An MVC teen once said to me, “You seem to have done so many things! Is there anything that you haven’t done???” I always thought of my life as somewhat simple, dull, and boring – but that comment made me think back through some of my job experiences and the things I learned through them.
Janitor… At National Penn Bank. A great starter job at age 15. Made $1.90 an hour. I learned how to run a big shredding machine that shredded old bank documents. I cleaned toilets and got stains out of carpets. I changed lightbulbs in the time and temperature clock at the corner of Philadelphia and Reading Avenues in Boyertown. And I learned to squeegee windows. I learned how to be at the bottom of the totem pole – a servant.
Bass guitarist in a rock band… I was in bands for about three years and only played a few gigs – enough to show me that “glory” wasn’t what it was cracked up to be!
Bank teller… I learned all about handling money and traveler’s checks and dealing with customers, even difficult ones, in a friendly way.
Bank vault worker… Wrapping coin and fixing the wrapper when it broke down. Working alone in the quiet for long periods of time -- an interesting discipline.
Metal worker and packager in a furniture factory…where I learned work with burly tattooed dudes and rough women and get accustomed to swearing on the part of both. I also learned how to spot weld and grind welds and shrink wrap stuff…and to deal with monotony and understand the “American Joe” who had to do the same.
Police officer… Yup – I worked on the campus police force at our college. It was a glorified security job, but we did receive police training in certain aspects of law, self-defense (got some basic traning in jiu-jitsu), and weaponry (we had to qualify in the use of a nightstick and a .38 pistol) and first aid. Learned about handling authority and crisis situations and keeping my cool. I also learned how to direct traffic and organize simple security and safety concerns for large campus events.
Singer… Traveled for a year or so with a gospel quartet. We organized and ran youth rallies and ministered at churches and camps. I also learned a lot about “politics” as I got to see what was going on behind the scenes in a number of churches and in my own college.
Chocolate-maker… The infamous chocolate factory (Blommer’s in East Greenville, PA), where I learned everything from unloading the raw beans and roasting them to the making and packaging of chocolate chips and chocolate bars. I also learned to drive a fork lift, how to move railroad cars by hand, and to perform some lab procedures necessary in the making of chocolate. I also learned how much “garbage” goes into food products – and I don’t mean sugar and fats. I mean real garbage… Let’s not go down that road…
Pastor… All of a pastor’s life experiences come into play as he seeks to relate to other people – and the life experiences of the pastor’s people add to his. I’ve learned about various life problems and various hobbies. I’ve learned about pets and poker. I’ve learned about fishing and flying. I’ve learned about cancer and eating disorders and medications and how to be comfortable in very uncomfortable situations. Most sobering, I think, is that I’ve seen death a number of times. I’ve learned how to listen, to counsel, to organize, to grieve, to celebrate, to lead, to speak in public, to persuade, to identify and assess “characters”, to show mercy, to be gracious, to raise money, to encourage people toward change and repentance, and I think more than anything -- to pray and be patient.
Fabric cutter… For a brief time I worked cutting fabric in an upholstery business to supplement my income from ministry. Believe it or not, that was the first time I really learned how to use scissors correctly (I was 36)! My boss had to teach me! It was also interesting to learn how different fabrics works and how furniture is made.
Teacher and educator… I also supplemented my income for a number of years teaching home school students how to write essays and papers using courses that I developed. I also taught some Shakespearean literature and history and speech courses. Likewise, I developed and taught two courses at Pacific Islands Bible College back in 2000 – and learned a little bit there about cross-cultural communication…
Umpire… I learned the rules of baseball – an interesting exercise. But I am also learning how to be decisive, how to be bold, how to be gracious but firm, how to handle angry people and conflict, how to handle authority, how to be outgoing and friendly and set the tone for an event…
Maybe my life hasn’t been all that boring! But neither is yours! Think back through your own life and the “gift experiences” (I’ve just listed “jobs” here; experience goes way beyond that!) that God has given you in molding you to be who you are. Each experience can become a tool to relate to others for the kingdom!
Whenever new technology comes out – like the new i-Phone which can do just about everything but cook dinner -- there are those who rave about it and those who bemoan the loss of “old values” because of the new technology. Years ago I had an elderly Christian gentleman tell me that the downfall of our civilization was the invention of the automobile. Prior to that, he opined, people spent more time together talking on long, slow rides in horse-drawn buggies! He had a small point, I guess. But I couldn’t help but compare a complaint that I’m sure elderly gentlemen made in the days when alphabets and writing and scrolls were first created: “Well, there goes the need to memorize things! Now everyone’s brain will turn to jelly and the younger generation won’t remember anything!”
Conservative people believe in “conserving” old values and practices, things that we know are good because they’re tried and true. As a result we often have knee-jerk reactions against new things. We see all the dangers and refuse to see any blessings that may come with new things – perhaps because accepting such blessings would force us to change something in our thinking or behavior, and change is uncomfortable.
Others – I almost said ‘most’ -- plunge in almost mindlessly and accept new technology because of the “good” they see without ever considering possible adverse side effects.
How should Christians deal with new technologies? I have found it helpful to ask four questions -- three of which I heard raised by social critic, Neal Postman, and one which I think every Christian should ask about everything – if we are going to be wise about our approach to new technologies.
What is the problem to which this technology is the solution? Take cruise control, for a harmless example (since it is now standard on most vehicles and therefore a non-issue). Cruise control solves the problem of having to keep your foot on the gas pedal. Wow. Big problem. Perhaps for those who drive interstates for long distances on a regular basis, but for most of us, is that really a problem? And if not, is it really necessary technology – or is it just another of the meaningless bells and whistles of life that wastes our money? And if it’s the latter, do I really need to buy it?
Whose problem is it? With money they had saved, my children purchased i-pods. Music is very important in their lives, and on bus trips with school groups listening to music of your own choice is often preferable to participating in some of the other things that go on in the bus. So, the i-pods solved a ‘problem’ for my kids. Hurrah. But when my children turn to me and say “Dad, you should get an i-pod!!!” I can only respond that music is just not a big part of my life, so an i-pod would be a big waste of money. My problem is having enough silence in my life – not enough personally selected musical favorites! Purchasing technology just for the sake of saying that you have it is pride – or avarice.
What other problems will be created by my using the new technology? The technology of the internet is a superb source of information, but it opens the door to a number of problems. Some are obvious, like the undesirable information within the click of a mouse (like pornography and how to make bombs), or the possible theft of my identity or abuse of my credit cards via the hacking of online sales sites. Some are more subtle, like the undermining of the ability to conduct face-to-face and verbal personal interaction because of the ease of the more “anonymous” instant message.
For me and my family, to date, the adverse side effects of having cable has outweighed the benefits of having cable TV. Instead I purchased a good VCR and DVD player that allows me much more selection and control in what we watch.
I’m not saying that having cable is sinful; just that each form of technology brings problems with it, and each presents new challenges that our souls need to be aware of and weigh and measure. Some challenges make certain technologies less useful to some, and more useful to others. Each of us must be wise as serpents in such decisions and not give a foothold to the enemy -- just for the sake of being up-to-date.
How can I be fruitful for the kingdom of God using this new technology? Christians ought to be asking this question about everything in their lives. I-pods and the internet and cell phones certainly have their downsides. But like radio and TV before them, they can also be an extremely fruitful tool in God’s service if used rightly.
Let each seek the kingdom of God in these things. Let each walk in faith, being convinced in his own mind. Let each stand or fall before his Master.
I thought the Memorial Day message on Isaiah 2 was a harmless little piece of encouragement for Christian believers. I was somewhat taken aback when I heard the response of some extremely fundamentalistic visitors who said something to the effect that preaching was obviously not my calling and that I was a deceiver and a liar and if I was honest I would leave the ministry.
Wow. And thanks for sharing…
What upset these folks was my failure to interpret Isaiah “literally”. I preached that Mount Zion being raised above the other mountains was a symbolic way of saying that the God of Israel would one day be worshiped all over the world (cf. John 4:21-24), even by pagans who used to worship their own false gods on various mountains. But these folks insisted that if Isaiah says that Mount Zion will be “established above the mountains” then it could only mean that seismic activity would one day raise Mount Zion over 27,000 feet into the air to make it higher than Mount Everest because that’s the literal interpretation of the prophecy.
These folks also believed one day people will literally “beat swords into plowshares” and “spears into pruning hooks”. It didn’t bother them that armies today don’t use swords or spears and that most equipment is no longer built by hammering things out on anvils. To my surprise they acknowledged these facts and said that what Isaiah really meant by “swords and spears” was “tanks and machine guns”, and they would be melted down and turned into “tractors and farm equipment” (not necessarily only plowshares and pruning hooks)! It never dawned on them that this was NOT literal interpretation!
Scholars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries introduced “literal interpretation” as the only correct way to interpret the prophets because they believed that such interpretation was reasonable and scientific, and a scientific approach would create a result about which there would be absolute certainty. Absolute certainty about the future has become a fundamental of the faith for many Christians, and fundamentalism in general has come to regard certainty based on scientific interpretation of the prophets as one of the key values of Christianity.
Is Christianity about scientific certainty – or is it about faith? Faith isn’t the substance of things which are there to be observed and seen, but “of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). If something can be seen and known for certain, proved exhaustively and conclusively, no faith is required. One then simply KNOWS. The thing that makes faith great is not the overwhelming evidence for a thing, but the overwhelming size of the gaps between the evidence. It is the gaps in our knowledge which force us to believe rather than to know beyond a shadow of a doubt. And I think that some fundamentalists want the certainty of knowledge, not the certainty of faith which lives with enormous gaps, with lack of knowledge and certainty. I think some fundamentalists are afraid to believe. They MUST know; they insist on being certain – or they will NOT believe. And they insist on literal interpretation of the prophets to safeguard that certainty; they couldn’t have faith without it.
This despite the fact that Jesus and the apostles didn’t consistently use literal interpretation when explaining the prophets. But that’s another can of worms for another time…
I got to taste a bite of life this past month that I haven’t tasted in ten years.
I own one of the only houses on my block that doesn’t have a driveway or a garage. I depend completely upon on-street public parking, and the two most convenient spots are the one in front of my half-double, and the spot in front of the other half of the double. When we moved in over twenty years ago the neighbor in the other half of the double invited me to use the space in front of his house. He had no need of it since he has a two-car driveway and a two-car garage.
I parked in that space for a little over twenty years.
Then suddenly, last year, something happened. I’m not sure what I did, but my neighbor got angry with me and stopped talking to me. When I said “Hi!” he would wave with only his middle finger, and when I tried to talk to him about what was bothering him, he wished me unfavorable eternal predestination. To make my life more difficult, he applied to the town council to turn “his” space (it’s not really his – it’s public parking on the street that happens to be in front of his house) into a handicapped parking space. He told the borough manager when he applied that he was only doing it to anger his neighbor, and that he had no intentions of using the space.
But my neighbor has some good friends on the town council, and the ‘good ole boy’ system worked. The measure was pushed through. I appealed, but they said that they could only rescind the handicapped parking space if it was demonstrated that the space was not being used for that purpose. They encouraged me to keep a record of my neighbor’s use of the space.
So I did. In forty-seven weeks he used the space for about one hour.
This past week I took my findings to the town council – outlined and typed up, a copy for every member of council. I handed out my report and then presented my case to the council. ‘The good ole boys’ on the council tried to attack me on several irrelevant points; I drew their attention to the fact that their points were irrelevant, and so did the borough’s attorney. The only point that I needed to make was that my neighbor had not used the space, and they had said they would rescind the measure if I could make that point. And I had.
Finally one of the ‘good ole boys’ said there was nothing left to do but vote on the matter. They went around one by one, each council member giving their vote. It ended up tied – three in favor of removing the sign, three opposed. The measure to rescind did not pass. The handicapped sign would stay.
The facts I presented didn’t matter. They were completely ignored, and the three good ole boys who voted against me didn’t have to explain their rationale to me or to anyone. They just voted “nay”. Other citizens in the room just nodded in disgust and told me afterward what a travesty the decision was and how badly they felt for me. I appreciated their sympathy, but the outcome is still the same.
The fact that I can’t park in front of my house is only a slight personal inconvenience. The thing that gnawed at my heart was not the outcome, but the complete injustice of the decision. I was disappointed that these council members – men that I had grown up with, men that I had been taught to respect, and whom I had respected – were corrupt. It sounded like too harsh a word, but this was political corruption; corruption on a small scale and corruption regarding a matter that was of no consequence in the larger scheme of things – but corruption nonetheless.
As I tasted that bitter fruit firsthand, I couldn’t help but think of those who have experienced such exasperating corruption in bigger ways: people who wouldn’t be allowed in certain restaurants or seats in a bus because of the color of their skin; people who were hustled into labor camps and put to death because they were born with the name Goldberg or Finkelstein; and Jesus himself who did absolutely nothing wrong, but was framed, tried, found guilty, scourged, and crucified. The sense of helpless exasperation I felt leaving that council room was nothing compared to what these and many other folks have experienced and endured in their lifetimes.
I made my soul take note of this. I decided that disciplining myself to respond graciously, praying and seeking for eventual reconciliation with my embittered neighbor and continuing to live joyfully in Christ is what God would have me to do next. A lost parking spot is nothing compared to the corruption and injustices that many of my Christian brothers and sisters around the world experience. If I can’t handle this matter graciously, how could I ever kid myself into thinking that I could handle that sort of weighty and cruel persecution?
But Christians do.
And I can…by the grace of God.
Bold and blasphemous words, these. How Olivia Clemens, a believing Christian, put up with such things for so many years is difficult to say. But Mark Twain was not hostile to the idea of a God per se; just the cold, heartless, ruthless “version” of God that Presbyterian Christianity had taught him.
One of our most popular fundraisers for the teens has been the annual Dessert Theater. In addition to a candlelight setting, tasty desserts, and excellent service provided by our teens, each evening highlights a special speaker. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Fanny Crosby, and C. S. Lewis have all graced our platform, and this year we’ve invited the sharp-witted humorist Mark Twain.