Seeing God

Don’t Be That Guy (or Girl)

I’ve survived more than my share of church business meetings. Churches exist for many Biblical purposes, gathered together for purposes of worship, Gospel proclamation, mutual encouragement, training in righteousness and ministering to their communities, but one of the areas that you might find the church gathered together in which they are most likely to depart from these Biblical mandates is the church business meeting. This is not to say that church’s shouldn’t manage their affairs well, but this kind of gathering is one of the most revealing of the hearts of the participants. Many people gather together to encourage and challenge one another to be more involved in the ministry opportunities of the church, but there are some who seem determined to speak and act against others in these situations, often over issues that are far more personal than spiritual. I was reminded of these situations when reading in 1 Timothy 6 this morning.

Teach these things, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. 3 Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life. 4 Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. 5 These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.
1 Timothy 5:2b-5 NLT

Timothy was a young pastor/church leader. He had been trained under Paul and was now doing his best to serve the church at Ephesus that Paul had begun. There are many pastors like Timothy, out there trying to continue to serve the Lord and the people of God by teaching the truth of God’s Word and leading those people in obedience to it. It can be a difficult job. It can lead to a great deal of heartache and frustration. From this passage, here are a few “guys” that we should strive not to be as we function as a part of our local body of faith and as we participate in our communities both in person and online as representatives of our local church and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Don’t be arrogant – Our confidence is in Christ and in the truth of God’s Word, not in our own opinions and intelligence. Humility, rather than arrogance is the ecosystem of church interaction. The Bible encourages over and over again humble ourselves (1 Peter 5:6, James 4:10, Philippians 2:3) and promises honor, wisdom and grace for the humble (Proverbs 15:33, 11:2, James 4:6).
Don’t lack understanding, with an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words – I put these two together because they are connected. It is not bad to understand the meaning of words. We need to have well defined language. That is the basis of truth and what brings understanding. The negative is this quibbling that Paul is talking about. Looking at what your brother and sister in Christ has said and either assuming the worst or picking apart what they said, trying to find fault. This is about going to them in private and making sure you understood what was said, but actually creating misunderstanding by the way you interpret their speech.
Don’t stir up arguments and trouble – This is representative of a divisive spirit (Galatians 5:15, Proverbs 16:28). There are ways to disagree and discuss that don’t stir up arguments and there are other ways that either intentionally or unintentionally throw gasoline on the smallest of spark. We are not to be like this, stirring up trouble that leads to…
Jealousy, division, slander and evil suspicions. All of these things are very destructive to a community of faith. This represents human sins expressed in ways that are destructive to your believing community. You may be unfortunate enough to remember a specific instance where someone you know stirred up this kind of trouble and created division among believers. Many verses in Scripture speak out against this kind of behavior. Some examples are Romans 12:16, Galatians 5:26, Romans 12:18.
Don’t let your mind be corrupted, but keep it immersed in the truth – we all consume a variety of information every day. This can be from God’s Word, social media, the news, entertainment or people we interact with. What we consume has a great power to influence the way we think. The only way to avoid a corrupt mind is to avoid turning our backs on the truth. Spending time each day in the truth is a great way to keep our hearts and minds tuned to Christ Jesus. (Psalm 119)
Don’t make the church about money – Money is important. Generally, more money allows the church to do more things, but it is a terribly dangerous tool that can be used to divide and corrupt believers. Paul talks more about this later in this same passage. We should be careful not to let money control our lives or the life of our church. We are called to be good stewards (1 Peter 4:10), but we are not to allow our lives to be driven and controlled by money (Hebrews 13:5)

Even if you never go to a church business meeting, I hope you will find this guidance as helpful for all of your interactions with fellow believers, both in person and on-line. God has given us to one another to be a great blessing as we walk together in faith. When we follow Him in obedience, we are better together and the church will aid us in our pursuit of Christ, not a be a detriment or a discouragement. Make sure that is true of you in all your “meetings” with the Body of Christ.

What Happened to Lazarus?

What happened to Lazarus? He is the center figure (other than Jesus), in one of the most significant, well-known stories in the Bible. The events take place in a way that is designed so there would be no doubts that Lazarus was dead and then he was alive again. From the Gospels, we learn that Lazarus was a dear friend of Jesus, who fell terribly ill. By this time, Jesus was well known for his healings and given that, the family did the obvious thing in their time of need. They wanted Jesus to know about Lazarus’ illness. Jesus’ response is fascinating:

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
John 11:4-7 NIV

By this time, the disciples had already seen many unexpected things and when Jesus said this, I’m sure they thought that Lazarus would get better. After all, Jesus loved Lazarus, He loved this family and Jesus obviously is able to heal people, so it is only logical that if Jesus needed to heal Lazarus, he would have headed to Bethany right away. Instead, he waits 2 more days. The disciples aren’t happy about the decision to go back to Judea. The last time they were in that area, the Jewish leaders were ready to stone him. They argue with Jesus, thinking that Lazarus will be okay. In the end, Jesus has to speak very directly to them:

So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
John 11:14-16 NIV

The two statements Jesus made before the resurrection are very telling as well. “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” and “for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.”

I won’t recount the resurrection story here, but you should check it out in John 11. Jesus allowed the events to take place in a way that Lazarus would not only die, but that he would be dead long enough so that there was no doubt that he was really dead. He had died and he had been prepared for burial and left in what would turn out to be only the first tomb of Lazarus. In Church history, Lazarus was considered a saint and some would even call him, “Lazarus the Four Days Dead”. Many of events of Jesus’ ministry were down in more isolated places, even the large gatherings were outside of the city centers. By the time this event happened, Jesus had already developed a considerable following and there had been several events with the religious leaders that had them looking for ways to come after Jesus. Jesus was their target, but interestingly enough after this event, Lazarus was as well. We read about this in the next chapter:

“But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.”
John 12:10-11 CSB

The resurrection of Lazarus had many witnesses. After it happened, everyone in the region heard about it, including the religious leaders in Jerusalem. The chief priests were not disputing the miracle of Lazarus, but instead, they were determined to reverse it. They hated Jesus so much, they were plotting to kill Lazarus. They knew they were losing political and religious power and Lazarus was evidence, walking around, that Jesus was greater than they were.

It is important to remember that Lazarus was still going to die and ultimately, Scripture doesn’t record that event. Church history and tradition tell us he would later go on to be a church leader on the island of Cyprus, but according to that same tradition, he would die a second time and there is a tomb there that marks his grave. Lazarus is significant to the story because of Jesus. The priests wanted to kill him because of Jesus, not because of anything that Lazarus had done.

This is what it means to have a true and relevant testimony for Christ. When we proclaim the Truth about Jesus, some will reject it, some will accept it and some might want to persecute or kill us because of Jesus. Our role is to be like Lazarus. We are all those who once were dead in our sins, but now are alive in Christ. Our testimony is not our own. It is not significant what we have done, but the miraculous work that Jesus has done in our lives. Both by providing salvation and by transforming us daily into His image. This good work of God doesn’t make us acceptable to all men. In fact, it is promised that many will reject us and some will want to do us harm. Life in Christ makes it worth it all.

So ultimately, what happened to Lazarus after the resurrection wasn’t that important. According to church history, the chief priests’ plot to kill Lazarus was not successful. Instead, he was able to live out the rest of his life continuing to accomplish his greatest purpose, which was proclaimed by Jesus before Lazarus’ resurrection: bringing glory to God and to God’s Son. That is our purpose as well. We testify that we were once dead in our sins, but now have been resurrected in Christ. In our own way, we are all dead people, resurrected and walking around, proclaiming the Truth of our resurrection on this earth until we, like Lazarus, will face physical death and pass into eternity with Christ. That is our greatest purpose as followers of Him and every day we can choose to serve that purpose in order to bring Him glory by our testimony of His’ Truth.

We Need and Have a Better Hope

Hope is an important word, with an important meaning behind it. When I was in counselor training, one of the worst problems you would ever find was a lack of hope. When people have lost hope, then it impacts their capability to deal with all their problems, no matter the severity. Hope allows us to come back from terrible tragedies. It allows sport’s teams to pull off incredible upsets. Hope can provide a path out of some very dark places.

By contrast, when someone loses their hope, it can lead to depression, despair and the unwillingness to even try for a better outcome. If you or one of your friends have ever been in that place, you might be able to understand what I’m talking about. It is very difficult to get out of that place, and some might say it takes a miracle. What it really takes is something better to put our hope in.

People place their hope in lots of people and things. It is very common to believe that “more” of something that you have will make your life better. This is most frequently money, but it could be more freedom, more possessions, more power, a better position, better friends or a better place to live in a better community. In this scenario, the problem is only one of access. Other people have better access to what I need and that is why I’m not happy. It is a belief that the answers to our problems are concrete and real, but slightly out of reach.

This kind of hope is tantalizing. It is also the main kind of hope the world is selling to us. Politicians love to sell this kind of hope, because they can always promise to do better and to give you more of what you want the next time. Employers use this as motivation to drive us on to work harder, longer and with more commitment. Advertisements are centered around the hope of a better life through the products and services that they sell you. Whatever your problem or desire, someone is out there trying to sell you something that will give you what you want, need or require. What they are selling is hope, and it is a very cheap, usually false hope that cannot give us what we ultimately need.

In the 12 step program made famous by Alcoholics Anonymous, many of the steps focus on this need for a sense of hope. Few things can destroy a life so thoroughly as substance abuse and the creators of the program recognize that human effort is not enough to give people hope when they are in the spiral of despair caused by addiction. All of those offers of hope from the world are powerless to save someone who has lost hope, for that we need something better. Step 2 calls on the addict to believe that there is something greater than themselves that can give them the power to “restore themselves to sanity”.

The actions that follow involve familiar faith themes of committing our lives to God’s care, confession, repentance, prayer, and the community of accountability with other strugglers. The Bible talks about this as a better hope. This is a hope that is not based on religious ritual or human effort, but on the power of God.

“So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭7:18-19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

God annuls the old covenant. Man has proven that “the law perfected nothing.” All the religious efforts or systems of following religious rules did not give true hope. In their own way, they are similar to other false hopes, such as money or power. In this new hope, there is no dependence on man, but only a drawing near to God, so that we might more fully rely on Him in everything. This is the better hope that is offered to all of us, a hope in Jesus Christ. This is clarified later in this passage:

Because of this oath, Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. But because He remains forever, He holds his priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
Hebrews 7:22-25 CSB

When we search the promises of God, we find many good things promised to us in His Word, but this is the promise of that better hope, the one that will see us through the challenges and trials that life brings. This is our only place to put our hope in which Jesus is the one who guarantees it. In the advertising world, people will often promise a “lifetime guarantee”, but this is Jesus’ forever guarantee. “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.” That is something to be truly hopeful for. It is a hope, not just for tomorrow, but for eternity.

The Danger of Distance

We live in a world that is both bigger and smaller than previous generations. Technology and the internet have brought the far away close to us. It is not unusual for people to regularly interact with people on the other side of the world for business or common interests. This has fundamentally changed the way people think about distance. Some have called this the “flattening” of the world. This is meant to convey that the distance from one point on the globe to another is no longer defined in the same way. People in one part of the world are often heavily involved in decisions that impact another part of the world. People provide services from one country to another and whole countries’ economies are built based on the idea that they will serve the needs of people they will never meet in person.

This is an amazing reality to live in and it does have its advantages. We have access to a global economy and a connection to people, places and things that our ancestors would have never dreamed of. Want to learn a foreign language? You don’t need to depend on what is offered at your local school or university, you can actually have personal classes from a native speaker without leaving your home. Need a very obscure or rare part for your car or computer? You can probably have it shipped to your house within a few days. Need to know how to do something or fix something? A video or step by step instructions are a quick search away. People today and the generation being raised today believe in access. Information and gratification are available to all and most of it without delay. Everything is instant, but that doesn’t always make it true and even access to truth in some form doesn’t provide the wisdom needed to properly apply the information gained. There is a problem with distance in a giant world that has become as small as the neighborhood you grew up in. There is a real danger in the environment that creates.

What is the danger? Let’s call it the complexity of humanity. Every one of us has lived through this, whether you would identify it as such or not. This situation occurs whenever someone makes any decision that impacts you that has little to do with the specifics of your situation. Whenever a general rule or a general assumption is applied the amount of distance between the rule and the situation has a dramatic impact on validity. If we were to make a “general rule” about this issue of distance in human complexity, we might say that, generally, the closer to the problem, the more helpful the solution. It might be helpful to look at a few situations to explain this better.

This could be called “there is an exception for every rule“. Growing up, most likely the adults in your life gave you rules. You had rules for your household, rules for your school and maybe rules for other groups you were a part of. We have all lived under some kind of structure like this. Usually, the person putting these rules in place is doing what they think is best for the group over which they have responsibility over. The rule may make sense, generally, and it is possible that it is indeed a good basic rule, but the larger the group (the more individual humans) you are applying the rule to, the more likely that general rule is not a good and fair rule in every circumstance. The amount of “distance” between those who established the rules and those governed by the rules and those living by the rules increases the complexity of creating good and fair rules or laws. Not only does it impact it on this level, but it has an extreme impact on the adjudication of those laws. The rule keepers gradually lose the capability of fair judgement the less they actually know the people whom they are holding accountable. Instead of dealing with them as people, whose circumstances may require allowances for the specific situation, they are just another number, who is forced to comply by the letter of the law.
Another situation might be called the “grass roots example”. You have probably seen a situation where a problem, challenge or tragedy has impacted the community and that specific community has risen up to deal with the problem in a unique way. This change happens for 2 main reasons. First, those who are most impacted by the problem are highly engaged and committed to finding a solution. They have lived out the situation and know firsthand the impact it had on their lives and the lives of family, friends and neighbors. Because of this, they have a strong internal commitment to persevering through difficulties in order to see the problem solved. Secondly, their firsthand knowledge of the situation allows them to understand it at a level that isn’t possible for an outsider. That doesn’t mean that they can’t benefit from outside information or advice, but ultimately, they have information that may not be apparent to even the most well educated outsider. The combination of these 2 factors give a movement good potential for enacting tangible change which improves the situation. By contrast, when you introduce distance into the equation, it is easy to see that the further away from the problem you get, the less helpful discussion and potential solutions can become. Distance also impacts the commitment to work towards a solution. Someone who doesn’t have any skin in the game is more likely to bail before the work is done or to not being committed to doing their part of the work.
Related to this, might be called the “national conversation” problem. The information age has left most of us with just enough information about many things to be dangerous. Especially with social media, it is easy to see how a groundswell of this type of distance emotion can spread, even if it is based on almost no true knowledge and understanding of the specifics. We rely on others to relay a soundbite/bullet point synopsis of whatever is going on in our country and the world and then before you know it, we are making memes, forwarding posts and even getting in arguments with people about something that it might not even be possible for us to have a truly informed opinion about. The cost of admission to enter this national conversation may seem free, but it is possible it costs us our integrity. The more distance between us and the situation on the ground, the more careful we should be about jumping into this conversation with our opinion. Neighborhoods and cities have been changed by the force of will of groups who have never lived in those places and whose passing interest will move on much more quickly than the collateral damage left behind can be repaired.
One more example might be called “posturing for effect“. In 2021, as is common in most years, nations from around the world met on Earth Day to talk about improving the environment. The environment is one of those big issues that governments especially like to weigh in on. The White House made a commitment to “reduce US emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030; commitment is symbolic but nonbinding”. This was pulled from a first summary paragraph in a major news publication. That last phrase perfectly summarizes this problem: “symbolic, but nonbinding“. This is how you get environmental leaders flying around the world in private jets and taking limousines to environmental meetings. The distance between the life they live and the problem they are addressing is extreme. When you have decision makers and leaders who are put in charge of things, but who are making a decision that will not impact them personally or their own personal behavior, you get bad decisions and hypocrisy. Being good stewards of the environment is something we should all take seriously, but the problem is best addressed by looking at what is in front of us and working to make that better. If we are not addressing the problem that is right in front of us, it is difficult to make sound decisions for others in encouraging or requiring them to address the problems in front of them. The more distance between the problem and the person trying to solve it, the less sound the decision. Public figures who are elite and/or wealthy of all types are often guilty of this posturing.

If you are still with me, you may be wondering, what is the main point or why are you talking about these things on a blog about Seeing God? The point is this, there are many movements in this world that are pushing towards taking problems and putting the solutions in the hands of people who have nothing to do with the problem. Humans, as I said earlier, are complex and the further away you get from the individuals the more it is impossible to deal with this complexity. When you have one leader who is trying to make decisions about what is best for millions, the only way to deal with that complexity is to ignore many of the people or simplify their needs and desires down to vague representations of their reality. We are not only complex, but we are human. We desire community. We need to be known by others. We don’t want to just be a number in a spreadsheet, but a real person, with a real story behind our life. A story that matters to us and which we hope matters to other people.

God has designed us this way. Jesus was God made flesh among us (John 1:14), so that He who is God would not just be a sovereign God in Heaven above, but a real, living savior, who closed every bit of distance between God and man and became the perfect mediator for us (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus was the perfect embodiment of firsthand human experience. “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15. God solved our greatest problem by sending His son to live this sinless life on the earth and to reconcile us to God through His sacrificial death. Because of this, we are no longer distant from God, but we have had all that separates us from Him removed. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:8

By the same principle, we don’t solve the problems in our community by expending all of our thoughts and energy focused on someone else’s community. We have limited capability to have an impact on a problem we read about or watch a video about on the internet, but the impact we have on our own community is limited only by our willingness to get off our computer and go out into that community. Whether it is through individual love and care, volunteering, banding together with others to work towards reasonable solutions or even by spending time in prayer, we can change our communities. Our hearts and our first actions for overcoming the problems of our world must start with the people we are surrounded by. Wherever you live, your community needs Jesus and they need those who love and follow Jesus to be His hands and feet to them.

Finally, I hope you will realize the true danger in putting the solutions to your problems in the hands of those who are the most distant from you and your community. When we turn to people like this to solve our problems, we should realize we have no right to complain about the sub-par results we will get. It is the nature of the situation. The closer to the problem, the more helpful the solution. The farther away from the problem, ignorance, lack of commitment and engagement and misinformation make any helpful solution unlikely.

When it comes to your community, close the distance. When it comes to telling other people how to solve the problems in their communities, keep your distance!

Steal Away Home – Book Review

Writing about stories out of history can be a challenge. Some authors choose to focus on events that everyone is very familiar with or choose subjects who were the most well known in the time that they lived in. These events and people tend to be fixed in people’s minds as we build a picture from the shadow of our collective memory. Little bits and pieces that we pick up or hear from a variety of sources that impact our understanding of history. Others choose the more obscure events and individuals and start with more of a blank slate for most of their readers. This is easier, but often greatly limits the reach of the work for most writers.

My favorite works of historical fiction are books like this one, which blend the two styles by taking someone who everyone knows and weaving it together with another story that intertwines with the life of that famous person. Charles Spurgeon is one of the most well-known preachers and theologians to ever live and the sheer number of his own writings could fill a reader’s slate for years. What he is less known for are his writings against slavery and his personal struggles with self-doubt and his personal and family’s physical sufferings.

Steal Away Home tells the remarkable story of a slave, Thomas Johnson, who first heard of Mr. Spurgeon when he was forced by his master to throw Mr. Spurgeon’s anti-slavery writings into a raging bonfire, created entirely of Spurgeon’s writings. The authors properly treat the lives of both Mr. Spurgeon and Mr. Johnson with weight and dignity as they recount their remarkable lives both up to the point of their meeting and the friendship they would have until Mr. Spurgeon’s passing.

In the time that we live in currently, where the emphasis is often on what divides us as individuals and groups, this story is a very timely telling of the fellowship Christians can find in Christ, even when they are drawn from such divergent backgrounds. Thomas Johnson, with his own background of personal suffering was able to recognize Charles Spurgeon’s own suffering from the time of their first meeting and see him not as one of the most famous people in the world, but a fellow brother in Christ, who needed ministering too.

This story is beautiful example for all believers as we seek to move forward in the challenging world that we live in. It is important that we open ourselves up to other believers, both for their benefit and our own. Spurgeon was known for his brilliant mind and booming voice in the pulpit, but his ministry as a pastor was also enhanced by his vulnerability and willingness to learn from others. 33 years of Mr. Spurgeon’s life were spent sick or depressed. Mr. Johnson spent the first 28 years of his life, living as a slave and experienced the loss of his dear wife early on in his ministry. Both of these men did not live easy lives, and yet they tell of how the Lord refined them through their suffering.

Especially touching is the story of Mr. Johnson’s testimony. Even though he would be 28 before he was physically freed from bondage, he experienced the release from spiritual bondage at an earlier age through Jesus Christ. The title of the book comes from the name of a hymn that was especially meaningful to Mr. Johnson during his life, both in his time as a slave and afterward and which would become meaningful to Mr. Spurgeon as well through their fellowship with one another. It is a reminder of the life to come, when our suffering and tears will finally come to an end and we will all find peace and rest with Jesus.

This book is the best one I’ve read this year and I highly recommend you read it for yourselves. You can purchase it here. I listened to the audiobook version through my subscription to Scribd. Scribd provides access to thousands of books and audiobooks for a low monthly fee. You should check it out. Below you will find the text for the hymn:

Refrain:

Steal away, steal away,

steal away to Jesus!

Steal away, steal away home,

I ain’t got long to stay here.

1 My Lord, He calls me,

He calls me by the thunder;

The trumpet sounds within my soul;

I ain’t got long to stay here. [Refrain]

2 Green trees are bending,

Poor sinners stand a trembling;

The trumpet sounds within my soul;

I ain’t got long to stay here. [Refrain]

3 My Lord, He calls me,

He calls me by the lightning;

The trumpet sounds within my soul;

I ain’t got long to stay here. [Refrain]

From <https://hymnary.org/text/my_lord_he_calls_me>

Mass Shootings are Evil

Every week, almost every day of the week, evil expresses itself in the form of a mass shooting. A disturbed individual for a variety of confused/warped/demented reasons crosses the line from thinking evil thoughts to acting on those thoughts. Sometimes this ends with them taking their own life and we can only guess about what led them to this destination. Other times, they express themselves directly about the form of evil that we are dealing with. No matter who the person is, nor what the expressed cause or reason is, what we are dealing with is evil.

This year, as of April 8th of 2020, there have been 133 mass shooting incidents in the 98 days we have experienced so far. More than 500 people have been wounded in those shootings, with hundreds more traumatized by the shooters and 167 individuals losing their lives. You might be shocked to learn there are so many, especially when only a few are highlighted in the national media. Unless one of the others occurred in your city or state, you most likely never heard about it. This ongoing tragedy has impacted many and each one of these events has their own distinctions that leave their communities shaking their heads, wondering how it could have been prevented.

Evil is real and this is just one of its ugly expressions in our world. It is an evil that has many victims and leaves behind a trail of carnage that is wider than those who are directly impacted by a shooting.

Some of the victims:

Obviously, those who were shot are victims, both those who survive and those who don’t
The family members and close friends of the victims are greatly impacted as well. They have to process both their loss and support the survivors as they attempt to recover.
The family members of the perpetrator suffer as well. Sometimes they are more directly involved, but other times, they have suffered before the event and will continue to suffer with the weight of their family member’s evil choices.
The communities – Sometimes, events like this don’t destroy the communities that they impact, but help bring them together. Other times, the ripple effect goes on for years with a far reach, damaging many outside of the immediate circle of impact. This can damage a town, a school, a church or many other communities touched by this evil.

A shooting is a horrible event that changes the lives of all of the people involved. Unfortunately, how we respond can cause the pain and suffering to increase. In recent years, in addition to the normal questions and coverage of these tragic events, additional damage is sometimes done by the nature of how the information is reported to the public. Back in 1989, I took a Journalism 101 class. The main emphasis of that class was on the ethics and responsibility of journalists. While writing this article, I took the time to look at the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, available here:

It’s quite striking to read through this page of guidelines when thinking about the way many things are reported, but especially events like mass shootings. Some of the comments from that page:

Take responsibility for the accuracy of their work. Verify information before releasing it.
Remember that neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy (Do Tweets count?)
Avoid stereotyping. Journalists should examine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting.
Never deliberately distort facts or context, including visual information.
Balance the public’s need for information against potential harm or discomfort.
Show compassion for those who may be affected by news coverage.
Balance a suspect’s right to a fair trial with the public’s right to know.

This Code of Ethics is designed because even in areas of journalism, there are lines that should not be crossed. There is the potential of evil in the reporting about events, just as in the evil of the event. In my opinion, when it comes to mass shootings, as the media and perhaps we ourselves talk about those events, we have the potential to contribute our own evil, similar to throwing gasoline on a fire. Here are some of the ways:

Making the evil perpetrator, famous. Those who commit these evil acts, should not have their names in the news constantly. No one should think that committing evil like this is a great way to get your name remembered.
Using the event to make a political statement. It has become common to look at one of these atrocities and if the parameters fit the narrative that someone wants to sell politically, using it as nothing more than a tool to achieve political means. One of the main reasons so few of the 133 mass shootings this year have been reported is because they don’t fit a popular narrative. Over-reporting a few shootings because they do fit the story someone wants to tell isn’t any more fair to the victims than ignoring the many that don’t because they are outside those parameters. One uses victims, the other invalidates victims.
Trying to contribute to racial strife. Related to the point above, some outlets seem determined to examine the race of those involved in every one of these events and immediately either ignore it or begin pushing a specific narrative of racial conflict so that the entire world knows about any incident that fits their aims. If the race of the perpetrator is the one they are looking for, the incident will be blown up to a national story immediately. Just this year, there have been 13 mass shootings where at least 4 people lost their lives, but only 2 of them became national stories and most of the 120 other mass shootings were ignored completely. This more than any other of these problems, should make us realize that there is an attempt by many in the media to manipulate us towards racial strife. Sometimes it seems that they are openly trying to incite a race war.
Running many unnecessary details that cause those involved to lose access to privacy. Having to immediately be in the public eye after suffering such a tragedy can be very damaging to those involved.
Reporting information that isn’t verified. This probably is compounded by the underreporting of any corrections that are later offered. There are instances of falsely accused individuals and their families suffering from vigilante justice and doxing due to irresponsible reporting.

These are just a few of the unhelpful ways that the public can add to the evil that has already been suffered by the victims of a mass shooting. It is important to remember that from a distance, it is often difficult to understand the intricacies of any situation and the further we get away from a problem, the less likely we are able to contribute anything positively to its resolution.

By contrast, if we want to help not only in crisis situations, but also help prevent this type of evil in our community, we can reach out in very practical ways. Evil will always be on this earth and we don’t reduce its true footprint by changes in laws, policy and talking about other people. The only true power on earth to reduce evil is God alone, for only He can change the hearts of men and women away from evil. If we want to act in our communities to really help, we have to be willing to care enough to cross relational lines and barriers and develop community with real people. Here are some tangible ways:

Mental health is a serious problem, we should seek to promote good mental health. If you have experience that could help others, be willing to volunteer to lead or participate in a group. Encourage your church to host groups for both Christians and non-Christians. Be a good advocate for mental health initiatives in your community. We want everyone to know the peace of God and we are agents of that peace. This can mean praying for people, caring for their needs or just listening. Be a good friend. Philippians 4:6-7
People lack good community. Practice it yourself by building relationships with others and gathering together. This world can be a very lonely place and we can help others by being catalytic gatherers for good community in whatever contexts we are in. Hebrews 10:25
Recognize the hurting people around you and be willing to engage in the difficult task of reaching out to them and showing the love of Christ. Don’t be the one who didn’t act when the Holy Spirit was leading you to reach out. Proverbs 17:17

As long as we live in this world, we will have to deal with the presence of evil, but we don’t have to be a part of it. We don’t need to contribute to it. Instead, we are called to conquer evil, not be conquered by it. Romans 12:21 gives the path:

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Romans 12:21 NLT

No Community

This is not a post primarily about Covid, lockdowns and political decisions. It is a post about the impact of those decisions and others on a society. One definition of a society is “The totality of people regarded as forming a community of interdependent individuals.” There are a couple of key words in that definition, interdependent and community. Both of these are logical if you are going to function as a true society. While every individual isn’t interdependent with every other individual, to live in society does mean you have a degree of interdependence on some other people in that society.

The other word is community, and that is probably the more important word for the development of a healthy society. It is also a part of God’s plan for His followers. We were created by God to live in community, hopefully a healthy community in which we are able to practice the New Testament “one another” commands as a part of that community. Through this, we are able to more capably follow Christ by challenging one another and “spurring one another on in love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)

Personally, I can testify of the benefit I have received from having people involved in my life, both through the Church and through my local community, neighborhood or in the Greek oikos. I am more healthy, happier and better able to function as I regularly interact with people. Our society has shifted a great deal of community interaction to the digital realm and I have found this is okay, but not a 100% replacement for in person interaction. It is better for some people than it is for others.

Outside of the Church, healthy society depends on the ability to interact with others without constant conflict or stress. When people have little to no healthy interaction with others in society it tends to push them even further away from mental health. Instead, it is easier to assume the worst of others and society as a whole. This is a topic I addressed in this article. Healthy social interaction is usually tied to our common ground and interests in areas that are non-controversial.

At work and at school, we have “water cooler talk” that people engage in. It is usually focused on things like movies, TV, sports, music and things as mundane as the weather. Having regular interaction about these kind of things, helps us to be able to keep a friendly perspective on life with the people in our lives who are more acquaintances than friends. These are often the people in our lives that we have the least in common with, but we are brought together by the normal rhythms of life. These interactions allow people who might completely disagree about one thing to find common bonds in another area.

Human interaction like this is the foundation of the community part of society. I grew up in a small town and when it came to school events like ball games or community events, people came out of their smaller, defined groups that might have been based on religion or politics to join together to support the activities of the community. In larger cities, you find other community focused activities around civic events, major sports teams, the arts and helping other people. Society is formed and strengthened by the unity that is found in community when people come together for reasons like these.

Regardless of your opinions about the wisdom of some of the measures we have seen over the course of this last year, it is obvious to me that much of what I’m talking about above has been disrupted. Most “community” was cancelled for significant lengths of time. In some places, almost every event is still cancelled or tentative. After a year of preventative measures, people don’t gather like they used to. Casual gatherings are discouraged and in some places, illegal. People are more isolated in society than they have ever been. For the most part, all of the events that would draw us out to enjoy life together haven’t happened.

Even when interactions do happen, they are often awkward. Masks and other distancing measures have made most face to face interactions uncomfortable. Every person you interact with whom you don’t know personally is a potential cringe-worthy moment as people worry about violating each other’s new post-Covid social norms. Professionally, I know that a face to face interaction is preferred, especially when dealing with a difficult topic. We need to be able to see each other’s faces and expressions in order to properly understand what it is that they are trying to communicate. When you can’t see someone’s face, it is very easy to miss the nuances in communication.

None of this is ideal when it comes to forming community that will be the foundation for our society. Instead, we have the perfect breeding ground for suspicion and division. If you never have a stress-free, positive interaction with the acquaintances in your life, where does that leave your community with them? Instead of a personal framework to develop that community on, we have an impersonal environment built on hearsay, snippets of information gained from social media, and our own opinions of the person’s motivations and thinking. If your plan was to divide a society and turn people against each other, you could hardly have come up with a better plan than what we have actually done.

When you add to this the fact that many people are consuming a daily diet of news and social media that for most people is an echo chamber telling them that they are right and anyone who disagrees with them is the worst “ist” of their choice (fascist, racist, terrorist, white supremacist, etc.), you have an environment built for division. It is only natural when people hear all the bad about anyone who has a different opinion from them and have almost no opportunity to have personal interactions with people like that in their community, they will be driven in more extreme directions away from any unifying positions. There are people who haven’t had a single stress-free personal interaction with one of their regular acquaintances in their community in the last year. That will have an impact.

This leaves us feeling like our society is on the brink of permanent division and breaking apart. That once vital local community feels like it will never be there again. We must be honest that this is a real possibility. Things are not going to just go back to normal. You can’t just take people who have been living in solitary confinement and expect them to immediately jump back into society. It is going to take real effort to repair the damage that has been done to our societal psyche. I’ve talked to many Christians and Church leaders who have greatly mourned the missed opportunities of the last year. With so many people hurting, it is only natural that the Church would want to lead the way to reach out to them and provide comfort and hope. Unfortunately, some of the restrictions have led Christians to be unsure of themselves about what they are able to do.

Now is the time to put aside our fear and step up to help lead the way in building our communities back together. Points of division still exist and it seems like politics will continue to try and push communities apart including churches. All believers should not accept this as our ultimate destination. As followers of Jesus, we have a unique opportunity in this difficult, seemingly hopeless time to point to the only place that we really have hope, in Christ. We are divided from society by our faith, but we should not be divided because of these other points of division. Instead, we should be those who cross this great divide just as Christ crossed the divide in order that we might be called “out of the darkness into His glorious light.”

Now is the time to re-enter our communities, purposefully, and lead the way in re-building that which has been being destroyed.

9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” 11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
1 Peter 2:9-12 NLT

The “Love” Chapter

I was reading one of the most well-known passages in all of the Bible recently, 1 Corinthians 13, otherwise known as “The Love Chapter”. If you were to pick verses that are most likely to be quoted outside of an explicitly Christian context there are many that are likely to appear. I’m guessing the most frequently used verse would be Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge or you too will be judged“. Even if people don’t know the full verse you will often hear people say, “doesn’t the Bible say you aren’t supposed to judge other people!” After that verse, pull quotes from 1 Corinthians 13 are among those most likely to occur on someone’s wall, in an Instagram post or even in a secular wedding.

Here are a few of the verses most likely to be pulled out of the chapter:

4a – “Love is patient and kind…”
7 – “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
8a – “Love never ends…”
13 – “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

The reason we find these verses quoted is the role that the concept of love plays in our society. Love is a dominate theme in our lives. We sing about it, we read about it and I’ve heard that Hallmark makes a lot of movies about it, among others. People not only quote verses from the Bible almost like clichés about love, there are other societal tropes that recur in the same way. “All we need is love” “Love is blind” “Make love, not war” and so on. My favorite new quote I read in researching for this article was from the late George Burns, “Love is a lot like a backache. It doesn’t show on X-rays, but you know it’s there“

What these quotes and the use of these Bible verses in this way have in common, is they are all focused on the most common use of the word love, the romantic version. In society, when we hear about love, this is by far the most frequent usage. Songs about love are about falling in love, being in love or sadly, the end of love. There are other uses for the word love overall, but very few love songs and poems are written about parental love, brotherly love or love between any people who are not interested in wooing one another.

This pattern has a definite influence on our ability to understand the use of the word love in general usage, but one specific way it has impacted followers of Christ, is that we often associate 1 Corinthians 13 with weddings and the love between a man and wife exclusively. That is an appropriate usage of the passage, especially when we are talking about 2 believers marrying one another, but it is not the original purpose of the passage in the letter in which it was written. Instead, you shouldn’t be surprised that 1 Corinthians 13 comes immediately following chapter 12, but you would do well to remember what chapter 12 (and the rest of the letter for that matter) was talking about as the proper framework for chapter 13.

If you read Paul’s letters to Corinth, it is obvious that the local church there dealt with divisions. These included racial divisions, socio-economic divisions, doctrinal divisions and differences of opinion about many things. They were a divided church, just like we sometimes see today. Paul didn’t tell them they were all the same. He didn’t say they all had to be the same. Instead, he highlighted that they were different and that they were better because of those differences. They were complete, as a body with many parts. They had different giftings that made them unique. They were not the same, but they were a part of the same body. Into that context, Paul writes chapter 13, which he says, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” (12:31b)

Chapter 13 is first and foremost a guide for how the church should treat one another. It is Paul’s church handbook for the church of Corinth. Here is how the people who go to that church should behave. Since Paul was just talking about giftings and gifts can be their own divisive part or church or family life, he spends the first 3 verses telling them that all the gifts in the world don’t matter if you don’t follow the standards of love that he is about to lay out. He mentions gifts like speaking in tongues, prophesying, having great faith or being a generous giver, but it just as easily could be giftings you might find in your church: speaking, writing, singing, even serving. Without love, these are as annoying as a fire alarm going off in the middle of the night.

Let’s revisit some of our popular verses, but keep in mind, these are how you are to treat the other believers you interact with on a regular basis. Both in your local church and as you chat, comment, or reply to each other online. When you talk to your believing “friends” are you:

Patient
Kind
Not boastful
Not arrogant
Not rude
Not insisting your own way
Not irritable
Not resentful
Rejoicing in the truth, not in wrongdoing
Never giving up on them
Never losing faith in them
Always hopeful for them
Enduring with them through all circumstances

This is the picture that Paul gives for the church. We, as followers of Christ, are to follow this “still more excellent way.” Before the grand finale of verse 13, Paul helps put it another way, in case they haven’t gotten his point yet. “11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” Now is the time to grow up! As believers in Christ who have faith in Him, we have “faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.” How we function as churches and how we testify the truth to the world is impacted by our ability to practice what Paul gave us in 1 Corinthians 13. As we are able to not just read these words, but take them and follow through with them, then Jesus’ words to His disciples will ring true of us:

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:35 (ESV)

Here is the chapter in its entirety. Read through it slowly, thinking of the believers in your life. Be prepared to confess and seek repentance if necessary.

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (ESV)

Friends of God

There are several things that might make the Christian faith unique, but one of the most distinct differences is in the relationship. When you go out into the world and start interacting with people from other faiths, it is difficult to find the kind of intimacy that is described in the New Testament. Personally, I believe that part of the reason for this is that religion is often a product of mankind’s goals and ideals and people creates things that will give them advantages over other people.

Most manmade religions want God distant and inaccessible to their fellow followers. This allows individuals in positions of power to be arbiters of faith between God and other people. This power structure allows an elite few to hold sway over the masses. Much of the criticisms leveled at religions and faiths are about the abuses allowed by these power structures. When people without God observe a religion where a leader has all the authority and often abuses it, we shouldn’t be surprised that they find that distasteful.

These false religions rely on certain assumptions that make it easier to manipulate others. They might say that people can never know if God is pleased with them or the only way they can know is if the leader tells them that they are okay. Some religions intentional keep their holy books unavailable to the masses, so that the average follower is not encouraged to read and understand the teachings for themselves. There are cults that make the spoken word of one individual leader the ultimate authority, which allows that person unlimited ability to abuse their followers. Other religions like to keep everything purposefully vague and impossible to understand, except for perhaps a few “enlightened” ones.

Contrast that with the truths of the Christian Bible, where instead of putting barriers between God and mankind, God chose to remove the barriers. John 1:14 (NLT) says, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” Paul expands on this in his letter to the Philippian Church:

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
PHil 2:5-7 (NIV)

Jesus Christ lived and walked among the human race. He, being in very nature God, lived a human life. He was born a baby, grew up and lived a life among fallen humans and dealt with all of the challenges life in a fallen world brings. He was fully human, with the pain and discomfort that you would expect that to imply. Probably more than what you can imagine now, as the world he came into was actually much more uncomfortable than the one we currently live in. This tells us that as history moved forward, God didn’t make it harder for us to get to know Him, instead He made it easier. He didn’t put additional barriers between us and Him, instead, God made it possible to remove all barriers. Paul talks about this in Romans:

6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Romans 5:6-11 (NLT)

In the Old Testament, Abraham is called a friend of God, but now we see that through the sacrifice of Christ’s death, we all can have a wonderful new relationship with God. We all are now able to be friends of God. That is really a staggering idea. God didn’t change. He is still holy. He is still perfect. He is still who He has always been, but now we are able to access Him as our friend. You and me are able to go to the Almighty, Most Powerful, Everlasting Father of the Universe and have intimacy with God.

This is a picture that does away with all of the incomplete pictures offered by man-made religions. We don’t need a priest, an imam or a guru to stand between us and God. Jesus Christ has made it possible for every person to approach Him as a friend. Right now, you should feel the freedom to talk to God personally and intimately, sharing your cares and concerns and very life with Him, just as you would with any dear friend. In fact, God is a better friend, the one who never breaks confidence, never fails you and never lets you down.

The Bible does make it clear that there are still roles for men and women to play in the Church and the Kingdom of God. God still appoints some to be “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers”. (Eph. 4:11) None of that takes away from the fact that anyone who accepts the message of salvation through Jesus Christ can become a friend of God, regardless of position, education, age or any other factor in their background. If you are a part of God’s Kingdom as His friend, you have all the capability to know God intimately and to see Him for who He really is.

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl R. Trueman – Book Review

Dr. Carl Trueman’s book, which was released late last year, arrives at a particularly relevant time with the culture wars raging more every day. When Christians look around and see some of the trends in society, there is definitely a temptation to feel discouraged. In fact, I often hear Christians lamenting the state of society and expressing deep concern over the world they find themselves in.

This book is one of the most thorough examinations of the changes we see in society and the contributing factors that helped define our modern world. The subtitle of the book is “Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution.” This hints at where the clues will be found as he searches back through history. The modern sexual revolution and especially the movement towards the current expression of transgenderism and LGBQT rights didn’t just happen in the last 60 years, but have their roots in many different influences.

“Every historical phenomenon is the result of a wide variety of factors that can vary from the technological to the political to the philosophical”

The author begins with an examination of philosophy and how some of the thoughts and ideology expressed by Philip Rieff, Charles Taylor and Alasdair MacIntyre contributed to the ideal of selfhood and social imagery, which are so common in our society today. This includes the disturbing trend we see today that moral truth is more of an expression of emotional preference than anything else. Some of these ideas were very influential in varying fields.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, we see a shift of focus to the inner life of the individual. He cites specific examples from literature of authors who saw society as oppressive and especially societal Christian norms such as lifelong, monogamous marriage. The viewpoints of men like Nietzsche and Marx were built on this and they, along with Charles Darwin, dismissed any significance that human life could have, especially in the spiritual domain. Nietzsche and Marx especially were influential in the modern view of history as oppression and victims as the true heroes of the world’s story.

From there, the author looks at the rise of the modern psychological study movement and specifically the work of Freud and Jung. This movement legitimized the pursuit of sexual desires in whatever form they might occur. Some Marxist thinkers, such as Reich and Marcuse would make use of this in their own political movements. All of this comes together to support the sexual revolution of the last 60 years. The prominence of which is expressed in a number of troubling ways, including the role of eroticism and pornography in addition to the push towards sexual freedom in lifestyle practice.

While this book is not an easy read for someone who doesn’t already have a background in the fields discussed, it is an important work for helping modern pastors, ministers and Christians understand more about the world they live in and the influences that shaped it. As a teaser to entice you to want to read the book, here are a few pull quotes to help you see some of the insights.

In a world in which the self is constructed psychologically and in which the therapeutic is the ethical ideal, we should therefore expect the notion of good and bad, to change accordingly…In such a context, freedom of speech becomes not so much part of the solution as part of the problem. Liberal democracies have long assumed that the free exchange of ideas in society is a means of preventing totalitarianism and promoting the common good. In the world of psychological man, however, it serves rather to give legal protection to (verbal) assaults on the person.

Thus, speech seen as violence will become the norm and society will start to restrict free speech more and more in order to defend individual freedom, especially sexual freedom. Individuals have the freedom to define “hate speech” according to their own definition of selfhood and tolerance in general is seen as more of a tool of an oppressive society, so censorship is seen as a greater moral good. The author gives examples of conflicts over free speech on university campuses where the students express their thinking in the following way:

…enemies are those who ‘devalue our experiences’. This is the language of subjective emotions, expressive individualism, and the therapeutic ideal that society has been cultivating. It also renders reason irrelevant until people are attuned to the proper emotions

If you have ever looked at some of these conflicts and found them to be incredulous, you are probably operating from a completely different worldview from the students making the complaints. In their reality, emotions trump reason.

For transgenderism to be coherent, the society in which it occurs needs to place a decisive priority on the psychological over the physical in determining identity. For it to be coherent also involves a correlative downplaying of external authority, whether that of the person’s biology or of traditional expectations.

Removing gender and traditional viewpoints and societal norms is a necessary step in accomplishing their goals and is a non-negotiable element in achieving the future that is desired by this movement.

…traditionalists only maintain their beliefs about sex and sexual mores on the grounds of irrational bigotry. In short, they are either stupid or immoral or both. In such a world, the idea that religious freedom is a social good is not simply increasingly implausible, it is also increasingly distasteful, disturbing, and undesirable.

Thus, Christians and especially Christians who hold to a Biblical worldview and practice evangelism, are the greatest enemies of the modern movement. They are the group, more than any other, that represents the opposite of their desired outcome. Thus, they will be attacked and assaulted more and more for those stances. The author sees this as the likely outcome in the near future and encourages the Christians reading to be ready.

So, what should Christians do in light of the information that is covered here? Dr. Trueman brings hope by pointing to the similarities of the 2nd century, when a fledgling Church had none of the advantages we are used to relying on and was openly hated and attacked by many in the places where it was found. This Church laid the foundation for a movement that would change the world and the author believes that the modern Church has the same options before them.

…she did it by what means? By existing as a close-knit, doctrinally bounded community that required her members to act consistently with their faith and to be good citizens of the earthly city as far as good citizenship was compatible with faithfulness to Christ

Followers of Jesus who faithfully held to His teachings and called on others to do the same did change the world in a time when all earthly momentum was against them. I for one find hope in this declaration and even though much of this book might point to very little to be encouraged about in the modern society, it is this absence of power that might cause us to turn to Him who holds the true power to make a difference. Dr. Trueman’s book is available here, and you can also read or listen to it as a member of Scribd, which is how I obtained it.