So, You Wanna Go Back to Egypt?

 So, I just finished reading, "No Compromise." (A must read for those, like myself, whose lives have been influenced by Keith Green.) Written by his widow, Melody Green

I have loved Keith's music since I first discovered him in my teen years. The first song of his I remember hearing on the radio was, "Until Your Love Broke Through." They would play it on a late night Gospel music program I listened to. (Likely the Moody channel.)

I can't remember how, but I wound up with a mail-in form for a free copy of the album, "So, You Wanna Go Back to Egypt" (Is that a statement or a question?) Amazingly, the flyer said that I could have a copy mailed to me for free and I wouldn't even be solicited for donations. I mailed my order post haste! Sometime thereafter, I received my very own copy of this marvelous LP  in the mail.

Not only was the album great, but it included a booklet with spiritual lessons and little cartoon-like drawings directly pertaining to the songs on the album. One even included a caricature of Keith, asleep in front of his TV, for "Asleep in the Light."

This record swiftly became my favorite album. So many of the songs spoke so deeply to me about my relationship with my Savior and I eventually learned them all by heart. I fairly ran the needle through the vinyl. 

Years afterward, I bought the CD and it contained the same, best as I could tell, booklet inside. (Maybe some updates?) Yes, my album had long been gone with the wind. Too many moves; too many...moves.

Until recently, I didn't understand the cost to Keith, et al., in producing this marvelous album. As a teen I didn't understand and as an adult I just never considered. Sad, but true.

One day, a few months back, I was at work, listening to some Keith music through my cell phone speaker, when a lady walking past me suddenly stopped, backed up and asked if it was actually Keith I was listening to. I smiled and replied it was. We then had a short, but pleasant conversation about how we loved his music and what an influence on us as Christians he had been.

She inquired if I had read, "No Compromise." I replied I had not. She said that I really should. I said I would.

After finally completing this very interesting biography, I felt I knew Keith a little better. Even though I had seen at least one documentary on him, the book gave deeper and more lasting insight into the man, himself.

I have a couple or more takeaways from the book:

Keith was much as I imagined him. With a burning fire shut up in his bones. He did love Jesus and sinners. He was a real type A and tried to be the man who totally committed his life to Christ and the salvation of souls. He often struggled with his commitment and remembering to love his fellow Christians despite their commonly shared frailties. Though it sounds cliche, he was a comet! Burning bright for a moment across the sky.

I'll never forget hearing about his death. I had a cheap little transistor radio I kept in my barracks at Ft. Campbell and I was in the habit of listening to Paul Harvey during my chow time. He told that Kithe had died, along with two of his children, in the crash of a small plane. Only those details. I don't remember anything else. There was more news for Paul to cover.

Incidentally, it was years later before I understood who his children were and that his only son died with him. I also learned that an entire family of seven died with them. Horrible!

As years passed, I collected more of Keith's music, becoming thoroughly addicted to it. His music ranged from convicting to uplifting. He was always trying to teach me something. I only wish I had listened more.

I've often prayed and wondered why God would take Keith out of this world so soon. Not to mention his children and friends. I mean, he had so much potential and got so much right. I listen to hundred year old gas-bags on television who don't know the first thing about God and are dedicated only to money and themselves. Keith was sold out to God! His songs stay in my head like spiritual ear-worms. Prodding me toward righteousness. (Oh, how I have kicked against the "pricks"!

His words were personal. As someone said, "honest." They spoke to my own personal situation, trials and attitudes. In ways that much of traditional music, not all, doesn't. I often felt like he had been peeking through my window. And I was busted! Yikes! (Importantly, Melody wrote some of his best songs.)

So, why him? Why are so many out there lying and seeking to steal, kill and destroy when this young man was a sincere seeker of the truth?

I know that people of all ages die and there's often no seeming reason or rhyme. We just die. God makes the sun and the rain fall on the just and the unjust. I know all of that. But why Keith? 

I've often wondered, why am I still here? (Another blog, perhaps?)

There are no satisfactory answers to such questions. Hopefully, we learn through such tragedies to trust God. (Isn't it all about trust?) There is no other way to learn to do so. Keith even believed he should be ever ready, along with his family, to face death at any time. He most definitely pledged his head to Heaven!

In reading, I learned some very interesting facts about Keith that speak to this question. He was a child of the hippie culture. He squeaked by the draft. He was too young and they ended it before he came of age. Joining the military seemed to be something he had no interest in doing. He was only interested in his music career.

Being the California hippie that he was, frankly, he did do a lot of drugs. A lot of drugs. I mean a lot of drugs! How many people have overdosed or been at the wrong place at the wrong time and they didn't survive their poor choices? He, like the silly of his generation, was often looking for God and enlightenment through mind-altering drugs. Doesn't really seem like any of them found Him that way. Imagine that!

He spent time with many people in ways that he was to young, ignorant and "hip" to recognize as potentially very dangerous. This lifestyle brought many to an early demise. Gladly, not Keith.

This thinking brought me to the realization that we actually had Keith longer than we should have. By all rights, he should've been dead even before he found the Lord. I'm sure he often thought that God brought him out the other end for a purpose. (My father believed he was spared numerous near deaths during the war for a reason.) So many don't survive. I'm glad Keith did.

I also decided that Keith was, for some time at least, three steps away from being a cult leader. He was handsome, charismatic, talented, amiable, loquacious and brilliant. He even spent some time in the canyons of the California desert in, what amounted to, communes. Yes, they were Christians, but it was definitely strongly influenced, again, by the hippie culture of the late sixties and early seventies. (Much of this was happening when Manson was living with his "family" at Spahn Ranch in California.

Even when he gave his life to the Lord, he never unlearned many of the hippie habits he had developed. It was not uncommon for he and wife Melody to hitchhike to places or pick up hitchhikers spending the entire time talking about Jesus. (Bob Dylan, during his Christian "phase" would often do the latter.)

He took in many troubled teens, derelicts off the street, addicts, pregnant, husbandless women and more. Musician friends, et al., would stay all night making music and talking about God finally crashing on the floor or couch. He even had to rent/purchase homes to make room for those he and his wife took in to keep.

So much of that could've gone wrong. So many opportunities for sin and tragedy. Thankfully, his sincere dedication to his Savior kept the peace.

Which leads me to another observation: Keith was very involved in various ministries. He worked closely with several youth ministries and even experienced one interesting and, to me, befuddling episode at Oral Roberts University. Also, he and others set up what amounted to food pantries for Mexicans and he invested much time and money into a hospital ship operated by a missionary friend to help spread the Gospel around the world. He not only worked relentlessly in his own ministry, but with others he gave his time, energy and money.

There was a passing mention of a couple of local congregations with which he worked. Though he sung at many churches, most everything he did was with these independent ministries that functioned, so to speak, extra-congregational.

As I read, I would reflect about the many "ministries" I am familiar with who act independently. Seeking to save the world. I think to myself, "What if they worked through a local congregation?" Sadly, none of them would want to be saddled with such a, to their mind, hindrance. 

I recall the words of one wise man, or, at least a man who was once wise, or wise once, who said, tongue-in-cheek, "I'm going to start my own church with my own sound doctrine." Sadly, many have.

Had Keith survived into his, now, seventies, would we be dealing with, I don't know, "Greenites"? (We might yet.) Would he have started a college that they would've named after him? Would he have followed the path he planned that lead to international organization? Would that path had lead him away from his first love? Would it have been the ruination of him? Even Keith?

I was taken aback when Keith's ordination was mentioned in passing. While no one could question the man's brilliance and dedication and, yes, he put much living into his two and a half decades, but, honestly, he wasn't much more than a novice himself. He needed pastoring!

Keith spent much time seeking a father. His parents were Jewish heritage, but practicing "Christian Science." I don't know if they ever understood or accepted the Gospel. His "Song to My Parents" is his plea for them to truly turn to Christ. 

He had some men in his life, at least one his age, who were his mentors. Godly men who wanted to see him do what God wanted. He was fortunate for that. But their view of the Church, the Bride of Christ, was subject to the Zeit Geist of today's mal-informed Christianity. In other words, whatever you do, of your own free will and accord, is the "church." They could not see the value of God's local congregation. I suppose their dreams were, er, bigger than that?

So, they, like Keith, started their own ministries and worked tirelessly to feed and clothe the hungry, house the homeless and win the lost to Christ. Alas, as with all "personal ministries," eventually, it becomes less about the ministry and more about the minister.

Yet, through it all, he loved his Savior. He wanted to please Him in spite of his frailties. I believe that God blesses those who sincerely try to please Him, even though they may err in their way. (Me being case in point.)

In the final analysis, God used this young man and young Christian to spread the Gospel and inspire young, foolish Christians, like myself, to greater heights of glory and more personal dedication to Him. (Again, I only wish I had listened better.)

On a personal note, Keith probably would've had some strong words concerning my lifelong inconsistencies regarding my commitment to our Savior. 

But I think he would've liked my questions! 

Holy Nehushtan!

We, as Christians, don't always see the forest for the trees. We are easily bewildered and habitually forgetful. We spend our lives both blessed and cursed and too often confuse the sources of both.

 "God sends rain to fall on the just and the unjust." Matthew 5.45 (paraphrased)

Yes, we even confuse cause with effect. Good things happen; bad things happen. We know we should be grateful to God for His goodness, but, historically, we haven't always thanked Him. Sometimes we give credit for our blessings to the wrong person...or thing. We forget that even though that thing is designed and/or sent by God, it is not God. Had we been paying better attention, we surely would have noticed the difference.

Most are familiar with at least some of the Old Testament stories of the Israelites sojourning with Moses in the wilderness. They always seemed to struggle with their faithfulness to God and, so to speak, keeping their eyes on the prize.

On one of the more famous occasions recorded in the book of Numbers, the children of Israel were doing what they did best: grumbling and complaining! Well, the Lord God, shall we say, got his bellyful. He went so far as to send a swarm of fiery serpents, biting their way through the midst of the camp. These vicious vipers bit many, many of them and many, many of them died.

And, as they were dying in their numbers, they, of course, despaired, crying***** out to Moses for help. I at least give them credit for having the good sense to turn to one who, in turn, turned to God. Moses then prayed for his people.

God gave Moses an interesting, even cryptically prophetic remedy. He told Moses to make a serpent of brass, one that resembled the others, but wasn't one of them, put it on a pole in the midst of the camp and tell the people that if those who were bitten would merely look at this "brazen serpent," they would live. Simple enough! Well, people being what they are,  some looked and lived, but some refused. Those who followed the Lord's command of merely looking were healed of their wounds and lived to tell the tale. The others? Well...

Incidentally, it's probably best for another blog, but much could be said about the fact that the brazen serpent on the pole was similar to the biting serpents on the ground, but was not one of them. Why did God order Moses to make a serpent of brass? Why did he not just have him choose one of the fiery serpents? Why hang it on a pole? Who made the serpent? Who made the pole? Why so many questions?

Fastforward a thousand years or so. Many leaders and kings of Israel had come and gone. Hezekiah, a particularly good king and a direct descendent of David, now sat on the throne in Jerusalem.  The Bible says there was "none like him." (II Kings 18.) He followed God faithfully and destroyed the "high places" and groves of pagan worship throughout all of Judah.  He even broke into pieces something called Nehushtan!

The Israelites, as they were wont to do, (as are we,) had long before confused the cause and effect of their miraculous deliverance from the legendary "fiery serpents." The brazen serpent, created by God's command, had become so much more than a family heirloom for Israel over the centuries. It had become a thing of reverence and awe. The people had even begun to burn incense to it.

I can only imagine the old Hebrews telling stories to their children and their children's children about how the "fiery serpents" had invaded their camp and that those who looked upon the brazen serpent were healed and lived! It must have been exciting for the young ones as they too looked upon the serpent. They were surely filled with wonderment and awe, listening to the stories grandpa told them about this snaky creation. I can easily imagine how the story might have evolved over the centuries, inflating the brass thing's power.  I'm sure it's supposed vigor would be even more exaggerated if the one relating this drama somehow managed to forget to mention that it was the Lord God who not only sent the deadly serpents into the camp, but instructed Moses to create the one which they held in such admiration.

Yes, it's a rare man indeed who can repeat an even already interesting story without embellishment, exaggeration, hyperbole or, even for some, downright lying. It's not hard to understand someone wanting to be known as the best story teller even if the story isn't exactly, shall we say, accurate. Imagine the old men falling to the siren song of the "ooh's" and "ah's" and wide-eyed attention of an enraptured audience.  Sounds like a few, a lot, of preachers I know these days.

Yes, whether on purpose or by accident, it's so easy to see how the crux of this seminal event could be lost with the waxing and waning moon over the centuries. Since they had not been heedful of God and His commands, not to mention His mercy, they had forgotten that this was done so not all stiff-necked Israel would die that day!

It's easy to see how, when looking for something to blame or thank, people often default to what they can actually see. People form entire religions out of worshiping stars, trees, mountains and any number of other observable, awe-inspiring objects of nature in their search for life's elusive meaning.

Yes, the serpent was made by God's design at God's command, but it was only an instrument made by a man that was intended for the blessing of God's people. It was not a living, breathing god itself. It was merely a brass thing!

That's why Hezekiah called it "Nehushtan." It was an insult, a term of derision and, frankly, a proper assessment.

"Nehushtan" means a thing of brass. This good king was making the point that this lifeless serpent was neither deity nor holy and was nothing that should have incense burned to it. He then proved his point by breaking it into pieces. So much for the power of Nehushtan. Oh, yes, Hezekiah was literally an iconoclast.

Fastforward to today. So much of what we have incorporated into our services, rituals, programs and more, stuff that was prayerfully intended for the good of God's people and salvation of souls, have taken on a life of their own. There is nothing inherently wrong with programs. They give us useful ways to organize and avoid the chaos into which we so easily slip. Yet, we find ourselves needing more people to run more programs to enable us to have more programs so people can run these programs so we can start new programs. I always laugh, on the rare occasion I attend a local Associational Meeting, when I hear them discussing the "Committee on Committees." It's the circle of life!

The Holy Bible, the inestimable gift of God to man, a book which contains so much that is edifying and strengthening, so much instruction for believers, a history of God's saints and the tenets of God's plan, has become, for all too many, a thing to worship. Even it has become Nehushtan!

Do you doubt me? How many times, in any given sermon, will a preacher refer to the Bible as "The Word of God"? How many times have you heard preachers, et al., say that this book "contains all we need to know about God"? How many times have you heard preachers say that this book "contains the mind of God"?

They back-peddle and side-step and talk out of both sides of their mouths claiming they don't mean it that way, (whatever way they think they mean it,) but their words speak louder than words. If they spoke of a man the same way they speak of this, albeit, holy book, they would be accused of worshiping the one in discussion.

I suppose anything, if out of order, can become Nehushtan. The Jews worshiped traditions, the Torah and Jerusalem. We worship traditions, song books, buildings and more. (Some apparently worship Nashville.) We often think we are worshiping God, when, in actuality, we are only worshiping the things that pointed us to God.

Mom & Dad were great! Those old songs were awesome. Sunday School at ten and worship at eleven are wonderful. Sunday evening service can be special. Wednesday night service can be sweet. The KJV is surely given to we English speaking people by divine intervention. Still, none of those things are the things that paid the ultimate price for our salvation. They are all Nehushtan! They are no more than things made of wood and paper and brass! Good they may be, but they are obviously not the best!

I've seen far too many habits, (I won't even say traditions,) held onto with a death grip because they were handed down to us by mom & dad. Whether it's seating arrangements, order of service or old songs. Some just don't seem to care how many lost souls burn in Hell as long as they get to sing one more rendition of, "Mansion Over the Hilltop."

Our churches and families can also very, very, very easily become our Nehushtan. Too many times has it been heard in any given congregation, "That's the way we've always done it." Or perhaps, "That's the way mom & dad did it."

Now, those things may or may not be good. Those may even be the things and people who pointed us to Christ. Yet, they are not Christ! They are never to be the object of our worship.  And, by-the-way, don't say you don't worship a thing when you revere it as holy; don't say you don't worship a thing when you fight with and abandon your friends over their objections to it; don't say you don't worship a thing when it takes pre-eminence even over the salvation of lost souls.

We remember our deceased loved ones, as we should, but we set them so high on a pedestal as to turn them, at least in our eyes, into holy things. We treat the memory of mom & dad and family members with the utmost care and reverence, remembering exactly which pew that sat in at church. Yes, sometimes there's even a bronze  plaque.

We take good care of our bodies. We feed, bathe and clothe ourselves in the finest raiment we can afford. (Some of us, yes, even go so far as to burn incense to ourselves.) And when we die, we preserve our remains as best we can, covered within the bosom of Mother Earth, having a marble monument to ourselves placed above our heads. Furthermore, we expect this body, that we frankly worshipped, to somehow reincorporate itself at the return of our Savior and rise to spend an eternity in Heaven "walking on streets of gold."

We are blessed with so much that God gives us as He seeks to lead us to His Saving Grace. Whether it be signs, books, friends, family members or buildings, none of these should be the first object of our effection. These are only the trappings of our faith.

Don't get me wrong! I love miracles! I love good music! I love good sermons! Good services! Good friends! Good feelings! Yet, all of this is Nehushtan!

I once read a very popular book and  in it, the author was continually trying to make the point that we are to seek God's face and not just His hands. Though the point was excellent, I wondered if the man had ever actually read his own book. He incessantly related anecdotes about exploding pulpits and people falling down under the influence, allegedly, of the Holy Ghost. The author seemed caught in his own trap. He couldn't seem to realize that the thing he was talking about avoiding was the very thing in which he was ensconced.

Everything the man seemed to say, every story, concerned things and events that surrounded supposedly committed believers. It was real miracle-a-day stuff. The problem? It was all just about the stuff! It was the trappings and surroundings and excitement and miracles of the Bible and Christianity. It seemed to have little to do with the Gospel and the One who died for me.

It usually works that way. We, as the Jews of old, have no intention of letting our affection slip from the One who deserves it to someone or something else. It just happens when we don't pay attention. Much like a man with wandering eyes who stops paying attention to the one he loves because another has captured his attention.

We forget that God is a jealous God and that He desires all of our attention and affections for Himself. Since He gave everything for us, it seems only fair that we would requite His love.

Even the cross is no more than wood. The nails only iron. The tomb a hollow place in a rock. All are wonderful and meaningful, but all these too are just so much stuff!

I haven't thought this entirely through. I'm treading on thin ice, but I'll keep walking out until it breaks. (I'll sink, swim or the Lord will lift me up, I suppose.) Somehow, it seems to me we even worship the man Jesus over the eternal Christ. Many make the man Holy to the point of making Him a part of the Trinity as opposed to God in the flesh of a babe born in a barn. Not a few forget that His flesh was truly flesh. Yes, He was God in the flesh, but in the final analysis, Jesus was just a man. He was like me. He sweated, thirsted, ached, grew tired and suffered from every bodily function and malady that I do. He would have been no more than any other man had He not embodied the indwelling of Jehovah. Is it possible that we can even make Jesus Nehushtan?

He was a source of worship for many, (though He always pointed to His Father,) as was Nehushtan. (John 5.30) He was broken in pieces, by a King unlike any other, as was Nehushtan. (Isaiah 53.10) He even broke the bread at the Last Supper and referred to it as His Body. (Matthew 26.6) The parallels are obvious. Alas, they are opaque and, sometimes, esoteric. It's something I'll be praying about for a long time to come.

I suppose the lesson here is that everything is Nehushtan! Everything but Christ, at least. All must be broken and torn down for the Word of God that became flesh. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

All Glory and holiness to Him!

Even More Ways to Spot a Fundamentalist

1. They believe there was no Bible before 1611

2. They have an enormous chip on their shoulder

3. They believe the King James Bible is the "Mind of Christ."

4. They will say the Bible warns against changing the words of the Bible, then they'll change those words, but say they are right to do so.

5. They worship Jesus, not Jesus Christ!

6. They think Jesus existed in Heaven before the manger.

7. They think God, (they don't think about Christ,) is more loyal to Israel than to His Church/Bride.

8. They can't find the Bride of Christ in the Bible.

9. They don't really believe in the Bride of Christ.

10. They think Jesus is God.

Remember, not all of these apply in every case, but only act as flags to point toward these aabrasive people.

Here Comes the Bride!

There is, sad to say, much confusion these days, as there has been for, well, probably the last century at least, concerning Biblical ecclesiology. Especially in my lifetime, the past fifty plus years, it has only waxed worse. Even the SBC itself has become embroiled in this bewilderment, spurned on by Fundamentalists who have persistently increased their stranglehold on a denomination that once believed in not only the security of the believer, but also the priesthood of the believer.

So much of the confusion has come from a basic misunderstanding of who we are. If you don’t know who you are, nothing else can fit into place. Like my dad used to say to me, “Remember whose child you are.”


Not saying whether they are right or wrong, but I have heard many, many stories of adopted children, upon reaching adulthood, setting out to find their natural parents. I too have spent much time researching my family’s genealogy. The desire to know where we came from seems to be an innate characteristic of human kind.


Ergo, there has been much confusion about even our very relationship to God. Furthermore, much confusion about our relationship to our Savior. (Not that the two are different, although they are, but that’s another blog.)


Fundamentalists avoid the term “Bride” like the plague! (Name rather than term.) Preferring to use the word “church” almost exclusively. “Church” has become, even at that, interchangeable with “religion.” (Thank you Thomas Jefferson!) “Church” has been applied to everything from Hinduism, Muslimism, Christianity and even the “Church of Satan.”


Now, what could be worse than that? Only one thing I can think of. The misuse, brought on by the misunderstanding, of the word “church” by the very ones who once claimed to be the very “Church of Christ.” (Remember Missionary Baptists?) Many, sadly, especially, specifically, Baptists, have forgotten what the word “church” means. Baptists not only stand guilty of misinterpretation, but of propagating this repugnant misnomer.


Furthermore, any scholar can tell you the Greek word ecclesia is the precise word from which we get “church.” They’ll further explain that the very word means “congregation.” Strangely, many will go on to say that it means both “universal” and “local” seeing no contradiction whatsoever in their polar opposite uses of the word. Now, at best, we may only have a shadow of the mystery of Christ’s Church, but even a poor mathematician like myself knows one plus one equals two.


Much of the confusion seems to come, of course, from our own prejudices, but also from the fact that we ignore what the Bible itself says about the matter. As one preacher I know said, “The Bible is its own best dictionary.” Much of our, (by “our,” I mean, “their,”) misunderstanding comes from clinging to what we were taught by mom & dad, our church or what we learned in our initial walk with God. (Somehow, we think we got it right on the first try.) We cling to our prejudices and preconceptions like a dog bothering a bone!


Peradventure, we walked into a wedding ceremony. Wouldn’t it be easy enough to spot the bride and groom? Aren’t they the ones, holding hands, making promises and standing before the minister? Aren’t they the ones all dressed up as if they are getting married? If we’re unsure, can’t we ask a friend to identify them for us?


Rev 21:9…Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.


The problem for many is, they have their own ideas about the wedding couple and, even when the Scriptures explicitly identify them, they argue, “Oh, no, that’s not them! They don’t look like I was taught to believe they should look.” Even though a mutual friend may point out the two, we still can’t see them when we have our eyes closed.


How can you know the Bride if you don’t even recognize the Groom? How can you know the Groom if you don’t even recognize the Bride? It’s a conundrum! (Though it should not be.)
So, what does the Holy Bible say about who the Bride is? To begin, let’s ask who the Groom is.


Matthew 9:15
And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.


It seems apparent, probably no Christian would argue, that Christ is the Groom. “Christianity 101.” Doesn’t seem complicated.


To continue, if there is a Groom, is He married? (Should be simple, but, oddly enough, some disagreement here.) Yes, but what does the Scripture say?


Romans 7:4
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.


Mysteriously, the Scripture says we are “married” to Him and each other. Not to oversimplify, but if we recognize the Church is one body, to me that illuminates this apparent ambiguity. (I love oxymorons!)


To continue, who is the Bride? “Who” being the operative word here, as opposed to “what.” This is where things always seem to get sticky!


Revelation 21:
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.


9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
If I told you of the beauty of my bride and said, she was as clear as sunshine and tall like the trees and fresh as a cool mountain spring, would you think her to be a forest? If I introduced her to you, would you see only the description and not the person? What if I had a friend introduce you to her? Would that help?


Shamefully, Fundamentalists, et al., have stubbornly interpreted, professed and proclaimed that the very city in the book of Revelation is an actual, literal city. It matters not one iota to them that the angel actually calls this the “Lamb’s wife.” They cling with a death grip to their teaching that this is some literal city that will one day miraculously drop on top of Jerusalem. To what purpose, I cannot say. I can only imagine they have some twisted desire to sit and gloat over the millions of souls going to Hell around them for a thousand years. Sheesh!


How many times have we used the “streets of gold” and “gates of pearl” as descriptions of Heaven? It pains me to say it, but I have fallen into that trap myself.


So much of the analysis of Scripture can be argued and it is possible to have two different viewpoints on the same scripture and both interpretations be correct. (Remember, if it’s not wrong, it’s right.) Still, some Scripture is painfully obvious and self-defining. At least it is to those with open eyes and open minds.


The best rationalization for why Fundamentalists cling to this interpretation is one given by a particular preacher I know. (I have quoted him on many occasions.) He said, “It’s a Jim Dandy way to sell books about end time prophecy!”


Matthew 19:6
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.


Genesis 2:21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.


Genesis 2:24
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.


Scholars, (guys with books for sale,) credit Moses with Genesis 2:24, saying he inserted it to teach God’s lesson about marriage. Still, if you believe the Bible, you’d be sore pressed to say this statement was incorrect whatever the reason for its insertion at this point. Even our Lord quoted this Scripture in the Gospel. When a man and a woman marry, they become “one flesh”…one body.
Eve was made from Adam’s rib. She became his helpmeet. His mate. Eve came from him. She was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. Today, when a man and woman become “one flesh,” the offspring of that relationship is truly, literally, the two becoming one flesh!


John, et al., teach us that the Body of Christ is the Church. He taught that we are even Her children. (Mysterious, is it not?)


2 John 1:1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth


He taught us that it is Christ who sanctifies the Church and cleanses Her. He presents Her to Himself, a chaste, pure Bride. This is something she is incapable of doing Herself. He chose Her. She is His Elect!


Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.


More than one someone has asked if the Bible should be taken literally or metaphorically. One brilliant response given was that it should be taken seriously. Much of what the Holy Scriptures has to say, we try to moralize, allegorize, literalize or seek some other way of dealing with the puzzles that it has to offer us. Often, more than we can sometimes easily admit, it speaks plainly.


Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.


As surely as He is our Head, we are His Body. Christ had a body while He walked this earth. His body was filled with the Holy Ghost. He was resurrected and raised to Heaven. He left a Body behind, filled with the Holy Ghost, to do His work, greater works than He, works that He could no longer do. His Body is still “of His flesh, and of His bones.”


Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.


That Body is resurrected, married, filled with the Holy Ghost and pregnant with the life thereof! The Church of God, the Bride of Christ, is not a harlot who produces offspring with a Man to whom She is not married! She is no mere concubine, brought in for a one night stand, with no rights, privileges or rank and no Covenant with her Spouse. To quote my late Uncle Ulis, “If there has been no marriage ceremony, we are all bastards!”


Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.


Ben Franklin said, “You are what you read.” He has been paraphrased, and I think accurately, “You are what you eat.” Now, this would be consistent with the Holy Scripture’s teaching on what the Church eats and drinks. Someone else said, “Garbage in; garbage out.” We would well remember that, as Christians, what we take in is makes us what we are.


When we consume that “living bread,” we consume that which is not only healthy for us spiritually, but that which makes us part of Him. It becomes part of our DNA; part of our blood.


John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.


I Corinthians 10:17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.


We who take of the “Lord’s body” worthily, do so to our own health. If we do it in order, in His authority and that of His Bride, we become “one flesh” with Him and with His Congregation. Then, those who are of His will, shall be “added to the Church.”


Acts 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.


I Corinthians 11 is some of the most preached out of context Scripture in the Bible. It is normally treated as if Paul is merely meandering from subject to subject. These verses are generally treated as a suite, but should be treated as a segue.


I don’t mean to defame the Apostle’s name, but he and I do have one thing in common. We both often go around the barn to make a point, but we are definitely trying to make a point.


Paul spent this entire chapter discussing order in the family and order in the Church of God. The scripture contained therein referring to the Lord’s Supper is one of the favorites used by many pastors when having a Communion Service. In my opinion, which is what this blog is all about, it would behoove them to both read and preach this entire chapter or avoid it entirely. They certainly shouldn’t pull those few verses out that refer the “Lord's supper” and use them as nothing more than a club with which to bludgeon their congregation.


Our pastors tell their congregants to “examine themselves.” The listeners flee the pew and fill the alter. They then return to their pews, proudly believing, “Yeah, I’m alright with God now.” The truth of the matter is, they can’t make it back to their seats without sin creeping back into their hearts!
Fundamentalist pastors specialize in filling their parishioners with guilt and shame and fear. After all, we’re Baptists. Isn’t that what we do?


I Corinthians 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body


What of those who partake “unworthily“? A word about that: There have always been those who come to the Lord’s table, not for the Lord, but for what is on His table. Like a cat, rushing to its food bowl, never looking up to see from whence the food comes, but only burying its face selfishly in its meal.


They know not the Lord of Hosts! These are cowans and usurpers! Their desire is only to steal the birthright of the Children of Light! Those pretenders who care not for the Lord of the feast, but only for the feast. What is food to the Church of God is poison to all others. What is sustenance for the Bride is detriment to those unbidden.


Neither the King nor the Queen has invited them and, yes, therefore, they drink and eat “unworthily.” Only those summoned by the Bride and the Bridegroom are welcome at His table. One might even say, R.S.V.P.!


Is my table so different from my Lord’s? I don’t allow just anyone to walk through my door and sit at my table with my family. Do you?


No, not all are welcome at the Table of our Lord. Yet, the Children of His Bride are not only welcome, but also commanded to be present and partake. He did not merely suggest it; He expects it.
When my drill sergeant told me that whenever I do a particular thing, whatever that thing may have been, I should do it a certain way, he was expecting me to do as much. I knew an order when I heard one.


1 Corinthians 11:25
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me


“As oft as ye drink it…” A recommendation? A good idea? A proffering? It seems to me that when the Lord said these words, He expected us to do as much. In my mind, if the Lord expects something, that qualifies as a command.


He does not want His commands to be disregarded. He does not want Himself to be forgotten!
Of course, this begs the question: Do crackers and juice the Lord’s Supper make? In other words, is the presence of the furnishings of Communion and the performance of the ceremony all that is required of us? Most would say obviously not, but how many would still insist that the old, rotten, stinky, dried up, cold, lifeless, stale, habitual ceremony their church goes through, is somehow pleasing to God?


Isaiah 1:11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.


Churches go through this performance, thinking they are doing big business and supposing they are doing exactly what God wants. They do it in a haphazard way with no real thought or attention to the implements they use or the ritual itself. They do it on the cheap! Many even sink so low as to buy those musty prepackaged crackers and the cheapest grape juice they can find. After all, does it really matter? Isn’t it the thought that counts? As my father was fond of saying, “If any way will do, then no way will do just as well.”


If you stop and ponder, you may realize that on any given Sunday when this service is exercised in your church, the reason is simply because it is written into the church bylaws. Can you think of many things more repugnant than going through the motions of this precious ordinance of the Church of Christ than doing it simply because it is ON THE SCHEDULE!


Where is the love? Where is the passion? Where is the romance?


1 Samuel 15:22
And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.


I’m reminded of when Abraham and Isaac went to make sacrifice in the mountains of Moriah. We all know the story how Isaac, unbeknownst to him, was to be the sacrifice. At one point, he looked around himself, taking note of all that they had brought with them. He then said to his father, in so many words, “Father, we have everything for the sacrifice, but the sacrifice.”


Genesis 22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?


Sadly, we go through the motions and have all the implements of the Lord’s Supper, and, for that matter, worship in general, but we never ask ourselves, “Where is the sacrifice?” We do the things we think we’re supposed to do, but where is the offering? Where is the sacrifice? Frankly, there is only one sacrifice that will suffice. Something, or someone, has to die!


I imagine we will continue to argue and debate within and without concerning this matter, but it is His blood and His body and He gives it to whomever He chooses. All are invited, but not all are welcome!

"I Used To Be A Baptist"

How many times have I heard it? I heard it again the other night.

I was recently chatting with an acquaintance of mine and, in the course of our conversation, he said, "I used to be a Baptist." He continued that he now attended a Lutheran church and furthermore declared that there is "very little difference" between a Lutheran and a Baptist.

I once called a Mormon "800 number" and requested a free gift. (I was curious.) They asked if they could send someone to talk to me, which thrilled me to no end. After several trips to my home, they brought out the big-guns and were accompanied by a couple of guys who told me, "I used to be a Baptist." I wasn't impressed.

At a store where I once shopped, a Baptist lady worked there who had begun attending the local Catholic church. She said she was really enjoying it and recommend it. I suppose she could now say, "I used to be a Baptist."

I know at least a couple of guys who became Methodist ministers who "used to be Baptist." At least one left the Methodists and joined the Charismatic movement. He later began attending a Baptist church that left the Baptists and joined the Charismatics. Sheesh! (I suppose I need a chart at this point.) I don't think he had anything to do with that. I reckon that entire congregation could say, "I used to be a Baptist."

I have friend who says, "I used to be a Baptist." He is now attending a Pentecostal church. He was raised in a Baptist church, but for some reason I've yet to discern, left us for them.

It seems curious to me, but these people seem to wear their previous Baptist experience as a badge of honor. It sort of reminds me of the guy who kept his ex-wife's picture in his pocket so he could occasionally show it off to his pals. He just wanted to prove that he once could get a real girl, I imagine. You know, like bragging, "I used to be married to her."

I don't want to be overly abrasive, but it's just more of the same: people who believe that there is little or no difference between them and us. It's like believing there's little or no difference between cars, brands of ice cream, bosses or wives or women in general. It's absurd to presume they are all the same! My Dad used to remark about people like that, "Any old port in a storm."

God's Church is definitely not "any old port." Yet, it is a shelter in the time of storm. Those who don't want to be bothered with things like study and research to find the truth may land anywhere. Like a butterfly flitting about beautiful flowers only to ultimately light on a pile of poop.

Don't misunderstand, those who will be saved are among every congregation and in every denomination and religion. There is much grace after the cross. Still, we as Baptists should be proud of our heritage and not be so quick to shrug it off. Too much blood has been spilt and, perhaps will be again, to make the mortar that founded the Church of Christ for it to be so easily and flippantly cast aside as nothing more than, to put it indelicately, one of the Lord's concubines.

I really like what one preacher said about it. "Baptist is not a denomination; it's a way of life."

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

P.S. If you leave the Southern Baptists to join the independent Baptists, can you say, "I used to be a Baptist"?

The Woman Down the Street

I knew a man some years ago; I think it would be accurate to refer to him as a friend. Well, one day, he sort of announced to me that he was thinking of leaving his wife. It seems that he had been keeping company with a woman who lived down the street and had told his wife that he was moving in with the woman. Furthermore, he told his wife that if the new relationship didn't pan out, he would simply come back home.

Now that is the situation, more or less that was described to me. Admittedly, I think my major regret about the whole situation personally, is that I didn't confront my friend and tell him how out of line he was.

To continue the tale, the new relationship didn't work out, but there never was a return home to his wife. I guess you could say their relationship had been, shall we say, strained. "Surprise, surprise!"

He did find another woman, though, who would marry him. They have a relationship that has continued for some years and seem quite content and even have a number of offspring. His first wife also remarried, but the relationship with the new husband is, in my opinion, cold. The two seem to have fallen on hard times and the relationship appears to be in a downward spiral.

Now, you might say, "That is one of the craziest things I've ever heard!" I would agree. Still, I'm shocked, though not surprised, to see this scenario played out on a fairly regular basis. You say, "Really? Where?" Ever so sadly, I see it, as I saw this one, in a Baptist pulpit. This is where I see it over and over.

Yes, I confess, this was not literally a husband and wife, but a pastor and a congregation. It was my pastor and I sat dumbfounded on the third pew when he said that he was talking to another church, "with a view to a move." How opaque can you get? I didn't even understand what in the world that meant! He was saying that, although he was currently our pastor, he was being courted by, or was courting, another congregation. He just wanted to let us know publicly and that he might or might not be resigning. Sheesh!

Well, he did resign and take on the newer, ah-hem, larger church out of town, but his pastorate there was short-lived. He soon left, under what circumstances I don't know, returning to his home town. He soon accepted a call to another church and, interestingly enough, the church seems to be very busy and growing.

The previous church hired another young seminary graduate and since the several years he has been there, the congregation has sunk to about a quarter of what it was when he was hired. Deacons and long-time, active members have left. Still, his name does show up in our Associational Minutes on a regular basis heading up one or another county or out of county ministries. Hmmm.

So, what's my point? My point is that, from what I gather, especially among seminary educated preacher's, pastoring has become a vocation and not an avocation. They are being taught to hang on to a church until they have another to go to, no matter what the damage done to the congregation. Furthermore, they're taught that it's perfectly legitimate to court one church while pastoring another.

You may ask, "What are they supposed to do? Resign without knowing where they will go to next, if anywhere?" Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying.

My father, who was a well respected pastor and led many souls into the Kingdom, understood that when God says it's time to go, it's time to go. He was never fortunate enough to pastor full-time, so he always had to work a regular jog to feed four growing boys and what little money he received from a congregation would have been no more than supplemental at best. His philosophy was, stay until you do what God wants, then let the next pastor do the same. In other words, trust God. Pretty radical, I know.

My brother who is also a Baptist pastor and "tent-maker" as they call "part-time" pastors today, has received some questions from other preachers upon their learning that he had resigned one church without having another lined up. When he told them, "God said it was time to go," some would look at him as if he had two heads! (Incidentally, no good pastor is part-time, only his pay is part-time.)

I fear that our seminaries and colleges are graduating too many young men who are more interested in having a job that they think is an good alternative to physical labor or punching a clock and less about following God's will. We hold our pastors in high esteem for the sacrifices they make for God and their congregations, but upon closer examination many of their salaries, fringe benefits and retirement packages, some are not sacrificing so much.

I hope the parallel is clear that many pastors are treating their churches as a wives of convenience who are to support them until they find something they deem as a bigger, better deal. Pastors are, after a fashion, husbands to their congregations and, in my never to be humble opinion, flirting with another body is adultery in one of its ugliest forms. How can their be stability in the home or the local church when the leader has wandering eyes and a roving heart?

I've no doubt that most of these men have a yearning to serve the Lord, but that yearning is often misunderstood as a call to preach and pastor. So many are of the mind set that the only way to serve God is to "surrender to the call." There are too many out of place and that is why they are easily swayed and mislead by those who do not teach them that the call of God is a call to self-sacrifice. The damage by poor shepherds who feel no obligation to the sheep, but only desire money, comfort, honor and/or a platform to vent is immeasurable.

John 10

1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

6This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

12But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

13The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

15As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Noisy Saints in Church

This post is not for sinners; it's for the saved. Specifically, the noisy saints who meet to worship each Sunday.

No, I'm not talking about those who may shout the praises or cry out "amen" when the pastor makes an especially outstanding point. I'm not talking about those who sing loudly in the choir or congregation or clap their hands when the beat of the music is really peppy.

I'm talking about those who think they are in the high school gymnasium during a basketball practice scrimmage and carry on conversations that never seem to end and go on and on through the entire service. Like those who are poking and prodding and flirting and cavorting with their boyfriends and girlfriends.

I'm talking about those who give their children anything to play with that's noisier than a pencil and piece of paper. The ones who give them rustling bags of crunchy food for snacks as if the child will starve to death without food for an hour, (not to mention the adults who go so far as to devour the snacks themselves.)

I'm talking about the ones whose child decides, like clockwork every Sunday, ten minutes into the pastors sermon, to start screaming and pitching fits and carries on like a wild animal for the next twenty minutes. Still, the parent will sit and fuss and fight with the toddler, saying, "shush" forty times, (as if the child wouldn't behave after the first twenty shushes, so try twenty more.)

I'm talking about the saints of God who just seem to think that everyone is as charmed by their noisy, rude child as they are. They think that four or five trips to the bathroom by their youngster goes unnoticed by the rest of the congregation. They seem to think that sinners can or will listen intently to the pastor even through some wild child's incessant tantrums.

Most churches have nurseries and Godly saints who gladly volunteer to baby-sit so that parents can worship and sinners can listen without the distraction of restless, spoiled brats. Yes, I'm aware that my language is strong, but lazy, disinterested, detached parents are the ones who inspire my feelings.

I know we all live in a world where courtesy is an archaic idea and taking pride in rudeness and being inconsiderate of others is the norm rather than the exception. Politeness today is laughable rather than laudable. Maybe it's time that Christian parents were more aware that we could be detouring sinners from the Good News they need to hear.

If a sound system causes a little feed-back during worship, we sometimes say, some more serious than others, that's it's the devil. Do the same people think that when they are "playing hands," flirting, munching, wrestling, getting up and down, chasing kids, rattling bags and causing a deafening cacophony of noise? Does the worship of an almighty, holy God require no more concentration than that?

Now, don't get me wrong. If I have only the two choices of noisy children at church or at home, I'll take them at church without a moment's hesitation. Yet, I know we can do better...if we care.

In a world where everyone who chooses simply to not pay attention is excused as having some "disease," we make excuses for what amounts to rudeness at best and, at worst, sin. No one is at fault for anything today and there is aways some excuse for what is simply bad behaviour.

So, show a little courtesy...that's all I ask. Might it be that the soul of a sinner is on the line?