IDOP and Persecuted in Japan

This past Sunday was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Churcch. Our church had a time of prayer devoted to our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. What did your church do? I would love to hear your stories. While we are on the topic I’d also like to leave you with a story of persecuted in Japan some 400 years ago.

According to the Joshua Project, the Japanese are the world’s second largest unreached people group. Many people do not realize that Christianity flourished in Japan prior to the 1600s but persecution all but wiped out the visible church. The June 2007 issue of the Voice of the Martyrs Magazine told the story of one Japanese church leader during that time of persecution named Paulo Uchibori. Here is his story as told in that magazine.

A wave of harsh persecution took place in Japan in the early 1600s, during which many Christians were martyred.

On February 20, 1627, church leader Paulo Uchibori, his wife and three children were arrested for harboring missionaries. On that day, Paulo and 37 other Christians were beaten, paraded naked through town and imprisoned in Shimabara Castle.

The following day, the Christians were tortured. The government wanted to avoid making martyrs, but used the cruelest methods to force Christians to deny their faith. One of the soldiers teased Paulo as he held a knife, saying “How many of your children’s fingers should we take?” Paulo replied, “It is all up to you.”

The soldiers cut off all of the children’s fingers except their thumbs and little fingers, saying Christians should have fewer fingers that an animal. Paulo’s two oldest children, Antonio and Barutabazaru offered their fingers to the soldiers, without crying or showing pain. The last child was Paulo’s youngest, Ignatius, age five. He also showed no pain as his fingers were but off. He raised his bleeding hands to the sky, offering them to God. Those who were watching were surprised by what they saw and were deeply moved by the children’s bravery.

The soldier then bound that hands and feet of 16 people including Paulo’s children and threw them repeatedly in the ice-cold water of Shimabara Bay. Still the Christians would not renounce their faith. Antonio’s last words before he disappeared into the ocean were, “Father, we should thank God for giving us such a great blessing.”

After his children drowned, Paulo’s face was branded with the three Japanese characters of the word, “Christian.” He was thrown out on the streets with a sign on his kimono reading, “Punished for being a Christian. It is forbidden to help this man or give him shelter.”

A week after the martyrdom of his children, Paulo was sent up Mt. Unzen with 15 other Christians to experience “torture in the hells of the Unzen volcano.” Paulo was hung upside down and lowered into the boiling sulfur waters many times. He prayed out loud each time, realizing he was part of the Body of Christ, “The Eucharist should be hallowed.” Finally, his body was thrown into the boiling spring.

The faith of Paulo and his children encourage us today. We know that they, along with many other unnamed Japanese Christians, were welcomed into Jesus’ presence and now wear robes of white.

Pray that Christians around the world who are being persecuted will have the strength to endure the suffering. Pray that God will use the persecution to sovereignly expand His kingdom around the globe. Pray that believers will be a witness to the grace and love of Christ in the face of those persecuting them. Remember to not only pray for our persecuted brethren on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church but pray for them every day. If you are a Christian, we are all part of the body of Christ and if they hurt, we should be hurting with them. “Remember those is prison as though in prison with them.”

When Adoption Fails, the Gospel is Not Necessarily Denied

Some time ago Al Mohler wrote a blog in response to Torry Hansen putting her 7 year old adopted son on plane and sending him back to Russia, the land of his birth.  I agree with him that this is a reprehensible thing to do to a child.  I sure Torry Hansen was at the end of her rope and felt she had nowhere she could turn for help.  However, her response to the situation was not the appropriate Christian response.  Dr. Mohler interacted with this news story in his blog post which he concluded with the remark, “When adoption fails — whatever the reason — the Gospel is denied.”

I saw this article when it was orginally posted and have been meaning to interact with it for almost a year and half.  I went back to re-read his post and noticed that he added an addendem four days after the original post in which he retracted his comment, “When adoption fails — whatever the reason — the Gospel is denied.”  I would like to tip my hat to Dr. Mohler for retracting what I consider to be a dangerous comment.  I commend him for writing the addendum to explain why he needed to retract his remark.

The Excogitating Engineer is an adoptive parent and knows many other adoptive parents.  There are many situations where adoptions fail due to the choices the child makes.  Being adopted is a legal state in which the child becomes part of a new family.  However, noboday can force a child to emotionally join the family.  When the adopted child refuses to join the family and manifests behaviors that are dangerous to the rest of the family, sometime that child has to be removed.  In this situation, the gospel is not denied.  In this situation the gospel is actually rejected by the child for the child is offered the opportunity to join the family but he rejects it.  It is more a picture of the condition of the hardened human heart that rejects the grace and forgiveness offered by Christ.

So adoption is not the gospel.  Adoption is a picture of the gospel.  It is offerely freely to some children who accept it and freely join the new family God gives them.  Sometimes children reject the adoptive family God gives them.  This is a picture of the natural human condition such as the rich young ruler who rejected the offer of the gospel.  The Gospel is only denied if the parents deny the child the forever family offered during the adoption process.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

November is National Adoption Month

Are you an adoptive parent? This month is National Adoption Month. What are you personally doing to promote this emphasis on the calendar? Here are some ways that Adoptive Families recommends you raise awareness at your child’s school, assuming that your child is school age. Please read them and consider trying some of them at your child’s school.

1. Write a letter to your child’s teacher.
This is a good way to explain your family situation and inform your teacher about what kind of language to use when talking about adoption in the classroom.

2. Read an adoption storybook to the class during story time.
Some books Adoptive Families recommends for this are All About Adoption by Marc Nemiroff (ages 4-8), How I Was Adopted by Joanna Cole (ages 4-8), A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza (ages 3-6), and Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis (ages 4-10). To keep adoption stories on the radar year-round consider donating some adoption books to your child’s classroom.

3. Give an adoption presentation in first or second grade.
This is a good way to explain adoption to your child’s peers. Don’t use your child’s story specifically. Tell a story using dolls and props. For more information on presenting adoption to students visit adoptivefamilies.com/school.

4. Educate other parents.
You can do this by sending home “Helping Classmates Understand Adoption” with your child’s classmates. This is available at adoptivefamilies.com/pdf/Classmates.pdf.

5. Suggest a community service project around National Adoption Day.
National Adoption Day is the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Your child’s class might give goods and clothing to foster families or make thank you notes for foster parents or donate gifts to foster kids.

6. Let your child’s teacher know you are an ally.
Offer your help to the teacher for when adoption issues may come up. Be proactive and ask if there is going to be a family tree project and discuss how the teacher should handle adopted children in that project. If the teacher hasn’t had much experience with adoption she may be happy to know that you are willing to be on call to answer any questions that may come up.

7. Introduce the topic of racial differences around the world.
Some children’s books on this topic are We’re Different, We’re the Same by Bobbi Kates (ages 3-8) and Children Just Like Me by Anabel Kindersley (ages 8-12)

8. Help teachers rethink sticky assignments.
Projects designed to explore the child’s past can be difficult for adopted kids. Encourage the teacher to present some options to the entire class. Here are some examples.
- Family Tree: Students can draw themselves on the trunk of a tree and whom they love on each branch, regardless of biological or adoptive relationships.
- Timeline: Instead of starting with their birthdates children can cite memorable events from each calendar year they’ve been alive. Older students could create a timeline that includes a national or world event from each year they’ve been alive.

9. Arm your child with answers to questions he may be asked in class or on the playground.
Here are some examples from Adoptive Families of questions and some potential answers to teach your child:

Q – Where do you come from?
A – What do you mean? Are you asking where I was born or where I live?
or
A – New York

Q – Is that your real mother?
A – Yes. She dropped me off at school today.
or
A – Do you mean my birthmother? I don’t live with my birthmother.

Q – Why didn’t your real mother want you?
A – Are you asking why I was placed for adoption?
or
A – My birthmother couldn’t take care of me, but she made sure I was adopted by my parents.
or
A – That’s private.

Q – Why don’t you speak Chinese?
A – I am American like you, so I speak English.

10. Celebrate your child’s adoption day at school.
Just as many children celebrate birthdays at school, you may want to plan some festivities for your child’s class around his adoption day. You can visit your child’s class and read a book such as We Adopted You, Benjamin Koo by Linda Walvoord Girard (ages 4-8) or Happy Adoption Day by John McCutheon (ages 2-6). You can cap off the occasion with some treats.

11. Teach the teachers.
Write to the principal or Parent Teacher Association to suggest a professional training session about adoption for the faculty. Here are some points that education professionals need to understand.
- Adoption is an open and natural topic in your family.
- Children born in a different country are not experts on the language or culture of that country. – There are neither real families nor fake families. Adoptive parents are parents like any others.
- Genetics and immigration can be taught without requiring students to trace their nuclear family’s roots.

12. Help the teacher blend adoption into the curriculum.
Mentioning adoption from time to time in a matter-of-fact way helps kids see that adoption is a normal life experience for many families.

13. Give the teacher ready-made answers for common classroom questions.

Q – Where are Ben’s real parents?
A – Ben’s real parents are the parents who are raising him. John and Kathy, who pick him up from school each day. He also has birthparents who gave birth to him.

Q – Why didn’t Ben’s first family want him?
A – They probably wanted him very much but couldn’t take care of any baby at that time. They wanted him to have a family to love him and take care of him forever.

Q – Where is Ben from?
A – He’s from Ohio . He was born in Russia, but now he’s a U.S. citizen, like you.

Q – Does he speak Russian?
A – No. Ben came to the U.S. when he was a baby. He was not speaking any language at that time! Children speak the language of the country they are raised in, just as you speak English and not the language of your grandparents spoke before they immigrated to the U.S.

14. Donate a packet of educator materials to the school.
Provide your child’s teacher with:
- Adoption and the Schools (fairfamilies.org)
- An Educator’s Guide to Adoption (adoptioninformationinstitute.org)
- S.A.F.E. at School (adoptionsupport.org)

15. Celebrate the many cultures of the world.
Volunteer to make dishes from all cultures of origin in your family. A good resource for celebrating other cultures is Children Just Like Me: Celebrations by Anabel Kindersley. Your child’s classmates will enjoy hearing the Cinderella tale as it’s told in his birth culture.

Russ Moore’s “Don’t Adopt” and His Rhetorical Flourish

There are few leaders within Evangelicalism who have been calling for churches and families to care for orphans as Russ Moore has.  He and a handful of others have encouraged Christians to foster and adopt children pointing to James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”  Moore has been able to use his influential position as a theologian, author and educator with a large audience to champion this cause.  For this I am truly grateful.  However, being a theologian and an adoptive parent does not make one an authority on all issues surrounding adoption.  He has and should speak with authority on what the Bible teaches regarding adoption but that is where it should stop for a theologian.  Theologians and Bible scholars should teach God’s Word and stop where the Scriptures stop.  They should not teach their opinions on adoption as if they are authoritative and come from God’s Word.  Neither do I speak as an authority.  I speak as one who has experienced multiple adoptions and has some first-hand knowledge of trauma related behavior disorders in adopted children but I am not an expert.

Russ Moore has recently written a blog called Don’t Adopt.  Many times authors will employ rhetorical flourish in their writings to make their point of view sound convincing by mischaracterizing the opposing point of view to the extent that the author’s view becomes the only tenable or reasonable position.  Russ Moore skillfully uses this tactic in his article and it must be pointed out.

In Don’t Adopt, Moore argues that people should not adopt if they just want to get their “dream baby.”  According to Moore too many Christian parents adopt children “without a commitment to fidelity no matter what.”  This results in “rejection of [the adopted child] by failing to live up to the expectations of parents who had no business imposing such expectations in the first place.”  He says that there are some who see adoption as a way of finding that perfect child but children are fallen human beings and none of them will live up to the desires of their parents.  As he puts it, the adopted child will not live up to the parent’s “specifications.”  The kinds of adoptive parents he describes that should not adopt are extremely superficial and do not see the child in the way that they should as coming from a shattered home or the absence of a family.  These kinds of parents, Moore says, should just “buy a cat and make believe” that it is a child.

Moore goes on to explain the kind of attitude adoptive parents should have when adopting.  Adoptive parents need to understand that there is no such thing as an adoption that is not special needs because all adopted children come from some sort of trauma in their background.  All adopted children have special needs but you may just not know what those needs are on the front end of the adoption.  He calls on adoptive parents to count the cost of the adoption just as a king would measure his troops before a war.  Don’t go into the adoption without knowing what you are getting into.  He goes on to say that this is what the church needs in caring for the fatherless.

We need a battalion of Christians ready to adopt, foster, and minister to orphans. But that means we need Christians ready to care for real orphans, with all the brokenness and risk that comes with it. We need Christians who can reflect the adopting power of the gospel, which didn’t seek out a boutique nursery but a household of ex-orphans who were found wallowing in our own blood, with Satan’s genes in our bloodstreams.

However, if you are one of those wanting that “dream baby,” Moore has the following words for you.

If what you like is the idea of a baby who fulfills your needs and meets your expectations, just buy a cat. Decorate the nursery, if you’d like. Dress it up in pink or blue, and take pictures. And be sure to have it declawed.

I admit that Russ Moore makes some great points in this article.  It is his rhetorical flourish with which he paints with broad strokes a picture of those that should not adopt that really bothers me.  What is the rhetorical flourish?  He starts out the article talking about the “dream baby” and that adopting a child is not the same thing as “ordering a consumer item.”  Well of course not!  What adult in their right mind would equate buying a consumer item with adopting a child?  And who wants a dream baby?  I have never heard of such.  I know many adoptive parents and have NEVER heard any prospective parents make mention of their child having to be an athletic and academic All-American while winning all of the beauty pageants and being the student body president.  How ridiculous is that?  Please give prospective adoptive parents and little more credit and respect than that.  They are not adopting to get a “dream baby.”  He paints a picture of some adoptive parents which sounds ridiculous on purpose to stress a point that Moore believes which is that adoptive parents should not have specifications or limitations when adopting a child and anyone who does wants a “dream child” is a ridiculous person who shouldn’t adopt.  This is the rhetorical flourish.

If you have never adopted, you may not know what specifications he is referring to.  When you adopt a child you will be asked about what kind of child you are willing to adopt.  Do you require a specific hair color or skin color?  Are you open to any age or do you have age requirements?  Are you open to a child with serious medical conditions?  Are you open to a child with fetal alcohol syndrome, HIV, or brain damage?  Are you open to a child who might need multiple heart surgeries in order to survive?  Are you open to any ethnicities or do you want a child who is of the same ethnic background as you?  These are some of the types of questions you have to answer.  The way I read Moore, if you have any limitations or requirements you have specifications and consequently you want a dream baby.  This is a self-refuting position because you always have specifications.  You may be open to any and all health conditions but if you are adopting from China your specification is that the child will be Chinese.  If you are adopting from Russia then your expectation is that it will be a white child with fair skin, unless you adopt an ethnic minority from Russia.  You may not have the financial resources to give a child multiple surgeries but you may have the resources to give an orphan a family.  In that case, you might place some limits on the health conditions of the child and that may not be entirely unreasonable.  If you have decided that it is not a good idea to interrupt the birth order of your home, you may have some age requirements.  While some of these requirements (or specifications) are superficial most of them are serious questions potential adoptive parents need to consider.  Considering these questions does not make you a person who is after a dream baby.

Another one of his implications is that if the adoption is disrupted it is entirely the fault of the parents who had unrealistic expectations.  He implies that in the case of a failed adoption, the adoptive parents did not consider the brokenness and risk that comes from adoption and that disruptions are the result of children not living up to parents’ expectations.  This idea is clearly naïve and uninformed view of adoption.  It is my hope and prayer that all adoptions work out.  Disruptions are sad but the truth of the matter is that not all adoptions work out.  You should not blame the adoptions that do not work out completely on the parents.  Being adopted is a legal condition of being put under the authority and care of responsible adults.  The legal position of having been adopted has nothing to do with whether or not the child emotionally ever decides to submit to the parents through trust and obedience.  They may legally be adopted children in a family but they may emotionally never join the family.  Many adopted children have outlandish behaviors.  Some sexually assault their siblings.  Some do physical violence to their parents, siblings, and peers.  Some threaten to kill their parents.  Some burn the house down.  These are just a few examples of what some legally adopted children who never actually emotionally allow themselves to be adopted do in order to not join their adopted families.  The Excogitating Engineer knows of several families who have been dealing with similar issues for years.  You can read about one of them here.  Many adoptive parents have multiple children.  Parents have responsibilities to all of their children.  If an adopted child with severe trauma issues endangers other family members, parents have the obligation to decide whether or not the dangerous child should be removed from the home because parents’ obligation to their entire family includes all of their children; not just the adopted ones.  Ultimately, it is usually the behavior of the adopted child who tries to traumatize her adoptive family that causes her removal from the home.  The adoptive parents want the child to become part of the family rather than just sharing a roof.  It is not due to unrealistic expectations as Russ Moore postulates.  More often than not, it is due to violent and outlandish behaviors of the child.  Moore is way off base in suggesting that adoptions that end in children being removed from the home are a result of unrealistic expectations of the parents.  I realize that I, too, am making generalizations here but they are based on what I have read about adoption.  I do not say these things as if my words are supported by Scripture.  What I am writing is my understanding of the ways things are in general regarding adoptive families.

Adoptive parents do not expect to have a perfect child.  Moore suggests that those who expect a perfect child should adopt a cat instead.  Having been in the adoption community for 10 years I have never met a single adoptive parent or potential adoptive parent who expected a perfect child or a dream baby.  In fact, all of the adoptive parents I know understand that they would be rescuing a damaged and hurt child from a seemingly hopeless situation by opening up their family to the child through adoption.  As far as I know countries involved in international adoption and part of The Hague Convention require prospective adoptive parents to go through training about adoption and the risks involved.  Moore trivializes these risks by suggesting that those who end up dealing trauma related behavior disorders simply were expecting a perfect child.  Nobody expects a perfect child.  Nobody.  Neither biological nor adoptive parents.  To suggest otherwise is insulting.

As I mentioned earlier, Moore suggests that there are adoptions that are not special needs.  He supports this notion by pointing out that all adoptions are a result of a tragedy that caused separation between the child and his or her biological parents.  At some point, the child experienced some separation anxiety from the biological mother.  In this sense, yes, all adoptions are special needs.  All adopted children have special needs and have special pain that needs to be dealt with that most children who are living with their biological children will never experience.  However, to say that there are no adoptions that are not special needs places all of the special needs in the same category.  For example a child adopted from Guatemala who was cared for by a caregiver until the adoptive parents came to adopt her did experience a low level of trauma when she was separated from her parents.  By contrast, however, her level of trauma is going to pale in comparison to a child adopted from Russia whose mother drank vodka all throughout the pregnancy, was not nurtured as an infant, and was physically and sexually abused as a child.  The child that was abused is likely going to have much greater trauma and much greater special needs.  To put both children in the same special needs category diminishes the needs of the abused child.  If we are going to take Moore’s position that all adoptive children are special needs, we should go ahead and take it a step further.  All children all special needs!  We cannot say that there are any children who are not special needs because all children are born with original sin inherited from Adam.  We are all born with the natural inclination towards evil and away from God.  We are all special needs.  NO!  You cannot put all children in the same category.  Some children, adopted and not adopted, have special needs that other children do not have.  Many children have been through horrific experiences that no child should.  Traumatic experiences or lack of nurture and love during critical stages of childhood result in some children having special needs.  The corollary is also true.  The lack of such abuse and trauma results in some children not having special needs.  So no, not all adopted children are special needs children.

As I continue to evaluate Moore’s article his rhetorical flourish, I noticed that he employs another self-refuting argument.  He says, “Jesus tells us we ought to know that a king going into battle must measure his troops, a tower-builder must count the expenses of the project.”  He goes on that say that you may not know the special needs of a child on the front end of adoption.  Well, how are you supposed to “count the cost” without knowing the cost?  In other words, if you don’t know what the special needs are on the front end you cannot consider the costs since it is unknown.  Besides this contradiction, I do not believe that love is something that requires counting the cost.  Love is giving your life to another and reflecting the truths of the gospel through that love.  By loving someone you are completely giving yourself to them.  This is not something where you can count the cost.  You give all of yourself.  It is a self-sacrificing kind of love.  You make a decision to love regardless of what happens.  When you marry someone, do you count the cost?  No!  You completely commit yourself to them and decide to be joined together.  Adoption is similar in the sense that you commit yourselves, as parents, to the child for life because you are now their forever family.  You don’t count the cost.  You just do what you have to do.

Russ Moore has done a great deal to promote adoption and encourage Christians to consider the practical implications of James 1:27.  Adoptions and foster parenting have become popular in large part due to his teaching and writing.  Orphan care is now on many people’s radar when it wasn’t before.  Moore has a large audience who is eager to hear what he has to say.  This has helped tremendously in getting the adoption message out.  However, many times such as in this article he has overstepped his bounds.  I would like to call on him to do the following.

1. Please limit your comments on orphan care and adoption to the Scriptures.  As far as I know, you are an adoptive father and a theologian.  That does not make you an expert on adoption in general or adoption trauma related behavior disorders.  Feel free to give your opinion on adoption but please don’t state your non-biblical opinions as fact.
2. Please do not use rhetorical flourish to make a point.  As Christians we must be precise and accurate in our language.  Please do not use broad strokes of the brush of language in order to make a point.
3. Please understand that not everyone has a perfect adoption experience.  Remember that every adoption situation is different.  The fact that you may have not experienced trauma related difficulties is not a result of your great commitment or parenting but is a result of God’s grace.  As you promote adoption please remember that there are those who struggle with many disorders related to past trauma.  It is easy to sit in an ivory tower of theological education and look through rose colored lenses but remember that not everyone has an adoption experience like yours.
4. Lastly, please remember that all children and people are made in the image of God.  You, as a theologian, understand this greater than the rest of us.  Telling prospective adoptive parents to adopt a declawed cat is not humorous but insulting.  Through your analogy you have placed non-human animal life on the same level as humanity into whom the very creator of the universe breathed life.  This is insulting to adoptive parents as it places the adoption of children on the same level as going to the Humane Society and adopting a cat.  May it never be!

Thank you, Russ Moore, for your contribution to adoption and orphan care.  However, please exercise greater discretion as your write and teach on the issue.  I pray and trust that God will continue to use you in a great way to open up more Christian homes to the fatherless and that in the process that your words would be seasoned with His grace.  Soli Deo Gloria!

One With Them

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:12)  Those who are in pursuit of the kingdom of heaven will be able to persevere through persecution to obtain the reward of the kingdom of heaven.  In Philippians 1:29 Paul says, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” because Christians will face persecution.  We don’t hear about it on the news and we rarely hear about it in our churches.  However, there are parts of the body of Christ around the world that are experiencing persecution and the church in America, as a whole, sleeps and is oblivious to it.  Thankfully there are some organizations that are involved in ministering to the persecuted church.  One such organization is Open Doors.

 

 

If you desire to pray for the persecuted church but have a hard time remembering, Open Doors has a program called One With Them.  It is based on 1 Corinthians 12:26 which teaches us that when one member of the body suffers, all of the members suffer with it.  If you go to the One With Them website, you can request a free bracelet to remind you to pray for those members of our body who are suffering.  It is shaped like a crown of thorns so you will easily be reminded to pray for and to be an advocate for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering persecution for the sake of righteousness.  Get your bracelet and pray for the persecuted church!

The Part Cannot Tell the Gauge, “You’re Wrong!”

I am an engineer and I work in manufacturing.  My company manufactures parts for automobiles and trucks.  Our goal is to manufacture quality parts that meet the requirements on the customer drawings.  How do we know that the part meets the customer requirements?  We know this by various testing criteria and by taking dimensional measurements.  Dimensional measurements are taken by means of some sort of gauge such as a caliper, micrometer, CMM, or some other specialized measurement tool.

It is interesting that when there is a change in the manufacturing process or a mistake made by a machine or operator, the gauge always picks up the difference which has resulted in a non-conforming or bad part.  The gauge that is used for measuring the part tell you that the part is out of specification by telling you what the measurement of the part is.  The gauge does not change but the manufactured part changes from time to time.  It is the responsibility of the gauge to pick up on that change so that our company can know that we have a problem and we need to modify our process to bring it back into control or, said another way, to start making good parts again.  When the gauge picks up on the fact that bad parts are being made, the part cannot say to the gauge, “you’re wrong!”  Those with the technical know-how have to figure out how to change the process so that what the gauge is measuring within spec again.

How ridiculous would it be for an engineer to throw away a gauge rather than fixing the manufacturing process that is making a bad part?  The gauge does not change.  The gauge is calibrated to a master standard that is traceable to a universal standard.  The gauge is the benchmark by which all parts are measured.  If the part changes, it has  no authority over the gauge.  The part must be reworked or scrapped.  The parts or process may change but the gauge and specification requirements stay the same.

Similarly, we have another standard which is a benchmark.  The particular benchmark I have in mind is the canon of Scripture.  How often do people say that times have changed and people have changed so must the requirements in the Bible?  Get with the times, society has changed.  I say, NO!  The standard does not change.  The Bible is timeless and the requirements of us therein have not changed.  We cannot tell the Bible that it is wrong just because society accepts certain immoral and ungodly behavior any more than a bad manufactured part can say to the gauge, “you’re wrong!”  No, the standards found in God’s Word do not change.  Indeed, people have changed but the standard by which we are measured is still the same.

This is where there is really bad news.  The bad news is that nobody can measure up to that standard.  Using the analogy of manufactured parts, we are all bad and out of spec!  None of us measure up to God’s standard.  The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  There is worse news yet.  The worse news is that we are all scrap parts.  The penalty for us falling short of God’s standard by our own sin is death (Romans 6:23).  We are all destined for the scrap bin, or to be eternally separated from God in an awful place called hell.  Ah, but there is good news that follows that bad news.  The good news is that God sent His own Son to pay the price for our sin by living a sinless life, dying on a cross, and being resurrected to give us new life.  We must repent of our sins and put our faith in Christ that he will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us of all unrsighteouness (1 John 1:9).

Thank God!  We are all non-conforming parts (sinners) destined for the scrap bin (hell).  But God has made a way for us to be reworked (saved) in order to be brought into specification (through the person and work of Jesus Christ).  As parts that God has brought into specification through the blood of His Son, we are now parts that can be used for His glory.  Thanks be to God!

Daddy, Are we going to big church?

Some time ago on Sunday morning after Sunday School my 7 year old asked, “Daddy, are we going to big church?”  He was referring to whether or not he was going to worship with the adults or going to ‘children’s church.’ 

It is interesting to note that at the church where we are currently members there is no children’s church.  However, until we joined the church November my son had been accustomed to going to children’s church on Sunday morning.  Sunday night was the only time he would go to ‘big church.’  Although we had been at our new church for almost 6 months I guess my son had forgotten that there is no children’s church.

When he asked me the question, “are we going to big church?” I answered and reminded him that there is only one worship service at this church and everyone (except for those in the nursery) worships together.  At the same time I was thinking to myself how thankful I am to be in a church where families worship together and how glad I am that there is no children’s church.  I am a big proponent of families worshipping together with children even as young as my 5 year old who is in worship with us every week.  Here are my reasons.

1. By being in worship with their parents, children can observe their parents singing praises to God and can listen to the exposition of God’s Word.  Children learn by watching Mom and Dad and observing that they enjoy praising God.  They learn that Mom and Dad value and honor God’s Word by listening attentively to the preaching of the Bible.

2. By being in worship with their parents, children lose the opportunity to play and not pay attention.  Of course children are children and they cannot focus and understand all that is being said.  However, in children’s church there is typically a handfull (at best) of adults with a roomfull of children.  Children fidget, whisper, and laugh and do not have to pay attention.  By sitting in worship with their parents the opporunity for playing and goofing off is curtailed greatly.  This is probably why children’s churches so often utilize videos to keep the children’s attention.  This brings me to my third point.

3. By being in worship with their parents, children are taught that God’s Word and the exposition of it is the most central part of worship.  I am sure that not all children’s church programs use videos.  However, the use of videos does not teach that God’s Word is central.  Discussion about what the children think about a particular passage or talking about their upcoming family vacation does not teach them that the Word is a central part of worship either.  I do believe that talking about family events and discussing Bible stories is good but Sunday School is the more appropriate context for this to take place.

4. By being in worship with their parents, children are taught great hymns and worship songs of the faith.  I am not saying that children do not learn good songs in children’s church because they do.  However, the songs that can be sung in children’s church are greatly limited by the fact that children of that age have not learned to read yet.  By being in worship with Mom and Dad children are exposed to a greater variety of songs and although the children may not be able to read yet, they learn the words by repetition and hearing the songs sung over and over.  My 5 year old knows words to many songs just because she has heard them so many times.  A by-product of this is that this is a good opportunity for children to develop their reading skills by following along in the song book.

5. By being in worship together, parents are better able to develop teachable moments using the sermon from Sunday morning.  Since Mom and Dad are not in children’s church with their children they do not know what their children were taught.  All they have to go on is what their children say they learned.  By being in worship together, parents know what was taught in the message that their child heard.  Parents can draw on the sermon’s teaching throughout the week as they teach their children obedience to God’s Word.  Mom and Dad can say during the week, “do you remember what the pastor said on Sunday morning about what the Bible teaches about this?”  This becomes a teachable moment where the parent can draw on the Word and the worship experience to teach the child about God’s character, our obedience, etc.

I am so thankful to be in a church where the pastor believes in expository preaching and the children are in worship with us.

Here is a side note.  One Sunday each year the children help lead in worship.  My 9 year old was an usher and helped collect the offering.  He told his Sunday School teacher that collecting the offering was his favorite part of the service.  To that comment his teacher responded, “I hope the preaching will be your favorite part one day.”  Amen to that!

What is Evangelism?

We recently discussed the BF&M article on evangelism and missions. Here is Article XI of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000.

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

Here is my definition of evangelism from a different perspective:

The basic definition of evangelism should be based on Acts 1:8 (NASB) which says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” We are to be witnesses for Christ in “Jerusalem,” or where we live in our current context, and even to the remotest parts of the earth. Those of us who know Jesus in an intimate and personal way know what an incredible joy, peace, and abundant life God gives. In Acts 1:8, Christ commands believers to share that knowledge with everyone around.

That is the basic meaning. However, in order to grasp the full meaning of evangelism we should look at some models of it. One of these models is called “presence evangelism” and a good example of this model is being practiced by Steve Sjogren and the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sjogren calls it “servant evangelism” and says that “if we can enter their lives at the point of their need, it shows God’s love.” They do this in various ways by performing acts of kindness for which they refuse monetary payment. These acts include windshield washing, toilet cleaning, shoe shining, car washing, parking meter feeding, etc. When they do the kind act, they give the recipient a card which has printed on it information about their church. This is an effective way of getting the church’s name out in the community and demonstrating that the church is taking an active role in society but it fails miserably in the area of confronting the non-believer the the gospel. Their goal is to get people to come to church but they are not really doing evangelism.

Another model of evangelism is the “relational incarnation approach.” This model is based on John 1:17 which says that “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” The basic idea is that God communicated the gospel by no other means than taking on human flesh and dwelling among us. Those who use this model believe that we should build friendships with others before telling them about the gospel, and this developed relationship “makes the gospel more meaningful and believable.” By developing the relationship and by living out a victorious Christian life in front of the non-believer, the gospel is given validity and credibility and shows the non-Christian that Christ has relevance in believer’s lives. This is an effective method but is it sufficient?  Does this complete the task of evangelism?

There is still another approach to evangelism we should discuss. It is the “comprehensive-incarnational approach.” This approach takes the principles of the “relational-incarnation approach” and holistically puts them into practice. Mark McCloskey gives fives theological concerns which this approach addresses.

1. Example of Christ – We are to build relationships as Christ did.
2. Proclamation – Proclamation is a very important component of evangelism since this very gospel which we proclaim “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16)
3. Holy Spirit convicts the hearts of non-believers – “Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction.” 1 Thessalonians 1:5
4. All believers are called to be evangelists.
5. Evangelism is an urgent task.

The strength of this approach is that it is theologically comprehensive. It takes into account the urgency of evangelism while still emphasizing the need to be sensitive in communication and recognizing man’s spiritual blindness. It is also preferable to the previous method because this approach includes people beyond friends and those whom we are in the process of befriending. The gospel and the Holy Spirit are powerful so it is possible that the lost can be drawn to Christ without the context of a mutual friendship. Along the same lines, God has commanded us to make disciples of “all nations” which would not limit us to our friends. However, when we start discussing the gospel for the nations we leave the realm of evangelism and enter into the area of missions. I believe the two (evangelism and missions) must be distinguished.

This method (“comprehensive-incarnational approach”) is preferable to the other two approaches discussed. But we must still ask the question “is it adequate?” Is there more to evangelism than this? Let’s dig a little deeper to answer this question.

Consider Matthew 28:18-20 NASB:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying ‘All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”

Through this Great Commission text God gives four commands: go, make disciples, baptize, and teach. Three of those words, “go, baptize, and teach,” in the Greek are participles. Only one of the action verbs in the Great Commission is an imperative verb. The imperative verb is “make disciples.” C. Peter Wagner says that “it is clear exegetically that the goal of the Great Commission is to make disciples. Going, teaching, and baptizing falls short of the commandment without the making of disciples. These three actions are prerequisites to making disciples but all four must happen for evangelism to take place.

Here is the definition of evangelism upon which Peter Wagner and John Stott agreed:

The nature of evangelism is the communication of the Good News. The purpose of evangelism is to give individuals and groups valid opportunity to accept Jesus Christ. The goal of evangelism is to persuade men and women to become disciples of Jesus Christ and to serve him the fellowship of the church.

I have some serious theological problems with their definition but the strength of it is that their definition includes discipleship. Evangelism does not stop when God saves someone. The new believer must be discipled to become a responsible spiritually reproducing member of the body of Christ.

Another way stating my concerns about how evangelicals view evangelism may be to state what evangelism is not.

1. Evangelism is not washing someone’s car
2. Evangelism is not giving someone a warm meal
3. Evangelism is not befriending a non-believer
4. Evangelism is not giving someone a sermon on tape
5. Evangelism is not inviting someone to church
6. Evangelism is not getting someone to recite a prayer
7. Evangelism is not getting someone to walk an aisle
8. Evangelsim is not getting someone on the church roll
9. Evangelism is not complete until the new believer is discipled

Robert Coleman says it best in The Master Plan of Evangelism. Although he is speaking of the Great Commission, what he says applies to the task of evangelism as well.

“This means that the Great Commission is not merely to go to the ends of the earth preaching the gospel, not to baptize a lot of converts into the name of the triune God, nor to teach them the precepts of Christ, but to “make disciples” – to build people like themselves who were so constrained by the commission of Christ that they not only followed, but also let others to follow his way. “

The task of evangelism involves not only showing the love of Christ to others, but it also involves confronting non-believers with the truths of the gospel and teaching the newly-revealed elect how to become spiritually reproducing saints. 

Regardless of how we define the task, most of us rarely engage ourselves in this task. Let us be about the task to which God has called us.  Let us not forsake God’s command but let us be winners of souls so that God may be glorified.  To God be all the glory.

Oh Little Orphan Boy, While You Were Sleeping

I have a heart for adoption and I love to see orphans given families to join.  It is a beautiful picture of the gospel and what God does for us.  God uses adoption to complete families and also to give children families which they so desperately need.  I know many people who have adopted.  I know many who have adopted internationally and domestically.  I also know of several adults who were adopted as children.  It is a wonderful temporal picture of what Christ offers to us for eternity.

I know of one particular family who has adopted a boy.  Due to events in this boy’s life prior to adoption he does not trust family or parents.  Therefore, he does everything he can to push his adoptive family away – particularly his adoptive parents.  He is scared to death of what could happen if he decides to trust his parents and actually join the family.  The problem is that the only thing that can ensure his safety is him trusting his parents and joining the family.  By not trusting and attaching to his parents he feels safe by not making himself vulnerable but that is actually a very dangerous place to be.  He has got to trust his parents in order to be truly safe within the bonds of family.

As I think about this boy, I am reminded of a song by Casting Crowns called While You Were Sleeping.  Here is the song on youtube.   The lyrics are below.   The first verse is about Bethlehem and what they missed out on that night that baby Jesus was born.  While Bethlehem was sleeping, they missed out on God becoming a man and coming to live among humanity.  They missed out on the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Bethlehem missed out on God becoming flesh that night.

The second verse is about Jerusalem.  The savior of the world was among the people of Jerusalem.  They beheld the Way, the Truth and the Life but they rejected him and put him to death on the cross.  They missed out on their king.

The third verse is about the United States of America.  America turned her back on God in favor of philosophies which turned her away from God.  America is a nation that now has no room for God.

This is a song about Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the United States of America – all of whom turned their back on God.  The only one in human history who can save any of them is Jesus and Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the United States all turned their back on Him and rejected him.  He was in Bethlehem but there was no room for Him.  He was in Jerusalam but they crucified him.  He is available for America but the USA has turned her back on God as well.

This is where the boy I mentioned earlier comes into the picture.  He has been given a family by God.  They have adopted him but he is too afraid to join it, thereby rejecting the family God has given him.  The only thing that can keep him safe is joining the family and trusting his parents to take care of him.  God has given him a gift – a family.  If he can learn to trust his earthly father maybe one day he will learn to trust the heavenly Father and be adopted into God’s family.  Just like Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the United States of America he is rejecting God and His gift – “while he is sleeping.”

I have written a fourth verse to the song to illustrate this child’s situation.  I call him orphan boy since he is not joining the family God has given him.  Scroll down to the end of the song to see the fourth voice I’ve added to the song.  I ask that you would pray for this adopted child and that he would join the family God has given him.  Pray that he would overcome his fear and receive the gift that God has made available to him – so that one day he will become a child of the heavenly Father.

“While You Were Sleeping” lyrics

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you’re lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight

Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

Oh little town of Jerusalem
Looks like another silent night
The Father gave His only Son
The Way, the Truth, the Life had come
But there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today
Jerusalem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we’re sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children
And while we’re lying in the dark
There’s a shout heard ‘cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night

America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay
America, will we go down in history
As a nation with no room for its King
Will we be sleeping
Will we be sleeping

MY ADDED FOURTH VERSE:

Oh little orphan boy
Looks like another silent night
Though God gave you a family
Of it you are afraid to join
Of What you are most afraid
It is what is safest for you
God gave you a gift of earthly parents
And is willing to adopt you into his very own family

Oh orphan boy, what you have missed while you were sleeping
How will you trust God
If you never trust your dad
Oh orphan boy, will you go down in history
As a boy who rejected the king
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

Sunday Nache Achi

Below is the testimony of Sunday Nache Achi from a past issue of the Voice of the Martyrs magazine.

While studying architecture, Sunday Nache Achi served as president of the campus ministry of the Evangelical Church of West Africa. Despite the tension between Muslim and Christian students on the university grounds, Sunday continued his ministry and Bible studies.

It was during one of his campus meetings on December 9, 2004, that men forced their way into Sunday’s dormitory. His roommate, Idakwo Ako Paul, was the only one there at the time. He stood face-to-face with three Muslim students dressed in traditional Muslim “jihad” clothing demanding to know where Sunday was.

When Sunday returned to his dorm, Paul warned him of the threats. But Sunday refused to run. He knew the risk and was determined to continue his ministry.

Later that night, the three Muslim students returned. They dragged Sunday from the room at gunpoint. Paul screamed for them to let him go, but to no avail.

The next morning Sunday’s body was found next to the mosque. His neck was broken from strangulation and bruises covered his body. His friends wept at the death of their friend and leader. One of the students remarked on Sunday’s faithfulness and declared:

“Evangelism is something we must be prepared to die for. I see in the Bible examples of many who had to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel. Why not me?”

As I read this testimony, I thought about how Christians in America are afraid to share their faith or to go out on outreach visitation. Why? Because we are afraid of being ridiculed? Worse yet, we are afraid of losing friends. We might even be passed over for a promotion because of our stand for Christ. In rare situations we could even lose our jobs for this.

When Sunday knew that his life was in danger because of his evangelistic activity, he did not run. He took a stand for his savior, looked danger straight in the face, and paid the ultimate price for his faith in Christ. Will you take a stand for Christ in your life? What will it cost you? Will you take that stand anyway or will you cave in because you cannot bear the consequence? I thank God for testimonies and examples like that of Sunday Nache Achi.