Author Archives: pastordale

Why Christians should talk like a pirate #tlapd

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Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day, and the more I think about it, as despicable as most pirates may be, perhaps we can learn something from them.

 
All too often, the church (and when I say “the church,” I mean, “Christians as a whole,” not a building) acts like the pirate’s mortal enemy, the ninja. We operate under stealth, meeting in secret (or might as well be in secret, as most people just don’t get up early on Sundays), and few people know our secret, since at best, we might wear a cross necklace, or we think that being nice to people will convey the Gospel inherently without actually mentioning Jesus as the motivation behind our actions. We certainly don’t announce our intentions, but insist on sneaking around, blending into society.
 
When Apple first opened their computer campus, they hoisted the Jolly Roger instead of any other flag, and when asked why, they answered, “Better to be a pirate than join the navy.” For a budding computer business in the 1970’s, “the navy” meant IBM, but for Christians in the United States, “the navy” is our culture. Christians are called not to conform to the world (Romans 12:2), but so often, we can’t even see the contrast between our culture and Biblical Christianity. Someone even recently asked me why the two must conflict, and sadly, the answer is that, as long as we live in a fallen world, the two will always conflict. When we’ve stopped running contrary to the culture, we’ve lost our direction and need to reverse course!
 
Pirates, on the other hand, are easily recognized. They act boldly. They’re often likable or even heroic (at least the fictional movie pirates!), and people find them fascinating. Christians, while sometimes feared as a political lobby (Really? Is politics our biggest concern?), are more often seen as boring than adventurous, but why is that? Pirates have been known to face tremendous peril to achieve their goals, taking a stand and fighting to the death. On the high seas, they live on uncomfortable ships and contend with everything from scurvy to being run through with a cutlass. Meanwhile, God has given us the “Sword of the Spirit,” the Bible (Ephesians 6:17), and we tend to leave it in its scabbard. When it comes to storming the gates of hell, we’re more like the Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything than the Pirates of the Caribbean. 
 
 
The good news is that Jesus already walked the plank for us. We’ve committed crimes against the Crown and deserve to have our necks stretched by a short rope. And even though we’ve mutinied against our Captain, He took our place Himself. In fact, He didn’t just walk the plank–He was nailed to a couple of them. But because He went down to Davy Jones’ Locker for us, we’ve been pardoned and instead rewarded, not with doubloons, but with eternal life.
 
While the pirate of the movies bears little resemblance to real pirates, both modern and historical, it seems that we can learn something from even fiction about the truth. So to that goal, this entire site, just for today, will “talk like a pirate” to encourage you to do the same. Be bold and send this article to a friend, but do it quickly. This article will disappear at midnight, and Jesus might return even earlier.

 

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Evangelism Moment
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Is Jesus a socialist?

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Michael Moore, famous for movies like Fahrenheit 9/11, has made the claim in his upcoming film, Capitalism: A Love Story, that Jesus would consider capitalism sinful. The hypocrisy of Moore’s net worth (gained from capitalism) aside, it seems worthwhile to ask the question, “What form of government does God prefer?”

In a recent Bloomberg interview, Movie Critic Rick Warner asks, “Several clergymen in the film say capitalism is anti-Christian and that Jesus would have deplored such a dog- eat-dog system. Yet you hear from the right that capitalism and Christianity go hand in hand. Are they reading different Bibles?” to which Moore responds, “The number one thing in the Bible is redemption. The number two thing is how we treat the poor. All the great religions talk about this. The right wing hijacked Jesus 30 years ago. It was all a big ruse, but people fell for it. I don’t think people are falling for it so easily now.”

Moore got the first point right, absolutely. The focus of the entire Bible is redemption: God paying for the sin of the world by sending Jesus to the cross on our behalf. The entire Old Testament lays out God’s preparation for His coming, and the entire New Testament focuses on that singular event and its repercussions.

Is Moore right about how we treat the poor? Yes. “All the great religions” may be an exaggeration if you consider the Hindu caste system, but yes, Christians all should agree that we need to help the poor as much as possible.

But the question comes down not to “whether,” but to “how.” In the United States, the Democratic Party holds essentially that we can best help the poor by giving our taxes to the government, which can then redistribute the wealth where it’s needed. The Republican Party doesn’t generally trust the government to do this properly or efficiently and prefers to encourage people to give of their own free will according to their consciences as they see need.

Of course, both systems, because they’re designed by sinners, fall short of perfection. “Wasteful government spending” is a household expression, so kudos to the Republicans. On the other hand, every time I refer someone in need to a government aid organization, I think of the Democrats. Plenty of other smaller political parties have other ideas which would be best.

So what form of governmental economy would Jesus endorse? If we were to only look at the Bible for governmental advice, we see only monarchies, but even those don’t get God’s stamp of approval. (1 Samuel 8:7-21) In fact, when Chronicles evaluates the various kings, their economic policies never enter into the equations. Rather, their faithfulness to the Living God is the sole scale by which they’re judged.

The Bible, rather than endorsing a specific form of government, focuses on hearts, not legislation. God wants us to help the poor, but out of love, faith, and gratitude, not compulsion. (2 Corinthians 9:7) We can debate about how this can best be done, but God will stay out of that discussion until the last day when He raises the dead and gives us the riches of His Kingdom because of the poverty of Christ. Meanwhile, we rejoice that He has given us the riches of His undeserved love and the promise of eternal life as we live as citizens of both heaven and earth.

 

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How to live forever

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As people live longer, we continue to strive for greater health advances and more longevity. Some futurists even suggest that a lifespan of 200 or more years may become the norm to those born within a few decades. In a recent episode of the Today Show (Sorry–I can’t find a link to the clip), a researcher suggested that the human DNA has no “death gene” and so, by eliminating disease and accidents, life expectancy can extend toward a thousand years. This lack of a “death gene” sounds a bit simplistic, but at the same time, it doesn’t surprise me.

God created human beings for immortality. Had Adam and Eve avoided the temptation to disobey God regarding the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3), we would all live forever on this world. That our genetic structure seems to reflect this just confirms what we’ve known for thousands of years. It also shows the distinct possibility that our bodies after the final resurrection may well be very similar in composition to their current composition, except that it will lack the corruption that causes us to die–which is something called “sin,” a spiritual condition that modern microscopes can’t see.

But while we’d all certainly like to be healthier, and while we treasure life because it’s a gift from God, we need not incessantly pursue an escape from death. When Jesus died on the cross, He conquered death once and for all. He submitted Himself to death to turn it inside-out, and His resurrection proved that death cannot overcome the Lord of Life. Although Jesus raised Lazarus from death, Lazarus died again years later, but one day, He will raise Lazarus, you, and me to live forever, free from sin and free from death forever.

 

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Christian Parenting: Passing on the Faith

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As I write this, school is about to begin. Every store in town has pencils on sale, and they’re flying off the shelves almost as fast as employees stock them. We as citizens, parents, and members of our community put a lot of emphasis on education. We want good schools, and Cleveland’s recent poor school ratings upset a lot of people, but why do we place such importance on school quality? For many, the quality of a child’s education determines that child’s future, or at least places a significant impact on it. We know that and want the best for our children and for the future of our nation and the world, and we know that, the sharper we hone their minds, the more they’ll potentially accomplish throughout their lives. So why then do we place such little emphasis on spiritual education? Earthly education has undeniable importance, but spiritual education has eternal consequence. The Word of God is the only weapon that will fend off the devil’s attacks, but if we don’t train our children to use this weapon, they will be defenseless when the attacks come. To help parents, we offer the Divine Service, Sunday School, Confirmation Class, and other educational opportunities, but ultimately, the responsibility rests in parents’ hands. Assuming you want your child to remain in the faith until meeting Jesus on the Last Day, here are some simple parenting tips to help make that happen:

  • Model the Christian life: Show your children that living as a forgiven child of God impacts every aspect of life by doing what you can to help those God has placed in your life.
  • Show them Christ’s forgiveness: By His death, Jesus has forgiven all your sins. Show everyone that you believe in that forgiveness by forgiving others, because God has already forgiven them. When someone apologizes to you, instead of saying, “It’s OK” or something similar, say, “Your forgiven” (and mean it).
  • Remember the Sabbath Day: Too many people understand this to mean “go to church once a week,” and while that’s included in this command, it doesn’t stop there. God gives us His love every day, so return that love by hearing His life-giving message at every opportunity through personal devotions and Bible reading in addition to study with others that you may grow from their insights. Spend family time discussing God’s Word and how it applies to the situations in their lives. When you see good examples, point them out.

Remember that we live in a fallen world, so sometimes, even the perfect parents will see a child wander from the faith due to circumstances beyond their control, and other times, by God’s grace, the children of atheist parents become Christians, so none of these guarantee anything, but know that God loves your children, grandchildren, Godchildren, and all children and will continue to reach out to them through means beyond our expectations to keep them with Him forever, so rest assured that you are not alone in your efforts. God Himself is with you in your task.

 

 

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Evangelism Moment: How to respond as a Christian to the homosexuality debate

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As the ELCA discusses the role or acceptance of LGBT clergy at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, it seems like a good opportunity to discuss how God uses the sin in the world, not condoning it, but twisting it back to His glory. God never ceases to amaze me as He takes the pain and suffering and evil in the world, evil with no intrinsic good, and brings good from it just as He brought the universe from nothing. Best example: the Son of God is murdered, and the world gains eternal life.

While I’m saddened by the widespread dismissal of the Word of God as He speaks to the issue of sexuality, God will use this through us, and here’s how:

When Christians talk about “gay marriage,” they usually refer either to Leviticus or Romans. While both of these texts address homosexuality, I’m convinced that the “proof text” for Christians is found in Ephesians 5, God’s definition of marriage, and I believe it’s there we need to start in our discussions with others.

God defines marriage with a simple formula: one man, one woman, married for life. The man’s role is to serve his wife, giving his life over to her needs, and the wife acknowledges his loving service and supports him in love, so they give themselves to each other in lifelong service and self-sacrifice, modeling our relationship with Christ and showing that mutual unconditional love to each other.

Our society long ago already eliminated “married for a lifetime” from the equation, so it shouldn’t surprise us when the rest of the equation gets corrupted. But that formula isn’t just God being a bully—He wants us to know His love, and He has given us marriage that we may have a taste of His love. When we change the equation, we either end up with a church with no Savior or two Christs and nobody saved or church and Christ divided from each other without His unconditional love. And even on a practical level, if we eliminate God’s equation, we open marriage up to other corruptions like polygamy and more.

So take this opportunity to discuss the issue—it’s a “water cooler” topic now! And remember these points:

† All sexual sin, including heterosexual intimacy outside marriage, is equally rebellion against God but also equally forgiven by Christ’s blood.

† Jesus died for all people, regardless what sin tempts them. Since they were worth that much to Him, who are we to not love them?

† While some may find satisfaction in a man-made corruption of God’s natural order, God wants so much more for us—He wants us to know His love and experience it through each other until the great wedding feast on the last day.

Our rebellion against God’s good and loving will for us put Jesus on the cross, but on that same cross, we find our loving Bridegroom. God give us the opportunity to share His love through this sinful action and wisdom to season our discussions with the Good News of His true love.

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Catechism/Confirmation Resources

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59905-FIELDATTACHEDFILE: Constructing a Church Year Calendar. Beginning with Easter, the student is moved forward and backward, constructing the Church Year calendar in the same way that the church constructed its own. Explains placement of festivals and the colors assigned. Comprehension Exercises: On these pages, you … Continue reading →