Pastor Rob Recommends ... (January 27, 2022)

 Pastor Rob recommends …

Hospitable Planet: Faith, Action, and Climate Change

By Stephen Jerovics (2016)

 

In this book you will find a spiritual/scriptural foundation for recognizing creation care as a key aspect of discipleship. You will also find practical ways you can get started in creation care.

Thoughts on 9/11

            I heard an odd, dull thud.  Our church custodian was always making noises in some far off corner of the church building.  He’d drop a table or slam a trash can.  It was common.  Except, this thud wasn’t like any sound I had heard from him before.  It was distant and distinct. 

            I went back to the meeting I was in.  A church insurance salesman wanted to talk with me about our policy.  Our cordial conversation, after being interrupted by the distant thud, was interrupted a second time, by a phone call.  It was one of our church members, Bill B.  Bill asked, “Are you listening to the news?” 

            I now know what the thud was, the sound I heard that morning, September 11, 2001.  It was a plane slamming into the Pentagon which sits almost 4 miles east of Greenbrier Baptist Church, where I was serving as lead pastor. 

            Today is the 18^th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that changed America, my generation’s “Pearl Harbor.”  Now we have Department of Homeland Security.  The world has experienced “The War on Terror” and “The Arab Spring.”  America has elected its first black president and its first reality TV star as president.  Strongman dictators Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Saddam Huessein of Iraq, fixtures in world politics in the ‘90’s, are both dead. 

            On September 10, 2000, the Red Sox, White Sox, and Cubs had each been almost a century without winning the World Series.  Since then Boston has won 4 and both Chicago teams have won 1.  As of September 2001, the New England Patriots had never won a Super Bowl and Tom Brady had not yet started an NFL game at quarterback.  Since then, the Patriots have won 6 Super Bowls and Brady is widely considered the greatest of all time.

            There are four people now in my life that were not a part of my life in September 2001, my wife (married in January 2003) and my 3 kids.  Some of the changes from 2001 to now are trivial.  Others are significant and enduring.  The testament to the significance of the day lies in how well we all remember it. 

            As followers of Jesus, what do we do with that memory and how do we live as his disciples in the world as it is today?  I see the world as temporary, transitory.  It’s not going to be the way we know it to be forever.  Out of love of God and neighbor, we must care for the earth and work for humanity and creation’s thriving.  Recycling, ecological consciousness, and care for the environment are Holy works that honors God.  Exploitation of nature is sin.  And yet, I understand the Bible to say that at some unknown future point, God will restore the world in spite of man’s best attempts to ruin it.  No matter how well or poorly we do in combatting global warming, God will eventually fix it.

            Thus, I grieve the ravages of pollution and man-initiated climate change.  But I don’t fear it.  Humanity’s unchecked rebellion against God is no match for God’s plans for what God has made.  I shudder at the evils man inflicts upon man; mass shootings, institutional racism, terrorism, war, disregard of the poor; it is all awful.  Yet I also absolutely believe that on the last day, when Christ returns, all will be restored and his followers will be with him.

            What does that mean for how his followers are to live now?  We are to lean-in to the Kingdom that is coming.  We care for recreation.  We actively resist global warming.  We fight racism and classism and we work to uplift the poor and vulnerable.  We invite the lonely into community and we share God’s love with all people.  We encourage people to uphold Biblical standards for interpersonal relationships and family and community life.

            As Americans, we are forever affected by the events of 9/11/01.  As followers of Jesus, our calling is the same today as it was on 9/10/01.  We are to love others and share the good news that Jesus Christ is Lord and all people who turn to him in repentance and express faith in Him will be born again as sons and daughters of God.

https://www.amazon.com/Living-These-Days-Responses-Terrorism/dp/B000CPNBF4

The Green Letter Bible and Study Bibles in General

I mentioned recently to someone that I am thinking of getting the Green Letter Bible. The person I was talking to responded, "I like the Bible I have." I respected his answer to me. I detected in his tone a disinterested dismissal, as if her were saying, "I am not into all these fad Bibles, the Green-letter Bible, the Poverty and Justice Bible. I don't need them." He did not say those things but I think that's where his thoughts were. And if I am right, I absolutely respect him. There are a lot of groups out there that want to make the Bible their agendas.

Christians are not to do that! We are to conform our lives to God's agenda and the leadership of God's Spirit. This means studying the Bible with an inquisitive mind, critical thinking, and a malleable heart. We conform to the word; we don't conform the word to our ways of thinking.

I was talking to another person, a pastor about the Green Letter Bible. It's supposed to be a Bible that highlights (in green) what God's word has to say about care of the Earth. Her response was "Isn't the entire Bible supposed to be green." She wasn't dismissing the Green Letter Bible for the same reasons as the other guy I talked to but she seemed just as disinterested.

OK! That's two Christians I respect, and neither had any excitement over the Green Bible. On the other hand, another Christian I respect greatly, a pastor, has a copy of the Green Letter Bible and he loves it.

I am in a fortunate position in that my church gives me a budget for resources. I feel like as a pastor I should be informed about the resources that are out there for evangelicals. Right now, Green is in; even conservative politicians are trying to be seen as eco-friendly. So, I think it is wise for me to see what I can learn from the Green Letter Bible.

However, I can't buy everything that comes along! If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know my most recent post is about the Poverty and Justice Bible. I still have the Oxford Annotated Bible I got in seminary 15 years ago. And my Grandmother-in-Law, a devoted Christian and true Pentecostal gave me a Full Life Charismatic King James Study Bible one year. My book shelf has a row of Bibles and concordances.

Is this excessive?

I don't think so. And I don't think it would be excessive even if I was not a pastor. It would only be too much if I never read the materials. It would be flat out sin if I just stacked the books there so people would be impressed by my diligent scholarship. (Actually that would just show me to be completely out of touch. No one outside of academic or clergy circles cares at all how much a pastor reads).

No, I think the accumulation of these study Bibles is a good thing because they inform me in my study of scripture as a preacher and as a believer. I love read the Good News Bible in Today's English Version that I was given when I baptized in 1981. My wife and I read from it every night. And sometimes, I'll borrow her study Bible when I am working on something. I encourage Christians who can afford to do so to buy the different study Bibles if they will be committed to reading the articles and commentary provided.

I know not everyone can afford 6 study Bibles. If you have one Bible and you read it faithfully and you connect with other Christians and discuss God's word on a regular basis and do it in prayer, you're going to grow in faith. But, many of the readers of this blog do have means. Their TV's, boats, cars, and 4-bedroom houses attest to the fact that they can easily afford a couple of study Bibles.

If the study Bibles will help someone awaken to issues that are of particular importance to God, then that person would be wise to make the reading of that study Bible (scripture passage, notes, commentary, and articles) a regular part of his or her faith life. A disciple of Jesus Christ is wise to let the study Bible be a part of his or her Spiritual growth. There's no need to chafe against the study Bible or dismiss it as trendy.

Use it.

We are to conform to the scripture itself. But the accompanying notes, articles, and commentary are tools to be used to build discipleship.