Marked By God...Not By Man

A question was recently posted by a friend of mine on Facebook: "Does the Lord approve of tattoos?"

Well, I wouldn't suppose to speak on behalf of the Lord, BUT...we do have the Bible which is the Word of the Lord!

This is something to definitely discuss, but most stay FAR from. This is a matter that is very pervasive in our culture, has seeped into Christianity and many people struggle with. It's important! And...it's a matter we can look into without dividing.

My initial comments would be to say that I don't think that one can come to a "black and white" conclusion on the matter. *ALTHOUGH*, I could pull the, "God's Word says it in black and white and that settles the matter!" card. I personally don't think that Christians should be running around getting tattoos, but that's just my personal conviction and I find myself hard-pressed to point to definitive Scripture(s) that will allow me to stand on solid ground while defending my (anti) stance.

Of course, there's always Leviticus 19:28:

"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD."

Seems pretty clear to me! Case closed!! End of blog.

Wait...

If we follow that standard we might be in a wee bit 'o trouble. Grab your Bible and let's look at some of the text above and below Leviticus 19:28:

"When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God. Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. Do not practice divination or sorcery. Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD. Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness. Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD."

~Leviticus 19:23-30

Wait five years before eating fruit from a tree you planted? Failed that one! Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it? The prime rib's pushin' it! Hopefully we're not practicing divination or sorcery. Wait, did someone say, "rebellion" (1 Samuel 15:23)? I think we're all in trouble on cutting the hair at the sides of our head or clipping off the edges of our beard. You're REALLY in trouble if you're a woman...clipping your beard and all! I've not cut myself for the the dead, BUT I did get three tattoos in my "B.C." days. YIKES!! (Wait, did John just say he had three tattoos?!) No problem in the "making your daughter a prostitute" here. "Observing Sabbaths and having reverence for my sanctuary"? Most Christians don't blink an eye these days to work on their "Sabbath" (whole other blog on that one!!) and "reverence in the sanctuary"? Gimme strength!!

So do we just throw out the book of Leviticus and all of it's seemingly strange rules and regulations? Of course not!! This is God's Word people!

As I read Leviticus, I glean that it was given for two main reasons:

1. To provide "right" and "healthy" living.
2. To set God's people apart from others. People would easily be distinguished as belonging to Jehovah God if they did or did not do something.

It would be kind of like, "Hey, those people are always wearing those 'plain-jane clothes, never mixing two kinds of material. (v.19) And they only worship one God. They don't mess with idols or make gods of cast metal. (v.4) And when they harvest! Man, they don't go over their vineyards a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. They leave them for the poor and the alien.(v.10)" And most important to this conversation, "They don't cut themselves like we do for our dead OR get tattoos! Man, they're weird!!"

In today's society, it's become part of the normal culture to get a tattoo. As Christians, we have to ask ourselves a question, "If the Bible does speak to the matter and it's clearly something that's never been part of Christian history (but rather Pagan and sometimes used as a form of branding and even punishment), should I join the 'world' in running out and getting one?"

Some questions to ask yourself:

*Why do I want to get a tattoo?

*Is this just a fad or phase that I'm going through? (Hey, you'll be stuck with that "Tramp Stamp" for life!)

*Does it bring glory to God or just make me look like I'm conforming to the pattern of the world?

*Have I prayed about this and asked for the Holy Spirit's leading?

With all this in mind, I love what Paul says in Romans 14:1: "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters."

Is this a potential "disputable matter"? I think so. We would do well to hold to and give a Biblical position and perspective if someone asks us, but ultimately we move into dangerous waters if we begin to judge who is saved and who is not based upon the matter of getting "inked".

My final thoughts are from Paul, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

~Romans 12:1-3

While holding to an "anti-tattoo" stance, judgment on salvation belongs to God alone. As Christians, be encouraged not conform to the pattern of this world. Instead, offer your body, not as a canvas for tattoo artists, but as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—let this be your spiritual act of worship.

I welcome your comments at John@Heuglin.net!

A Very Large Straw Man

A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position. To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by substituting a superficially similar proposition (the "straw man"), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.

Recently, I have been dealing with an issue with a fellow Christian labeling John MacArthur as a "False Teacher". He claims that MacArthur is false for two reasons: 1) Because MacArthur is a Calvinist 2) MacArthur is a cessationalist. This dangerous mindset is possibly prevalent in Christendom, rooted in ignorance and is typically never dealt with.

Many Scriptures were quoted when the charge was made against MacArthur and it was stated that, in so many words, that if MacArthur is teaching or preaching something that differs from their view of God's Word, then he is false. It was further stated that if we are going to "weigh" and label the "Health, Wealth and Prosperity Gospel" folks as false teachers, then we must slap MacArthur with the same label.

Although I would agree that I can Biblically build a case against Calvinism, the irony is that Calvinists could Biblically build a case against Arminianism. Don't believe I could? Click HERE!! Cessationalists can also make a pretty strong case for their view of the Scriptures on the matter.

The bigger question at hand is whether or not MacArthur's view makes him a false teacher. Furthermore, can we lump MacArthur in with those that are truly "false teachers"?

Let me provide some examples:

Scenario #1

A church is having a general business meeting and one of the items on the agenda is the appointing of a woman as a deacon. Upon a women being elected, a man stands up during the meeting and yells, "Heresy!" He begins to explain that we must use the Word of God as our "plumb line" and to appoint a woman as a deacon would be contradictory to the Bible. As he is being escorted out of the church, he exclaims, "Look at the Biblical qualifications for deacons in 1 Timothy 4. Jesus authored the Bible if you believe in the Trinity! Jesus quoted from the Bible. If they're preaching a different Jesus then...you all do believe in the Trinity don't you?" The man is quickly whisked away.

Scenario #2

Two Christians are discussing Wayne Grudem's Post-Tribulation view according to the Scriptures. One of the Christians agrees with Grudem, but the other is a staunch Pre-Tribulationalist and accuses Grudem of being a false teacher. The Pre-Trib Christian begins to quote Scriptures and says that if the Bible says it, then we are going against God to have a different view. The Post-Trib Christian begins to quote Scripture to defend his position. MORE?

Scenario #3

A conference is being held on young earth Creation by the Answers In Genesis organization. The speaker declares, "We hold firm to the Scriptures and they say that the earth was created in six literal days (yom)." A person in the crowd shouts, "False teacher! False teacher! The Bible clearly states that with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." The embarrassed speaker is frazzled and attempts to continue with his presentation as the man who opposed him stomps out of the auditorium.

Scenario #4

An Amish man visiting a local church asks a Christian why the women do not have their head covered when praying because the Bible clearly states that, "But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head; for she is one and the same with her whose head is shaved.”

Scenario #5

A woman is channel surfing with her television remote and comes across a preacher that is telling people to give their money to him if they want to financially prosper. Luke 6:38 is quoted...although in its context it is talking about forgiveness and mercy. The woman continues to watch. In the next segment, a woman sits down at a table with a man and they begin to converse about how Jesus is NOT the only begotten Son of God, we are "little gods", Jesus will physically appear in various churches, etc. Click HERE to watch some actual examples!

I just listed five different examples of disagreement. And trust me, I could list MANY more! The first four may be matters of heated disagreement, BUT none of those items are in disagreement with the fundamental core foundations of what makes us Christians. In each scenario, one could stand and say, "Well, brother, this is what the Word of God says and if you are not abiding by the Word of God, you are false!!"

The fifth, however, is a different matter. The fifth are matters of salvation. Listen to what the Scriptures have to say about one area...the "Health, Wealth (Prosperity Gospel)".

When it comes to utilizing the Gospel for gain, the Bible is very clear about this as being "false".

"If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness."

[1 Timothy 6:3-11]

Can we call people "False Teachers"? Yes, we can because the Bible spells it out for us.

However, we need to be very careful on how we compare. Stating that MacArthur is a false teacher is a very dangerous matter. You will be hard-pressed to find a statement from MacArthur that would stray from the core, fundamental teachings of the "church". Even more difficult, would be to find a statement from MacArthur that would cause people to stray or "fall away" from the Lord.

Speaking in tongues is not a matter of salvation. Believing that God is able to "keep" a sinner from falling and that he will, in fact, persevere to the end is not false...it's simply a different perspective. Ironically, it's a perspective that has been the prevalent view of the "church" throughout history. Once again, I challenge you to look to the passages provided HERE to see how one might draw the conclusion for not losing one's salvation.

If MacArthur is a false teacher, then by default, we would have to classify Augustine, Martin Luther (the "father" of Protestantism, who believed one could not lose his salvation), John Calvin, A. W. Pink, Jonathan Edwards ("Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"), George Whitefield, John Bunyan ("The Pilgrim's Progress") and C.H. Spurgeon, who was known as the "Prince of Preachers", also as false teachers. If you research these men, although we may disagree with some of their "non-damnable" teachings, you will find that God used them in a mighty, mighty way to advance His Kingdom.

Are you prepared to call these men "False Teachers"??

This mindset is damaging and dangerous to the unity of the Body of Christ. Beware!

Are Calvinists False Teachers?

On June 5, 2009 I began teaching John MacArthur's "The Truth War". We are now 10 weeks into the series and only have two weeks left.

If you are unfamiliar with the book, here's a video link that has the author speaking of the book. If you are unfamiliar with John MacArthur, here's a few a quick facts: MacArthur is a conservative Evangelical Christian of the Baptist denomination. He is a proponent of expository preaching, is a Calvinist, cessationist and pre-tribulationalist.

"So what's the big deal?", you might ask.

Well, I am a conservative Evangelical Christian of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God denomination. I, personally, am also a proponent of expository preaching, don't claim to be a Calvinist or Arminian, but lean toward Arminianism just as our denomination "officially" does. (see below) I am a continuationalist and also a pre-tribulationalist.

During the first and second weeks of the class, I began the class by talking about the author, his beliefs and the differences in his doctrine versus ours.

The two main issues that I would disagree with MacArthur on are:

1. 5-point Calvinism
2. Cessationalism

The bigger question is whether or not these issues should divide us as Believers and, more specifically and importantly, to the point of proclaiming that John MacArthur is teaching false doctrine and thus, by definition and accusation, considered a false teacher. Furthermore, subtly implying that I am a proponent of false teaching because I am teaching congregants utilizing MacArthur's materials.

Unfortunately, although I wish that it was, this is not just a hypothetical situation to ponder. This a situation that actually occurred today during my Sunday School class.

A member of my church, who entered the class during the fourth or fifth week of class, began to make implications about MacArthur being a false teacher as we were wrapping up Chapter 5 in the accompanying Study Guide. This portion of the Study Guide focuses specifically on false teachers and our Biblical behavior towards them. He began to make various allusions to someone teaching against tongues and brought up the matter of Calvinism. His overarching point, without coming right out and saying it, was, "Hey, if the author teaches against continuationalism and he's a Calvinist...he's a false teacher!" Mind you, this began with about 15-20 minutes left of the class. The class was hi-jacked and the lesson that I had prepared for came to a grinding halt. I spent the remainder of the class attempting to do damage control and squelch confusion as he brought up this "should have approached me off-line" issue in the middle of class.

I re-affirmed with the class that although we believe in baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, no one believed that speaking in tongues was a Heaven or Hell issue. Everyone concurred. I further mentioned that we are "Arminian Leaning" and explained the Assemblies of God position on Calvinism vs. Arminianism.

In regards to Calvinism, the Assemblies of God says, "The Assemblies of God leans toward Arminianism, though it accepts scriptural truth found in both positions. We agree with the Calvinist emphasis on God's sovereignty or supreme power and authority. But we also firmly believe the Arminian emphasis on mankind's free will and responsibility for his actions and choices. We believe the Bible teaches both truths."

They also state: "Certainly there are true Christians who believe and teach Calvinism; there are also true Christians who believe and teach that men and women have free will. Unfortunately, both sides have spent more time arguing doctrinal terminology and interpretations of theology than reaching out to a lost world. The irony of the disagreement is that Calvinists, who believe in predestination, are sometimes more active in witnessing and evangelism than Arminians who believe that man has a free will and should be encouraged to accept Christ as Savior."

One student piped up, "Well, we don't necessarily believe in what the Assemblies of God position paper states on the matter, we believe what the Bible says!" My retort was, "If we can't trust in the leadership of the AG (which I'm sure has put much thought and prayer into the position paper), then why come under the umbrella of fellowship with the AG?" It truly doesn't make any sense IF...it's a matter over which we should divide.

The person who brought the original accusation kept mentioning "Once Saved...Always Saved." This is the charge often made against most Calvinists; that they believe in the phrase "Once Saved...Always Saved." This is true, BUT with a proper explanation. Any Calvinist that I know will tell a professing Christian living in sin that they need to repent and it doesn't matter that they were "once saved" at age 11 and filled out a "Decision" card. Here's Paul Washer, a Calvinist, affirming that fact. I've heard Calvinists say over and over to do what the Scriptures say in 2 Corinthians 13:5: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"

I truly believe that statements like these are made and misconceptions about Calvinists are driven by ignorance of what being a Calvinist actually means. The bottom line is that some have simply not taken the time to research the matter to see why Calvinists believe the way that they do. I must admit that there are very difficult Scriptures as an "Arminian-leaning" Christian, while realizing that Calvinists would have some problems with some Arminian proof texts as well.

MacArthur states on page 150 in his book "Kingdom Living Here and Now": “Eternal security is a great spiritual truth, but it should never be presented merely as a matter of being once saved, always saved--with no regard for what you believe or do. The writer of Hebrews 12:14 states frankly that only those who continue living holy lives will enter the Lord's presence."

I summarized the class by challenging the students to pray over what was mentioned in class and search the Scriptures. I told them that no one should violate their conscience if they felt MacArthur was, in fact, a false teacher by continuing forward and coming back to class next week. I recommended that they either sit in another Sunday School class or skip Sunday School altogether.

Do we look at Calvinists who do not believe in speaking in tongues for today [because there are some that do!] as our brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we look at Calvinists who do not believe in speaking in tongues for today as false teachers? Although we would vehemently disagree with their stance, can we still call them Christians and even learn from their teaching? Are these two issues Heaven or Hell issues that would cause others to stumble and possibly be damned to Hell?

According to what I have studied in the Scriptures, I cannot come to the conclusion that we should not call them our brothers and sisters in Christ or deem them as apostates or false teachers. In addition, the leadership in the denomination in which I am part of, whole-heartedly agrees. These are matters that we can disagree upon, but still love and consider one another as brothers and sisters in Christ...not false teachers.

Since the matter was brought before the entire Sunday School class, I have taken the matter to my Pastor to officially address the matter with the Sunday School class. I am also going to forward this blog link to John MacArthur to see whether or not he would like to provide any comments on the matter.

As further evidence that Calvinism should not be a matter that we deem as false teaching, the Assemblies of God wrote an article that was published in our "Enrichment Journal" about Calvinist C.H. Spurgeon titled, "Charles Haddon Spurgeon: The Greatest Victorian Preacher."

One last, and very interesting note...In Louisville, there is an ordained Assemblies of God pastor that is unabashedly a Calvinist. He also taught one of my classes at the Kentucky School of Ministry. Here's a link to his website. **Notice the "Reforming In Faith" on the site. (This is code for Calvinism!)

I welcome your comments at John@Heuglin.net.

UPDATE!!

I posted a link to my blog on Albert Mohler's Facebook and he responded on 8/18/2009 with the following:

"John, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. I would reserve the label "false teachers" to those who deny or subvert the Gospel. I am thankful for the clear witness of the Assemblies of God to the Gospel. See; http://www.ag.org/top/Beliefs/Statement_of_Fundamental_Truths/sft_full.cfm#5"

My response to him:

"Thank you, Dr. Mohler, and everyone for taking the time to look at the blog and provide godly input. I thank God for all of you!! It looks as if I may have some rough waters ahead. Who would have ever thought that I would be defending Calvinists!?!? (LOL!)"

UPDATE!! (Part Two)

I received the following EMail from Dr. James Galyon on Friday, August 21, 2009:

John,

I read your recent blog entry (re: Are Calvinists False Teachers), and appreciate your thoughts and the tone of the essay. I was raised in the Assemblies of God, but became a Baptist/Calvinist after leaving home. To this day I regard my old AoG pastor, who is now a missionary, with deep respect. My boss is an AoG chaplain. He is the best boss I've ever had, and I respect him greatly as well. Despite the differences, there is much upon which we agree. We agree on the gospel - justification by grace alone through faith alone on account of Christ alone. We agree upon the necessity of holiness in life (sanctification). All too often the doctrine of the perseverance and preservation of the saints is lumped in with the Antinomian "once saved, always saved" position. The two are diametrically opposed. Ironically enough, it is generally not Calvinists who hold the OSAS position, but Baptists who disdain Calvinism.

As for "my side of the house," there are at times Reformed brothers who refer to "Arminians" as false teachers and such. I don't care for that at all. It's wrong, on both sides. Now, I'm not saying there aren't false teachers out there, because there certainly are. It is my hope that conservative evangelicals, who agree on the doctrine of justification, and assert that sanctification necessarily follows justification, will band together for the sake of our Lord and His Kingdom. The Kingdom is much larger than any particular denomination or evangelical group.

Again, thank you for your thoughts,

By His Grace Alone,

Dr. James Galyon
MDiv, PhD

Breathed Her Last

"I wrapped up my class at 12:15pm and left the campus. I felt prompted to visit my wife's grandmother, Joyce, who lay in a bed in a building downtown dying of cancer. This was unusual because I was by myself. Typically I would visit her with my wife. However, I felt the need to go.

I drove to 315 E. Broadway and took the elevator to the sixth floor. The door to room 608 was open when I arrived. She was laying on her left side with her back to me looking out the window. Her breathing was very labored.

I pulled a loveseat over next to her bed and held her hand and told her that I was there. I knew that she was in the throes of death and it would not be long. I got up and walked over to the nightstand in the room and searched through the drawers. I found what I was looking for...a blue-backed Gideon Bible with the New Testament and Psalms. I walked back over to her and sat down.

I opened the Bible to the Psalms. I held on to her left hand with my right hand and began to read, beginning with Psalm 1. I looked intently into her eyes as I intermittently read, prayed and sobbed. I prayed that the peace that only God can provide would comfort her as she stepped off into eternity.

After a number of chapters, I noticed that her breathing had become much more relaxed. The doctor entered the room and examined her with a stethescope. She also looked at Joyce's hands. The doctor said that it would not be long now. The doctor asked if I wanted the Catholic chaplain to come in. My initial reaction was 'no' (as not to be disturbed), but I knew that Joyce was Catholic and wanted to respect what she would want. I nodded my head in affirmation and continued to read.

Joyce's breathing became more shallow and sporadic. She seemed to sometimes go thirty seconds or longer before taking her next breath. I continued to read, but then stopped when I realized she had breathed her last at 1:35pm. I was about midway through Psalm 18 and here are the last verses I recall reading:

"For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great."

Psalm 18:28-33 (KJV)

As I sat there I thought, "How fitting? God is our rock! He has given her a shield of salvation, His right hand holds her up and His gentleness has made her great!" I muttered to myself, "Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:55)

My realization for the reality of death became even more vivid today. My thoughts raced to my living loved ones. Were they ready for this moment? Are YOU ready for when that 'day' comes. We are not guaranteed our next breath, much less our 'tomorrow'. Every one of us will die. In fact, 150,000+ people die EVERY day. The Bible declares in Ezekiel 18 that "the soul that sins, it shall die." We have all sinned (broken God's Law-10 Commandments) and are, therefore, going to die. Do you think that you are 'Good Enough' to go to heaven and you'll be 'okay' when you die? Click here to find out...

A "Fray"ed Not

"Hey, dad...did that guy just say that God was standing on a street corner smoking His last cigarette?" WHAT??? Um, I don't know. We'll have to look up the lyrics when we get home..."

It never fails. I'm listening to "Christian" radio and I hear music that doesn't really sound very Christian. So how do I know if it's Christian? Well the name says it all. Christian radio is called "Christian Radio" for a reason. They play "Christian" music. Music that is Christian-themed and have people singing about the "Christ" and "Christian" themes and situations.

A recent song that has hit the air waves of a local Christian radio station that I listen to, blatantly flies in the face of what would be considered "Christian". The group, "The Fray", has always been suspect to me and I have written them off as a non-Christian group that, for some reason, gets air play on Christian radio. Here's the first verse of the song called "You Found Me":

I found God on the corner of First and Amistad
Where the west was all but won
All alone smoking His last cigarette
I said where You been, He said ask anything
Where were You when everything was falling apart
All my days were spent by a telephone
That never rang and all I needed was a call
That never came to the corner of First and Amistad

Have you found anything wrong with the above lyrics? How about God standing on a street corner smoking His last cigarette?!?!?! (Yeah, sing that song during the offeratory at church...LOL!) The song goes on and has overtones of God not being there for him and God being "late" and asking God where He was.

My problem is that I WANT to like "The Fray"! They have a great sound and I love their style. Their music, however, should not be played on Christian radio because I really don't want to have to explain to my daughters about "God smoking His last cigarette on a street corner."

"The Fray" may not be anti-God and clearly had a Christian background, but are they a Christian group? I did a "Google" search on "The Fray" and it is apparent that other people are wondering the same thing..."Is 'The Fray a Christian Band?"I'll let them speak for themselves.

Wysocki, one of the band members, said in an interview: "The band avoided Christian record labels, saying God called them to the secular market instead. "I feel he would be disappointed with us if we limited ourselves."

Wow! So you are "limiting yourself" by signing with a Christian label and feel like God called you into the secular market? Interesting. D.C. Talk sang Christian music and ended up getting air play on secular radio. Great!! God may call you into the secular market to reach the lost, but He won't call you to be an "undercover Christian". You will find no biblical examples of this approach.

Slade, another band member, says he used to "write all Christian lyrics" until he had an epiphany while working a shift at Starbucks: "None of my friends outside the church understood any of my songs; we had a different set of vocabulary," he says. "So I went home and threw away all those songs."

I wonder where he got the lyrics for "all those songs" he threw away? Clearly groups like Third Day and Casting Crowns are Christian groups with overtly Christian lyrics that non-Christians can listen to and easily understand. Is "The Fray" concerned about their non-Christian listeners not relating or are they "selling out" to the industry by making sure not to talk too blatantly about their "Christianity" in their music?

Slade continues, "If we grow up in the church, it's easy to think it's our Christian duty to preach to every single person because God is the most important thing. And he is, but I'm a musician first. This is my job. We're not pastors. We're not preachers. We're not even missionaries."

It IS our responsibility to preach the Gospel as Christians!! Check out Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15. Which is actually first in your life...your music or God? We may not be pastors or preachers, but we all have a responsibility as Christ's Ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) to present a Biblical view of God to a lost and dying world. By the way, you cannot seperate your Christianity from anything else that you do. You ARE a Christian that does x or y. You are a Christian that puts God first...everything else is secondary.

One article stated, "Band members don't publicize their faith, but they don't hide it, either." First, why would you not publicize that you are a Christian band (if you are one) unless you are ashamed or worried that it might hit you in the pocket-book? Second, I haven't been able to find a hint of Christianity in the "public eye".

The band's Wikipedia page makes no mention of the band being Christian and only states that some of their songs have gotten airplay on Christian radio. The band's website, which I'm sure has thousands of visitors each day, is void of any mention of Christianity. Don't they want the lost to be saved? Where's the actual connection between reaching your secular fan base and linking them with Christ? I don't see it.

In the Marine Corps we used to have a saying, "If you were accused of being a Marine, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" It seems like "The Fray" wants to have one foot in the world and one foot in Christianity. It doesn't work that way and their lyrics display the confusion that mentality brings.

I'm not saying that the band members are not Christians, I'm simply saying not to call their music "Christian" because it's clearly not and they clearly don't want it to be. Let's pray that "The Fray" comes out of the "spiritual closet" and sings music that glorifies God and clearly points people to Christ.

Sources:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/interviews/2006/thefray-0706.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fray
http://thefray.net/

Serving Those Who Served

My heart aches even as I write this blog...

A few months ago I had been praying about a way that I could serve people and possibly share the Gospel with people inside during the inclement weather months. My mom had told me months ago that I should go to the VA Hospital and visit with the veterans. I thought it was a good idea, but never gave it much more thought because I knew that it was going to be a headache to get through the 'red tape' to be able to visit with patients.

About a month ago during prayer, God had really impressed upon me to contact the VA Hospital and see about visiting with some of the veterans at the hospital. I would not put it off any longer. Being a nine-year active duty veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I knew it was time to give back and visit with these brave folks. I went through all the paperwork, medical tests, interviews and orientation to become an official 'volunteer'.

The VA Hospital has a strict 'no religious conversations' policy that I discovered during orientation. I thought, "Great! I've went through all of this and I won't be able to "legally" share the Gospel." I was definitely disappointed, but decided to continue forward.

Today was my first day...

I arrived at the hospital and circled the parking lot for what seemed like thirty minutes looking for a parking space. I finally found one...ironically, in the Volunteer parking lot! I went in and met with my coordinator, Rhonda. She gave me some last minute instructions and I was off. I stopped by the Volunteer sign-in room and then headed to my first destination.

I checked in with the nurse's station and explained that I just wanted to talk to some of the veterans, thank them for their service to our country and listen to them. I asked if there were any patients that would like a visitor. I got the strangest looks! They were like, "Um, yeah, okay. Hold on..." Soon, the head nurse came over and explained that the hospital already had chaplains. Mind you, I was dressed in jeans, a non-collared shirt and a wind-breaker jacket with no Bible in hand. I did not have a Bible and had never mentioned anything about praying for anyone or talking about God (this, of course, was against the policy).

I looked at her with the RCA dog look (huh?) and explained that I was simply there to visit with the patients and pointed to my volunteer badge. She then got a nurse to escort me to my first room.

Nervous, I gingerly stepped into the room. Martin greeted me with a smile. He had long hair and was missing one leg. He looked like the stereo-typical Vietnam veteran. I learned that he did a few tours in Vietnam and that the effects of Agent Orange caused him to lose his leg from the knee down. He was in the hospital waiting to have his other leg removed. I almost started crying right then and had to quickly gain my composure. Every thought of me not getting my way...my selfishness...my taking for granted just how much I have to be thankful for came flooding in. "God help my selfishness and self-centeredness.", I muttered under my breath. I talked with Martin a little while longer, thanked him for his service and proceeded back to the nurses' station. I left the room overwhelmed.

After washing my hands with the 'foam', I stopped in to speak with David. His wife was sitting next to his bed. He was also a Vietnam veteran that was getting treatment for a non-related illness. I soon found out that I was the one who was going to get the treat when I visited David. According to his wife, David is the most decorated soldier in the state of Kentucky. David began to tell me about how he earned one of his awards...a Purple Heart. He said that he was in Hue City and they were pinned down in a building by one enemy, but were out of regular fragmentation grenades. He said that he handed his friend what they had left, a white phosphorous ("Willy Pete" WP) grenade. His friend pulled the pin, let the spoon fly, stood up to throw it out the window...and was struck in the head with a bullet. The WP hit the floor and Dave jumped on it. Needless to say, he was severely wounded. He suffered burns over 40% of his body. He showed me some of the scars. I sat speechless as he continued to share this intimate and personal story with me. After a while, I thanked him and his wife, and as I did with Martin, I thanked him for his service and proceeded back to the nurses' station.

I stopped off at the bathroom to wash my hands and headed to the next floor. I stopped at the nurses' station as I had on the previous floor. They told me to simply choose any room and see if they wanted company. I knocked on Doug's door and he told me to enter. Doug was a mountain of a man that consumed the entire bed. He had the adjustable arm of the television stretched over with the screen right in front of him. I reached out, shook his hand and introduced myself. I explained why I was there and Doug proceeded to tell me that he had completed four tours in Vietnam. We chit-chatted a bit more as I listened to him. Out of the blue he asked me, "Are you a preacher man?" Again, I was taken aback, because I had never mentioned anything about God and wasn't looking too "stereo-typically preacherly" today. I told him that I wasn't "officially" a pastor, but was currently training to be. He replied, "I knew you were. I've been around lots of pastors and I can just tell." I said, "Is that a good thing?" He said, "Oh, yeah, it's a good thing." Dumbfounded, I continued to listen. After a while I thanked him for his service and proceeded to wander into another room.

I happened upon Charles and Eugene as I entered the next room. It seemed like a scene out of "Grumpy Old Men". They both invited me in, but looked at me like, "Who are you?" I explained myself and Charles motioned for me to come help him get up out of his bed. He led me over to a chair and he sat down. I began to have small talk with Charles and found out that he served during the 1950's, possibly the tail-end of Korea. I happened to ask him when he was going to get out of the hospital. He explained that he would be out soon, but it wasn't good. I told him that I didn't understand. He looked at me and tears welled up in his eyes. He put his finger to his throat and made a left-to-right slicing motion. He was letting me know that he had some sort of terminal disease and was going to leave the hospital...by death.

After a few minutes, I helped Charles to the bathroom. While standing at the bathroom door, he whispered, "I ain't gonna make it. That's what I was trying to tell you over there. I don't want him to know it." He went in the bathroom and closed the door. I went back over and sat down in the chair and tried to talk to Eugene. He could not speak well and I just nodded at most everything he said.

The door to the bathroom cracked open and Charles poked his head out. He asked me to get some underwear for him out of a bag behind his night stand. I walked over and noticed a partially torn paper bag that had clothing items in it. I grabbed the bag and put it on the bed. I sorted through the clothes, found a pair of underwear and handed it to him. He said, "I want the ones with the black band." I sifted through and found the ones he wanted. Charles took the underwear and slowly closed the bathroom door.

While I waited, I figured I would do some 'house cleaning'. I folded his clothes that were in the paper bag and put them in the top drawer of his night stand. I picked up paper off of the floor and made his bed. I noticed that he had a fresh hospital top and bottom in his closet. I grabbed the bottoms, knocked on the bathroom door and handed them to Charles. He was pleasantly surprised considering that he had soiled in the pair he had on. When he came out of the bathroom I helped him put the fresh top on after helping him over to his chair.

Charles' food had arrived while he was in the bathroom and he was ready to eat. I wheeled his table around served him by opening up his utensils, food and drink. It was funny...Eugene kept pointing to Charles and then point to Charles' bed. I told Charles, "I think he wants you to get back into bed." Charles said, "Yeah, I know." Eugene kept it up until Charles finally told him that he didn't want to lay down anymore. Eugene flipped him "the bird". I chuckled and then Charles softly, but sternly said, "You go to hell." I have to admit that I laughed...but when I stopped to think about the reality of the possible fate of hell for these two men, was it really funny?

I stayed, prayed silently for these men and visited a little while longer and decided to be on my way. I thanked both Eugene and Charles for letting me spend some time with them and that I appreciated their sacrifice of service to our country. I washed my hands in their bathroom sink and headed down the hallway.

My last stop of the day would be with Billy. Like me, Billy had served in the Army for nine years from 1948-1954. He was very talkative and seemed to enjoy my company. I don't think I said two words in the twenty minutes or so that I was there! It was a blessing just to simply listen to his story. During our conversation, two nurses came in to transport him to another location. I shook his hand, thanked him for the conversation and his service to our country. I walked back to the nurse's station to let them know I was leaving. I had about all I could handle for the day...I was emotionally drained.

I headed back to the Volunteer room in the basement. There were about three or four older men, also volunteers and presumably veterans, waiting to be called upon if needed. They haven't quite figured me out yet. I sat in the room for a few minutes, just collecting myself. I finally decided to leave. I told the guys bye (and thanked them for their service!) and I began the long walk back to my vehicle.

During the ride home, I felt such a strain...a battle waging. I thought to myself, "Those men really needed to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There must be some way that I can "legally" share the Gospel. I can come in and tend to their physical and emotional needs all day long, but if they die without Christ..." I prayed for those that I visited with almost all the way home.

I think my next step will be to set up an appointment with the hospital's chaplain. Will he allow me to speak to the patients about Christ? Will he say that I don't "rate" to share the Gospel because I'm not officially a chaplain? I don't know, but I guess I'm about to find out.

Now I know that some of you "hard-chargers" might be thinking, "John, there's nothing that can stop you from sharing the Gospel! Just do it!!" I just can't do it, not in good conscience. I've signed paperwork and made a commitment to abide by all of the hospital's policies and I intend to keep my word.

I'm continuing to pray and see what happens next...

Give Me A Sign

Most everyone's heard the saying, "If God would just give me a sign or something, I would believe." Romans 1 says that God has already given us a "sign"...we just have to look at the world all around us. Romans 1:18-23 says:

"For God's wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles."

This afternoon, I went down to Riverview Park to do some filming for my television show and ended up sharing the Gospel with two people I had never met before. We talked for about twenty minutes and had a great witnessing conversation.

I think the most interesting part of my conversation with Mike and Carolyn was what they said at the end. I asked them what they thought about our conversation. Mike responded that he thought that I was there as a sign from God and that this was a sort of "wake-up call" from God. You don't hear that very often when sharing the Gospel!!

You can check out the video by clicking HERE.