesn’t know who he is!”

Strange last Rites (use a Scottish accent if you have one)

Shamus and O’Malley were life long drinking buddies.  To be honest, they never really accomplished much with their lives except that they became highly capable of getting drunk.

As the years wore on, the abuse of their livers took its toll.  Shamus was taken to a hospital with a very advanced case of cirrhosis of the liver; it was only a matter of time till Shamus would pass from this life.  The day Shamus checked into the hospital his drinking buddy O’Malley comes to his room.  He is red eyed from crying and his hair is disheveled from running his fingers through it.  The sleeves of his shirt are caked and crusty from having served as a make shift hanky.   As soon as he walks into the room and lays eyes on his best friend, he begins to wail.

“Awe, Shamus, what will I do without you?  You’re my best friend, my best mate, and my drinking buddy for life.  What will I do when you are gone?”  His pitiful lament trailed off into pathos of sobs as he buried his face in his hands as he faltered over to the bedside.

Shamus, always the more steady of the two, spoke in a strong solid voice. “O’Malley get a hold of yourself lad, I got something I need you to do.  Will you do a great favor for your oldest friend?”

“Shamus, I would do anything for you,” O’Malley said with genuine emotion in his voice.  “You name it lad, I’ll do it what err it is.”

“Good lad, O’Malley.”  Shamus paused to collect himself.  “I want you to perform a memorial for me when I’m buried.  Will you do that for me?”

O’Malley nodded his assent.

“When they put me in the ground, I want you to come to me grave all alone, and do one last favor.  I want you to pour a bottle of fine Scotch out on me grave.  Will you do that for me lad?” 

O’Malley looked his friend in the face and said, “I’ll be glad to, but do you mind if I run it through me kidneys first?”

Not his house  (no accent needed, insert the coach and college of your choice.)

Urban Myer, head coach at Ohio State Uuniversity, dies and goes to heaven (hey it is just a joke).  St. Peter gives coach Myer the grand tour taking in all the sights.  The tour ends at Urban’s mansion.  It is a sight to behold; a two-story, Neo-Greek masterpiece.  It had great Corinthian columns across the front porch.  On each column there was a flag with the OSU logo.  In the front yard were massive spreading Buckeye trees casting deep shade on a manicured lawn, and OSU lawn furniture.  Coach Myer was duly impressed with the attention to detail and all the OSU paraphernalia.

He looked across the yard and noticed higher up the rolling hills a house that would make the palace of Versailles look small and inconsequential.  It was elegant beyond all others with accents of Crimson and White.  Massive and majestic elephants roamed the yard, each draped with a crimson blanket across its back emblazoned with a white scripted “A”.  Flag poles stood in the yard, the top of which were so high they almost disappeared, and from each waved a crimson flag with the same scripted “A” so large it could been seen anywhere.  In the middle of the front yard was a fountain that was a perfect reproduction in miniature of Bryant-Denny Stadium.  The water shot into the air and then would shape into a great moment in Bama football history before falling back into the pool.  The sight of the palace, the fountain, and the grounds left Urban stunned into silence for a moment. 

After a pause Urban turned to St. Peter and said,  “I don’t want to sound like I am complaining, but why is Nick Saban’s place so much bigger than mine?”

Peter, with a patient and understanding smile, said, “Oh that is not Saban’s house.  That ‘s God’s”.    

(Promise next week I will return to the more serious side of life.)