Josh Duggar, Kim Davis, and All Things Controversial

I’ll be the first to admit that I was devastated when public light was shed on Josh Duggar’s private sins involving the molestation of some of his sisters.  I grieved for his family, his wife, and the Church.  Sin always seems to be multiplied and magnified when a known Christian’s lack of perfection is revealed.

 However, I think it’s good for the world to see that we too make mistakes, occasionally lack good judgment, and are constantly in need of grace.  It hurt my heart to read of further criticism and scrutiny heaped upon the Duggar’s once the entire country was slammed with the ‘Ashley Madison’ leak.  It was estimated that over 400 pastors and ministry staff members would resign as a result of being found on this forsaken list. 

I get it, the Duggar’s have been splayed out on national television for years now and regardless of what happens off camera, the family is viewed as a well-rounded, Christian home. Yet for some reason “Christian” in our culture means that when you make a mistake, make someone uncomfortable, or stand for what you know to be right-you are immediately a target for criticism, judgment, and are inherently wrong. 

Over the past decade or so I have watched our nation shift from being one nation under God to a nation that desires anything but God.  When studying God’s characteristics in His Word, you will see that He is loving, but he is also just.  He is the Righteous Judge and the Redeemer.  He is the God who sees us and knows us.  Guys, God knows us and loves us anyway. 

There is redemption for Josh Duggar and there is redemption for all of us who fall short of His glory on a daily basis.  That’s right, we all mess up; Josh Duggar’s mistakes just so happened to be aired on national television…and I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful that my sins have been cast as far as the east is from the west. 

Aaron and Melissa Klein of Oregon caused quite the uproar when they refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. As a result of the Klein’s stand, people spent the following days pondering if Jesus would bake the cake.  Well to be honest I do not know the answer to that.  We know that Jesus spent a good chunk of his time with the lowest of the low-including tax collectors, thieves, scandalous women, and liars.  BUT he never approved of their forbidden choices.

 What does this mean for Kim Davis?  Should she be a hero to the Christian world for taking a stand against what she knows is not God-ordained?  Should going against the law of the land or going against her own convictions be of greater value?  As the media blasts Davis and her refusal to sign off on gay marriage, I do not envy her predicament.  Davis could not justify condoning gay marriage even if it meant jail time and the potential loss of her job. 

What are we trying to prove here?  From a Biblical worldview, we can solidly say that homosexuality is wrong-that it is a sin.  Does that mean that Christians do not sin?  No, no, and no.  Pursing Christ is a process and none of us have ‘arrived’. All Christians, even the Duggar’s, the Klein’s, and Kim Davis are constantly in need of forgiveness and grace.  However, as believers we are instructed to ‘hate what is evil and cling to what is good’ and that is what I hope we do-no matter the cost.  

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Instrument of Thy Peace

St. Francis of Assisi

Jesus, We Are Broken: A Much Overdue Reflection on my Brief Return to Uganda.

In Fall of 2011 I had the privilege of a lifetime.  God, in all His greatness, worked it out for me to spend the first semester of my senior year of college in Mukono, Uganda.   While my love for Africa was first sparked years prior to this adventure, my time in Mukono ignited a joy deep in my heart. 

As anyone would expect, a semester in a different context changes you.  Uganda scarred me in more ways than I can explain.  I travelled to that beautiful country with great dreams and expectations of how I was going to change the world, but Uganda shattered all of that.  Instead, Uganda taught me the value of presence, people, and reconciliation.  I quickly realized that Africa didn’t need me, but oh, how I needed Africa. 

In all honesty, I was hesitant to return to Uganda.  I loved the time I had there previously and feared that returning to a place that I loved so deeply would only result in discontentment when I returned to the States.  Surprisingly, our 10 day trip to Uganda resulted in anything but discontentment.  It was still just as hard and disappointing to leave the country that I love, but lessons were still learned. 

It’s funny how God teaches us sometimes.  The biggest lesson from my return to Uganda did not come in the form of some glorious revelation, but through a toddler.  Good Shepherd’s Fold, the orphanage that we worked with, is home to children of all ages.  While our team was there, we were welcomed in any of the children’s homes during our free time-so any time I was free you were most likely to find me in the baby house (shocking, I know). 

On one of our last mornings at GSF I made my way down to the baby house, took off my shoes, and sat on the floor to spend my morning playing with a handful of the little guys that had stolen my heart.   One little man kept bringing me a small plastic egg.  He would run up to me with one piece of the egg in each hand saying “mommy it is broken!”.  I would put it back together for him over and over and over again.  He found so much joy in the restoration of that egg….and that was it.  That’s when everything clicked. 

We enter into 3^rd world countries as arrogant Americans thinking that we have it all together…that we can fix anything for these people….that these poor people need our help; that we can be their saving grace, but the reality is: We. Are. Broken.  All of us.  And broken people cannot fix other broken people, but God can. 

Jesus, we are broken. 

Parenthood: Preparing is Greater Than Protecting

Like many little girls do, I started picking out baby names at a young age.  One of the names that has stuck with me as I’ve gotten a little bit older is Corban.  Children are often described as a gift from above, but this 'gift' comes with a tremendous responsibility. In the Bible corban is not a name, but a word describing something that is dedicated to the Lord or set apart for His use.   What better description is there for a child of godly parents than one dedicated to the Lord and set apart for Him? You see, we've gotten it wrong, children are indeed a gift, but this gift is not for us to keep.  

While children are a gift from the Lord and parents are blessed with the responsibility of training them up in the way they should go, we have somehow lost sight of the overarching goal.  We more often than not become so consumed with keeping this gift of the Lord to ourselves that we miss out on the greatest task of parenting: preparing them for service. 

I’ve witnessed many baby dedications in my day in which the parents and child stand before the Church and commit to raise their child in a God-honoring way with the Church’s support. Have you truly committed your child to the Lord?  What if that commitment means doing hard things? What if that commitment means allowing your child to face hard things without you there to protect them? 

Parenting is about so much more than protecting your child from the world; parenting is about preparing your child to be a servant of the Lord and a light in this dark world.   Preparing calls for risk. Preparing requires trust and obedience. 

Children are a gift and being entrusted with the task of raising this part of God's creation is a high calling.

Love your child, for he belongs to the Lord.  Prepare your child, for he is set apart for the Lord's use. 

Preparing>Protecting

Why Being a "Good Guy" Isn't Enough

I never know what to call my friends that happen to be males…Guy friends? Man friends? Anyways, several months ago one of the guys that I hang out with that really is  just a friend, offered a small revelation: boys are dumb. That’s right, a male told me that boys are dumb.  How can he be so unforgiving toward his own gender? 

He can offer such an ungracious speech because he is correct. Boys are dumb.  Now that we have that established, before I proceed, allow me to defend my guy friend by explaining that he finished his remark by saying “but girls are stupid”.  Again, the guy friend is correct.  In fact, he couldn’t be more right.

Boys are dumb and girls are stupid (not to mention needy, emotional, ridiculous, and occasionally anti-committal).  Don’t worry, this isn’t about dogging the female population either-this one’s for the guys. 

So fellahs, why the random rant?  Because I feel bad for the “good guys” that just can’t seem to win. Good guys don’t win because being a good guy isn’t enough.  Sure, the world has expectations for who you should be, but is that who you are when no one else is around?  Don’t just be a “good guy”-be a man of integrity. The world can promise you limited and fleeting success, but a man of bold conviction stands forever. 

Down here in the South, these good guys are often referred to as good ole’ boys….the problem with these “good ole’ boys” is that they never become men.  We’ve got a bunch of 20 and 30-somethings that are great at having fun and hanging out and are even glad to lend a helping hand to those stuck out in a ditch somewhere, but somewhere along the way we lost the real men….men of principles, men with self control, men pursuing their God-given purpose.

Boys are dumb, but men have integrity-men are bold.

Men are intentional. 

Boys are dumb, so be a man. Intentionally be a man.

Good guys are a dime a dozen, but a man…now that’s something worth striving to become.

Teachable Moments

If anyone would have told me 4 years ago that I would be doing Children’s ministry as a 24-year-old I would have laughed in their face.  While it has been an unexpected twist in life’s journey, I have learned oh so much in a very short amount of time.  Kids are smart and resourceful-we just need to use that power and energy for the good.  Every waking moment with a child is an incredible opportunity to plant seeds of truth within his or her heart.  Kids ask questions. A LOT of questions. Those questions lead to great, meaningful, Truth-imparting discussions.

Just last Sunday as I sat in worship with one of our kiddos the following conversation took place:

               Child: “Wesley, why do you have so much stuff underlined in your Bible?”

               Me: “Those are different scriptures that have challenged and changed me.”

               Child: “Can I underline a verse that changed me?”

I couldn’t say ‘no’ to a question like that.  The child flipped to his desired location in my Bible and when I looked back down to see what verse he chose, my heart almost melted at seeing his green markings. 

 God's Word changes us; Sunday morning reminded me of that. Adults and children alike, the Word of God is living and active in our hearts.  I encourage you, friends, parents, teachers, fellow ministers, to seize the teachable moments of our daily routine...sometimes it's the child (not us) that does the teaching.  

These Are My Confessions

Forgive us Father, for we have loved ourselves more than You and Your people.  We have attempted to take Your place and become god of our own lives. 

Forgive us Father, for we have been greedy and selfish with Your love; deeming others unworthy of receiving it.

Forgive us Father, for we have taken Your free gift of salvation and rested upon it rather than obediently going, loving, and sharing.

Forgive us Father, for we have abused Your grace like a dirty tissue.  We have twisted the freedom of forgiveness into some kind of magic eraser of sins.

Forgive us Father, for we have become frauds. We acknowledge You with our lips and deny You by our lifestyles.

Forgive us Father, for we have become so caught up in building our own kingdom that we have abandoned Yours.

Forgive us Father, for we have given You the silent treatment.  We completely ignore You while things are going our way.  Then in the face of stress we seek the comfort of worldly idols and friends rather than the True Comforter.

Forgive us Father, for we have stopped hiding Your Word in our hearts.  We have stopped caring about what You have to say about things and have focused on being “politically correct”.

Forgive us Father, for we have become a self-seeking, arrogant, hateful, judgmental, and self-righteous people. 

If We Are the Light of the World, Then Why is it So Dark?

 “You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl.  Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:14-16

God is calling us to a pretty big assignment here…to be a light.

Every time I read this passage or think of light in general, two things come to mind: Fireworks and bugs.  I remember being both terrified and fascinated by fireworks as a child.  They were so beautiful, but so big and loud.  Even if I was a great distance away from the explosions I could still see it’s brightness and hear it’s boom.  It’s hard to miss fireworks that are near even if you are trying to avoid them-after all, even if you can’t see them, you can still hear them.  They make quite the impact.

Bugs obviously have nothing to do with fireworks, but they do have this inclined nature to draw near to light.  June bugs, moths, those pesky little gnats….they swarm the nearest light.  The way these bugs are just drawn to light reminds me of exactly what God has called us to in the verses mentioned above. 

Our lives should reflect and honor Christ to the point of others seeing our lives and drawing near to Him as a result.  As Christians, God calls us to many things, but for me the most intimidating expectation of all is this calling of being a light.  To be lights we have to get uncomfortable-we have to place ourselves in humbling circumstances-we have to love on people that we would rather just not acknowledge. 

I recently moved back to Camden and took a position at the church that raised me in the Faith.  Being back in Camden has opened my eyes to how comfortable I have become in life and how apathetic I have become in reference to being a light.  If I am called to be a light of the world, then why is there a population of people I have hardly even encountered in my own town?

This was first brought to my attention one Saturday about a month ago when a group from my church hosted back yard Bible clubs at a couple of different projects (lower economic housing developments) in Camden.  For a small town, Camden has an obscene number of poverty stricken and struggling families.  As we spent the day loving on children and sharing what Christ has to offer, I realized what a tremendous disconnect I had with this group-not because we were different races, not because we were of different socioeconomic status, but because I had never been intentional with these people until that day-And even then I was simply there because our group decided to do so for the day. 

I began to wonder how different that Saturday would have been if I had already known names….if I had already know their life stories…if I had already known why D.J. lived with his older sister instead of a parent.  What if I was already present in their lives and had established relationships?

Is spending a Saturday every 3 months or so with this group really being a light?  If that’s being a light, then why is it so dark there?  Why is it so dark in my hometown if all this time I (and we) have been a light?  My heart longs to make a difference in this and to truly be light.  My prayer is that God would provide a way for that to happen.  Pray for openness- open doors, open hearts, perhaps an open apartment for me to able to move in to and to really be present and establish relationships.  Living there is hands-down the best way to have real interaction and point others to Christ.