More Than Conquerors

Tactical Homosexuality - Part 2

2006-02-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

In the previous blog I described how today’s homosexuals have performed an extreme makeover. They have redefined homosexuality, removing the word homosexual from the list of abominable labels (as found in such passages 1Cor. 6:9-11) and placing it between Haitian and Hungarian on the list of people groups.

Well, just as the leg bone is connected to the hipbone, so their second tactic is connected to the first. And it goes something like this: Since homosexuals are a people group – born to be the way they are – then they must be allowed the same rights and respect as any other people group.

In other words, we would expect that someone from Haiti is just as important as someone from Hungary. And we would not deprive either of them from accessing the full rights and privileges accorded to the human community.

Consequently homosexuals become victims of “prejudice and hate” any time that someone speaks out against homosexuality, anytime someone refuses to hire a sodomite, and anytime there is a law on the books against a man lying with a man or a woman lying with a woman.

In fact today employers are compelled to include Non-Discrimination Policies like this one from the University of San Diego, “The University prohibits discrimination against current or prospective students and employees on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected characteristic.” (The University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic institution.)

And so what is the result of all this? It is that we begin to argue the debate on the wrong terms. And so, now, those standing around the office's water cooler are debating over whether a homosexual partner should be able to come under the company’s insurance coverage. And students, and their professors, in seminary debate over whether a homosexual should be allowed to hold office in the local church.

Church of Jesus Christ, we are losing the debate. We must work toward redefining it back onto biblical terms. Homosexuals are not a people group. Homosexuality is rather a sinful and decadent behavior indulged in by all sorts of people.

Tactical Homosexuality - Part 1

2005-11-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

Most Christians might consider this a bit odd, but rather than wanting to escape from a “label” for which a person should be ashamed, like thief, slanderer, drunkard and adulterer, our generation’s homosexuals have decided to embrace the name, but not in the Bible’s language.

Instead today’s homosexuals have attempted an extreme makeover. They have removed the word homosexual from the list of abominable labels (as found in such passages 1Cor. 6:9-11) and placed it between Haitian and Hungarian on the list of people groups.

Do you get what I am saying? They refuse to be numbered in the list that reads: adulterer, greedy, drunkard, thief, homosexual, slanderer and swindler. Instead they want to be numbered in the list that reads: Dutch, French, Haitian, Homosexual, Hungarian, and Italian.

Now you need to understand the significance of this ploy – to redefine homosexuals as a people group. It is quite intentional.

You see if homosexuals are homosexuals by their creation, the same way a Swede is a Swede, a German is a German or an American Indian is an American Indian, then how can they be blamed for what they are and what they do?

It was not my choice to be born from Swedish and Norwegian ancestry. It is just who I am. It is what God created me to be.

Well in the same way today’s homosexual wants the world to believe that his/ her same-sex predilections are not lust driven choices for which they are guilty, but part of what God created them to be.

So they consistently promote this redefinition throughout the culture – TV, movies, music, education – and unarguably, the American society has bought into it. So much so that now, when a Christian portrays homosexuality as a gross sin, he is accused of prejudice, discrimination and homophobia.

Whatever Happened to the Man Being the Head of His Home?

2005-07-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

“For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”
Ephesians 5:23-24

The whole idea seems like something from the past. And it is. In fact “In the beginning…” of the earth’s creation, we learn about the inescapable responsibility that God gave to men.

In Genesis Chapter 2 it says, “the LORD God put man in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” He was to have control over the earth. However, God did not want man to be alone, so He decided to make “a helper suitable for him.” And so God made Woman. The first woman was named Eve. And she was actually created from out of the first man's, Adam’s, body. God made her to come alongside of Adam in order to assist him in his mission.

Male headship is as inescapable as the law of gravity. Ignoring the law is futile. The Women’s Liberation movement of the last 40 years has encouraged modern man to oppose male headship. They have redefined the word “helpmate” into becoming a synonym for the word “slave.” But this unbiblical redefinition has not only released women from being helpmates to their husbands, but even more destructively, men have liberated themselves from their obligations to provide leadership in the home.

Men liked that they could begin unloading many of their responsibilities onto the shoulders of their wives. They never wanted all that responsibility in the first place. It goes without saying, “Being in charge involves carrying a heavy burden.” Who wants to be the one that gets the final blame when bills are not paid, or when the children grow up to be selfish? No. It is much better to get out from under, “It doesn’t depend on me. No, the buck does not stop here. She was in charge of that.” Some men take full advantage. “Let her provide. She can train the children, getting them to Church and Sunday school. And I like that she holds down a job and helps pay the bills. After all, we are equals aren’t we? We are co-heads. It is so much better this way. It allows me time to fish!”

Women lost in this deal. They were supposed to be helpers and they have been left to carry the entire burden. Their husbands frustrate them.

Men, the call today is to reclaim your biblical headship of the home. And to do that you must rightfully picture yourself, not as a petty king but as a beast of burden, like an ox. So choose now to take the weight upon your shoulders. Headship is weighty. But it is a privileged burden from God. So carry it faithfully.

The Way Children Learn the Importance of Worship

2005-05-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

Question: "What if the church, in seeking to follow the model you outline in your blog, bores the children in a way that makes them grow up thinking that the church is an unhappy place to be? This is no doubt partly what happened to me. Yes, yes, I know, modeling and such. But age appropriate teaching is key isn't it?"

Reply:
Again we need to expect the standard of a father leading his children, "teaching them to love the LORD with all their hearts, minds, etc."

That being said, the Church can be assured that children are being trained in the things of God. It is not their primary concern. Continuing to train the men of the Church is.

When it comes to an actual worship service, I believe more is being done in the soul of a child when he is sitting amidst his family members, including hopefully his grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins. It registers with him. He is part of the covenant community. It may not entertain him, but he is happy in the security of being part of something bigger than himself, something Transcendent.

I'm sure you've seen examples of attentiveness in Christian children during worship. My experience has been that those children are most often members of a family where Dad has stressed the importance of the Word of God, character and worship in daily life. He also takes the time to teach them about corporate worship. And so his children begin to enter into more and more meaningful worship at earlier ages.

I remember the privilege of being able to teach Zachary in worship. It was not a distraction. I would just remind him, "we are praying now," and tell him to fold his hands and close his eyes. I would move my fingers across the page, for him to get the sense of where we were, when singing hymns. He couldn't read at the time, but he was a part of what we were doing. I would nudge him occasionally when I knew the Pastor was going to say something that he had learned at home. A father cannot do these things when his son or daughter is downstairs or in another wing of the building.

This is a perfect example of age appropriate teaching. A father and mother both know their children’s competencies. They know what they have taught them at home. They know their proclivities and they are overseeing their behavior in the pew next to them. (Can I still use the word pew?) So it is not just modeling, but actual instruction occurs, and it is individual. And as for age appropriateness, it is up to the minute.

Finally, I do not think it hurts little ones to realize that worship is not being done for their happiness. Nor should we be attending corporate worship for our happiness. Happiness is the byproduct. Both parents and children are instead privileged to keep audience with the King of kings. We are counted amongst His people. What a wonderful thing it is for children to come to realize this. And they will increasingly learn to embrace corporate worship, as they are lead through it, regularly, by their parents.

This is far from exhaustive, but I think it helps provide the aroma of what Family-Integrated Churches would be striving for.

Interestingly, my sister works in a mega-church south of the Twin Cities. She informed me that they were looking for a pastor to deal with the families of the Church that are thinking this way.

In another instance, I had lunch with a friend yesterday that spoke of a mega-church in California that is working to establish both emphases in their covenant community.

I believe it is their only hope and that our gracious God is allowing these churches a transition back into father-led child rearing. (Of course, that is only my sociological/spiritual evaluation.)

How the Church Can Really Help Children

2005-04-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

I was staggered, recently, when someone quoted to me that 70% of “Christian” youth leave the Church between ages 18 - 24. If the number is true, then that’s horrific. In fact, it is unchristian. What’s going on? Does God expect such failure?

But it is not as though the Church has not given children time and attention. The Evangelical Church has now offered “youth-oriented” programs to families for over two decades, yet what can be shown from it? If today’s Evangelical Church is only seeing godly fruit in 30% of its children, or said differently, if only 30% of its children recognize the value of Church attendance, then we must ask ourselves, “Is the Church barking up the wrong “faith imparting” tree when it comes to youth?”

Fifteen years ago, while teaching in a Christian school, I realized just how incapable our school was at producing godly children. It wasn’t for a lack of desire or lack of effort, but it was for lack of jurisdiction. You see God intended for fathers to lead their children. God gave children to fathers and fathers to children. And no matter how hard we tried to lead children into Christian maturity, our hands were tied. It was pretty much a done deal. Children were going to follow Dad. What was important to him was important to them. He held the trump card.

Similarly, the answer to the problem of youth leaving the Church is found, not in the Church, but in the home. Indeed, if the Church wishes to produce godly children, then it must focus its efforts on producing godly fathers.

And this brings me to the topic of "Family-Integrated Churches.” I will take just a moment to describe in my terms, what is meant by “Family-Integrated Churches.” I will offer you a flavor. But please realize that I will not be submitting anything knew, for you will recognize the principles of Family-Integrated Churches as principles that existed just two generations ago, at a healthier time. I do contend that Family-Integrated Churches are turning the hearts of fathers to their children and as a result are providing the only answer to keeping youth from leaving the faith. So here we go.

Family-integrated Churches, (in contrast to Churches that divide the family into age groups for Christian instruction and worship) are Churches that consciously attempt to push the responsibility for training youth back under the umbrella of the family, with fathers being recognized as the heads of their homes. Too often the Church, in an attempt to assist the family, assumes jurisdiction. The Church may not wish to proclaim control, but practically speaking, she has taken the reins. And when we structure programs around the spiritual training of our youth, we unwittingly dig our own grave.

Family-integrated Churches understand that God has not only provided the goal of the godly training of our children, but that he has also mandated the "means" by which we are supposed to meet that "end," namely the Christian home.

Family-integrated Churches recognize their inability to effectively train youth in the Church. They decline efforts to create "programs" which confuse the role relationship between the Church and the Home. They would rather unplug those activities that cultivate the abdication of fathers, and alternatively allow men to feel the weight of their neglect. Children are expected to learn from their fathers at the kitchen table, in the backyard, in the living room and at the foot of their beds. (Deut. 6)

Family-integrated Churches also seek to provide an environment where families worship God as family units, and multi-generationally. In other words, kids don't head in a different direction to worship God. They worship God with their father and mother, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins, Grandpa and Grandma. The covenant community worships her One true God and that worship is actually demonstrated to tender young children from the moment they are brought into it. Children see and learn how important the covenant community is to their father and then mother, sisters, brothers, etc.

This may seem like something that won't work in today's environment. With school, soccer practice, forensics, 4-H, solo/ensemble competitions, two income homes, homework, Church activities, etc. Many have determined that the Church must shoulder a greater burden of child training. Family-integrated Churches on the other hand, believe that “determination” to be a recipe for disaster. For God did not assign the task to the Church, but to the family, with fathers being held specifically accountable for success. And when the confines of God’s covenantal institutions are not respected but usurped, we can never expect success. We are refusing God’s remedy and yet we think we can find health again.

The Answer for Producing Spiritual Children

2005-04-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

Fifteen years ago, God impressed upon me the answer to the question, “How do you produce spiritual children. At the time I was a teacher and principal in a Christian school in Oconomowoc, WI. We had approximately 125 to 140 children in our school. I had a heart for my students. I wanted them to know the things I knew. I wanted them to love God and obey Him.

However, it was during my five years at the school that God demonstrated something to me that caused me to pack my bags and begin a new journey. God impressed upon me the primacy of Christian fathers and the necessity of a godly home for the production of Christian children.

I specifically remember Him giving me these two insights. The first came through a god-fearing family of eleven, nine children. (Thankfully we gave family discounts.) The children were respectful to adults. There was evidence of spiritual fruit in their lives. They were acquainted with the Scripture, and God mattered in their decision-making. It was evidenced in their self-government; even the young ones possessed it.

They were children that you marveled at. How could this be? What did their parents do to create such poetry? The answer came quickly. And it came through the fears of the other staff members prior to parent/teacher conferences. They warned me, “Look out for Mr. Westendorf.” It was almost humorous, as if meetings with this man included a microscope. This was no anxious parent going off to school to meet with the “professional” teacher, but rather our teachers feared his analysis. His godly presence somehow reversed the roles. I guess it was evident that he was the “professional” when it came to teaching children.

It turned out that Mr. Westendorf was a humble yet intentional man. He loved his children and was willing to sacrifice his time and give his attention to them. He cared for them because they were under his authority. And to this day, he remains my prime example of Malachi’s, “turning the hearts of the fathers to their children.” This father of nine was raising godly offspring. And for the next five years I committed myself to grabbing the crumbs that fell from his table. Mr. Westendorf was not to be feared, but he was to be treasured. He displayed to me how God intended for children to be raised.

The second insight came as a result of trying to fill teacher vacancies. We wanted an emotionally and spiritually healthy, but also an academically effective atmosphere in the school. And in order to produce that environment we found ourselves looking for older women to teach the younger grades, women whose own children had grown. We also looked for godly and disciplined men for the later grades.

We determined that little souls are too tender for cold, young, “professional” women, women who have never wiped tears and bandaged knees. No. We knew that children needed someone like “Mom,” in order to grow and thrive. They need the security of a seasoned woman’s heart.

On the other hand, the older children, especially boys would require a man’s man, adventurous yet always limited by God’s parameters, strong yet willing to “keep an eye” out for the most timid to make it onto the playground. The amount of pay never really allowed us to hire an older gentleman. Usually younger men, still starting out in life, could live a little leaner.

Well, as we tried to find these types of teachers, I guess at some point I just slapped my forehead, realizing what we were doing. It was a “eureka” moment. We were trying to recreate the home. What God designed parents to do in the lives of their children, we were trying to emulate for the benefit of the school.

So those two insights, the primacy of Christian fathers and the necessity of a godly home environment are the keys that unlock the secrets of producing spiritual children. For the Church to reach its youth, it must reach into the homes. And the home is where fathers reign, so the Church must focus its attention on him.

Christian Debating

2005-03-31T12:40:00.000-08:00

John Dewey and Charles Darwin have trained too many American Christians how to think about life and death. So Humanists continue to define the cultural debates, but our problem is that we, Christians, sheepishly accept the terms, “Well, I guess everyone has a ‘right’ to decide how they want to die,” or “Ooh, ooh, of course we must consider the ‘quality of life’ a person is able to have.”

Sometimes we do not even know what we believe. I guess too many of us sat in school playing “life boat.” “Life Boat” is the survival game where the weak are sacrificed to the sharks in order for others to live longer. (Or maybe the survivors ended up eating the weak? I do not remember now.)

The solution? Christians must refuse these godless premises. We cannot expect to teach this aimless culture about Christ using their definitions. We must enter into the debate using God’s terms.

First, we have no “right” to choose to terminate a life, not even our own. No. The Christian understands that life is a gift of God. Also, that God has created Man in His image. The sixth commandment teaches us that murderers violate the Law of God. (That includes self-murderers.) In fact, God considers murder one of the "capital crimes," a crime for which someone legally forfeits his life.

Secondly, a person does not decide whether his life has value. God decides. We believe that God has numbered our days and continues to sustain all life. But we also recognize that sometimes He brings adversity into our lives, hard times. And His intention is to use these “times of trial” for the good of His people.

Terri Schiavo’s life had value. She simply needed someone else to feed her. It had been her trial and her family’s as well. There was no “machine” keeping Mrs. Schiavo alive, unless you want to call her feeding tube a machine. However, a feeding tube is merely used to assist someone who cannot eat. There are many people alive today that cannot feed themselves. Should we step back and examine their “quality of life” and then decide to starve them too?

Christian, understand how God would define the debate. Then, do not be ashamed, but use His terms and argue clearly.

People are not dead and gone, but continue to exist

2005-03-17T12:43:00.002-08:00

Yesterday, my 4-year old son Calvin said that he was going to die and be with God and grandpa. It was quite "matter of fact," no detection of "prophetic proclamation." In other words, I don't think he had not been given some inside track on a near future event. So I replied to him matter-of-factly, "Yes you will Calvin. We all will."

I think this type of conversation with our children, helps everyone to keep a right perspective. Life on earth is a limited thing. It serves a purpose, it's functional. It is certainly not the "end." In fact it is hardly measurable when compared to what awaits us.

David understood, "Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow." (Psalm 144:4) The apostle James reiterates David's sentiment, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14)

Perhaps, for the Christian, the best way to communicate life and death issues, is to talk in terms of existence. God and grandpa are far from dead. They still exist. Better yet, they know life in much fuller ways than any of us poor flesh dwellers.

It is true that every man has the flavor of eternity in his very constitution. And those of us who've been regenerated by the Spirit of God have actually been given a foretaste of everlasting life!

For Calvin's Grandpa it has become even more than a foretaste. He has been freed from this body of death and is experiencing life abundant. He has joined with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and James.

It is significant that our God continued to call himself "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," even after all three men had been deceased for ages. And Jesus understood why God continued to use such a title. It is because Abraham, Isaac and Jacob continue to be God's people. Nothing has changed. Our Lord put it simply, "He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

So much for those of us that have such an earthly perspective. We are not the "survivors." In many cases we are not better off at all. We are only existing on a different plane, or level. And if we compare ourselves to Christian loved ones, our existence is quite frankly, a lessor one, or at least it is greatly hindered.

Pride

2005-03-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

Richard Baxter (1615-1691) wrote a penetrating booklet for Pastors called, The Ugly Sin of Preacher's Pride. With it, Baxter cuts to the heart of the man of God. He overturns moss-covered rocks to expose the slugs of impure motivation.

As I read and re-read this booklet, I found myself needing to break for moments of prayerful repentance.

Speaking of Preachers, Baxter writes, "When the sermon is done, pride goeth home with them, and maketh them more eager to know whether they were applauded, than whether they did prevail for the saving change of souls."

Recognizing pride in a Preacher's jealous actions, he writes, "And some go so far, that they are unwilling that any one that is abler than themselves should come into their Pulpits, lest they should be applauded above themselves."

I understand why John Wesley required all of his preachers to read Baxter's work on Preacher's Pride. You can find the booklet online at Christian History Institute. Or click on this link: The Ugly Sin of Preacher Pride

Ethical Definitions

2005-03-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

Forty years ago it was different. Almost everybody believed Homosexuality to be a sin, an atrocious sin. In fact, back then it was still wrong to dress seductively and have sex outside of a marriage covenant. Forty years ago God’s Commandments still defined proper conduct for people in this nation.

Today, on the other hand, we protect each other’s “right” to sex. It goes something like, “If I don’t support the right to sodomize, then someone may come after me for my adultery,” and “Every person has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of depravity.”

Oh, wait a minute, you’ve probably heard it put a little differently. The more sophisticated way to protect sexual sin uses slogans like, “Keep government out of our bedrooms” and “You can’t legislate morality.” But no matter what words we use the goal is the same. We’ve committed to an unspoken rule in regard to sex, “If you protect my sin, then I’ll protect yours.”

It’s scary. The culture has been transformed. The godless have rewritten the definitions. Indeed, God has given America over to depraved thinking. But does she even notice? No, we are too busy running after new ways to indulge ourselves. We have slid three-quarters of the way down the slide and are still screaming, “Weeeeeee…”

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Although we know God’s righteous decrees, and know that those who do such things deserve death, we not only continue to do them, but also approve of others who practice them.” (Romans 1:32)

When we defy God by our wicked practices, and begin substituting lies for the truth of God, then we have already turned the corner. We have begun to experience the wrath of God. God is judging us. Our only hope is repentance.

Are you older than 40? Then think back to the way things once were. Many younger people have never experienced a culture where sin is disdained. Many don’t know what it’s like for God’s Word to serve as the Nation’s ethical dictionary. Those of us over 40 have the advantage of remembering, “the way things were.”

So what happened to our nation? The seeds of rebellion were sown long before they bore fruit. That means that those of us over 40 share the blame, and so do our parents. We need to love our children and grandchildren enough to call them to repentance. We need to call them back from their headlong rush into sexual deviation, back to God’s definitions. They need to repent. We need to repent. There is no other option.

Are you a Preacher? We must preach with courage. Either we know what God says about these things, or we are in danger of knowing nothing at all. The Word of God is all we bring to the table. It must be preached. Don’t be afraid. Fear God and not man. We must love enough to warn all people concerning the dangers of refusing their Creator’s commandments.

A Notable Work

2005-03-08T07:45:00.000-08:00

Humanism has captured the United States of America. Abortion and Homosexuality are both products of this National religion. Any attempt by the Church to expose and attack these evils is met by Humanism's priests: Pluralism and Multiculturism.

When the State believes it decides all matters of right and wrong, it fears few repercussions for its tyranny against God's people. So a faithful Church is a nuisance at best, or worse it is a threat to the national religion.

So, the Church needs preachers with courage. Preachers, who will not only preach faithfully, but will lead faithfully. Preachers that are willing to risk being uncomfortable, disliked, vilified and punished for what is right.

When Queen Mary began to punish the Reformers in Roman Catholic England, John Knox hoped to encourage them in their suffering. So Knox wrote them "A Faithful Admonition to the Professors of God's Truth in England" and "Two Comfortable Epistles to His Afflicted Brethren in England." In the "Epistles" he admonished them with these words, “Seldom it is that God works any notable work to the comfort of his church, but that trouble, fear, and labour come upon such as God has used for his servants and workmen; and also tribulation most commonly follows that church where Christ Jesus is most truly preached.”

God must work greatly in His Church to recapture this culture. Once its Ministers replace the desire for comfort with the desire for righteousness, things will begin to change. God wants men to do what is right, even if they should suffer for it. History is consistent: God uses adversity to purify His people. Then he uses His people to change the world around them.

Revival

2004-11-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

Charles H. Spurgeon preached knowing that men were helpless. His confidence was not in his well-articulated sentences, nor in his strong and colorfully, crafted declamations. He believed God would have to revive people.

In his first sermon in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, March 31, 1861, he announced, "Let God but send down the fire, and the biggest sinners in the neighborhood will be converted; those who live in dens of infamy will be changed; the drunkard will forsake his cups, the swearer will repent of his blasphemy, the debauched will leave their lusts - Dry bones be raised, and clothed afresh. And hearts of stone by turned to flesh."

Spurgeon didn't even leave it in the hands of man to do right. He continued, "I do not come to this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter, I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, 'you are mine, and you shall be mine, I claim you for myself.' My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from freedom of will."