Preachers preaching the whole counsel of God

In a May 2008 article in Your Church magazine, 55 percent of pastors asked reported they can identify one or more topics on which they would not preach at all or only sparingly, because the sermon could negatively affect their hearers' willingness to attend church in the future. What? Are you kidding me? What happened to the man of God with a backbone of steel unafraid to say, "Thus sayeth the Lord!"

Among the topics these "men of God" would preach sparingly include:
• Politics (38%) – God’s people Israel might still be worshipping Baal if Elijah had been afraid to preach on politics.

• Homosexuality (23%) – to avoid this we must ignore Genesis 1-3, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, Ephesians 5-6, 1 Timothy 1:9-10 … well you get the idea.

• Abortion (18%) – we as preachers must affirm the sanctity of life. Proverbs 6:16-19 says there are “six things God hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him” and the third thing listed is “hands that shed innocent blood.” I ask you what is more innocent than a child in the safety of its mother’s womb? If we don’t speak out for the unborn who will?

• Same-sex marriage (17%) – the entirety of scripture affirms the home and establishes it between a man and a woman. How can these preachers look in the mirror if they are not willing to preach the counsel of God? The home between a man and woman did not originate in the heart and mind of man but in the heart and mind of God. God has uniquely made man and woman so that they might complement one another as they serve Him together.

• War (17%) – Romans 13 clearly affirms what we would refer to as a “just war.” Now I’m not saying that all wars are “just” but rather that scripture affirms there is a time for government to wage war as instruments of God and good.

• Women's role in church and home (13%) – I know Southern Baptists are viewed as Neanderthals when we affirm the biblical teachings 1 Timothy 3 and state that the offices of ministers and deacons God established for men. All other jobs in the church women do and do well. But for whatever reason God stated these two positions are to be held by men who are called to be spiritual leaders in their homes and the church. Now I know that some of my more liberal friends would point to Romans 16:1 and state that the Greek word for deacon is used in reference to Phoebe. While the word is used there are a few problems with saying Phoebe was a deacon. First, the word primarily means servant so Romans 16:1 could be translated that Phoebe was a servant of the Lord. Second, to use this text to prove she served as a deacon goes against the teachings of 1 Timothy 3 and scripture does not contradict scripture. Third, Romans 15:8 uses the same Greek word for deacon in reference to Jesus. So if we are going to say that Romans 16:1 proves Phoebe was a deacon, to be consistent we must say that Romans 15:8 proves Jesus was a deacon as well.

• The doctrine of election (13%) – I have a sneaky suspicion that those who would not preach on the doctrine of election lean toward a Calvinistic view of election and know that the masses in the church would not affirm that position so they “steer clear”.

• Hell (7%) – Jesus taught more on hell than He did heaven because He wanted us to understand the reality and terribleness of hell. Everyday thousands head to an eternity in hell separated from a God who loves them forever. How can we remain silent?

• Money (3%) – of all of these topics I guess this one surprises me the least. Nothing likely gets a preacher in more trouble than preaching on money. But I have found it’s those who are not practicing Christian stewardship that complain. After all as my adopted grandmother used to say while I was in college, “Son, when you throw a rock into a pack of dogs the one who yipes is the one who got hit.”

These are just my thoughts. What do you think? Are there topics preachers should avoid? Are there topics that we need to address even more?

Tom

Funny things heard on a plane

So having flown a couple of times during the past month I heard some funny stuff both from fellow passengers and stewards / stewardesses . So I thought I'd look around and try to find the funniest things people have heard from flight attendants. Here's some of the best I found:

As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"

"In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."

From the pilot during his welcome message: "Delta Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the Passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline." He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why, no, Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land, or were we shot down?"

After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."

A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to los Angeles. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax.. OH, MY GOD!" Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger in Coach yelled, "That's nothing. You should see the back of mine."

A crowded United Airlines flight was canceled. A single agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said, "I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS." The agent replied, "I'm sorry sir. I'll be happy to try to help you, but I've got to help these folks first, and I'm sure we'll be able to work something out." The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?" Without hesitating, the agent smiled and grabbed her public address microphone. "May I have your attention please," she began her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal. "We have a passenger here at Gate 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to Gate 14."

"Hello Everyone, we have a first time flyer on board today - and it is also their 50th birthday!" After everybody cheers, the flight attendant continues, "Will everyone please wish the captain a Happy Birthday!”

So, what’s the funniest thing you have ever heard on a plane?

In the game?

It was the 1st day of basketball practice at Wingate High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Coach handed a ball to each player. “Boys,” he said, “I want you to practice shooting from the spots you might expect to be in during the game.”

One of the boys, who most likely would be at the end of the bench and never see the court except in practice immediately sat down on the bench and began shoot the ball toward the basket from there.

Now we might try and justify this by saying that boy didn’t expect to get to play much. And we might suggest that he was just trying to get a laugh out of his teammates. But, there are some people who sit the bench, because that’s where they’ve gotten used to being. They never strive to much more than that - because they don’t believe in themselves enough to put in the extra effort and practice to change their status. And because of that: they’re always going to sit the bench.

It’s as if we’ve made Christianity into a spectator sport. We just sit back in church and listen to the music, and the sermons and never really get involved in the game. We need some Christians today to get off the sidelines and get on the front God has so much for you and I but we will never discover it as long as we watch safely from the sideline. We need to put our faith into action and get involved in the spiritual battle that is taking place all around us.

So I want to quickly give you a "test" so that you can see if your faith is active or if you're sitting on the bench:
1.If you are not attending church with an expectation that a great God wants to do great things in worship that day, get off the bench.
2.When you are no longer or not concerned about the spiritual condition of neighbors, family members, or your co-workers, get off the bench.
3.When you haven't shared your faith with the express purpose of someone coming to know Christ, get off the bench.
4.When Bible study is a drudgery and it seems lifeless to you, it's time to get off the bench.
5.when ones happiness on a Sunday mornings is more important than holiness... when simply making sure you get your parking spot, your seat, and hear the music you like, everything’s fine, it's time to get in the game.
6.With the mention of the word "missions" you think to yourself "I hope they are listening" rather than saying like Isaiah "Here am I, send me Lord" - then you have willingly taken yourself out of the game.
7.When giving cannot be done cheerfully, the hearts not right and the coach can't send you in the game.
8. When it never dawns on you that God might do something radical in your life at any moment today, when that's not even on your radar, you have lost touch with the coach.

Let's put down the spiritual remotes and get off the pew and start walking by faith with the Father.