D. James Kennedy

A giant has passed. I did not know about his failing health; so when I heard late last night that D. James Kennedy had died, I was surprised. His only pastorate was that of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He began his ministry there in 1959. Within a few months, the church membership dropped from 45 to 17. But by 1967, it was one of the fastest-growing churches in America; and by the 1970's, it was viewed as one of the first "mega-churches." Of course, Dr. Kennedy was the founder of Evangelism Explosion. He was best known for this worldwide approach to evangelism for most of his ministry. During the 1980's, however, and especially by the 1990's, he had begun to be more and more identified with conservative social and political causes. At one time, I remember my mintor and I discussing Kennedy's involvement in politics and lamenting the fact that he had become more widely known for his political views than for his evangelistic approach. That is probably an unfair criticism. One may disagree with Kennedy's views; but to him, the principles he espoused were so closely connected with his understanding of Christianity that the two could hardly be separated. I personally believe that mmost of his views have intellectual integrity and are grounded in sound biblical scholarship and a proper view of reformed theology. Even his critics, however, could not deny his capability and his intellectual power. His death is significant for many reasons. I am particularly impressed at the moment, however, with the great hole it leaves in the leadership of evangelical and reformed Christianity. So many of the great leaders have fallen in recent years; and Billy Graham is no longer an active force, as his health fails and his life nears its end. God does not need any of us to do His work or accomplish His will. And yet, there is a tremendous responsibility, a great burden, placed upon the shoulders of those of us who have been called to ministry--either as pastors and church leaders or simply as Christian individuals--to carry on the work that is so vital today. The need for leadership within the Christian evangelical movement has never been greater. We must turn to God, praying for Him to raise up new leaders among us. When one man goes down--whether in the field of athletic competition or among the laborers in the kingdom, those who are left must double their efforts, raise their level of commitment, and strive for new heights. We must do that which, humanly speaking, cannot be done. But in Christ's strength, it can be done. We must rededicate ourselves and renew our determination to stand where this man stood. Few of us may think of ourselves as being in positions of leadership or as having great opportunity to affect our communities, nation or world; but that is because we are too prone to think as the world thinks. We must take the eternal view, the divine perspective. I am a minister of a small church in a mostly rural area of Texas; and I have been here but a short time. You may be in a position that seems insignificant and unlikely to change the world. Yet, with our prayers, with the opportunities God gives us, with our conversations and our influence, with this little blog, with whatever resources God gives us, we can carry on and take up the torch that has been passed to us by great men and women of faith. And our churches can explode. And our communities can be renewed. Recently, our congregation sang that old gospel hymn, "Revive us again." I think of the words of the prophet who pleaded with God to "revive thy work in the midst of the years." Dr. Kennedy spoke of reclaiming America for Christ. Maybe that doesn't mean the same thing to you that it meant to him; but one thing is clear. Dr. Kennedy never gave up on revival. Neither should we.

Philemon; September 4-10, Year C:

This letter was written by Paul to Philemon, a native of Colossae. It was not ecclesiastical or doctrinal in nature, but simply a letter to a friend--thereby making it a unique treasure among the epistles. Paul sends greetings to Philemon's wife and family, even referring to the slaves. This is a rare look into the private lives and correspondence of Paul and the early Christian church. Paul expresses his love and thanksgiving for Philemon. Paul expects soon to be set free from prison and to visit Colossae. We do not know whether these expectations were actually realized. Paul finds himself in the role of a gentleman respecting a friend. He could have commanded that certain things be done by virtue of his apostolic authority; but he did not do that. Paul could even have acted to keep Onesimus, the runaway slave who is the primary subject of this letter; but he did not do that. Onesimus could have been of great use and comfort to Paul during his imprisonment; but Paul respected the situation of his friend, Onesimus. He chooses to make an appeal to Onesimus, based on love. He respects the legal rights of Onesimus, his friend and fellow Christian. This is a request from one dedicated Christian to another. The position of the latter was quite vulnerable at the moment. This was not an apostolic command, but an appeal, based on Christian service. Paul is a Christian gentleman who respects the laws of his day. He seeks action by Philemon in harmony with the Christian position on slavery. Onesimus, the runaway slave, is now a changed man. He too has become a Christian. So Philemon is urged to receive Onesimus not as a slave--even less as a runaway slave--but as a brother in the Lord. This gives us some great insight into the basis of our relationships with other Christians. We need to be careful how we try to make our influence for Christ felt in our communities, churches, and the world at large. The gospel is Christ-centered. It's more than just theoretical ideas about the rights of man. It is also based on Scripture, not just the authority of our own opinions. Paul makes no request that Philemon set Onesimus free. He does make an appeal to Philemon, based on the transformation and conversion of one who had broken the law. Based on his friendships with Philemon and now with Onesimus, Paul indicates clearly what he expects and hopes will happen. This is not a protest letter; but it is an appeal to Christian integrity. We don't know how all this turned out. Certainly, we have no warrant from this letter to think that Paul or the church of his day approved or ignored the wrongs of that culture. We should, however, ponder several meaningful insights as to how Paul and the early church dealt most effectively with the institutions of their day. We can learn a lot from studying the context out of which the early church sought to bear its witness. In our day, Christians can come together as individuals and are free to make their views known. As we do this, however, we must realize that even among Christians, viewpoints will differ. We must speak our truth and express our understanding of Scripture with integrity, but also in love and patience and forbearance, genuinely seeking to show respect and appreciation of other Christians who have opposing views. We also have to try to discern when it is helpful or necessary to respect the institutions of our day and when it is necessary to reject and even confront those institutions and certain elements of our culture. These are not issues that can always be easily resolved. It is vital that we consider these issues with a balanced perspective, remembering that Paul was a true gentleman as he worked his way through the mine field of conflict with the culture of his day.

Appalachian State, and Other Sports Notables

"It's football time in Tennessee," as John Ward used to say. I was pleased to hear the current Tennessee announcer keep that phrase alive the other night at the beginning of the broadcast of the Tennessee--California game, even though Tennessee lost the game! And it's football time everywhere else, too--especially in Boone, North Carolina! The folks in Ann Arbor, Michigan, probably had never heard of Boone, North Carolina a few days ago; but they have now! Appalachian State, the defending Division I-AA champion in college football, went up to Ann Arbor and came away Saturday with perhaps the biggest upset in college football history! Michigan had been touted as the probable Big Ten champion for 2007 by a lot of folks, and a likely contender for the BCS national championship. But Appalachian State stayed with the Michigan guys stride for stride throughout the first half, and then pulled away to an eleven-point lead before Michigan threatened to shatter the dream. Michigan scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter which made the score 31--26 in favor of the Mountaineers. Michigan went for two points and missed. But with under two minutes to go, Michigan scored another touchdown to pull ahead 32--31. They went for the two-point conversion again, but again, failed to make it. With just over a minute to go, Appalachian got the ball again, but with no time-outs left. Still, they drove down the field, and kicked a field goal. Michigan had one more shot, but had their attempt at a game-winning field goal blocked. And Appalachian State won the game 34--32! This was a football fairytale ending, if ever there was one! Of course, Division I-AA teams have beaten the bigger schools before; but never has a Division I-AA team defeated such a highly-ranked major college football power. I've heard the last few seconds of the play-by-play from the Boone, North Carolina, radio station! It was great; but just like the Boise State win over Oklahoma, I'd love to have the whole thing on cassette or at least hear a recording or see it on ESPN Classic! The kids in Boone tore their own goal post down and carried it to the chancelor's house after the game! What a great thing for college football! You gotta love it, if you're a real fan of the game! ******** I heard today that this will be the last year that the Braves will be telecast on WTBS, in the form we've come to know. (I guess that means they'll still carry some Braves games in the future, but not as Braves announcers, or in the present format. So 31 years of Braves fun on the "super station" come to an end. That's kind of sad for a lot of us who live outside the Atlanta area. Some of the changes that have come about in media coverage of major league baseball teams in recent years have not been good for the fans or the game! I may have more to say about this in later blog entries.