Christfollower

Another Classic

When I am at home and spending time in my study more often then not I am reading a classic holiness book. I have been trying to work my way through some of the books that motivated and challenged me as a very young follower of Christ.

Today I am posting some words found in William McDonald's book, Saved to the Uttermost. In this volume he writes the following about the subject of "perfect love."  

"Infallibility is not a fruit of grace. While human ideals of perfection leave no margin for innocent mistakes and unavoidable errors, Divine ideals allow many to exist in connection with perfect love. A perfectly faultless being, according to human judgement, was never found among men.

Human estimates of perfection differ, it would seem from the Divine. Men judge by the outward appearance; God judges by the heart. We are not speaking of sins such as violations of the moral law; but of errors in conduct, mistakes in judgement, etc. 

Hence we come to the conclusion, that to demand perfect conduct, according to human ideals, is to raise the standard of holiness too high. It may co-exist with a thousand mistakes and infirmities. It is "love made perfect, " and not judgement made infallible."  (pg. 11-15)  

McDonald wrote published these words in the very early 1900's. This standard of holiness and perfect  love is both sane and attainable. It is full of the grace found in the Bible but not so much preached in certain circles of folks that view themselves as being "protectors" of the holiness message. I in no way condone a Calvinist or "sinning religion" viewpoint however many times in my past I have seen an obsessiveness that drives people to be hard on themselves over and over until they eventually just give up and live with a defeated and negative view of themselves. God's grace is there for us daily and when living a surrendered life, we acknowledge our mistakes, ask God for His help and move forward in faith.

 

A paragraph on holiness. . .

In about 1888, Sheridan Baker wrote a little book entitled Hidden Manna. What a great book! For anyone seeking holiness (a term I don't hear very often) it is a classic read. Here is a quote from the book:

"It is supposed by many that a life of uninterrupted devotion to God requires a continual struggle, and levies a constant tax upon the nervous forces of all who attempt such a life. But the very opposite is true. A life of holiness springs as naturally from a holy heart as a life of sin springs from a depraved heart. A sinful life flows from a sinful nature as naturally as water flows down a mountainside, and so also a pure life flows as naturally from a pure heart.

The life of perfected holiness is, therefore, the most easy, peaceful, and natural life that a human being can live. It is, indeed, the normal state of man."

The "normal state of man" of course is referring to a sanctified state where we have been restored to the way God intends for us to live. God has always been looking for a people that will follow Him 100% of the time and love Him with all of their heart mind soul and strength.I believe that we should teach that it is possible to love God every day in word, in thought and in deed instead of teaching the opposite and more popular doctrine.

Thankful for my old books.

Recent Reading. . .

Reading is one of my favorite things to do. I am sure this is because I was raised without the stimulation of television. My imagination was fueled and shaped by words rather than images.

Today I find myself with not alot of time for recreational reading but I read because of my calling. I prefer old books mainly because one of my strengths is "context." This means I believe that you can understand the present and the future by knowing the past. So. . .I am recommitting to reading more than I ever have. I am blessed with a wonderful home office and a bountiful collection of books. I will try to share words of wisdom from my reading for any that might stumble onto this sight.

If nothing else, my kids may find an interest in these blogs down the road when I am gone from this life.

The home study contains a modest collection of classic holiness books.

It is in this place that I read, pray, study and blog.

Today's quote is from my reading after an "old friend" named John Wesley. He inadvertently founded the Methodist church and of course would not recognize it today because it has strayed so far from its spiritual roots.  When speaking about singing in worship he said the following:

  “Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.”

   -John Wesley

 

In another book I have been reading I found these words:

"The most important benefit of a worship service is an awareness of the presence of God. That's more important than a captivating drama, an impressive soloist, or even a relevant message."

Back from not blogging for the summer. . .

It has been an interesting summer and one that moved by very quickly. Our son got married, our daughter graduated and moved to Croatia for a year and life seems to be moving by at a rapid pace. Here are some pictures from the summer.

Emily and Kaley graduate from Trevecca  

 
Lenore and I at Levi and Kaley's wedding.

 Kaley and Levi

 The night before Emily left for Croatia.

One last hug from her mother.

Ready to go. . .

It has been a busy summer! On top of all the personal stuff it has been quite busy at church and the Sheriff's Office and the YMCA.  I may post a few pictures later from some Sheriff's Office activities. My intention with the blog is to share some of my latest favorite quotes from my current reading. I have wanted to do this in the past but have not been consistent with it. Hopefully this time will be different.

Here's a quote for today: "Love isn't a one-shot sortie into someone else's need. It gets involved; it doesn't stay clean and separate." -- Paul E. Miller, from his book, Love Walked Among Us

Jesus is the ultimate example of incarnational love. He got involved and it wasn't clean and separate. He took on the form of one of us and experienced life so we would know that He can relate to our struggles. He did not have to do this but He did it because He loves us.

 

Thank you John Piper. . .

 

In a crazy world where people from all denominations are running after emotionalism and a health and wealth mentality I am thankful for one who stands and preaches the truth of God's word regarding this subject. Christ never promised we would live on this earth without pain but He promised over and over to be with us in the midst of our greatest sufferings.

Romans 7 and Adam Clarke

Recently a denominational official of a Wesleyan/holiness denomination wrote an article using Romans 7 as a proof text for our need to experience deliverance from the carnal nature of sin. Of course many of us grew up being taught this very thing based on the writings of the late 1800's Holiness movement.

Interestingly enough John Wesley and his contemporaries never taught this nor did they use Romans 7 as a way to prove that carnality lives in the Christian. Adam Clarke clearly states that Paul is writing about a pre-regenerate state of someone trying to live up to the standard of a Christfollwer without having truly experienced regeneration.

Why don't I let Mr. Clarke speak for himself:

"It is difficult to conceive how the opinion could have crept into the Church, or prevailed there, that "the apostle speaks here of his regenerate state; and that what was, in such a state, true of himself, must be true of all others in the same state." This opinion has, most pitifully and most shamefully, not only lowered the standard of Christianity, but destroyed its influence and disgraced its character. It requires but little knowledge of the spirit of the Gospel, and of the scope of this epistle, to see that the apostle is, here, either personating a Jew under the law and without the Gospel, or showing what his own state was when he was deeply convinced that by the deeds of the law no man could be justified, and had not as yet heard those blessed words: Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way, hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, Acts 9:17."

He is writing here about Romans 7 and the verses where Paul is describing the struggle with sinful behavior. Again from Clarke:

"Those who are of another opinion maintain that by the word carnal here the apostle meant that corruption which dwelt in him after his conversion; but this opinion is founded on a very great mistake; for, although there may be, after justification, the remains of the carnal mind, which will be less or more felt till the soul is completely sanctified, yet the man is never denominated from the inferior principle, which is under control, but from the superior principle which habitually prevails."

This post will mean nothing to most of you that read it but for the record I wanted to post a true Wesleyan position regarding this important passage.

NEW THOUGHTS: My good friend John Ballenger suggested I ended this post with a lack of hope about the toplc. My thougths were that most of you wouldn't care about the subject since it is so different than most of the stuff I put on here. His thoughts were that we should care and be called to care so here is John's ending to this post.

"This wise man's words should be a clarion call for the followers of Jesus today!  We can and must be New Creations.  It has happened, it is happening, it will happen!

Let's not allow our old brokenness keep us in chains."

Mentors. . .

In my life there have been some older men who were leaders in ministry that greatly influenced my life. Here are a few of them.

 

O.W. Willis was the District Superintendent of the Indiana South District of the Wesleyan Church when I pastored in French Lick Indiana. Lenore was his secretary and so I spent more time with him then probably a first year pastor would normally do. We hunted together, prayed in the woods, sometimes we changed clothes in the woods after hunting so we could go to a Wednesday night service where he needed to speak. He is a great preacher, a man of prayer and man of God the likes of which I don't find many of us to be these days.

Robert Kline is a first cousin of my father and former General Superintendent of the CCCU. His influence on me was simply to make me want to be a better Christfollower and leader. He also is a passionate lover of the Word of God and a man who leads by example. In 1990, he hired me to work as editor for the CCCU and then "retired" three months later. He is still preaching and working in a church and in fact I found a sermon he recently preached on-line and was greatly moved by it in the last month.  

 
J.D. Young was the first person to ever give me a license to be in ministry. Beyond that he was one of the most kind hearted and solid leaders I have ever been around in ministry. As the President of the Ohio Bible Methodist he welcomed me as a college student into the church. Years later and a couple of years before his death, we reconnected. He came back into my life at a time when I was searching and questioning where I should be in ministry. He never judged. Never. He was a kind listener and friend. I bought a lot of his books, his desk, and his Glock and holster before he passed away. I think he threw in the pen above but knowing him he may have charged me for that as well. Ha! J.D. was preaching a revival at our church in Indiana the week before Levi was born and two years later he was in revival at our church in Pennsylvania when Emily was born. We never had him back for any more meetings. Ha! I miss him and at times wish I could pick up the phone and talk church and leadership. I was honored to honor him with a few words at his funeral.

 Dr. John Conley was another leader that had a profound effect on my life. I served in his administration while he was President of what is now Ohio Christian University. We traveled thousands of miles together. Most of them on school business but every now and then we would drive from Circleville to Springfield Ohio just to eat catfish at lunch! We argued over music styles in the church but he finally relented and let us put a projector in the chapel at OCU! We laughed and cried together. He was a leader that was "the" leader. He knew where we were going and that is where we went. He pushed me to get a graduate degree when frankly I didn't want one. He was a friend to the end and I also miss him and the inability to pick up the phone and call him from time to time.

 Ron Reese continues to be a friend and is someone that I shared a lot of time in ministry with a few years ago. We preached and worked together in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona. Ron and I share a love for sermon outlines, good restaurants, leadership talks, old trucks, good books, and the southwest. He was one of the first pastors to let me preach in his church many years ago when I was still in college. He has cared about my kids and family and been a friend to share ministry blessings and burdens with for many years. He drives to Newark just to eat Lenore's baking when he hears that she has baked something. (Sometimes he calls just to inquire if she has baked something.)

Obviously there are other men that have influenced me in ministry and leadership, but these are the men outside my family who stayed involved in my life to one degree or another even after the miles or changes in ministry venue. I have a father and father in law who have also modeled ministry in very different ways and I continue to learn from them as well. I guess my reason for posting this is the need I have at times for godly older men who have been in ministry that could speak into my life and pray for me. I hope that I can play a role in younger leaders lives and be the friend and mentor that these men have been for me.

Dear God. . .so now what?

 
As I sit in my office on a Monday morning I am tormented by economics. I can't focus on spiritual issues, prayer or studying for my sermon because we have been living as a church on a shoestring budget for over two years now and frankly I don't know how much longer I can do this.

I am plagued by offerings that reflect an unwillingness to practice tithing by a high percentage of people and yet I am so thankful for those that do believe in this biblical discipline ordained by God as a lifestyle of faith and trust.

I am tortured by the fact that Newark Church of the Nazarene is still a vibrant ministry with a steady stream of new people both churched and unchurched coming through our doors. They keep coming and we keep trying to lead them into a growing relationship with Christ but that takes money. Money that we just don't have.

I am keenly aware of a denominational rule that demands a tithe and a tax on all church income that totals 15%. I am aware of this because of pressure being applied from those who are paid to apply pressure.

I am deeply saddened because I really believe in our church and its presence in our community but wonder what ministries will have to stop in the near future.

I have told myself for almost nine years that this was a unique God-blessed church and still believe it but today I am left without answers. I can't print money or make it magically appear. My prayer today is simple:  Dear God. . .so now what?

IF you read this please don't discount these words as just a "bad Monday." This is much deeper than that. If you are a friend I ask you to pray and if you are a part of our church I would ask you to pray and to tithe.

Leading like Jesus. . .

 This post is a reminder for me of my call and Christ's call to everyone to take up your cross and follow. So we will start with the Apostle Paul describing his ministry and add a few other thoughts from men and women who kept the faith regardless of the circumstances.  
 

 ³ We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. ⁴ In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. ⁵ We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. ⁶ We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. ⁷ We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. ⁸ We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. ⁹ We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. ¹⁰ Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

  Corinthians 6:3-10 NLT

Some wish to live within the sound
Of Church or Chapel Bell.
I want to run a rescue shop
within a yard of Hell. --C.T. Studd, Missionary

Let us not glide through this world and then slip quietly into heaven, without having blown the trumpet loud and long for our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Let us see to it that the devil will hold a thanksgiving service in hell, when he gets the news of our departure from the field of battle.C.T. Studd

Here lies the tremendous mystery - that God should be all-powerful, yet refuse to coerce. He summons us to cooperation. We are honored in being given the opportunity to participate in his good deeds. Remember how He asked for help in performing his miracles : Fill the water pots, stretch out your hand, distribute the loaves. -- Elizabeth Elliot

"Let my heart be broken with the things that break God's heart" --  Bob Pierce, World Vision Founder

"The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity."-- Mike Stachura

"The will of God -- nothing less, nothing more, nothing else." -- F. E. Marsh

When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the ship captain tried to turn him back, saying, "You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages." To that, Calvert replied, "We died before we came here."

So on this Monday morning I will try to focus my heart and recalibrate my soul to find the will of God and pursue it regardless of the consequences.

Press Pass

For about seven years in the 90's I held press credentials with the Evangelical Press Association. During that time I covered two President's and a Vice President. I also used the pass to get into the Red's spring training facility in 1992 and a couple of Promise Keeper's Men's meetings. Here are a few pictures since I left this part out of my 25 year post.

Each year I was issued new credentials.

Took this picture while kneeling on the platform. Press Credentials were issued by the Secret Service.

Covered Bill Clinton's first town hall meeting held in Chillicothe Ohio.

 Wolf Blitzer and Andrea Mitchel in the press room.

Andrea M. and Brit Hume taking notes at the meeting.

I took this shot from the floor. We were rotated in for three minute opportunities to get close ups.

National Religious Broadcasters annual meeting where they were honoring long time Billy Graham singer George Beverly Shea.

 A younger and fatter me with the guest of honor.

Gullet and Perez were both coaches in 1992.

E.V. Hill and Chuck Swindoll at the historic Pastor's Promise Keepers in Atlanta.

Enjoyed being the editor of two different magazines over an eleven year period. As with much of the print media neither are in existence today.