Autobiographical Ethical Reflections...

Introductory Statement

Finding a staring point for a self-reflection such as this is not easy for me. Before taking this class on ethics, I thought I had dealt with all of the "major" ethical dilemmas in society today. However, as the class began I soon realized that ethics and ethical living is a daily struggle. It is not something to be mastered, but just the opposite, something to be respected and dealt with humbly.

This autobiographical ethical reflection will focus mainly upon some of the larger ethical issues and how they have effected my life over the past semester. It is hoped that this will include an appraisal of the style and approach I use, a development of a decision making method, a discussion of several issues addressed, an honest appraisal of issues still needing development, and a mentioning of any plan of action related to my ethical decision making. I hope to address the specific issues of gambling, human rights, biomedical ethics, business ethics, and sexuality. The intent is to address these topics from a personal, existential perspective.

Gambling

The reason I chose to deal with this topic first is because of my father's active involvement in preventing legalized gambling in the state of Mississippi. Ever since I was an adolescent, I can remember my dad speaking out strongly against the legalization of a lottery, parimutuel wagering, dockside casinos, and even sports betting. The reason why he was and is so vocal is because he is the Executive Director/Treasurer of the Christian Action Commission of the Mississippi Baptist Convention. His job is to deal with the moral and ethical issues facing Baptists in Mississippi. However, as I grew older, I began to realize that he spoke out against gambling not because it was his job, but because the love of Christ compels him.

This had to have been my first ethical teaching that I learned by example. Speaking out against gambling was not an effort to preserve some antiquated Victorian moral code. Gambling is primarily wrong because of its effects on the weak in society. I began to realize that those who suffered from this action were children, the elderly, and the poor. Gambling became unethical for me because it allowed the government to make losers out of its citizens.

In seeking a way to deal with the issue, I first had to establish the focus of the issue. Gambling is quite often disguised in bright lights and extravagant promotional messages, but the corruption lies just beneath the surface. The danger of gambling is twofold, "it is not only harmful but also alluring."1 The scriptures never issue a "thou shalt not" against gambling, but there are principles which indicate that gambling is wrong. The primary principle in question is, "the nature of freedom that a Christian has been granted through relationship with Jesus Christ."2 The principle that I have chosen to adhere to is that the true measure of freedom in Christ is that the good of others motivates me to limit my rights and freedoms. This is best supported by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:9; 8:13; 10:31-33; 10:24.

Not only does gambling violate Biblical principles, but it also has much effect upon society. Gambling often contributes to crime and corruption. It also disrupts the local and state economy. The lives that are wrecked are directly effected by gambling. In the end, there is no justification for gambling. The cost is too high on individuals, family, society, and the economy.

I have chosen to respond to this issue in several ways. First, I am regularly reviewing facts about existing laws regarding gambling. I am also keeping my eyes and ears open to public opinion to combat the lies coming from gambling proponents. I can also testify to others how gambling has caused my father-in-law to loose his retirement. Finally, I will actively support legislative measures, legislators, and law enforcement people who oppose gambling. I realize I have a long way to go on an ever increasing difficult path, but at least I am moving forward.

Human Rights

At first this issue did not seem to even be an ethical issue; however, as I began to reflect more this issue cuts to the core of ethical living. People are suffering around the world at the hands of their own governments. Often times when a person is incarcerated in a foreign prison, torture becomes routine. Women are raped, prisoners are injected with drugs, children are tortured to punish parents, and food and medical care is limited or nonexistent. The violation of human rights is widespread, "a recent survey concludes that 3 billion people in 117 nations . . ., live under governments that are either completely or partially dictatorial."3

The love of Christ compels me to not shut my eyes, ears, and heart to the myriad of people violated daily around the world and even in this nation. I am quickly drawn to the issue of evil and suffering and cry out to God, "why!!!" I want to hide from this reality, but I must face it, "admit its reality, and challenge it."4 In Hebrews 13:3, God through the voice of scripture tells us to remember those in prison and those mistreated because the Church, itself, was born out of suffering.

So what can I do to address such a formidable problem? Again, I believe that principles gleaned from scripture give the best reasons, the most important being that Christ died for all.5 I can support leaders who make human rights a top priority. I can get involved in groups like Amnesty International. From the pulpit, I can preach sermons and inform the laity. Finally, as an active participant in government, I can encourage national response. I agree that, "a great challenge for churches at the end of the twentieth century is to demonstrate a healthy life-style in human relations."6

Biomedical Ethics

The reason why I named this section something other than abortion is because I think we often neglect the entire spectrum of medical issues for the sake of tunnel vision on abortion. In light of the rapidly growing technologies and development of institutions, the combination has resulted in an awesome potential for good but also for evil. It is becoming more and more difficult, "for Christians to ignore or to avoid the consequences of decisions made in the scientific realm."7

Just because we have the ability, should we perform many of the procedures? Should we control birth, control death, control life, and even attempt to control the health care system? This is one of the areas, that because of lack of information and lack of understanding, I will fall short. I think it is honorable to control birth as long as conception is blocked and not terminated. I feel that euthanasia is ultimately murder for the sake of the observer, avoiding the painful reality of death.8 Honestly, I do not even know where to start dealing with "life control" and health care reform!

Probably, the biggest issue in biomedical ethics is abortion right now in our nation. However, I stand neither "Pro-Life" nor "Pro-Choice" because both are right and both are wrong. I choose to stand on the ground of paradox. I must make the decision according to each individual case. The issue for me is a national conflict between sanctity of life and quality of life. Ultimately, I believe abortion should never be used as birth control. However, each person stands before God in determining other cases!

So what can I do? I can emphasize the sanctity of all human life -- born or unborn. I can work behind the scenes to council women not to have abortions. Publicly, I can ask the government not to encourage abortions. Most importantly, I can love and reflect the grace of God that has been shown to me.9 I will try to love and keep my mind open, but I must draw some lines and stand firm on my principles.

Business Ethics

This issue begins with roots in the central issue of whether ethics can be taught. I believe it can be taught and must be taught, but teaching must begin at an early age.10 A survey done by the ICR Survey Research Group states that, "Americans are more likely than ever before to be dishonest with money."11 It seems that the ethical standards of America are dropping, and dropping rapidly.

I can and must respond to the decline in business ethics by doing several things.12 I can lead by example and testify to the presence of Christ in my life by my business and economic dealings. I can speak forth prophetically and challenge the total disregard for the poor, weak, and powerless in economic matters. I can make sure that my finances are clean both personally and in the church. Finally, I can help establish council groups for economic problems and establish a healthy dialogue with business and economic leaders on ethical matters.

Sexuality

I know that this issue is broad, so I will limit my discussion to sexuality expressed in marriage. I would love to deal with the issues of homosexuality, singleness, and abstinence; however, space limits me. I believe totally that sexuality is a gift of God to be expressed in all that this life offers. However, sexual intercourse must be limited solely to people of the opposite sex who have been married.13 The scriptures explicitly state that if a person is not married, they must abstain from intercourse.14

The marriage relationship has been established by God. Marriage provides companionship, procreation, and exists ultimately to support the Kingdom of God. Because my wife and I are Christians, we can distinguish a truly Christian marriage by our intimacy, exclusiveness, faithfulness, and our lasting commitment. Sexually speaking, our marriage must follow the Biblical principle of submission to each other. I will meet my wife's sexual needs, and she will meet my sexual needs. I think that this is the pattern established by Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:3-6. Inside the marriage relationship, the sexual possibilities actually increase. Even acts such as oral sex and masturbation have a positive role to play in the marriage expression of sexuality.15

A "Concluding Unscientific Postscript"16

What follows now is a thought developed in My Ethics Journal.17 This class and Dr. Tillman have begun a process that will indeed leave my life remarkably different. Growing up in the home of an ethicist had me believing that I knew all there is to know about ethics and living ethically. This thought is an attempt to record the changes and growth that will occur over the period of the class and possibly beyond. It will also be used to discuss and debate with myself any issues that confront my "pattern" of thinking. I humbling open myself and my "worldview" to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Hopefully, this will lead to an Understanding of Christian Ethics.

Ethics is the application of the faith life. So how do I respond to this present age? Is this the worst time in human history? I do not think so, but evil is bad enough! I am reminded of a song by TRUTH, "Living Life Upside Down." Its words share the common concern that most Christians have regarding society and culture that have become (and probably always were) extremely secularized and humanistic. The main chorus of the song by TRUTH asks, "what if we've fallen to the bottom of a well, thinking that we've risen to the top of a mountain . . . what if we reach up and touch the ground and find we're living life upside down."18

These words strike hard because they attack my very existence, my hermeneutic of life. How often have I made an error in ethical and moral decisions because my sin nature turned my life upside down? God has made me to be a human; however, sin has made me quite inhumane. If I have lost my moral compass, and my ethical decisions become purely situational, then I am worthless, only to be thrown out and trampled on by the feet of this world. But, my moral and ethical "North" is YHWH, revealed in Christ Jesus. With God in Christ and Christ in me, a correctness and oughtness may be found, but only in deep humility. Thus, in Christ I become salt and light, the savor and direction of this dark and dreary land. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light, it is Jesus Christ the Lord.

ENDNOTES

1 Issues & Answers: Gambling (Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1993), 1. Consider also the picture and caption in Life, 2 October 1979, 144.

2 Paul Griffin Jones, II, "The Christian and the Casino," Salt & Light (7 September/October 1994), 1.

3 Issues & Answers: Human Rights (Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1993), 1.

4 Ibid, 3.

5 William M. Tillman and Timothy D. Gilbert, Christian Ethics: A Primer (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1986), 89.

6 William M. Tillman, ed. Understanding Christian Ethics: An Interpretive Approach (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1988), 160.

7 Tillman, Christian Ethics: A Primer, 113.

8 See also Critical Issues: Euthanasia (Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1994) and David C. Egner, ed. Morals for Mortals (Grand Rapids: Radio Bible Class, n.d.), 35-46.

9 I agree with some of Critical Issues: What the Bible Teaches About Abortion (Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1994), but some of the responses recommended defeat the issue and begin to seek too much political power rather than Kingdom of God power.

10 Class discussion early in the semester led me to come to this conclusion.

11 Beth Holmes, "For Your Information," Salt & Light (7 September/October 1994), 2.

12 See Issues & Answers: Business Ethics (Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, n.d.), 5.

13 For helpful information see Tillman, Christian Ethics: A Primer, 69-79.

14 See important discussion in Critical Issues: A Case for Abstinence (Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1991).

15 For helpful and insightful information see Clifford and Joyce Penner, The Gift of Sex (Waco: Word Books, 1981) and Susan E. Davies and Elanor H. Haney, eds. Redefining Sexual Ethics (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1991).

16 This conclusion heading is chosen under the influence of Søren Kierkegaard and his influence on H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (New York: Harper and Row, 1951), 230-256.

17 Paul Griffin Jones, III, "My Ethics Journal" (Fort Worth: n.p., 1994).

18 TRUTH, So Far, So Good, excerpts read by the author, cassette C02091, Benson, 1992.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Critical Issues: A Case for Abstinence. Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1991.

Critical Issues: Euthanasia. Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1994.

Critical Issues: What the Bible Teaches About Abortion. Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1994.

Davies, Susan E. and Elanor H. Haney, eds. Redefining Sexual Ethics. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1991.

Egner, David C. ed. Morals for Mortals. Grand Rapids: Radio Bible Class, n.d.
Holmes, Beth. "For Your Information." Salt & Light. 7 September/October 1994, 2-4.

Issues & Answers: Biomedical Ethics. Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, n.d.

Issues & Answers: Business Ethics. Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, n.d.

Issues & Answers: Gambling. Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1993.

Issues & Answers: Human Rights. Nashville: The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, n.d.

Jones, Paul Griffin, II. "The Christian and the Casino." Salt & Light. 7 September/October 1994, 1.

Jones, Paul Griffin, III. "My Ethics Journal." Fort Worth: n.p., 1994.
Life. 2 October 1979, 144.

Niebuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture. New York: Harper and Row, 1951. Penner, Clifford and Joyce. The Gift of Sex. Waco: Word Books, 1981.

Tillman, William M., ed. Understanding Christian Ethics: An Interpretive Approach. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1988.

Tillman, William M. and Timothy D. Gilbert. Christian Ethics: A Primer. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1986.

TRUTH. So Far, So Good. Excerpts read by the author. Cassette C02091. Benson, 1992.

An autographical ethical reflection after completing a course on Christian Decision-Making...

PERCEPTION OF STYLES OF DECISION MAKING

FORMATIVE INFLUENCES

The question of formative influences quickly leads me back to my earliest childhood memories. Learning about fairness, playing by the rules, and consequences of disobeying the rules, while playing with my brother and sisters in the backyard. Remembering how my Royal Ambassadors teachers would discipline me for talking when I should not have or goofing of too much during the missionary story. My father spent years time with me in the front yard teaching me how to catch a football, which even to this day we do whenever I visit home. I would spend hours in the kitchen with my mother asking questions about food, medicine, and why girls act the way they do sometimes on the playground. Growing up in Baptist Student Ministry exposed me early to the realities of pain and joy, frustration and excitement, sin and forgiveness, and grace and rejection of grace. I wish I could continue the list, for my life is not my own, it is partially the product of all the people in my life from now and before.

LECTURES

The combination of lectures and open class forum has assisted in being able to perceive my style(s) of decision making. I was shocked at how easily emotions affect my ability to respond in the manner which I know is right. The frustration of not being able to dialogue without making unfair and unfounded value judgements revealed my own prejudices and biases. The lectures continued to reinforce the theme of becoming an ethical person; however, I struggle with my own dissatisfaction and frailty in becoming an ethical person.

TEXTBOOK

The Higgins text accomplished a positive change in my decision making process by reminding of several truths. There is no guarantee that I will ever make THE correct choices in life; however, through a conscious effort and deliberate trust I can increase the odds that I will turn right and make better decisions. I am, and always will be, learning to make good decisions. By growing in relationship with Jesus, by overcoming and adapting my own presuppositions, by interpreting the Bible as correctly as possible, by asking the right questions, and by building a framework around my heritage and community, I begin the life-long journey to make the right decisions.


AREAS OF DECISION MAKING DEVELOPED

PERSONAL

I am growing in the realization that I do not use just one model of decision making, but I do tend to gravitate toward one in particular. The perimeter models include weighing the consequences (teleological) and the categorical imperative of Kant (deontological). At the heart of my decision making process lies the importance of relationship, as asserted by Neibuhr and interpreted by Fletcher, in combination with Biblical norms and principles as asserted by T. B. Maston and Henlee Barnett. The model which arises from such a potpourri bears similarity to the way I understand to decision making patterns of Jesus Christ.

SPECIFIC

The application of such a decision making plan as mentioned above is perhaps another story. My ethical system needs to be reminded of the reality of sin in the world. The way in which I approach an ethical dilemma reveals as much of my personality as does the response to the dilemma. Through the deliberate use of multiple questions, I hope to be able to confront any issue and make response without compromising the people and Biblical principles involved.

CORPORATE

The corporate decision making aspect of my personal ethic needs more development. However, I have seen growth in my ability to recognize that I am not making decisions in a vacuum. I belong to the body of Christ and should not exclude the body from any decision I make. This does not mean that I bring to attention every decision I make, however, I have to be cognizant of the effect which every decision I make will have upon my spiritual family. The logic follows that I also consider input from and the effect on the larger civil community of the world in which I live.

GENERAL

A major area of general decision making involves my treatment of the world around me. I am only recently considering the impact that I have on the ecology of the globe. Through the study of Systematic Theology I was led to understand that Christology and ecology cannot be treated independently in the Kingdom of God.


ISSUES ADDRESSED

INDIVIDUAL-PERSONAL

The way in which I express my sexuality in with my wife is still under the authority of ethical instruction. The marriage relationship was established by God from the beginning to provide companionship, accountability, sexual pleasure, and procreation. The Biblical context of sexual intercourse lies within the relationship of husband and wife to be shared equally. Total freedom within these guidelines allows, and even promotes, healthy use of such taboo acts as masturbation, oral sex, bondage, and anal sex in the marriage expression of sexuality. An argument may be made that the Biblical principle of submission to one another out of reverence for Christ actually places sexuality in its most fulfilling context. Biblical and ethical guidelines serve not as unreasonable restraints, but as a reminder that the other is to be held in higher regard than self.

SOCIAL-GLOBAL

The area of human rights continues to grow in importance in my ethical consciousness. I feel helpless as I see the war-time, methodological rape of women and children in Bosnia, the mass-killing of men by Serbia in Hercegovina and by Russia in Chechnya, the starvation of millions in Africa because of petty dictators, the constant abuse of children by there own parents, and the sexist treatment of women in my own country. I want to close my eyes, tap my heals three times, and hide from this evil. The love of Christ compels me to do the opposite, I must admit the reality of these evils and challenge them. Even if I am only one who cares, Jesus said that those who follow him are the light of world. One small candle in darkest of rooms chases away midnight and gloom.

AREAS CALLING FOR DEVELOPMENT

FIRST THREE CATEGORIES AND NEW AREAS

I need to continue to discover the ways in which my decision making style is affected both positively and negatively. The areas of corporate and general decision making need to be clarified in my own mind before I am to make personal and specific decisions. The decision making process is a continuum in which all four of the ares of decision making are affected whether I intend to act in all four or not. The issues which I attempt to confront with the ethic of the Kingdom need to continue to grow in number and in complexity. However, the most important area calling for further development is in continuing to grow in becoming as ethical person.

PLANS OF ACTION

SPECIFICITY

In order to understand the issues affecting my decision making process I will begin a Journal of Feelings by the end of January in which I can record the issues affecting me. I will not make this a daily project until I can trust myself with the information which I record. The keeping of a feelings journal demands that I trust myself to be honest and open in any and all areas. Until I can do that I will make at least monthly entries. To foster continued growth in the areas of personal, specific, corporate, and general decision making, I will begin at this moment to place myself in broader context. When the ethical dilemmas of life confront me as I read the newspaper, watch television, or see them taking place in life, I will ask myself to consider the personal, specific, corporate, and general implications. In order to make sure that I do this, I will involve my wife in the journey and covenant to grow together as ethical people. The task of becoming an ethical person is the task of working out my salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who works in me. I commit now to read on a daily basis from all of the Biblical text, not just the portions with which I am already familiar. I commit now to live a life of prayer by being mindful of God in all that I do, being reminded through regular prayer times every day. I commit now to be the ethical person God requires me to be by acting justly, by loving mercy, and by walking humbly with Him.

ADDENDUM

WHAT BILL TILLMAN HAS TAUGHT ME

In my desire to be moral and free, if I do not evaluate my own decision making method critically, I compromise my own moral freedom and personhood.

INTERVIEW OF A RESPECTED CHURCH LEADER

Person: Kevin Lucas Shull
Position: Music Assistant
Church: University Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas
Date: March 13, 1995 (interview arranged March 9, 1995)
Time: 1:00 P.M. to 3:30 P.M.

INTRODUCTION:

The interview with Kevin Shull was chosen for many reasons. I have learned from classroom discussion that all of the staff needs to work together in a ministry team. However, in the real world the higher the paid position usually denotes more authority and power. I wanted to discover how those on the "bottom of the totem pole" viewed the ministry and their position in the ministry team. Moreover, I have been able to develop a close friendship with Kevin and this interview allowed me to see another side of which I was not fully aware. Overall, the interview allowed me to see how the information discussed in the classroom is fully applied in the ministry of the Church.

QUESTIONS INCLUDED IN THE INTERVIEW:

I. "What is your background and training?"

Kevin was raised in a strong musical family. His mother is an organist and handbell teacher. His father is a choir director in the Episcopal Church. Kevin's training in music began in secular interests for since he was a child he wanted to be a band director. The majority of his musical training occurred at Kansas State University and Kansas University. In 1987 he was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Kansas University. While he was in college, Kevin began directing youth and bell choirs in the Methodist Church. From the age of twenty Kevin began directing choirs in church even though he had no particular focus for the ministry. In 1987 God began to move in Kevin's life and lead him into the music ministry. In 1991 the calling of God took a unique and refreshing turn as Kevin came to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and began to pursue a M.Div. with Church Music and a Master of Music degree.

II. "What personal experiences helped to mold your approach to leadership?"

Kevin felt strongly that every experience in some way molded his approach to ministry. The influence of his father seemed to have the greatest impact on his leadership style. Kevin seeks to employ the use of small groups wherever possible. The personalities which influence him are diverse ranging from biblical characters to television personalities. The influences upon his leadership style are still growing and changing as he learns and is discipled by Joel Mikel, Music Minister of University Baptist Church, and Dr. Bruce Leafblad, Professor of Church Music at Southwestern.

III. "What is your philosophy of leadership?"

Kevin described his philosophy of leadership as servant leadership but qualified it as active rather than passive. He considered this to be the biblical model of Christlikeness. Each situation that Kevin encounters causes him to seek what the response of Jesus would have been. Because he is so action based, Kevin considered himself to be a "commander" type personality. However, after some reflection, he decided that he was more of an entrepreneur. Kevin is strong willed and opinionated; yet, he is concerned about the opinions of others and easy going.

IV. "How has your understanding of Christian ministry changed across the years, and why?"

Kevin said that he is hopefully waiting and trying to understand what direction to take in leadership. He tries to learn from his mistakes but sometimes his ego gets in the way. He is convinced that it is God who is working and leading but self often times gets in the way.

V. "How do you prioritize time in scheduling activities?"

Kevin feels that he is doing too much now and describes his life as one giant juggling act. The majority of his struggle in ministry involves the budgeting of time. He attempts to remain faithful to relationships over and above specific events or requirements. Kevin struggles to continually seek God in all things. Second, he remembers the importance of his wife and daughter. Third, Kevin makes an effort to spend quality time with close friends. Fourth, he spends time working at the office and at the school. Fifth, Kevin gives time to his ministry groups in the church. Overall, Kevin finds a way to keep the main thing . . . the main thing!

VI. "How do you care for personal needs and for those of your family?"

Kevin is very willing to leave school and work for necessary personal time and family time. In light of constant wear and tear, he makes time to just relax occasionally. Kevin has made it a priority to meet this need because of some past mistakes. He seeks to "de-compartmentalize" his life and allow all the aspects of his life to influence the others.

VII. "If you were to change leadership style at this time, what changes would be made?"

Kevin desires to remain situational based in leadership style. However, he desires to be more assertive in more areas and more bending in others. He wants to be able to step back and let others lead. Kevin has a desire to make disciples and then be able to let them be able to lead. Finally, he wishes that his actual leadership style was more identifiable with his particular philosophy of leadership -- Christlikeness.

VIII. "How do you meet personal spiritual needs?"

Kevin answered this question by listing several activities: prayer, time with God, meditation, thinking on the word of God, listening to God, contemplation, making time for no activities, reading the word of God, talking with wife and friends about spiritual matters, continually reading books about God and spiritual matters, and remaining active in the Body of Christ.

IX. "What do you see as your strengths and weaknesses of your leadership functioning?"

Kevin did not fully understand the question, but was able to discern the strengths and weaknesses of his leadership style. He saw as his strengths: able to command, willing to take a risk, idealistic, willing to voice opinion, strong opinions, and willing to make a change in tradition. His weaknesses seemed to be his strengths taken to an extreme: overly commanding sometimes, often tries to impose desires on others, wants to lead but not in the position, and forgets that tradition is important to many people.

X. "What are your views concerning relationships and leadership of a church staff?"

Kevin contends that the staff must be intimately related to each other in Christ. He feels that the ultimate authority is God; therefore, all submission to authority must be voluntary. Authority must be given and the person leading must prove oneself worthy of such authority. Kevin feels strongly that the pastor should lead the church staff with the other staff yielding voluntary authority for leadership needs. Ultimately, Kevin contends that all in church should submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

XI. "What are your views about authority and power in the church?"

Kevin responded to this question by mentioning the biblical models of marriage and freedom. He believes that all authority and power in the church belongs to God. The Church then receives its power and authority in ministry from God. The church then gives some power and authority to the pastor and/or staff, depending upon each individual church and circumstances. Instead of employing a triangular model, Kevin used the biblical model of a body in which ministry is a matter of function rather than office.

XII. "What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment in leadership and your greatest blunder?"

Kevin mentioned as his accomplishments: being involved in friendship which resulted in the friend entering the ministry because of his ministry leadership and leading others in unity and love in his ministry groups. Kevin listed as his blunders: leading blindly because he was unprepared and unwise, tried to go emotionally and spiritually where he was not prepared, did not follow where God had prepared, and leading others away from unity and love and possibly even Christ because sinful pride.

INSIGHTS GAINED:

From this interview, I received insight into real the world of Christian ministry. The Church body and the staff that guides must be united to each other in Christ. The resultant character will then include faithfulness, hopefulness, and loving-kindness, all of which are included in the biblical model of fellowship and unity.

Though the circumstances differ from church to church, the staff must be submissive to one another while at the same time follow the leadership of the pastor who leads by the authority of the church which was granted by God. The resultant team spirit will then develop mutual respect, trust, mutual support, open communication, and forgiveness. Kevin Shull has reminded me that ministry is not a matter of style; ministry is a matter of being redemptive and acting redemptively.

The Baptist Change--Then and Now

Have Baptists cut their roots? Have Baptists forsaken themselves and become part of the problem against which they have long fought? Out of the Great Awakening Baptists began to strongly doubt the validity of the union of the church and state. Yet, today it appears that many Baptists are seeking a mandate within the Constitution in order to establish prayer in school. Furthermore, others wish to "Reconstruct" America around the Old Testament Law, even though our Baptist forefathers strongly opposed this movement in Puritan America. Baptists were at one time the champions of religious liberty, wanting all to have the right of free expression on religion. Ironically, within the Southern Baptist Convention this is no longer true. Sadly, the more powerful group in the S.B.C. feels that it has the authority to determine doctrinal correctness and true commitment to Christ, without any toleration of different interpretations.

Traditionally, Baptists have made their strongest in-roads with the lower class often in direct conflict with the wealthy, upper class. Now that the S.B.C. has gained notoriety and prosperity, it appears that our strongest in-roads have shifted to the wealthy, upper class. I wish to make it clear that I believe all people need the Lord, but at the same time we cannot single out one class of people. Summarily, we must not cut our roots, but instead acknowledge the strength of our roots and move forward into a changing world.

Tasteless Salt?

Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth. But, if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." In recent decades, government has become larger and involved itself more and more in everyday life. Spheres of society which were once controlled by Christianity are now under the influence of the state. But as I see it, discontent with government intrusion in matters once controlled by the Church is the direct result of the Church neglecting its responsibility to be the salt of the earth. It has become easy to blame big government, rather than to accept responsibility and make a change to help cure the ills of society.

It must be remembered that at best it was individual Christians who led the call for abolition of slavery, not the established Churches. Again, it was the government which moved to protect women and children from the "robber-barons" of big business. And even today, as racism threatens to tear apart whole communities, the Church remains sinfully silent. It is no wonder that government had to step into the picture. It has been the government and not the Churches which has brought about the needed changes. We are to blame, the body of Christ, for not working for better solutions in this imperfect world. If we loose our saltiness or even worse give up our saltiness, then we must expect to be cast out and trampled on by mankind.

Was Prohibition a Good Idea?

". . . the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited." On January 17, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution became effective, many Christians viewed it as the dawning of a new era. Yet, this new "era" was destined to last only thirteen years.

Armed with the noble goal of making America a better place, Francis Willard and the Women's Christian Temperance Union set out to outlaw alcohol and to preserve Victorian values for the good of America. In combination with a myriad of other groups, their goal was fulfilled but to what effect? Alcohol was still readily consumed and even popularized by the "speak-easies." Furthermore, governmental corruption blocked any true enforcement of the Amendment. The essential failure as I see it was the attempt to legislate "protestant" values on the nation as a whole; the difficulty is deciding whose morality to legislate. It is my belief that in order to make America a moral nation, the change must come on a personal level. The only way positive social change will occur is when Christians spread the gospel to more Americans and these Americans involve themselves in the culture and government. This change must occur in the hearts of Americans and not in the legislatures or the courts.

LIKE LUTHERAN, LIKE SOUTHERN BAPTIST

The Lutherans who emerged from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 bear a striking resemblance to modern Southern Baptists in how they responded to internal and external crisis. Lutheran doctrinal controversy arose when Georg Calixtus, who had opened himself up to other Christian groups through travel and study, began to minimize the unique Lutheran doctrines and call for a union of all Christians. The reaction to Calixtus was led by Abraham Calovius, a temperamental yet well educated leader. His strategy was to require all "good" Lutherans to adhere to a form of legalism and creedalism. I am amazed at the speedily return to a Neo-Scholasticism after the death of Martin Luther, rather than a continued emphasis upon biblical study and the grace of God received by faith.

It is also startling to me that, like the Lutherans, Southern Baptists have drifted down the road of legalism and creedalism and developed an attitude of separatism and non-toleration. In early Baptist history, when we were somewhat unpopular, there were men and women who led the call of toleration and cooperation. However, with prestige and popularity came an abuse of power and a movement toward separatism. Men and women, like Calixtus, are called heretics or "liberals" and thrown out. Ironically, men like Calovius are revered. We must not allow history to repeat itself; we must hold firm to love and toleration -- for we are ALL one in Christ.

Learning from Pentecostalism

While the Baptists and Presbyterians were embattled in the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy, the fire of modern Pentecostalism began to burn wildly on the west coast. In 1906 at an abandoned Methodist Church on Azusa Street in Los Angeles a birth took place, the birth of a new movement. The Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission on Azusa Street, led by black pastor William J. Seymour, grew from a local sensation into a world wide phenomenon. Among the various emphases of the new movement were the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, the special sign of tongues, and a strong emphasis upon the gift of healing. Eventually, in 1914, the Assemblies of God denomination emerged.

In a time when main line denominations avoided Black and Women's issues, this new church granted full participation of women, and blacks joined equally with whites in the meetings. Today, many Baptists are quick to condemn this movement as total emotionalism. Yet, Baptists could learn from this group in many areas. Women deserve an important place in the ministry of the church, not just in the W.M.U. And indeed, the color of skin has no bearing upon the freedom in Christ granted to all believers. Finally, we could every once and a while loosen up and celebrate our faith. These may be trivial, but they have helped make Pentecostalism the fastest growing movement in the Christian world. Maybe it could help to observe and learn, rather than blindly condemn.

Francis Asbury was born into a family of followers of John Wesley in 1745 in England. At the age of sixteen, he had already begun to lay preach. In 1771, Asbury volunteered to go to America where he soon became the leader of the Methodists. He was responsible for getting the "settled" clergy to go into the frontier where the people most needed the gospel. By his example, the well-known methodist style of itinerant ministries began. For the Methodists, Asbury, more than any other, embodied the thrust of the revivalist impulse in America. His message was simple: God's free grace, the liberty of humanity to accept or reject God's grace, and an end to willful sinning after conversion. By his death in 1816, Asbury had traveled over 300,000 miles to preach the gospel in America.

The Church today could learn so much from the early Methodists and the work of Francis Asbury. These ministers served by going to the people rather than building buildings and expecting the people to come to them. They also kept their message simple and true rather than embellishing it with long words and theological axioms. I am convinced that this is the best way to reach the lost and minister to those in need - go to the people! This is just a practical out-working of Jesus' words, "As you go into the world, make disciples of all nations . . . ."

Dwight L. Moody was probably the best known evangelist of the latter half of the nineteenth century, and his name is still well known even today. The achievements of his life have inspired many to carry on in the revivalist tradition. His life as a businessman-evangelist also carried over into his support for the Y.M.C.A, his efforts to start Sunday Schools and his contributions to the distribution of Christian literature. His life is a prime example of an ordinary man whose life was totally transformed by the indwelling of God.

In light of modern problems, which were also prevalent in Moody's time, people of God must step out and lead the call to salvation. Social and political turmoil can be faced by Christians with the simple yet true Gospel of Jesus. Moody's simple message, the "Three R's," helped to bring revival to the stagnant big cities. Moody used sense to convince the audience about God and the need for Jesus. He spoke of the loss of traditional family and community values. Above all, Moody classified himself as primarily a "winner of souls." Today, we must remember that God has entrusted to us the Gospel message to take it into the world. This message can be conveyed by simple and sensible methods. Our message must have practical application to today's societal ills. But above all we, like Dwight Lyman Moody, must be first and foremost "winners of souls."

What a Man, What a Man, What a Mighty Good Man

William Franklin Graham was born in 1918 into a fundamentalist home. He attended a fundamentalist college and began a preaching ministry at an early age. In 1944 he became actively involved in the Youth for Christ movement. But, it was in 1949 in Los Angles, California that Billy Graham burst onto the scene of modern revivalism. Through the assistance of William Randolph Hearst, crowds packed his "Canvas Cathedral" for twelve weeks. Graham's charisma and spirit of freedom combined with his basic gospel message of God's grace to produce a true spokesman for God.

It was when Graham enlisted support from mainline denominations that the separatist fundamentalists wrote him off as a supporter of liberals. He has sought help from the Roman Catholics and pioneered for the integration of blacks and whites. Every president since Truman has made Graham their guest at the presidential table. Though he learned the hard way, he based his ministry on being nonpartisan and more circumspect in approach. Today, he is a strong advocate of world peace and nuclear disarmament, and he has never forsaken the gospel of Jesus Christ. He took a risk; he would help the most he could instead of becoming the toy of a minority, power hungry group. Let us learn from Billy Graham that the gospel is lived as well as preached and that doctrinal strength is not compromised when cooperating with groups outside of ourselves! We are all One in Christ and all belong to Him.

Freedom, yet slavery; liberty, yet tyranny; Christianity, yet Godlessness. Has anything changed in the hearts of the people since the Revolution in 1776? Today, even though slavery is unconstitutional, people are still enslaved by bigotry and racism. My frustration is vented towards Christians who use scripture and the guise of societal norms to keep others "in their place." In Christ, all are set free and all are on equal footing.

In the past, Black preachers and evangelists like David George, George Liele, and Hannah and Andrew Bryan were allowed to preach the gospel to other Blacks. However, when they began to realize the hypocrisy in the contemporary implementation of the Constitution and preach true freedom in Christ, the white slave owners threatened beatings, whippings, and death. Even though protests against slavery were initiated by many well known white men, the fad was soon dropped when slavery was needed in the economic structure of the South. Today, the church must not stand-by and allow bigotry and racism to prevent Blacks and others in gaining the equality that should already be theirs. It is in the continued spirit of Frederick Douglas that I say . . . the existence of racism in this country and in the church brands our republicanism as a sham, our humanity as a base pretense, and our Christianity as a lie.

America has often been called the melting-pot due to its vastness of cultural diversity. However, America during the colonial years was an experimentation in religious freedom. You name it, and they probably had it from the rigid, liturgical worship of Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism, the free worship of Baptists and Quakers, to witchcraft and the occult. Today, I hear many people expressing their fear of "strange" religions coming onto the scene in Christian America, but these people fail to realize that America began with a conglomeration of strange religious expressions.

Early in the life of the new nation, European Christianity still dominated. Soon, this European environment began to stiffel the goals of the religious groups. In their attempt at religious freedom, many groups became intolerant to those who disagreed with them. A major point which must never be overlooked is that the majority of early Americans were not "church-going" people. Some statistics even show that under one-third of the population had any church membership whatsoever. Many others practiced the occult or other mystery religions. America was founded not only in Christian pluralism but in the even broader scope of religious pluralism. It would be very wrong interpret American history in the light of Christianity alone. Though predominately Christian, America was and still is the melting-pot of Christian diversity and religious pluralism.

On December 12, 1994, my preaching professor, Dr. Jimmie Nelson, asked us to submit a statement of personal pilgrimage. Looking back, a lot of crap was being deposited in my life that was ultimately spiritually and professionally formative. Most importantly, my rejection of Baptist Fundamentalism was solidifying.

MY PERSONAL PILGRIMAGE

I have no idea of where to start or to stop any discussion of where I am on my spiritual pilgrimage. Right now, I am simply worn out. I am tired and have lost any desire to do anything but rest. This past semester has had its challenges and rewards; but now, I am ready for a spiritual Sabbath.

Ever since the firing of Russell Dilday in March of this year, I have struggled to keep my vision focused and my steps from stumbling. I have nothing but good will towards Ken Hemphill; however, the shock of Dilday's dismissal only recently left me. I needed time to grieve, but none was allowed. I struggled to find meaning in such a loss, but none was found.

From the last half of the Spring semester to the first half of the Fall semester, one Biblical theme permeated my life. "Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. Everything is meaningless!" - Ecclesiastes 12:8. My life was spiraling down into a blur, while all the time I hid the frustration and pretended it was not there. I could not live for long like that; I knew it, my wife knew it, and God knew it. Jesus had come to give me Eternal Life and Abundant Life. There was no way that God was going to allow me to forfeit such a grace.

This brings me to a second theme which could be used to describe my spiritual pilgrimage. "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." - Jonah 2:8. In all of the trials and troubles, I had turned away from God and began to focus only on my pain and emptiness. I was clinging to the worthless idol of self-pity trying to find comfort while the whole time I was forfeiting the loving comfort of God's grace that could have been mine.

I cannot say that I was dramatically brought forth from this darkness, nor can I espouse any voice from heaven. However, I became aware that over a period of time God was warming and softening my granite and icy heart. Perhaps I can use the words of Wesley and simply say that, "my heart was strangely warmed." My pilgrimage had taken me to the valley of the shadow of death, but it was my Heavenly Father who walked me through.

I confess that I have a long way to go, but I know that God is capable of changing a life such as mine. Jesus' promise rings evermore clearly, "on that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." - John 14:20-21.

Right now I am still somewhat confused, but I do have a theme by which I can live . . . it is LOVE. Love is not easy, but it is required! Love often time hurts, but it is its own reward. Love is the ultimate paradox. It makes no sense for God to love me. It makes no sense for God to send His Son. It makes no sense for God to use His Son's death to rescue me. But, praise be to God for His indescribable gift; indeed, God is Love!

In the foolishness that I call my wisdom, I trust that God will be able to use me. In the weakness that I call my strength, I have faith that God will work in me. I have found my rest, my spiritual Sabbath. It is Jesus Christ my Lord. I find peace and rest knowing that, "for since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength . . . . But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things -- and the things that are not -- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God -- that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption." - First Corinthians 1:21-25; 27-30. -- Αμην!

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This post has been brought to you by the letters P and J, and the number 3.

When I was working towards my M.Div B.L. at seminary, my systematic theology (SYSTH 445 Fall 1995 TWTH 2:00 p.m.) professor asked us to write short ditties on certain topics of faith and practice in the Christian life. He wanted them short and sweet...kind of an elevator speech for what we believe. I offer these as introspection of who I was then and who I am becoming even today.

Baptism

Asserting that faith in Christ both requires and results in a death and burial to sin and resurrection to new life, immersion is the symbolic representation, given by Christ Himself, of a life lived by faith, in relationship with the Father and with the Son and with the Holy Spirit.

Christology and Hermeneutics

Having affirmed that theology is an interpretive matter, the next logical step is that Christology does affect theology. There is a dialogical relationship between the Scriptures and the Christology established by the Scriptures. The Scriptures are the primary source for the doctrine of Christ; yet, doctrine assists in the interpretation of scripture. Where scripture generates doctrine, doctrine interprets scripture. However, one must exercise caution and maintain hermeneutical humility so that tradition does not replace scripture or infringe upon the priesthood of every believer. For a practical example of how theology comes to be interpreted through Christology consider the cross and resurrection. Since Jesus is both God and Man, at the cross and resurrection both God and Man were present. The implications for theology are that God is one who suffers with His people, who has experienced the finitude of death, and who offers the reality of resurrection from the dead to those who faith Him and are found "in Christ." Hence, our Christology becomes the lens through which we interpret our Theology.

5 Images in the Cross

Battlefield: Sin has the ability to enslave and oppress, just like an enemy army during war-time. The cross (and resurrection) break the power of sin, just as D-Day and V-Day broke the power of Nazism in W.W.II. The decisive battle has been won and the war with sin will end soon.

Court of Law: The redemption found in the cross resounds with the justice and righteousness of God. Sin has violated the moral fabric of God's creation. Jesus by the cross and resurrection took away the guilt and power of sin. Being found "in Christ," one appropriates the righteousness of relationship with God.

Rehabilitation Clinic: Personal relationships shed a light on how the cross transforms human life. God is reconciling the world through Christ and offers the release of forgiveness. These two aspects of counseling find total redefinition in the cross which reveals the full extent of the love of God for humanity. The cross is at the center of our need!

Prison: The captivity that is felt as well as experienced in sin is very similar to the captivity of imprisonment. The futility of the human situation without the cross of Christ leaves one powerless and without purpose. However, the cross of Christ is God's power and desire to release the captive of sin from sin's realm of power. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!

Hospital: The very word "salvation" bears the image and meaning of healing, but more importantly, it is a healing that encompasses the entire human experience. The cross demonstrates the healing transformation found only in the suffering of Christ. Moreover, God is involved in our healing process on a continual basis in Christ. Without being too simplistic, sin has become a sickness in humanity which destroys life and administers a horrible death; however, Jesus Christ on the cross took upon himself our infirmity and became the medicine for the sin of humanity! Jesus has become our wounded healer.

The Lord's Supper

The Lord's Supper is an act of obedience to Jesus Christ, symbolizing a disciple's faith in Christ to supply all his/her needs and his/her commitment to follow Jesus to the ends of the Earth.

My Millennial View

This issue is very difficult for me to discuss. As a Southern Baptist I am aware of the historical emphasis that has been placed upon the millennial focus of Revelation 20:1-10 in specific and the broader focus of the all of the text of Revelation. Having been given the task to choose one of the four main opinions (premillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism), I must respectfully decide to not decide from among these four.

The position which I maintain has much in common with amillennialism; however, I do NOT believe that the text of Revelation has to interpreted to reflect a literal Millennium. The text of Revelation is highly symbolic apocalyptic literature which fits a genre of literature all but extinct in our culture. However, during the first and second centuries the Believers could not communicate openly without veiling the content in symbolic language. For the original hearer, the message of Revelation directly confronted the evils of the Roman Emperors by names which only the intended audience would know. Moreover, the text of Revelation also reminds the early believers that Christ has won the battle and some day WILL return to claim that which is his.

I hope that all who call Jesus Lord will be united in the truth of the Gospel that just as Jesus left in humility, he will someday return in glory. I hold this belief in opposition to the suggested four options, not because I can ignore Revelation and the rest of Scripture, but because I hold to its absolute authority in matters affecting my faith and my life. Therefore, I disagree with the appraisal of Hunt that the rejection of a "Millennium" results in difficulty in substantiating a claim to Biblical authority. I take the text so seriously that I must remember to whom it was originally written and the factors which influenced its writing. I take the text so seriously that I must act boldly where Scripture is relatively clear and act humbly where the text is highly interpretable.

NINE BIBLICAL TERMS RELATED TO CHRISTIAN LIFE ACCORDING TO HUNT

1) Justification: pardon and acceptance into the family of God
2) Regeneration: given a new heart, a new nature, and new purpose
3) Sanctification: set apart for God and growth in His grace
4) Forgiveness: full pardon and full acceptance
5) Adoption: assurance of acceptance with God and belonging in the His family
6) Reconciliation: sinner's cessation of rebellion against God, removal of enmity between God and the person, and joy of peace with God
7) Redemption: being ransomed from the kingdom of darkness to freedom in the Kingdom of God
8) Salvation: wholeness or health, God's gift of forgiveness and life in Christ, and everything else God is doing to bring about the Kingdom purposes in Christ
9) Eternal Life: life which is abundant, full, and endless found only in Christ or life in the Kingdom of God

ONE BIBLICAL THEME OF MY OWN RELATING TO CHRISTIAN LIFE

10) Renewal: made new again and reestablishment of right relationship with God and humanity (Ψ 51:10; Isaiah 40:31; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Romans 12:2)

Positive and Negative Reaction to the Statement: "There is no salvation outside of the Church"

Two Positive Statements:
1. Since the Church is the physical representation of the Body of Christ, salvation must result in participation with the Church.
2. Since Christian doctrine is the distinguishing factor of the Church from other groups, organizations, and religions, the proclamation of salvation is uniquely gifted to the Church.

Two Negative Statements:
1. The Church must be distinguished from the Kingdom of God; salvation is found in the Kingdom of God, the Church is the agent by which the Good News of the Kingdom of God Present is proclaimed.
2. The Church's reason for existence is to proclaim Jesus Christ, being charged with the potential to transform the world, in order that salvation may be found, not inside the Church, but outside in the world for everyone!

ORDO SALUTIS

The ordo salutis, or order of salvation, is an area of much debate and discussion. Christ's scholars appeal to the scriptures in an attempt to understand the process of salvation. My attempt to define an ordo salutis will follow the same pattern. However, instead of looking all about the scriptures for the various words used to describe salvation, I will make my appeal to the very heart of the message of Jesus. Jesus came preaching long ago, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!"

This simple message contains all there needs for salvation. The two ideas of repentance and faith are inseparable, yet distinguishable in the message of Jesus. To repent is to turn from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness. To have faith in Christ and gain entrance into His Kingdom is to live a life of repentance. In Christian experience, repentance and faith occur simultaneously, and are therefore inseparable. Repentance and faith are not just "the prayer of salvation," they are the beginning and the continuing of the Christian life. Christians are never done repenting and faithing Christ.

So, what about all the other words mentioned in scripture, like: justification, regeneration, sanctification, forgiveness, adoption, reconciliation, redemption, salvation, eternal life, and renewal? The answer is clear from my reading of scripture and experience in life. All of these other terms are attributes which help to partially explain the mystery of repentance and faith. To establish a required pattern for salvation is to re-write the scriptures and ignore the simple ordo salutis of Jesus, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!" Paul says the same thing using different words, "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. . . ." (Eph. 2:8) and "just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him" (Col. 2:6).

The Person of the Holy Spirit

As one considers the person of the Holy Spirit, the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit are focal. Just as the Father and the Son cannot be separated from their work, so the Holy Spirit cannot be removed from His work. However, how the Spirit relates both to the Divine and the Human is unique. Because the Scriptures present God as personal and intimate as well as holy and exalted, the Holy Spirit is no less personal or holy than the Father or the Son. The Spirit is ascribed actions which are personal in focus. Scripture speaks of Him as the One producing character, unity, and diversity in intimate ways both individually and collectively in the body of Christ. Moreover, Jesus refers to Him as the Paraclete, or "One called alongside." The work of the Holy Spirit clearly evidences His personality; One who is personally pointing people to an intimate relationship with the Father through the Son.

The Person of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is more than just a great teacher filed away in the annals of history. He is a living person who maintains identity in ways that often times seem paradoxical. Jesus was born into this world a homan infant male; yet, he was with God from eternity -- for he is λογος. Jesus Christ is a person of the Trinity who has always lived in perfect relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is neither one-third of God nor is he one-half of God and one-half human. Jesus is a whole person both in relation to the Trinity and in relation to his essence. The radical love of God was made manifest in Jesus Christ as he emptied himself and allowed God to reconcile the world through him. As a whole person, Jesus Christ was killed, with the implication that for three days λογος was dead. However, God made Jesus the first fruits of the resurrection when Jesus was bodily resurrected and bodily ascended back into the presence of God. Summarily, Jesus Christ bears the reality of paradox in wholeness as he is both one hundred percent God and one hundred percent human. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Fifteen years ago I married the most beautiful woman in the world, the former Melissa Kaye Janczewski. I celebrate our life together. Thank you, Missy, for loving me!

Back in the summer of 2005, when I was Executive Director of the Mustard Seed, I was asked by the Rankin Record to write an article about the importance of community. I still love the Seed and encourage everyone to participate in the type of community that is nurtured there...

Rediscovering Community

I have found what is profoundly missing in the world and I discovered it at a Christian community for mentally challenged adults. Our world, and especially our culture, has lost any real comprehension and appreciation of community. While I cannot offer a concrete definition, I am referring to community that is defined by shared goals, shared hopes, shared needs, and shared resources. I am not talking about vapid utopianism or the nightmare of socialism. However, I am suggesting a deliberate effort to open ourselves to each other and recognition that the accomplishments of one are build upon the efforts of us all. We stand in such profound need of each other; yet continue to live as if everything we have and need can be provided by our hands alone?! I confess that my understanding of community is predicated upon a belief in the radical notions of Jesus Christ…that only through dying to ourselves and taking the position of a humble servant will we ever know the Gospel. Living shared lives is both good news and part of the Good News.


At the Mustard Seed I have found 40 friends who love me unconditionally and are overjoyed about our friendship. The residents of the Mustard Seed, whom we lovingly call the Seedsters, live in a condition and situation requiring total trust in others. They cannot produce and compete at a level that is needed to make it in this world, so they have to live by faith: a faith which trusts the promises of God for provision and companionship; a faith which motivates them to reach out to each other and work together for their common needs and desires; a faith that invites all who may come to participate with them in community; a faith that creates expectations for generosity, forgiveness, and accountability; a faith that says thank you!


Have you ever thought about what it takes to have a single egg for breakfast? Have you considered all the people that you have to trust in order to eat such a simple meal? Someone has to build a coop for the hens. Someone else needs to prepare the feed. Yet another has to shovel out the coops. Someone needs to inspect the hens for health. Someone else has to process the hens for egg making ability. Yet another is required to move the hens from the coops to the egg processing facility. Someone has to grade and evaluate the eggs. Someone else needs to prepare packaging for the eggs. Yet another has to load the eggs and carry them to market. Someone has to unload the egg cartons and place them on the store shelves. Someone else keeps track of the inventory to make sure that only fresh eggs are sold. Yet another has to scan the eggs and bag them so they are not crushed. Finally, someone is required to crack the egg and cook it to our satisfaction. All this work for just a single egg breakfast! We have yet to consider what it takes to make the skillet, provide the power, build the stove, and create the plate and fork! By the way, would you like toast, coffee, orange juice, and fresh fruit with your egg? The power of one person is an amazing force, but unless we cast away our selfish individualism and begin to celebrate our interconnectedness, we will never know community. We will remain lost and alone in a busy and uncaring world.


I have come to understand through the Seedsters that we are all incapable of making it alone. We really need each other and that is truly part of God's plan for us. In the kingdom of God we learn that having faith means the last shall be first, the least are the most important, and our care of the poor, sick, hungry, and disabled is non-negotiable. By ministering to and with the mentally handicapped I have found faith and faith has found me. I have found hope and hope has found me. I have found love and love has found me. I have found the Lord and the Lord has found me. Real community is rough around the edges, often difficult, and usually quite messy…but it is the only way for us to survive or, more importantly, for us to truly thrive. What are you doing to create community? If you need some guidance then visit the Mustard Seed and rediscover what community really is!


May the grace and peace of Christ be with you all...

Here is a prayer that I offered at Northside Baptist Church during Easter of 2004. I confess that it is not a "hip" prayer, since it was inspired by a contemporary Christian music song by Sandi Patty, "A Morning Like This"...

Gracious God and Heavenly Father,

I am sure it has been asked before; but, I just gotta know:

Was it a morning like this when your Son still hid from Jerusalem…
And Mary rose from her bed to tend the Lord she thought was dead?

Was it a morning like this when Mary walked down from Jerusalem…
And two angels stood at the tomb bearers of the news she would hear soon?

Was it a morning like this when Peter and John ran from Jerusalem…
And as they raced towards the tomb beneath their feet was there a tune?

Jesus, did the grass sing…did the earth rejoice to feel you again?

Over and over like a trumpet under ground…
Did the earth seem to pound, “He Is Risen!”

Jesus, was it a morning like this when you looked out again on Jerusalem?

You are risen…Hallelujah!

Everything has changed; nothing can be the same…
The old is gone…the new has come!

We have a lot of words and songs for you today as we begin our celebration of your resurrection…but first we want to hear your words and pray how you taught us to pray:

Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come!
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And, forgive our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.
And, lead us not into temptation; but, deliver us from evil!
For yours is the Kindgom…and the power…and the glory…Forever!
Amen!

I offered this prayer on April 24, 2005 at Northside Baptist Church. There are two direct hymn references and one heavily adapted song from Sarah McLachlan, "Push"...

It is to you Great God that we come this morning:

We stop to acknowledge your dominion over all and in our lives…

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to you;
Holy, Holy, Holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Let all things their Creator bless, and worship Him in humbleness!

We pause to recall that you are the Lord of all history and still guide your kingdom today…

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to un-do us,
We will not fear, for You have willed the truth of Jesus to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure, one little word shall fell him!
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abides;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Jesus who with us sides:
We will let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: Your truth abides still, Your kingdom is forever!

We rest and remember that we are sinners in the hands of a loving Abba and you are the lover of our soul…

Every time we look to you the world just melts away,
All our troubles, all our fears dissolve in your affection.You’ve seen us at our weakest but you take us as we are;And when we fall, you offer us a softer place to land.We get mad so easy but you give us room to breathe,No matter what we say or do, because you’re too good to fight about it. Even when we start to push just to see how far you’ll go,You won’t stoop down to battle but you never turn to go.Your love is the antidote because nothing else can cure us.There are times we can’t decide…when we can’t tell up from down,You make us feel less crazy when otherwise we would drown.But you pick us up and brush us off and tell us we’re okay,Sometimes that’s just what we need to get through the day.You stay the course, you hold the line, you keep it all together.You’re the one true thing we know we can believe in.You’re all the things that we desire: you save us, you complete us.You’re the one true thing we know we can believe in!

May our words to you always model the words that our friend and brother Jesus taught us to use:

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

What ever happened to good clean fun like this? Bring back the Muppets!

This is a prayer I offered on May 6, 2007 at Northside Baptist Church. This time I based my prayer on the words of Peter Gabriel, "In Your Eyes"...

Gracious God,

Thank you for allowing us to call you Father and come to you as your dearly loved children. Life is too hard, too complicated, and too confusing to face alone. Thank you for speaking in so many ways to us, but most importantly speaking your Son, the Word that was with you in the beginning. In our worship of you today we look to Him who is the pioneer and perfector of our faith and pray for the day when we can look deeply into his eyes. We seek renewal, restoration, and if necessary, your cleansing fire.

Enduring Spirit,

I get so lost, sometimesdays pass and this emptiness fills my heartwhen I want to run awayI drive off in my carbut whichever way I goI come back to the place you areall my instincts, they returnand the grand facade, so soon will burnwithout a noise, without my pride I reach out from the inside

Merciful Savior,

I don't like to see so much painso much wasted and this moment keeps slipping awayI get so tired of working so hard for our survivalI look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive in your eyesand all my instincts, they returnand the grand facade, so soon will burnwithout a noise, without my prideI reach out from the insidein your eyesthe light the heatin your eyesI am completein your eyesI see the doorway to a thousand churchesin your eyesthe resolution of all the fruitless searchesin your eyesI see the light and the heatin your eyesoh, I want to be that completeI want to touch the light,the heat I see in your eyes.

Gracious God,

Until the time comes when we can proclaim that we no longer see as through a glass darkly but actually see you face-to-face, we will continue to follow the model of prayer that your son taught us…

A prayer I once delivered at my church, Northside Baptist Church, based upon a goth-ish song by Evanesence, "Bring Me to Life"...

My God and Father,

Today I am seeking nothing less than the essence of new life that was returned to Jesus on the day of his resurrection nearly 2000 years ago. Yet, I am still left asking…

how can you see into my eyes like open doors leading you down into my core
where I've become so numb without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold
until you find it there and lead it back home

now that I know what I'm without you can't just leave me
breathe into me and make me real

wake me up inside
call my name and save me from the dark
bid my blood to run
before I come undone
save me from the nothing I've become

frozen inside without your touch without your love Jesus
only you are the life among the dead

all this time I can't believe I couldn't see
kept in the dark but you were there in front of me
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems
got to open my eyes to everything
without a thought without a voice without a soul
don't let me die here
there must be something more
bring me to life!

In the name of Him who faced death on my behalf so that I might taste with Him the sweet fruits of resurrected life…Jesus Christ!

Amen

Several weeks ago a friend of mine, James Stringer, caught me after church and asked if I would be willing to speak to the Clinton Civitan Club. If you know me (or my parents) you know that talking comes rather naturally; silence is the more difficult assignment. Nonetheless, when James told me that he not only would like me to talk about the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Mississippi but also include some patriotic thoughts, my mind and lips fell silent. How in the world was I going to connect my passion for the mission of Make-A-Wish with my patriotic feelings?

It may be wishful thinking, but I believe in good ideas and I strive to live into the ideal. Admittedly, my personal convictions (those deep-seated beliefs that if I changed, I would no longer be the same) are all based on someone else’s ideas, but when blended with my personality and experiences the combination in my life creates a unique calling. The collective will of a community expressed in representative government; the desire for wholeness and peace with each other, creation, and our Creator; and, the wonder of life seen through the eyes of children, currently captures my thoughts and imagination. In each of these three areas someone expressed a good idea then created a community that attempted to live into the ideal.

Without oversimplifying the various forces that led to the creation of the United States of America, our nation was formed by idealists with what are really simple ideas. I encourage all fellow citizens to refresh themselves with the ideas that formed and matured our nation. Specifically, I call to mind our Declaration of Independence, the Lincoln Memorial Address of Martin Luther King, Jr., our Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address.

In July of 1776 a few idealistic troublemakers announced their intention to rebel against King George III; yet, they first addressed correspondence to him because they felt it was the “decent” thing to do particularly in “respect to the opinions of mankind.” Attached to their complaint was a litany of grievances to demonstrate that their actions were not based upon “light and transient causes.” Nonetheless, our Founders sought “to alter or to abolish” the existing Form of Government and establish one that seemed to them “most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” Our Founders’ troubling ideas for government seem built on one idealistic premise, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Were their ideas just wishful thinking or could a nation be formed and maintained upon their ideals?

The equality of people envisioned by the Declaration of Independence was far from a reality over the past two hundred years of our history. Blacks, Hispanics, and Orientals were discriminated against politically, economically, socially, and relationally. Due to our failure of living into our nation’s ideals, a young minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. stood before the country and called us back to a great idea, yet fully realized. Even though anger was justified, he encouraged us to act ideally and “not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred” because we are called to act on the “high plane of dignity and discipline.” His dream for this nation was simply that it live up to its potential and ideals so that “one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”

As a side note, for those of us Christians out there, could it be that our nation’s Founders or Reverend King were motivated by biblical ideals? The Apostle Paul purports, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Or, perhaps it was even the words of Jesus, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). I wonder if, like the Founders, Martin Luther King, Jr. was guilty of building an entire movement on wishful thinking.

I serve an organization that was founded on wishful thinking. The mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. From our humble beginnings in 1980 with one boy’s wish to be a police officer, we have grown into an organization that grants a child’s wish in the U.S. every 41 minutes. Twenty-seven years ago someone had an idea to give hope to a sick child and it reflected an idealism that was present in our nation from the very beginning.

I have been told by many that it is unrealistic to believe that every child in our state with a life-threatening medical condition could have their one true wish granted, but I think differently; and, by the way, our estimates are as high 212 Mississippi kids per year are medically qualified. I believe that once people in our state truly understand that they have the power to grant a wish and bring hope, strength, and joy into the lives of children and families, we will be overwhelmed with referrals and resources. Granting wishes was not my good idea, but it is now the ideal that I pursue.

I hope you will consider joining me in forging a community and nation that attempts to live into many ideals: A principled government serving free and equal citizens, a forgiven people given the task of reconciliation, and sharing the power of a wish with children in need. Maybe I am just plain wrong in my ideas about our nation, hope for a redeemed community or even the power of a wish; but, I choose to continue in my wishful thinking….

There is nothing more that I can say that Keith Olbermann did not say tonight about the Bush Administration's Iraq War Policy. You can read the text of his comments below or click HERE to watch the video clip on MSNBC.

It is one of the great, dark, evil lessons, of history.

A country — a government — a military machine — can screw up a war seven ways to Sunday. It can get thousands of its people killed. It can risk the safety of its citizens. It can destroy the fabric of its nation.

But as long as it can identify a scapegoat, it can regain or even gain power.

The Bush administration has opened this Pandora’s Box about Iraq. It has found its scapegoats: Hillary Clinton and us.

The lies and terror tactics with which it deluded this country into war — they had nothing to do with the abomination that Iraq has become. It isn’t Mr. Bush’s fault.

The selection of the wrong war, in the wrong time, in the wrong place — the most disastrous geopolitical tactic since Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia in 1914 and destroyed itself in the process — that had nothing to do with the overwhelming crisis Iraq has become. It isn’t Mr. Bush’s fault.

The criminal lack of planning for the war — the total “jump-off-a-bridge-and-hope-you-can-fly” tone to the failure to anticipate what would follow the deposing of Saddam Hussein — that had nothing to do with the chaos in which Iraq has been enveloped. It isn’t Mr. Bush’s fault.

The utter, blinkered idiocy of “staying the course,” of sending Americans to Iraq and sending them a second time, and a third and a fourth, until they get killed or maimed — the utter de-prioritization of human life, simply so a politician can avoid having to admit a mistake — that had nothing to do with the tens of thousand individual tragedies darkening the lives of American families, forever. It isn’t Mr. Bush’s fault.

The continuing, relentless, remorseless, corrupt and cynical insistence that this conflict somehow is defeating or containing or just engaging the people who attacked us on 9/11, the total “Alice Through the Looking Glass” quality that ignores that in Iraq, we have made the world safer for al-Qaida — it isn’t Mr. Bush’s fault!

The fault, brought down, as if a sermon from this mount of hypocrisy and slaughter by a nearly anonymous undersecretary of defense, has tonight been laid on the doorstep of... Sen. Hillary Clinton and, by extension, at the doorstep of every American — the now-vast majority of us — who have dared to criticize this war or protest it or merely ask questions about it or simply, plaintively, innocently, honestly, plead, “Don’t take my son; don’t take my daughter.”

Sen. Clinton has been sent — and someone has leaked to The Associated Press — a letter, sent in reply to hers asking if there exists an actual plan for evacuating U.S. troops from Iraq.

This extraordinary document was written by an undersecretary of defense named Eric Edelman.

“Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq,” Edelman writes, “reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia.”

Edelman adds: “Such talk understandably unnerves the very same Iraqi allies we are asking to assume enormous personal risks.”

A spokesman for the senator says Mr. Edelman’s remarks are “at once both outrageous and dangerous.” Those terms are entirely appropriate and may, in fact, understate the risk the Edelman letter poses to our way of life and all that our fighting men and women are risking, have risked, and have lost, in Iraq.

After the South was defeated in our Civil War, the scapegoat was Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and the ideas of the “Lost Cause” and “Jim Crow” were born.

After the French were beaten by the Prussians in 1870 and 1871, it was the imaginary “Jewish influence” in the French Army general staff, and there was born 30 years of self-destructive anti-Semitism, culminating in the horrific Dreyfus case.

After the Germans lost the First World War, it was the “back-stabbers and profiteers” at home, on whose lives the National Socialists rose to prominence in the succeeding decades and whose accused membership eventually wound up in torture chambers and death camps.

And after the generation before ours, and leaders of both political parties, escalated and re-escalated and carpet-bombed and re-carpet-bombed Vietnam, it was the protest movement
and Jane Fonda and — as late as just three years ago — Sen. John Kerry who were assigned the kind of blame with which no rational human being could concur, and yet which still, across vast sections of our political landscape, resonates unchallenged and accepted.

And now Mr. Bush, you have picked out your own Jefferson Davis, your own Dreyfus, your own “profiteer” — your own scapegoat.

Not for the sake of this country.

Not for the sake of Iraq.

Not even for the sake of your own political party.

But for the sake of your own personal place in history.

But in reaching for that place, you have guaranteed yourself tonight not honor, but infamy.

In fact, you have condemned yourself to a place among that remarkably small group of Americans whom Americans cannot forgive: those who have sold this country out and who have willingly declared their enmity to the people at whose pleasure they supposedly serve.

A scapegoat, sir, might be forgivable, if you hadn’t just happened to choose a prospective presidential nominee of the opposition party.

And the accusation of spreading “enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia” might be some day atoned for, if we all didn’t know — you included, and your generals and the Iraqis — that we are leaving Iraq, and sooner rather than later, and we are doing it even if to do so requires, first, that you must be impeached and removed as president of the United States, sooner rather than later.

You have set this government at war against its own people and then blamed those very people when they say, “Enough.”

And thus it crystallizes, Mr. Bush.

When Civil War Gen. Ambrose Burnside ordered a disastrous attack on Fredericksburg in which 12,000 of his men were killed, he had to be physically restrained from leading the next charge himself.

After the First Lord of the British Admiralty, Winston Churchill, authored and enabled the disastrous Gallipoli campaign that saw a quarter-million Allied soldiers cut down in the First World War, Churchill resigned his office and took a commission as a front-line officer in the trenches of France.

Those are your new role models, Mr. Bush.

Let your minions try to spread the blame to the real patriots here, who have sought only to undo the horrors you have wrought since 2002.

Let them try it, until the end of time.

Though the words might be erased from a million books and a billion memories, though the world be covered knee-deep in your lies, the truth shall prevail.

This, sir, is your war.

Sen. Clinton has reinforced enemy propaganda? Made it impossible for you to get your ego-driven, blood-steeped win in Iraq?

Then take it into your own hands, Mr. Bush.

Go to Baghdad now and fulfill, finally, your military service obligations.

Go there and fight, your war. Yourself.

I want everyone to know how much I honor and respect Keith Olbermann. So, here is a message I sent to him today:

Dear Mr. Olbermann,

I have remained shy about sharing my political opinions and aligning with either major party as a matter of humility and desire to be open to the Truth. However, I am also deeply committed to the notion that we are called to speak truth to power. I was deeply saddened last year when the Bush administration and Republican led Congress obliterated our bedrock civil right of habeas corpus. I recall that night that you were equally shocked and saddened; but, your anger at the silence of the media and politicians inspired me to speak out. With the recent bipartisan (Leahy/Specter) effort to reinstate our habeas corpus guarantee by the Senate Judiciary Committee, I am cognizant that your constant pressure played a significant role! I am inspired by your candor and commitment to American ideals. You are a prophet to an easily misled people…thank you for calling us back to the straight and narrow. You are a patriot in the finest sense of the word.

While I remain committed to political independence (not neutrality) in the two-party dominated system, I will no longer be shy in voicing my convictions. I look forward to learning from you on a regular basis! As for the 2008 elections…how about Keith Olbermann/Jon Stewart?!

Grace and peace!

Paul Griffin Jones, III (Trey)

To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself. -- Albert Einstein

Greetings Friends!

Today I was having lunch with my good friend Mary Ellen Stewart at Amerigo's. Towards the end of the meal we noticed a luminescent-green insect crawling on the wall next to us. Upon further inspection we realized that it was a roach. After it flew at us and had us acting like little children, Mary Ellen dispatched its soul to the realm of Sheol. We showed the insect to the waitress, who just smiled and took the napkin coffin away with her. How f*****g kind of her.

I did some research on our insect friend and was quite amazed at how rare he or she was. We were in the company of a Cuban Roach. The Cuban cockroach is about 1/4" long as an adult. Males and females are pale green, whereas the nymphs are dark brown. It is an outdoors, tropical species that is usually not found in Mississippi. Pretty neat stuff...unless you are trying to eat Chicken Marsala Over Angel Hair.

Bon Appetit,

Trey

I love it when artists take something old and redo it. For example, the song and video "Hey Ya" by Outkast has been retooled into an acoustic version (by Mat Weddle of Obadiah Parker) and Peanuts video version (by who knows?).

I hope this at least makes you smile!

Trey