- More Than Just Enough
Jack Anderson Jr.
Education/CBL/Heritage Ministries Director
“Dale Hinshaw knew just enough Scripture to be annoying but not enough to be transformed.”1
Dale Hinshaw is a character in Philip Gulley’s Harmony series of novels based around a Quaker congregation and community in Harmony, Indiana. If you haven’t read any of these novels, let me encourage you to try one. You’ll be laughing one minute and crying the next. I know one former pastor’s wife who couldn’t finish reading one a few years ago because the characters just hit too close to home. They had just experienced a tragic and painful church experience.
There is no shortage of Dale Hinshaws in the church. If you think about it for a minute or two, you’ll probably identify them fairly quickly. In Gulley’s series Dale is quite the character, providing eye-watering laughter time and time again. Earlier in Home to Harmony a couple returned to their service for a second time. Dale wanted to trick them into sticking around so he called for a meeting of the elders. Dale’s plan for evangelism and church growth was, “Let’s give’em a job so they can’t escape.”2
But what about the real Dale Hinshaws in the church? Those dear souls who mean well but know “just enough Scripture to be annoying but not enough to be transformed.” We find the following imperative in 2 Timothy 2:15 -
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who
does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (NIV).
We have at our disposal today more tools for studying the Word of God than any other time before us. Translations, commentaries, journals, periodicals and websites are a few of these helpful resources. While these wonderful tools for study are beneficial, they are not to replace the active role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Yet, when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our use of these tools and transform our minds, the result will be a better understanding of the Word of God. We may not agree on every point, but we will be better informed of the other’s point of view and we will better understand our own.
The use of biblical tools cannot necessarily heal one from the lack of common sense (Dale’s infirmity). I believe Jesus would tell us, “The Dales you will always have with you.” But let us remind ourselves that good hearted and sincere Dales, too, can change. Jesus took fishermen and changed the world. I was once a Dale and some may still consider me so. That’s okay, at least I’m trying to grow and be transformed.
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- His good, pleasing and perfect will.
1 Philip Gulley, Home to Harmony (San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 2002), 173.
2 Ibid., 140.
Jack Anderson Jr.
Education/CBL/Heritage Ministries Director
Mount Maturity is Not in Never Never Land
How wonderful it would be to be carefree and have few responsibilities!
I have been told that “growing old is for the birds.” One can’t help but to grow old. But what about growing up? I’m sure we all know people who have gotten older, but have refused to grow up.
While this is a fact in the social sense, it also holds true in a spiritual sense. There are many Christians who simply refuse to grow up and mature spiritually in the faith. They remain infants and do what infants do naturally - cry and whine to meet their own needs and wants.
“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:11-14, NIV, italics mine).
Their hearing had become slow, not because of age, but by choice. Also, the word hearing doubles for understanding. They had numbed their minds to any new teachings in the faith. As a result, they lived in Peter Pan’s Never Never Land. They had signed up, joined, and been baptized in the First Church of Slothfulness in Never Never Land where they would never have to grow up, take responsibility and mature in their faith.
Just because we have years of attendance, giving, and a working Christian vocabulary, it doesn’t mean we have grown up or matured in the faith. A.W. Tozer said it this way:
“The familiar phrase, the religious tone, the emotionally loaded words have their superficial and temporary effect, but the worshiper is no nearer to God, no better morally and no surer of heaven then he was before. Yet every Sunday morning for twenty years he goes through the same routine and, allowing two hours for him to leave his house, sit through a church service and return to his house again, he has wasted more than 170 twelve-hour days with this exercise in futility.”1
There is certainly activity required in our relationship with God (see James 2), but we can also be active without making any progress toward spiritual maturity. We can spin our wheels hard and fast, yet move nowhere. The original audience of Hebrews had been in the faith long enough to have been teachers but they were no nearer to maturity than when they began. They had refused to grow up in the faith! To observe individuals who have grown older but haven’t grown up is always a pitiful thing. How much more pitiful it is to observe the same lack of spiritual development in the lives of Christians.
I've never been enthralled with the story of Peter Pan. It is a story of a boy who wants to remain a child forever. His main concern is himself. One sign of immaturity is an overwhelming focus on one’s self. This is especially true regarding the spiritual development of a Christian.
I’m glad our tradition embraced Vacation Bible School and other children’s ministries. VBS began in the late 1800’s through the Baptist tradition. Seeing its value, we adopted the ministry and made it our own. Through VBS, children’s ministries, youth camps, etc., we enter into Never Never Land in order to share the gospel and lead individuals into the world of spiritual development and growth.
Always lurking around us is the temptation to stop growing up spiritually. Maybe we’ve convinced ourselves that we’ve arrived at the pinnacle of Mount Maturity. I’m certain that upon closer inspection we’ll find we have a bit more distance to climb before reaching the summit. Let us not be like Peter Pan wishing to live like children forever. Let us, rather, continue to grow, becoming spiritually mature adults.
A.W. Tozer, The Best of A.W. Tozer, Vol.2 (Camp Hill: Christian Publications, 1980), 92.
Holiest Cloths in the Church
Jack Anderson Jr.
Education/CBL/Heritage Ministries Director
Today is Good Friday and I just put a load of towels in the washer. I took them one by one and placed them in the water mixed with bleach to get them nice and clean for their next use. I stood there and looked down at those towels and reflected on last night’s service.
We had our traditional Maundy Thursday dinner and service last evening. Our dinner was wonderful with homemade chicken noodles, bread, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, pasta e fagioli, and we mustn’t forget the desserts. Our table fellowship with the Anderson COGOP and other brothers and sisters was even more enjoyable than the delicious meal. Wherever you looked you saw smiles. You heard laughter and children. It was great; the way church should be.
Afterwards, we ascended to the sanctuary to observe the Lord’s Supper. This too was special as we had moved from our tables in the fellowship hall to our Lord’s Table. We prayed. We sang. We took the bread. We took the cup. We remembered.
Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum which means “command” or “mandate.” Maundy Thursday centers around the command of Jesus in John 13:34 telling us to “love one another” as he has loved us. Just prior to this Jesus had washed his disciples’ feet and told them they were to wash one another’s feet. So this is what we did.
Back down the stairs we went and entered rooms where basins of water (warm water) and chairs awaited our arrival. With men in one room and women in the other, we began to wash one another’s feet. The Church of God of Prophecy has always been a feet washing group. And growing up in the COGOP washing feet was as traditional as baptism and Communion. I thought everyone did it, but this was (and is) not the case. Also, when growing up, the act of washing another’s feet was the more difficult task in the process but that has changed. Now, placing my feet in the basin and allowing another to wash my feet proves to be the challenge. To have another believer in Christ bend down and wash my feet is humbling. To comply with Christ, we wash and are washed. That is the mandate.
What a wonderful service it was. We prayed. We cried. We became a closer, stronger brotherhood. We could hear the women singing in the other room.
Oh yea, what about those towels? Well, wet feet need to be dried. Those towels were used to dry the saints’ feet washed by the saints. The Greek word for saint is hagios and it is also translated “holy.” Much is made of the Holy Grail, the chalice our Lord supposedly used at the Last Supper. Indiana Jones even went looking for it. I have not, however, heard anything about a major motion picture being made in order to find the Holy Towel our Lord girded himself with when he washed his disciples’ feet.
I know it’s tradition to get new clothes for Easter; new suits, dresses, shirts, hats and ties. But what about those towels used for drying the feet of the saints? It may very well be that the most precious cloths in our church on Easter may not be covering our bodies but those towels hidden away and out of sight. Well, I’ve got to go – gotta load of towels to finish.
Don’t Blink
Jack Anderson Jr.
Education/CBL/Heritage Ministries Director
Our daughter, Ardenia, began going to middle school this year. A few weeks ago she told me, “Dad, the days sure go by faster when you’re in middle school.” I wanted to say, “Honey, you don’t know yet how fast they will seem to go. Just wait until you’re out of school. They’ll go by faster than Superman getting to Lois Lane.” But I didn’t see the need for beginning a discussion about time and space and the aging process with my 12-year-old who had made a valuable personal discovery about life. I just agreed.
But how time does fly! Another year has passed. More than likely this year will seem to go by faster than the others. The writer of Ecclesiastes used the Hebrew word hebel (pronounced hevel) to describe life. It has been translated “vanity” and “meaningless.” But hebel is literally, “vapor.” It is used 73 times in the Old Testament and 38 of them are in Ecclesiastes. Hebel describes things that are ephemeral, like smoke from a match or “steam from an oven.”1 Life is here today and gone tomorrow. Ecclesiastes also informs us that the wise constantly consider their mortality (7:1-4).
I think the writer of Ecclesiastes would have loved Kenny Chesney’s song “Don’t Blink” that tells of advice given from a man turning 102 years old.
Don’t blink, just like that you’re six years old
And you take a nap
And you wake up and you’re twenty-five
And your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
‘Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand
You can’t flip it over and start again
Take every breath God gives you for what it’s worth2
So what will you do this year that will cause time to go by quicker? Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? Some don’t care for resolutions but I see a touch of the essence of grace in them. The beginning of the new year brings with it an opportunity to change. A chance to change is what God provides through the work of Christ. We get a fresh start. The Apostle Paul wrote, “What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!”3
The good news (gospel) is a message of change. And unless you’re perfect (which I doubt you are), you could use some change. I know I can.
So go ahead and make that resolution to change. Some changes you might want to make are to - pray more often, read your bible more, tithe and give more, eat healthier, exercise more, lose or gain weight, read more books, or enroll in a class. What do you want to change? I don’t know if Jesus made resolutions for Rosh Hashanah or not, but I don’t think he minds if you do. He might mind if you don’t. So, close those eyes and pray for change. But don’t blink because, like exhaust from a vehicle disappears, so does time. Use it wisely.
Choon-Leong Seow, Ecclesiastes (New York: Doubleday, 1997), 101.
Kenny Chesney, Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, RCA 2007. To see all the lyrics, go to http://www.cmt.com/lyrics/kenny-chesney/dont-blink/19651456/lyrics.jhtml
Corinthians 5:17 (New Living Translation).
Dandelions and Chuck E Cheese Tokens
Jack Anderson Jr.
Education/CBL/Heritage Ministries Director
Do you remember when dandelions used to be beautiful flowers? I do. Those spots of yellow were not “tap-rooted biennial plants” (thanks Wikipedia), also known as weeds. No, I remember looking outside as a child and seeing a yard full of yellow flowers. And I also remember going out there and picking up as many of them as my little hands could hold in order to present my mom a beautiful dandelion bouquet.
And do you know what my mom did over and over again with those bouquets of tap-rooted biennial plants, also known as weeds? She put them in water and placed them in the kitchen. Now I watch my wife do the same for our children who have not matured enough to know the difference between flowers and weeds. We’ve also accumulated drawings from them that we make out and letters we cannot understand. Why are these gifts significant? Refrigerators in kitchens all over are covered with unintelligible drawings and writings resembling them more like the wall in an ancient cave than a modern appliance?
What renders value to the gift is the love and devotion in which it is given. Weeds, thought to be flowers, given in love are as valuable as a dozen roses. While the physical value may be little or none, the emotional value for both the giver and recipient of a gift of love is incomparable.
On the Sunday after we had our Vacation Bible School, I was handed a Chuck E Cheese token and told that it was placed in one of our offerings during VBS. Now my first thought was that maybe some child was as mischievous as I was and was just playing a joke. That is entirely possible. Who doesn’t like a good joke? But there is another possible scenario. What if a child had been holding on to that token and waiting to go back to Chuck E. Cheese? What if it meant something to him/her? What if he/she found letting go of that token to be a difficult thing to do? What if that token placed in the offering plate was an item of value to them?
We read in Mark and Luke that Jesus watched several put their offerings in the treasury who gave out of their abundance. He also observed a widow place her few tokens (all she had) in the treasury. He pointed out to his disciples that she had given more than all the others.
We’ve all seen those lists and plaques displaying the names of those who gave the most. They were the high dollar givers and contributors to the specific cause. Others give dandelions and Chuck E Cheese tokens.
What Do You Think About God?
Jack Anderson Jr.
Education/CBL/Heritage Ministries Director
Maybe it would be better to ask “How do you think about God?” We all have an idea about God and how God works and interacts with creation. But have you thought about how you arrived at your conclusions?
A few months ago my 6 year old son, Jackson, and I had a conversation while riding in the car. It went as follows:
Jackson: Why did that girl eat that apple?
Dad: What girl?
Jackson: You know, that first girl. Mary didn’t. She’s up there and we’ll get to see her when we get to heaven. Dogs won’t live with us in our house in heaven. They have their own place where we’ll go get them.
Jackson: I think God has a telescope in heaven so we can see our family.
A few minutes later as we were getting out of the car.
Jackson: Dad, you’re the best guy in the whole world. (pause) No, the third. God is first. Jesus is second. And you’re the third.
I was so excited about being in third place I didn’t bother to point out his error in Trinitarian thought. What was also noticeable was his theological understanding.
We are all theologians! What I mean by this is that we all have some idea and belief about God. We also may disagree with each other. Tertullian (160-220 A.D.) denounced the use of philosophy in matter of faith. One of his famous lines was “What has Jerusalem to do with Athens, the Church with the Academy?”1 Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.), on the other hand, embraced philosophy and saw it as a gift from God.
Contrary to what some people claim, just because you engage in reflective thought about God does not make you unspiritual or faithless. There is no reason to fear theology. It is an essential part of your faith development.
Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson have laid out a spectrum of theologies in their book, Who Needs Theology?2
Folk Lay Ministerial Professional Academic
According to Grenz and Olson, the three in the middle of the spectrum work together. The two on the ends are in their own worlds and have little to do with the others who attempt to combine experience and intellect (faith and reason). They also point out that just because everyone has a theology, they are not all equal or valid.
So what (or how) do you think about God? Where do you think you are on the spectrum? In case you’ve run out of things to think about concerning God, here are some things that might spark some more thought:
Does God suffer?
Does prayer matter?
Is everything determined? (If so, does prayer matter?)
Evil and human suffering.
Why did that girl eat that apple?
1 This is in his work, The Prescriptions Against the Heretics.
2 Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson, Who Needs Theology?: An Invitation to the Study of God (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1996). Space does not allow descriptions of each theological outlook. If you would like more information about them please email me at pstrjack40@sbcglobal.net
Uncovering Lent: Journeying to Easter via the Lenten Road
Jack Anderson Jr.
Education/CBL/Heritage Ministries Director
Do you remember the happiness you experienced when you found something you thought was gone forever? It had completely made its way out of your life and you adapted to life without it. Then, there it was! Like a long lost friend, the sight of it brought back wonderful memories and you realized how much you had missed it.
I appreciate the heritage of our faith within our Protestant tradition. Yet, there are some Christian practices that many Protestants abandoned in the wake of the Reformation. Lent is one such practice. In fact, many may think of Lent as one of those “Catholic” things. I, myself, regarded it that way until several years ago when I took a new look at an old practice.
Like an archeologist I began to dig into the soil of tradition and uncovered what seemed to be a road. It was road that had been traveled by many Christians for hundreds of years. It was a road that began on Ash Wednesday and ended on Easter. It was a road of self-denial, reflection, repentance, and preparation for the ultimate Christian holiday – Easter.
I not only uncovered the road, I began to walk it. For a couple years I made the pilgrimage alone. The experience was moving and transformed me and my anticipation of Easter. Then I shared my discovery with the congregation. Now several of us travel together upon the Lenten road to Easter. For forty days we journey together denying ourselves of something we like, reflecting on our relationship with God through Christ, and anticipating the glorious morning when another discovery was made – an empty tomb!
You will not find Lent in the Bible, but then again, neither will you find Sunday School. Lent is an opportunity. It is not a requirement. Your Christian faith is not dependent upon your partaking in the practice. Lent literally means “springtime” and the custom of spending 40 days in prayer and self-denial was not common until the fourth century. It is entirely true that you can do the aforementioned activities anytime. But how often do you? Robert Foster points out that transformation is an inside job. Spiritual disciplines such as practiced during Lent open the door for God to work. Foster goes on to say, “The Disciplines are God’s way of getting us into the ground; they put us where he can work within us and transform us.”
For years my thoughts concerning Easter began at the beginning of Holy Week on Palm Sunday. Now, beginning my journey on Ash Wednesday, my thoughts of Easter and what it means allow me to anticipate it all the more. By the time you receive this, Easter will be near. I know you will not have 40 days but you will have a few. Why not uncover the Lenten road and walk it? Deny yourself of something you like (this is also called fasting): beef, chocolate, pizza, TV, coffee, soft drinks, etc. You get the idea. Give it up and start walking and praying. I’ll meet you at Easter and we’ll celebrate the empty tomb and our living Lord together!
“Connecting hearts and minds with ministry.”
Jack Anderson Jr.
Education/CBL/Heritage Ministries Director
Being in the Pentecostal steam of Christianity, it is no surprise that we practice our faith with freedom and allow our emotions to move us. Faith development, however, is not achieved by feelings alone. Our minds are part of who we and a wonderful gift from God. Therefore, we must not neglect our minds in the process of our faith development.
It is the goal of this regional ministry to provide opportunities for spiritual growth through educational dialogues and classroom settings. Three tentative dates have been set for such opportunities. Those dates are: January in New Albany, IN; February in Sodus, MI; and May in Taylor, MI. The following subjects will be offered at each location: Understanding and Interpreting the Bible; Counseling, and Children’s Ministries. There may possibly be a fourth subject. More information concerning these seminars will be available soon. Our hope is that in the future you will have the opportunity to be introduced to other subjects such as: biblical criticism, theology, ethics and philosophy, etc. Everyone is encouraged to attend these seminars. They are not only for the ministry, but for laity as well.
Your mind plays a vital role in the development of your faith whether you realize it or not. Through this ministry we hope you realize it and truly connect your heart and mind with your particular ministry.
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