By Pastor Tim Dodson

For those of you that are Covenant Members here at Believers Church, you probably know firsthand about the blessings as well as the burden of committing to a Christ-modeled-love for your brethren. It doesn’t take long to experience both the joy and the pain, both the relief and the weight of that commitment. This is the scriptural Christ-modeled-living within the dynamic of the church which scripture tells us in the “bride of Christ.” Certainly, there is a measure of safety within the church family, for therein the biblical community rules are adhered to, and the dynamics of honesty, transparency, and communion are ‘front and center’ to prevent the behaviors and interactions that are so readily found in the world…things done in back alleys and in the shadows. By practicing that honesty and openness we seek to embrace the warning and truth of Luke 12:3:  “Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”

However, we understand that many people do not want their secrets to “go public” and thus will stay out of the Covenant Community and that there will be others within the community who will make a break for it when their sins are on the verge of “going public.” The history of the church as well as this church specifically is full of “runners.”  John 3:19-21 “And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

In the Covenant Agreement that is signed with the church body and witnessed by God Himself is the following clause:

 “I will make an appointment with two or more church elders and my service position leader(s) prior to departure (from my Covenant Relationship). I understand that emails, texts, or phone calls are not sufficient to fulfill such. I also herein acknowledge the magnitude of this commitment…that it is a promise before this church body and God Himself so that if I should break this covenant in any unrighteous manner I would, therefore, stand in sin against God and my brothers and sisters in this church. Our hope upon departure will be that you seek another church with which you can carry out your biblical responsibilities as a believer.”

Why would such a practice be promised and required?

In the day in which we live, the absence of truth, integrity and faithfulness is starkly absent in the secular world. Lying is so rampant that it is today simply an acceptable social dynamic. But such should not be…must not be so in the church of God. We are called to “be holy, as Christ is holy.” And in the “Things that God Hates” list of Proverbs 6 we clearly find the lowly and quiet practice of lying.

When someone decides to leave the Covenant Community it invariably means they are leaving the church. Now that situation of course would elicit all sorts of questions within those who remain, the greatest of those being… “where does that leave me then in my standing with this individual?” Yes indeed, and that is why the clause was established! You see, we want to continue to have a brother/sister relationship with people whether they go to this church or not. But unless there is honest dialogue and Christ-centered accounting of our lives, how will we know the truth concerning that individual? Certainly, the Bible is full of warnings concerning attempted relationships with people who say they are Christian but are in fact not. So, as a member of the church who is remaining, how do I know where I stand with this person?

Because of this ambiguity, we applied 1 John 3:10 to our Covenant Agreement:   “So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.” Because we know that lying is a sin…a “not-living-righteously”…and loving other believers naturally requires truth and faithfulness, we simply promise to be accountable to our actions and to not act “in the dark.”  If someone refuses to come in and fulfill the promise of accountability and truth, we can easily then see that they are not living righteously…and not loving their brothers. For to not do so is simply lying, and I cannot lie to a brother and honestly BE his brother! Furthermore, the “icing” in this is the purposeful and continual stance on that matter. Meaning they did not just “make a momentary mistake” but are rather holding onto that sin indefinitely. Thus remaining in the practice of sin they prove that they are not of God at all. Therefore “not of God” …then easily “not a brother,” but rather a false confession and a deceitful individual. And not someone I can continue to have a relationship with according to scripture. 

It used to be quite hard to ascertain where we were stood with such individuals and often their deceit caused even greater pain and anguish later. This was a problem until we presented the opportunity for these individuals to prove their righteousness as well as the opportunity for them to effectively “hang themselves.” This we deserve and are righteous in asking. Both the Bible and the Covenant agreement provides for such! No passive judgment call then has to be made on our part, but rather we simply adhere to the manifest that they present.

While such situations are always uncomfortable and often even painful. This is what we are called to when it comes to the care of and the participation in our church community. We are the “bride of Christ.”  We must always remember that God expects the church to be kept pure. The apostle Paul said, “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing: but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Eph. 5:27)

Back in March…

…COVID-19 became a new term in our vocabulary globally… and personally, my daily devotions had me deep in Daniel and Revelation. Adding to the unsettling concern inside, my social media news-feed followed all the major news networks exposing my eyes to compounding news reports on the current circumstances. It was a rough patch to say the least. I began to feel insecure about what was happening in the world and my devotions only seemed to amplify the awful feeling ramping up. As Becky and I were talking one evening about all this, I came to a clarity that I needed to disconnect some of my news intake and bump the record player in my devotions and go someplace fresh for at least part of my reading. I pressed the eject button on Revelation and turned my New Testament reading to Matthew.

Red Letters

A lot of the Bibles I own are what are known as “red-letter” bibles. On one of these troubling days I was listening to the radio and a David Crowder song came on called “Red Letters”. I’ve heard this song a hundred times but, like many of the songs on this station, I paid little attention to the words or the meanings of the songs… until this day. This song got me thinking about the red letters in the scriptures. They are words that were actually spoken by Jesus. It seemed to really hit me just how significant that is. Jesus opened his mouth, moved his lips, air passed his vocal cords to form the very words written in red letters in the bible.

Now, theology and bible literacy both confirm God spoke through the writers of the bible and His voice is behind the written text of scripture to a level unparalleled anywhere else in the world. But the red letters made me think about all the times people in biblical history heard the very voice of God. Moses always comes to mind for me first… glowing face. Then I think about Peter when he suggested the construction of three tabernacles; one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus… I remember what it was like when I first heard God speak… “Who was with you when you were dying?” Most of those who found themselves before the unmistakable Voice, fell immediately to their knees.

Consider the red letters. As I jumped in my devotions to Matthew, I found the red letters extremely significant. Jesus is speaking… the Voice is presenting truth, comfort, peace…

Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

The quelling of anxiety comes with instruction on how to not be troubled. Spoiler alert, it’s not in your power to obtain… it’s “added unto you” by the One we seek.

-=Pastor Tom

“Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your saviour, your guide? If He is, you don’t need to search any further for security.” – Elisabeth Elliot

Grow up

These days, at least with the older generation, it is culturally imperative that one becomes self-sufficient. I think most of us would agree that a capable and able person should have the capacity to stand on their own two feet. One should be able to take care of herself vocationally and pay her bills. One should be able to hold a job, keep a home-life, feed and clean himself. While this is all good and beneficial for everyone involved, I wonder if any of that affects our great need for God.

That said, we have such odd dichotomies in our society. Young people remain under their parent’s roof and protection much longer than they used to. They rely on parental-bailouts much longer than before. They’re still found under their parent’s insurance and cell phone plans into their early 30’s. And yet, they are so quick to claim in adulthood over their sexual practices, vocations, and life choices. Something’s wrong here. Time to get real.

The Missing Factor

One missing aspect of my pre-adult years was a tangible understanding of God’s presence. Though I went to church as a kid, this was never shown me on paper or in practice. I did learn about responsibility, morality, stability, and consequences. However, when these qualities remain untethered to righteousness and the cross, they develop some pretty distasteful pride and self-assurance. When you grow into adulthood with a strong foundation of responsibility, but miss out on learning our need for God, you naturally doubt God. “What do I need him for? I’ve made it this far without him.” I have come to believe that children must be trained to know God and shown how to rely on God so that when they depart the oversight of their parents, they’re prepared to walk dependent on God. Sadly, this is not usually the case.

Feeding at the Trough of the Culture

One of the popular axioms of our day is, “You Got This!” It’s like giving candy to a little kid, isn’t it? When someone says, “you got this”, it makes us feel strong and capable, but whoever stops to ask whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing? We have different personalities in our culture: those who plow ahead thinking they can do anything and those who do little because they are incapacitated by fear. One is admired/ridiculed for their fearlessness/recklessness, and the other for their overt caution/lack of gusto/laziness. Whether you are an extreme risk-taker or the bastion of life-safety, you arrive at both of those places on your own. It requires no other influence but your own power. Given enough time however, we all discover none of us have ultimate control over either of these lifestyles. The risk-taker will someday go too far and the fearful one will atrophy. Which will we be? At this point, it really doesn’t matter because they are both flawed.

The Wake of Disaster Without God

How many disturbing life-events or habits will it take before we realize that Jesus meant what he said in John 15? Wrong turns. Terrifying crashes. Ruined marriages. Lost jobs. Premature declining health. Virtual bankruptcy. Heartbreak. Sexually transmitted diseases. Perversion. Unwanted pregnancy. Hellacious godless children leaving the house. Credit card boat anchors. Extravagance. Fashion trend pressures. The need to be liked by everyone. Drunkenness. Substance abuse. Tobacco addiction. Uncontrolled temper. Depression. Hopelessness. Untamed selfishness.

John 15:4 “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

The point Jesus makes here is that we’re to be “continually” dependent on God. He clearly explains that life apart from Him is no life at all; it’s worthless! It makes no difference whether you are the risk-taker or fearful. Apart from Him, we can do nothing! In fact, unattached branches are meant to be picked up and burned because they are withered and lifeless (risk-taker or fearful). Do you want life? –remain in Him… continually.

The Prize at the Bottom of the Box

Stop thinking about dependence on God as something that is situational and contingent upon the difficulty of an issue. It’s our tendency to only seek him for “big” things. We reach for God like he’s in the medicine cabinet next to the Advil. “When that pain sets in, reach for Christ-afed.” [insert cheesy radio voice]. Instead, think about it in terms of relationship. It’s eye-opening when we come to realize that Christianity is not about knowing what God can do for us so much as it is to know God; the real prize. When we know him well, we see the world for what it really is. Because of that, we take his hand and begin to step through this life with his guidance, experiencing what he wants for us. Without him, we may do many things that seem exciting, fun or safe but they have no meaning; no purpose. Sure, you’re independent… Good for you! But is it worth anything in the Kingdom?

Galatians 6:8 “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

Ok…so I’m a bit uneasy. Perhaps knowing that fact does little to endear myself in the hearts and minds of my church brothers and sisters. I guess I feel like as the Pastor that I am supposed to be the bastion of enduring strength.

As I look out “across the river” at 2020, I wonder now where we are to go from here. Is it our destiny as a church to plod down that well-paved road of religion in America? It’s not that I am disappointed in how far we have come over the past 30 years as a church. Nor am I saddened by the lack of advancement into the territory of the enemy. It’s really not that at all. In fact, the journey has been extraordinary! Yes, bumpy for sure, but what a ride!

It’s more of a trepid feeling of the future, really. The idea that it would be very easy now to settle into a spiritually comfortable rocker on a porch somewhere and wait for Jesus to come pick us up. But I also have a real sense that there is more to do. MUCH more to do really! Maybe it’s my age and strong desire to finish well, but I don’t want to rest and I still have fight inside me. But is that how my church family feels?

Over the past year it seems on various levels and multiple platforms that God has been questioning us as to our personal and individual lifestyles. We’ve talked a lot recently as a church body about simplicity and priorities, but has His message gotten through? After all, the pull of the world is strong, and our tendency will always be that we deserve our comforts and possessions. So we indulge and we accumulate. And over time…subtly and quietly we start to look just like the world. We dress the same, drive the same cars, listen to the same music, and watch the same movies. We raise our kids the same… (failing at the same rate), our marriages are the same, our vacation time is the same, our houses look the same, our time and priorities are spent the same. Most of all, just who is our model? Because most often the ‘bar’ is set by the next guy in the pew beside us!  2 Corinthians 10:12 (NLT) speaks of such saying “But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!”

Somewhere along the way…if we are under the belief that we are actually still in the game, we have to stop and evaluate. And most of all, be honest with ourselves…

There are many “mirrors” that we can utilize in scripture for this task. One of which is in Luke 7…the story of Jesus’s visit to the house of the Pharisee. Jesus was “in the house” but it wasn’t the Pharisee who was receiving the kudo’s… it was a woman who had every reason to see herself us the last in line for the attention of the Son of God.  Verses 37 and 38 tell us that “she brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil… and stood at His feet behind Him weeping. She began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.”

I wonder how long it has been that each of us have put ourselves in her shoes? No, not philosophically, but in reality! How long has it been since you embraced such a radical manifest of love toward our redeemer? Or maybe…there is no ‘radical’ left in you? Do we remember…like that woman, the magnitude of what we were forgiven of? Have we embraced a soft “suburban-style” faith?

Recently Vice President Mike Pence’s gave the commencement address at Liberty University where he warned his audience they’d leave Liberty to live and work in a country that doesn’t particularly like them:

“My message to all of you in the Class of 2019 is — derives of the moment that we’re living in today. You know, throughout most of American history, it’s been pretty easy to call yourself Christian. It didn’t even occur to people that you might be shunned or ridiculed for defending the teachings of the Bible.

But things are different now. Some of the loudest voices for tolerance today have little tolerance for traditional Christian beliefs. So as you go about your daily life, just be ready. Because you’re going to be asked not just to tolerate things that violate your faith; you’re going to be asked to endorse them. You’re going to be asked to bow down to the idols of the popular culture.” [Vice President Pence via The White House]

Sadly, Christianity as a movement has largely already “bowed down to the idols of popular culture.” We have essentially made ourselves comfortable in a world that is ok with your faith as long as you don’t open your mouth about it. Are we ok with simply “fading away?”

“Give me one hundred men who love only God with all their heart and hate only sin with all their heart and we will shake the gates of hell and bring in the kingdom of God in one generation.”

— John Wesley

Pastor TIM