I happen to like the church.  That may seem non-controversial, but from my admittedly personal observations it is controversial. 


I have, in the past few years, seen many facebook posts about how terrible the church is.  I have read posts from pastors who are ill or suffering and they opine about how the church is terrible at dealing with people who suffer.


I have read posts about how the church is full of hypocrites.  I have read posts about how the church is ill-equipped to deal with the 21st century ills of this world.  I have read posts about how the church has done this, that, or the other thing wrong. 


There are two things I find disturbing about this - 1st, every single post that I read in this regard was written by Christians.  Christians - people who are nourished by the Word and Sacraments - we ought to think the best.  And also, are we unaware that when we publically malign the church those that do not know Christ are simply buttressed in their thought that the church, "is useless"?  We, of all people, ought to recognize that outside of the church there is no real hope.  The church, warts and all, is the bride of Christ.  And yes, ultimately, the church is God's people.


Now, of course I admit and confess that not all churches do it right - and yes, I will admit - not all churches work to spread the Gospel effectively.  However, it is in the church that I was raised to hear of Jesus.  It is in the church that I receive the sacraments.  It is in the church that I have met - and have - built amazing relationships with people that I love.  It is in the church that I have been nurtured in the faith.


The second thing I find disturbing is this trend to, "de-institutionalize" the church.  This one would be laughable if it were not so dangerous.  I hear often that people hate, "church politics."  Yet, and I can only speak about my own church body - the LCMS - I am thankful for it.  Let me tell you why.  There is some nonsensical thinking out there that we can have, "church" without governing bodies, without authority, where everyone has amazingly equal say and all ideas are worth repeating and implementing. 


My response to this is simple - have you ever tried to get anything done with more than one person?  If you have than you know that agreement is hard to come by.  At some point having governance and good polity assist the body to do something wonderful. 


For example, let us look at the imagined house church.  We gather together around the Word.  We pray.  It is wonderful.  Than more people start coming.  They are attracted to the freedom expressed there.  They want more of it.  They invite more.  All of a sudden, decisions have to be made as to how things are going to operate when people meet there.  All of a sudden, someone has to make choices.  All of a sudden, for there to be any order in the meetings - people have got to step up.  People are elected to take charge.  People are elected to represent.  Like Stephen in Acts, governance begins to take form and shape. 


Huh...sounds like church polity.  Paul himself said that everything should be done in good order.  Paul himself appointed elders in the cities and the churches.  Good structure and order were paramount in the process of spreading the Gospel.  To say otherwise is to simply deny facts.


I guess what this post is really about is this - I want to stick up for the church.  I find her to be the greatest force for good the world has ever known.  Many of our institutions of higher learning were started by the church.  The drive for literacy - started by the church.  The principle that every human being has intrinsic value - an idea from the church.  Jesus Himself said that He is the head of the church.


I know people have been hurt by the church; but I write here saying that far more people have been helped.  I love Jesus, and I love His church.


Amen.

Sometimes it is very hard to know what it means to help...


This post is going to be hard to write and not sound self-serving.  If it does, please forgive me.  It truly is not my intent.  I want to write this blog simply to say that I stand in awe of Jesus.  I really do. 


I stand in awe of Jesus because He is God - and He left His throne of glory and became man to save us.


I stand in awe of Jesus because He stood before those who hated Him and uttered, "Father..forgive them, for they know not what they do."


I stand in awe of Jesus because He defeated death - by physically rising from the grave He opened a new door of life that had been shut since the fall of humanity. 


I stand in awe of Jesus because He is going to right every wrong.  At His reappearing He will end this sinful world and create a new heavens and a new earth - our home of righteousness. 


But this post is not about the above sentences.  This post is about how Jesus was constantly pressed upon by people - and still loved.  He always did what was best for the hearer no matter the situation.


He rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees.  He showed compassion to the woman caught in adultery.  He was kind to Zacchaeus and knew He was ready to repent.  In every and any situation Jesus knew when to speak a harsh word and when to speak a word of gentleness.  In Revelation chapters 2 and 3 Jesus speaks both words of rebuke and comfort to seven churches.  It is a perfect blend of Law and Gospel.  It is real help.


He knew who the secure sinners were - and He rebuked them.  He knew who the broken in spirit were - and He healed them.  He was, and is, a perfect Savior.


I am not Him.  As a pastor it can be so difficult sometimes to discern who is taking advantage of the help of the church and who truly needs a hand up.  In seminary we were taught to always and consistently err on the side of grace.  When in doubt, simply give grace.  Yet, we were also taught that some people need discipline.  Sometimes we all need to struggle.  We must remember that sometimes God sends a flood....


Discernment is so important.  I see my friends on two sides of the fence consistently.  On one side I see people make excuses for repugnant behavior by saying, "well...you just don't know how they grew up...they were raised that way...that's just the way they are...boys will be boys..." and all such ridiculousness.  I have been taught that the Law of God is written on the hearts of human beings - let us not kid each other - we know when we are wrong.  It is not mommy's fault, daddy's fault, grand-pappy's fault, and it was not how we were raised.  We know...we just do.


But then there are those on the other side.  I hear them say things like, "I pulled myself up by my bootstraps...why can't they??....I did this, that, or the other thing - why should I lend a hand?  They made their choices - now they have to live with their consequences..." and such things.  People that say such things forget how perhaps their lives are not so much comprised of their, "hard work" as it is comprised of God's grace.  I mean truly - what did I do to be born to loving parents, in a rich nation, given a good education, etc....?  The answer is I did nothing.  It was given - why should I brag as if it was not. 


This is what makes helping hard.  Some people truly do need to struggle.  They take advantage.  They will sop you dry if you let them.  But others - well, they truly need help.  Their conscience has been pricked, they need hands of help and grace - and no soul ought to be given up on. 


It is exhausting to be Christian.  It really is.  This is why I stand in awe of Jesus.  In every and any situation He knew who needed the harsh word - and He knew who was a bruised reed that could withstand no more pressure. 


Lord, help me truly help.  In the truest sense of that word.  Amen.


Chris

Inside Baseball....

In this post I may be writing about some inside baseball.  Therefore, it may not be that interesting to some readers; however, bear with me if at all possible. :)

Christianity in America today is at war; and the war I would label between people who believe that the, "social" Gospel is the center of Christianity and those that believe the Gospel of, "salvation" is the center of Christianity. 

In order to truly discuss what I mean, I have to define terms.  For many Christians the most important aspect of Christianity is social justice - freeing people politically, economically, and socially.  These Christians see Jesus' words in Luke 4:18-19, " ¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" as words that fundamentally speak to this side of heaven and the oppression that exists between men.  We, as Christians, ought to be concerned and take action to economically and socially assist those who are politically, governmentally, and socially oppressed.  This ought to be done because Jesus commands it. 

The 2nd group of individuals, above I called them primarily people that believe a Gospel of "salvation," are individuals that believe that the primary work of Jesus was to die, rise again, and forgive sins.  They see Him as primarily a Savior and Redeemer in a cosmic sense - that through His sacrificial death and resurrection He made us right with God so that we would fellowship with God forever.  This, "salvation" is granted only through faith in Jesus Christ.  Therefore, from their point of view, if you believe in the Jesus of the Bible you are, "saved" and if you do not you are, "unsaved" and the ramifications are perilous.  These people believe that hell is real and that souls go there forever. They also believe that heaven is real and for those souls that go there is a new heaven/earth awaiting them at the resurrection.  Entrance into heaven or hell is based solely on a soul's belief in Jesus' sacrificial death and resurrection for sins.  Therefore, giving a person an opportunity to believe in Jesus so they might believe is of first importance.  

Those that know me personally already know into which camp I fall.  I would quote 1st Corinthians 15:3, " ³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…"  I am convinced that there is a heaven and there is a hell.  We all deserve condemnation but through personal faith in Jesus Christ we are forgiven our sins and made right with God.  I believe that through His sacrificial death and resurrection we are forgiven and made right with God.  This forgiveness is granted solely and only through personal faith in Jesus.  Therefore, sharing Jesus becomes the most important thing someone can do for another. 

To many this seems cruel.  To those Christians that believe the social Gospel is the most important, this kind of statement seems exclusive and out of step with what Jesus was truly getting at - helping the poor and helpless. 

I will never forget a personal experience that I had with our youth group.  I took some youth to an event where we were packaging meals for the poor in another country.  It was for people that were truly in need.  We, who have much, need to give to those who do not have.  We packaged the food. 

But I asked the person in charge of the food packaging a question, "do we tell the people who receives the packages about Jesus?"  Their answer was, "no."  In their minds, "feeding the poor is the work of Jesus...."  Many of the children that were being fed by these packages were Muslim children.  It was work within a predominantly Muslim country with Muslim children.  As a matter of fact, the directors were pretty clear that no Gospel presentation would be given. 

This absolutely baffled me.  It was as if the work of Christianity was being done solely by feeding the poor.  Yet, I must tell you, I cannot find this in the Bible.  Feeding the poor is good, beneficial, and indeed showcases love.  But feeding the poor saves the soul of no one.  Jesus does this.  More specifically, Jesus grants salvation through personal faith in Him.  

Jesus' own words attest to this - John 3:16-18 reads, " ¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

Reading the book of Acts informs me as to what was of 1st importance to the Apostles.  Paul told the people of Athens to repent of their idolatry.  The Apostles told the world that Zeus could not save them.  "Zeus" was not God by another name.  The legitimacy of other, "gods" is a completely foreign concept in the Bible.  Think of the story of Elijah and Baal.  If baal were legitimate, there would have been no need for the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of baal.  The Apostles understood this and therefore called people to repent of their sins and embrace Jesus.  They did not seek to simply feed and care for those of other religions - they sought to turn people from dead religious belief to faith in a living Jesus.  They did this through love, care, and patience; but they would never have said that idols were true.  Ever. 

This, I believe, is the central problem in American Christianity.  We are fighting a war within ourselves and the war is very simple.  Once again it has to do with truth.  Either faith in the Jesus of the Bible is the only way to salvation or it is not.  If faith in the Jesus of the Bible is the only way to eternal salvation, than sharing that good news is the most loving thing one can do.  Yes, feed the poor.  Yes, be compassionate.  Yes, love.  But do it all for the name of Jesus - in the hopes that an unbelieving world will come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. 

Chris

This post is about the impasse that many Christians, myself included, are having with many in the culture concerning a wide array of issues - abortion, homosexuality, greed, parenthood, marriage,  etc....I have been thinking and praying concerning how to address this issue, and the best way I know how is to give an example. 


The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of Witchcraft in Colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693.  They are a famous example of what most would call religious hysteria and extremism.  These trials resulted with the execution of twenty people, mostly women. 


Most people look at this history as a sad, horrific, cautionary tale of religious extremism and a failure of the due process of law.  The events and historicity of the events are not what I am writing about.  What I am writing about is this - most people look at this history as a sad, horrific, cautionary tale because most people believe that these twenty people were wrongly prosecuted and put to death incorrectly.  They believe this because they do not believe the supernatural claims made by the prosecutors and witnesses.  They believe this based upon the idea that there are no such things as witches - and even if there were - these twenty did not deserve to die due to witchcraft.  Basically stated, they were wrongly put to death by overzealous religious extremists because what they believed was categorically untrue.  The prosecutors and witnesses were wrong about the facts - intentionally or unintentionally.


But let me ask this question - what if those put to death were really witches?  [Please listen here, I am not saying that I think they were.  This is a gigantic, "what if" for the sake of a point] What if there were really people in league with the Prince of Darkness and were endangering the entire town with supernatural evil?  What if the plague of the demonic was really running rampant and people were intentionally, forthrightly, in league with Satan?  What if people, in conversation with the devil, were willing participants to attempt to destroy a community?  Well, that changes things does it not?  You could hardly find a greater reason to put someone to death capitally than if they were really intentionally in league with Satan with the full-on intent of destroying people now could you? 


The point I am making here is simple - our actions and opinions are formed by what we believe is true.  If I believe you are a witch in league with the devil, I am going to avoid you.  I will warn others about you.  I will try and stop you.  I will do this because I love my neighbor and I love you.  If, however, you are not in league with the devil my warning others about you is an act of cruelty, gossip, and slander.  It all depends on if you really are a witch or not. 


Using this extreme example helps us understand the impasse many Christians and the culture are having.  I will use same-sex marriage as an example, as that is a hot-button issue at the moment.  Many Christians believe that homosexuality is a perversion of the sexual gift that God has given to humanity.  We believe this activity and persuasion is not in the best interest of the participants or the community.  These Christians consider it a loving act to attempt to persuade others that this behavior is bad.  Living in a democratic republic, Christians also have the right to attempt to persuade elected officials to formulate laws in a manner which they believe are the best interests of the people in the community.  With this in mind Christians publicly condemn homosexual acts and do not want the practice codified into law. 


Now, the contrary position is that homosexuality is as good and holy as heterosexuality - and people who practice homosexuality within monogamous relationships are to be celebrated and encouraged just as we would any other heterosexual couple.  Therefore those who believe this think that these many Christians are cruel - intolerant - and nasty because they condemn what they believe is good - indeed ought to be celebrated.  They see the fight against homosexual marriage in the same light as they see the fight against inter-racial marriage - a bigoted, cruel war of words by an intolerant minority of religious extremists. 


Well....it all depends on who is right about that which is true does it not?  Homosexuality is either good or it is evil.  If homosexuality is evil, then we ought to attempt to persuade people stuck in that sin to repent and believe in the forgiveness of Christ, ought we not?  If it is good than we ought to celebrate it and lift it up as one example on how we ought to behave, ought we not?  It really all depends on which side is correct about the truth.


And this leads me to this final point - where do we go to find that which is true?  In John 17:17 Jesus is praying to the Father for His disciples and He prays, "sanctify them by truth, your Word is truth."  Many Christians consider the Bible as the font of truth.  What it says is true.  Regardless of how I feel about what it says, it is true.  I, as a follower of Christ, am called to actively promote and publically proclaim that which is true.  To do other would be to violate the command, "you shall not bear false witness." 


The culture does not look to the Bible this way.  The culture looks at the Bible as a collection of myths - perhaps a book about morals.  Human reason is their font of truth.  What we reason to be true, is true. 


This is the impasse.  In this way, both sides believe they are being loving.  Both sides believe they are forwarding that which is in the best interests of the community.  It really comes down to who is right doesn't it? 


Those of you that know me know what I believe to be true.  I believe homosexuality is a sexual sin along with fornication, pornography, adultery, and many other sexual sins.  The proper place for sexual expression is between a husband and a wife in the lifelong commitment of marriage.  Because I believe this I actively attempt, in my mind, to love the person in homosexuality to repent and receive the forgiveness of Christ.  In this way I believe I am fulfilling a loving act commanded and forwarded by my Savior. 


Many think that this opinion is bigoted and cruel and that I am bigoted and cruel because I hold the position.  It all depends on who is right does it not? 


We do not like choices like this in our culture, but alas, we must choose sides.  The Bible has proven to me to be the story of God's salvation to sinners.  I must daily repent of my sins and embrace Jesus for forgiveness.  Due to this, I will throw my opinion behind the truth of the Bible.


Amen.

Creation and Evolution




As of late there has been a lot of internet discussion concerning a fundamentalist view of the natural world and its creation [Creationist] and a secular/scientific view of the natural world and its creation [Darwinian molecules to man evolution]. 


Now, I know that the above definition of the Creation vs. Evolution debate is simplistic and many that believe in molecules to man evolution will call themselves people of faith in God.  This blog is not to debate this point.  I have used the generalized definition above to simply stake out the two sides. 




I am writing on this topic to talk philosophically, not scientifically.  I am not a scientist.  I do not claim to be one.  As a matter of fact I remember having inward joy at leaving the science building my sophomore year in undergraduate school because I was done with the physical sciences courses that were demanded in my major and minor.




This blog is about presuppositions.  A presupposition is something assumed beforehand.  Often times it is so assumed that it is left unspoken or unwritten.  What I am writing about is the fact that often in the debate of Creation vs. Evolution there are unspoken presuppositions on both sides that will, by definition, force the opposing side into one view or another. 




For example, my presupposition about life is that God directly intervenes in the natural world.  Yes, He has established rules that govern the natural world; however, He has from time to time suspended these rules in order to showcase His glory.  For example, it is an article of my faith that Jesus was conceived of a virgin, [obviously a suspension of the natural rules governing conception] He is God in the flesh, [obviously suspending the natural rules about the nature of humanity] He died - but then His soul re-animated dead, decaying flesh and He walked out of a tomb three days later. [Natural rules dictate that dead men do not come back to life] He then ascended to heaven [a real locality - for physical things must inhabit physical places] and He will physically return again.  These are basic presuppositions for the Christian as spelled out simply and eloquently in the Apostles Creed. 


What that means is that I believe in a God who will, from time to time, suspend the rules that govern the natural world [for He made them].  The secular scientist does not share this presupposition.  His/her assumption is that the natural world is either all there is - or - it is not his/her place to take the supernatural into account.  Therefore, the scientist will look at the physical world and attempt to understand his/her surroundings by the observation of this physical world only using as his/her basis the regularized natural rules. 




These are two amazingly different presuppositions that will force both parties into totally different directions.  For example, a scientist looking at the Grand Canyon would rightly, from their presupposition, come to a conclusion that it would take millions, if not billions, of years to form this Canyon.  And this would absolutely be true if their underlying presupposition is correct - that all there is to make the Canyon is the Colorado river or some other natural events that follow the current rules that govern this nature.  However, what if the underlying presupposition is incorrect?  What if God intervened, say, with a catastrophic geologic and climatic event?  What if God flooded the entire face of the earth?  What then? 




Now, again, I am not a scientist; however, I do know that if the person assumes a flood that covered the face of the planet the conclusions about how geologic structures were formed would change.  They must. 




Therefore, what I often want to interject into this debate is a bit of backtracking.  I do not believe that the molecules to man evolutionary scientist is somehow misusing things or intentionally trying to denigrate faith.  They are starting at a presupposition of no intervening God.  Nor do I believe that the Creationist is attempting to misuse science in the name of defending their intervening God.  I believe the two sides come from their viewpoints at two different presuppositions; and that is really what ought to be debated.  Is there a God who intervenes in His natural world?  If there is, then we would look at things differently.  That is what ought to be debated. 




From my point of view, I believe the main doctrine of Christianity has to do with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  As the Apostle Paul says in 1st Corinthians 15:14, "If Christ be not raised our preaching is useless, and so is your faith."  Christianity is a religion that has at its center the miraculous - God became a man [the nature of Jesus] a dead man came back to live after decaying in a tomb.  This is Christianity.  Jesus Himself is one big miracle: God encapsulated in flesh.  If a scientist were to cut open the body of Jesus, he or she would not, "observe" God coming out.  Yet, the doctrine of the divinity of Christ is essential to the Christian faith.  Furthermore, believing that a dead man came to life is essential as well.  If you can swallow that camel - if dead men come back to life - then flooding the earth, or creating the earth in a heartbeat, is really...not that hard to imagine.  So what I always say to my Christian friends is this - why not believe?  What is the argument for not believing the Bible's account of things?  If God raises the dead - then feeding five thousand, walking on water, casting out demons, etc....are mere fleabites in comparison. 




My two cents.  God bless,


Chris

Phil Robertson and Duck Dynasty:

I decided to write a blog on the hot topic of the day - Phil Robertson.  For those of you that do not know, Phil Robertson is a television star on the show Duck Dynasty.  He was suspended indefinitely by A & E for recent comments that he made in an interview with GQ magazine.  The comments under discussion have to do with his beliefs about homosexuality.  I am not going to go into direct quotes here, however, what I will say is that Robertson is a Bible-believing Christian.  He indirectly quotes 1st Corinthians 6:9-10 in his comments and believes what the Bible teaches concerning sin - which is this - sin separates us from God.  If we live in unrepentant sin we will be condemned.  Homosexuality is sinful according to the Scripture - intrinsically so.  Now, Robertson expressed his opinion colorfully, to say the least.  However, what he said was not outside the realm of reason.  Homosexuals [specifically within his comments male homosexuals], must use body parts for reasons other than for their created use.  He makes it clear that Homosexuality is opposite the natural order of things.

To me, this is downright plain.  However, to the secular world in which we live, this is terribly offensive.  Therefore, A & E dismissed Robertson indefinitely.

Now, before I go further, I would like to highlight one error that people are making.  I do not believe this to be a 1st Amendment problem.  Here is the text of the 1st Amenmdnet - "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."  Please notice the first word in the Amendment - Congress.  Congress is the federal legislative branch of government.  The 1st amendment prohibits the activity of Congress.  Congress, nor any branch of the Federal Government, has taken any action against Phil Robertson to this point; an independently free enterprise agency - the television station A & E, has taken action.  According to the Constitution they can suspend whomever they wish.  Phil expressed his views - and A&E has expressed theirs.  No governmental problem here. [Though of course I believe A&E has made a poor business, moral, and financial decision - but it is theirs to make]

The real issue is that we as Christians have got to understand something - our country is becoming militantly secular in education, governance, and pop-culture.  Anything that offends the sensibilities of this powerfully secular elite will be dealt with harshly.  We must understand this.  As Christians this is the 1st step - understand that we are, "aliens and strangers" in this world.  This is not our home - heaven is; and this place will react violently to Christian viewpoint.  If Satan is the, "prince and power of the air" than he will attempt to intimidate, thwart, and stop any truth from being spoken.  Jesus Himself makes this clear when He says in Matthew 5:11-12, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  Remember something - Our Savior was killed, 10 of the 11 Apostles following the suicide of Judas were martyred, John was exiled, and the Apostle Paul was martyred.  History is filled with accounts of a hostile world persecuting Christians.  Jesus said this would happen.  Sadly, we are seeing but the beginnings of this in our country; and make no mistake - I believe this is only the beginning. 

Our country enjoyed many years of prosperity based upon a foundation in a Biblical worldview.  This is simply no longer the case.  We must gird our loins for this is simply the beginning of birth pangs.  The question now is, "how do we respond?"  I believe we ought to make our voice heard.  Yes, write A&E.  Yes, voice your opinion.  However, more than this, tell other people about Jesus Christ.  I cannot stress this enough.  Getting in big fights about homosexuality saves no one.  This is not to say that we should hide our view - but remember the issue is not really homosexuality.  The issue is Christianity.  Christianity teaches us to repent of our sin [and yes, to be clear, homosexuality is intrinsically sinful] and embrace the forgiveness given by God in Christ.  If you really want to have an impact on how our culture views Christians and the Christian viewpoint, then you must introduce them to Jesus.  Will some of the culture react cruelly?  Yes.  Will some try and silence you?  Yes.  Should that stop you?  No.  Speak the truth in love.  Do not be ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God.  

I personally know people who have lived the homosexual lifestyle, repent and believe the good news of God, and now embrace heterosexuality.  I know others who recognize their desires to be sinful and are battling them through God's power.  I pray for them as I pray for others who struggle with any form of lust. [including heterosexual lust].  The key here though is to make Jesus the tip of our sword - for it is Jesus who will change lives - and this culture.

Fatherhood

#36 Fatherhood

This is a post that if I am not careful may sound self-serving.  Please know that my intent is not in that vein.  This post is intended to speak to the state of fatherhood in our community - and is intended to wake us dads up to our God-given responsibility, and joy, in being a father.

Tonight my beloved wife was given a birthday gift by her brother.  Both she and her brother went to a Washington Nationals baseball game.  At the time of this writing they are still enjoying the game [Go Nats!].  However, this break for my wife gave me an opportunity to be with my children and spend precious daddy-daughter time together.  I took my youngest two children to PetSmart [I needed to pick up fish tank equipment and it gave me an opportunity to show them the other fish, hamsters, birds, and guinea pigs] and then out to dinner at the local Mexican restaurant.  It was a good night together with two of my children. [Though I did miss my oldest Olivia] 

Now, something happened tonight that has occurred on other occasions, but tonight it simply hit me in a different way and I felt compelled to write.  I was eating with the twins and we finished having dinner.  We occupied one booth and three lovely ladies occupied the booth behind the one we were using.  Faith sat with me and Hope sat opposite me [for those who do not know Faith and Hope are the names of my 2 year old twin daughters.]  As is the custom my girls ate, spilled some rice, and bounced around.  Nothing bad - just silly-hearted two year old stuff.

Right before we were to leave the booth Faith stood up and began talking to the ladies behind me.  She was just saying things like, "you eating....I eating too...you like your rice?  I eat my rice too..."  and things akin to this.  I did not know whether this was annoying to the lady behind me so I asked Faith to stop.  The woman assured me that this was cute and was not a bother.  We then got ready to leave.  The three ladies in the booth then commented along these lines, "we were just talking about how good of a dad you are to take your daughters out to eat...it's so nice!"  I received similar comments as I took the kids to Petsmart from ladies at the store there.

Now, I want to be clear - this is NOT a post about how I am some kind of, "good" dad.  This IS a post about the state of our culture whereby simply having a father take his kids to the store and out to eat is somehow evidence that I am a good dad.  The question arises in my mind, "how bad has our culture gotten whereby simple acts - shopping alone with children, feeding them, and watching them - somehow now solicits comments from women about how good I am.  I doubt highly [I could be wrong] that mothers who take their kids out to eat get similar comments.  Maybe they do and I am simply way off base.  I've been known to be wrong before.....:)

This does however make me think something.  Fathers, in many cases, have completely abdicated responsibility for their children.  Have you ever noticed that when a dad watches his children he is, "babysitting"?  How did we get there?  Do not fathers have the same level of responsibility over their children as mothers?  Of course they do. They were there at their conception.  They were there in the making.  They too share the responsibility.  It is just that simple. 

Now, I want to make something clear.  I am not picking on these particular comments at all; on the contrary, to have strangers tell me my children are cute and give compliments is very nice - and I enjoy them.  I too think my children are cute :)  However, this has happened on many occasions - and it often happens when I am alone with my three children at a grocery store, a restaurant, etc....it just so happens that tonight I only had two of my three kids with me.  But this was not an isolated event.  It happens often when I am alone with my children in public. 

Now to the point.  Dads - we have responsibility for our kids.  Take it.  We need to spend time with them - and yes, we need to spend some time with them alone.  We need to teach our sons how to be men - and we need to teach our daughters what a godly man looks like and how he ought to act.  We need to change diapers, discipline, play games, and rough house.  We offer something to our children that a mother cannot - because she is a mother.  Men, you have tremendous value in the sight of God.  My goodness, have we missed the fact that we are given the title that God has given us to call Him - the title of FATHER.  This is a tremendous responsibility - and joy.

My children want mommy with them all the time.  They absolutely adore mommy.  She is a good mommy.  However, my children do not cry when mommy leaves for a night.  Why?  Because they are comfortable and used to daddy.  They know that daddy will care for them.  I too can put the twins to sleep.  I too can pray with my children and talk to my oldest at night and tuck her in.  I too can sing to them.

I have a beautiful wife who is a wonderful mother.  I do not want her job.  It is tough.  And I rejoice that she is able to spend some much needed time with her family.  This does not freak me out.  Dads - there is a special joy when your children sit on your lap, put their head against your chest and say, "daddy...hold me."  It gives me but a small taste of how God must feel when I wrap myself in His Word and pray to Him - I too often say to Him, "daddy....hold me."

Dads - take the time.  Play with your kids.  Be involved.  It is worth it.  I promise you - it is worth it.  I often joke about my kids - but in reality I would not change anything for the world.  I really would not.  Drop the video game controller.  Drop the TV controller.  Drop the internet for some time.  Spend the time with your kids.  Play hide and seek.  Listen to them laugh.  It is good medicine.

This is just a post about changing our culture.  Dads, be dads.  Be involved.  Our heavenly Father is involved in our life.  He did not simply create us and then leave us.  He is always there, listening, disciplining, forgiving, and leading.  Let us take a cue from Him and be the fathers He calls us to be.  yes, you will screw up.  I do too.  We all do.  But He forgives us.  He picks us up and tells us to go again.

I am happy to be a dad.

God bless,

Pastor Chris