Maybe fasting isn't your thing, but you still think it might be a good idea to do something to spiritually prepare for Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday. Maybe you don't want to do anything that you would call "Lent" but Good Friday always seems to come up on you before you know it. You'd like to do something to put yourself into the right frame of heart to honor the day of our Lord's death on the cross, and his rising from the dead. After all, every Christian has to admit that those two days changed everything forever.

How about this: commit to read the Bible for the next 46 days. Not the whole thing, but some of it. Every day. How about focusing on the life of Jesus? Or perhaps read passage from a variety of books that survey the breadth of inspired writings about sin and repentance, judgment and grace, mortality and holiness. Maybe a couple chapters a day.

Does that sound good? If so, then I have a couple of suggestions.

First is a Bible reading plan I found on Biblegateway that was originally created by Central Presbyterian Church of Baltimore MD. This plan will help you read through all four of the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus in the next 46 days.

The second is a plan offered by the American Bible Society. This is one that samples scriptures from Genesis to The Revelation, giving you a good nugget to meditate on each day as you consider what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and this wild world.

Of course, if you are one of those overachievers, you could read one of these in the morning, and then the other in the evening. Either way, adding Bible reading to your Pre-Holy Day routine is a good thing. It might even become a habit. If so, its a pretty good habit.

I have made both of these available in printable .pdf documents for you so that you can download and print them right from here. Enjoy your time in God's word, and let me know how he blesses you over the next weeks.

At the regular business meeting of United Baptist Church on October 15, instead of offering my usual written Pastor’s report, I offered some pointed remarks on what I see as the future and direction of UBC. I did this because I feel the need these days to speak very plainly about the state of our congregation, and where we are headed. I am concerned that UBC is approaching a crisis point, and that it is coming more quickly than we like to think. While this is true, I also believe that God is at work in us, among us, and through us to bring about great things for his kingdom, and I suspect that he is not done with us.

So, I want to lay out before you a map of what I am see up ahead. Then I want to pose several very important questions for the congregation to consider, and then along with the Deacon Board, call the congregation to Spirit-led conversation, and intensive prayer to seek God’s face and his will for UBC.

Why Aging Matters
Let’s look at where we are headed, framing it simply in terms of numbers and time. We know that numbers aren’t really the point, and the most important things about church cannot be measured or quantified. Nevertheless, looking at numbers can sometimes warn us of spiritual problems, and even point us in the directions we should look to understand and address those problems.

If we start with one simple demographic figure, we see that our average age right now is almost 60 years. It’s a little lower than that if you count the kids under 18. If we do some basic math, we see that in 10 years the average age will be almost 70 years old. Keep in mind, that is the average. Many of us will be well beyond 70, and into our 80s.

Moreover, this means that the last of our few children will be graduating and moving away. If trend continues, these children will leave, and they will not come back. At least, they will not come back to the church.

Now 10 years may seem like a long time, but it really is not. You know how it is. A year goes by, then another, and another, and pretty soon, there you are. For instance, consider this. In January of 2019, I will have been serving as your Pastor for 5 years. Did it seem like 5 years? No? That’s what I mean. It goes by fast.

There are lots of ways to interpret those numbers, but let’s just say it in plain unvarnished terms. It is reasonable to assume that within 10-15 years, at least half of those currently attending UBC will be either in Florida (or some other retirement destination), in a nursing home, or with Jesus. It might happen sooner than that. It might happen later than that. The precise timing isn’t really the issue. This is the direction things are headed. It is happening, and it is happening quickly.

Of course, this has very important implications for ability of members to participate in the life of the church; to attend, to serve, to carry out many operations of church life and ministry. It has huge implications for giving and budgeting, paying our bills, supporting missionaries, investing in new programs and ministries.

Therefore, I can foresee a day coming, in a not-that-far-away future, when UBC becomes unsustainable. We won’t be able to pay utilities or keep the building in repair. We won’t be able to pay staff to lead our music, keep the building clean, or manage the office. We won’t be able to pay a pastor. On our current trajectory, if nothing really changes, the day is coming when everything will change.

Why People Aren’t Coming
There is another part of this picture, related to wider social trends in our society. Most of us remember what things were like 10, 20, 30 years ago. It used to be that people would come to church simply because that is what ordinary decent people do. There was no shortage of people to carry out all kinds of work in the church from washing dishes to leading Bible studies. Today, people see no need to participate in church or religion of any kind. The world outside sees the church we love as mostly irrelevant and church is no longer part of their lives.

It also used to be that if someone was seeking some kind of spiritual help, their first thought was to go to church. These days, those who seek spiritual connection or help go to yoga classes, or meditation practice, read books and attend workshops on personal development. It’s even worse than that. Many people see church as a burden on society, even a dangerous place full of alarming archaic values, where abuse hides, and greed for power and money rule.

The upshot of this is, United Baptist Church no longer can simply sit inside our brick clubhouse and wait for people to come to visit us. They aren’t coming. If we simply hope they will come if we have the right music, or a certain way of ordering our service, it won’t work because they aren’t coming in the first placed. Some churches manage to attract people by putting on a big show with exciting music, and bright lights and projected images. Mostly, they end up attracting people from other churches, often small congregations like ours. I don’t think this sort of approach is really the right path for us. Our personality has never been about putting on a big show. Our strengths (and we do have strengths) lie elsewhere.

So the old way of thinking that says, “If we are attractive enough, people will be attracted,” doesn’t work anymore. The old ways of thinking about church and how church relates to the world don’t work anymore. We must adopt new models of how we relate to the world around us. These models must be immovably grounded in the power of gospel proclamation, in sacrificial love of our neighbors, and intensive cultivation of loving relationships with those outside the church.
If we don’t do this, then our future is dim.

Why this Hurts
It is a grim thought that UBC could disappear. It seems like a real downer. We love United Baptist Church. Many of us have invested decades into this congregation. We have invested immeasurable energy and time into United Baptist Church. Some of us were raised here. Many of us raised families here. We have made friends, lost friends, and made new friends. We have spent time in one another’s’ homes, eating together and playing together. We have worked side by side, or sometimes just sat with one another, through so many tragedies and long tough times.

Even more important than that, week after week we have met together to worship the One True and Living God, proclaiming our hope in Christ and in our resurrection in him. In this way we have literally made this into a holy place, and that is not to be dismissed lightly. Our shared history runs deep and is shot through with many beautiful and memorable blessings.

Nevertheless, the consensus of the people to whom I have spoken is this. The way we have been doing things does not seem to be energizing any real change in these trends. We are not seeing other Christians wanting to join our church. Most important, we are not making new disciples. It has been perhaps 10 years since we baptized a new convert. That is a tragedy.

What is the option?
If we simply continue to do things the way we have been doing them, we face slow, steady and implacable attrition. The end of UBC is possible, and it may not be that far off.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. With God's help we can change direction. It will be a step of faith, making changes trusting that God is in control. This change is very clear to me, although not necessarily easy. To continue and thrive, we must obey the mandate of our Lord Jesus to make disciples.

We can find ways to quietly and consistently reach outside our walls, to befriend and love our neighbors, and share Jesus with them where they are. As they become part of our Jesus-family, then they will become part of our church family. The question is, are we ready and willing to trust God?

A Call to Conversation
Now, I’m not ready to call this a crisis, but (as our friends in Texas say) it is fixing to be a crisis. It is dangerously close to being a crisis. Therefore, it seems to me and the leaders that some kind of response is needed. This response cannot be limited to the work the I do as your Pastor. It cannot be left up to the leaders like the Deacons or Trustees alone. It must be a congregational response.  
So the deacons and I have been discussing how to foster a fruitful response. Our first thought is that we need everyone to put all our cards on the table through serious, truthful, and candid conversations about the future and direction of UBC. We need to do this openly and we need to do it together as a community.

And we need to be praying together, actively and zealously seeking God’s face, crying out for his intervention, and asking for his wisdom, courage, and power.
To that end, spearheaded by the Deacon Board, we will be engaging in these conversations along three pathways.

1. Deacons will be calling or inviting each one of you individually to have personal conversations regarding your thoughts on the future and direction of UBC.
   
   
2. We will be sponsoring several meals where we can eat together and openly discuss our thoughts and ideas.
   
   
3. We will be offering a channel of written communication so that if you prefer to offer your thoughts in writing, you are welcome to do so.
   
   

A Call to Prayer
Let me also invite you to what (in my estimation) is the most important component of these efforts. Come to pray with us on Thursday nights at 7:00. We will pray first for a spirit of repentance, and spiritual awakening and renewal in our own hearts.

Beyond that we will also be asking God to show us what he is doing and how we can join him in it. We will ask him to provide us with the means to carry out his mission in our neighborhood. We should pray for new members, and for new disciples. We should pray that God would bring people across our path who are ready to hear the gospel and respond. We should pray that God will give us the word to give those he brings to us. We should pray that God will use United Baptist Church to advance his kingdom.

We should pray, because unless the LORD builds a house, the work of all those who work on it will be useless and for nothing. We should ask the LORD to use us as his living stones to build his spiritual house anew, a group of his holy priests, so that with the help of Jesus Christ we may continue to offer sacrifices that please God for decades to come.

Does this sound like you sometimes?

Church doesn’t always feel fun. I have wanted to quit church more than a few times. I have had some serious doubts about Christianity that I have had to work through, and I am not always excited to show up to church on a Sunday morning.

Chances are if you are older than 2, you have gone through times like this. Maybe you are in this sort of situation right now. Well, you are not alone.

So why keep doing it? Because there is something there for you -- or actually, there is someone there for you. Someone who is worth meeting, worth knowing better, and who gives you what you really need most. It might not be what you think you want, but it is what you really need.

Of course, his name is Jesus.

Silverio Gonzalez wrote a timely article reminding us about how church is a place where we can find grace from God, by remembering and clinging to his gift to us in Jesus, and by relying on his help from the Holy Spirit. It may not seem like it sometimes, but that really is what church is especially made for.

Read Silverio's article and hold onto his reminder that "you may feel weak and needy yourself, but God has promised to be with you and to love through you." That's the promise of God that he made to us in Jesus, and we can take that anywhere.

American Baptist World Missions Offering is going to help make disciples for our Lord Jesus Christ all over the world. Listen to a short video that demonstrates what we can do when we band together for the sake of the gospel.

The question posed in the title speaks to a very common understanding among people today. No matter what the religion, and what differences there appear to be from one religion to the next, when you strip away all the trappings, they are really all the same. They are really all about loving each other and nothing more.

I can understand why so many people desire this to be true. There is a prevailing idea that much of the conflict, violence, and war in the world is caused by differing religious belief. Therefore, the reasoning goes, if we can eliminate the differences in religious belief, then we can reduce the conflict and suffering in the world.

First, the assertion that religion is the cause of war and conflict is not supported by the evidence. You can read more about a survey of wars and their causes through history here. You can also read a more philosophical review of a book on the subject here.

Beyond that, however, is this question: Aren't all religions basically teaching the same thing? The short answer is: no.

If religions were circles, there would certainly be some overlap of the venn diagrams. Nevertheless, each religion has certain core teachings that cannot be reconciled with those of other religions. In fact, many of these central beliefs are actively in opposition to the ideas of other religions. For Christianity, the central and non-negotiable issue is what Christians call "the person and work" of Jesus of Nazareth.

Christians trust our lives to this truth: Jesus is God in human flesh, come to rescue and renew a broken and dying world. He did this by dying on the cross and rising bodily from the dead.

The Campaign for Core Christianity has a very good article about how Christians view comparative religions, titled: "Do all Religions Just Teach Love?"

Here is a quote:

When a person concludes that all religions are basically the same, they’re defining the various religions of the world on their own terms instead of letting the terms define themselves. If religion is primarily about being a good person, then sure, many of the religions out there can assist someone in modifying their behavior, but religions like Christianity aren’t essentially about being “good people.” The Christian religion is all about the God who lovingly pursued people who weren’t very good at all, in fact. That’s why the message of Christ’s death and resurrection is one of the vital organs of Christianity.

You can read the whole article here.

Many people struggle -- honestly struggle -- with the presence of evil in the world. Of course, we struggle with actual evil that we confront every day: violence, hatred, greed, contempt, selfishness, oppression, poverty, addiction, lies, and more. But beyond than that, we struggle with the very idea of evil and its existence. Why is so much of the world so bad? How can both good and evil exist? And if there is a God who is supposed to be both all powerful and all loving -- how does evil exist at all?

Michael Horton says this: "There is no good philosophical answer to the problem of evil, because it's beyond our comprehension. However, there is a historical solution to the problem of evil, and that is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus." 

That may not make a lot of sense to you, but listen to his longer explanation in this video, and see if there isn't something in it that helps make sense of this very big question.

Standing apart from all the forced cheeriness of Christmas, the sentimentality, the dreams of family warmth and togetherness, there is this austere and somewhat disturbing tale of a strange baby of uncertain parentage, born in refugee conditions, hailed as King by spirit messengers. Compared to what we tend to think of as Christmas, the actual Christmas story is kind of like reading an original Grimm's Fairy Tale after only knowing the Disney versions. True, the story is so familiar that we tend to view it through a soft-focus lens.

Nevertheless if you read it carefully, considering what those familiar words are actually describing, it can be a little disturbing.

This is even more true when you consider how the church has interpreted these events (and the events to follow) even from the very beginning. The child was born of a woman who had never had intercourse with a man. What? The man grew up and began walking around the countryside healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, even raising the dead. Whoa! He so disturbed the ruling authorities that they conspired to have him arrested, tried, and executed in the most brutal fashion. That part is harsh, but people are executed brutally all the time -- nothing really strange in that. But then the story has him rising from the dead. And the reason for all this, says the church, is that he is God in the Flesh, come to sacrifice himself for humanity, to save us from our fundamental tendency to mess everything up, and to set right all that is wrong with the world.

We shouldn't be surprised that there are people who object to that story, and the meaning it has been given, on multiple points.

And yet...this is what Christians believe, and we believe it so firmly that we stake our lives on it.

But as wild a tale as it is, is it unreasonable? I don't think so. For instance, there are many things about the universe that science proclaims as true, that are also pretty wild: Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the dual nature of light as particle and wave, black holes, dark matter. Most of us don't understand all the evidence for these things either, yet we say we believe them. Although, I don't think if a gun were pressed to your head, very many would be willing to die for the higgs boson. I'm not saying these things aren't true -- what I'm saying is that at the most basic level we live most of our lives by faith, even if we call ourselves atheists.

In a recent interview in the NY Times, Rev. Tim Keller expressed this in his usual articulate way:

"...no one can demonstrably prove the primary things human beings base their lives on, whether we are talking about the existence of God or the importance of human rights and equality. Nietzsche argued that the humanistic values of most secular people, such as the importance of the individual, human rights and responsibility for the poor, have no place in a completely materialistic universe. He even accused people holding humanistic values as being “covert Christians” because it required a leap of faith to hold to them. We must all live by faith."

The heart of the Christmas story is the Christ story. The lights, and the evergreens, and the presents (and the food; let's not forget the food) are all very nice. But at the core of the thing is something much harder and brighter and sharper. To many people it will be offensively hard, and offensively jagged. But let's not be apologizing for that. Let's share the greater meaning and purpose and invite everyone to see the ultimate beauty and glory that suffuses all of it. Christmas is not a trap to accuse people, nor is it a weapon for us to bludgeon people. It is a story into which we may invite everyone, so that they also may trust in it.

It is through this story that God is making us into the kind of humans he originally meant us to be. That's why at it's heart, Christmas is good news for all people.

I sometimes talk to people who think they are not good enough to come to church. Of course, when they talk about coming to church, they aren't really talking about being good enough to walk into a building. They are worried because they have messed up so many things in life that God doesn't want them. These folks have a kind of innate understanding of sin -- but they don't really understand how God has already dealt with all of our failure and messed-upness for us.

I recently read a pretty good article on just this topic on the  Campaign for Core Christianity website:

"Whatever form it takes, we all know how messing up feels. First comes the realization regarding the mistake we made. Next may be someone finding out about it—along with the shame and embarrassment—and finally having to face the consequences of our mistake.For days afterwards, depression, anxiety, emotional and sometimes physical distress may dominate our lives. We replay the events over and over in our minds, and doubts about our self-worth and value can begin to creep in. In those moments, it is easy to think that maybe we should give up and quit the job, the marriage, the family, the friendship, or whatever will get us away from the situation.

These thoughts can also cause us to forget the gospel message. Or even if we remember it, it doesn’t necessarily take away the pain. Maybe we wonder, “Jesus died for my sins but I still mess up. I let people down or hurt someone or acted stupidly. How does Jesus’ death so long ago and so isolated from my life now bring me any comfort? I still messed up, and I still have to face that shame today.”

But this attitude shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what is really going on. The truth is that Jesus is the best comfort we can have when facing failure. In the midst of our failures and mistakes, it is vital that we remember these four crucial points Scripture tells us about reality."

Read the whole article here.

 In a recent conversation with a friend, we got to talking about religion and faith. No surprise there. It was an especially enjoyable conversation, though, because my friend doesn't consider himself religious. Nothing against it, mind you. It just never really made much sense to him or seemed like it really mattered.

Along the way, he raised one of his questions: Jesus lived so long ago. How can we know that that information we have about him can be trusted? In other words, can we trust what we read in the Bible?

That's actually a great question. A very common one, in fact.

There are also some very good answers to that question. They may not persuade someone who just set against the notion of God. There are people for whom no evidence would be sufficient. For someone who is open-minded to the possibility, there are good reasons to think that the accounts we have in the Bible are dependable and should be taken seriously.

Nicholas Davis has written an excellent summary of those answers in an article titled "Why I Trust the Bible." He gives five reasons and a succinct explanation of each one.

• The Bible is historically accurate.
• Compared to other ancient documents, there is no comparison!
• The New Testament manuscripts were written by eyewitnesses.
• The Bible cared about what women thought at a time when no one else did.
• If Jesus Christ rose from the dead, then the Bible is true.

The article is simple and direct. It doesn't go into all the possible detail, but gives the basic outline of why it is perfectly reasonable to accept that the Bible is true, and to accept the truth that it proclaims.

I have always like Andy Stanley's formulation of this idea.

"If a man can predict his own death and resurrection, and then pull it off, I just go with whatever that man says."

Yup, we can depend on the Bible. It may be a little hard to figure out sometimes, but considering what's in it, the effort is worth it.