People are tired of the “Christianity” we peddle. Check that. I am tired of the “Christianity” we peddle.

Jesus Christ is my living Savior and Lord. He is the Eternal Source of my faith and security. In Him alone do I hope. He gives meaning to every aspect and situation of life. He gave the very last ounce of Himself to redeem my utter sinfulness, though He did not stop at dying for me. He went on to rise for me. And for all who will look upon Him and say, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” In Him all things hold together and have their subsistence. People can’t help but love that Jesus—the real Jesus. But, we’ve quit introducing him to the world, now haven’t we?

Jesus Christ came that all might be redeemed and made new. Satan is not so powerful that he can ever contaminate something beyond the point where Christ can make it new again. He heals broken relationships—if we give them to Him. He overcomes our inborn sin—if we give it to Him. He overcomes our world—if we give it to Him. He gives us strength to struggle for the right in the midst of voices who call for complacency and inaction—if we give our motives and passion to Him. He sees into our inner being and sets about making us into reflectors of His grace, mercy, and compassion—if we give ourselves to Him. He redeems all that is given to Him. The world both needs and wants that Jesus—the real Jesus.

And so what do we Christians give to the world? Our structures, our formats, our pride, our arrogance, our self-righteousness, our utter contempt for the true Person of Christ. We pore over the Scriptures and do not recognize the authentic Christ—and that God’s Word also serves as a mirror each time we see the legalists, the Pharisees, the hard-hearted religious. That is not the faith my Savior gave His death and life to preserve. That is the religion my Savior defeated.

But we keep resurrecting it and trying to breathe new life into it. I have news, folks, if Jesus killed it, it’s gone—and gone for good. He came that we would have, not death, but life, and life more abundant.

People hate our Jesus because we have made Him into us—our passions, our priorities, our prejudices, our policies, our procedures. If and when we are willing to let Him make us into Him, the world will get a whiff of genuine, sin-killing, life-giving, make-me-a-new-person faith lived out in how we speak, how we respond, how we love, how we worship, and how we live. In short, people will love Jesus when we introduce them to Him by acting like we’ve met Him ourselves. Let’s get to it.

I’m looking for a few folks who are serious about being Christ’s representatives to the world.

There’s news today that a Texas Planned Parenthood director quit after seeing an ultrasound. One of the efforts Oklahoma Baptists have made is to make sure all our crisis pregnancy centers are equipped with ultrasound capabilities so that young women (and young fathers) can see that there is indeed life within. Satan is a deceiver at his core, and so long as he can convince the world that an embryo or fetus is not a living human, he has the battle won. When we shine the light of truth by showing young women that they have life within their wombs, nearly 90% choose life. When the fathers will look at the ultrasound, it’s 99%. Thankfully, when they can see clearly, people make the right choice, and I am thrilled that we also help provide a means for the young moms to have healthy, happy babies, while gaining an education and having the security of a home. We Baptists do some things wrong; this is not one of them. Carry on, my brothers and sisters.

Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern has created a Proclamation for Morality, asking for signatories, and planning a signing ceremony at noon, Thursday, July 2, 2009, at the Capitol Rotunda. Many are keen to get behind the proclamation, with some viewing its support as indicative of one’s conservatism. Kern has been the center of much controversy in the past, due to her statements about homosexuality. While I agree with much of the sentiment of her proclamation, I cannot sign it. Read the proclamation (take a deep breath, it’s long), then I’ll explain why.

WE THE PEOPLE OF OKLAHOMA, Invoking the guidance of almighty god, in
order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty; to secure
just and rightful Government; to promote our mutual Welfare and
Happiness, do establish this proclamation and call upon the people of
the great State of Oklahoma, and our fellow Patriots in these United
States of America who look to the Lord for guidance, to acknowledge
the need for a national awakening of righteousness in our land.

WHEREAS, “It is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the
Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “We have no government armed with power capable of
contending with human passions unbridled by Religion and
Morality” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious
people” (John Adams), and

WHEREAS, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization,
not upon the power of government…. But upon the capacity of mankind
for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern
ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the
Ten Commandments of God” (James Madison); and

WHEREAS, “Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a
right that belongs to us by the laws of God” (Benjamin Franklin); and

WHEREAS, “God who gave us life gave us liberty and can the liberties
of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm
basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties
are of the Gift of God” (Thomas Jefferson); and

WHEREAS, “Whether any free government can be permanent, where the
public worship of God, and the support of Religion, constitute no part
of the policy or duty of the state” (Joseph Story); and

WHEREAS, “We hold sacred the rights of conscience, and promise to the
people…. The free and undisturbed exercise of their religion” (Roger
Sherman); and

WHEREAS, “This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by
Christians” (Patrick Henry); and

WHEREAS, “When you…. Exercise the right of voting for public
officers, let it be impressed upon your mind that God commands you to
chose just men who will rule in the fear of God” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, “The principles of genuine Liberty and of wise laws and
administrations are to be drawn from the Bible” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance
upon the Creator of the Universe; and

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater
national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion,
pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate
births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America
is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was
built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the President of these United
States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past
presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the President of these
United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and
pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned elected
officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of
the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world,
solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of
these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and
Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, believers in the One True
God and His only Son, call upon all to join with us in recognizing
that “Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord” and humbly implore
all who love Truth and Virtue to live above reproach in the sight of
God and man with a firm reliance on the leadership and protection of
Almighty God; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, humbly call upon Holy God,
our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, to have mercy on this nation, to
stay His hand of judgment, and grant a national awakening of
righteousness and Christian renewal as we repent of our great sin.

Signed on the Second Day of July in the Year of our Lord Christ Two
Thousand and Nine.

So there you have it. It’s long, as proclamations tend to be, and it employs many good words—some from our Founders, and most of the sentiments I find biblical and worthy of support. But, there’s one thing in particular that bothers me.

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater
national moral crisis; and

Really? Sorry, but I don’t buy it. What if our current economic woes are due to persons at all levels making bad economic choices  and/or many being the victims of fraud and/or the federal government being altogether too entangled in the affairs of her subjects citizens?

Can and does God bring economic calamity as a punishment for moral lapses. Certainly. Is every economic travail an indication of rampant sinfulness in the lives of those affected. Certainly not! This is some of the wrong-headed thinking about the Gospel that I can’t stomach, and I hate to see that my fellow Baptist Sally Kern has made this leap into what I can only term as error.

Think about Christians down through the ages. We Christians, historically, have certainly not been characterized by wealth. What about those Christians today who suffer both abject poverty and acute persecution? Are they paying economically for their views on abortion, homosexuality, and pornography? I know it’s counter to a whole segment of prosperity preachers of this modern age, but Christ said that foxes had holes and birds had nests but the Son of Man had no place to lay His head. This, from the same Guy who said that a servant is no better than his Master. If we believe Him, and I think it’s a pretty good idea that we do, we understand that there is no guarantee of financial blessing because we claim Him as our Lord.

We have, no doubt, been a supremely blessed people. Being born in this country is a blessing above all blessings. And even in a nation that is currently slouching toward the false promises of socialized this and government-guaranteed that, we are freer, richer, and better off than most people on the planet in any era of history. Why? This thing called Liberty.

The same liberty that allows persons to choose other than Christ allows persons to shift gears mid-stream and embrace the offer of grace. I know it’s a silly notion, but what if abortions plummeted not because they were illegal but because our collective hearts were changed to the point that the physical expression of love occurred between committed, married couples who would welcome a child into the world? What if smut no longer sold because the market dried up due to God’s replacing hearts of stone with hearts of flesh? What if child and elder abuse died because we simply loved life? I know, I know. I am an idealist trapped in a realist’s body. It is right and proper that we have laws against these things on the books, but I long for the day when His government rules and the law of love is perfected. For now, though, dark as the world is, it sure looks white unto a harvest. Does this Proclamation for Morality do anything to bring in the sheaves? I’m unconvinced it does.

And so for now, though I can agree with much in Kern’s proclamation and the sentiment behind it, I cannot endorse it or encourage others to do so. If I need to get behind a proclamation, I’ll continue to support the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am convinced that committed Christ followers elect better representatives, so if we want morality to reign in the halls of government, we best share Christ.

As a bivocational pastor, I split my time between my secular job and my pastorate. I wish I could spend all week at camp with my kids, but it’s just not possible. I’m very thankful for the church members who all help out. I usually stay the night in the cabin, get everyone up, showered, and headed to breakfast. Then I attend the sponsors’ meeting to get any special instructions for the day, then return to the cabin to make sure the kids do their morning quiet times. When they head for morning worship, I head back to the house to do the day’s work (and maybe get a nap if I am lucky). After supper and whatever else I need to do, I head back to camp and get there right about bed time.

When I arrived back at camp tonight, I was met with fantastic news. All the unsaved boys we brought came to Christ today. Several girls made decisions, too, and others are asking questions. This is why we do camp, and I am thrilled to death. We don’t usually have this many kids at camp, but a couple weeks ago I challenged the church to bring every kid they could. They were listening and took it seriously! So praise God for His continued work here at Green Country Camp. And any of you wealthy benefactors, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better investment of the money God has entrusted to you. We need to make some improvements to the camp property, and we’d love to have your help (even if you’re not loaded).

In other news, we have exciting news from the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Louisville. The Great Commission Resurgance motion passed overwhelmingly today. That’s not to say that some weird motions weren’t also made. We have a segment of the convention that always wants us to make a point by banning something, boycotting some company, or condeming some leader–and it’s usually over non-essentials. They make us look foolish, and the convention rightly refuses to accede to their whims. And while we’re on the topic, I’ll say it this way: Goofy as some motions are, I am 100% in favor fo the way we do business. Everyone should be heard and they are. Thank God the vast majority of Southern Baptists have the good sense to choose rightly with their votes. The overall result of today’s group decision is that we Baptists are committed to being defined by our cooperation in spreading the Gospel, not dividing over trifles. Count me in.

As I write this, I am lying on my bunk at church camp. My little church somehow managed to round up 10 girls and 5 boys to bring to one of the pre-teen weeks at Green County Camp (aka Green Country Baptist Assembly aka Camp Disney) in Disney, Okla.

I have been coming to this camp for 20+ years, first to day-camps when I was too young for pre-teen camp, all the way to youth camp in high school. Now that I am an adult, and a pastor, this camp is still a big part of my life because I am a member of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee for the camp. And we do our best to bring kids from my church to camp every year.

There’s no way I could even begin to estimate the numbers of students who have come through this camp in the many years it has been here. So far this year, the camp registrations haven’t been huge, but the first week of camp, 48 of just over 100 total campers came to Christ. That’s phenomenal. And this week, registration is up and we have 326 campers and sponsors (which is close to capacity), and we’re expecting great things. The forecast is also for heat indices of 105 degrees all week, so it will be long, hot, and tiring.

Our campground exists because the churches of two Baptist associations (Craig-Mayes Baptist Association and Rogers Baptist Association) came together many years ago to make a place that kids could visit and see Christ. We never have enough money to do everything we’d like to see happen here. We can’t afford to pave the roads or build the new dining hall we need, but we still manage to teach Christ crucified, and it is absolutely worth every effort and dollar we spend. We also have a pool, and that sure helps on weeks when it’s almost as hot as what we’re trying to save the kids from.

And so, as I lay here tonight in my bunk, listening to the crinkling of the plastic my mattress is wrapped in every time time I move, wishing more than anything that there were a couple more air conditioners in this cabin, I am extremely thankful for a place that helped me develop the faith that gets me through this world here below. And I am praying for these kids who never shower enough and don’t go to sleep when they are supposed to and who hate to get up in the mornings. Amidst the fun and music and swimming and sweat-soaked clothes the next four days will bring, God’s Spirit will show up and move into some of their lives forever. Will you pray for us, too?

This from the Oklahoma Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission:

ERLC Alert! Pro-Life Bills HB 1595 and HB 1114 are on the Governor’s Desk

Call the Governor or email him and ask him to sign both bills into law!

House Bill 1595 prohibits a person from performing an abortion solely because of the sex of the child and creates the Statistical Reporting of Abortions Act, which requires physicians who perform abortions to report certain information to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). This legislation passed the Senate with a 35-9 vote; passed the House with 88-6. This was also our priority during Rose Day.

House Bill 1114 prohibits human cloning in Oklahoma and makes it a misdemeanor to perform or attempt to perform human cloning. This piece of pro-life legislation passed the Senate unanimously; passed House with 83-0 and 18 excused absences.

Each bill received overwhelming bipartisan support from both chambers and now needs Gov. Henry’s support!

Contact the Governor or email him and ask him to sign both bills into law!

Call him at: (405) 521-2342

Leave a message on his website at: http://www.gov.ok.gov/message.php