What's with the Soteriology of the President's Spiritual Advisors?

 

    On August 19, 2025, The New York Times reported that President Trump is working to end the war between Russia and Ukraine because he's worried he might not get into Heaven. He told the "Fox and Friends" news program, "I want to try to get to heaven if possible. I am hearing I am not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, that [ending the war] will be one of the reasons."

    Where are his spiritual advisors? Where is Paul White-Cain or Robert Jeffress or Franklin Graham or Greg Laurie? I don't know White-Cain's work at all, but I am familiar with the theological formation of Jeffress, Graham, and Laurie. All three should be well schooled in the basics of evangelical theology. As the president's spiritual advisors, they should have covered all of this long before now.

    First, all people have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). All people. The writer of Romans, Apostle Paul, did not think he himself was above this. He writes of himself, "Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death" (Romans 7:24)? He would have said his sins bound him for death, the Roman Emperor's sins bound the emperor for death, and President Trump's sins do the same to him. Do any of the president's advisors promote him as being closer to holiness than the Apostle? 

    Most of the president's advisors, including those I've named, are so-called evangelicals. An evangelical distinctive is high regard for the Bible. A clear Biblical teaching is that all human beings are sinners, and the wage of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Here death means being eternally cut off from God. "For those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury" (Romans 2:8). Put aside the absurd notion that an American president could take credit for ending the war between Ukraine and Russia. Even if he could, that good work would not cancel out his sins or anyone's sins. The Bible, which evangelicals commit to obey, rejects the idea that good works earn salvation.

    Soteriology is the branch of theology that deals with salvation. Jeffress, Graham, and Laurie, all know and preach salvation by grace through faith. Along with adherence to the teaching in scripture, salvation by grace through faith is another evangelical distinctive. There are no exceptions to this. Ending a war might be considered a wonderful thing to accomplish, but it doesn't earn one salvation because salvation cannot be earned. This is a core evangelical idea  and all of the president's spiritual advisors would preach this in revivals and Sunday morning worship services.

    Someone under the spiritual guidance of known figures like Jeffress, Graham, Laurie should not wonder about whether they are heaven bound. Their advisors should have told them, "While we were sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). The advisors should have said, "Mr. President, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). If the president worried about heaven, they would tell him, "You are justified by grace, as a gift, through redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith" (Romans 6:24-25). 

    Either the president's advisors didn't give him these soteriological (salvific) basics, or they did, but he didn't listen. I get it. I have had people listen to my preaching for 15 years or more. I preach salvation by grace. And still, those who hear me week after week hold to some version of works righteousness. They think they have to be good enough to get into heaven. They don't understand or cannot accept that no one is good enough. Apparently the president doesn't grasp this either. Maybe he's beginning to.

    At the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa in 2015, then candidate Trump was asked if he ever asked God to forgive him. He responded, "I am not sure I have. I just try to go on and do a better job from there. ... I think if I do something wrong, I just try to make it right. I don't bring God into that picture. I don't" (https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/trump-has-never-sought-forgiveness). Asking forgiveness is not just an evangelical but a Christian distinctive. All Christians confess and ask for forgiveness. At the leadership summit, Mr. Trump did not deny sinning. He simply thought he could work it out with his own efforts. 

    Salvation is extremely humbling because we human beings have to admit we cannot work it out no matter how hard we try or how many wars we end. I can't, the Apostle cannot, and neither can Donald Trump. We are all utterly powerless before our sins. Our only hope is to admit that apart from Jesus, we have no hope. We throw ourselves on his mercy. Everyone in heaven is guilty, but forgiven. 

    President Trump's advisors need to go over salvation by grace through faith with him. They need to help him see that he desperately needs the mercy God gives through Jesus. This is not unique to Donald Trump. We all need forgiveness. We all need what can only be received as a gift; the gift of salvation from sin. If his advisors will tell him this and if he will listen, then he can repent, fall on God's grace, and be saved. He goes around thinking he can get himself into heaven by ending wars. He can't earn it. And he doesn't need to. Jesus already has. 

God is our Refuge ... We will not Fear

On July 7, 2025, hard rains fell and the creeks rose and the streets were flooded. We usually read about events like this. These are things that happen in other places, not here, where we live. This time, though, it was our turn to get hit. 

Water came in the church, flooded people out of their homes, and caused millions of dollars in property damage. For people, like those in our own congregation, who had to be rescued out of their homes, this is traumatic. As a church, we want to support people however we can. We have called. We have prayed. We have provided meals for some. We have come alongside those who need supplies and encouragement.

Considering what happened theologically, I thought of Jonah. "You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all you waves and billows passed over me" (2:3). Floods, seas, raging torrents, unfathomable depths; water humbles humanity like few things can. We need it to live. We cannot survive without it. Yet, we are so small and insignificant, and powerless, before the might of water. 

Yet our God is bigger than the flood. In worship (July 13), we prayed Psalm 46. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ... We will not fear, though the waters roar and foam" (v.1, 3). When our people are going through great trials, this is as important as the material aid we give. We help people who are scared and traumatized remember  they are not alone and God is bigger than the storm and He loves us.

A Corinthians Poem

 

A Corinthians Poem

If Christ is proclaimed

            Raised from the dead

The deaths of those we love

            Will not cause despair

Yes, we certainly grieve

            We call, he’s not there

Absence and emptiness

            Weakness, heavy hearts

What, no resurrection?

            Our hope falls apart

Deny resurrection?

            What faith do you hold?

Open Corinthians

            Read what has been told

Jesus Christ is alive

            Some doubt this and dread

But in fact Christ has been

            Raised from the dead

You, me, and all have life

            Jesus is alive 

Surrender - A Lenten Discipline

 

“Surrender of the heart to God includes every possible way of obedience to God, because it means giving up one’s very being to God’s good pleasure.” This is from Jean-Pierre de Caussade, a French Jesuit priest who lived from the late 17^th to the mid 18^th century. This evokes thoughts of what Jesus said. “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (Mark 8:35).

            Of course, “those who lose their life for my sake” can mean many things. James, the older of the sons of Zebedee and one of the original 12, was beheaded by Herod because he was Jesus’ disciple (Acts 12:1-12). Christians in China in the late 20^th century experienced imprisonment due to their faith commitment. In these and many other cases, to lose one’s life for Jesus’ sake, was played out in real life, with faithful disciples literally dying or having their lives completely upended.

How do these words of Jesus apply in the lives of 21^st century American Christians? We don’t realistically fear imprisonment or bodily harm just because we have put our faith in Jesus. We are not punished for having claimed the Christian faith. In fact, every president in the history of the United States has claimed Christianity as their religious affiliation. Christians in America are free to express their faith.

De Caussade gets at my understanding of Jesus’ insistence that to follow him, we must give up our lives. In societies like ours, where Christians are not persecuted,  I think it comes down to personal surrender. What area of your life have you kept from Jesus. Does He get all of you, except that portion of the day you devote to online porn or online gambling? Do you partake of those harmful vices and just keep Jesus out of it?

Or maybe your marriage, or your sex life outside of marriage. You claim to be under the lordship of Jesus everywhere, except your bedroom. There, you’ll make your own decisions. The way of Jesus is the way you have committed to walk, but you forget about that when you get to your bedroom door. He is not welcome into your most intimate places.

Or maybe the place you withhold your faith is your money. You attend worship. You read the Bible. You give to some causes and give to the church. You volunteer. However, money is very important to you, and the decisions you make in life indicate that your money rules how you live out your faith. When we die to self, lose our lives for his sake, then Jesus is lord of our money. It’s not the other way around.

You could think of other examples in life where one resists fully submitting to Christ. You could think of examples from your own life. That resistance is a great tension in one’s walk with the Lord. This year, during Lent, release that resistance. Fully surrender your heart, your mind, your life to Christ. As Jesus said in the first century AD, and the French priest reiterated in the 18^th century and many Chinese evangelicals demonstrated through personal sacrifice in their lives in the 20^th century, we lose our lives for Jesus’ sake and the sake of the Gospel. “Surrender of the heart to God includes …  giving up one’s very being to God’s good pleasure.”

Consider doing an audit of your life as a 2025 Lenten discipline. Identify an area you have not surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus. Between now, Ash Wednesday, March 5, and Easter Sunday, April 20, take intentional steps to surrender that area you’ve identified. Discover the sweet freedom of surrendering to Christ and living under his lordship.

A Christian During Ramadan

 

Ramadan begins tomorrow, 2/28/25, at sundown. There are approximately 1.9 billion Muslims in the world. It would be downright rude to blithely ignore the significance of this time for our Islamic neighbors. Yet, I would guess many Americans are completely oblivious. I state that as a matter of course, not pejoratively. I want to believe that many Americans of other faiths or no faiths are not hostile to Muslims, just ignorant of Islam. I know I am.

At the start of February, black history month and my birth month among other things, I shared on Facebook some black authors I was currently reading (Alice Walker, Margaret Busby, H. Cordelia Ray, etc.). I stressed that in the case of these specific authors, I read to self-educate. I also invited anyone perusing my posts to go beyond just February. Read good blacks authors year round. There are plenty to choose from. Especially if one is of a privileged class (male, white, educated, employed, middle class, etc.), read perspectives different than your own. I have tried to a make a practice of this over the last decade. From Martin Luther King Jr. to James Cone to Cornel West to Michelle Alexander, and many, many more, I have learned much. I am trying to shed the blindness and indifference privilege has repeatedly poured over me.

Now, in Ramadan, I continue. At the end of his musings over his upbringing in Cairo, 20th century philosopher Edward Said (Anglo-Palestinian) describes a pianist, a student of his friend I. Tiegerman. Said says of this Egyptian pianist, "[she was] a stunningly fluent and accomplished young married woman, a mother of four, who played with her head completely enclosed in the pious veil of a devout Muslim" (p.275). Said continues, "Neither Tiegerman nor I could understand this amphibious woman, who with a part of her body could dash through Appasionata and with another venerated God by hiding her face. ... She was an untransplantable emanation of Cairo's genius."

Said's Muslim pianist serves as an avatar for my own heart toward my Muslim neighbors. I want to appreciate her musical ability, something not tied to race, gender, or religion. I also want to honor her story, which cannot be told without appreciation of her race, gender, religion, nationality, and social station. Of course, Said's pianist lives in the 1950's in Egypt. I am in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in the 2020's. I do, though, have my own experiences with Muslims. There's a school that uses space in our church. Daily, I see teachers and parents, people not affiliated with the church. How can I be a good neighbor to all students and teachers, and especially to those who are Muslim, who might not expect someone like me, an evangelical pastor, to be a good neighbor?

That epithet, evangelical pastor, is so loaded. Is there a political connotation that I embrace or eschew? What assumptions might be made by one who hears me self-categorize as evangelical, and, pastor. For me the moniker is a statement of purpose. 'Evangel' literally means good news that must told. So, I must tell the world that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that in his coming, one can half forgiveness of sins and life in his name. He died for the sins of the world, rose on the third day, and invites all who put their faith him to receive salvation. Believing that makes me Christian, and sharing it makes me evangelical.

Jesus is the principle point of departure for Muslims and Christians. Christians believe he is the second person of the trinity, God in the flesh, and the only way to salvation is through faith in him. Muslims believe he is a prophet, but not the Son of God. To be Muslim, one cannot believe Jesus to be the Son of God. To be Christian, one must believe that is exactly who Jesus is. The difference is irreconcilable. However, it need not be a hostile divide. Christians can treat their Muslim neighbors with respect. Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan clearly conveys that we who follow Jesus are commanded by him to love our Muslim neighbors.

For me, that starts with understanding. During Ramadan, I intend to do a lot of reading about Islam by Muslim authors. And I will pray for how to have respectful, meaningful interactions with Muslims I meet daily. Said, wrote that he never had a conversation with the Egyptian pianist even though he saw her play many times. I don't to look back over Ramadan and say, "Well, I walked past Muslims many times, but we never talked." I pray God will open doors. 

Here's the collection of essays I'll be reading, Progressive Muslims (edited by Omid Safi).

Lay the Foundation

                     This week I read this sentence: “[The man summoned by divine promise’s] understanding consists in the fact that in sympathy with the misery of being he anticipates the redeeming future of being and so lays the foundation of reconciliation, justification, and stability” (J. Moltmann, 1967, p.290). It’s a rather dense sentence in dense section of what is, in some ways, a wonderful book, Theology of Hope. To cut through the thicket of James Leitch’s translation of Moltmann’s theological German, I homed in on the phrase “lays the foundation.”

            What foundation is laid by “the one summoned by divine promise?” Anyone – you, me, your friend, anyone who has entrusted his or her life to Christ, received forgiveness, and been born again is to be counted among those summoned by the divine promise. In other words, this refers to Christians who are determined to follow Jesus. Is there any other way that can be called ‘Christian,’ than total commitment to the way of Jesus?

            This brought to my mind Dallas Willard’s thought in Divine Conspiracy and The Spirit of the Disciplines. One of the primary motivations Willard saw for living a spiritually disciplined life was that doing so prepared one for life in Heaven. Willard hinted at the possibility that all might go to Heaven, but it would only feel like Heaven for those who spent this life getting ready. Others wouldn’t know how to exist in the divine kingdom. They hadn’t had any experience walking in the way of Christ.

            So, how does one “lay the foundation” (Moltmann), or “get ready” (Willard)? How do we store up treasures in Heaven (Jesus – Matthew 6:19-21). What does foundation-laying/readying/storing up look like in one’s life? I wrote last month that this year, my spiritual teacher will be Simeon (Luke 2), the old man who hung out at the temple waiting for God to show him the “consolation of Israel.” Is foundation-laying/readying/storing up simply the wait? Is the disciple life a life of waiting God?

            In a sense, yes, but how do we spend our time waiting? My belief is our waiting is expectant. (1) We live each day expecting God to do God-sized things in our lives that day. (2) We live toward a specific end; toward the eternal kingdom of God, that was launched in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and will be fully consummated in his return. We live toward that return. We live today by the values and currency of that time.

            What is the defining value? Love. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. What is the only valid currency in the kingdom of God? Service. “The greatest among you must be … one who serves. … I [Jesus]am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:26, 27). So, my ambition is to wait on the Lord. My work, done while waiting, involves foundation-laying/readying/storing up. I do this work by honing in myself a heart of love for God and neighbor. I sharpen the effectiveness of my love and broaden the extent of my love by serving and helping others. No matter how badly I do this work, God gives me more opportunities. No matter how well I do, I can always improve.

My Belly

 

I just saw an article titled "Why Being Fat is Great."

I won't read it.

Spare tire. Expanding tube. Stretched belt.

Reese's Cup. Flavored chips. Breaded chicken, with sauce. 

I don't hate myself. If I did, I wouldn't regret that second Reese's Cup.

If I did, I wouldn't long to run, or at least jog. 

If I did, I wouldn't sit down to write.

If I did, I wouldn't imagine something different.

I don't hate myself.

My belly is my body. So are my arthritic knees. 

So are my literate eyes.

So are my ears, trained to listen like a therapist,

or like a pastor;

or like a friend.

I won't check on the article, "Why Being Fat is Great."

I don't hate myself. 

And, I'd rather stop thinking about my belly and read something else.

Simeon: A Biblical Role Model for 2025

 

            During Advent 2024 (a few weeks ago), I followed the devotional distributed to subscribers of Christianity Today magazine. It’s called A Time for Wonder. The entry that spoke most profoundly to me is written by Lily Journey. Her focus is on Simeon who we meet in Luke 2:25-35. “Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah” (v.25-26).

            What was Simeon’s job? Luke doesn’t say. How old was he? Luke offers no clue. From what family and tribe did he hail? We don’t know. His social class? Luke doesn’t tell us.

            All we know of Simeon is that he was waiting for God to deliver on the promise; he, Simeon, would see the Messiah with his own eyes. How long did Simeon wait? What was his day-to-day life like while he waited? It’s impossible to fill in those blanks, but I believe that whatever Simeon’s life was, it included a responsive, committed prayer life. Verse 27 says he was guided by the Holy Spirit to the temple on the day Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus to be dedicated. A lot parents brought their babies. How could he know which was the correct family? The Spirit directed Simeon to Mary and Joseph.

            I pause in his story here because Simeon is going to be before me as a character and a muse throughout 2025. I want to become someone who prays like Simeon, believing God will act. Then, I want to live my faith conscientiously and compassionately as I wait for God to act. I want to be such profound spiritual attentiveness that when the Spirit guides, I am ready to follow.

            Simeon exuded determined, expectant waiting. He modeled faith in the way I want to live. In 2025, I will strive to fill the role he occupied, that of expectant, faithful waiting on God.

            I encourage you, in 2025, to select someone from the Bible who models faith in the way you would like to live it. People will say they want to “grow closer to God in the new year.” That’s too vague. How do you know you’ve accomplished this goal? I propose that you zero in on a specific person from scripture, identify the qualities that individual has that you’d like, and then try to develop those qualities in your life.

            I will read and reread the 11 verses in Luke 2 that tell Simeon’s story and write about my own spiritual journey as I try to embody the values and strengths of Simeon in my own life. Find someone in the Bible to be your role model as you follow Jesus in 2025.

Unexpected Gifts

 

Thinking about gifts I want to give this year, I told my wife I wanted to bake something. She looked at me skeptically. I am not a baker or any kind of a cook. She said she’d help. Within a few hours we had 6 little cakes that will be ready to go. She “helped.” Ha, ha. She did everything. All I did was peel the apples. Her help was a tremendous gift to me.

            A friend is undergoing tremendous challenges. I thought he was mostly alone in the world. I have known him for years and I come alongside him in his difficulties, but there’s limits to how much I can do. Recently, I received a text from someone three states away. He also knows my friend and will help in very big ways. I didn’t know he existed and now he will do much to make things better for my friend. This has been an unplanned, unexpected gift.

            Two of my three children now drive. Teaching them to drive and helping them get their licenses seemed to be a matter of course. It’s just something you do when your kids turn 16. I didn’t anticipate that they would both be thoroughly competent drivers whom I could not only trust, but appeal to. Hey son, I am busy. Can you go to store and pick up what we need? Having them as drivers has been a real gift that at key times has made life easier.

            I could go on with examples of unexpected gifts. I count these as blessings from God. When Jesus was born, Israel wasn’t thinking, okay, in the time of King Herod, under Governor Pilate, God will send a Savior. No one was watching for Jesus, at least not the way he came, born among barnyard animals, born into poverty. Some hoped for a dynamic military leader, another David who would strike the heart of Goliath (Rome). No one anticipated a peasant savior whose defining act would be to die on a cross.

            God is a giver of unexpected gifts. If you know Jesus, you know that. You know that the one we celebrate changed your life, gave your purpose and hope, calls you into his church, and into his kingdom. If you know Jesus, you know all of this. But maybe you’ve forgotten. Turn back to Him. This Christmas, turn back to the giver of good things, the Savior. 

          If you don’t know Jesus, you can! Read the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke, and the book of Romans. You have plenty of time between now and Christmas Day. Give yourself the gift of walking in this story. Confess your sins and open your heart to God and he will come in. He will give the gift of salvation and new life. You’ll never be the same.

Trust

 

11/6/2024

            When I was a small child, my father would throw me up in the air and catch me. I would laugh and say “Again, daddy.” Upon becoming a father, I delighted in throwing my son high, high up, and catching him. Do fathers just like throwing children? No. Fathers love seeing joy burst forth from their kids. There’s no better feeling in the world. Why do the kids go along with it? Why, at 4 years old, would I say, “Again, daddy?” Why would my 2-year-old son, being hurled aloft, have a look of delight on his face? Trust. Trust in safety; trust that the protector wants goodness, fun, and happiness for you; trust that the one protecting you will put your needs first.

            Is it hard to trust, living in the world as it is today? Maybe. Truth be told, I have many nights where I am awake at odd hours, unable to sleep because I find the world to be untrustworthy. Sometimes it angers me. Sometimes it scares me. It always tires me out. Exhausted, I must retreat into the arms of the Lord, who I know has my best interests at heart. At the very core of Christian joy and freedom is absolute dependence on God and absolute trust in God. We muddle along in a fallen, broken world, a world of pain and death, a world of contention and anger. Yet, even amid the chaos and pain of sin running amok, we can have joy and delight because of who walks with us. Our God can be trusted.

            What happened on November 5 neither changes that nor confirms it. Some of those reading this were pretty happy about the election results. Some were upset by how things went. The results are not a confirmation of God’s providence or special calling on the United States; neither were the results four years ago, or four years before that. God does not rescue worldly empires or favor one nation over others. In fact, the Bible, read through a New Testament lens, does not endorse any earthly government, not in Jerusalem, not Rome, not Washington DC. God’s word calls followers of Jesus to a sanctified indifference with the way the world is, including the United States government.

Sanctified indifference does not mean with withdraw from the world. Quite the opposite. God sends us to the world, and as citizens, we vote, we pay taxes, we serve in the military, and we might even run for office. Even as we fully participate in society, all the while we know we are aliens here (Philippians 3:20). Our destiny is the Kingdom of Heaven.

            Therefore, we do not ever tie our confidence to election results. We do not rely on the performance of presidents, senators, governors, or judges. “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes” (Psalm 118:9). Our so-called earthly leaders are untrustworthy, and trust is too valuable to give to those who won’t handle it with care. What happens if the dad throws his child up and then walks away, as the child plummets back down? If the child survives, he won’t gleefully say, “Again daddy!” He won’t trust a protector who fails to catch him. Eventually, the president and other elected officials will betray our trust and we will fall. It is better, says the Bible, not to put our confidence in princes (or presidents).

            The Lord can be trusted. That’s why we should do our best to resist outrage or elation over the election results. Elections, but if we are truly in Christ, they aren’t that important. We can’t be too upset. We have too much joy from our trustworthy God. Conversely, if our candidate won, we aren’t too giddy because we know real joy doesn’t come from him or her. We find real joy when we turn to the source: our triune God – Father, Son, Holy Spirit. It is to God that we give all our trust, knowing He will catch us, hold us, and walk with us. That’s true regardless of anything that happens.

 

The Paradoxical Proverb

 

 

Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” Odd. By its very nature, humility would not only seek no reward, but one acting humbly would actively avoid being recognized or rewarded. How can there be a reward for a posture and way of being that at its essence eschews recognition?

And what a reward! Riches, honor, and life. Just a few verses prior, Proverbs 22:1, we’re told, “a good name is to be chosen rather than riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” How does one go about achieving a good name? Can one achieve a good name and still be humble? I suppose it doesn’t matter because the good name is more desirable than the payout for humility – riches and honor and life.

How are we to make sense of the word of the Lord, and specifically the different nuggets of wisdom in the book of proverbs? Understanding is the subject of the sermon preached at Hillside Church on October 6 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feOLTKHxTsM). Maybe that message will help the reader synthesize what all is to be gleaned in the word of God.

Humility is an important them in Proverbs, and theologically, humility is at the core of the messaging at Hillside Church for the next month. On October 13, we will have Don Harvey from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina leading us in a discussion on different possible pathways forward for our congregation.

October 20, we’ll have our final message in the Proverbs series. Read Proverbs chapter 7. Verses 4-5 tell us to call wisdom our sister and insight our “intimate friend.” We need these close relationships because they will help us fend off the temptress. What tempts you to walk paths other than the one God lays before you? How do you resist temptation? Only in humility can acknowledge that we need help in being who God calls us to be. Proverbs 7, though couched in misogynist mythologies, offers a warning we must heed: the world with tempt us. Yielding to temptation, we walk the path of destruction.

October 27, Daynette Snead Perez will be our preacher. Please pray for Sheemoo Tatataw, our youth group, and me as head to the beach for a weekend of spiritual growth. And pray that God would speak to our church through the powerful, beautiful witness of Rev. Snead Perez.

Finally, in the first two Sundays of Novembers, we will look to the Gospel of Mark (10:35-45) and to the Psalms (146) to be reminded that real leadership is service and the only true king is our God. Those messages will reject a bipolar politics of division and winning-losing, and instead turn to the politics of the Gospel of Jesus. Yes, those messages are intentionally situated before and after the first Tuesday of November. Yes, the only to participate in either politics or faith, as a follower of Jesus, is to do so humbly.

Pray for the Neighborhood

Pray for the Community

 

This is my call to you, whomever you are, wherever you are, to pray for your neighborhood and your town. People are hurting. People are frustrated. People need Jesus, but they don’t know him and don’t know they need him. Through Jeremiah, God told the people of Judah, God’s chosen, to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf” (Jer. 29:7). They were not in the City of David, Zion, the place God called home. They were far, far from home. Yet the Lord told them, not only to seek the welfare of those Babylonians who had taken them into exile, but to pray for them.

What is exile? How does one exist when he or she is forced to leave home and go to a foreign place?

Paul considered himself a foreigner in his present age.  “Our citizenship is in Heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).  In fact, his only motivation for remaining on this earth was to help people grow in their faith in Christ (Philippians 1:24-26). That was motivation enough. Paul joyfully (1:26) remained and, like Jeremiah, sought the wellbeing of his age. He was convinced wellbeing is tied to faith in Jesus.

I am too. We aren't at home here. Our place is in Heaven, with Jesus. Yet, he has us here. Most of our neighbors in Carrboro and Chapel Hill don’t go to church or in any noticeable way live lives of faith in Christ. Even if they appear to live happy, fulfilled lives, without Jesus, they are lost. God has planted us here to help our unbelieving neighbors find their way to Him. So, pray for our town. Pray for those on your street who don’t follow Jesus. Pray, and when the time is right, invite someone to church, or share why Jesus means so much to you. 

 

Science and Faith - the Conversation Matters

 

I begin by encouraging you to learn as much as you can about Biologos. Start here - https://biologos.org/about-us.

Why would I direct you to learn about this organization? It is where excellent scientists and committed followers of Jesus gather in cooperation to explain the natural phenomena of the world and to glorify God in the process. When I became the pastor of Hillside Church in 2006, I realized I would be preaching a few miles from one of the top research institutions in the country. Would I be able to intelligently explain faith in Jesus to a scientist who understood the natural world better than me?

My attempts to answer that question drew me down a path of learning. I have read works from atheist/agnostic scientists and philosophers who deny God’s existence. I have studied extremely conservative Christians who, from their interpretation of scripture, reject established scientific truths like evolution and a universe that’s billions of years old. The God-rejection and science-rejection are extreme viewpoints.

Apart from these extremes we can find true scientists who are also true believers in Jesus. How does this all fit together? One must do a lot of reading to answer this question. There are many podcasts and YouTube videos that also help.

Of course, a believer could just say, “I believe in Jesus and that’s it. I don’t know about evolution and am not interested in learning. I don’t know how old the earth is or how old the universe is, and I don’t care.” You have the freedom to take this type of approach. But, if you get into conversations with people, and they say, “Well, I don’t believe in God because I understand science,” how will you respond?

The Bible tells us, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). We are commanded to love the Lord our God will all our … mind (Matthew 22:37). How will you explain your faith to someone who knows science in detail, and based on that knowledge, rejects all faith? We are called to be informed about the Gospel. We also compelled by God to explain the gospel intelligibly in our context. Readers of this blog who live near me in Chapel Hill share a hometown with some of the most knowledgeable scientists in the world. We must be ready to share the gospel in a way that makes sense to our neighbors.

Our neighbors still might reject God. We know from 1 Corinthians 1 that the wisdom of God seems likes foolishness to the world. We can’t control what people will choose to accept or reject. That’s between them and the Holy Spirit. We can, though, control how much we know. If we were witnessing in Cuba or Mexico, we better learn Spanish. If we are sharing the gospel in a rural setting, we can’t just be blithely ignorant about farming. It is imperative that our testimony be understandable. In the world UNC and the Research Triangle, it helps that we recognize that science is a gift from God.

That’s why I find the science-faith conversation so important. I will continue to read works by scientists and believers of different persuasions, and I invite you into the conversation. Discover God’s majesty as it is revealed in the natural world He has made. Scientists are the ones working to understand that natural world. Appreciate their work and help them see how their work can glorify the Lord.

Resolve to be Kind

 

            It is included in one of Paul’s so-called “virtue lists” (2 Corinthians 6:6). It is the way God will give grace when are gathered to him in his eternal kingdom (Ephesians 2:7). It is fruit produced in us when the Holy Spirit fills us, works in our lives, and through our lives (Galatians 5:22).

            Kindness. The United States of America desperately needs a tsunami of kindness to overwhelm us.

            The United States is beginning a presidential election year. Our politics have always been contentious, but the divisions of the past decade rival any from the most bellicose times in our nation’s history. Many of your neighbors are apolitical, but those who have political feelings hold them stridently and in the extreme. And if you are among the masses who would rather avoid politics, you will inevitably be pushed into political conversations by your aggressively partisan neighbors. It’s never a nuanced discussion respecting those who hold different perspectives. It’s always a vicious fight.

            What can followers of Jesus bring to these fractious times? Kindness.

            In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes, “We have commended ourselves … by kindness.” In other words, for Paul and his missionary colleagues, kindness is a job requirement. He can’t adequately travel and represent Christ without it. In Ephesians, we read that God has “raised us up with [Christ] and seated us with him in the heavenly places …, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness. The heavenly eternity we long for is defined by kindness and unintelligible without it. “The fruit of the Spirit is … kindness” (Galatians 5:22).

            Some Christians are determined to be bold in their witness. I agree. We are called by God to courageously testify that Jesus is Lord. We are called to this proclamation no matter how much it costs us. However, boldness cannot be claimed as the forfeiture of kindness. In Christ, we can be both: bold and kind. We must be. To make a difference in a militantly polarized day, we have to insist that to follow Christ is to commit to kindness.

            I’m not recommending you make resolutions as we step into 2024. Neither am I recommending against resolutions. I have my own list of resolutions I hope will make me a more likable, helpful person. If the practice of keeping New Year’s resolutions helps you recenter and refocus your life, go for it! Just be sure and keep the resolutions you make!

What I as a pastor, charged with guiding souls in the way of Christ, do commend is the pursuit of kindness; all year! When the fighting around you gets loud and ugly, change the temperature by being an agent of kindness. Disorient your neighbors by meeting their intensity with your gentles, inviting spirit. Make it your 2024 goal to pursue kindness in your relationships, in the world around you, and in your own heart.

The Words of Advent

 

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love

When did these become the words of Advent?

Life is right for one who has these, but what else is needed? What more comes?

 

What about Faith, Grace, Mercy, and Justice?

What about Truth, Holiness, Resurrection, and New Creation?

Are these subsumed under Hope, Peace, Joy, Love?

The words of Advent

 

Do prescribed scripture readings walk in step, languidly with the words of Advent

or do they bump into one another and step on one another’s toes?

 

‘In those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.’ Hope?

 

‘But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire.’ Peace?

 

‘He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.’ Joy?

 

‘You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.’ Love?

 

As we wait for the coming of the King,

I bless you with the words of Advent

Justice, Truth, Grace, Laughter, Surprise, Holy, Faith, Mercy, Eternity, Direction, Purpose, Forgiveness, New Creation, Revelation, Resurrection, Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, Light

Those Who Trust in Themselves

 

The professional basketball player doesn’t sign a contract extension but instead plays his final season, intending to be so incredible, he’ll get a new, bigger contract worthy of superstar.

            He bet on himself, they say.

The boxers square off, two heavyweights with thunder in their hands.

            They faced off wearing nothing but their courage, the writer waxes rhapsodic.

            If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will.

            Jesus told a parable to listeners who trusted in themselves.

            The basketball player, betting on himself.

            The boxer, wearing nothing but his own courage.

            The motivational poster telling you, believe in yourself.

            The Pharisee in Jesus’ parable,

O God, I thank you that I am not like other people, thieves, rogues, adulterers or even this tax collector.

This tax collector. I actually met him, the tax collector from Jesus’ parable in Luke 18:9-14. I was on a three-hour drive and the tax collector was riding shotgun. And, there was a guy in the back on his cellphone trying to save the world one reconciled relationship at a time, but that’s another story.

How did I recognize my passenger-seat passengers as Jesus’ publican? He was so keenly aware of his own brokenness before God, he kept apologizing.

Hey Rob, what do you think of … and then before I can answer, O sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.

Days after our trip, he calls me and I say, ‘hello,’ and he says, ‘So sorry for calling.’ Always apologizing.

He knows he needs God’s forgiveness, but doesn’t know how to ask for it. When God forgives, my new friend doesn’t know how to receive it. Not knowing how to connect with God, he does the best he can. He goes around apologizing for himself, especially if he’s talking with a preacher.

To some who trusted in themselves, Jesus told a parable about two men who went up to the temple to pray, a Pharisee and a tax collector.

O God, I thank you that I am not like …  this tax collector.

I won’t spoil it for you. It’s in Luke 18, verses 9-14. Read it. Are your someone who trusts in your own self? Jesus told this for you.

I fear the 21^st century is going to be a painful, painful lesson in what Jesus wanted to teach in this parable. Of course, it doesn’t have to be painful. Of the Pharisee and the tax collector, one of the two left the temple justified. Read it. You’ll know who. And you’ll know what you need to do before God.

Exploring Scripture

            Read the Bible. This is the theme of my newsletter articles quite often because the Bible is there and it doesn’t change. Styles of communication change. Styles of dress and hair and cars all come and go. Ways of talking evolve over time. Just read a novel from 1900, and then from 1945, and then 1995. How politics function changes over time.

            The word God is constant, always true, and always relevant. Recently, we heard Erin Stratton preach on Genesis 3 (July 30), and then Amy Brown preached on the same passage (October 1). Go back and listen to both sermons. The links are at the bottom. Amy’s message had some flaws in the video, but you can hear her entire message. Both preachers delivered strong messages that will edify your soul.

            Amy invited us to ‘explore scripture.’ I echo this. In a sermon on Genesis 3, she succinctly wove in references from 1 Kings, Proverbs, and 1 Peter. None of these allusions were forced. They all fit her overall point that when we come to God with honest questions and ask them, we grow closer to God’s heart. She did not promise God will answer every question; God won’t. There are things we aren’t ready to know. However, we are invited to seek.

            Thus, I return to my original point. Read the Bible. Make Bible-reading a life-long pursuit and practice. Be in the word. At other times, I’ve explained various approaches to Bible reading. Whether you read chunks of scripture, entire books in one sitting, or spend considerable time meditating on just a few lines of one or two verses, prayerfully, thoughtfully, attentively consume scripture. Be so driven to meet God in the word that it might feel impossible to live without it.

            If you do this prayerfully, if you read scripture in tandem with seeking God, you won’t have deleterious outcomes. You will be blessed and you will grow in your knowledge of God. I thank both our preachers who treated Genesis 3 for calling us to this most Christian of activities; the motivated reading of scripture with the motive of knowing God.

 

Erin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKSKGoh1wmk

Amy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jflucW5zMlw

 

Christian Distinctives?

 

Why should someone become a Christian? What makes Christianity distinct or unique? What is the appeal of the Christian faith?

            Hillside Church family, I need your help answering these questions. I am in a group of pastors and academics that meet biweekly to discuss theology. In one of our discussions, a women said she found herself perplexed by a question an unbeliever asked her. “What makes Christianity special?” She was tongue-tied.

            This is an intelligent woman. She’s a philosophy professor at a major university. She is a regular church attendee. She is very active in her church and in her faith. Yet, when pressed by unchurched person to give an account of her faith (1 Peter 3:15), she lacked confidence.

            How would you answer? Are you ready, as 1 Peter instructs, “to make your defense to anyone who demands an accounting for the hope that is in you?” We must be ready. Church attendance is in sharp decline across denominations in the United States. A scrutinizing public might ask those of us still committed to Christ, why bother? No one cares about church or believes in God anymore! Why do you?

            Here’s what I want you to do. Email me your answer; Robert.j.tennant70@gmail.com. It can be a couple of sentences or a couple of pages. Write a book if you want to. How ever you interpret it, answer this series of queries –

Why should someone become a Christian?

What makes Christianity distinct or unique?

What is the appeal of the Christian faith?

 

            I hope to get at least 30 responses from you in the Hillside Church family by September 1. I’ll share my answer in my September newsletter article.

Sacred Spaces, Innovative Places

July 5, 2023

            The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has published two volumes of the short book Sacred Spaces, Innovative Places: Reimagining Church Property and Facility as Assets. Hillside Church is featured in the last chapter of Volume 2. You can pick up a copy as long as they last. Or, you can download the booklet - https://cbf.net/sacredspaces.

             The simplest explanation for why our church might be featured in a publication intended to inspire other churches is our willingness to say “Yes,” or “Let’s pray about this,” when new ideas for ministry arise. We never just shoot down a proposed idea with an abrupt “No!” Sometimes after prayer and discernment, God leads us to decline ideas or opportunities, but even then, it’s not necessarily a hard “no.” It’s closer to, “not at this time.” For example, I had announced we would be doing a short Vacation Bible School in August. After consideration and prayer, we decided that’s not a ministry we’re ready for in 2023. We’ll do VBS again, just not at this time.

            More often, we pray, then we give it a try. God opened the door for us to host a preschool. God made a way for us to work more cooperatively with both the Boy Scout troop that meets in our building and the Karen Baptist Church that shares our space. Solar panels? God led us to say “Yes.” And, we’ve seen one of our biggest ministries (in terms of people needed to run it and people blessed by it), the food pantry, continue to evolve. Some of our ministries do generate income for the church. Others are purely the church blessing those who come. Hopefully all ministries are an opportunity for our members and attendees to embody the love of Christ.

             While it’s cool to say ‘we’ve been written up in a CBF publication’ and it’s fun to describe these ministries – it is essential that our members and attendees participate! You can’t grow in discipleship by attending a church that runs a really proficient food pantry unless you help by volunteering. As you read this, pray about where God is calling you to jump in. Food pantry? Bible Study? Helping Hands Counselor? Music Ministry? We want to expand what we do. It can only happen if our members get involved. Many already are, but here, I specifically mean those of you who aren’t actively participating. Give up some time to love people and serve God through these innovative ministries our church offers.