Rob Prince's Blog, page 61

Old Testament Heroes’ Christmas Wish List

Even though many people in the Old Testament were religious, very few celebrated Christmas.  Even fewer Old Testament heroes wrote out a Christmas Wish List, but had they written out such a list of gift ideas, the following items might have been on it:

Adam: Snake Skin Boots

Noah: The book “How to talk to the Animals” by Dr. Doolittle

Methuselah: 969 Birthday candles

Job:  A rabbit’s foot or a four leaf clover

Abraham: “Canaan or Bust” Bumper Sticker

Sarah:  Pampers and Depends

Isaac: “My mom and dad are Ancient” T-Shirt

Mrs. Lot:  A rear view mirror

Joseph:  Dress pants to match a stylish multicolored coat

Moses:  101 Easy Meals with Manna Cookbook

Joshua:  Simon and Garfunkel’s Like a Bridge over Trouble Water CD

Delilah:  A Great Clips gift certificate

Goliath:  A rock proof helmet

David:  A lock for the roof top door

Solomon:  700 “Best Wife Ever” necklaces

Elisha: A year’s membership in Hair Club for Men

Nehemiah:  A wall sized mural of Artaxerxes

Jonah: Whale-sized antacid

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego:  Fire proof socks

Daniel: Lions season tickets

Those are just plain silly.  What’s not silly is remembering that Christmas is not about WHAT IS UNDER THE TREE.  Instead Christmas is still about WHO MADE THE TREES and yet WHO HUNG ON A TREE for you and me.  Christmas is still all about Jesus!

 

Fake News vs. Good News

Fake News has become a real news issue.  Fake News is what it says it is.  Fake.  A lie.  Gossip and unfounded rumors.  It looks like it is real news.  Usually it is “news” that confirms the opinions of the Fake News reader and gives them further resolve to hold such ideas.  Of course, the news is fake.  It’s a lie. Those who write Fake News do so to make real money.  The more readers on their Fake News web site, the more advertising dollars it generates.

Fake News also produces nut cases.  This week a guy drove to Washington DC with the intent of killing someone over a Fake News story.  Crazy.  The Pope issued a warning about Fake News.  So did the President. Social media sites are doing their best to eliminate Fake News. So should everyone.  Fake News is stupid.

Fake News is old news.  People have been lying ever since Adam and Eve were hanging out in Eden. I’ve had people lie about me.  You’ve had people lie about you I suspect.  As long as we live in a sinful world (not shocking) people will act sinful. Slanderous talk. Lies. Gossip.  They are all the work of the worst Fake News perpetrator, our Enemy whom Jesus called “the Father of Lies.”

The Good News on the other hand produces life, love, forgiveness and peace.  The Good News is why this is the Season of Joy.  In a world filled with lies, gossip and Fake News, the Good News of great joy is that the Truth was born in Bethlehem.  The Good News which the angel’s proclaimed is still Good News of Great Joy: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

To a people being fed a steady diet of Fake News and Bad News, we are to be bearers of the Good News.  Good News is the God News that Jesus Christ is born, God is with us and we no longer are held captive to this Bad News and Fake News world.   Like the Bethlehem shepherds, don’t keep the Good News to yourself.  Experience it. Live it.  Share it.

Poo Pooing Christmas

In my Christmas celebration, I might have some strange traditions (i.e. I’ve been known to put the sheep on top of the stable), but the good people in Catalonia, Spain have us all beat. “The Caganer” is a part of the nativity scenes in Catalonia. “The Caganer” literally means (please forgive me for writing this) “The Pooper.”  You read that right.  The Caganer is a figurine in the manger scene along with Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and the rest.  But the Caganer figurine, dressed in traditional Catalonian clothes, is (ummmm….) “taking care of his business.”  This has been a Catalonia tradition for over 200 years and no one is quite sure why.  Usually the figurine is placed off to the side or behind the stable, where he is doing #2.  The most logical theory in my mind is that the Caganer expresses the truth that many people are unprepared for the coming of Jesus (both in Bethlehem and now).  That may or may not be the reason for this strange addition to the nativity.  Interestingly, the tradition has now morphed and famous people (President Obama, the Pope, Queen Elizabeth, Sponge Bob, etc.) figurines are sold in such a position to be placed in nativity scenes.  It’s weird. (Google “pooping Nativity” and you will get an eyeful of this crazy tradition).

If the early church fathers could see what our 21st century American expression of the Christmas season has become, they might be more offended by our frenzied, consumeristic Christmas than even the bizarre Catalonian tradition.  Advent was meant to be a time of reflection.  Most of us are too exhausted to reflect on anything.  We were to use this season to learn the importance of patience while we waited for the arrival of the newborn King. If you think the season has anything to do with patience, try finding a parking place in the same zip code as the shopping mall next Saturday or stand in the mile-long checkout line at the lone register with a human clerk at Walmart in the next month. Very little patience will be observed.  The celebrations of coming of the new born King were to be after His arrival not before.  In many ways. we’ve gotten things backwards.

We are at the front end of the Advent season (my first Christmas gathering is tonight).  In the next 25 days we won’t be able to escape some of the traps of the season. Shopping, gatherings, and the busyness of the dreaded Christmas rush is upon us. Ready or not.  But throughout this season, could we keep in mind that Jesus came for none of this stuff?  He didn’t come so that we would decorate our houses with soon-to-be dead pine trees or that we would receive mountains of gifts or drink peppermint mochas in red cups. He came so that we might have “life and have it to the full.”  In many ways, everything else is (ummm….) what the Caganer leaves behind.

I hope my poo pooing (pun intended) our traditions doesn’t turn me into a Scrooge, I simply want us to keep our focus on Jesus throughout the season.

 

How to have Happy Thanksgiving with family members who didn’t vote like you

As we all know, Thanksgiving is a time for turkey, football and family get-togethers. So in order to truly have a “Happy” Thanksgiving those three things must be enjoyable.

Assuming the you are not my brother, it’s tough to ruin a turkey (I will spare you the long details, just take this advice: Do not use licorice in the turkey stuffing).  As for the football, well the Lions are playing and while they may technically be in first place the Lions are still the Lions.  To be happy with the outcome of a Lions’ football game, it’s best to enjoy the atmosphere, the crowd, the athletic achievement of the players and not get too wrapped up in the score.  Finally, to have a “Happy” Thanksgiving, your family gathering will need to be pleasant too.  That might be tricky in this season of a nation divided.  So here are my “Saving-the-Family –from-a-Fight-Before-it-Starts tips” and how to have Happy Thanksgiving with family members who voted opposite of you.

During the gathering, it would be best to avoid the following:

1)  No matter how you voted, don’t use the words “Clinton” or “Trump.”   This may be a difficult challenge if part of your Thanksgiving tradition involves playing card games like euchre or Rook where someone calls “trump.”  Instead of trump, I suggest calling it “The swooped haired special card grouping.”  My sister lives in Clinton Township (by Detroit), there are a few residents of her municipality that haven’t mentioned their city’s name since Monica Lewinski was a hot topic. My sister is not hosting the Thanksgiving gathering this year, so even my GPS will not be saying “Clinton” township.

2)  Don’t loudly announce: “I’m building a wall around this turkey no one gets a slice without the proper papers!” 

  3)  Don’t ask: “Can I use your computer, Aunt Suzie, my personal email server is causing me troubles?”

 4)  If you don’t like either team playing football (It’s the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings in the first game), please don’t start cheering for the New England Patriots.  No matter how loud you cheer for a third party, that team will not win.

And 5) Most importantly, Pray!   The Apostle Paul was not thinking about our divided nation and how we might make our Thanksgiving gatherings “Happy” when he wrote to Timothy, but his words apply to us this year.  He wrote:  First of all, I ask you to pray for everyone. Ask God to help and bless them all, and tell God how thankful you are for each of them. (1 Timothy 2:1 CEV).   

Imagine if we did that for our relatives that voted opposite of us.  If we prayed for everyone and asked God to help and bless them all.  Imagine how our attitudes might change if we thought of ways we are thankful even for the most cantankerous relative. Paul used a lot of inclusive language in that one verse: (“everyone,” “them all,” and “each of them”).  He didn’t leave anybody out.  There are no exceptions.  So let’s pray for everyone who will be at our Thanksgiving Table—Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike.

If we follow Paul’s advice to pray for everyone, I believe we will have a Happy Thanksgiving—even if the turkey is overcooked and the Lions lose.

 

The 2016 Presidential Election and the 2017 Nazarene General Assembly

Will the same angst that propelled Donald Trump to the White House in 2016 creep into the mindset of the Nazarene General Assembly in 2017?

I think it might.

I’m not talking politics.  I’m talking mindset– an unsettled dissatisfaction with the status quo.  There seems to be a mistrust of authority and the ability to voice displeasure with a greater ease.  Moreover, a nostalgia for the perceived past by the disgruntled American congregant adds to the current anxiety.

I’ve pastored in Nazarene mecca in the not too distant past and now I am back in the rust belt that helped propel Donald Trump to victory.  I’m deep in the grass roots of the Church of the Nazarene far away from the Nazarene decision makers in Lenexa.  I’m out of any loop in other words.  I have no insider information.  I only have my anecdotal observations.

Thanks in part to the heated election, the angst of people is real. Many church folks have taken an anti-James 1:19 approach to life. James 1:19 says: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.  I’ve seen just the opposite.  People are slow to listen, but quick to speak and quick to be angry.  Saying the “wrong” word or addressing the “wrong” issue in the mind of many brings the speedy wrath and suspicion against the speaker.

A mistrust toward authority is everywhere. Like the anger expressed by Trump supporters before the election and the anger expressed by Clinton supporters after the election, this mistrust is from all sides.  These are interesting days to pastor (to say the least).

The shrinking influence of the church in public life and upon the culture has added to the angst.   Like in the political arena where in part many people voted based on a perceived better time in the past that has “slipped away,” many people in the church long for the perceived “good old days” too. They remember the days when people dropped everything when the church called a meeting.  Their kids and grandkids aren’t doing that these days.  They are sitting in folding chairs at soccer games on Sunday mornings more than they are sitting in a pew.  Church folks long for familiar songs in worship and a familiar American Holiness version of sanctification (if they talk about sanctification at all).  In many cases, there is a fundamentalist lens in which much of the nostalgia is viewed. They see the greying of the American church and are legitimately worried about the demise of their local congregation in which they have invested their life. The angst grows.

Social media has provided a greater audience and fuel to a quick angered and slow listening angst.  Hiding behind a computer screen, people are free to share vile objections (Read: gossip and malicious talk) to a far greater audience than in the past.  A decade ago, if a carnal believer wanted to share their biased concerns they told a friend or two who might or might not believe the information. The friends of the disgruntled person (because they knew their friend’s personality and struggles) would evaluate the validity of the claim.  Today, the discontent person shares on Facebook and Twitter their dissatisfaction. The result is that people who are merely Facebook “friends” and Twitter followers and who don’t have the same connection to the individual as the close associates of a decade ago then take the biased misinformation as fact. The result is fuel to a perceived fire that might or might not actually exist.

If this nostalgia for an imagined past, mistrust of authority and a slow to listen but quick to anger in social media and life exists, it stands to reason that it will be brought to Indianapolis in the 2017 General Assembly.  How it will play out in church elections and decisions is yet to be seen, but if the presidential election is an indicator the General Assembly will be a more vocal and angered gathering than ever in our history.

So what can be done?

Pray.

The only hope for the church is God’s intervention.  We need God to be present with the decision makers and with our leaders. We need God to work in the hearts and minds of the delegation.  We need His wisdom.  Rather than a reactionary quick tempered response to current events and the changing times or ignoring the issues of the day, we need to be creative and open to God making all things new (even in the Church of the Nazarene). This General Assembly will have the new challenges of a very diverse collection of delegates with various world views and opinions.  It is imperative that our delegates gather with a God first, God inspired desire to see His will done.  If the Church of the Nazarene is going to be a force in the 21st Century we need bold, courageous leadership and people that are “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

The Presidential Election and my only grade school fight

Don’t let my current manly physique fool you, the truth is I wasn’t much of a fighter as a boy. I was in one scuffle (if you can call it that) in my school years.  This “Battle Royale” was not a remake of the “Thrilla in Manila” nor did it take place in Madison Square Garden.  It was in Mr. McNulty’s 8th grade math class at Radcliffe Junior High School.  My opponent was a big, moose of kid name, John Bird. If I ate a big lunch and had a lot of quarters in my pockets I might have weighed 80 pounds.  Look up the word “mismatch” in the dictionary and I think there is still a picture of the classic John Bird vs. Rob Prince showdown.

Here’s what happened: I may have made some smart aleck remark to young Mr. Bird.  I think the comments revolved around his lack of academic achievement and I may or may not have call him a “Bird brain.” Surprisingly and swiftly, Mr. Bird took exception such comments and proceeded to smack me silly.

The scrum didn’t take long.  He hit me.  I hit the floor.  End of fight. This was not a David and Goliath remake. One punch and I was out for the count.  Mr. McNulty quickly intervened and sent us to the principal’s office where the matter was resolved.  I promised to not refer to John as a “Bird Brain” and he promised to not pound me into the 21st century.  While John never invited me to his house for crumpets and tea following that encounter, we did experience a bit of détente and mutual respect. It didn’t take long for us to have conversations, to joke and laugh and have life get back to normal.

Why remind you of my eighth grade mismatch?  Simple, our nation has just come through a tough electoral fight. No punches were thrown by the candidates but it was a national brouhaha. Moving forward we won’t be sending either candidate to the principal’s office (maybe we should), but for the good of the country we need to find solutions to our differences.  There is truth to Jesus’ wisdom:  If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand (Mark 3:25).  We must be the UNITED States.

Unity is achieved by listening to a few other things that Jesus said like:

Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). Even if your neighbor didn’t vote like you did.

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44).  Even if they really, really didn’t vote like you.

Seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Seek his glory!  Not your glory.  Not Republican glory or Democrat glory.  Seek His Kingdom and His glory… FIRST!

Clearly our nation is divided. The election process has revealed many systemic problems, deep hurts and huge differences that exist between people who call themselves Americans.  For our nation to be healed and one, we need to start listening to our neighbor, loving them and in all things becoming more and more like Jesus.

Pray for America.

Pray that God would use you to help in the healing.

And Love… your neighbor, your enemy and love this land in which we live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Spiritual Renewal Week Ruined my Marriage

At the beginning of our Spiritual Renewal Week, our wonderful Sr. Adult Pastor Dr. Steve Anthony challenged our seniors to give $100 in support of the services. I am not a senior adult.  Neither is my bride.  While she is three months closer to receiving a social security check than me (Talking point #1 for the marriage counselor: Sharing that one’s wife is older than you could be construed as a bad idea), I also thought it would be a good idea to support our revival with $100.

As Karla was preparing dinner for our evangelist, I said to her, “Hey, I’m going to write out a $100 check for revival tonight.”  Maybe the noise of the pea pods frying (Talking Point #2:  Serving pea pods to guests and a finicky husband is literally in bad taste) was distracting or possibly the aroma of baked macaroni and cheese caused confusion, but in any event she heard, “YOU need to write out a $100 check for revival tonight.” (Talking point #3: Failure to communicate).

To further complicate matters, Karla arrived a tad late for the service (Talking Point #4: The importance of arriving early), so she was sitting in the back of the sanctuary and I was sitting in the front (Talking point #5: The importance of sitting together in church).  Following the receiving of the offering (FOLLOWING THE OFFERING!!), I received a text from her (Talking point #6: No phone usage in church unless it is an emergency or to check the score of the World Series game), stating that SHE HAD GIVEN $100 for the revival expenses.  Did I mention that she sent this text FOLLOWING THE OFFERING (Talking Point #7:  Never write in ALL CAPS in reference to your wife)?

So the Princes gave TWO $100 checks for the Spiritual Renewal Week (Talking Point #8: Handling finances), and now we have to pay for a marriage counselor too (Talking Point #9:  Airing the families “dirty laundry” in an all church blog and Facebook).  For all the wonderful outcomes of our Spiritual Renewal Week, my bride and I are a casualty (Talking Point #10: How the preacher/husband might slightly embellish a story) and that is how Spiritual Renewal Week Ruined my Marriage.

While it is true, we both gave a $100 check toward Spiritual Renewal Week, it is not true that this caused weeping and gnashing of teeth or an appointment with a marriage counselor.

Why tell you my troubles (real and imagined)?  It’s a simple reminder that while our Spiritual Renewal Week with Dr. Scott Daniels (my favorite preacher) may be over, let’s not let the revival end in our lives.  Pray that God would work in your home this week.  Invite a friend to church this Sunday.  Expect great things from the Lord whenever we gather!  Let’s live into verses like Psalm 85:6:  Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Let’s continue to pray for Spiritual Renewal in our lives.

I’ll be Wearing Cheerful Clothing to Ed’s funeral

My friend Ed passed away last week.  He was a wonderful pastor, a great man and really fun guy to be around.  His death was unexpected and shocking.  As I read Ed’s obituary, his family placed a statement in the announcement that I have never seen before, which is saying something because I have read lots of obits down through the years.  (It’s an occupational hazard).  The obituary read:   The family… has asked that family and friends wear cheerful clothing to the celebration service.

 No one will confuse me with a fashion expert, but I’m not sure any of my clothes qualify as “cheerful.”  Out of style maybe, but not cheerful.  I’m not a Hawaiian shirt kind of guy and I don’t have any T-shirts with catchy sayings on them like the one with a finger pointing to the right and big letters saying “I’m with Stupid.”  I’m more of a polo and khaki’s guy.  Still I think I know what Ed’s family means.  No black suits and dresses.  No gloomy and drab apparel to match a gloomy and drab day.  They are calling the funeral a “celebration service.”  I’ve never been to a party wearing a black suit and tie.  If it’s a party, you show up wearing clothes that reflect the fun you are ready to have.  I think that’s the family’s point.

If the funeral service is truly going to be a celebration; and if we really believe that this is not the end for someone like Ed who has lived an amazingly wonderful Christian life; then we shouldn’t act or dress or like it is the end of the world.  Ed is in heaven. It’s a place that Paul said is so wonderful that “no mind has conceived all of the things that God has prepared.”  Ed does not need another chemo treatment; his remaining pain meds are not going to be used; he is singing and shouting from the top of his lungs.  So why shouldn’t we celebrate and wear cheerful clothing?

Ed’s wife and daughter understand the truth of Paul’s words to the Thessalonians when he wrote:   Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.  For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

In other words, we will miss our Christian friends and loved ones when they leave this old earth, but our emptiness is not permanent.  Our hope rests in Jesus Christ the Defeater of death and the One who promised we can defeat the grim reaper too through Him.

I might not wear a Hawaiian shirt to the service, but I plan on being thankful for a God that promises that the grave doesn’t have the final word!

The Election, me & 1 Corinthians 13

Love is patient.

I wish this political season would hurry up and be done.

Love is kind.

Your candidate is a buffoon, a liar, a cheat, a clown…

Love does not envy.

Maybe I should move to Canada.

Love does not boast.

How can you not see that I am right in this debate?  I am so right!

Love is not proud.

If I were in charge things would be different.

Love does not dishonor others.

All is fair in love and politics! Mud-slinging is just a part of the game!

Love is not self-seeking.

Listen, if I don’t take care of myself, my interests who will?

Love is not easily angered.

HE/SHE SAID WHAT?!?!?!

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

Hurt me once shame on you. Hurt me twice…

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Is it “rejoicing in evil” if someone slanders a political candidate that I don’t like?

Love always protects.

Unless I’m ignoring you and your words (for good reason, of course).

Love always trusts.

You have to earn my trust.

Love always hopes.

We are a mess and we always will be.

Love always perseveres.

Always? Sometimes it dies or gets lost or drifts away or I just move on.

Love never fails.

But the Democrats fail and so do the Republicans and so do the….

Dear God, in this political season, help us love as you love. Let us be guided by 1 Corinthians 13 in all we say and do. Help us not fall prey to the angst of the season instead empower us to put our trust and hope and faith in you! Throughout this election season may we keep praying the prayer you taught us to pray, “May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Pokémon Go or Disciples Go

With the risk of sounding like a fuddy duddy (Fact: if you are using the term “fuddy duddy” you are a “fuddy duddy.”), I have not downloaded the Pokémon Go app to my phone. If you are asking what’s “Pokémon Go”? Please feel free to join me at the next “Fuddy Duddy Annoymous” support group meeting on Tuesday.

Pokémon Go is the newest rage sweeping the country. The “augmented reality” game was released last week and has already has been downloaded to over 20 million phones. Since I highly doubt that many readers of this article are counted among the 20 million Pokémon crazed users allow me to use this space as a public service announcement.

The free app uses GPS to make a cartoony map of wherever one happens to be located. Yes, there are even Pokémon at Central Church. (NOTE: the plural of Pokémon is “Pokémon” not “Pokémons.” One sure way to indicate your need for a Fuddy Duddy Anonymous group membership is to refer to many Pokémon as “Pokémons.”). Anyway, in this colorful, Big Brother is watching me kind of reality, Pokémon are just about everywhere, and when you come within range of Pokémon you can “approach” them and they will show up on your phone.

You trap the Pokémon by using Pokéballs on your phone. You get more Pokéballs by going to Pokéstops. Pokéstops are generally interesting places located throughout one’s community. Imagine the jump in attendance on Sunday if Central Church were a Pokéstop. I wonder how we could make that happen?

So the idea is to walk around looking for Pokéstops and Pokémon that you can trap when you use a Pokéball. Does this make sense? If you are saying about now, “When I was a kid we played Monopoly. What’s wrong with Monopoly?” then see the above references to the “Fuddy Duddy Anonymous” support group meetings.

For the most part, Pokémon Go has accomplished for America’s youth what my mom constantly insisted upon during my summer vacations (that is, get your lazy bones out of the house and enjoy the fresh air). And while there have been a few downsides to the craze (there are reports of students looking for Pokémon but not looking both ways before crossing a road and getting hit by a car and in one case youth stumbling not upon Squirtle, a type of Pokémon, but instead a dead body. Yikes!), has been harmless fun.

So why use this space to educate you about Pokémon Go?

Without the aid of a phone app, Jesus told a rag tag group of recently failed followers in Matthew 28 to “Go and make disciples.” Jesus plan to change the world was simple: disciples making disciples making disciples making disciples. And they did it. They went throughout the known world not looking for Pokémon but for folks who needed the best news of all.

Times and methods have changed but the command from Jesus is the same: Disciples making disciples making disciples. Imagine if we could develop a Disciples Go app for our phones where believers would have the same intensity to make other disciples as the 20 million down loaders of Pokémon Go have to find Pikachu (If you are asking, “What is “Pikachu”?” Without question you need to to be at the next Fuddy Duddy Anonymous meeting). Listen our goal is not to make 7 billion dollars like Nintendo did this past week with it’s Pokémon Go app, but to make more and more disciples. App or no app the message from Jesus has not changed: Disciples Go!