Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water

“Fear that does not take you to God will take you away from God.”

This summer is the 45^th Anniversary of the original release of Jaws which was released on June 20, 1975. Long before Jaws, I was terrified of sharks. Each year our family vacationed in Florida. I remember seeing sharks caught by fishermen. It left a powerful memory in my mind.

  Jaws birthed “shark-phobia” for many. The summer of its release tourism was hurt on beaches, particularly in New England where Peter Benchley’s fictional story takes place.

  Just the soundtrack from Jaws can send chills up your spine. Steven Spielberg originally thought composer John Williams was joking when he played the score for him. Yet, later the director would credit the theme – which won an Academy Award –for being “responsible for half of the success of [the] movie.”

  How powerful is the legacy of Jaws? It’s certainly responsible for generations of nervous beachgoers eyeing the black depths of the water with fear of what monsters lurk below. It’s so powerful that it even made phobia experts — the people whose job it is to talk people down from their irrational fears — afraid to take a dip in the ocean.

  The problem, however, is that the fear is entirely disproportionate to the reality. The chances of dying in a shark attack are just one in 3.7 million, according to National Geographic. The real dangers of the world are gas-powered. You have a 1 in 112 chance of dying in a car accident in your lifetime. The frenzy over shark fears got so bad that the author, Peter Benchley, later regretted depicting sharks as killing machines.  

  Fear. We don’t usually like to think about fear or talk about fear, but fear actually determines and drives much of what we do or don’t do. Stories of things to fear are all around us. If you scroll through your social media feeds, turn on the actual news, or even walk through the checkout line at the grocery store, you’re confronted with bad news: wars and threatened wars. Viruses. Murder. Injustice. Grief. In normal circumstances, these things were already all around us. Now, in the midst of a pandemic, bad news is our near-constant “friend,” and with it a chronic sense of anxiety.

  Fear is a formula for failure. Fear is not from God. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and a sound mind” (Phillips). How many lost the joy of a fun-filled summer vacation because of Jaws?

  Fear leads to skepticism. When we’re afraid, we begin to doubt. We doubt ourselves, doubt other people, and we doubt God and His Word. We become skeptical. Cynics, at the root, basically have a problem with fear. We often ridicule and question when at heart, we’re merely afraid.

  Fear leads to selfishness. When someone is afraid, do they use plural pronouns or singular ones? When I’m afraid, my focus is focused on myself. I don’t think about others. I don’t think about anybody else, I'm just focusing in on me…and I certainly don’t think about God.

  Fear leads to stubbornness. We resist change when we’re afraid. The known is “safe,” even if it’s destructive or the status quo. Our boat may be sinking but it’s our boat, so please don’t rock it. As a result, fear stunts our growth. It keeps businesses from growing. It keeps churches from growing and it keeps us from growing spiritually on an individual level.  

  Fear leads to shortsightedness. When you’re absorbed with what you’re presently afraid of, you have difficulty seeing the future. Instead of having a vision for tomorrow, you’re absorbed with just surviving today.

  Too many believers are satisfied being stuck where it feels safe than take a risk. They’re so afraid to let go of fear and trust God, that they really don’t know what else to do. Some have lived in fear for so long that living in fear has become their normal. They don’t even consider moving forward and stepping out in faith.  

  You can be fear-free! When Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life, you have a reason for confidence. Your Savior is the Lord! Since Jesus Christ is Lord, that means that He is sovereign over your birth, He is sovereign over your life, and He will be sovereign over your death.

  Jesus Christ is Lord over your birth. That simply means that of all the millions of people who could potentially have come from the union of your father and your mother, God created you! In great love and mercy, God planned who you would be, where you’d live, and even your entire eternity!

  Jesus Christ is Lord over your life. That means that everything that has happened to you, the good you’ve enjoyed even the evil you’ve suffered, was known to God before the beginning of time. It means that your future is known and planned by your Heavenly Father. While life is full of surprises for us, unexpected twists and turns, nothing ever comes as a surprise to God. Wonderfully, that means that God works through all that has happened in your past and whatever will happen in your future.

  Jesus Christ is Lord over your death. That simply means that Jesus Christ is in complete control of the timing, the circumstances, and the outcome of your death, which for a Christian believer, whenever it comes, will be an immediate translation into the glory of heaven. 

  The famed early American preacher, George Whitfield said, “We are immortal till our life’s work is done.” Please use that truth when you struggle with fear.  Even if you’re afraid of going into the water, as you dip your toes in the water, it’s a wonderful biblical reminder, “I am immortal till my life’s work is done.”

  Whatever happens, you don’t need to be afraid, even if you hear the Jaws theme in the background. Your Heavenly Father loves you and He’s got this…all of it! Will you though choose to trust Him? Will you leave your fears and choose to rest in the promises of His Word? Will you let His peace flood your soul?  It’s time for God’s people to be free and exchange fear for faith. Will you?

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

You don’t have to be a Father to be a Dad in someone’s life

“Every dad, if he takes time out of his busy life to reflect upon his fatherhood, can learn ways to become an even better dad.” 

Jack Baker

19.7 million children, more than 1 in 4, live without a father in the home. Consequently, there is a missing father factor in nearly every social ill facing America today. Childhood isn’t easy. Having two loving, committed parents is one of the best gifts a child can receive.

  While my relationship with my father was very strained, my Heavenly Father richly blessed me with many other men who stepped into that role and more than filled what was missing. When it comes to a need for a Dad, God wonderfully fulfilled the promise of Philippians 4:19 for me, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Let me mention just a few.

  Bob Collins was one of my Sunday School teachers when I was a boy. We were typical boys – mischievous and unruly (we were pretty horrible). There may have been a dozen of us in his class. I’m not sure, but I don’t think that Bob ever had children of his own. Yet, he not only taught our class but he’d schedule activities for us outside of class. I’d never been bowling, yet Bob would take the whole lot of us and taught us how to bowl. He had a heart of gold and left his fingerprints on my life.

  Jim Penley was a leader at our church in a type of Christian Boy Scouts, “Boys Stockade.” Jim had a passion for the Lord and ministry. He also had a heart for influencing young lives. On Sundays, Jim would go to a housing project near our church and lead a Bible study for boys from that project. He helped me cut my teeth in ministry. Jim enlisted three or four of us to assist him. We’d go door to door at those apartments and invite young men from the project to come to Jim’s class and then help with the class.

  As maybe a nine-year-old, it was an early introduction to ministry, to reaching cross-culturally and seeing poverty firsthand. It left a lifelong impression on me. It was not a big surprise that Jim later packed up his wife and family to attend Bible college to prepare to be a pastor.

  Kent Richards was my youth pastor when I was a teen. I could fill chapters sharing about Kent Richards. He was from Decatur, Illinois, so I’m sure Atlanta was a culture shock for him. He was the first person that I ever met that drank Pepsi (Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola). Kent wasn’t flashy or “cool.” He was just solid and godly. He always had time for me.

  After the loss of my Mom and the ongoing issues of my Dad, I was a young man with a lot of pain, yet Kent would listen for hours. He helped keep me anchored. To say that I was a rascal is an understatement. Yet, Kent never cut me off. Later when he got married, he and his bride, Rita, were always willing to give me a ride to church and youth activities. I’m sure that they were on a limited salary, yet they’d often take me to dinner with them. I was a broken, hurting teen and Kent was God’s instrument to help put the pieces back together in my life.

  Bob Crain was a rock. Bob had been in the Navy during World War II and had at least one ship shot out from under him. His wife, Harriett, was my Mom’s best friend. A very successful businessman, yet they opened their home to college-age missionary kids whose parents were on the field.

   Back then it was too expensive for them to go “home” to a foreign field to be with their parents for the summer. So, Bob and Harriett helped them find summer jobs and gave them free room and board.

  Though Bob was kind, he was tough as nails. He was always there for you and would take a personal interest in your life, but if you screwed up, he’d let you know. He didn’t just smooth things over. He held you accountable. And you’ve never been reprimanded, until you’ve been chewed out by Bob Crain…and it was wonderful. Because you knew that he loved you and if you love someone, you’re willing to even say the tough stuff.

  Dr. David Capetz. I met him shortly after I arrived at Maranatha Academy. I was fifteen. I’d wanted to go away to school. I thought it was my best hope of freeing myself from a substance abuse background. But it was the first time that I’d been away from home. I’d never even attended camp but here I was nearly 1,000 miles away from everything that I’d ever known, in a dorm room with five other guys, all of them in college – and I hated it! I was ready to hop one of the trains that rumbled through the back of the campus. Somehow Dr. Capetz and I met, and by then, I was a very desperate kid.

  It was the first time that I remember sharing my story with anyone. I told him how much it hurt to lose my Mom, how I hated my Dad, and how bitter I was. He took me to Ephesians 4:31-32. It’s been an anchor passage for me ever since: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” He pointed out that since God had forgiven me for so much, it was wrong for me to not forgive my Dad…no matter what had happened, and for the first time in my life, I was free! Sure I had setbacks, but I’d tasted heart freedom and I could never go back.

  Frequently, I’d drop by his office and he’d take the time to listen, counsel me, take me to God’s Word, and pray with me.

  One more, though there are many others, Leigh Crockett. We were both from the Atlanta area so we had a lot in common. He was such a part of our lives that our youngest son, Aaron’s middle name is “Leigh” and named after him.

  Leigh headed up the Speech Department at Maranatha. He was one of the most loved professors and we became lifelong friends. In fact, he had a tremendous influence on both Jane and me (Jane was a Speech Minor, too).  He had a personality that was bigger than life and was unforgettable.

  Years ago Leigh was diagnosed with cancer. Wonderfully, the Lord healed him and gave him a reprieve. Later it came back and took him Home. Yet, even as he was dying, he was a faithful testimony for his Lord.

  25% of children live in fatherless homes. The percentage jumps off the page if you add those who have a Dad in the home, yet is virtually uninvolved with his children.  

  Men, if we will be sensitive to God’s leading, He’ll open our eyes to see young lives that we can minister to for His glory. We can make a huge difference just by being attentive and available. Most of the time it won’t be a huge investment. It’s amazing with young people how a little goes a long way. It starts with knowing their name, just noticing them. It might be that ornery neighbor kid or a young person here at church. I know it’s true! I’m where I am today because men invested in my life. Many of you have similar stories. Young people are our future. Please take the time and give of yourselves to invest in a life.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Antifa Lives Matter

“Racism isn’t a bad habit; it’s not a mistake; it’s a sin.

The answer is not sociology; it’s theology.”  Tony Evans

I grew up in a racist culture. Looking back I’m ashamed to admit this but I was a racist and I didn’t have a clue that I was. Racism was the norm, even though I was in a “Christian” culture and part of an evangelical church. It was a sin and the result of both spiritual blindness and hardheartedness.

  It’s been so long ago that I can’t remember when God changed my heart. I do vividly remember many years ago listening to John Piper preach during Moody Founders’ Week and share his own journey out of racism. Like me, Piper was born and raised in the south. I sat there and wept quietly as I listened as he shared his own path to spiritual freedom from the sin of bigotry. His journey was very similar to my own.

  Please understand, I don’t struggle with “white guilt.” It’s worse. I struggle with “white church guilt.” As a child, the church I grew up in was very missions-minded. In the 1960’s they were giving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to missions, but somehow in their understanding of the Great Commission and reaching the ends of the earth, they missed that it included “Samaria” – the world right next door.

  It was heartbreaking for me later to learn that an African-American pastor that I greatly admire, Dr. Tony Evans had sought to be a member of my church and was declined simply because of the color of his skin. At the time he was attending Carver Bible College, a Christian Bible college for African-Americans in Atlanta that my church, that same church, financially supported, as long as “those people” kept in their proper place. 
  Racism is evil! Yet, a lost world will not be able to solve it. New laws and new systems will at best bring about external conformity. Only Jesus Christ can change hearts and bring about transformation from the inside out.

  Please understand. We do need laws and programs to protect and help minorities and the disenfranchised. Racism though is first a heart problem, not a skin color issue.  

  When communities and neighborhoods changed and minorities moved in, it was a time of “white flight.” Churches often followed their members to the suburbs and I understand that. What was wrong and where I believe that the Church failed terribly, is that we didn’t leave anything behind. Because though the ethnic make-up of the people in those neighborhoods that were left had changed, there were still people who needed Jesus in those neighborhoods. It may not have been “safe,” but Christianity has never been about being “safe.”

  Study the book of Acts and you’ll discover a pattern of missions that lines up with Jesus’ command to begin with Jerusalem – cities were a priority. Yet, perhaps because of our obsession with quick growth and “bodies, bucks and buildings,” the American Church has focused on the suburbs.

  History shows that wherever the gospel has gone, poverty and crime have decreased and education, health and social harmony have increased. Instead of wringing our hands and shaking our heads at the dire straits of our urban areas, we need to repent of our lack of compassion and mission. God loves the city and His people are to love it, too!

  Our enemy, Satan, loves division among God’s people. The Church that is to be a united army for the Lord reaching the lost is dividing over the non-essential, yet missing the non-negotiable. It’s dividing over black lives matter, blue lives matter, all lives matter. The Bible is clear – God loves everyone and Jesus died for everyone. That means that Antifa lives, looters lives, even white supremacist lives matter. And while we’re bickering in the back seat, our cities are dying without Christ. Jesus died on the cross for the whole world – for Antifa and cops…and everything in between. The gospel doesn’t allow us to discriminate on who matters, who we’re to love, and who we’re to seek to reach with the gospel.

  Many believers need to read a short book in the New Testament, Philemon and see how God reached into a Roman prison cell to rescue a prisoner named Onesimus and revolutionize his life with the gospel. Our gracious God is still reaching what we too often file in the “unreachable” category.  

  What can we do? In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus told us, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

  We need to pray and pray earnestly. This is a God-sized problem. Too often we come with a new program or funding or look for governmental intervention. Because racism is first a heart problem, the gospel is the only cure. It’s our problem because we’re commanded to be gospel-people and gospel-driven. We’re to bring Jesus’ light to the darkest places. It’s time to light a candle and stop cursing the darkness.  

  We need to volunteer. Jesus said there are already laborers, but they’re not out in the field. I’m so thankful for those who are, like our missionary, Tom Kubiak, who is planting his 2^nd Chicago church, this one on the south side. Dr. Tim Keller’s call for church planters to come to the cities is finding open hearts. Many are returning to our cities to make a difference.

  We need to financially support church planters. God is raising up a generation who are willing to go and plant churches in our cities. Let’s pray that the Lord will touch some in our own church who will go to one of our cities and invest their lives, making a difference in eternity. The fields of the world are crying for laborers and so are the fields of our inner cities.

  We must love the neighbor who is near. It’s easier to care for those you never interact with and make a stand for them. We’re commanded to love our neighbor – period. We are self-deceived when we say that we love our black “neighbors” that we don’t know, yet hate those near us. You can’t love someone unless you first know their name. Jesus doesn’t qualify that love with their ethnicity, political party, or behavioral choices. We’re commanded to love the ones for whom Jesus died – that’s everyone.

  In 1955 Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully, Nate Saint, and Roger Youderian – five missionaries willingly gave their lives and were martyred by the spears of the Auca Indians. Their sacrifice became the catalyst of a new missionary movement. American Christians left the safety of home to go to the fields of the world. Please pray that as we have seen the tragic deaths and fires in our cities, that this will ignite a Holy Spirit fire in us, in our churches to reach our cities with the gospel. That’s how we will have true and lasting change. It’s time for the Church to be the Church! It’s time for us to take the Great Commission seriously!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Reopening is Right, Not About Our Rights

“The constitutional freedom of religion is the most inalienable

and sacred of all human rights.” Thomas Jefferson

“The Father of all vacations.” Now that our three children are all adults, one of the parts that I most miss from their younger years was going on vacation together as a family. Those were some of our most memorable and bonding times as a family. It wasn’t the expense or extravagance, it was being together as a family. Ask them about “a good walk,” and you may see some eye-rolling, hopefully, followed by a grin.

  In the summer of 2002, our family went to Washington, D.C., then to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and finally to New York City and the Statue of Liberty. I love America! I love our heritage! And I’m so thankful that those who came before us willingly shed their blood so that we have the rights that we have, rights like the freedom of religion that so many of our ancestors in Christian history and brothers and sisters around the world do not share. We are truly blessed!

  Across the country one continued protest from many churchgoers during this Pandemic has been, “We must meet! It’s our right!” While I am so thankful that we do have that right as Americans, that’s not why we’re meeting again as a church. It’s not about our “rights.” To me to meet because it’s “our right” is insensitive to the many other Christians around the world who do not have that blessing that we have in this culture and that someday we too may not have.

  We’re gathering together as a local church family because the Bible commands us to and teaches that it’s the right thing to do. Scripture is clear to be lackadaisical about consistently meeting as so many American Christians were prior to this crisis is biblically wrong.

  Please understand (and I can’t say this strongly enough). If with the coronavirus if you’re not comfortable meeting yet or have health concerns that make you hesitant to meet, you should not physically worship with us. Your health and safety is a greater priority. I’m so thankful that we live in a day where we can include those who are in that situation with technology.  

  Yet, much of the anger about not being able to physically meet seemed to be selfishly driven rather than what truly honors our Lord. It was seemingly about, “They closed my religious clubhouse…and I’m mad!”

  A vital part of our DNA at Grace Church is the humble confession that this is not OUR church. It’s the Lord Jesus’ church. We are what the New Testament calls “the Bride of Christ” (Eph. 5:22-33). He bought us and willingly died for us. We belong to King Jesus so it must be all about Him!

  To be candid, it’d be easier to not meet. If it’s about convenience, we could sip coffee and eat Kringle (this is Wisconsin) in our pjs in our family rooms. It can’t be that the worship team, preaching or even the building is so special. There are much better worship “productions” at the click of a keyboard or with the turn of a channel. Why is gathering physically together important? (FYI: These are not in any particular order).

  God wants us to worship Him! That should amaze us! Remember that our awesome God is surrounded by all of the angelic host of heaven. It would be perfect worship. All nature worships God. If we human beings won’t, Jesus said that even the rocks will cry out in praise (Luke 19:4).

  Of all of His creation, it’s staggering that our Heavenly Father longs for us, His Imago Dei, with all of our imperfections, to worship Him. Nothing replaces the beauty of coming together to worship Him with others who also have His Spirit within them through the redeeming work of salvation.

  Worshiping is a response of humble gratitude for His love. Knowing God as He’s revealed to us in Scripture stirs in us a heart of thankfulness expressed in worship that brings Him glory. The Spirit motivates us to long to come together with our brothers and sisters to honor the Savior.

  Coming together is one of the best places to grow spiritually. The focal point of local church ministry is to clearly teach God’s Word. In what’s known as “the Pastoral Epistles” (1 and 2 Timothy & Titus) are overflowing with instruction for churches to make the Scriptures the priority in the church. The pulpit is not the place for political or psychological talks. Pastors are commanded to “preach the Word” (2 Tim. 4:2). While Christ-followers must study the Word on their own, learning under the sound teaching of church leaders is imperative for one’s spiritual growth (1 Pet. 2:2). There’s something about in-person focused attention surrounded by likeminded believers that makes it more effective.

  It’s the place where we are to use our spiritual gifts. The weekly gathering is God’s avenue for believers to utilize their spiritual gifts. At salvation, God gifts every believer. The local church is the place where believers can and should practice those gifts. The Bible knows nothing of church sitters or spectators who show up for a weekly show. Jesus designed His church to be a place for us to participate together by utilizing our spiritual gifts either in a public setting or privately with other believers. 

  It’s the place where we connect in Christ’s love. The phrase “one another” occurs 100 times in the New Testament. Some 59 of those are specific commands teaching us how to relate to each another. We’re to love, encourage, comfort, pray, forgive each other to name just a few. In our time together the Lord teaches us to love those that in our sinfulness, we’d never like. It’s an ongoing work of His grace. Apart from in-person gatherings, it’s easy to succumb to the Americanization of privatizing our faith or keep it segregated to a small portion of our life.

  God uses our gathering together to reach our world. Jesus said our world will know we’re His disciples by our love for each other. As we love each other, His light shines from our Christ-honoring love. Because it’s so unusual, it draws others to Christ. Everyone is looking for a place to belong. Whether people admit it, they long to be loved. When we commit to fiercely love each other by covering even sins with love and readily forgiving each other, God’s love shines brightly through us. Yes, love can be demonstrated via technology, but it’s not the same. How healthy would a couple’s marriage be if it were only a “technology relationship?”

  God is in control of this Pandemic! It often takes a shaking up of our world to force us to evaluate what’s essential and what’s merely traditional. Technology is here to stay and a tool we should use wisely. In the coming days there will be needed evaluations and with it changes on how churches minister. As the Bible clearly reveals, in-person gatherings at some level are essential. Please pray that we are wise as a church family as we seek to move forward for His glory because this truly is His church!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.