Most of us remember that line from the classic hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness: “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow …” Now “hope for tomorrow” sounds like an awesome thing – I’ll give you that – but I’m beginning to conclude that most people could use a little “bright hope” about right now!

I’m not sure exactly why most spirits don’t seem to be soaring at present, but let’s assume for a minute or two that my suspicions are correct. Let’s assume that a spiritual boost is in order, and let’s glance at a passage of Scripture where an event is recorded that really is quite unparalleled in the Word of God: the Transfiguration. If you have a Bible nearby, grab it and join me in Mark 9:1-13.

You and I are so much like these disciples. We get it, but not really. We understand, but not really. We’re on board, but not really. Can I get a witness? We really want to believe with gusto the things we believe, but we’re so darn tied down to the things of this world that it’s hard to see beyond the morning fog. Maybe I’m just speaking for myself, but I’m hoping that at least some of you will be able to relate.

Jesus has told these guys some great things. But He’s also told them some hard things. Like, for example, that He will suffer and die. That was a hard pill for the disciples to swallow. In fact it didn’t make much sense to them at all! In fact, even their belief in Christ’s resurrection hinged upon their belief in His suffering and death – so we can understand why they had such a hard time with so many of these “doctrinal” matters.

Here’s my premise: so do we.

If you’re familiar with the history of the earliest church, you know that – from the perspective of Mark 9 – the Day of Pentecost is on the way. It will be a game-changer in terms of bringing about a robust and widespread conviction that the risen Jesus Christ is Lord! But, even prior to Pentecost, God is so gracious to give Peter, James, and John – and through them, us– a jolt of much-needed hope.

And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus … And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

Other than that it was an ordinary day. 

So how does this magnificent and factual account encourage us?

We are reminded that God meets us at our point of deepest need. These half-hearted followers were just that –half-hearted. But that didn’t stop the Lord from doing even the ultra-extraordinary to remind them of His grace toward them. The Bible records that all three men were “terrified” and that even self-assured Peter “did not know what to say.” But that became the perfect opportunity for the sovereignty and goodness of Almighty God to shine, quite literally.

We are reminded that God is always ahead of us on our journey, and that He is always preparing us for what lies ahead. And, by the way, it is only God who knows what lies ahead for any one of us. He has called us to a life of faith, Beloved, but our flesh – this side of glory – will keep trying to attach itself to something (anything) here which will give us the illusion of security.

We are reminded that God must capture our attention before we can grasp the wonder of this present moment. Only Jesus could explain all of this! Only Jesus could make sense of any of this! Only Jesus could set the record straight! These disciples would still have their questions (some of them really good ones), but they would also have the needed courage to put the next foot forward.

What I’m challenging you to do today, friends, is to submit your unknowns to the Lord Jesus. His Second Coming is at hand, but sometimes that’s a little hard to grasp in a world of – among many other strange things –demoniccartoons. So go ahead and tell Him where you’re hurting. Tell Him where you’re struggling. Tell Him where you’re not so sure what you really believe. (He already knows.)

Our half-heartedness never surprises Him, and He always meets us so much more than halfway.

Pastor Charles

The older I get, the more I miss some of the more stabilizing influences of my past. Perhaps you can relate. When there’s no running water in the hospital in Jackson, Mississippi … and when Russia’s being Russia and China’s being China … and when political turmoil in America seems more normative than back-to-school photos … even I can recognize that I’m in need of a firm foundation. A long cup of coffee with Elisabeth Elliot sounds nice about right now.

Once in Orlando, Eileen and I were privileged to hear Elisabeth address a roomful of people who were interested in the connections between theology and culture. Then married to Lars Gren, Elisabeth Gren met our expectations and more. She was simply full of light! Have you known some people like that? Elisabeth walked so closely with Jesus that His light seemed simply to bubble out and bubble over every time she opened her mouth. At least that was my take on it. Not to mention the fact that Elisabeth evidenced this marvelous command of the English language that is highly admirable from the vantage point of an amateur wordsmith like me.

But you may remember her as Elisabeth Elliot. So do I. That will always be her name in my heart. That’s because Elisabeth’s first husband, Jim Elliot, was ambushed and killed in 1956 while he was attempting a Christian mission to the Auca/Quichua people (now you will often see them referred to as the “Huaorani”) of remote eastern Ecuador. Jim left behind Elisabeth and their 10-month-old daughter, Valerie. But the most remarkable part of the story is that Elisabeth was so committed to the cause of Christ that she – after her husband’s murder by the Auca – went back to live among and serve the members of the same tribe who had speared her husband to death. Anytime you hear of love like that, it never leaves you. You know it must be God’s love. Supernatural love. Love beyond measure. And Elisabeth’s story has never left me. She went on to write widely, and to serve for a season as an adjunct professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts.

There are so many nuggets of wisdom from Elisabeth Elliot which I could share with you. I could paste large sections from Through Gates of Splendor … or reproduce some of her highly practical insight into the faithful perseverance which the gospel call requires. But this morning I’m choosing just one simple quote from Elisabeth Elliot: “God never did anything to me that wasn’t for me.” Just let that sink in for a second …

We can barely keep up with this world and all its messes. Add to that the messes that we make. Sometimes we want to pull the covers over our head and go back to bed. But – then we remember– the Lord still reigns on high! It’s no accident that we’re alive, here and now. And, regardless of today’s headlines, we are never alone. You and I can trust God with the breaking news.

And then we experience yet another personal disappointment. “Lord, have You forgotten me?” No, we remember, He has not. He’s right here. Right now. Fully in charge. Fully capable. Full of love for you and for me. And He’s full of a love that we never deserved. Even when there are waves of sadness in our lives, He loves us. Waves of turmoil. Waves of grief. He still loves us. He may be refining us by fire, but “God never did anything to me that wasn’t for me.” You and I can trust God with the breaking waves.

Sometimes we feel like we’re sinking. “I just can’t take it anymore!” And it’s as if we hear a whisper so soft but yet so strong: “No, you can’t take it, but I can. Trust Me.” And we remember the storms of yesterday, and we recall His remarkable deliverance. Over and over again. Let’s face it: we’ve been rescued from Egypt more than once. You and I can trust God at our breaking point.

“But they hurt me again! They stabbed me in the back all over again!” Sometimes that sting never stops stinging, does it? Some rejections never cease to hurt. Some personal wounds never cease to make us feel more alone than pre-Eve Adam. Even in the body of Christ, sometimes the Lord allows us to walk through valleys in which it seems that nobody really understands what we’re going through. But – please hear me out – we are in fact deeply understood by the only one whose understanding matters most. You and I can trust God with our breaking heart.

When Elisabeth was in her late seventies, dementia struck with a vengeance. She had to cling to so many of the same unshakable promises of God in which she had helped others find hope throughout her lifetime. When she died at the age of 88, Steve Saint (the son of Nate Saint, another missionary who had been killed alongside Jim) testified of Elisabeth’s ultimate victory over “the disease which robbed her of her greatest gift.” While she could still remember, I wonder how many times Elisabeth had to recall and apply that one quote which I shared here with you.

I’ve already told you, Green Hills Family, that I have an “I don’t understand” file. It’s a file deep in my soul in which I place things that I simply can’t square with what I know to be true of God. When I get to heaven, one of two things will happen. I’ll either sit down with Jesus and open my file so that He can straighten me out (I’m sure I’ll need it), or I’ll realize instantaneously that my file doesn’t matter anymore. In all honesty, I more suspect the latter. But, in any event, Elisabeth’s battle with dementia is in my file – at least for now.

But I remember Elisabeth, and I am abundantly grateful for her life and ministry.

What’s in your “I don’t understand” file, friends? Maybe it’s getting fuller by the day. I certainly can’t help you with all of the answers, but I can point you to the One whose sovereignty and grace never fail.

I’ll close with a line which some of you will remember: “You are loved with an everlasting love – that’s what the Bible says – and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

Pastor Charles

I just read a rather startling statistic from Lifeway Research: 27% of Protestant pastors in the U.S. report that they’ve observed church members or attendees “methodically deconstruct” their Christian faith within the last two years. This may explain, at least in part, America’s overall decline in church attendance: many among us no longer believe. I understand full well that a true Christ follower can’t undo their own salvation (Philippians 1:6), but I think you get my point. There are lots of people who, just a few years ago, would have assented to the primary claims of Christianity, but who now simply do not.

Just putting a few of those stats together for my own study has led me to another conclusion: the younger and the more educated are the most likely to “deconstruct.” This is really happening.

I’m going to offer a few reasons here why this may be happening, and I’m open to your thoughts and additions …

1. We live in such technology-driven culture that new ideas are always at our fingertips, leaving little room for what feels historic and orthodox.

2. People are more and more distrustful of every institution, so this would include a growing distrust for the church, and for leaders in the church.

3. Postmodernism, and particularly the stream of it in which we’ve been swimming for some time now, naturally lends itself to widespread skepticism.

4. Older church members, after years of taxing service to their local congregations, are so exhausted that they’re not adequately discipling successive generations.

5. The modern evangelical church has all too often settled for a spiritual diet of moralism instead of insisting upon the good news of Christ’s gospel.

6. The celebrity-church culture has promoted rampant spiritual idolatry, while failing to hold church leaders accountable for wildly inappropriate behavior.

7. We have not done a good job at fostering genuine Biblical unity in the church, but we didn’t notice because we were so focused on uniformity.

Quite sadly, I fear that I’ve only scratched the surface. And you’ll notice that three items on my list correlate with what we might label “external pressures,” while at least four items we would have to admit should be numbered among our “internal failures.” This trend toward deconstruction is nothing short of tragic, friends, and we bear some of the responsibility.

Business leaders often quip: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” (I think Peter Drucker coined that phrase.) And, though the church is not primarily a business, you and I would have to admit that there’s a whole lot of wisdom in that observation – even in the church.

But let me pause just to be super clear here: a Christian can’t “lose” his or her salvation. But the Bible warns of spiritual apostasy, which is a real threat. The Scriptures (for example, Hebrews 5:11 – 6:20) directly address the reality that many will profess Christ but then “fall away” from that profession. I would also urge you to go back and read (and reread) the Parable of the Soils/Sower (Matthew 13:1-23). I believe that these passages are meant to keep us sober-minded in regard to our own relationship to Christ, and in regard to our own trust and faith: in whom are we really believing? Persecution tends to reveal our true colors. So does an honest look at our obsession (or lack thereof) over material possessions.

So back to the issue of culture, and particularly church culture … what we do always speaks louder than what we say … so how can we help reverse some of these unhealthy trends?

Let’s make sure that we’re all doing our part in the task of disciple-making. Don’t leave it up to the “professional” ministers – there’s really no such thing. We’re all ministers. Ask the Lord who you should be taking under your wing in modeling the Christian life (remembering that nobody but Jesus models it even close to perfectly). You’ll find that people will enjoy doing life with you, and learning from the things you’ve learned the hard way. So you don’t have to worry about being anybody you’re not – just be who you are and watch God work!

Let’s make sure that we’re preaching the gospel to ourselves on a regular basis. There’s a Pharisee living in each one of us, and he loves to get us thinking that we’re earning God’s approval by our stellar performance. Nonsense! Keep the focus of your own heart on Christ. If you want to be impressed, be impressed with Christ’s righteousness –that’s the only righteousness that counts. Work with me to make sure that the doctrine of the church keeps Jesus front-and-center, and that we’re never settling for the cheap stuff like legalism. Works never works! Let’s keep our eyes on our only true hero.

Let’s make sure that we allow – and even actively promote– a healthy diversity in the church. We don’t need cookie-cutter Christians anyway. The more diversity – the more we get stretched by the rich tapestry of people whom God has created – the better! Let’s keep all secondary issues secondary. Let’s keep Jesus and His glorious gospel as the one common denominator which unites us, and let’s try not to build unhealthy walls between us. (And, when we notice some inadvertent ones, let’s humbly work together to bring them down.)

The authority doesn’t ultimately rest on our shoulders – we can breathe deeply – but perhaps God will give us the grace to light up our little corner of the world. Together. For His glory.

Shine!

Pastor Charles

Critical Race Theory. Is it just a trending intellectual fad? A helpful tool for understanding race relations? A harmless philosophy unlikely to leave any lasting imprint?

Regrettably, my answers are no, no, and no.

It would be so much more fun if I could just get on board. It really would. After all, racism is an awful evil. Awful. It would be great if CRT played a helpful role in ending racism, but I fear from it the exact opposite result. What I’d like to do today is explain why.

So let’s start with a simple definition. It’s my own definition, so it’s not particularly academic, but I think that it captures the main thrust: Critical Race Theory seeks to understand and correct how our culture supports racial inequities. That doesn’t sound too dangerous – in fact it sounds admirable. And therein lies the problem.

You and I ought to think of CRT as an ideological framework and a revolutionary movement which has tentacles reaching into history (how do we understand the past, and particularly the power struggles of the past?), politics (how do we divide the structures of power?), law (how do we correct imbalances of power?), and faith (to what extent does our religious dialogue promote justice or injustice?). Again, I’m not an academician, but this is my take on it, and I hope you find it helpful on some level. Interestingly, I don’t think that the CRT movement started out with the intent to be “religious” in nature, but I’m making the case today that the CRT train has traveled well into the land of faith. Personally, I’m intrigued by all of these tentacles, but it’s CRT’s underlying and anti-biblical philosophy of “faith” which is fueling my gravest concern. And I’m using the word “faith” today in this sense: what I see happening widely, when it comes to CRT, is a demand for absolute adherence to its tenets. And those tenets include matters which are essential to our understanding of human personhood and human relationships – matters of deep, soul-level conviction which the Bible also clearly addresses.

For starters, please allow me to underline here what ought to be – for those of us who follow the Lord Jesus Christ – our unabashed commitment to the inherent dignity of every person (Genesis 1:26-27). At first glance, you might think that CRT shares that same commitment, but nothing could be further from the truth. I’ll elaborate.

CRT fails because it’s FLAWED. Its prominent adherents reject the scientific method. They reject rational argumentation, which is essential to healthy public discourse. They reject other analytical tools which carry with them as much or more credibility as their own. As it stands right now, many of the elites in academia, the media, and the arts have bought into a social construct with no foundation in the Word of God. That can’t possibly end up in a noble place.

CRT fails because it’s FALLEN. Any teaching not rooted in Scripture runs the risk of leading many people astray, particularly when its cultural weightiness reaches a fever pitch. And that’s where I fear we are right now. It is driving our nation to make decisions based upon skin pigmentation, and without respect for shared dignity, and without regard for individual talent or contribution, and without appreciation even for America’s historic gains in social justice. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., preached: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

CRT fails because it’s FIXATED. It is myopic, narrow, and dangerously obsessed. It views everything through the lens of racial oppression. It is a faulty view of humankind in the sense that it presents the “problem” as a subset of the population. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that we’re facing a whole lot of problems right now that are a whole lot more complicated than what we used to call skin-deep. Honestly, the fixation betrays the lack of honesty, in my humble opinion.

CRT fails because it’s FALLACIOUS. Blinded by its own false sense of enlightenment – “wokeness” –it writes off the legitimate voices of racial and ethnic minorities who display any lack of support for the theory or its implications. Those under its spell routinely display their own versions of ethnocentrism and racism. I’ll quote Ibram Kendi: “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.” Friends, if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then we have to be honest and bold enough to call it a duck.

CRT fails because it’s FOOLED. It is steeped in Marxism and in evolutionary theory. I’ll share just one small example. Claiming to promote the value of family, it gets so caught up in overthrowing familial and societal “power structures” that it ends up dismantling the family unit, and depleting our culture of any real opportunity to encourage families to be healthy and whole. Just like other forms of Marxism which have failed miserably in every part of the world where they’ve been tried, and have resulted in widespread misery and death, CRT is built on shifting sand.

CRT fails because it’s FATALISTIC. It views racism as normative and inevitable. In sharp contrast, you and I have been given the hope of the gospel (e.g., Galatians 3:28): There is neither Jew nor Greek … for you are all ONE in Christ Jesus! If the Bible is true, then there really is only one race: the human race.

Racism is a real sin, and you and I should be the first to denounce any form of racial superiority. In fact, if the good news of Christ hasn’t humbled us to our very core, then we have very little evidence that His grace has taken root in us at all. But we can’t get there by flawed philosophies which hide the truth about human nature: we are all sinners in radical need of a Savior. You’ll hear me say it many times: we can’t get the good news ’til we get the bad news.

As always, Jesus is our only yes, yes, and yes!

Pastor Charles

I’m not exactly sure why I’m taking up this subject today, so if it happens to hit you where you’re living, please let me know – sometimes a little confirmation that I “heard well” goes a long way.

I get the distinct impression that there are lots of folks out there on the street who think that reasonable science and any notion of God are incompatible – perhaps even at war with each other. And I’m hearing the phrase “follow the science” used by both sides of several different ideological debates that are swirling around out there – as if we could all be right even though our fundamental truth claims directly compete with each other. Welcome to 2022, when things don’t have to make sense!

Now I’m certainly no career apologist, and I don’t even pretend to be an expert on these matters, but I would like to share with you today a few of my thoughts. As always, I’m open to you showing me where I got a few things wrong. Bring it on, in fact, as long as you buy the coffee.

First of all, science doesn’t disprove God. It never has. In fact it can’t. There is nothing in established science which contradicts the existence of God. I’ll quote the National Academy of Sciences: “Science doesn’t have the processes to prove or disprove the existence of God.” Don’t ever concede that science is the only method available to learn things about the world. If you love your mother, for example, there’s no way to prove that scientifically. Science has its own severe limitations. And I’ll add here that, the more politicized science becomes (which seems to be happening at warp speed), the more of its limitations can be seen even by the casual observer.

Let’s tell the truth from history. Sir Isaac Newton was an influential scientist, and he claimed no contradiction between God and science. I think the same would be true for Johannes Kepler and lots of others. By contrast, Richard Dawkins contends that nature reveals the illusion of design, but that the universe is actually unguided and aimless. But I would contend that there are some big holes – even scientifically speaking – in that theory. My point is that even intelligent scientists can make claims that are beyond the reach of science. We have to understand that when Carl Sagan says “the Cosmos is all that is, or was, or ever will be,” he’s actually speculating more in the world of philosophy or theology than in the world of science.

I think it’s also worth noting that, when it comes to the origin of the universe, theories without an “ultimate cause” generally fail at plausibility on multiple levels. Said simply: if “nothing” ever existed, what would there be now? In my opinion, some of the atheistic theories out there require more intellectual leaps than a belief in the gracious God of the Bible.

As a pastor, here’s my personal observation: oftentimes people perceive that they have intellectual struggles with believing in a personal God (theism) when in fact a deeper conversation reveals that their key struggles are those of pride … or morality … or pain and suffering. I’m not claiming that there are no legitimate intellectual struggles, but I am saying that the issues are usually far more complex than an isolated intellectual roadblock. Romans 1 offers a sobering but essential diagnosis.

And we can’t forget that some scientists are simply offended by any notion of a sovereign God, just like some bankers and some teachers and some ice cream vendors are offended by any notion of a sovereign God. Humans are proud and generally don’t warm up to the idea of being ruled over by anyone. Maybe we think we have a problem with science when we actually have a problem with God. Craig Lounsbrough frames it like this: “If there is any evidence that points to the existence of God, it is found in man’s incessant desire to be ‘god’ and his repeated failure to be anything but men who wish to be what they are not.” Ouch.

The truth is that there is quite a bit of compelling evidence for God. Notice that I did not say “proof” in the scientific sense. But I did say evidence. I believe that the psalmist was correct (19:1): The heavens declare the glory of God. Just look around. Look into a telescope. Look into a microscope. Look at DNA. Just look.

Sometimes this “war” between science and God is exacerbated because people who profess to be Christians make preposterous claims about what the Bible says. Expressed another way, we make matters worse when we argue as if undeniably true points or soundbites that are unsupported by Scripture – but this is all too common. Sometimes people insist that the Bible in some passage is making a scientific claim – when in fact that is not the point of the passage at all. You and I must try really hard to “rightly divide” the Word – to get the Bible right. Here’s how I think through the matter … God’s Word, when properly understood, validates God’s world. And God’s world, when properly understood, validates God’s Word. In our observations and conclusions, we may get one or both wrong – but that’s no fault of either. Our job is to seek to understand both as best we can. In the Bible, faith is contrasted with sight, but not with science.

I believe, with all my heart, that God and science are friends.

What say you?

Pastor Charles

It wasn’t the Great Flood of the Bible, but it might have felt something like it if you were a resident of Eastern Kentucky. Governor Beshear called it “one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky’s history.” The death toll has reached thirty, including children, and that number is expected to rise as rescue efforts continue. Thousands of homes in the Bluegrass State are still without power, and even more are left without running water. “Boil water advisories” are widespread from Floyd to Pike Counties.

The dangerous waters rose while most people were sleeping. That means that most flood victims awakened to a whole new world of devastation, chaos, and loss. Strangely, all of this torrential rain fell during what has been nothing short of a prolonged season of drought.

God created the universe and what we generally term “the laws of nature,” and the Lord Jesus Christ holds all of it – the entire world – together (Colossians 1:16-17). Sometimes what we call “natural disasters” are used by God as judgment against sin or for other holy purposes (e.g., Numbers 16:28-35, Deuteronomy 11:13-17, and James 5:17-18), but you and I must be extremely careful not to presume to know the specific intentions of God in moments like these. Let’s face it, friends, we’re in way over our heads when we start trying to explain Asian tsunamis which kill nearly a quarter million people. But I do think it’s safe to say that most natural disasters are simply evidence of the fallenness of Planet Earth (Romans 8:20-22). As I said in my sermon a couple of weeks ago: “We long for heaven, where everything is perfect, but we’re here on earth – where nothing is.”

Dr. Erwin Lutzer calls natural disasters “a megaphone from God.” I think he’s right on. You and I need constant reminders of the brevity and uncertainty of this life. Without those reminders, it takes us about five minutes to get all proud and self-sufficient. We are bent toward the humanistic. We are attracted to the most unreliable idols of protection and safety. We seem to be perpetual inventors of shortsighted values and selfish living. Earthquakes and famines and raging fires remind us of our need to trust God for all of the things that we can’t possibly control. You’d think we’d have that lesson under our belt by now, but we don’t. We simply don’t. You and I need wake-up calls.

In 2010 I flew to Haiti after the earthquake which killed nearly 300,000 people (not even the U.N. is certain of the exact number of fatalities). Landing at Port-au-Prince was an experience I’ll never forget. The utter desperation was eerily evident the moment we touched down. Making sense of the chaos was impossible – in fact it wasn’t even our goal. We were there to love and to bless … to work and to serve … to pray and to worship. For we realized in an instant that the God who shakes the earth is Haiti’s only hope! And He is ours as well. We have no other.

Regrettably, the fear of God has fallen on hard times in our day and in our land. Perhaps you and I can recover the truth: our God should be regarded with a sense of awe and respect unlike that we owe anyone else. When it comes to our worship of God, and even our thoughts of God, there is no room for flippancy. If I understand it at all, the fear of God is a mixture of profound admiration and intense love. He is our Lord and Master, and He is our Abba, Father! Sometimes it takes a tornado to sober us into the reality surrounding who God really is.

So, instead of lecturing the suffering with pointed fingers, we ought to love them with open arms. This is the posture of Jesus. I would submit that we can’t properly fear until we properly love – and I think that works the other way around as well.

The song was never immensely popular, but I remember well when Steven Curtis Chapman released it in 1988:

The skeptics are watching to see who will fall,
While those disillusioned search for the Truth in it all;
Maybe today we’ll cross their paths unaware,
And they’ll stop and look at us. What will be there?
Can he see God for who He really is
In what he sees in you and me.
Can he see God for who He really is,
For who He really is is all he really needs to see.

And, long before that, William Cowper penned these famous words in 1774: “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.”

While flags fly at half-staff in Kentucky, we ought to thank our Sovereign God that the day is coming when the brokenness of this creation will be liberated from the curse and free at last!

Pastor Charles

I’ve now served at Green Hills long enough for you to know that I take the Bible seriously. I don’t always get it right, of course, but I make it my aim to preach and teach it with accuracy and passion. You’re probably also figuring out that I want more for us as a church than to give the Bible our intellectual assent alone – I want the Bible to transform us! And part of that needed spiritual transformation involves the Bible becoming the primary lens through which we view the world. Simply stated, that’s a worldview.

If you will indulge me, what I’d like to do today is to express in writing why the subject of “worldview” matters. It really matters. But I need to let you in on a little secret. It’s something that I believe rather ferociously, and it’s simply this: everybody has a worldview, and nobody’s worldview is neutral. Let me say it another way: there is not a human being on Planet Earth who observes the world from a completely neutral point of view. And I’ll tell you why I believe that: because I believe the Scriptures.

So here’s my attempt to describe for you what it means for you and me – as followers of Christ – to live according to a Biblical worldview …

IT MEANS that we hold to the authority of Scripture. We may consider church tradition. We may consider our own experience, or the experience of others. We may consider our capacity for human reason. But, at the end of the day, the authority of the Bible trumps every other authority in all matters of faith and practice.

IT MEANS that we hold to the inerrancy of Scripture. When we speak of inerrancy, we’re talking about our commitment to an inerrant original autograph of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that God gave us the Bible, and that God has protected the Bible that He has given us.

IT MEANS that we believe that the Bible was authored, ultimately, by God. God our Father used human writers, but every word is divinely inspired. The Bible itself is direct revelation from God, and unlike any other revelation in that sense. All Scripture is breathed out by God (Second Timothy 3:16). The Bible is not a human book that rests on human origins or human wisdom. A beautiful sunset may inspire us to ask life’s ultimate questions, but the sunset cannot tell us the plan of salvation. For that we need the truth of the Bible.

IT MEANS that we regard the Scriptures with awe and wonder. They’re unlike anything else we’ll ever read. The Bible is perfect and pure and true. I would point you to those exact words in Psalm 19:7-11, a passage which not only addresses the authority of Scripture itself, but which also invokes our worship of a God who would love us enough to reveal to us such marvelous truth –His truth. Jesus prayed to the father: “Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

IT MEANS that we protect the integrity of all of the Bible. I urge you to pay particular attention to the authority of Genesis 1-11. It’s my opinion that these foundational chapters are under extreme assault today. That’s why I believe that we’re seeing so much fighting around the subjects of human life and gender, for example. And don’t fall for the pernicious lie that the Bible is at war with science. Creation was a miracle – just like the resurrection of Jesus. And, let’s face it, Creation must have a cause. To believe otherwise is intellectual lunacy, but sin is so powerful that it will drive even highly intelligent people to espouse nonsensical positions on any number of subjects – positions which in fact expose their own philosophical dishonesty. In fact, I’ve got another hot take on our present society which I’d like you to consider: science is at war with science!

IT MEANS that we remain on high alert for any weakness in Biblical authority. Especially in our own souls, where we may be least likely to suspect it. Any weakness in Biblical authority sets us up to be ransacked by any and every whim of culture! We need to be praying for ourselves, our children, and our church family in this regard.

IT MEANS that we praise God for the truth which we have received, namely, Jesus (John 14:6). Truth is a gift to be cherished and guarded. We must never forget that our biggest problem with the truth is not intellectual in nature, but moral in nature. God’s Word makes this point exceptionally clear (Romans 1:18): the natural inclination of humankind is by their unrighteousness to suppress the truth. We must remember that as we observe in the surrounding culture mounting hostility to Scriptural authority. We can expect it. That’s why the most important battle to be fought by the Church in this generation must be fought on our knees.

The other Charles in your life – Spurgeon – summarized it well: “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.” You have a worldview. I have a worldview. So does everybody else. But the real question is: “Is my worldview a truthful one?” We probably have nothing more important to consider on this lovely summer day, a day which is yet another gift from the hand of the gracious God who has loved us in Christ.

Pastor Charles

As I was listening to my Spotify playlist this week, an oldie from Glen Campbell popped up: “The Wichita Lineman.” And, as I was listening to Glen’s version, I was reminded of something that I saw on The Voice last fall. It was the Season 21 “Knockout” round on October 26, and I would encourage you to take a look (and a listen). The three contestants whom you’ll see are siblings Caleb, Joshua, and Bekah Liechty from Pettisville, Ohio. They ended up becoming Kelly Clarkson’s fourth victory, and the first trio ever to win the competition …

Like you, perhaps, I was nearly mesmerized. Such incredible and undeniable giftedness! And that’s where my wheels are spinning today.

God has given each one of us gifts. While we tend to recognize obvious talents and skills in the lives of other people, we’re generally less comfortable thinking about our own giftedness. Maybe it’s a false sense of humility, or maybe it’s a latent fear that we don’t have any gifts. (Which I can assure you is quite untrue.) YOU ARE GIFTED OF GOD.

In fact I cracked open this idea Sunday morning when I preached Ephesians 2:10. (Have you memorized it yet?) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. We are not saved to sit, but we are saved to serve. See also 1 Corinthians 12:4-7. And, not only has God gifted each one of us, but He has already prepared a context in which we will be able to serve Him faithfully. When you think of any of your spiritual gifts, think of it as God’s perpetual reminder that you belong to Him – like a stamp of approval. As we serve one another in love, not only does Christ shine as the Head of His body, but we come together in Him. It’s both remarkable and beautiful, and I’ll have more to say on the subject this Sunday.

Now I fully recognize that not everybody out there recognizes or validates God as the giver of every good gift. Lots of people in the public spotlight display marvelous gifts, but give no credit or glory to God whatsoever. Same with lots of people in the church, sadly.

But what’s our excuse? We know better. We know (or at least we ought to know) the source of our strength. We know the writer of the song in our step. In fact, we know Him by name.

I’m certainly no musician, but when I hear harmonies like the ones I just shared with you, I share the marvel of those judges: “The swell!” I think it’s part of being fully human to recognize how God shows off in His image-bearers.

Many people speak of finding themselves. That’s all well and good, I suppose, but I’ve seen more than one marriage ruined by overdoing the “finding myself” thing. What they did was lose themselves in the pursuit of themselves, and that tended to be in the arms of somebody else who just happened to have promised to be just-what-you’re-looking-for. Said differently, the only “finding myself” that counts is the finding of myself in Christ. That somebody is somebody worth searching for!

I encourage you to love on each other this week. Celebrate each other’s strengths and victories. Make it about pointing out what’s right about somebody else … they’re probably dying to hear it.

I’ll quote Dr. Sinclair Ferguson: “When we exercise the gifts which Christ has given us we are really saying to our fellow Christians and others: ‘See how much the Lord Jesus Christ loves you and cares for you; He has sent me to serve you in this way; He is using my hands and feet, my lips and ears, to show His love.’ It is a tragic mistake if we think that the message is: ‘See what a superb Christian I am; see the wonderful gifts I have’ … Gifts are for service, not self-advancement.”

Truth is: it’s not ultimately about us. It’s certainly not about me. Because – whether we recognize it or not – the real knockout winner is always Jesus.

Pastor Charles

I just enjoyed an Email exchange with one of our church members, and I’m stealing a phrase from my friend’s last Email. He mentioned the kind of “seismic change” that only God can make in the world, and in our lives, and that really got me thinking. Lucky for you, I’m dragging you into my “thinking.”

Only God.

For starters, the word “impossible” appears less than a dozen times in the Bible. It must not be part of God’s regular vocabulary. That’s likely because (I’ll quote Jesus from Matthew 19:26), “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

Only God.

The more that I think about this, the more that I find it exceptionally hopeful! Yes, it humbles me, but that’s as it should be. Yes, it places parameters on my own abilities, but that’s really no surprise. Yes, it demands a response of faith – but even that I can depend upon the Lord to supply me with when I need it most. But the fact that God is never limited by the limitations which plague me … now that’s some good news that will warm even the stubborn heart of yours truly!

Here’s the fascinating thing: I’m often shocked when I see one of God’s seismic changes! In my spiritual slumber, I somehow sink into forgetting the Lord’s perfect ability to transform any situation, as well as the fact that He’s so much more invested in redeeming the world’s messes than I could ever imagine. Friends, here’s what I’m admitting to you: in my sinful heart, I secretly place limits on God. (Thus, the surprise when God acts like God.)

Before I was born, A.W. Tozer issued a stirring challenge which I hope never to forget: “Unbelief says: Some other time, but not now; some other place, but not here; some other people, but not us. Faith says: Anything He did anywhere else He will do here; anything He did any other time He is willing to do now; anything He ever did for other people He is willing to do for us! With our feet on the ground, and our head cool, but with our heart ablaze with the love of God, we walk out in this fullness of the Spirit, if we will yield and obey. God wants to work through you!”

That quote both convicts and inspires me. Maybe you can relate. Far too often I live in that world of unbelief, but I long to live in that world of faith.

Christ generally stirs my heart as I sit down to write these blog postings, so I’ll simply share with you what’s happening in my soul today. If any of it is a blessing in your life, I am both humbled and grateful.

First of all, I’d like to make a simple observation: God loves Green Hills. And I’m not just talking about our church, but I’m meaning to embrace in my statement all of our surrounding community. It’s easy to get lost in the traffic and trendy shops – and even the beauty of the surrounding “green hills” (thank you, Jesus, for the recent rain) – but I’m here to tell you that God loves the people! All of them! And so must we. Our area may be known for its blue-blooded history and sprawling mansions, but what’s of inestimable significance is that every person strolling by the Pottery Barn is a precious soul. Every one of them has been created for eternity. Every one of them needs a Savior. Every one of them matters. God loved Nineveh, for goodness’ sake! God loves Green Hills. You and I ought to expect nothing less than that He would delight in shaking up this place with the wonder of Christ’s gospel!

Secondly, I’ll say it like this: 2022 is no mere footnote in human history. R.C. Sproul used to say, “Right now counts forever.” He was right on! So was Coach Mike Ditka: “You gotta live in the moment. I don’t care what you’ve done in your life; it has nothing to do with what you’re gonna do or what you can do. The past is history; tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift – that’s why they call it the present.” Here’s my point: let’s keep reminding each other that our Sovereign God has an unstoppable and great plan for Planet Earth – including Green Hills – and that He’s working even as I pen these words in important ways that we can’t always observe with human eyes. Even now.

Lastly, I’m thinking back to some of the surprising moves of the Holy Spirit in history …

In 1857, America was headed toward a Civil War, as you well know. The stock market crashed, and along with it there emerged quickly the sense of national panic which we would expect. There was widespread political disintegration over the issue of slavery. And there had been such a season of false “end-of-the-world” preaching that many were struggling with spiritual disillusionment as well. A man named Jeremiah Lanphier was part of a church that was shrinking, and he wasn’t trained as a pastor, and he may have been the last person that anyone would have sensed could have turned things around. And this was in Lower Manhattan of all places. But Jeremiah started public prayer meetings in a rented hall on Fulton Street (with banks and railroads failing, who in the world could afford to take that risk?), and he started purposefully issuing the invitation to come and seek the face of God … and in less than half a year 10,000 people were coming together to pray in New York City!

Of course, God wasn’t just working in New York. He was working in Chicago, and in some smaller cities in our nation’s midsection, and – for that matter – He was working everywhere.

Only God.

Why not here? Why not now? Why not us?

Pastor Charles

Abram couldn’t possibly have understood all of the far-reaching ramifications of his marching orders (Genesis 12:1-3): “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God had a plan. It was an unstoppable plan, but nobody but God understood that. It was a good plan. The plan was to raise up a nation for Himself – a nation through whom God would bless the whole world! The plan was bigger than Israel, but nobody but God understood that either. It was nothing short of a cosmic plan.

Sometimes I feel like we’re drowning in shallow vision. In fact, I’m afraid that life has lost some of its luster simply because we have lost sight of God’s cosmic plan. What our God is doing in His world is so much bigger than what you and I can perceive with human eyes! And it’s so much better!

The church is the most important institution on earth, with no close seconds! Compare the work of the United Nations, or the work of the U.S. Congress, or the work of the European Union, to the commission of the church – it’s not even close! And here’s why the church matters more than every other institution with which it may be compared: we’re the only institution that will last into eternity!

The Roman Empire is no more. In fact the 20th century alone saw the demise of at least seven substantive “empires.” Shoot, most of us grew up holiday daydreaming with our copy of the Sears catalog – Sears was the bomb – but you and I couldn’t find a Sears store today if we tried.

After Jesus was risen from the dead, you and I got our marching orders! The disciples got sent. The women got sent. Everybody got sent. Check out all four gospels. They each have their own flavor, but suffice it to say that the One who had been sent from the Father became the Sender of His followers to all the tribes and nations of the world. We get our English word “mission” from the Latin word for “being sent.”

You and I have been sent.

So the question for us is not, “Am I called?” The question for us is, “How am I called?” I love this quote from Frederick Buechner: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” I’m moved so deeply by that idea because it opens my mind to about a billion possibilities for service. Places where my gifts can align with real need. Places where my experience can align with real need. Places where my passions can align with real need. Empowered by His Spirit, when you and I begin to build Christ’s kingdom in those significant ways, there’s very little time left over for feeling down and out. So let’s do it!

You don’t need to wait for a mystical experience or for some personal message written in the clouds. In fact, to wait for or to demand a sign like that would be sin. You already have your sign. It’s an empty tomb.

You don’t need to wait to have it all figured out. You will never have it all figured out, so stop waiting. Mission involves risk. Mission involves faith. Mission involves learning from today’s mistakes, and recognizing that God uses even those mistakes to mold and shape us for the next exciting phase of His mission.

You don’t need to wait until you can afford to serve. That’s because mission also involves sacrifice. We have it on good authority that God intends to supply our every need. Bread for today is a full table, any way you slice it (pun fully intended).

You don’t need to wait for a shiny 10-year plan. Sometimes the Lord shares with us more details than at other times. Either way, we go. We serve. We love. People need Jesus. You know Jesus. Go make Him known!

My concern is that we’re forgetting to tell our children and our grandchildren these things. Perhaps their hearts are not open to the call to serve Christ because we have not spoken with them about the call to serve Christ. Just food for thought. Believe me, I am convicted too. Willie and Waylon may have warned you mamas about letting your babies grow up to be cowboys, but please don’t let that apply to those same kiddos choosing to give their all to taking the good news to the ends of the earth! Charles Spurgeon (that other Charles in your life) expressed it like this: “If God calls you to be a missionary, don’t stoop to be a king.”

Here’s where this old world is headed, friends … a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb …” Every nation. Every tribe. Every people group. Every language. Hallelujah!

Deeper, y’all. Me too.

Pastor Charles