Once again a murder committed by an illegal alien has awakened the passions of both sides of this debate. I am of a small majority and there is the possibility, I may be the only one who believes that immigration is an issue of its own and the Church does not need to be involved in it. Say that again….The Church does not need to be involved in the immigration issue. It is fine for christians to bring their Christian Values to the debate and at this time in our nations history it is sorely needed. The church needs to direct its resources to the needs of those who are the victims of this ongoing immigration problem. As always another loss of life involving an illegal alien and down the same road we go. Here we see this identity trend pop up, more on that later.

As always in situations of this nature,  the narrative centers on the perpetrator and not the weapon, I make this distinction to make a point that the loss of life is overshadowed by the rush to gain political or social credit and to boost personal or organizational agendas. Because church today is influenced more than in past days by the pressure of social relevance, this is indeed a subject that resonates in the pew. Almost all denominations have issued position papers by leadership that explains their stance on immigration. Not everyone in every pew agrees totally with these particular statements, they differ from denomination to denomination. It is my opinion this has become a difficult issue because of an unintended turn of events surrounding immigration. We have been hearing about the evils of identity politics, which in turn has found its way into the immigration debate. This is taking us down a winding road that leads to no solution. Immigration has become a problem, why? People from all over the world have been coming to the United States from its very inception. I believe it is because we have assigned other factors to it, that complicate a very simple definition of immigrant as a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence and does so as prescribed by law. Notice that no where in this definition is there an identifier that makes one immigrant different from another. There are just to many labels being ascribed to those people caught in this dilemma, consider this list:  immigrant, alien, illegal alien, illegal alien/immigrant or that shortened description uttered in total frustration, an illegal. Here is another one to add, it is a bit milder and strangely enough, the least used. Migrant…but “there’s no one simple description of a migrant. Across the U.S. political spectrum, politicians and activists present Central American migrants as either dreamers or law-breakers; those fleeing violence or those abusing immigration loopholes; crying toddlers or MS-13 gangsters. These labels force migrants into rigid categories, losing the diversity of their reasons and their wide-ranging demographics and backgrounds.”  I continue to quote from the article listed below. “The face of migration has also changed. Back in 2000, Mexican nationals made up 98 percent of the total migrants and Central Americans referring to Honduran, Guatemalan, and Salvadoran migrants only one percent. Today, Central Americans make up closer to 50%.”(lawfareblog.com  June 23 2018) 

The road we are on has more turns than the “yellow brick road” and there will be no Oz and no Wizard to make things right at the end of our journey. Conservatives favor the term “illegal immigrants,” which hardliners often shorten to “illegals”; immigrant advocates prefer “undocumented immigrants,” a phrasing that they say prods the conversation back toward the humans in question, but “Unauthorized” often shows up as a neutral alternative. That is a brief history or background of where we are today. Now, what about the Church? 

I have a rule when writing that it is important the information you share is as accurate as possible. I also believe that I don’t know everything. I have an opinion about everything but knowledge does not dwell in opinions. I have researched this immigration thing quite a bit. Churches have always been involved in humanitarian ministries, it is the Christian calling and we of the church are to lift up, protect the helpless, feed the hungry and oppose the injustices that marginalize those less fortunate than ourselves. There is a small detail that we often get wrong. We are to serve God’s people. Who are God’s people? We agree I am sure, that God created all things…. Here we find that detail, we sometimes pass over, all.  All people are God’s people, period. Back to my earlier statement “The Church does not need to be involved in the immigration issue.” The church does need to be cleaning up this mess created by Governments and organizations, also people with personal agendas as well as political parties who seek to strengthen their voting bases. The church needs to be on the people side of this issue, trust God to deal with the rest. The secular world is a good example of why the church needs to remain true to its calling. There are those, outside the church, who believe making placards, marching and chanting or screaming obscenities at those you disagree with or in general becoming a mob with an opinion does nothing to deal with or relieve the human suffering caused by this issue. In my research I have found two excellent articles that are well-balanced and I believe worth the read. Scott Rae is Professor of Ethics at Talbot School of Theology and author of numerous books on Christian ethics. The link to his article is posted below. The other author is Lynne Bollinger for which I do not have a direct link to. You will find her article “The Church as a Place of Belonging” included in a book by Dan Boone “A Charitable Discourse, Volume 2.” I have listed the publishing house below.

If you have read this far I encourage you to follow-up by reading the suggested material. We must as the church look beyond the issue of immigration as a social and political issue and do all we can to make it a “people” issue, “God’s People”. Pray, seek to be informed, become involved in your community through the many church programs that serve this immigrant community and remember 

Matthew 25:34-36 New International Version (NIV)

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

We must do the Kingdom’s work.

Life is Good

Jk

https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/bible-immigration/

Boone, Dan. A Charitable Discourse, Volume 2: Uncomfortable Conversations (Kindle Location 1361). Nazarene Publishing House. Kindle Edition. “The Church as a Place of Belonging –  Lynne Bollinger”

We all very different, or so we like to believe. Most know the story of  Job, his descent into a world of misery he never imagined was possible for him.  Job is a wealthy man living in a land called Uz with his large family and extensive flocks. God counts him as“blameless” and “upright,” always avoiding evil (1:1).  Satan comes to God who has boasted about Job’s goodness and argues that Job is only good because God has blessed him abundantly. Satan challenges God that, if given permission to punish the man, Job will turn and curse God. God allows Satan to torment Job to test this bold claim, but he forbids Satan to take Job’s life in the process. Many different writings make note of the fact that the Satan in the book of Job is not the same as the one in the NT. This Satan at this time is one of the heavenly minions.

Job finds himself in dire straights, one disaster after another which of course brings to mind a question that is asked often by all of us. Why Me Lord? Job does not know the answer to that question but there are others who believe they know, according to the customs of the day. We  often ask ourselves when things go wrong, “What have I done wrong or what could I have done differently?” There is a turn in this account of Job that I have overlooked in the past and it is possible you may have also.

We see in the early going conversations between Job and his friends they believe that God blesses the good and punishes the guilty, so they felt Job must be guilty of some terrible sin and should repent.  Job, does not believe that, which we as readers of the first chapter, know to be true. His friends continue to press him to admit his sin, then we encounter Elihu who grows weary that no answer has been presented by any of the four involved in this conversation. Elihu leans more toward divine providence, which he insists is full of wisdom and mercy. It is possible that suffering may be decreed for the righteous as a protection against greater sin, moral betterment and warning, causing us to have a greater trust and dependence on a merciful, compassionate God in the midst of adversity. Reasonable thought, how often has a crisis moved us closer to God? Job has endured a number of setbacks and his friends while distraught at his situation continue to push Job to repent of his sin, believing still it is responsible for where he finds himself at this moment in time. It is at this time (chapter 32) that Elihu, who by the way is not an elder joins the conversation with a lengthy speech. It is thought that his not being an elder, he waited out of respect for those older than him to have their say. It is here that we encounter that turn I spoke of earlier. We all seek answers as to why this or that has happened to us. Job was no different and the treatment he received, one more of judgement than comfort in his time of distress and from his friends no less, most likely drove him even lower. He was driven to revisit the good things he had done, the stature he had attained in living a good life…..he sought the presence of God. Then came the turn. We might expect Job, in chapter 38, to answer Elihu. What we get is God’s response to Job which is all questions. The paradox of a question becoming an answer, allowing Job to take these facts and make the connection of Why. 

Why do good people have to suffer? The book of Job raises many questions and leaves us searching for the answers. We can become confused, angry, scared and yes…demanding in our times of trial. In chapter 38, verses 1-11, the majesty, glory and authority of God are put before Job with questions. Consider… God answers Job, but I am sure it was not as he expected. God has some questions for Job, a quick look at 38: 1-11

Verses

-1-3 God makes his presence known in many ways. The questions start, not what Job wanted, he wanted to address God directly. He wanted to know the charges against him and win justice for himself. Instead he gets questions he can’t answer.

-God invites Job to prepare for confrontation.

-Job 13: 21 Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors. 22 Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak, and you reply to me.

-4-7 These verses are to impress upon Job that he can’t even begin to understand the depths of God’s wisdom and knowledge.

-8-11

8“Or who shut up the sea with doors, 

when it broke forth from the womb, 

9when I made clouds its garment, 

and wrapped it in thick darkness, 

10marked out for it my bound, 

set bars and doors, 

11and said, ‘Here you may come, but no further. 

Here your proud waves shall be stayed?’”

So tell me Job, can you do any of these things? Did you see me do these things? Point is Job, if not, who are you to be seeking a confrontation with the Almighty to bring your case to and receive vindication?  These questions are not to marginalize Job but to hopefully show him the majesty of God and to glorify God. 

As I bring this weeks blog to close I still ask WHY? In these first eleven verses we see how ordinary we are.  Job must come to the realization that he lacks the knowledge to ask such a question….he is mortal, just a man. So what is the Job Syndrome? I think it is taking too much for granted, no, better said, taking God’s blessings for granted. Then when things don’t go our way we want to know why. Ponder on this….no person receives salvation by doing good things or having nice things……..Why?

I hope to keep this as simple as possible. The early church was pretty much made up of Jews who had accepted Christ as the Messiah. There was of course the new and major acceptance by these Jews that Christ was the promised Messiah and that salvation was found only in Him. They continued to worship in the Jewish fashion for several years in some places but in time added a few things to distinguish themselves as followers of Christ. People of the way as we became to know them in later writings. Added were the Lord’s Supper, they gathered daily for prayer and fellowship, preaching and teaching. A major change was the moving of the worship services from the Jewish Sabbath to the first day of the week because it was the day of the resurrection. An interesting fact here is that from the very inception of this new Christianity the synagogue was in full power of its various functions. There came a time that Christians were no longer allowed to worship in the synagogues. The early Christians had always viewed themselves as a Jewish sect and this set in motion some changes in the order of worship. They did maintain the same rites as their Jewish counterparts with changes coming as Christian Scripture became available. To fully understand the changes that occurred over time, go to the link at the end of this blog. While the New Testament does not offer many details on the order of worship or leadership in the churches earliest days there are some things we do know. When the time came that they were no longer able to worship in the synagogues, they began to meet in homes. We are able to find some order of worship in the books of Acts, Corinthians, Colossians to name just a few. There would be singing of Hymns and psalms, prayer, vocal thanksgiving and instruction.   

Paul, in his writing to the church in Corinth, describes two types of Christian gathering – one is the Lord’s Supper (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-17; 11:20-29) or the ceremonial community meal; a second gathering was the Prophetic Assembly, which included both singing and thanksgiving in unknown languages, with interpretation (for purpose of edification), and prophecy (cf. 1 Cor 14:1-33).(Dr. D W. Ekstrand)

Some things never change, we might enhance them some, to better preach and teach the word but the core of it all is the church being called, our calling, to take the word to the people of God. Do not pass lightly over the phrase people of God, for He is the creator of all things and people of God means just that. We are to go to all people not just those who we are comfortable with or places that are convenient for us. Back to last weeks blog. Can we even perceive how difficult we have made this church thing in today’s world? All the groups, labels and social pressure that confronts our planning, going forth with the word and serving the needs of our communities. Time never makes anything   simpler. We can reduce decades to X, Y, Z but take several paragraphs to turn a scripture to our needs. The church has grown beyond what we read about in the New Testament, we still celebrate the Lord’s Supper and it is true that we seek to add to His Kingdom by proclaiming the Word of God and looking to Jesus Christ as the way to our salvation. 

So to sum up….we need more than religion. Salvation is not a group activity. It requires a personal relationship between the person and God, and through His son Jesus Christ. I am trying to stay away from the buzz words of today’s religion and are calling you back to The Way. The church has indicated these past years that it is becoming more and more fluid in its interpretation of scripture and is finding itself a captive of societal changes that are weakening its ability to respond to its calling.  

Matthew 18: 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Remember to sing the hymns, psalms, pray earnestly for the Holy Spirit to guide, giving thanks for everything, study the word and celebrate the Lord’s Supper often…. Jesus Christ has risen! Every thing else is just details that will change…It is the way we do church… 

Thank you for joining me in the pew this week. Please take time to read the excellent article that was a source of the information in today’s blog. Go to the link below

http://www.thetransformedsoul.com/additional-studies/miscellaneous-studies/-worship-in-the-early-church

Life is Good

jk

This is another of those blogs I have started over a number of times. I have spent the week and part of last week reading about church membership, what works and what doesn’t. One thing I discovered from my point of view is a modern-day church quandary. I think that part of the problems of todays’ shrinking membership is because of the fixation on XYZ. Great article by WJSchroer got my attention, very informative and interesting. As I usually do please refer to the link at the end of the blog, good read, seven different generations beginning from 1912 to 2012. My first question, is this a generational thing? Whenever you go searching you will always find things that conflict or muddy the waters so to speak. Now each one of these generations saw a change in direction, expanding or limiting their role in society and changing doing church as we used to. I wondered how involved as a church are we into this generational thing. When we add demographics, PC and local culture the church is hard pressed to find a message that fits its immediate environment without offending someone. Because we are so intent on putting a label on people, placing them conveniently in a box, their humanness becomes secondary to the statistical information many organizations look to for guidance. A good example of this practice can be seen in an article by Jeremy Steele in the United Methodist Communications publication. The article specifically written to a specific population of the church also has a host of turn offs that could put off other generations as well. This is a well written article, informative and except for a few points could be speaking to any of us. Go to the link at the end of the blog. At this point I would add minimizing our humanness to a statistic as a problem for the church.

So what has happened to make this church thing so difficult? People are different and their concept of church does vary as to its importance and place in their lives. The early church was less complicated but far more challenging.  I never really considered the fact that not only do we label people but it seems that we carry that habit over to our church communities. Here are a few of those labels. There is the Institutional Church, the House Church, which really took off in the 70’s and continues even today. Of course we have the Main Line Denominations, followed by the rise of the independent Charismatic churches that have grown in such large numbers. What did the early church worship services look like? Since the first Christian community in Jerusalem was almost exclusively Jewish, it accepted the Old Testament as the Word of God and continued to worship in the Synagogue with the Jews. What distinguished the early Christians from the Jews was their belief that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that salvation was found only in Him. It is within these largely Jewish–Christian Synagogues that the order of worship began to change. They did for a while continue to worship in that Jewish order of worship of Scripture, prayer, the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, later adding the Lord’s Supper (cf. Acts 2:42, 46) and prayers in the name of Jesus (cf. Acts 4:24-30). The Christians gathered daily for prayer, fellowship, preaching, and teaching (cf. Acts 2:46; 5:42), They did change from the Jewish Sabbath to the first day of the week almost from the beginning, because it was the day of resurrection. There is a lot of history here and to me while it helps to bring into perspective the churches’ struggle over time with the why, way and how to do church it can become confusing. I take away from the article “WORSHIP IN THE EARLY CHURCH”  by Dr. D. W. Ekstrand that the Synagogue was still in power as a place of worship. Dr. Ekstrand notes:

 “The New Testament refers to it fifty-five times. Our Lord taught in the synagogues of Nazareth and Capernaum; Paul preached in the synagogues of Damascas, Salamis of Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus.”

There is so much here that I believe I will return to the subject of the early church next week. So far my thoughts are moving toward a rejection of the generational, statistical and PC approach to reaching out to people. I am becoming more scripture conscious and embracing the core values of the faith and not being driven by societal and culture changes. How do we do this in a world that wants to know “what’s in it for me”? Don’t mean to leave you hanging, hoping you will ask yourself, if X,Y, and Z are a bit to simple?

Hope you come back next week…Life is Good

jk

 (http://socialmarketing.org/)

 (http://www.umcom.org/learn/top-10-church-faux-pas-that-turn-off-millennials)