Promoting Atheism?

It occurs to me that many churches may be unwittingly promoting atheism.  It is a bad thought, but a true one. 

 I don’t have a huge opportunity to speak with many atheists, but I have read many writings by atheists.  One thing keeps popping up–they like Jesus.  His teachings, His love, His ideas are all good to them.  They like that He spoke againsts social inequality and cared for the outcasts. 

Another thing that pops up, though, is that some church at some point was hurtful to them in some way.  Whether people were disingenuous, hypocritical, overly critical, or obnoxious about being right, something drew them away from belief.  In some cases it was some dramatic event and in others it was a long-time-coming kind of thing.  Either way, they left.

The church often offers fast and easy answers to difficult/messy questions.  Other times there is no answer offered at all, only condemnation for asking such a question in the first place.  Life is messy and so is some of the Bible if you are not accustomed to it.  Christians need to try to see all that we believe from an outsider’s perspective.  Maybe then we could better understand the difficulty some have with what they hear and read.

Our goal is to help people get to know Christ, not promote atheism.  Jesus wasn’t afraid of messy people, situations, or questions.  I pray that we can have the same courage.

The Legion of Misfit Super Heroes

Every weekday I drive one hour to work and one hour back home.  What do I do with all that time?  Mostly the usual; listen to the radio, make a few phone calls, pray (eyes open, of course) and daydream.

 The stuff I daydream about varies from the serious to the silly.  I had a silly one earlier this week.  Here it is:

What if there were a group of Super Heroes who weren’t so super.  They could be called the Legion of Misfit Super Heroes.  Who would make up this group?  Thanks for asking.

 There could be someone who has the power of flying, but not real fast.  For instance, he could fly about the speed of someone walking real fast.  It would be cool to fly, but his power would be limited by being sort of slow.

Another one could have the power of super speed, but have bad knees.  He could do great things, but he really doesn’t want to because it hurts so bad.

 There could be a woman who is who can become 30 feet tall with super strength, but she has severe agoraphobia (afraid to leave her house).  On the occasions that she leaves her house to save someone, she screams the whole time and is a nervous wreck.

 Another could have the power to read people’s thoughts, but it always comes to him in a different language that he does not know.  He has to take along dictionaries that are spanish/english, french/english, japanese/english, etc. everywhere he goes.

The one I think that would be the most interesting would be to have a man with all the powers that Superman possesses, but he has a conjoined twin who does not have any powers at all.  His twin wants nothing to do with fighting crime and occasionally tries to sabotage the efforts of the hero.  So the hero would do all he could to rescue others, but would have to drag along his brother, kicking and screaming.

If you saw me going down the interstate earlier this week laughing my head off, now you know why.

By the way, aren’t most of us similar to this.  We have certain things that we do extremely well, but our weaknesses threaten to sabotage the good that we could possibly do. 

Think about it.

Homecoming at Stoney Point Baptist Church

The church I pastor is located in Rockwood (Roane County), so it may be far for some of you to drive.  This week, however, I will be preaching at Stoney Point Baptist Church in East Knox County for their Homecoming service.  If anyone would like directons and times, leave a message and I’ll get the information to you.

Stoney Point is the church where I grew up and I am excited about the opportunity to go back.  Randy Troutman, the pastor there, is a great friend and mentor to me.  If you live in that area and are looking for a church to attend, I highly recommend Stoney Point. 

 God Bless,

Matt

A Porch Swing

Here is the link to my article that appeared in the Knoxville News-Sentinel this past Suday: http://knoxnews.com/news/2007/aug/12/a-porch-swing/.  I really enjoyed writing this article, as it gave me pause to think about my grandmother.  She was a special woman, one whom I would do well to emulate.

My Favorite Memories

I received a forwarded survey last week, the kind where the recipient answers a set of questions and sends it to all of their friends.  Whoever you send it to is supposed to put their answers in and send it back.  While I generally find this sort of thing annoying, this one piqued my interest.  One of the questions was “What is your favorite memory?”

The other respondents had no problem with this question.  Their answers ranged from the first time they saw their wives to the birth of their children to other emotion filled times in their lives.  But as I sat there, for the life of me I couldn’t think of one.

I can think of 2 reasons for this inability to come up with a favorite memory.  For one thing, I generally keep my focus on the present and the future.  I can be as sentimental as the next person, but the topics I think about for the most part are grounded in what is and what will be.  It is probably the realization that I only have a limited amount of time on earth that causes me not to ponder the past.

Second, all of my memories could be classified as “good” in one way or another.  Of course, the memories of my wedding day, when we brought our children home, and when I made decisions to follow God’s plan for my life are cherished.  However, the times when I was brokenhearted, in despair, or in pain have also helped to make me who I now am. 

If it were not for the times generally categorized as “bad,” I would not have learned some much needed lessons.  If I had not gone through a bout of depression, I would not have learned to have compassion on those struggling with mental illness.  If my life had been completely pain free, then I would not have learned to trust in the goodness of God.  Some people see the pain and misery of life as a proof that there is no God.  However, I see the trials in my life as a way that God was using to help me increase in faith. 

In truth, all of my memories are my favorite.  It sounds corny, but it is true.  I’ve lived a good life; not one without pain or problems, but one in which I know that everything happens for a reason.  Things haven’t always gone according to plan, but I’m at peace with that.  So far, anyway.