The One True Church

 I binged watched the series, Under the Banner of Heaven on Netflix. The premise of the show is the investigation of the brutal murders of a mother and her eighteen-month-old child in 1984. The victims and their murderers were all in the Mormon church. They were part of one family. Throughout the show, the characters who are Mormon are reminded that their church is the one true church. That statement made me think. 

For centuries, theologians have been bickering of how “right” or “more right” their denomination or non-denomination is. It has leaked into our political parties. Both parties in America claim that their party is the one true party in which we should believe. Then, the social media fights begin of how right people are or are not. The need to be “right” has overshadowed what is truly right. We have become a people to fight for what is right and not for people. 

I am intrigued with the study of other religions and cults. I am curious of what the alure is to beliefs that may appear strange to some of us. It all comes to the leader manipulating the people of how right his or her way of thinking and beliefs are. It’s scary of what we can force people to believe if we push the idea that the belief is of absolute truth, when, it has many holes. It is all about having to be right. 

I have a confession. I love the three words, “You are right.” It gives me validation. Part of that comes because most of the time, I either do not say my opinion or I am wrong. So, when I hear how right I am, I become proud, and it usually leads to pridefulness. You can judge me. As you judge me, remember that the next time you post something on social media claiming how right you are about a topic, especially anything with religion. 

Before anyone judges me, most people press to be right today. Not many people admit to when they are wrong or when they make a mistake. I could become dry dust waiting for some people to apologize that they were wrong. Maybe your facts were correct. The method in which you delivered them was incorrect, rude, and insensitive. This is for both Christians and non-Christians. It’s time that we work harder to bring people to righteousness instead of our own rightness. 

So, how do we do this? There are simple solutions, but like everything else, when dealing with people, a simple solution is not so simple. It takes empathy, compassion, and understanding. 

First, we must listen. We must listen to the hurts of those who need Jesus. Are we listening or are we insulting and condemning? We must listen to what their concerns are of the church and start where they are, not at the loftiness of our high intelligence of rightness. You don’t have to condone sin. You also can confess your sin. How do you want people to approach you when they know about your sin? That’s how you approach someone who is living outside of Jesus. It goes back to Jesus saying that we are to do unto others as we want them to do to us. 

Next, we must be empathetic. We must treat others how we want to be treated. Even though people have a gruff exterior, no one wants to be approached with a condemning attitude of superiority. Watch the debates on Twitter and you will learn quickly how people do not change because of that attitude. They just become superior in their own beliefs.  Twitter is a great example of how not to communicate with human beings. We must approach people with kindness. We must start where they are in their beliefs of God. It’s how Jesus reached people who didn’t know him. 

The final step is doing what Jesus did. We wore the bracelets in the 1990s; now it’s time to put those bracelets asking what would Jesus do into practice. Jesus started where people were, not where he was, which was good for the people. He invited Zacchaeus to his house. He met with the woman at the well and talked with her and acknowledged what she knew. He walked with Peter on the water and knew how to get him back on his feet. If Jesus started with humans at his level, none of us would be worthy of his salvation. 

We must start where people are. We can be right with our beliefs, even when our beliefs are backed by scientific facts. Being right doesn’t give us the privilege to be rude. It doesn’t give us the privilege to start with people at a level that they cannot attain spiritually. When we show our love and understanding. We must teach people that God loves them for who they are right now. They do not have to change before giving their life to God. They are to give their lives to God and allow God to change them. 

Most of us want the best for ourselves and others. We fight that our way is the best because we want others to enjoy the great benefits that we have in life. We just have to use honey in our tone and not salt. No one wants to be assaulted with your rightness. I am not going to change my beliefs because you posted a meme, you swore at me, you punched me with a comment on social media, or you found an outlier story to share. I am going to listen and understand your beliefs because you used honey to help me see your side. Jesus didn’t scream. Jesus didn’t condemn. Jesus showed compassion and grace. 

We all strive to do our best. We want all the answers. We want to serve God and do it with our best, not our mediocrity. Let’s change our work. Let’s introduce people to Jesus and not our church. Then, we will see a change in society around us. We’ll let God decide which church is the one true church. I think his answer will surprise us because it will be all the saints in heaven gathered at the feet of Jesus at which we will then know. 

Getting Lost While Travelling is Just an Adventure

 

I am notorious for getting lost. Even when I use GPS, I can manage to get lost. Ask any of my former youth group members, and they will confirm that I can get lost even in a city that I know well, and while flying, which is a story for another time. Somewhere in my youth ministry conferences, I was informed to create an adventure when you get lost on youth group trips, so I did. Now, when I get lost while going somewhere in Los Angeles or travelling across America, I connect it to being an adventure. 

An adventure has many elements. There’s the anticipation of fun. We delight in the idea of trying something new or going to a new place or meeting new people. Then, there’s the element of danger. In any adventure, there is danger involved. The danger tests our faith and either gives us strength or weakens us. In any adventure there is a choice. We can choose which path to take. We can change our choice. We can move in any direction, which can help or harm our adventure. 

Life is an adventure. There are times on the journey where the adventure is full of dangerous times and scary incidents. There are times when the adventure of life is joyous, and we wish we could stop time and hold those moments forever. One element that an adventure has is that we must keep moving. Sometimes, we slip and try to go backward, which just makes it more difficult. Sometimes, we make the wrong choice, and our journey is difficult. Sometimes, events out of our control hits us, and we must make decisions that we never thought we would have to make. 

Since life is an adventure, we must move forward. We cannot continually live in the past. Connecting with friends from the past and reminiscing is great, but we must also build a friendship with them in the present so we can join in with them on their life adventure and move forward and not stay stuck in the past with them. Once we decide to live in the past, we choose to stop living by faith. We would rather live by what we know and what we can see. Living in the present and leaving the past behind requires faith. Live in faith and in the present and move in the direction of the future. 

We may be unsure of what the present and the future holds, but we cannot go back to the past. The past is gone. What we remember has changed, or how we remember it is with more sentiment than it deserves. An adventure always requires for us to take a risk. Take a risk and step away from the past and move forward. It’s worth it. You will move forward with faith, and your faith will increase. 

Sometimes the risk in an adventure requires us to question what we thought we knew. Questions are not bad. If we are willing to ask questions, we are revealing that we are thinking. Questions are not bad. We must ask questions on our adventure, or we will allow someone else to control us. On an adventure, a question can direct us in the right direction once we discover the answer. 

Sometimes our adventure is difficult because of a wrong choice. Many times, I got lost because I did not pay attention to the signs or to the details on a plane ticket. It’s when we are not aware that we make mistakes. Staying aware of life means we must listen and study for ourselves answers for which we are looking. It means we don’t just agree with those who agree with us or because our political party or our pastors said it. We must think for ourselves and take ownership of our own choices. We make mistakes and sin when we are not aware of how our actions are making others miserable. We must repent and turn onto the right path. 

Sometimes, on our adventures, an element knocks us off our path that is out of our control. We have choices. We can blame the element or person that did this. We can blame God, or we can find how we can continue to move through our adventure and in the future learn from this disaster. Trials in life that hit us are supposed to develop in us maturity and perseverance. How we respond to the trials brings maturity or immaturity. Blaming others or God will only bring heartache and you will not be able to move forward from the tragedy. You will just remain immature, bitter, and angry. Reaching out for help from those who can help and turning to God to guide you will bring you out on the other side with maturity and perseverance. Your character as stated in James 1 will have grown. 

In the summertime, many of us go places and take an actual adventure. Whether you leave your house or not, focus on how your life is revealing the direction of your adventure. If your direction is leading to growth, you are on the right path. If you are doing the same mistakes, and it feels like you are going in circles, change direction. It will cause growth and health in you. Adventures make life full. It brings us growth spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. So, as we commence upon this summer, let us go and have a great adventure! 

Summer Vacation for Adults

 

For the past fifteen years, I have looked forward to summer because as a teacher, I get a summer break from the classroom. Although I volunteered at a basketball camp one summer and taught at a drama camp the following summer, most of my breaks have been fun and fancy free from work at school. At the end of each school year, I am well aware of the rest that is needed for the summer break. I realize that not all adults have the luxury of having two months off in the summer from their job. I also realize that most adults need the rest and a break more than children do, especially in a season that begs us to take a break. 

Rest is valuable to adults. In Kindergarten, most of us fought those naps, but as adults, we yearn for just a small power nap in the middle of the day to keep our energy going. Rest is valuable. I’m a person who loves to go and keep active. The pandemic forced me to stay at home. Now, that we have the freedom to be out of our homes, I realize I must do better with resting. 

In youth ministry, some people tried to convince me that resting was not available to us because God’s work is never done. It’s true that God’s work here on earth will never be done. It’s arrogant and theologically incorrect to believe that we are the only ones to do God’s work. If I believe that I am the only one who can do God’s work, I’m doing it wrong; it’s not what God asked me to do. God can use all of us. We should have people able to take our place in ministry so that we can rest. 

Jesus rested. He went to quiet places often and rested. I was reminded in a devotional today that in Mark 6:30-31 when the disciples returned from their ministry, Jesus told them to go rest. Being exhausted does not make us better human beings. Statistics prove that tired drivers are worse than drunk drivers. It is imperative that we rest. 

In the summertime, we can enjoy the summer evenings sitting on the porch, or by a fan in the living room resting. The books on our shelves can be read in the quiet evenings. I realized that I must limit my screen time in the evenings so I can get to sleep earlier. I am setting a goal to try to get to bed earlier. By nature, I’m a night owl, but I am more productive with a full day with a well-rested physical body. 

Along with regulated rest, we can take some time in nature. As a young person and a youth pastor, I went to many church summer camps. It was a break from the city. In Southern California, we were in the beauty of God’s creation in the mountains. We all need some time in God’s creation. It doesn’t have to be a week or even a weekend in nature. It can be a morning or evening walk in a park or a hiking trail. For those of us who live near the ocean or lake or a river, we can spend time just admiring God’s beauty for a few hours. Taking a walk outside helps our souls, minds, and bodies. Young people can spend a week at church camp. Adults can spend a few hours with God’s creation and be renewed. 

Along with resting, my favorite summer activities as a young person involved connecting with my friends. The last two years taught us all that we need community. Laughter and great conversations bring health to our souls. Take time to connect, even if its phone calls, or Zoom calls, but in-person community is great and makes us better human beings on social media. Do activities to make new friends. Our country needs our communities to be united and to work together now more than ever. If we as Christians want our country to be more Christian, then we as Christians must go to our communities and serve one another. 

When we connect with other people, we understand the importance of seeing other people’s point of views. We become kind with our words, as we are with them physically and not hiding behind a screen. A few years ago, I discovered the importance of reconnecting with friends from my past as it made social media more social. 

Once we are rested and enjoying other people, we can conquer the issues that come along in our lives. A few hours away from the trials of life will always make us healthier. We just have to make the time to rest. It is imperative. It is for our souls and bodies to be healthy. Let’s have a healthy summer and take a healthy break that benefits you and those around you. 

The Church and Public Schools

 

This has been one of the most difficult years I’ve had as a teacher. I’m not alone. Most teachers have had a difficult year this school year. Most schools struggled. Between absences of students and teachers with Covid, and behavior issues because of the mental health struggles from the pandemic, the world of academics took a hard hit. Then, at the end of the year, a devastating school shooting took place, and once again as teachers, we were reminded we don’t work in a safe place. The debates started. It’s not that people stood on one side or the other. It’s that Christians revealed that we are powerless when in fact we have the power. We have the solution in Jesus. We must use it. 

The public schools have issues. If it is because we removed Bible reading for the entire class (because the Bible is still read in specific courses, especially in high school), and we do not have public prayer for the entire school, then we have a bigger problem in the church in America. Just because we read the Bible and pray does not guarantee that our actions will be those that are like Christ. Let’s be honest. Christians are not behaving as Christians. If you have ever been the only Bible that someone has read, then you understand that our actions and words are much louder than doing a devotional before the start of a day. 

As a teacher in a public school, I have had to demonstrate my faith by what I do and speak. It has been difficult many times, especially this year. I am not perfect. I must confess. I have understood that I may be the only Bible that my students and colleagues may read. It is in those moments that it doesn’t matter what translation I use, but that I exemplify the actions of Jesus. 

Being a Christian in a public school is not easy for the teachers, administrators, or students. When I do stop teaching in a public school, I will not complain that the public schools are corrupt. I will still serve a public school. Even if I teach in a public school until I retire, it is not my place to complain, but to make such a difference that people meet Jesus. 

In Matthew 28, Jesus said to go to all the world and make disciples of all nations. He didn’t say do a devotional. He didn’t say just pray in public, although he did say something about public prayer, but that is for another blog. He told us to go. We must go. So how do you go if you are not a teacher? 

In my youth ministry career, I presented at youth worker seminars how Christian leaders could get onto a public school campus. I gave the leaders at least fifty to one hundred ideas. They would meet in small groups and come up with their own ideas of how to get on the campuses, along with my list. It all starts with having a servant’s heart. If Christians are willing to serve, true change will occur in our country. 

Some simple ways to serve at public schools are doing the jobs that many don’t see like working in the snack bars at games or events or using your talents with the drama or music programs. Those drama and music programs need helpers if your schools have full blown drama and music programs. Help with tickets at events. If you want to coach or tutor, you will have to go through some hoops, but servants are willing to follow the rules to serve. Help your students in your church start a Bible club at school. Yes, they are allowed. They just must be student-led. 

If you are near an elementary, ask a teacher if you could help in the classroom. You know when teachers need the most help? We need the most help setting up our classrooms in the fall. We have so many meetings to go to and not much time in our rooms. The best way to serve though, is to ask. 

A few years ago, I was punished at my youth ministry job and sent to Hawaii for a missionary conference of how to lead short-term mission trips. The conference was my punishment, not the place. Anyway, the best advice I learned was ask the person you are serving, “What do you need?” You may be surprised by their answers. It may be different than what you thought. It may be exactly what you are capable to do. The church must start asking the public schools, “What acts of service do you need?” It’s fun to watch the response because no one serves, and the element of surprise of your servant’s heart is a true blessing for them. 

Jesus said to GO. Why are we sitting in our pews and wringing our hands of how horrible this country is? Christians must GO. We can all play the blame game. That’s easy. That’s comfortable. Going is not easy. It’s not comfortable. It takes time. It uses our talents. It’s time we move and go. Who knows? You may have been called for such a time as this. 

This school year was difficult, but it was not impossible. Teachers were asked to go above and beyond our call of duty. We did. If we want God back in the public schools, God must show up in the form of the people who have his Spirit serving. We can continue to pray for our schools. We can pray for what we can do. Once we begin to serve, change will occur. Let us pray and act.