Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Upon Further Review - More explanation on the Habakkuk "Violence" Sermon and Gun Comments.

This past Sunday I presented part 3 in the series of sermons on Habakkuk titled "Trusting God in an Uncertain World." This sermon centered on Habakkuk 2:12-20, which I labeled as "God Will Judge Violence."

As was stated in the sermon, we know all too well how much violence is in the headlines, politics and concerns of 2016. One of the reasons I chose this short series of sermons are the timely themes of the book of Habakkuk. The main thrust of the sermon (and the passage cited, IMO) is that God will not stand for people advancing their standing or cause by means of callously violent behaviors. The Chaldeans were known for their brutally oppressive policies, and God's promise of judgement against them would seem to be a good illustration that mirrors the preponderance of scriptures warning against violent behaviors.

But the reason for this post, frankly, is that I may have gone off the rails a little on my final point/illustration. You know, the part where I called some gun owners "sissies"! More on that specifically in a minute, but first some preaching theory 101.

Politics and current events are necessary topics on occasion in good preaching, but they have to be handled very carefully. The Bible is full of patriarchs, kings, prophets and evangelists who addressed these issues in their day. On the other hand, many of those same examples made sure to declare God's ways and leading as superior to the secular events that swirled around the nations. Perhaps some pertinent scriptures to remember are Philippians 3:20 (But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ) and 2 Timothy 2:4, (“No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”)

You just have to be careful. There is a fine line between making a spiritual point and simply using the pulpit to give your opinions. You also have to respect people's genuinely held political beliefs, even if you might strenuously object to them. It is why a competent and disciplined minister works as hard as they do on every sermon. Stand up for the truth and state your convictions if it is done to adequately illustrate God's Word...but do so with great care and consideration.

Another point that every preacher and listener has to consider is the time factor. While opinions are varied as to how long any given sermon should be, we can all agree that you have a limited time frame to get your points across. Understanding this is crucial to a good sermon (and frankly an effective speaker overall.) You just do not have time to perfectly explain some points and ideas to an exhaustive degree. Therefore if you decide to make a strong statement about something complex and/or controversial, you'd better state it in such a way as to not leave people wondering what you are thinking. Carelessly saying whatever enters your mind leads to confusion, controversy...and sometimes unemployment! So many factors enter into this point - preparation, humility, clarity and discipline to name a few. Stated in a much more juvenile way, you have to be able to hit the mental "no" button to that inner question that is "Do I have to go there right now?"

So to the point in question: The last 5 minutes or so of last week's sermon was pondering how God's judging of violence could be applied to all of us "regular folk", and not just dictators and the world's governments throughout history. My point was that if we are not careful, we can slip into a mindset of justifying using violence to combat violence. My scripture reference was Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written "It is mine to avenge; I will repay", says the Lord. (Romans 12:19) 

And then I wandered into gun ownership.

The point I wanted to make was something like the following: There is a lunatic fringe in today's America that not only defines their citizenship by their fire arms, but embraces the idea of the quick use of violent force in more situations than most rational people would approve. While there are places and times that one could use their rights as an American citizen to protect their lives and property with a firearm (and I am one of them who has undertaken such measures), we need to make sure that violence is something that is kept as far away from our demeanor as possible.

Unfortunately, what I basically said was this: There are some people who have never been threatened by anything or anyone since the day that they walked out of their final high school P.E. class, who are still the biggest sissies in the world...scared of their own shadows whimpering "I need a gun!"

I do concede that upon reflection, I used a very flimsy illustration that I worded rather poorly. It certainly could be construed to say that Ken believes all gun owners are sissies and that having one is a sin. I do not believe either of those preceding points. I believe in responsible, competent and safe gun ownership - regardless of the forms of said firearm. I also know that there are people whose jobs and neighborhoods thrust them firmly into more dangerous surroundings, and I support fully their right to "keep and bear arms."

For clarity, I do have opinions on gun ownership that may not be shared by the majority of people who support gun rights. For what its worth - I'm not a fan of high capacities in rifles. (My completely arbitrary rule is that a law abiding citizen using a firearm for defense really doesn't have much of a rational need for more than 7 shots per mag.)  I don't see some of the slippery slope arguments concerning some expansions of background checks. I'm also not particularly a fan of "open carry." These beliefs are certainly not iron-clad, but they are where I lean at the moment.

But in a sermon, you don't have time to fine-tune your beliefs on these kinds of topics. Therefore, a wise person chooses their illustrations - and how they word those illustrations - very carefully. Hopefully my clumsy and somewhat arrogant sounding illustration did not override my main point, which was that the tendencies toward violence can be a problem for common people and not just governments, rulers and mobs. All of us are capable of having violence become a problem in our everyday lives and thinking, and we need to guard against this.

So consider this a "mea culpa" on some of my words and attitude in a sermon. I do appreciate all of the compliments I did receive about last Sunday morning's sermon, but I wanted to be transparent about a point I could have made in a better fashion. I'm sure I could do this a lot on this blog, and I'm somewhat surprised its taken me this long to write this type of post!'

And hopefully anyone reading this would know - please don't hesitate to ever ask me for clarification or explanation of something I say in a sermon, class, writing, etc. I'm a big enough boy to handle constructive criticisms, disagreements and scrutiny. I'd only ask you do so at appropriate times and with courtesy.

Friday, July 22, 2016

Reflections on Honduras - Part 1

Honduras is hot. Brutally hot. Central America humid-hot. 92 degrees, around 70% relative humidity and an afternoon rain shower - every day. You can nearly set your watch to the weather this time of year.

About midday the first work day, ol’ Ken is wondering what exactly he has himself into. I’m working with a group of 4 “Norte Americanos”, alongside 2 Hondurans building a block and mortar home - a typical house in Honduras. The first step is making mortar, which consists of sand and concrete. Neither are cheap. Sand is homemade, as in we throw countless shovelfuls of rock against a homemade screen that separates the gravel from the sand. Fill 2 wheelbarrows of sand, dump onto the ground and add 1 bag of concrete mix and mix with water. This is your mortar, and now you are ready to stack and level blocks to make the walls of a simple home. Hard and hot work, but satisfying. 

One of the Hondurans I had the privilege to work with was Fernando. Fernando is the minister of the Buenos Aires Barrio Iglesia de Cristo. The house we are building is for a deaf and mute member of his congregation. His English is strong, and we became fast friends. I can practice my Spanish with him comfortably. In due time, we talk about ministry challenges. He admits that he often doesn’t know where to start in his home country to convince people of the truth of God’s word, His church and the Bible. He especially seems flustered at how to talk with denominational people about truth and doctrine. At one point during this conversation, he has to go off to the side to compose himself. 

Hmmmm, church work isn’t all that different from here is it?

The second Honduran is Mario. Both the Hondurans and the campaign group (who know him after the many years they’ve been going to Honduras) call him “skinny Mario.” After seeing him outwork me in every fashion for 3 days, I prefer to think of him as “Super Mario.”
Mario’s English is nowhere near Fernando’s, but he does try and Fernando interprets for him. I was the only one of the mission group that would get on Mario’s homemade scaffolding (made of whatever planks of wood we found and branches from mango trees.) I was learning fast, but it took time to do it how Mario wanted it done. I’m pretty sure I understood him to say to Fernando one time “They all do it wrong, but I like this one.” I’m going to call that a win!

One afternoon myself and Mario were the only ones working on the blocks for a time. He found out that I was a minister and was very interested in trying to ask me theological questions. I will admit some frustration that I couldn’t get as deep as his questions warranted due to the language barrier. I found out later that Mario hasn’t had an easy life. He works hard in construction, but suffers persecution because of the legal problems of an old boss in the past. You don’t want guilt-by-association with shady people in central America. Mario constantly lives life looking over his shoulder. 

While I’m not fluent in Spanish, I’m not lost speaking it either. Mario enjoyed my efforts. Eventually I told him that I have led some songs in Spanish. He said he loves to sing church songs. I asked him what was his favorite song. He thought for a second, and not being able to remember the title in English he began singing. It took me a few seconds to recognize the song, and a few more seconds to let it sink in. So in the hot Honduras sun I joined in song with a man who struggles for everything he gets, not caring if the neighbors and their cow and chickens heard us:
Count your blessings name them one by one!
Count your blessings see what God has done.
Count your blessings, name them one by one.
Count your many blessings see what God has done!

This was one of those episodes in life that I will never forget. It was yet another reminder of not only being grateful for what you have - but that sometimes the things you have get in the way of things that are more important! Make no mistake...working on that house was very hard work in what I consider oppressive heat and humidity. It was worth it to work with two brothers in Christ who showed me thankfulness and desire to do God’s work. 

My prayer for Fernando is that his ministry bears fruit, and that he is able to communicate and make the difference for the Lord that he desperately wants to accomplish. My prayer for Mario is that he can find peace and safety in his life, as he serves the Lord - singing all the way. 

Lord willing, I will see them again next year and be able to converse with them more fluently in their language.