Frank King's Blog

The Southern Baptists’ Plan to Change St. Louis

2012-01-26T09:22:00.002-05:00

(Article first published as The Southern Baptists' Plan to Change St. Louis on Technorati)

To the Southern Baptists, St. Louis is one of North America’s great unreached urban centers. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, only 14.8 percent of metro St. Louis’ 2.8 million people are affiliated with an evangelical church. Nearly half of the population is not affiliated with any religious group.

The local Southern Baptists have a plan to change that.

Through their Send North America: St. Louis initiative, local Southern Baptist churches have already begun efforts to start more than 75 new churches in the city during the next five years. Their church planting efforts are not without a cause. They believe that as a result of these new churches crime in the city will go down, dropout rates will decrease, and teen pregnancies will go down. “These things are heart issues,” says Kenny Petty, a Southern Baptist church planter in St. Louis, the Baptist Press quoted him as saying. “And there’s only one thing that can deal with the heart of man and that’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

I believe the Southern Baptists have the right idea. Christians need to believe in the power of the gospel to change the hearts of men. In doing so, we will change the hearts of our cities for the better: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” the Bible says (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV).

As the Republican presidential candidates campaign for their party’s nomination, what amazes me is the amount of money these guys can raise. In American politics, they talk about tens of millions of dollars as if it’s nothing. I am a firm believer that we definitely need godly men and women in government. And the kinds of monies these candidates raise say that by and large Americans have not given up on the political process to solve many of our nation’s ills.

But there is a role that we as Christians must play to heal our nation. We must invest in the souls and the hearts of men. We do this by financially supporting and getting involved in evangelism. For God is the only one who can radically change the heart and soul.

The Southern Baptists’ mission to plant 75 churches in one metropolitan city requires substantial investment of time and monies. The truth is that through Send North America, the North American Mission Board’s national strategy aimed at church planting, the goal is to plant churches in 29 major cities and other areas throughout the continent, according to the Baptist Press.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Called to Be Faithful

2012-01-23T23:28:00.004-05:00

As Christians, we are God’s stewards. He has committed certain gifts and resources to each of us. In the end, we must give account of our stewardship, and we will be rewarded accordingly. It behooves us then to be faithful to God.

Having been a senior pastor of local churches in the past, I know how important it is to have church workers who are faithful to God. A church body absolutely cannot function effectively without faithful church workers. Moreover, my conviction is that the Lord’s work is the most important work in the world. It is the only work that we can do that has eternal consequences.

It is good for us to be faithful on our job, in our family life, or in school, but we should be even more faithful to God.

Nevertheless, I believe most if not all of you will agree that not everyone who claims to be a Christian is committed to faithfulness in serving the Lord. Sometimes, I hear church members say something like, “If I had a more important position in the church, or if I had a more visible role, I would be more faithful.”

Even pastors sometimes embrace this errant thinking. For example, I know of instances in which a pastor has put a man in the church in a position of authority, such as on the board of deacons, in hopes that it will motivate the person to be more faithful to God. But hear what Jesus said: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).

Wow! This is a powerful truth. It tells us that faithfulness has nothing to do with what we have to work with. Faithfulness is not a product of our resources but of our character. If a person is faithful, he will exhibit faithfulness even if all he has to do is some insignificant role that gets him no recognition. On the other hand, if one is unfaithful, simply making him the king will not change him. He will simply be an unfaithful man with a crown on his head.

If you want to know if a person will be faithful in a prominent position, observe his stewardship in a far less significant role.

Now, I don’t want to get too preachy here, but let me ask you something. First, think about the gifts and resources God has blessed you with that you can use to serve Him and glorify Him. Then think on what Jesus said in the verse above, regarding faithfulness. Now for the question: By your own assessment, would you consider yourself to be faithful to God?

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Survey Reveals Pastors' Beliefs on Creation and Evolution

2012-01-20T22:17:00.009-05:00

I was reading the results of a recent LifeWay Research survey in which 1000 American Protestant pastors were asked whether they believe that man is the product of creation or of evolution. They were also questioned as to whether they believe Adam and Eve are literal people, and whether or not the earth is approximately 6000 years old. This approximation of the age of the current earth can be arrived at by using a series of genealogies and life spans as recorded in the Bible.

This report really got my attention since those questions speak to how much pastors believe what the Bible says. Of course, I can’t address all three of these issues in the space I normally devote to a blog post. If you want to, you can click on the link above and read the results of the entire survey. I will limit my discussion to the subject of creation and evolution.

In the survey, the pastors were asked to respond to this question: “I believe God used evolution to create people.” To this statement, 73 percent of pastors disagree, 64 of them strongly disagree and 8 percent of them somewhat disagree. Twelve percent somewhat agree that God used evolution, another 12 percent strongly agree, and four percent are unsure.

Did I mention that those who were surveyed are American Protestant pastors? That means they are men and women who preach and teach the Bible. What they believe about the Bible greatly influences what their followers believe. Furthermore, all reputable versions of the Bible give but one explanation as to how the human race came about or how our world came about.

“In the beginning God created the heaven, and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). That’s the very first verse of the Bible. And every other passage in the Bible that addresses how our world came about is consistent with that very first verse of the Bible. Moreover, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them," the Bible declares" (verse 27).

Even though, according to the results of the survey, 73 percent of pastors either strongly agree or somewhat agree that God created people, I still see the message of the survey as unsettling. The findings speak to the authority—or the lack thereof—many pastors attribute to the Scriptures. And based on the survey, 27 percent, more than one out of every four American Protestant pastors, do not believe God created people or are unsure—even though the Bible repeatedly says He did!

According to the survey, about one in five pastors agree that most of their congregation believe in evolution. But—only about a third of pastors teach on creationism and evolution more than once a year. So there’s the catch 22: People need to hear about creationism in order to believe it, but pastors must believe it before they will preach it.

Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

What Is A Disciple?

2012-01-16T02:04:00.009-05:00

Sometimes we refer to Christians as believers or disciples. Some Christians may even use the terms interchangeably. In this post, I want to address the question, what is a disciple? In doing so, it should become abundantly clear that these two terms—believer and disciple—are not the same.

In simplest terms, a disciple denotes one who follows a teacher. For instance, Jesus was, among other things, a great teacher. He had twelve men who followed Him wherever He went. This they did to the intent that they might learn of Him and that they might experience the kind of fellowship He enjoyed with the heavenly Father. Based on the aforementioned definition of a disciple, these twelve men were Jesus’ disciples, and they were thusly referred to throughout the records of the gospel.

Because this was the relationship these twelve men had with Christ, He was proactive in teaching them. In the book of Matthew, chapter 17, for instance, a man brought his son who was possessed with a demon and asked Jesus’ disciples to help his son. Because earlier Jesus had given His disciples power to cast out demons, He was displeased that they failed to deliver the man's son. “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?” Jesus said to His disciples (Matthew 17:17, KJV).

Note the words above, “how long shall I be with you.” The point is that Jesus knew He would not be with His disciples forever. He was on earth for just a season and afterward He would return to heaven to His Father. At times, He was not pleased with the progress of these twelve men whom He referred to as His disciples.

One day, Jesus was speaking to some Jews, and as He spoke some of those Jews believed on Him. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31, KJV). So from this passage, we conclude that a disciple of Christ is a person who after becoming a believer, continues in the teachings of the Lord.

You might say that to become a believer is the means but to become a disciple is the end. It is good when a person repents of his sins and places His trust in what Christ did on the cross. All of heaven rejoices when that occurs. But God’s ultimate will is for each man and each woman to become a disciple of the teachings of His Son Jesus Christ. Hence, in the Great Commission, we are commanded, "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19, NIV).

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

What Happens to People Who Go to Church

2012-01-13T00:31:00.003-05:00

Every week, millions of Americans attend local Christian churches for numerous reasons. But how effective are Christian churches in impacting the lives of those who attend? Well, one of the best ways to know what happens to people who go to church is to ask them. That’s what the Barna Group did through a survey, and the results were released earlier this week.

In this post, I want to zero in on two findings of the survey. The first has to do with the extent to which churchgoers said their lives had been changed through church attendance. According to the study, only one-fourth of all Americans who had been to church before said their lives had been changed or greatly affected thereby. Nearly half of all churchgoers said their life had not been changed at all as a result of church attendance.

The second area has to do with the insights churchgoers gained through church attendance. According to the survey results, 61% of churchgoers said they could not recall a significant or important new insight or understanding gained as a result of their last visit to church. Even among those who had attended church in the past week, relative to the time of the survey, half admitted they could not recall a significant insight they had gained.

Reflecting on the results of the study, I believe it is vitally important that we more effectively proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So many people today are searching for answers to the tough questions in life, and I know the gospel provides those answers. Also, many people desire a new lease on life, and I am pursuaded that the gospel provides that as well. These should be among the benefits of church attendance.

I wrote a previous post entitled, How Healthy are America’s Churches? Based on a very extensive study that had been done, it was found that the spiritual health of America’s churches are on a downward trend. Perhaps the findings of the Barna Group’s recent study shed some light on the problem. Why go to church if over time you don’t sense your life is being positively impacted, or if you don’t feel as though you are gaining any new insights for living?

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Your Faith and Your Goals in Life

2012-01-08T21:58:00.004-05:00

What are your goals in life? This question is important because having goals in life is one of the things that give our life purpose. If you have no goals in life but to simply exist, then your life will have very little purpose. The main point I want to emphasize in this post is that your faith in God plays a vital role in your ability to reach your goals in life.

“Everything is possible for him who believes,” Jesus said (Mark 9:23, NIV). This is such an awesome verse. It underscores the power of our faith. It says, in effect, that impossible does not belong in the vocabulary of a Christian.

You know, sometimes, people think they can’t achieve a certain goal in life because of the family they were born in, or their educational background, or their financial status, or their race, etc. I am not ignoring the reality of these hurdles that some people have to cross in life. But these are not the kind of challenges that limit us from achieving our goals in life. As Christians, no matter what our goals in life are, Jesus says we are only limited by our faith.

Success in life will not happen automatically just because we are Christians. Yes, I know that every Christian has God on his or her side. But again I say success in life is not happenstance for Christians. For instance, I know some people who I believe are genuine Christians, but they live a passive life and embrace a defeatist attitude. They seem to be content accepting whatever hand life deals them. My point is that in order for us to be victorious in life, not only do we need God on our side, but also we must be willing to have faith in God and in what we can achieve through Him.

Since I posed the question at the beginning of this post, you may have been wondering what kind of goals in life I have in mind. Well, I am not only talking about your goals in life as they relate to ministry. You may also have personal goals in life such as educational and career aspirations or family goals. Believe me when I say that God is interested in every facet of your life. But it is your faith in Him that will define the limits of what you can achieve in life.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Pastor Paula White Appointed to Succeed Pastor Zachery Tims

2012-01-05T12:59:00.003-05:00

(Article first published as Pastor Paula White Appointed to Succeed Pastor Zachery Tims on Technorati)

Last Thursday, leaders of the New Destiny Christian Center, a Florida megachurch founded by the late Zachery Tims, made it official that Paula White is the church’s new senior pastor. This announcement came on the heels of weeks of much speculation that she would be the new leader. But this decision on the part of church leaders is not without controversy.

Riva Tims, former wife of Zachery Tims, announced last Thursday that she had filed a lawsuit against the church. She and her husband started New Destiny over 15 years ago. The couple divorced in 2009, and Riva left to start her own church. Her ex-husband, the late Zachery Tims, was found dead in a New York hotel last August. According to the Christian post, Riva Tims referred to the selection process that handed Paula White the job as the new senior pastor as “negligent and illegal” as well as “deceptive.” Also, she refers to New Destiny as her children’s lawful inheritance.

OK, enough for the background. What shall I say about this matter? Oh, yeah, here we go: The church did not belong to Zachery Tims, it does not belong to Paula White, it does not belong to the board of directors, it does not belong to Riva Tims, and it does not belong to her children. The last time I checked, the Bible says that Jesus Christ is the head of the church (Colossians 1:18).

That brings me to a second point about the Paula White-appointment. Because Christ is the head of the church, church leaders should be God-fearing and must conduct the church’s business in a way that brings glory to His name. In this case, that is not what appears to have been done. This I say because Pastor Ira V. Hilliard, pastor of New Light Christian Center Church in Houston, Texas, resigned from the board of bishops who were charged with aiding New Destiny in the transitional process. In a December 15 video, he said: “My commitment to integrity will not allow me to support something that I believe is deception and that compromises previously agreed upon procedure and protocol.”

What a mess. From what I can see, the congregation at New Destiny Christian Church has not been well served by its board and other subordinate leaders. But the good news is that the church is not without help. Christ is still Lord, and He neither slumbers nor sleep.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

What Are Your Plans for God in 2012?

2011-12-29T22:25:00.003-05:00

I am writing this post three days before we enter 2012. There is no biblical mandate to do so, but I tend to view the beginning of a new year as a good time to make assessments of certain aspects of my life. One area in particular has to do with my service to God.

What I don’t want to do is to become nonchalant about what I do for the Lord. Rather, I want to make sure that I remain a vibrant servant for Him. Hopefully, you feel the same way. So have you seriously thought about what are your plans for God in 2012?

This post is not a call to making any New Year’s resolutions. No, it’s far more important than that. Consider Paul the apostle’s letter to the church at Corinth in which he wrote, “Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord….” (1 Corinthians 15:58a). The word abounding in this verse comes from a root word that means to be more than enough or to be in abundance.

The point is rather clear that as Christians, we should never allow ourselves to become slack in serving the Lord. If we are not careful, that can happen to us over time.

This year was an extremely busy and productive year for me. I am impressed with the rate of growth of this blog page the past year, for example. I want to thank all of you for making that possible. The same is true of my website, which is located at a different domain. Also, I maintained a heavy preaching schedule this year.

I thank God for all that He blessed me to do this past year. Now, however, I am looking ahead to next year. I am very excited about my plans for God in 2012. And I want you to know that whatever God has called you to do is just as important as what He has called me or anybody else to do. In fact, our work for the Lord is the most important work in the world. Let us always embrace it as such.

Maybe you have had and are still facing serious challenges to your faithfully serving the Lord. Or perhaps, no one seems to appreciate what you do for the Lord and you question its worth. Well here is the rest of that verse I quoted above: “forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15;58b). So be encouraged. What you do for the Lord is never in vain. Finally, as you serve the Lord, may you experience heaven’s best for you in 2012.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Statistics on the Christian Population in the World

2011-12-23T00:01:00.003-05:00

Ever wondered how many Christians are in the world today? Or how many Christians live in America? Or what is the regional distribution of Christians in the world? The results of a comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries were released earlier this week. The study was done by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life. You can read the complete analysis of the report on the group’s website.

This subject interests me because, in what we commonly refer to as the Great Commission, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV). The Pew Forum’s study can be an aid in helping us to assess where we are in terms of fulfilling the Great Commission.

According to the study, there are approximately 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world. This represents nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. Thirty-seven percent of all Christians live in the Americas; twenty-six percent live in Europe; twenty-four percent live in sub-Saharan Africa, and thirteen percent live in Asia and the Pacific.

As the world’s population grew from about 1.8 billion in 1910 to about 6.9 billion in 2010, the Christian population in the world grew from about 600 million in 1910 to more than 2 billion in 2010. The result is that during the past 100 years, the portion of the world’s population that identifies with Christianity has remained about the same. Actually, it dropped slightly from about 35 percent in 1910 to 32 percent in 2010, according to the survey results.

The Christian population estimates for 232 countries and self-administering territories were based on the acquisition and the analyses of about 2400 data sources, including censuses and general population surveys. In countries where detailed estimates on some Christian bodies were not available, researchers estimated the population based on figures provided by Christian organizations around the world.

Based on the above statistics, there are approximately 5 billion people in the world today who do not identify themselves as a Christian. Moreover, over the past 100 years, there has been a slight drop in the percentage of the world’s population that identifies with Christianity. (And yes, I do know that not everyone who claims to be a Christian is in fact a Christian.) To me, these two findings clearly suggest that the Christian church has much work to do toward her efforts to fulfill the Great Commission.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Be Strong in the Lord

2011-12-17T23:05:00.002-05:00

If we want to live a victorious life, we must learn how to be strong in the Lord. What I am saying to you is no different from what Paul the apostle wrote to the church at Ephesus: “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10).

Notice the phrase, “in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” This is the key. In other words, we must learn how to live our life by the power that is of God and not by our own strength. The logical question is, how do we do that? We find a clue in the next verse of Paul’s letter: “Put on the whole armor of God” (verse 11a). It’s interesting that Paul uses the term armor. It denotes warfare. And friend, that is exactly what we are engaged in.

But we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, Paul explains. I know our struggles tend to manifest themselves through people, but the Bible says we need the whole armor of God “that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (verse 11b). This brings us to the reason for my very first statement of this post, which was, “If we want to live a victorious life, we must learn how to be strong in the Lord.”

The point is that human strength alone is no match for the battle at hand. For the Bible teaches that our real enemy is the devil. I submit to you that one of the things that makes life so challenging for all of us is the spiritual wickedness that’s prevalent in our world. Believe me, if we were dealing with only natural laws and human behavior, we would have most of our world’s problems figured out by now.

Remember, the Bible says that if we want to stand against the tricks and strategies of the enemy, we must put on the whole armor of God. It is beyond the scope of this post to go into detail, but let’s summarize what the Bible refers to as the whole armor of God: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and continual prayer (verses 14-18).

The bottom line is that the more we grow in our faith, and the more we grow in the knowledge and application of the Word of God, and the more we learn how to effectively pray, etc., the more victorious we will be in life. That's because these are components of our armor that come from God, and the Bible says we must put on the whole armor of God. This is how to be strong in the Lord, and this is the only way we can win against the real enemy, which is the devil.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Deity of Christ

2011-12-11T22:29:00.002-05:00

I am writing this post two weeks before Christmas Day. Even though we are that close to the holiday, if I didn’t know any better, based on what I have seen around town so far, I would be led to believe that Christmas is all about shopping, eating, and decorating. But I know that for Christians, the significance of Christmas centers around the birth of Christ the Savior.

Baby Jesus was not your average baby. No, He was in a class all by Himself. For Jesus was God manifested in the flesh! Perhaps some of you have problems embracing the idea of the deity of Christ. But the Bible teaches that the baby who was born in a manger was both human and divinity.

Hence, hundreds of years before Jesus was born, it had been written of Him in the Scriptures: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us”! (Matthew 1:23, KJV).

Imagine that. When Jesus was born on earth, He was literally God with us. Let me be even more emphatic: “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,” the Bible says (Colossians 2:9, NIV).

So how can a baby who was born in a manger grow up to become the embodiment of the fullness of deity? I haven’t a clue. This truth speaks to the mystery of the person of Christ. It’s what I find so intriguing about the account of that first Christmas.

As the biblical record goes, during the time Mary was pregnant with baby Jesus, “Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world….And everyone went to his own town to register” (Luke 2:1). And it was while Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem that Mary gave birth to baby Jesus.

That must have been a hectic time in Bethlehem as everybody rushed to obey Caesar’s decree. By the time Joseph and Mary had arrived, there was no room in the inn for them to stay. That’s why they ended up staying in an animal stable and Jesus was born in a manger. So little did most people in Bethlehem know, on that particular night, God was with them in the person of a baby born in a manger.

Now let me close by taking this point one step closer. Yes, when Jesus was born, it was literally God with us. But it was also a sign that God is with us. In other words, Jesus’ birth ushered in the acceptable year of the Lord. That means because Jesus came, men can now be saved from sin and reconciled to God. Because Jesus came, mortals can now have fellowship with the immortal God. In short, Because Jesus came, God is with us! For the people of God, this is the real meaning of Christmas.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Christmas Message: Why Jesus Came

2011-12-09T19:23:00.002-05:00

(Article first published as Christmas Message: Why Jesus Came on Technorati)

Christmas, the day we celebrate the birth of Christ, is my favorite time of the year. During this season, the atmosphere seems to be supercharged with excitement. Not because of the gift-buying and the other things we do to ourselves to make Christmastime one of the most hectic times of the year, but because of the birth of Christ and why Jesus came.

I submit to you that one of the main reasons He came was to heal broken relationships.

First and foremost, Jesus came to heal our relationship with God. You see, before the fall of man in the Garden, we enjoyed a wholesome relationship with our heavenly Father. But sin separated us from Him so that we could no longer enjoy intimate fellowship with Him. This breach in our relationship with God was unacceptable to Him because He values our relationship with Him.

What did God do about this problem? He sent His Son that first Christmas as a means for us to be reconciled with God through faith in His Son: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

Not only did God send Jesus Christ on earth so that we might be reconciled with our heavenly Father, but also Jesus came to heal our individual families. Indeed it is a blessing when we are able to enjoy the time we share with family members and loved ones. During the Thanksgiving holiday on last month, for instance, I and seven other family members drove 500 miles to Virginia to spend several days with my oldest son who is in the Navy. We shared priceless moments together just enjoying each other.

This past weekend, I went to Atlanta, GA, to preach at a church where my youngest brother serves as the senior pastor. Instead of staying at a hotel, my wife and I stayed with my brother and his family during our time there. We enjoyed our time together at his house the day before worship service, during worship at church the next day, and out to dinner that afternoon. I truly thank God for the quality of relationship I have with my wife, my children, brothers and sisters, mother, etc. And I am looking forward to enjoyable time with my family this Christmas.

I know that some of you reading this post don’t feel the same way about your family. Perhaps it’s falling apart at the seams. If so, hear me friend, Jesus came that first Christmas Day so that through Him God might heal broken families. For those who place their faith in Him, He still does that today. Accordingly, in the Old Testament, we find the following Messianic-related prophecy: “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers….” (Malachi 4:6).

Thanks be to God for giving us His only Son. Through faith in Him, who was born of a virgin on that first Christmas day, may each of you experience peace with God and wholesome relationships with your family members and loved ones during this Yuletide.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Kentucky Church Overturns Ban on Interracial Couples

2011-12-05T21:27:00.002-05:00

(Article first published as Kentucky Church Overturns Ban on Interracial Couples on Technorati)

On Sunday, the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church, a small congregation in Kentucky, voted to overturn its recent ban on allowing interracial couples to be members of the church. This latest action came on the heels of much criticism following the congregation’s recent ban.

So let me guess; Gulnare is not the last holdout. That is, just because the Kentucky church has overturned its ban does not mean there aren’t other congregations that classify themselves as Christian, and that oppose interracial couples. But in this case, a white girl and her African boyfriend visited Gulnare Free Will Baptist last summer and sang for the congregation. A serious line had been crossed, and the members of the congregation were forced to assert their position on interracial couples.

Of course, we already knew that racism in America is still a significant problem. Also, we know that not everybody is open to interracial dating. Why did I make two separate statements that appear to be the same? Because they are not necessarily the same. In other words, I don’t believe that just because a person opposes interracial dating that it automatically makes the person a racist.

On the other hand, I do believe that the Christian church must take the lead in seeing beyond the color of a person’s skin. “You are the light of the world,” Jesus said to His disciples (Matthew 5:14). That means we the Christian community should be showing the way to those outside of the Christian community. This recent incident suggests, however, that the Christian church has a long ways to go in the way of interracial relations.

I do commend Gulnare for overturning its recent ban. Let’s face it; there are no perfect congregations. The question is, when we acknowledge the error of our ways, what will we do? In this case, the church took the right corrective action. According to news reports, Sunday’s resolution to welcome all believers passed with a unanimous vote.

But this is but the first step. Merely agreeing to do the right thing—or even legislating the same—does not guarantee success. It’s reasonable to assume that in a church that has held the position that Gulnare has over the years, embracing interracial couples will be much easier said than done for some members of the congregation. But they don’t have to do it in their own strength. Christians can do all things through Christ who strengthens them.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Power of the Gospel

2011-12-02T21:17:00.012-05:00

Before I became a Christian, my wife and I attended a church in Central Florida. At the time, I just could not understand why the church’s pastor used to get so excited about preaching the Word of God from the Bible. Many of the church members also got excited as he preached. I was just sitting there at a loss.

A few years later, however, I became a Christian and then I also became a preacher. That’s when the Bible became more than mere words on a page to me. Also, I came to understand what Paul the apostle meant when he said, “ I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes….” (Romans 1:16, NIV).

Paul's words underscore the power of the gospel. God gave it to us to proclaim so those who don't know Christ as their Savior can hear and believe and be saved from eternal damnation.

I might add that the preaching of the gospel is the only thing the Bible refers to as the power of God for salvation. Of course, Christian ministry involves more than preaching. Some megachurches today offer just about any service you can imagine: exercise classes, feeding and clothing ministries, employment preparation, car repair, movie night, etc. These all meet human needs, but it’s important for us to know that these types of outreaches and programs are not, and cannot be, substitutes for the preaching of the gospel. Just thought I would throw that out there since some churches seems to think that way.

So what makes the preaching of the gospel the power of God with salvation for its end? It is that when true-to-the-Bible preaching occurs, all of heaven is one with the same. For God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son to save us, Jesus in turn became obedient to the cross to pay for our offences, and now the Holy Spirit is among us working in the hearts of men to miraculously change lives.

In other words, when we faithfully preach the gospel to point men and women to the Savior, we become laborers with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit to save the lost! Clearly, if local churches want to be a part of what God is doing, they must commit themselves to being good stewards of the preaching of the gospel.

As I go different places preaching, I continue to be amazed at how the simple and clear preaching of the Bible results in radically transformed lives. Furthermore, I am persuaded that no one is beyond the reach of God’s saving power. In these days during which so many people have yet to know Christ the Savior, let us not be ashamed of the gospel, but let us boldly proclaim it.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Keep the Fire Burning

2011-11-28T23:37:00.005-05:00

Those of us who have a genuine salvation experience with Christ remember how it was in the beginning. We became a new creation. The burden of our sins washed away. We were excited about the things of God. We were like a sponge trying to soak up everything heaven had to offer.

But time has a way of turning off our love light for Christ—or at least dimming it real low.

Christ wants us to keep the fire burning for Him. This truth can be seen in His words to the church at Ephesus. He commended the congregation because it had persevered, had endured hardships for His name, and had not grown weary (Rev. 2:3, NIV). This suggests a strong congregation, one that does not wimp out when suffering for Christ. How many congregations can Jesus say that about today?

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love,” He added (v. 4). Let’s view this judgment in light of the compliment He paid the congregation in the previous verse. Putting the two together we conclude that though the church still had a passion for serving the Lord, it was not as it once was. The people had lost the love they had for Christ, resulting in His rebuke. He told the church what she must do to make things right. I would like to refer to His charge as the three Rs for renewing one’s passion for Christ:

“REMEMBER therefore from whence thou art fallen” (verse 5a, KJV). Think about the time when you were most zealous for the Lord. When was that? Is it now, or was it some time in the past? If in the past, then you have left your first love for Christ. In your heart you may argue that you are still more passionate for Him than most believers you know. But this is not about comparing you with your neighbor or with the bulk of the congregation; it is about comparing you with yourself.

“REPENT” (verse 5b). Most people who have experienced a spiritual drift from the Lord have already taken the first step mentioned above, though involuntarily. That’s because it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict us of our drift from Christ. But this is not enough. The Lord calls us to repent about it. This means there must be a godly sorrow about it that turns the heart back to Christ.

RETURN; that is, we must “do the first works” (verse 5c). We know exactly how to do those works because we have done them before. Of course, time is not just waiting around for our use for this cause. We have replaced that time we used to devote to the things of God with worldly endeavors. But whatever it takes, whatever we must forsake, whatever changes are required, we must return and do the first works if we want to renew our passion for Christ.

So what should we take away from the Lord’s rebuke of the church at Ephesus? It is that He regards a ho-hum relationship with Him as unacceptable. Our God is a jealous God. He demands to be first in our life. No other mindset will do.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Poll: Most Christian Leaders Not an Influential Voice

2011-11-25T07:19:00.002-05:00

(Article first published as Poll: Most Christian Leaders Not an Influential Voice on Technorati)

If you were asked who is the single most influential Christian leader in America, what would be your answer? The results of a survey conducted by the Barna Group between August 1 through 14, 2011, were released earlier this week. According to that report, two out of five Americans cannot think of a qualifying Christian leader.

Of course, the finding of the survey in and of itself is not the real issue. Preachers and churches are not in a popularity test. In fact, Jesus says, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). The point is that false prophets tend to tell people what they want to hear and, hence, are people pleasers. Conversely, true messengers share the Word of God even when it does not set well with those who listen.

On the other hand, the degree to which Christian leaders in America have or have not become an influential voice is a useful indicator. For one of the most important missions of the Christian church is to spread the Christian message throughout the world. To accomplish this mission, Christian ministries must use all means of communication and media available today to proclaim their important message. And the most prominent figure of a local church or a parachurch organization is usually the preacher.

This all being true, this recent survey by the Barna Group suggests that the Christian church’s outreach efforts are not effectively pervading society at large.

Not surprising to me, nearly one out of every five Americans (19%) regards the aging Billy Graham as our nation’s most influential Christian leader. One out of every 20 Americans, 5%, considers Joel Osteen to be that leader. Two percent each say Joyce Meyer and Charles Stanley. No other Christian leader gets the vote from more than 1% of Americans, according to the report.

The results of the survey were based on an unaided survey question. This means that respondents answered the question on their own with no response options. According to the Barna report, this type of response often reflects the first name that comes to the person’s mind, and suggests that a lasting impression on the respondent has been made.

It’s no secret that the society in which the Christian church currently exists is becoming increasingly more complex. And I believe that the Barna report underscores the need for Christian leaders to re-evaluate the effectiveness of their current strategies to impact the world for Christ.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Find Rest for Your Weary Soul

2011-11-21T18:11:00.001-05:00

Thinking back on my days as a teenager, all I can say is gone are the days when life was simple. Technological advances such as smart phones, tablet computers, social networks, and electronic reading devices have caused our way of life to take a quantum leap. Only God knows where the future will take us. It’s a job just trying to stay in touch with and remain functional in today’s ever-changing world.

Moreover, it should not be hard to understand that in America where unemployment continues to hover at 9 percent or better, many Americans are weary in their struggles in life. So how can we answer the demands and the pressures of life and not burn out in the process?

Jesus gives us a recipe for how to find rest for our weary souls: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls,” He said (Matthew 11:29).

Imagine if Jesus came into our world today, and He had the same mission on earth that He had nearly 2000 years ago. I submit to you that He would overcome all the distractions of life and still get the mission accomplished. How? Because during His public ministry, He made Himself one with the Father, and in turn God showered everything He did with grace and heaven’s help.

That brings us to the significance of Jesus referring to a yoke in the verse above. You see, the effect of yoking two animals together is that they can then operate as one. When they learn how to do that, the load is much lighter for both of them. What Jesus is telling us to do is to symbolically yoke ourselves with Him. In doing so, we will learn how to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. In turn, our load will become lighter because Jesus will bear the bulk of our load. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light,” He says (verse 30).

OK, so how do we symbolically yoke ourselves with Christ? By studying the Bible, and learning His ways, and allowing His ways to become our ways. I am convinced that the more we learn how to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, and the more we become one with how He walked while He was on earth, totally trusting the heavenly Father, the more we will experience rest for our souls, and the less stress we will experience in our life.

There's a lot about the hand we have been dealt in life that we cannot change. We have to do what we have to do. But in the process, the Lord wants to give us rest for our weary souls. The secret is to “take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.”

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

In Everything Give Thanks?

2011-11-18T22:23:00.002-05:00

One benefit of the Thanksgiving holiday is that it reminds us of God's commandment to be thankful. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” the Bible says (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This is a verse we Christians toss around a lot during the Thanksgiving holiday season. When it’s read in church or the preacher quotes it during his sermon, most of the congregation warmly receives it. After all, as stated in the verse, “this is the will of God.”

But I believe that if we are honest about it, most of us struggle with obeying this verse at times.

This verse does not command us to give thanks for all things, but to give thanks in all things. The point is that thanksgiving to God should not be a function of our circumstances. Yes, I know this is a truth that at times can be hard for us to live out because it’s human nature for us to be negatively affected by depressing circumstances. Giving thanks to God amidst such ordeals is perhaps the farthest thing from our thinking.

On the other hand, God never asks us or commands us to do the impossible. Though it may take a little more effort, or perhaps a lot more effort, we can in fact offer genuine thanksgiving to Him even when times are trying in our life.

As I pen this post, I acknowledge that some of you who will read it will do so during unfavorable circumstances in your life. Perhaps for some of you, the term unfavorable circumstances is an understatement. A living hell is more like it. Given the current state of our economy, it is reasonable to assume that such will be the case for some who read this. But friend God still wants you to render thanksgiving to Him.

The point is that God does not want our response to and worship of Him to be driven purely by human emotions. We should not limit our thanksgiving to Him to the times in which He showers us with His blessings and we judge Him to be thankworthy. Rather, our giving of thanks to Him should be driven by the fact that He is God the Creator. Yes, I am saying that God deserves our thanksgiving simply because He is God. So even when life gives us little to write home about, God is still God, and that alone makes Him thankworthy.

I have not shared any new revelation in this post. And nothing I have said makes it any easier to be thankful to God when we find it hard to do so. But remember that this is the will of God for us. Moreover, when we press our way to obey Him in spite of our circumstances or how we feel, God honors our faithfulness.

So--in everything give thanks? The answer is a resounding yes.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Second Coming of Christ

2011-11-13T22:02:00.005-05:00

Earlier today, I was at a church preaching on the subject of the second coming of Christ. In this post I just want to share one important point from that message. I was preaching from 2 Peter, chapter 3. In that chapter, Peter warns the believers that in the last days, there will be mockers saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:4).

So it seems that one of the main arguments of the mockers will be that such a long duration of time has elapsed, thousands of years to be exact, and Christians keep saying Christ will return, but all things continue as they have since the creation. And just dating back to when Jesus was here and said He would return, it’s been nearly 2000 years.

But note how God inspires Peter to respond to the mockery about the issue of time: “Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (verse 8). I don’t know about you, but I have serious difficulty grasping this truth. That is, that to the eternal God, there is no difference between a day and a thousand years!

Believe it or not, ever since the day of Pentecost, as recorded in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we have been living in the last days. How do I know? Because on that day Peter stood up and said, regarding their Pentecostal experience, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy….” (Acts 2:16-17).

Since the Pentecostal experience was the fulfillment of something God promised would happen in the last days, we have been living in the last days for nearly two thousand years. But remember that to God, a thousand years is like a day. Hence, even though to us, it feels as if it has been like forever since Jesus left and said He would return, to God it’s as if Christ just left us a couple of days ago!

Peter wrote his epistle to prepare the believers for the mockers and naysayers who would come and try to make light of the message of the second coming of Christ and to give believers a biblical perspective on the issue of the time that has elapsed. I believe those mockers will abound as we near the return of Christ and the end of the world, but Christ’s return is settled in the heavens. So let us stay focused on being about the Father’s business.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Churches Should Promote Healthy Eating Habits

2011-11-11T19:11:00.003-05:00

Earlier this year, I posted an article that was based on a study by Northwestern Medicine researchers, and it strongly suggested a possible link between faithful church attendance and obesity. I won’t discuss the findings in this post, but you can read the previous post by clicking here.

I am convinced that not only is God interested in our spiritual health, but also He is interested in our physical health. The Bible goes as far as saying that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Moreover, I believe that many of our health problems are brought on by our poor eating habits, and churches can play an important role in promoting healthy eating habits among their members.

Being a preacher, I get my share of eating in the fellowship halls of local churches after worship. It seems to be a universal joke in the body of Christ that preachers and fried chicken go hand in hand. Well, I don’t know how much truth there is to that saying, but I do know that the fried bird is king in the many churches I have dined at over the past 30 years.

Additionally, there is oftentimes an abundance of cakes, pies, and other desserts that members either bake or buy from their local grocery store and bring to church social gatherings. Plus, there are other high fat/high calorie foods such as macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and other stuff that have the power to send you to your Maker early, if you get my drift.

It’s not simply the fact that the kinds of foods I mentioned above characterize the typical menu at church fellowships, but it’s how often some churches devour these kinds of foods. Some churches have even coined the phrase, “an eating after every meeting.”

I believe that local churches should model responsible eating. During church social gatherings, we should have more vegetables than desserts. Also, baked meats more often than fried, etc.

Church leaders should promote changes such as these, and they should tell their congregants why these changes are conscientiously being made. Everybody knows that obesity in America is a serious problem in all age groups. And the greater point is that many of our health problems are directly related to our bad eating habits.

Many local churches do a good job at emphasizing the need for their members to grow spiritually. But let us also model discipline in the area of our eating habits during church social gatherings. The ultimate hope is that such emphasis at the local church level will spill over into the personal lives of church members. This in turn will make for a healthier church body.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Can We Live up to Our Motto "In God We Trust"?

2011-11-07T12:41:00.001-05:00

(Article first published as Can We Live up to our Motto “In God We Trust”? on Technorati)

Last Tuesday, by a vote of 396-9, the House reaffirmed our national motto “In God We Trust.” This motto was first adopted by Congress in 1956. Since there was no threat to abandon the motto, some lawmakers argue that the recent measure was unnecessary. President Obama mocked the legislation, saying it does nothing to create jobs.

It is good for us that we live in a country where we can have such a national motto. But I have to ask what I believe is a very relevant question: Can America live up to this motto, or are these empty words?

One of the challenges to our living up to this national motto, at least at the legislative level, has to do with the very freedoms that each of us has. Specifically, we have been granted freedom of religion. The result is that we live in a pluralistic society, and God means different things to different people. Hence, among those lawmakers who reaffirmed the motto by their vote last Tuesday, the majority of them voted the same way, but they had different concepts of God. Now imagine if they try to agree on and pass any legislation aimed at embracing this motto.

A second challenge to our living up to this motto is the word trust. In order for us to trust God, we must be willing to place our faith in what He says. From what I can see, our government would prefer that God have little or no say in its affairs. So how will this trust in God manifest itself in our government? Currently, even the public display of a plaque containing the Ten Commandments is a no-no in federally-funded buildings.

So let’s bring this motto down to the grassroots level. This is where it can work and for many of us it does. For instance, I am a Christian, and I am committed to living a life of trusting in the God of Christianity. I know of others who practice different religions, and they are free to commit themselves to trusting in their ideas of God. This is the practical significance of our national motto. And because in America we have been granted the religious freedom to personally embrace this motto, to me it is more than empty words.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Power of Words

2011-11-03T23:02:00.004-04:00

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” This is what my friends and I used to say to each other when we were young. We often responded this way after someone had said something that was calculated to anger or belittle us.

But we were so wrong. Our words do have power. They can and often do hurt.

Actually, I have seen two sides of the power of words. As a preacher, I have seen the power of words to encourage and to edify others. That’s one of my objectives every time I stand up to preach the Word of God before His people. Occasionally, people do share with me how the words I have spoken in the pulpit have positively ministered to them. Sometimes the impact they convey is so profound that the words of their testimony in turn encourage me to continue what I do.

Then I have seen the power of words to tear down people. What sometimes amazes me is when I hear a mother verbally abusing her little child out in public. She may think her words are merely words. But when you keep telling a little child how worthless he is, and you regularly bombard him with foul language, these words leave scars that sometimes last a lifetime. Moreover, most of us, I believe, personally know the destructive power of words because we have been the purveyor and/or the recipient of such words.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” the Bible says (Proverbs 18:21). That means we can use our tongue either as a means of enriching the lives of others, or to do the exact opposite. Obviously, God’s will is that we choose the former over the latter.

For some people, even among those who say they are Christians, making this choice is much easier said than done. Not because they don’t have it in them to impart life-giving words to others. Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue. We have both. But if we have spent our lives being negative and finding fault with everything and everybody, we need to renew our thinking in this regard. The love and faith and hope and confidence that Christ has put on the inside of us should flow out of us and minister to those whom we come in contact with each day.

So from this day forward, let us use the power of our words for good and not for evil.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to be Closer to God

2011-10-30T21:37:00.005-04:00

First, let me explain what I mean by being closer to God. Think of it this way. The closer a person is to God, the less room there is for things and people and situations, etc. to come between that person and his relationship with God. Our being close to God suggests an intimate relationship with Him, and the Bible is filled with promises of the peace and blessings that God bestows upon those who love Him this way.

This is an important discussion topic because sometimes I hear people say something like, “I know I need to get closer to God.” Oftentimes, they say that after they have made a big mess of their life, and others can see the mess. Also, it is not unusual for a new convert to Christianity to ask the question, “How can I get closer to God?”

I submit to you that our relationship with God is not happenstance. We have much to do with the quality of that relationship. Yes, I am saying that there are things we can do to be closer to God. For instance, the Bible says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8a). According to this verse, we must draw near to God to initiate the process. God, in turn, reciprocates.

Are you one who desires to be closer to God? I certainly am. And get this, I am very pleased with, even amazed by, my current relationship with God. But there is always room for us to get even closer to God, and that is a present passion of mine.

To be sure, our just coming to church faithfully won’t get us there. In other words, a person who has been faithfully attending church for fifteen years is not necessarily closer to God than someone who has been attending for only one year!

As a case in point, consider this verse: “Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” (Hebrews 5:11, NIV). This verse suggests that these believers who should now be able to teach others had not progressed spiritually but had actually regressed over time.

So the question is, how do we progress from being a babe in Christ to becoming a mature Christian? The answer lies in the next verse: “Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (verse 12).

Note the phrase “who by constant use have trained themselves.” I believe this is the key. You see, it’s good that we attend a Bible-believing church and we study the Bible, pray to God, and attend worship faithfully. But our quest to be closer to God requires more. We must train ourselves by constantly using what we learn. The more passionately we do this, the more intimate our relationship with God will become.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Beauty is More Than Skin Deep

2011-10-23T20:44:00.003-04:00

These days, we place way too much emphasis on a person’s physical appearance. When you look at TV, for instance, you are bombarded with paid programming and ad campaigns promising to give you the total makeover you need to become the "new you." Diets, dream pills, cosmetic surgery, home gyms, beauty products, you name it, it’s out there for you. And the reason these many products and services exist is because our beauty craze has created the market.

Now, just for the record, I have nothing against physical beauty. I believe that we should be good stewards of the body God has blessed us with. But today’s excess emphasis on physical appearance is misguided because it suggests—strongly suggests—that beauty is only skin deep.

The good news is that, in God’s eyes, a woman does not have to be a size 5, and a man does not have to have a sculptured physique to be deemed beautiful or handsome. You see, God sees things differently from the way man does. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Since this is a Christian blog, I am writing specifically to the Christian community, though the gist of what I am saying applies to everyone. My observation is that the Christian community has gone down the same misguided road of the world in overemphasizing physical appearance. It’s certainly OK for us to dress up and look our best when we attend the house of God, but if we want to please God, we must concentrate on being beautiful within.

For instance, here is an interesting passage in the Bible that speaks to Christian women: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:3-4).

The message in these verses is not that Christian women can’t wear jewelry and fine clothes and braid their hair. Rather, the message is that these things are not to be regarded as the source of the woman’s beauty. Clearly, in the eyes of God, beauty is more than skin deep. As His children, this is also the way He wants us to see others.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Wait on the Lord

2011-10-18T23:45:00.009-04:00

Bottom line up front: I don’t like waiting. I’m sure that doesn’t make me unique to anybody else. None of us likes to wait. For one thing, the world has taught us that waiting is a bad word.

My lack of patience caused problems early in my relationship with the Lord. Not unlike most preachers and pastors, I wanted to do a great work for the Lord, and I wanted success to come overnight. But over the past 30 years, I have learned a lot about the inevitability of having to wait on the Lord.

Furthermore, I have seen God answer my prayers in such huge ways in certain areas of my life that now I am persuaded that it pays to wait on the Lord. Hence, in this post, my goal is not to try and convince anyone of the value of waiting on the Lord. Rather, I want to underscore the importance of something the Bible says on this subject: “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart” (Psalm 27:14).

I am sure that some of you arrived at this post because you inputted a keyword or keyword phrase pertaining to waiting on the Lord, and the search engine came up with search results that included this post. It is reasonable to assume that some of you went on such a search because you have been praying about and believing God for something or some things, and the wait is wearing on your patience. So, reflecting on the verse above, here is a question: how do we wait on the Lord and be of good courage at the same time? This is not a natural combination because, remember, we don’t like to wait.

Let me share with you a couple of helpful truths I have learned in this area:

God’s ways are not like ours (see Isaiah 55:8). Some of the discouragement we experience in waiting on the Lord results from our ignorance of God’s ways. Hence, it is important that we study our Bible that we might learn the ways of God. Dealing with Him is worlds apart from dealing with our next door neighbor. God is God. Our neighbor is but a man—or a woman. Hence, we don't intuitively know the ways of God. The more we understand His ways, the less alarmed we are when He acts differently from how we think He should.

God moves in the fullness of time. His perspective is always superior to ours. Sometimes, we think that if God doesn’t answer our prayer by a certain date, we are finished, but God knows better. He knows the optimum time to respond to us. Plus, He has the power to redeem our situation whenever He "shows up." If we don’t trust God on this one, we can’t have peace while waiting on the Lord.

So what pressing issues do you have in your life today? I want to encourage you to have faith in and wait on the Lord, as opposed to simply doing what's convenient or acting out of desperation. Sometimes it’s not easy, but always it is best to wait on Him.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

What Young Christians Want from the Church

2011-10-15T14:42:00.002-04:00

(Article first published as What Young Christians Want from the Church on Technorati)

A couple of weeks ago, the Barna Group posted an article on its site that really grabbed my attention. The article stemmed from the findings of a five year project the group had done between 2007 and 2011, to explore the opportunities and challenges associated with teens and young adults striving to grow in their faith while living in a fast-changing culture.

According to the Barna Group, 59% of young Christians leave the church after the age of 15, either for a long period of time or permanently. From the study, six dominant themes emerged as to why young Christians leave the church, which I will state below in my own words:

• Youths want to connect with their world, but to them the church seems overprotective in this regard.

• Teens and young adults view their experience of church as shallow—God seems to be missing.

• In this highly technological age in which teens live and work, Christianity seems to be anti-science.

• In our sexually pervasive culture, the church’s “teachings on sexuality and birth control are out of date.”

• In a culture that promotes open-mindedness and tolerance, youths view the church as antithetical to that mindset.

• Youths feel that the church is not accommodating to Christians who have doubts about and who struggle with their faith.

Wow! This is a mega-sized challenge. As I read the Barna Group’s post, I thought about my children. As parents, we know that the six reasons stated above do a pretty good job at characterizing the culture that our teens and twentysomethings live in. Thriving in their world while growing in the faith is not an easy task for youths in Christ.

Based on the findings of the study, I believe that what young Christians want from the church is for those of us who are church and spiritual leaders to present Christianity in such a way that it is relevant to the culture in which teens and young adults must live and function. Moreover, I do not believe we have to abandon biblical truths to accomplish this.

In a nutshell, the aforementioned is the objective of the gospel message. Christianity was never meant to be shallow, out of touch, or hypothetical. Rather, God has blessed us with the priceless wisdom found in the Bible so we can provide real answers to real people with real challenges and who live in a real world. And to reverse the tide of our youths leaving the church, present-day Christianity must find out how to do exactly that.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Learning How to Trust in God

2011-10-10T23:53:00.008-04:00

The Bible is filled with wonderful promises from God. And I believe everybody in his right mind wants to see God’s promises fulfilled in his or her life. But let’s be honest-- learning to trust God is not the easiest thing in the world to do.

For instance, in chapter 5 of the Book of Luke, the Bible talks about a time when Peter and other fishermen had fished all night and caught nothing. After the disappointing night, they proceeded to wash their nets. Then Jesus comes along and tells Peter to go out into the deep of the waters and let down his net for a catch (verse 4).

Say what! “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net,” Peter replied (verse 5).

Peter’s response is significant because he was a fisherman. He knew how to fish. You see, if I had said the same words to the Lord they would mean nothing because I don’t know how to fish. I have never caught a fish in my life. But Peter said he and his fishing buddies had fished the waters all night long and had caught nothing.

A real challenge here is that the Lord was advising Peter in an area in which Peter was very knowledgeable. That can be a tough one for us because we may think we know it all. But as for Peter, though the circumstances suggested that what the Lord was asking him to do would avail nothing, Peter obeyed the Lord and let down his net.

And the Bible says when Peter and the others let down their nets, the catch was so big that their nets broke (verse 6)! The point here is that when we make it a habit to trust God, He blesses us for that. So from this biblical account, let me quickly share three things that are necessary, if we are to learn how to trust in God:

First, we must invite Christ into our lives to be our personal Savior. When we accept Him as our Savior, He helps us to successfully live the Christian life. Without Him, success in this area is not possible.

We must spend time with the Lord daily. The more time we spend with a person, the better we get to know him or her, and the stronger the bond of trust becomes. Our relationship with the Lord works the same way.

We must put the Word of God into action. The Lord spoke with Peter in person, but to us, primarily, the Bible is how God speaks to us. And the only way we can learn to trust in God is to obey what He says so we can experience His faithfulness.

Oh, one more thing: No one in the Bible has ever gone wrong by trusting in the Lord.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

God’s Promises for Difficult Times

2011-10-05T14:40:00.005-04:00

I believe most if not everyone who reads this post will agree that these are difficult times we are living in. God does not exempt us from being tested just because we are Christians. But He has given us promises in His Word to give us inner peace and to serve as an anchor for our soul during difficult times.

It’s hard to ignore it when we are going through a difficult time. That’s because we feel the weight of the test. We may know what the Bible says about God’s faithfulness during those times in our life, but we tend to focus more on the agony of the test than on the consolation of God’s promises. So in this post, let me share several of God’s promises that we should bear in mind when we are tested:

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19). Based on this verse, it is not always true that when a person goes through difficulty in life that it’s due to his or her wrongdoing. Even the righteous will see many afflictions. But the good news is that God delivers him out of them all. If you are a Christian, you should never accept difficult times in your life as being lifetime sentences. God’s desire is to deliver you out of them all!

“God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Even when God allows difficult times to come in our life, He makes sure that they don’t overwhelm us. The Bible says God is faithful in this regard. We may feel as though we can’t bear the burden of our test, but we can if God allowed us to be subjected to it.

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally….” (James 1:5). In prayer we ask God for lots of things, but how often do we ask Him for wisdom? This verse invites us to. Moreover, this verse, taken from the book of James, specifically addresses times we when we are tested. So let us accept God’s invitation and pray to Him for wisdom on how to endure and overcome difficult times in our life.

The aforementioned verses only scratch the surface of all the promises of God that speak to those difficult times in our life. When we embrace them by faith, they give us peace amidst the storms of life.

How Healthy are America’s Churches?

2011-10-01T15:57:00.002-04:00

(Article first published as How Healthy are America's Churches? on Technorati)

The spiritual health of America’s churches is mostly on a downward trend. That’s a finding of a new survey report published by Faith Communities Today (FACT). The report is based on a series of FACT surveys involving 28,789 randomly sampled congregations. Surveys were done in 2000, 2005, 2008, and 2010. One of the reasons for the FACT survey series was to monitor the vital signs and health of American congregations.

Some of the health indicators from the survey series are:

Fewer members in the pews. The number of megachurches doubled during the past decade, but they amount to about one half of one percent of all churches, according to the surveys. Those megachurches notwithstanding, more than 1 in 4 churches had fewer than 50 attendees in worship in 2010. Just under half had fewer than 100 worshipers. Overall, the median weekend attendance to worship dropped from 130 to 108 during the past decade, according to FACT surveys. This represents approximately a 17 percent decline.

A steep drop in financial health. The percentage of churches in excellent financial health dropped from 31% in 2000 to only 14% in 2010. It should be noted that part of the reason for the steepest drop, from 19% to 14%, occurring between 2008 and 2010, was the recession of 2008 and 2009.

Continuing high levels of conflict. One disturbing revelation from the 2000-survey was the “dramatically high level of conflict” that existed in local congregations. This was found to be even slightly higher during the 2010-survey. Almost two out of every three congregations had experienced conflict in one of four key areas in the past five years. In a third of the congregations, the conflict was serious enough that members left or withheld financial support, or a leader left.

The spiritual health of America’s churches is a reflection of the spiritual health of the members who make up those congregations. Hence, the findings of the FACT survey series should serve as a wake-up call to spiritual leaders. The trend suggested by the above indicators is the antithesis of spiritually healthy churches. In turn, they suggest something seriously lacking at the grassroots level in our churches. For in healthy congregations, membership increases over time, not decrease. And as people of faith mature, interpersonal conflict gives way to more peace, not less.

Not all of the news from the survey series was bad, however. According to David A. Roozen, author of the study, research shows that contemporary worship in combination with other innovative practices has resulted in pockets of vitality among churches. FACT's complete report is a free download.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Helping the Poor—A Biblical Perspective

2011-09-27T12:46:00.008-04:00

“Poverty at 15.1%, highest since ’93.” A couple of weeks ago, as I was flying back home and reading the newspaper, this caption on the front page caught my attention. In the article, the writer said, “2.6 million more people moved into poverty, the most since Census began keeping track in 1959.” Obviously, poverty in America is on the rise, not the decline.

One of the concerns I have about this current trend has to do with our current budget crisis, as lawmakers strive to significantly reduce the national debt and control deficit spending. You see, I believe we pay our congressmen and congresswomen very well, especially when you consider what they actually get accomplished. Moreover, many of those in Congress have other means of substantial income.

My take is that when there isn’t enough money to go around, as is the case with our federal budget, those with the money and the power will make decisions first and foremost that benefit those with the money and the power. So, what kind of voice will the poor have at the tables of debate in Washington? Little or none, I believe. From a biblical perspective, helping the poor blesses a nation: “He that gives to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given” (Proverbs 19:17, NKJV).

By and large, the American people are extremely generous. I am always moved by how readily they reach into their pockets and help others when natural disasters strike or when personal tragedy makes the national news. Also, during the Administrations of our current President and of those in the recent past--both Democrats and Republicans--there has been significant funding for social programs within our federal budget.

But now our national debt and deficit spending are so out of control, it can no longer be business as usual. Serious cuts will have to be made to stem the tide. To me, that means defense spending, entitlements, and social programs must undergo serious cuts or modifications on the spending side of the equation. Politically, the smallest of these portions of government spending, the social programs, is the easiest to do away with. The other portions are regarded by one political party or the other in Washington as sacred.

Hope I'm wrong, but I don’t sense that in Washington there exists the heart to make the tough and responsible budgetary choices needing to be made. From my Christian perspective, if Congress fails to make the tough choices that it should, and conveniently makes all cuts at the expense of the poor, this will not bode well for our nation. Based on the verse quoted above, even if the poor don't have a voice in Washington, they have One in heaven.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

True Worship Requires Brotherly Love

2011-09-24T20:50:00.002-04:00

Many of God’s commandments have more to do with how we relate to each other than they do with how we relate to Him. For instance, among the Ten Commandments we find mandates such as “thou shalt not kill,” thou shalt not steal,” and “thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” These commandments speak specifically to our dealings with each other.

A conclusion we may draw from this truth is that we can’t separate our relationship with the God of heaven from how we relate to those whom we see and interact with daily here on earth. Now let’s extend this point to our worship experience. We can’t be reckless in our relationships with our brothers and sisters in the faith and assume that we are engaging in true worship at the house of God. This is because God is holy, and He doesn’t look at our outer appearance, but God looks on the heart.

It should be, but the truth is that it’s not uncommon for worshipers who attend the same local church to come and worship God faithfully each week, while overtly showing dislike for each other. I have actually witnessed this kind of enmity between fellow church members explode into physical fights within the church.

But as part of preparing ourselves to worship God, we must examine our hearts and make sure that we are walking in brotherly love toward others. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift,” Jesus said (Matthew 5:23-24, NIV).

Wow, how many people do you think would really do that? It would draw lots of undesired attention to you if you were to go to the altar, get up from the altar leaving your gift, go to a person whom others know you have offended, make peace with the person, and then return to the altar to worship God with your gift.

Though it may seem radical to us, this teaching from Jesus really drives home an important point. People tend to focus on our religious activity during a worship experience. But in this teaching, Jesus focuses on a secret conversation between us and our heart. And He is saying that if we are serious about true worship, we must be proactive to make amends with our brother and sister when have offended him or her.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Survey: Denominational Affiliations Will Become Less Important

2011-09-20T04:38:00.002-04:00

( Article first published as Survey: Denominational Affiliations Will Become Less Important on Technorati.)

There are at least hundreds of Christian denominations in the United States. One estimate I saw places the number at approximately 1200. Suffice it to say that there are lots of Christian denominations in America. Since we have such a large number of these variations of the Christian faith, relative to what was first delivered to us by way of the Bible, one would assume that church denominations serve practical and necessary functions.

A majority of pastors affiliated with denominational churches believe denominations do serve a vital role. That’s the finding of a survey conducted by LifeWay Research of 900 American Protestant pastors. The findings were published last Tuesday.

Generally speaking, church denominations do serve practical and necessary functions. Some of the disagreements that divergent Christian bodies have with each other are so profound that they can’t function effectively as one Christian body. Same sex marriages and the ordaining of gay pastors, for example, have resulted in serious infighting within some mainline denominations. In such cases, splinter groups from those parent bodies tend to formulate their own movement within Christendom to facilitate the practice of their faith.

Even though the pastors who participated in the abovementioned survey said denominational churches play a vital role, they also said they believe that the importance of denominational affiliations will decrease in the next 10 years. Overall, sixty-two percent said they believe this will be the case. Several factors seem to influence a pastor’s outlook:

Pastors of larger churches are most likely to agree (strongly or somewhat) that the importance of Christian denominations will diminish over the next decade.

Pastor’s with less than a bachelor’s degree are more likely to strongly disagree than pastors with at least a master’s degree that denominational affiliation will lose importance the next decade.

Although the majority of all age groups agree that said importance will decrease, pastors 65 and older constitute the age bracket most likely to strongly disagree.

Though I believe church denominations do serve practical and necessary functions in our diverse and complex society, I also believe church denominations should not be regarded as a silver bullet for all serious infighting within the Christian body. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace,” we have been commanded (Ephesians 4:3, NIV). Hence, when disunity exists within the Christian body, the decision for a divergent group to go its separate way should be viewed as a last resort.

LifeWay’s survey was limited to pastors of denominational churches—did not include pastors of non-denominational churches.

Finding the Purpose of God for Your Life

2011-09-15T23:11:00.005-04:00

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If you don’t, believe me, you are not alone. I know some Christians who have been on a quest for tens of years trying to discover the purpose of God for their lives.

I believe that sometimes, we are just looking too hard. For instance, I was recently reflecting on my own experience in this regard, and I entertained an interesting point. It is that more often than not, we can see evidence of God’s purpose for our life in our natural abilities, if we just pay attention. When I was in grade school, for example, I was very shy. During class, I seldom opened my mouth. But interestingly, whenever my teacher asked me to stand before the class and speak, I took great pride in speaking loudly and clearly, and I felt comfortable doing that. My teacher told me she felt I was destined to be a public speaker of some kind.

Similarly, when I reached the twelfth grade, my English teacher observed that I had strong grammar skills. She often complimented me on that and thought that when I grew up I should be a writer of some kind.

During those years in school, I was not a Christian, and so I never thought about how those God-given abilities my teachers observed in me might be connected to the purpose of God for my life. But now that I have been preaching and writing for over 30 years, I can see the big picture. And I am saying to you that if you don’t know what your ministry gift(s) is, you should pray to God to help you discover it, but also I am saying the answer may be hidden in plain sight. What is it that you seem to have a knack for, and your ability in that area stands out before others? The answer to this question may suggest what your calling is.

Let me make sure you catch the chain of events here. My high school teachers made some predictions or suggestions about my future--years before I became a Christian. You see, I believe that the thinking among many Christians is that God waits until a person becomes a Christian, and then He decides what gifts and abilities He will give the person. The truth is that He saves and calls us “according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9).

Since God determined His purpose for us before the world began, it should not be hard to understand that we can be born with gifts consistent with that purpose. As for me, it was some time after I became a Christian that I discovered God’s purpose for my life. It turns out that the gifts my teachers saw in me as a youth were consistent with what I later discovered was God’s purpose for me. Hopefully, my sharing this will help those of you striving to know God’s purpose for your life.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Quality of Our Work for God

2011-09-11T22:15:00.005-04:00

Have you ever asked yourself this question: “What does God think about the quality of the service I render in His name?” Today, I was at a church preaching on this subject, and I want to share a couple of points with you in this post. The passage I was preaching from was 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, but I will need to limit the scope of what I address here.

According to verse 12, symbolically, our work may be comprised of any of the following products: “gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble.” As you can see, these classifications of products are listed in descending order of quality. Conversely, these classifications of products are listed in ascending order of flammability.

Why is this an important point? Because our “work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work” (1 Corinthians 3:13, NIV)! So all of our works will be tested as if subjected to fire. And the last time I checked, wood and hay and stubble won't survive the heat of a fire.

Let me be quick to say that the context of verses 10 through 15 is that we have built our work on the proper foundation which is Christ, however inferior the material we may be using to build thereupon. Hence, when Christ is our foundation, the judgment that the Lord subjects our work to is not to determine our salvation but our reward. Those who serve the Lord faithfully will be rewarded greatly in heaven. But the unfaithful will have little or no reward in heaven.

The reason I believe the message contained in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 is important is because we have exploited the message of grace to expand its application beyond the boundaries defined by Scripture. My point is that just because we are saved by grace does not mean that Christ ceases to be Lord. We are still accountable to Him for our stewardship. Whatever works we perform in His name should be done in the spirit of excellence. Whether we serve the Lord by preaching the gospel of by greeting the saints as an usher, He deserves nothing less than our very best.

When Christ died on the cross for us, He bought us with His blood. Not that we might serve ourselves but that we might serve Him. As our Lord, we will meet Him one day. And He will make an assessment of our works. Yes, we are saved by grace, but Christ is still Lord.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Called to be Like Christ

2011-09-09T16:02:00.006-04:00

As I pen this post, I am thinking about a particular individual whom I have spoken with several times in the past about attending church and ultimately becoming a Christian. This person doesn’t drink alcohol, he doesn’t attend wild parties, he is faithful to his wife, and he lives a quiet life. Anyway, during our conversations, he proudly talked about his personal life. Then he would talk about some of the less than honorable behavior of churchgoers he has observed in the past.

The point he was making was that he considered himself more righteous than some of the very people who attended church regularly. I will be among the first of those to admit that there are people who have never attended a local church, who don’t claim to be Christians, but who live more morally upright lives than some churchgoers who say they are Christians. That a person strives to live a morally upright life is certainly commendable. It’s good for the neighborhood, good for the work place, and good for society at large.

But when it comes to our relationship with God, we must bear in mind two important considerations:

One is that no Christian is trusting in the merits of his personal life to make it into heaven. The Bible teaches the concept of justification by faith. This means that we get right with God by placing our faith in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. We can’t add anything to what Christ has done. He has paid the total cost of redeeming us. When we truly believe and trust in Christ's work on the cross, God declares us to be a just and blameless person!

Secondly, as far as the Christian life goes, Christ is our example. In 1 Peter 2:21, we find these words: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps.” Hence, we are admonished to be like Christ. Yes, I am saying that we have been justified solely by faith in Christ, but afterward we should devote our lives to being followers of Him.

I find this commandment for us to be Christlike extremely humbling. You see, it’s easy for any of us to single out others who we think we are better than and to boast about it. But they are not the standard; Christ is the standard. And whenever we measure ourselves against the true standard, which is Christ, we will see how badly we miss the the mark. Thank God for His saving grace!

The September 11 Attacks and New Yorkers' Faith in God

2011-09-04T19:31:00.002-04:00

(Article first published as The September 11 Attacks and New Yorkers' Faith in God on Technorati.)

Tragedy in our life tends to draw most of us closer to God, even if only for a short while. So as we approach the anniversary date of the September 11 attacks, here is an interesting question: How has this tragedy affected New Yorkers’ faith in God? The results of a study by the Barna Group, aimed at addressing this question, were released this past Monday.

As for the nation as a whole, immediately following the attacks, an increased number of Americans made their way to places of worship. But based on tracking research by the Barna Group, religious activity returned to normal within a few months.

The observations noted above perfectly agree with what I observed during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, when allied forces invaded Iraq. I was a church pastor during that time. To my surprise, though I was an African American pastor in the inner city with an all black congregation, I received invitations from several predominantly white congregations and from local churches of other denominations inviting us to come together with them to pray for our troops and our nation.

Though we and those local churches normally had no dealings with each other, the Persian Gulf War brought us together. But months later, after Operation Desert Storm was declared over, churches went back to their segregated business as usual.

With the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks approaching, the Barna Group performed new analyses of its tracking data to assess the spiritual profile of New York City and the surrounding areas. Based on the analyses of research conducted over the past 14 years, residents of New York City showed an overall rise in religious participation, but much of this change may not be attributable to the September 11 attacks.

Why? According to David Kinnaman who directed the study, “Most of the change in spiritual behavior seems to have happened since the middle of the last decade. Church participation in the New York market especially has shifted most since 2004.”

My conviction is that tragedy can but oftentimes does not draw people closer to God. In fact, sometimes, tragedy has the opposite effect. The September 11 attacks were the most deadly and horrific acts of terrorism ever committed on American soil. Words can’t come close to describing the horror of that hellish morning. Even ten years later, deep national wounds remain. But according to the study, it is questionable as to whether this painful chapter in our history has had any measureable effect on our nation or New Yorkers’ faith in God.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Where is Our Faith?

2011-08-31T15:24:00.005-04:00

In America, there are so many things in our culture that challenge our efforts to live by faith in God. The prevailing thinking in our world is that man is in total control of his own destiny. We tend to think that no matter what the challenges of our world are, with enough funding for research, we can come up with the solutions.

Of course, we should be proactive in trying to meet the challenges of our world. But as Christians, we must be careful not to get so caught up in this mode of thinking that we fail to look to God and place our faith in Him for answers in our personal life.

“Have faith in God,” Jesus commanded His disciples (Mark 11:22). Moreover, He said, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (verse 24). But how much do we practice this powerful teaching? For almost every problem we have, society bombards our mind with its answers. And I believe that too often, God’s people have conditioned themselves to trust in these solutions rather than trust the applicable promises of God.

For example, I appreciate the medical profession. Like in any other profession there are some real nuts in the medical field, but I believe that most of our medical doctors do what they do because they truly want to help people enjoy the highest level of physical, mental, and emotional health. In my life, I have been attended to by some wonderful medical doctors. But I don’t believe that a new prescription or a visit to the doctor’s office should always be the way we respond to illness. And I don’t believe that every time we get in a financial bind we should panic and borrow money.

There are times when it is appropriate to respond in the ways mentioned above, but let us not leave God on the side lines and become preoccupied with the ways of this world. This will result in a boring Christian life in which we will not experience the wondrous power of our God. He wants opportunity to prove Himself in our lives.

So how do we maintain a vibrant faith in God when we live everyday in a world that is filled with a sense of self-sufficiency? We have to conscientiously live in God’s world daily. For instance, as a preacher, I know that my objective each time I preach and teach the Word of God is to challenge those who listen to get their attention off of this world and more on God. To effectively do that, I first must strive to maintain my focus on God. I do this by studying the Bible daily, praying to God daily, and striving to bring a biblical perspective on my daily actions.

As Christians, we are in this world but not of it. Let’s appreciate the wonderful things God has provided for us in the world, but remember this place is not our home. We don’t think as this world does. Let us, as we have been commanded, “Have faith in God.”

Be Transformed by Renewing Your Mind

2011-08-25T09:50:00.007-04:00

How can a prominent preacher or pastor who thousands follow and millions abroad have come to know end up behaving in immoral ways that most everyday church members would not? This is a question I am sometimes asked. The question has been occasioned by the recent conduct of some prominent Christian leaders. Some of those who raise such question are in effect questioning whether or not such spiritual leaders have a genuine relationship with the Lord. I believe that these occurrences highlight the importance of the need to renew our mind.

The Bible tells us to, “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Paul the apostle was inspired to write these words to the church at Rome. In other words, these words were not directed at the world but to the believers in Christ.

Why is this a significant point? Because though the persons whom Paul was writing to were already Christians, he tells them they need to become transformed by renewing their mind. This point lays the foundation for what I want to address in this post.

The main point is that although we are born again and transformed into a new creation the moment we accept Christ as our Savior, the renewing of our mind is not instantaneous. And just because we have become born again does not mean we don’t have screwed up thinking that needs to be dealt with.

God does not want us to think as the world does. He wants us to have a God-focused view about life. For instance, I sense that many Christians are troubled by the events currently happening in our world: The economy is bad, natural disasters are abounding and more destructive, crimes are becoming more unthinkable, our government is practically dysfunctional, etc.

But as God’s people, our faith should be in Him and not in the systems of this world. His ability to provide for His people is not subject to the state of the economy or anything else. He has given us the Word of God to transform our way of thinking so that we might have this kind of faith-filled perspective.

So what happens if we choose to not make the renewing of our mind a priority? I submit to you that such a decision would have negative impact on our fellowship with God. Think about it. Before we came to Christ, we were living off the junk food of this world: music with objectionable lyrics, pornography, dysfunctional family settings, promiscuity, physical or emotional abuse, etc. If we want to be attuned to God and to be able to sense the leadership of His Spirit in our life, we must get this junk out of our mind and renew our thinking to become one with Him. Again, our main tool for accomplishing this change of mind is the Word of God.

This call to be transformed by the renewing of our mind is not an option but a commandment: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians. 2:5). In effect, this verse is a commandment to allow the mind of Christ to govern our lives. If our having the mind of Christ was incidental to our accepting Christ, the commandment for us to “let this mind be in you” would be a vain point, but this is not the case. If we want to have the mindset of Christ, we must make personal investment into the process.

Reconciling the Message of Grace And Works

2011-08-18T11:29:00.005-04:00

The Bible teaches that “by grace are ye saved through faith” and “not of works” (see Ephesians 2:8-9). What this means is that we don’t get right with God by doing all the right things; rather, we get right with Him by believing on and trusting in what Jesus did on the cross. He died for our sins and paid the cost for our redemption. This truth is sometimes misapplied. That's because some people seem to think this biblical teaching is a license to continue a lifestyle of sin after having accepted Christ. In other words, since we didn’t have to do works to earn our salvation, why does it matter how we live thereafter?

But this kind of thinking misses an important point of the message of the gospel. You see, when we place our trust in Christ’s work on the cross, not only are we saved by grace through faith, but also the Bible says we experience a change of heart because Christ now lives on the inside of us. In Christianity we use terms such as being born again, spiritual rebirth, becoming a new creation, etc. to describe this change of heart. The message in all of these terms is that when a person becomes a Christian his life is changed.

As I write this post, I still remember how miraculously God changed my life thirty years ago when I repented of my sins and believed on what Jesus did on the cross for me. I didn’t do any works to experience this change. I simply believed on the message of the cross in the Bible, and God saved me by His grace. From that very day, I became a new creation.

So what is my point here? Yes, when I accepted Christ as my Savior, my life was miraculously changed. This is true about everyone who becomes a Christian. But I still have not reconciled the message of grace and works. So here goes:

The Bible says, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin” (1 John 3:9, NIV). Now this verse does not mean that Christians don’t sin. All Christians sin at times. But the word “continue” in the aforesaid verse means “to do as with a habit.” In other words, this verse is saying that not one person who has become born again through faith will practice sin afterward.

So even though we get right with God solely by believing that Christ died on the cross for our sins, the idea of exploiting that truth for a license to practice sin thereafter has no place in the mind of a bona fide Christian. Once we place our trust in Christ, we are no longer the same.We have been miraculously changed: “No one who is born of God will continue to sin.”

America, a Nation in Crisis, Needs God’s Help

2011-08-11T11:22:00.004-04:00

Last week, Texas governor Rick Perry held a prayer rally, also known as “The Response” at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event drew much controversy. Some felt it was a case of government-supported religion, specifically, Christianity. Also, there was concern about the reputations of some of the Christian leaders and organizations participating in the event. Being a preacher and a Christian blogger, as opposed to a politician, I don’t want to get bogged down with the identities of these so-labeled controversial persons or groups.

According to Governor Perry and supporters of the rally, America is a nation in crisis, and needs God’s help. Though I am a preacher, I understand why such a prayer rally being called for by a governor, as opposed to religious leaders, would be unsettling to many Americans. First of all, not all Americans believe in God. Then, some see the rally as a violation of the separation of church and state. Generally, Americans do want God in America, but certain areas are off limits to Him such as their government and their personal lives.

I agree with Governor Perry that America is a nation in crisis. Whether America wants God’s help or not, she desperately needs it. Unfortunately, God does not bless a nation on its terms but on His. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord....,” the Bible says (Psalm 33:12). Conversely, the more we move away from God and declare war on His ways, the less blessed we will become as a nation.

As I watched the debt ceiling debate, it became abundantly clear to me that based on the current mix of representatives in our two houses of Congress, our federal government has become dysfunctional. I sense that the international community has grown very doubtful of our ability to handle our business. Moreover, I fear that what we will see in the immediate future is serious gridlock in Washington. Believe me, I hope I am wrong, but there is very little encouragement from what I see.

As the two houses of Congress have assigned their members to the “supercommittee” that’s supposed to come up with the additional cuts as part of the debt ceiling deal that was recently reached, it looks like a perfect recipe for failure to get things done. Again, I hope I am wrong. We need competent and godly men and women in Washington who know how to work together for the good of our country, but even more so, America needs God’s help. So let me close by saying that if we want to see a turn around in our country we need to seriously pray for America to turn to God.

Poll: Women Attendance and Involvement in Church Show Large Decline

2011-08-08T07:29:00.001-04:00

(Article first published as Poll: Women Attendance and Involvement in Church Show Large Decline on Technorati)

I was reading something recently that I found interesting enough to want to share with you. The report, published last week, resulted from an analysis of 20 years of surveys that had been conducted by the Barna Group to profile differences between men and women in matters of their faith. The portion of the article that caught my attention focused on the involvement of women in the local church.

Why the interest? I have served as a church pastor for a period of twelve years, and I have been preaching for 30 years. The churches that I pastored were small (125 members or less), and they were located in the inner city. Without any hesitation, I say that small congregations such as the ones I pastored would have to shut down, if it were not for their women volunteers. By and large, they were the more spiritually passionate members and, hence, they were far more involved in the work of the local church than the men were.

Based on my initial personal experience with Christianity, I think some men are of the opinion that being a strong man is incompatible with being deeply spiritual. That is, some tend to view deeply spiritual men as humble pushovers, but that is not the case. Anyway, based on Barna’s report, the number of women in church and the magnitude of their passion for the Lord have been in decline the past 20 years. For instance, here are some of the findings:

Church attendance among women declined 11% since 1991, down to 44%.
Bible reading declined 10%, now down to 40%.
Church volunteer activity among women declined 9%.
The percentage of women who had become unchurched (had not attended a church worship service in at least 6 months) rose by a whopping 17%.

This noted reduction in church attendance and involvement by women is not being compensated for by an increase in the men’s involvement and attendance. As I stated at the beginning, Barna’s report addressed both men and women’s involvement in the church. Similarly, the men showed declines in all areas mentioned above for the women.

Interestingly, during the past twenty years addressed in Barna’s report, it has become increasingly acceptable for women to be ordained as preachers and to serve as church pastors in some denominations. Even with this increase in more visible roles for some women in the church, their attendance and involvement at large have declined greatly during the same period.

How to Pray to God about Your Daily Plans

2011-08-02T10:12:00.004-04:00

How do you start your day? Do you make God a part of your daily plans? Pause, before you answer. You see, I don’t mean simply going through the motions but actually inviting God to be a part of your plans for each day. “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths,” the Bible says (Proverbs 3:6).

Some people think, though wrongly, that when they pray to God and tell Him what their intentions are that they have acknowledged Him, in accordance with the aforementioned verse. In reality what many of them are doing is they are telling God what their plans are, and they assume He will rubber- stamp their plans.

But when we truly acknowledge God, we examine our motives relative to what we know His Word says about the subject at hand. Moreover, we earnestly seek to know His will relative to our intentions, and we are willing to make adjustments to our plans as required to make them compliant with His will. When we approach prayer that way, the dynamics of our talk with God are totally different.

The main point I want to make is that when we pray to God about our plans, we should do so because we desire His involvement. The verse I quoted above says that when we acknowledge God, He will direct our paths. So the question is, how does God direct us? It is highly unlikely that He will do so by giving us some clear, audible instructions on what to do. No, a map of our divinely appointed path is not going to fall from the sky.

The truth is, we have to trust God on this one. For instance, when I get up in the morning and pray and discuss my plans for the day with God, I have to examine my heart’s intent relative to His will. When I know the two are one, I am confident that God will be a part of my decision-making. I also am confident that He will direct my paths. I may feel as though I am doing everything on my own, but that’s because God makes Himself one with me when I make it a habit of acknowledging Him in all that I do!

If this concept is something new to you, you won’t be an expert at it in the beginning. But the more you develop this discipline, the more attune to God you will become. You will grow in your ability to hear His quiet voice speaking to you about your plans and your life. Most importantly, you will make better choices in life because God is part of your daily plans.

If Breivik is a Christian, Then What is a Christian?

2011-07-29T13:28:00.003-04:00

(Article first published as If Breivik is a Christian, Then What is a Christian? on Technorati)

Reportedly, Norway bombing and mass murder suspect, Anders Behring Breivik, considers himself to be a Christian. “At the age of 15, I chose to be baptized [sic] and confirmed in the Norwegian State Church,” he wrote in his manifesto, which he posted on the Internet, according to a report by the Huffington Post. “I consider myself to be 100 percent Christian.” But I submit to you that based on Breivik’s actions, he is not a Christian. This is just another case of loosely using the term Christian.

So what is a Christian? First of all, just because someone identifies with certain teachings of the Christian faith does not make him or her a Christian. Just because someone goes through some Christian rites does not make him a Christian. Just because a person attends a Christian church each Sunday does not make him a Christian. So then what makes one a bonafide Christian? The only reliable source we have for answering this question is the Bible. And of course, there are numerous legitimate ways to respond to the question, what is a Christian.

But here is one thing that the Bible says is true about all Christians: “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9).

So why I am so sure that Breivik is not a Christian? Because of the senseless mass murders he is accused of having committed and that he has admitted to doing in Norway last week. Now I know that Christians aren’t perfect. In fact, they are far from being so. Yes, I believe there are genuine Christians who do evil things. But no one--absolutely no one-- who has the Spirit of Christ on the inside of himself goes about mass murdering innocent children. The Spirit of Christ is love, and what happened in Oslo and on Utoya Island on that dark day is as far from a spirit of love as one can get.

I suppose there will always be those who take certain teachings, ideals, or precepts from the Christian faith, interpret them through their perverted thinking, and allow the result to be the fuel that drives their extremist life. No one can prevent that from happening within Christendom or any other religion. But that does not place such oddballs on the same level with genuine members of the faith.

How to Find a Christian Mate

2011-07-25T22:51:00.006-04:00

This post is not intended to be a detailed recipe for how to find a Christian mate. That would be way beyond the scope of a blog post. But I do want to offer some advice and words of encouragement in this area. Why? Because I often hear Christian women express their lifelong agony of trying to find a godly mate. “All of the good men are already taken,” I hear some of the Christian women say.

As you can see from the title of this post, I am emphasizing a Christian mate. As a Christian, you have a much better chance of living a life that pleases the Lord while you are dating if your mate is also a Christian. That’s because each of you is more likely to value the other person’s commitment to trying to live a godly life. When you are single, it is a struggle in the flesh to spend time alone with someone whom you love and still try to behave yourself before the Lord, if you know what I mean.

Here is the main point I want to make in this post: In your efforts to find a godly mate, don’t preoccupy yourself with finding a godly mate; rather, make serving God your priority. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” Jesus told His disciples (Matthew 6:33). He was explaining to them that they should not dwell on their temporal needs. Rather, they should focus on pleasing God, and He will supply their needs. That principle also works for a person interested in Christian dating. In light of this principle, let me share a couple of important subpoints:

When you pray to God for a godly mate, and make the kingdom of God your priority, you don’t have to spend your every minute looking for that special someone. The truth is, God can hook you up with the person He has for you by bringing the two of you together to empty trash at the dumpster in the apartment complex! Perhaps you say I could have come up with something better than that, and it’s true. But my point is that God can answer your prayer for a Christian mate while you are going through your daily routine.

God can fix any apparent shortage of godly mates. For instance, there are many more Christian single women than Christian single men. But God’s hand is not tied by that reality. He can save and totally change someone just for you. When my wife and I started dating, I was not a Christian and neither was she. One thing in her favor was that she did attend church weekly, which I did not. Anyway, she prayed for me and with time God saved me, and called me to preach the gospel, which I have been doing the past 30 years. That’s the awesome God we serve.

If you are looking for a godly mate, I hope you find some encouragement in what I have said. If this post does not apply to you, perhaps you know someone you can e-mail this to and who would benefit from this content. In summary, pray to God for a Christian mate, make serving Him your priority, and trust Him to give you the desire of your heart.

What is the Role of the Local Church?

2011-07-22T11:04:00.000-04:00

(Article first published as What is the Role of the Local Church? on Technorati)

Most Americans still have a positive view of the local church. Still I say because, recently, some bodies of local churches and some high profile religious leaders have cast an unfavorable light on the local church. According to the results of a study released last week by the Barna Group, 53% view the presence of a local church in the community as very positive, and 25% view it as somewhat positive. But what is the role of the local church in the community?

When asked, “What does your community need, if anything, that you feel churches could provide?” the largest percentage of respondents said “addressing poverty.” This includes helping the needy, feeding the hungry, helping the homeless, providing homeless shelter, etc. The breakdown of the results is as follows: all adults, 29%; the churched, 31%; the unchurched, 25%. The latter group comprises those who had not attended a church in at least six months.

Note that the person’s answer was to be based on what he perceived as a need in his community. I believe that our current economic condition has bearing on the large percentage of those who gave the above answer as their response. Communities tend to look to the local church to do more in the area of helping the impoverished during tough economic times.

Ironically, in the survey, considerably fewer people chose “doing ministry” as a need in the community the church could satisfy. This includes teaching the Bible, teaching about Jesus and salvation, and providing spiritual guidance. The breakdown is as follows: all adults, 12%; the churched, 18%; the unchurched, 6%. Was I surprised by this result? Yes, because church ministries give the local church its distinction. There are other agencies in place that can serve the community by providing the other services needed.

So how do we reconcile this apparent disconnect? That is, the church’s priority should be that of doing ministry, but the need the largest percentage of people would prefer that the church provide is that of addressing poverty. Really, these two roles are compatible. Jesus taught that we should care for the needy and the disenfranchised. Moreover, with our federal and state governments forced to tighten their budget belts, I believe that increasingly more people will look to the church for help. And I might add that some local churches do a great job in this area already. But the primary role of the local church must always be that of doing ministry as mentioned above.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Have Childlike Faith

2011-07-17T22:09:00.005-04:00

Earlier today, I was preaching at one of our local churches. At the end of the service and as everyone was leaving, a lady walked up front to me and asked, “How do you get childlike faith?” I was somewhat taken aback by her question because that’s not what I had been preaching on today. On the other hand, Jesus said, “Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). So the lady’s question was certainly relevant.

I am sure that she is not the only one who has asked that question so I decided to address it in this post. Mainly, I told her that it’s rather ironic, but we must first grow up to become as little children. Let me explain. You see, when a person first becomes a Christian, he knows very little about how to exercise faith in God. Not knowing what to do, he does what he knows.

When I first became a Christian, for instance, I studied the Bible, scrutinizing every Word. Not because I was trying to find something wrong with the Bible, but it was because I was an engineer, and engineers are known to be sticklers for detail. As I studied the Bible, I subjected what I read to human logic, and I always adding one plus one to see if I got two. With time, I learned that what God says does not always jibe with logic, and sometimes when you add one plus one you will not get two for the answer. This realization was a sign that I was growing as a Christian, and in the process, I was developing childlike faith.

Childlike faith requires that I understand what the Bible is saying to me, but it does not require that I understand how God will fulfill His promises. To illustrate this point, let’s say you have a three-year-old son, and also that you have been laid off from work the past six months. Now your son’s birthday is coming up next month. So you ask him what he wants for his birthday, and he tells you. You don’t know how you will, but you promise him that you will get it for him. Your son is ecstatic because you have promised him that you will get him that prized gift.

He does not consider that you don’t go to work like you used to. He understands what you promised, but he does not understand how you will fulfill the promise. He doesn’t try to. He has a simple faith in you that you will do whatever it is that you have promised. It’s the same kind of childlike faith that we must have in God. We are not born with that kind of simple faith in Him. It is not incidental to our relationship with Him. Rather, we must first grow up to become like little children before we can have strong but simple faith in God.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Let's Not Forget the Great Commission

2011-07-15T11:06:00.003-04:00

During the past several weeks at the local church I attend, we have been focusing on the business of sharing our faith with others. In particular, we have been studying the basic beliefs of many of the non-Christian groups out there, with soul-winning being the objective.

The real driver here is what we refer to as the Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:18-20: “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

As we have been undergoing these studies, I thought about the last church I pastored. We used to go into the neighborhoods, knocking on doors and sharing the gospel about ten times a year. This was very new for most of the members of the congregation. So after each outing, we reconvened to discuss what problems they had run into, and how to deal with them the next time. The most recurrent problem was that when church members came in contact with members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses they had no idea of what to do.

After several times of going out, it became clear to me we had to suspend our outreach efforts and do some homework, which we did by studying what the Jehovah’s Witnesses believed and doing some role-playing. Our success in dealing with members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses greatly improved after this. Our members knew who they were dealing with and were more confident at effectively share their faith with this group.

Another problem we encountered while sharing our faith in the community was that of trying to convince residents that we were Christians and not members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This was a sad reality for me. The truth is that for seven years while my congregation was involved in going out and witnessing to others, we never bumped into another Christian body doing the same thing. I am not saying there were no others. I am simply saying that in seven years we didn’t see any others.

We saw the Jehovah’s Witnesses out there. We saw the Mormons out there. But other Christian bodies we did not see. And because we had no presence in the community, even with our wearing church identification, we had to convince many of the residents that we were not members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses!

So what is my point here? It is not that every Christian body needs to go out into its neighborhood and knock on doors, sharing the gospel. No, the truth is that in many communities this is not even allowed. But my point is that we must realize that when we are not spreading our message of the good news, others are out there spreading their message. Most of us can’t go in other parts of the world, spreading the gospel, but all of us can become a part of obeying the Great Commission right where we are.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

What We Believe About the Bible

2011-07-11T15:26:00.001-04:00

(Article first published as What We Believe About the Bible on Technorati)

According to a recent Gallup poll, the dominant view of Americans is that the Bible is the Word of God. But what does that mean? Well, it’s according to whom you ask. According to the poll results released last week, there are three general beliefs about the Bible among Americans. One is that the Bible should be taken literally because it is the actual Word of God. Another is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and should not be taken literally. Others believe the Bible is an ancient book of stories written by men and have no divine inspiration.

The poll results show that three in ten Americans take the Bible literally. Forty-nine percent say the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Seventeen percent regard the Bible as no more than an ordinary, ancient book. These percentages have remained rather stable over the past 20 years. Since 1992, for instance, the percentages of those who take the Bible literally have ranged from 27 to 32 percent. During the same period, the percentages of those who regard the Bible as the inspired Word of God ranged from 47 to 51 percent.

Though most Americans believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, certain subgroups are more likely to take the Bible literally, such as the majority of those who attend church at least weekly, and those with a high school education or less. Also, conservatives are much more likely than moderates and liberals to believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, according to the Gallup poll.

What we believe about the Bible influences our behavior and our views about life. For instance, those who believe the Bible is literally the Word of God are more likely to oppose abortion rights and same sex marriage, etc. This is based on what they understand that the Bible teaches on these socials issues. We see this dynamic currently being played out between liberals and conservatives in the political arena. Moreover, when a person believes that the Bible is literally the Word of God, he places the teachings of the Scriptures above the laws of men.

On the other hand, those who regard the Bible as the inspired Word of God take a more subjective position on the Bible. They may buy the biblical concepts but not the actual language found in the Scriptures. The person you meet with more liberal, moderate, or flexible social views is more likely to belong to this group.

At least one thing is clear from the latest Gallup poll. It is that through the Bible God still speaks in America, but we are not all walking away with the same message.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Why Our Salvation is Sure

2011-07-08T07:24:00.003-04:00

“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved,” the Bible says (Romans 10:9, NIV). This is a very familiar verse within Christendom. Every week, people throughout the breadth of this land accept Christ as their Savior by obeying what this verse says.

So here is an interesting question: How do I know that in the end I won’t be ashamed? In other words, how do I know that the naysayers are wrong who try and tell me that my faith in Christ is in vain because all men simply live for awhile, die, and then go back to the dust, end of story? Or how can I be sure that the day I accepted Christ as my Savior that God actually granted me salvation, since He didn’t give me any sign of confirmation?

Well, for me, that’s an easy one. You see, the Bible says that “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed” (v.11, KJV).

In other words, we have a sure salvation. Let me give you several reasons why that is the case. First and foremost, we are not saved by our works. If our deeds were the means by which we are saved, it would be hopeless for us all. None of us can do enough good to merit the Lord’s salvation. But we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). That means when we place our faith in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, as opposed to our own works, God grants us salvation.

Secondly, God is not trying to make it hard for men to be saved. Rather, He is the one who took extreme measures to provide a means for us to be saved when we were hopelessly lost, remember? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Hence, God is an advocate for our salvation.

Thirdly, we have a sure salvation because God cannot lie (see Titus 1:2). Note, I did not say God will not lie. The referenced verse says He cannot lie. Hear what I am saying. If God has provided a means for our salvation-- which He has; and if He has provided a prescription for salvation--which He has; and if we have truly obeyed His instructions, it’s not possible for Him to renege on His promise.

I wrote this post particularly for those of you who have repented of your sins and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, but you still wrestle with uncertainty about your salvation. May the Lord grant you perfect peace in this area. Remember, “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.”

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Sexual Misconduct a Serious Problem for Elected Officials

2011-07-04T10:53:00.001-04:00

(Article first published as Sexual Misconduct a Serious Problem for Elected Officials on Technorati.)

When elected officials make the news in a bad way, sexual or financial misconduct usually turns out to be the problem. Following former Congressman Anthony Weiner’s resignation announcement, revolving around tweeted explicit photos, Americans were polled regarding their views on sexual and financial misconduct among elected officials. The survey, conducted by Public Religion Research Institute, was released nearly two weeks ago, coincidentally, amidst a new Congressional Ethics Panel investigation of sexual harassment by Congressman Alcee Hastings of Florida.

According to the survey, the percentages of Americans who regard the following offenses as very or extremely serious are as follows:

• Sending sexually explicit messages to someone other than one’s spouse (67%)

• Having sex with a prostitute (66%)

• Cheating on a spouse by a male elected official (72%)

• Cheating on a spouse by a female elected official (69%)

An interesting note about the first two bullets is that the percentages are almost identical. This suggests that the majority of Americans do not make a distinction between virtual sexual misconduct and physical sexual misconduct. Actually, I find it hard to believe that so many Americans see it that way. On the other hand, I welcome that suggestion because when a man or woman sends sexually explicit messages and photos to someone other than his or her spouse, it is certainly an act of infidelity, and unless better judgment prevails to stop it, worse behavior will follow.

We don’t require a vow of sainthood from our elected officials. They are fallible just as everyone else is. But according to the survey, sixty-one percent of Americans say that elected officials should be held to higher moral standards than people in other professions. Those who desire public office do well to take heed. It does not matter how capable elected officials may be in performing their duties, and even though their moral standards are not exactly trumpeted during their political campaign, moral conduct does go with the territory.

When Weiner’s alleged tweets became national news, he first denied the allegations and vowed to not resign. He really thought he could swim against the tide. In the end, it was no contest—he had to resign. As for the survey, 60 percent of women and 52 percent of men say that an elected official should resign if he or she sends sexually explicit messages to someone who is not his or her spouse. So, public office, anyone?

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Pray for Your Family

2011-07-01T01:57:00.006-04:00

Even in these turbulent times, you can have a strong family. One of the vital ingredients to your achieving this end is that of faithfully praying for your family. That’s because you will need God’s help daily. In this post, I want to share with you some pointers on how to pray for your family. Specifically, I will address three vital areas:

Pray for God to help you and your children make sound decisions. There is something about the way we are wired that makes this area a serious challenge. “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death,” the Bible says (Proverbs 14:12). Sometimes, we may wonder why people make obviously dumb decisions. This verse tells us that things can look right to us at first but end up being a disaster.

One bad decision can cost you for a lifetime. As parents we need to pray to God to guide the minds of our children so they can make sound decisions. Of course, the best decision they can make is to accept Christ as their Savior, if they have not already done so. We also need to pray that God will help us in our decision-making. For the verse above applies to all of us. In a nutshell, it says that we have this amazing ability to be deceived by the appearance of things.

Pray to God for success in the area of marriage. A strong marriage is vital to a strong family. But for every marriage, there is at least a one in two chance that it will end in divorce. I think it’s safe to say that most couples who get married don’t want to become a part of this terrible statistic. The truth is that people are so hard to figure out. A relationship that appears to be a dream come true can turn out to be your worst nightmare.

So how do you pray for your family in this area? You should pray often for God to bring the right godly person into the lives of your sons and daughters. For those who are already married, pray that God will bless the marriage to be strong and to last a lifetime. And for those family members whose marriages are already troubled, pray that God will miraculously heal those relationships.

Pray for God’s daily protection. Being the father of six children, believe me when I say you need to pray for your children daily. Let us not be naïve about what we are up against. We have an enemy out there, namely, the devil. He hates you and your children: “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He wants to destroy your marriage, your children, your relationship with God, and everything else you value.

That’s why, friend, we must keep our family covered with prayer. Bless your children in the name of the Lord. Call the names of your family members before the Lord, and ask Him to give His angels charge to keep them in all their ways.

Hopefully, from what I have written you get the gist of how to pray for your family. Of course, the premise of this post is that you believe God hears and answers prayer when His people pray in faith. I pray for my household daily, and I can tell you that regularly praying for your family really works.

Evangelicals' Influence on America Declining?

2011-06-27T00:21:00.006-04:00

According to a new poll released last Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, evangelical leaders perceive that evangelicals are losing their influence on America. The poll was the result of researchers having surveyed more than 2000 leaders who had been invited to attend the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa, last year. In fact, 82 percent of the leaders said they believed that their impact on society was declining.

Those leaders named the following as some contributing reasons: An increasingly pluralistic and secular nation, and the church’s desire for political power and influence.

I too believe that the societal impact of evangelicals is declining in America. I also agree that the reasons cited above by the leaders surveyed are challenges to our impact on society. But to me, the overarching problem for evangelicals and for the Christian church at large is that we are losing our God-given identity. For instance, Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). This tells me that we should not be looking to this world for direction, but that it should be the other way around.

However, the only way we can have the influence on America that we should be having is that we become the church that the Lord has called us to be. For instance, as I watch some of the current presidential candidates courting evangelicals, I am getting a little uncomfortable. It appears to me that a growing number of evangelicals are getting too cozy with politicians.

I submit to you that the church can never make the impact on society through political means that she can through being about the Father’s business. I understand that politics are important, and that we want godly leaders in politics, but we must never become more passionate about our political agenda than we are about the Father’s business. For the church, the former should pale in comparison to the latter.

The line between the church and the world is becoming so blurred that it’s getting hard for me to tell the difference. I believe that in order for us to realize the societal impact on America that we should be making, we must do an about-face and get serious about the Father’s business.

We have not been called to take our cue from the secular community; we have not been called to bog ourselves in the political process to the extent that we lose our prophetic voice in the earth. Rather, we have been called to be the light of this dark world, showing men the Way.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Southern Baptists Make History by Electing Black Pastor to No. 2 Post

2011-06-22T12:58:00.003-04:00

(Article First Published as Southern Baptists Make History by Electing Black Pastor to No. 2 Post on Technorati)

Last week, members of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) elected African American pastor Fred Luter as its vice president. Luter is the pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. Ironically, the split among Baptists that lead to the SBC’s formation in 1945 was rooted in race and slavery. It was not until 1989 that the convention declared racism as a sin. In 1995, the denomination issued an apology to blacks for slavery.

Luter’s recent election to vice president comes at a time when the SBC seeks to diversify its leadership and congregations against the backdrop of declines in overall membership and church attendance. According to statistics released last month from Lifeway Christian Resources, the SBC’s publishing arm, baptisms in the denomination declined nearly 5 percent in 2010 over 2009. Membership also declined.

So was Pastor Luter’s election to vice president more driven by attempts on the part of SBC’s leaders to stem the current decline in the denomination’s membership than by their desire to place the best person in the position? I don’t think so. Pastor Luter was prominent in the denomination prior to any declines in growth occurred. In the same year that the denomination apologized to blacks for slavery, for example, Luter was elected as second vice president of the SBC, and that was in 1995. Under his leadership, his congregation has grown from 65 worshippers to a membership of over 7000 worshippers.

The truth is that diversity is not an option in Christian churches; rather, it is the mandate. Jesus died for all mankind, and He commands us to reach out to all whom He has died for. Though in the past, many SBC congregations excluded blacks, there is now an increasing openness to the same. Kudos to the SBC, in this regard.

The SBC is not the only mainstream denomination that is seeing a drop in membership. But its leaders do see their conscientious efforts to be more inclusive of blacks and other ethnicities as necessary if the denomination is to remain vibrant in the future. I wholeheartedly agree. That was God’s plan from the very beginning.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Keys to Understanding the Bible

2011-06-19T23:11:00.008-04:00

During the early part of my ministry as a pastor, at times I would ask my children if they understood what I had preached for the day. All of them immediately answered “no.” At first, I thought they were kidding. I just knew I made it plain enough for them to understand. But they were serious; they understood very little of what I was saying. I realized I needed to work harder at making my message clearer.

Of course, my children are not alone. Many churchgoers today struggle with understanding the Bible. My observation is that many believers know a lot about what the Bible says but much less about what it means. This is a problem because no one will be passionate about reading and studying something she can’t understand. What I want to do in this post is to give some biblically based pointers that will make the time you study the Bible more rewarding.

After Jesus had finished teaching His famous parable of the seed and the sower, He further expanded on the subject of the ministry of the Word. Based on His exposition, I present the following:

We can understand the Bible. “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open,” Jesus said (Mark 4:22, NIV). In other words, it is the will of God for all of the mysteries of the Bible to be made known. Think about it. Why would God give us the Bible as light for our life, but make it so hard to understand that we can’t draw the light from it? If we believe that our understanding the Bible is impossible, then there is no need for us to study the Bible.

The more attention we give to understanding the Bible, the more understanding God gives us. “Carefully consider what you hear,” Jesus continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (verse 24). All other things being equal, God grants us understanding proportionate to the attention we give to what we hear. When we attend church and when we study the Bible at home, we should give God our undivided attention. The more committed we are to hearing, the greater measure of understanding God will give us.

Our heart is the vital key. Jesus talks about how a farmer plants seeds, “Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how” (verse 27). You see, when we hear the Word of God, and we study the Bible, we may feel that we are not making progress in our understanding the Bible, but just like the farmer, as we sleep and rise each day, something is happening below the surface. This is a mystery but it’s true.

In the parable of the seed and the sower, the earth represents our heart. When we strive to keep our heart right with God, this makes our heart good ground for the Word of God. And the bottom line is that whenever you plant a good seed (the Word of God) into good ground (a righteous heart), a good yield (understanding, Christlikeness) will be the result—always.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

(Note: One of my readers wrote an article which provide 30 links to some helpful Bible study aids, and asked if I would make mention of it. Click here to visit the article.)

Challenges to Modern Day Fatherhood

2011-06-14T04:54:00.001-04:00

(Article first published as Challenges to Modern Day Fatherhood on Technorati.)

Parenting is no easy task. And since we celebrate Father’s Day in a few days, relative to the date of this post, I will limit my parenting discussion to the male parent. Also, being a father myself, I feel more qualified to speak on fatherhood. My wife and I had the opportunity (and the challenge) to raise six children of our own. In this post, I want to share what I see as some challenges to modern day fatherhood:

The economy. Of course, we are all affected by the current state of our economy. This subject will certainly be front and center among debates during the 2012 presidential election campaign. According to a report this month from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate remained essentially the same at 9.1 percent for the month of May 2011. For fathers, it’s not just about a job. But they feel less than whole when they can’t properly provide for their families because that’s what every responsible father understands he is supposed to do—take good care of his family. I know; it’s a man-thing. Unfortunately, the current economic forecast is not very good for the foreseeable future.

Afghanistan and Iraq. As we celebrate Father’s Day this weekend, tens of thousands of our fathers will be a long ways from home, fighting the wars. Many of these brave men (and women, but again, I am addressing fatherhood) have had prolonged deployments or multiple tours on enemy territory. Some estimate our spending to be at $2 billion a week to fund the wars, which is insane, since we don’t have the money. But there are other intangible costs as well, such as the ones associated with modern day fatherhood. Imagine the vacuum being created in the area of mentoring for the thousands of teenage sons back home. To me, that spells trouble down the road. I submit to you that the ultimate costs of these wars are yet to be determined.

The social tide. I stand in awe of the strength of the current social tide, powered by social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., and the craze associated with smart phones, iphones, and everything else out there that consumes an excessive amount of our time. I am convinced that there is no way for us to stem this tide. What we need is to make sure that our families are spiritually anchored so they won’t be swept away in the process. God gives that responsibility to mom and dad. But since we are talking about Father’s Day, here is a verse that speaks specifically to dads: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Given the current fabric of our society, responding to this call to spiritual leadership in the home is becoming increasingly more difficult.

All right, Dads, take a deep breath and relax. The above challenges may make successful modern day fatherhood seem impossible, but with the help of our Father in heaven we can be effective fathers on earth.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Poll: Over Ninety Percent of Americans Still Believe in God

2011-06-09T17:25:00.000-04:00

(Article first published as: Poll: Over Ninety Percent of Americans Still Believe in God on Technorati)

According to the results of a Gallup poll published last Friday, 9 in 10 Americans say “yes” when asked the basic question “Do you believe in God?” These findings were based on a survey conducted 5-8 May 2011. Though significant changes have occurred in the fabric of our society over the past 6-1/2 decades, our belief in God, based on responses to the aforementioned basic question, has remained relatively stable.

Of course, in polls such as these, the results can be significantly influenced by the way the question is asked. For instance, in the same survey, a slightly different question was also asked: “Do you believe in God or a universal spirit?” This question introduces an alternative idea of deity. This question was made a part of the survey beginning in 1976. The percentage of those answering “yes” to this question remained fairly constant at 94% through 1994, and was at 91% in the May 2011 version of the survey.

But the percentage of Americans who believe in God drops as other options are introduced. For instance, here is one of the questions in the recent survey: “Which of the following statements comes closest to your belief about God—you believe in God, you don’t believe in God, but you do believe in a universal spirit or higher power, or you don’t believe in either?” This question is a far cry from the basic question “Do you believe in God?” The result is that when Americans are given the option to express doubts about their belief in God, the percentage of them who still say they believe in God drops to the 70% to 80% range, according to the survey.

Based on the results of the survey, not all Americans who say they believe in God are certain about their belief in God. Moreover, nothing in the survey is aimed at defining “God.” According to Gallup, 1 in 10 Americans say they have no formal religious identity. So who or what influences their concept of God? For some Americans, their idea of God may be in the form of an inanimate object. Hence, based on the Gallup poll, most Americans still believe in God, but for some or many of them, we might be surprised to find out who or what their god is.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

We Can Do All Things Through Christ

2011-06-06T00:54:00.004-04:00

In Philippians 4:13, we find these words: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” Of course, Paul the apostle was speaking specifically about himself, but the same applies to us as well. This verse reveals that when Christ is the means (“through Christ”) through which we operate, and when He is the source of our strength (“Christ which strengthens us”), we can do all things. But what exactly does that mean?

Some years ago, I was talking to a fellow Christian. At the time, he was working a full-time job, and three part-time jobs—simultaneously. His work hours were crazy. Every time I brought up the subject of his killer work schedule, he would quote Philippians 4:13 as the justification for working the way he was. That incident underscores the issue I have with how some Christians apply this verse. They use it to justify what it is they want to do. After all, the verse does refer to all things, which denotes that nothing is excluded. I believe this is a serious misapplication of the verse.

Let me take this a step further. Since I am a preacher also, I will pick on us. Sometimes we are guilty of expanding our ministry work simply to justify new building projects or to feed our ego or to compete with other ministries, etc. It may sound very spiritual to parrot the cliché that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” but God may have nothing to do with what is being done. I believe this scenario happens in ministry today quite often.

The point I am trying to make is that the premise of the aforementioned verse is that God must be the one who is driving the agenda for our life and not us. But how can we know that? God has given us the Bible and the Holy Spirit so we can assure ourselves that we are living according to His will for our life. This does not mean that when we live according to His will for us that life will be all good. Paul the apostle was an excellent example. His only desire in life was to please the Lord Jesus Christ, but he faced much adversity.

But, my friend, that’s exactly the point. Paul died to himself so he could live unto Christ. His life and the places he went to spread the gospel were driven by the will of God for his life. Accordingly, he could boast that whatever challenges he met along the way, he would prevail in all things through Christ who was the source of his strength. When our life is consistent with the will of God, we can have the same bold confession that Paul the apostle did. Outside of God’s will, we can make no such claim.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Bible Makes Us Wiser

2011-06-01T23:54:00.004-04:00

Are you a student of the Bible? I sure am. Over 30 years ago, I began studying the Bible. Since that time, it has been a vital part of my life. The Bible is loaded with wisdom, which has benefitted me in at least two very powerful ways. One, the Bible is the source of content for my preaching ministry. After 30 years of pastoring and preaching, I feel as if I have only scratched the surface of preaching on what there is to share out of the Bible. Secondly, the Bible is loaded with wisdom for my and your personal life.

In Psalm 119, the writer expresses his love for the Word of God, and he gives several levels on which the Bible imparts wisdom to us. “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me” (Psalm 119:98, NIV). The point here is that even when we try to love everybody, there will be those who make us their enemy. Unfortunately, that's a given. But God has blessed us with the Bible so we have wisdom to deal with those who would oppose and persecute us. If we allow it to, His Word will order our steps and actions so we can prevail in adversarial environments.

Secondly, “I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes,” the psalmist says (verse 99). Note that he attributes his superior insight to his meditation on the Scriptures. You see, as we spend time studying and meditating on the Scriptures, our views and our ways of thinking will be challenged and radically changed over time. The resulting insight will be far superior to the natural perspective we started out with.

Finally, the psalmist says, “I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts” (v. 100). Now the elders during the psalmist’s day were leaders among the people. They were men of good report and understanding. But the psalmist says he obtained understanding that exceeded that of the elders through his obedience to God’s Word. It should not seem strange to us that God imparts more understanding to those who walk in obedience to His Word.

So the psalmist reveals three awesome personal benefits we can get from the Bible: wisdom, insight, and understanding. What will these do for us? They enable us to make better decisions in our personal life. That’s important because sometimes a person can make one bad decision that he ends up paying for an entire lifetime. Hence, a commitment to regularly studying and meditating on the Word of God should interest us because it increases our quality of life through better decision-making.

During my days as a pastor, I did my share of counseling troubled teens and troubled marriages. Moreover, my wife and I were blessed to have six children. My trustworthy guide through those many years of counseling and parenting has been the wisdom and insights found in the Bible. What a priceless treasure God has given us! So let us dig in and be blessed.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Memorial Day Underscores the Cost of Freedom

2011-05-30T00:08:00.005-04:00

Today, as we enjoy Memorial Day, let us not forget to conscientiously remember those who while serving our country, died in war. Through their sacrifice, we in America enjoy the many freedoms we currently do. Let me be quick to add that I hereby acknowledge that not all military actions have been specifically aimed at defending our freedoms, but it is to this specific cause I speak in this post.

War is not something we glory in. It’s not a mandate from God. Rather, it is one of the consequences of the fall of man, occasioned by Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. For at that time, sin entered the world. One of the ways this sin manifests itself is through a lack of peace among the nations on earth. Accordingly, there are those in other parts of the world who are determined to take away the freedoms we enjoy in America, no matter what the costs to do so.

But we are even more determined to defend the freedoms we have. Many of our brave men and women of war have paid for the defense of our freedoms through their own priceless blood. You know the Bible says, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). One might argue that not all of those who died while serving in our armed forces entered the military with the intent of laying down their lives for others. Though that is true, all of them understood that their death was a real possibility.

For those who died in the defense of our freedoms, their lives have not been in vain because we are still “the land of the free.”

I know we will be enjoying Memorial Day by doing things such as having family gatherings, hanging out at the beach, being lazy around the house, whatever. I will be doing some of that as well. This is what freedom feels like. And I truly thank God for the liberties that we enjoy as a nation. But let us not forget the high cost of defending these freedoms. It has not been procured by money, but by the blood, sweat, and tears of the brave. And so, let us conscientiously reflect on and honor the selfless service of our men and women of war who have passed on. And let us pray for the safety of those who currently serve in our military that God will protect them and bring those who are abroad home safely.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Eddie Long Allegations--Case Resolved; A Cloud Remains

2011-05-27T22:02:00.011-04:00

The lawsuits brought by four men who accused megachurch Pastor Eddie Long of sexual misconduct will not go forward. The civil cases have been resolved out of court with all parties declining to discuss the details. The agreement reached this week brings to a quiet close what would have been, at the least, a humiliating experience for Pastor Long. The four men alleged that he abused his spiritual authority and coerced them into sexual relations when they were teens and affiliated with his ministry.

Pastor Long has denied the allegations all along, and vowed to fight them.

At least two thoughts come to my mind regarding the settlement out of court. For the first one, let’s assume that all of the plaintiffs and the defendant are bona fide Christians. In that scenario, the words found in 1 Corinthians 6:5b-6 apply: “Is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.” Though some Christians today may be unwilling to receive this biblical advice, it says that two Christians who have a matter to settle between themselves can do so within a circle of believers and outside the courts. That's not to suggest that only believers were involved in this mediation process, but I am simply saying that the approach taken to resolve the Eddie Long allegations is not what concerns me.

Rather, in this case involving Pastor Long, I believe there is something that speaks even more loudly than the passage above. It is found in Proverbs 22:1. It says, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches….” As the pastor of a megachurch that once boasted a membership of 25,000, having a good name is essential. It should be preferred over great riches or anything else. Settling out of court was certainly convenient for Pastor Long, but sometimes the cost of convenience is higher than what we should be willing to pay. In light of Pastor Long’s insistence that he is innocent, the more prudent route would have been to defend the honor of his name.

As spiritual leaders, we cannot put a price on having a good name. It’s not for sale—for any price. May the spirit of this conviction rest upon the pulpits of America and the world. Because this legal matter was quietly brought to a close, without any fight on Pastor Long’s part to clear his name, he will move forward with his ministry, but he will do so ministering under a cloud—a cloud of wondering and possibly suspicious minds. For a spiritual leader of Pastor Long’s stature, that’s never a good platform upon which to lead. Those are my thoughts; I welcome yours.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

We Can Have Fellowship with God!

2011-05-26T01:32:00.005-04:00

Many people don’t regard God as someone whom we can have fellowship with. To some, the idea of that being possible may border on blasphemy. After all, He is the Creator of the heavens, the earth, and everything within them. How can the creature have fellowship with his Creator? The truth is, I would never suggest this idea on my own. But the Bible declares that we can have fellowship with God!

In John’s first epistle, he wrote the following: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Let’s first define the word fellowship as used in this verse. It is derived from the Greek word koinonia (pronounced KOI-no-NEE-a), and it denotes that which is shared in common. The point is that we can have fellowship with someone only in the areas where we have common interests.

At times I find myself among a group of associates as they passionately discuss a current event about a particular sport that I have no interest in. As they get very emotional making their respective points I’m just there. They are having fellowship because they are discussing something in which they all have a common interest. Though I am among them, I am not experiencing fellowship. Similarly, many believers are that way with God. Because many or perhaps most of their interests differ from God’s, they experience little fellowship with God.

Remember that John the apostle who wrote the verse quoted above was one of the twelve who lived with Jesus during His public ministry. John makes it clear that he experienced fellowship with God and His Son, and furthermore, that he was sharing what he heard and saw while with Jesus to the intent that we might have similar fellowship. You see, one of the objectives of the Bible is to convey to us God’s interests. Then if we want to have or to increase our fellowship with God, we must bring our interests in line with His.

Let me give you couple of ways how our doing this will revolutionize our relationship with God. First of all, the more two people have in common, the more they like talking to each other. Communication flows freely when this is the case. Hence, the more we like the things God likes and the more we dislike the things He dislikes, as revealed in the Scriptures, the more intimate our prayer life will become. We will have lots to talk about and conversation will flow freely.

The other thing that happens is that the more God’s interests become ours, the more He interacts with them. What I am saying is that when we pray the heart of God to Him, He is all ears and He gets on board! Similarly, when our pursuits in life are driven by a desire to please God, He interacts with what we are doing. I am sure that when you pray and when you pursue your goals in life, you want God to participate. We can be assured that this will happen when our heart and His share common interests. That is the very essence of fellowship. So how are you and God these days?

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Troubling Observations Following the May 21, 2011, Prediction

2011-05-22T15:38:00.003-04:00

As the world knows, Mr. Harold Camping declared that May 21, 2011, would mark the beginning of the end of this world. Though the day has come and gone without incident, the implications of what I observed during the week coming up to the doomsday I find quite troubling.

First of all, I am amazed at how seriously we took this guy. The Bible is clear that no man knows the day or hour that Christ will return (see Matthew 24:36). The very moment Mr. Camping vocalized his prediction and gave a specific date months in advance, an alarm should have gone off in our heads, and we should have regarded him as unworthy of our attention. But the reason his errant prediction resonated with so many people is that too many people are not grounded in biblical truth. That in turn means that when the Harold Campings of the future come out with their predictions, and believe me there will be more false prophets to come, multitudes will be deceived and get all worked up about nothing -- again.

A second thing about Camping’s prediction that I find troubling is that it invites mockery concerning the Lord’s return. Think about it. Here is a religious leader stating emphatically that May 21, 2011, would be doomsday. This same Mr. Camping was wrong in a similar prediction in 1994. So when we have religious leaders in positions of influence predicting the day of the Lord’s return, and each time the day comes and goes without incident, we occasion increased mockery of our claim that Jesus will return. This in turn can cause more people to take the matter less seriously, thereby increasing the chances that they will not prepare for Christ’s return.

Thirdly, when Camping declared that without a shadow of a doubt that doomsday would happen on yesterday, his faithful followers bought the prophecy and devoted themselves to getting the message out. Some of them reportedly quit their jobs. Of course, Mr. Camping was totally wrong, and at my writing of this post, he has quietly abandoned his dejected followers. I know some of them are devastated, and I don’t want to deepen the wound, but I have to ask the question: how gullible can people of faith get? Did his followers not look in the Bible themselves to see if the message they were proclaiming had any biblical basis at all? I regretfully conclude that one of the messages I get out of this fiasco is that no matter how ridiculous one’s message is, he will find loyal followers. How sad that is.

What Mr. Camping passionately proclaimed was not even close to the truth. What he said would happen did not happen. But this nonevent underscores the vulnerability of those not anchored in biblical truth. Thank God that He has blessed us with the Bible to guide us in the truth so we don't have to fall prey to error.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Tithing and Giving in Church Down with the Economy

2011-05-21T17:42:00.003-04:00

(Article first published as Tithing and Giving in Church Down with the Economy on Technorati.

As the economy continues to struggle, most American houses feel the pinch, including God’s house. Still, more people tend to look to churches and nonprofit organizations for help during tough economic times. That means many of these ministries of help are being called upon to do more with less.

In light of the current economic downturn, a study released this month by the Barna Group, a private, non-partisan, for profit organization, explored how charitable giving has changed over the past two and a half years. Seventy-seven percent of Americans reported being personally touched by the state of the economy. About 28 percent said they were affected in a “major way.” These percentages remained about the same during the past 15 months, according to the study.

Accordingly, 30% of Americans have reduced their giving to church. Barna’s research project included studies done in November 2008, January 2010, and April 2011. Among those whose church giving declined, 24% stopped all giving to churches, according to the most recent study. Seventeen percent decreased giving by 20% or less; 7% by 20% to 45%; 17% by half; and 12% by more than half.

The church leaders’ favorite givers in church are those who tithe. They are those who give at least 10% of their income to the church. But there are less of those faithful givers these days. Over the past decade, the rate of tithing remained relatively stable, hovering between 5% and 7%, according to the Barna Group. But the current national rate of tithing is down to 4% of the adult population.

Church leaders must be careful how they respond to reduced giving to the Lord. Of particular concern to me are some of the high pressure tactics being used by some TV preachers to get more viewers to increase their giving. Some of these ministers give Christianity a bad name. I have certainly seen a significant increase in telephone and letter campaigning from a couple of ministries I have supported in the past. I have to assume that the return on investment into these intense campaigns is making such zealous efforts worthwhile.

Similarly, at the local church level, in an effort to increase giving, pastors must be careful to not make the message of tithing and giving their main focus. I have been in worship services where the financial appeal is about as long as the sermon. It is understandable that local churches need money to do the Lord’s work. Yes, even He has to pay. But predatory, self-serving, and manipulative schemes aimed at increasing cash flow have no place in the house of God—not even during an economic slump.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Keep the Faith

2011-05-17T01:01:00.009-04:00

It’s one thing for us to come to the point in life where we believe that Jesus died for our sins and we accept Him as our Savior and Lord, but it’s something totally different to keep the faith for a lifetime. Sometimes in church we witness a person who starts his Christian walk with deep passion only to lose it some years down the line. The question is, how do we keep the faith for a lifetime?

Paul the apostle said concerning himself, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). And as we read about the life of this great apostle in the New Testament, we know he did not have an easy Christian life. He endured persecutions, imprisonments, beatings, and was even left for dead at least once. Nonetheless, by his own words, he finished his course, having kept the faith.

So let me share with you three things that I believe are essential if we are to keep the faith until the end. The first is that we must study our Bible regularly, preferably daily. You see, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). So as the Bible introduces us to new truths and we believe in them, our faith grows in these areas. Sometimes, however, the Bible does not introduce us to new truths; rather, it confirms things that we already know. In that case, the Scriptures reinforce our beliefs, thereby deepening our faith.

Secondly, to keep the faith, we must practice the things that we are taught out of the Word of God. If we don’t we will remain babes in Christ. The writer of the book of Hebrews chastised the Christians for not growing. He said they had been in the faith long enough to be teachers but were in need of one to teach them—again—the fundamentals of the faith (see Hebrews 5:12). He told them that the Christian who progresses from babes on milk to adults on meat is the one “who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (verse 14, NIV). Note the phrase constant use.

A third thing we need to do in order to keep the faith is to faithfully serve the Lord. This point brings me back to Paul the apostle. One of the reasons he was so steadfast in his faith was that he continued to be about Christ’s business. Paul was tested on every side, but he kept trusting the Lord to come through for him. This type of experience with God emboldened his faith. You can sense the apostle’s bold faith in the Lord in his epistles.

During my last pastorate, the ministry became hellish for me for several years. I had no idea of how I would make it through some of those times. But I kept pressing my way to serve the people of God as their pastor. The Lord brought me through every test. I experienced Him in ways I never imagined. In the end my faith became deepened dramatically.

So in closing, if we want to keep a vibrant faith until the end, we must be students of the Word of God, we must put into practice the Word of God, and we must be faithful in serving the Lord. Paul the apostle modeled this life for us and in the end he had an awesome testimony about himself. With the Lord’s help, we can do the same.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Presbyterian Church Passes Vote to Allow Openly Gay Clergy

2011-05-13T21:37:00.000-04:00

(Article first published as Presbyterian Church Passes Vote to Allow Openly Gay Clergy on Technorati)

On Tuesday, the Presbyterian Church (USA) approved Amendment 10-A, which allows openly gay men and women in same-sex relationships to be ordained as clergy. According to the denomination, the debate over ordination standards has been a struggle for much of the past three decades. In fact, a majority of the church’s regional bodies, or presbyteries, defeated a similar measure to allow openly gays in the clergy just two years ago.

To pave the way for openly gay clergy, the previous amendment containing “the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness” has been done away with. The revised amendment which was approved does not specifically mention gay clergy, but it removes the abovementioned requirement for fidelity between a man and a woman and the requirement for chastity for those who are single. This language has been replaced with emphasis on the “candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office.”

The recent decision of the Presbyterian Church (USA) follows that of several other Protestant denominations that have reversed their position on openly gay clergy. And I believe that over time, we will see even more Christian denominations following this trend of ordaining openly gay ministers. This I say not because we have some biblical mandate or precedent to do so because that is not the case. Rather, I believe it is because on several important fronts, the Christian church has allowed society to drive its agenda where the Scriptures should have. For the Bible teaches that the church is the light of the world (see Matthew 5:14-16), and not the reverse.

I also find it interesting that the Presbyterian Church (USA) removed the requirement for fidelity and chastity from its ordination standards. This should be a fundamental requirement for the clergy.

Of course, not all Presbyterians welcome the recent vote. In a church-released letter regarding the approval, it was acknowledged that, “Reactions to this change will span a wide spectrum. Some will rejoice, while others will weep.” Furthermore, it is anticipated that some congregations within the denomination will leave as a result of the vote. A smaller denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, does not ordain women or openly gay clergy.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Maximizing Your Christian Growth

2011-05-09T00:54:00.009-04:00

In my life, I want to maximize the returns on all of my investments. This is even true about my efforts to grow as a Christian. But how do we get the best bang for our buck in this area?

First of all, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God,” the Bible says (Matthew 4:4). That’s because each of us is both a physical and a spiritual being. The needs of these two dimensions of our being are completely different. For our physical body to grow properly, it requires water and the right kinds of food. For our spirit to grow properly, we need the Word of God.

But have you ever noticed how two people can attend the same church, hear the same preaching and teaching, but grow at totally different rates? You see, our Christian growth is not only a matter of our being exposed to a regular diet of the Word of God, but also it is a matter of the mindset that we have toward the Word of God we are exposed to. Hence, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,” the Bible says (1 Peter 2:2).

The word sincere in this verse means undiluted or unadulterated. You see, if a newborn baby is to grow properly, he needs wholesome milk. It contains the nutrients his body needs, and milk, as opposed to solid food, is easy on his delicate digestive system. By contrast, if that milk is diluted with too much water, even though the baby may consume the same amount of liquid as before, he will not grow properly because the nutritional value of the milk has been severely compromised. This is the idea contained in the verse above.

Also, notice that this verse instructs us to desire the sincere milk of the word. This one word brings us to the important subject of our mindset. My observation as an evangelist and a former church pastor is that many churchgoers cannot or they are not willing to stomach the undiluted version of the Word of God. They want something extremely watered down. They want preaching and teaching that do not challenge them, preaching and teaching that do not disturb their comfort zones.

I submit to you that this kind of attitude is not conducive to effective Christian growth. If we come to hear the Word of God, and we have the attitude that we are only willing to hear what God has to say in certain areas, but the others areas are not up for discussion, there’s a limit to how much spiritual growth we will experience. We cannot be selectively obedient to the Word of God and still experience optimum Christian growth. We cannot have areas of our life that we deem off-limits to God.

But the person who comes to church and who studies the Bible at home and says, “I want to hear from God. I don’t care what area of my life He wants to talk to me about, I am all ears and all heart. I am ready and willing to receive His instructions and make the necessary changes in my life, however painful they may be." This is the person who has the right attitude toward the Word of God, and he will experience optimum growth as a Christian.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Mother’s Day Reminder: It Does Us Good to Honor Mom

2011-05-06T14:36:00.001-04:00

(Ariticle first published as Mother's Day Reminder: It Does Us Good to Honor Mom on Technorati)

I am writing this post two days before Mother’s Day. In its present form, Mother’s Day received national recognition on May 9, 1914. On that day, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother’s Day as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war. Today, however, this holiday recognizes mothers and motherhood, in general.

Most children owe a lot to their mother. I know that’s true for me. My father and mother separated before I was a teen, and afterward my father moved 700 hundred miles away, never to return. Before he died, he visited my hometown a couple of times for funerals, but I did not so much as recognize him when I passed him by. My mother never married again. She raised all eight of us, and she was both mom and dad to her children. Perhaps your feelings about your mother are not as fond, or maybe they are even fonder. I am sure that for some of you, thinking on your mother causes feelings of rage and hurt for justifiable reasons.

One thing that disturbs me is the amount of disrespect some children today show toward their parents. Sometimes in public, it’s hard to tell who the parent is and who the child is, if you went strictly by how one talks to the other. This is so different from the days of my youth when even our adult neighbors could discipline us when we got out of order and our parents were not present. Many of the adults today are afraid to confront the teens and young adults of this generation.

God blesses us when we honor our mother. This is not just for the children only but also for husbands as well. “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner …so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7, NIV). Honoring the children’s mom must be important to God if the husband’s disobedience in this area can hinder his prayers.

Similarly, children, ‘”Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with promise—“that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” ’ (Ephesians 6:2-3). How many youths, do you suppose, believe that their longevity and quality of life are tied to honoring their parents? Really, it's only right for us to give honor to whomsoever honor is due. So let me close by honoring all you mothers out there; may peace, blessings, and health be yours this Mother's Day.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The End of the World—What the Bible Says About It

2011-05-02T23:20:00.007-04:00

Several months ago, I wrote a post on Harold Camping, an influential Christian radio broadcaster and president of Family Stations, Inc., who has predicted that the end of the world will begin on May 21, 2011. His followers have been all over the country getting the word out and placing hundreds of billboards to warn the world to make preparations for the Lord’s return that will precede the doom of this world. Many have found Camping’s message disconcerting, and there is increasing anxiety out there as we approach the May 21 date. Accordingly, I want to share several biblical truths about end of the world—or more accurately, the end of this present age—that we should bear in mind.

First, the Bible does declare that such a day will come. For instance, Jesus’ disciples, responding to something He had just said, requested, “When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3, NIV). For the remainder of Matthew 24, Jesus proceeded to answer their question. He makes it clear to them that there will be horrific signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth prior to the end of this world.

Secondly, the Bible teaches that the strange things that will be happening on earth will serve as signs that we are approaching the end. “When you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door,” Jesus said (verse 33). We have certainly been seeing some terrible signs on earth lately (the Gulf oil leak, the Haiti earthquake, the Japan nuclear disaster, tsunamis, uprisings in numerous Arab countries, etc.). As bad as these have been, the Scriptures indicate the worse is yet to come.

Thirdly, the Bible teaches that for everyone who places his or her trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will come back for them, prior to the end of this world. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven….and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 KJV)! Please note that this verse refers to everyone who has died but who became a Christian before dying, as well as all Christians who will be alive when Jesus returns. This event is what we refer to as the rapture.

Finally, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). Harold Camping is not the first religious leader to try his hand at predicting when the Lord will return and when the end of the world occur. Interestingly, this same Harold Camping predicted the end of the world would occur in 1994, and was wrong that time. My prediction is that he will be wrong again. Nonetheless, the truth remains that the Bible declares the end of this age will occur one day, and the burden of that reality is that we don’t know when it will happen. “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (verse 44).

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Is it Faith or Is It Presumption?

2011-04-30T14:29:00.003-04:00

Faith lies at the heart of Christian living. A person who fails to place His trust in God and His promises has no basis for positively expecting specific blessings from God (see James 1:6-7). That’s not to say that God does not bless us even when we are in doubt or in error. In many respects, He blesses the unjust as well as the just. But the point I am trying to make is that we have no basis for positively expecting a specific blessing from God when we are walking in unbelief. That’s a reason why our faith is so important. Moreover, I believe many Christians mistake presumption for faith.

A favorite verse in the Bible that we use as the basis of claiming a particular blessing as ours is found in Mark 11:24 (NIV). It says, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” I love this verse. It tells us in a nutshell how the Lord expects us to pray in faith. We are to believe we have received what we ask for in prayer—before we actually see the manifestation of the blessing. This verse is a reflection of God’s trustworthiness. We are to be so confident that He will do what we ask of Him that we consider it done before we see anything happening.

But there is one word in this verse that many Christians misapply. It is the word whatever. First of all, this verse is not a license for us to lay claim on anything and everything we can think of. I know—the word whatever does suggest that, but like any other teaching in the Bible we must view this verse in light of the entire Bible.

For example, when we pray in faith, and we passionately believe that we have received what we’ve asked God for, if what we have prayed for is not consistent with the will of God and the teachings of the Bible, we invalidate the promise of the aforementioned verse. Hence, the Bible says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:3, NIV). So a person who prays with wrong motives may truly believe that God has heard His prayer, and he may act accordingly, but in such a case this would be mere presumption because the very motives of his prayer were wrong.

I want to affirm that God still hears and answers prayer in accordance with Mark 11:24. Oftentimes, when we feel He has failed to answer us, the real problem is that we have failed to pray consistent with His will and with biblical teachings, or we have failed to exercise faith. Similarly, if we are of the notion that this verse means that prayer is a means by which God rubber stamps any request we make to Him, and we live our life accordingly, our actions will be based on presumption and not faith. God has given us the Bible so we can know how to pray consistent with His will and His Word. When we pray that way—in faith, He hears and answers us.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Poll Reveals Christian Views on Capitalism and Other Economic Issues

2011-04-25T09:05:00.000-04:00

(Article first published as Poll Reveals Christian Views on Capitalism and Other Economic Issues on Technorati.)

The serious budget negotiations that recently went on in Washington nearly shut down the government. Negotiations will be even more grueling the next few months as members of Congress dig in and try to arrive at an approved 2012 budget. Against this backdrop, the results of a recent survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, in partnership with Religion News service, addressing the public’s views on capitalism, wealth inequity, taxes, and the like was published last week.

In this article, I will briefly highlight some of the findings relating to the Christian community. First of all, among Christians in the U.S., only 38% believe capitalism and the free market are consistent with Christian values while 46% believe the two are at odds. Personally, I expected the percentage of Christians who view capitalism and the free market as being consistent with Christian values to be higher. I say that because local churches have tax exempt status, and in the name of separation of church and state, the government reaches very little into the nonprofit operations of local churches. To me, it just seems that this experience with very limited governmental regulation in the nonprofit arena would have favorably influenced the views of a larger portion of the Christian community in terms of capitalism and the free market.

As for wealth inequity, 62% of Americans believe that one of the biggest problems in this country is that increasingly more wealth belongs to a small population. Fifty-five percent of white evangelical Protestants see this as one of the biggest problems in the country. A whopping 75% of Americans with no religious affiliation hold the same view, according to the study.

A strong desire among conservatives in Congress is to at the least substantially reduce the government’s regulatory powers over businesses. The problem is that increased regulation drives up the cost of doing business. According to the results of the study, however, 61% of Americans disagree that most businesses would act ethically on their own without government regulation. Only 37% of Americans believe that most businesses would. This view holds across political and religious lines, according to the study. The one exception is the group that identifies with the Tea Party movement. Fifty-three percent of those in this group trust most businesses to do the right thing without regulation.

According to the study, the majority of minority Christians, Catholics, and evangelical white Christians believe that economic issues are important enough for the clergy to address them as well as social issues. Moreover, as Congress looks for ways to reign in deficit spending, it is reasonable to assume that some of the future economic policies will take aim at the treasuries of local churches.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Preaching of the Cross

2011-04-21T01:41:00.002-04:00

To me, the greatest thing about Easter is that in churches everywhere, preachers are preaching about the cross. That is not to suggest that the cross is a seasonal message, for it is not. On the contrary, the cross is central to the gospel. In other words, in the Bible, all roads lead to the cross. That being the case, we should expect to hear the message of the cross proclaimed throughout the year. But being a preacher who has been preaching in and hanging around churches for nearly 30 years, I am convinced we don’t give the message of the cross due attention.

Paul the apostle said concerning himself, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect” (1 Corinthians 1:17). Similarly, we must make sure that our modern version of the gospel does not negate the message of the cross. But before we talk about how we might end up making such a mistake, let’s first talk about the message of the cross.

The message goes something like this: All of humanity was lost in sin and destined for hell. There was no one in the entire earth realm that could stay man’s fate. But God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son clothed in human flesh as the perfect sin offering for humanity. What this all means is that every one of us is born a sinner, not one of us can do enough good to earn our salvation, and the acceptance of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross is not an option but a must. These truths constitute the essence of the preaching of the cross.

This message can be offensive to some who hear it. The offense lies in the fact that the cross disregards human worth. Even though we may come from different social, educational, and financial circles in our world, the message of the cross reduces us all to being sinners who desperately need Christ the Savior. What Paul the apostle is saying in the aforementioned verse is that we must not allow anything to make this vital message of the cross of none effect. One way we can do this is by suggesting or outright proclaiming that Christ is simply one among a variety of ways to become reconciled to God. Jesus said no one can come to the Father but by Him (John 14:6).

Christ’s vicarious death at Calvary was not a pretty sight. It was our sins and not His own that drove Him to the cross to die a barbaric death. This because the holiness of God demanded that the sins of the world be judged. And so the one who had committed no sin was made a sin offering for us!

The message of the cross is good news. God has made provisions for all men to be reconciled to Himself. To avail oneself of Christ’s atoning death, each person must personally accept it as his or her personal sin offering. This message lies at the heart of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not a seasonal message. It is a matter of eternal consequences. Let us boldly and lovingly proclaim the cross throughout the year.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King

Jesus’ Death: Was it Really Three Days and Three Nights?

2011-04-17T20:35:00.003-04:00

(Article first published as Jesus' Death: Was it Really Three Days and Three Nights? on Technorati)

Here is the issue: Before Jesus was crucified, He said, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). The duration of His time in the grave has been a point of discussion for generations, and today we are no closer to solving the mystery. Accordingly, each year we approach Easter, or Resurrection Day, we resurrect the subject.

A couple of days ago I read an article on this subject that appeared on The Huffington Post’s site. Two of the more popular attempts at reconciling the above Scripture with the biblical timeline of Jesus’ death and bodily resurrection are mentioned in the Huffington Post article. One has to do with how the ancient Jews reckoned a day. According to scholars, a portion of a day was counted as a full day. So if Jesus died on what we call Good Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday morning, that span would include portions of three days, and could be referred to as three days and three nights.

But that explanation, I suppose, seems so far-fetched to many of us in this current culture in which we keep time to the second. No, we could never accept such sloppy time-keeping as being the answer to the disparity. Accordingly, another argument is that the timeline for the Last Supper and the crucifixion, as recorded in Scripture is flawed, and that these events must have occurred a day or two earlier in the week to make the time duration work out.

And so next year when Easter rolls around again, you can look for this subject to be brought again from the dead. But let me close by offering this as a possibility. On the same day Jesus rose again, it is recorded in the Bible that He showed up and walked along with two men who were going about sadly because it was now the third day since Jesus had been crucified, and they thought He had not risen from the dead as He had promised: “We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done,” they said to Jesus, not knowing it was He to whom they spoke (Luke 24:21).

My point is that however Jesus meant what He said about the duration He would be in the grave before He would rise again, these men understood that the day He showed up corresponded to the day He said He would be raised from the dead. So maybe, just maybe, it’s confusing to us today, but it wasn’t to those of His day. Just a thought.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Love Covers Many Faults

2011-04-12T23:42:00.003-04:00

The fabric of a local church is rather complex. It is made of mature Christians, babes in Christ, many who are somewhere in between, and you have those who are nowhere in terms of their decision for Christ. An important goal of the local church is to help all of these become faithful followers of Christ.

There is much room for disappointment in such a mission. That’s because people aren’t perfect. They won’t always get with the program. In particular, I want to quickly talk about two areas where fellow church members may disappoint us. One has to do with their personal lives. Their imperfection can manifest itself as infidelity, tax evasion, alcoholism, etc.

The other area has to do with their service in the local church. For instance, when I was a pastor, I wanted everything our congregation did for the Lord to be done in the spirit of excellence. So I was always concerned when I had to commit some ministry work into the hands of a person who had never done it before. I had to bear in mind that the person was new to the task, and would probably make some mistakes along the way, but that the impact would not be catastrophic. Interestingly, one thing I notice about many churchgoers is that they won’t volunteer to do anything for the Lord, but they are quick to criticize those who love Him enough to try.

We must bear in mind that as Christians, we are not called to be overly critical but to love. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins,” the Bible says (1 Peter 4:8). Note the words above all. As I stated earlier, an important goal of the local church is to help believers become loyal followers of Christ. But according to this verse, above all, we must walk in love toward each other. This verse is not about our justifying or covering up one’s faults, but it is about us loving others in spite of their failures and shortcomings.

When we are preoccupied with criticizing others, it puts them in bondage. They are not willing to go beyond their comfort zone because they fear the possibility of failing. On the other hand, love liberates. It conveys to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that if they fail we will not crucify them, but we will genuinely love them forward.

Are their times when we have to confront others about their actions? Of course, there are. But here is the point. It’s much easier for us to provide constructive criticism to others when they know that we have consistently shown them love in the past. On the other hand, if all we have ever done in the past was find fault with everything they did; they will count us as the enemy and will not be as willing to receive our two cents. We can love the way this verse tells us to because God is love, and He has put His love on the inside of us.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Pastor Rob Bell’s New Book Sets the Subject of Hell on Fire

2011-04-09T21:55:00.002-04:00

(Article first published as Pastor Rob Bell's New Book Sets the Subject of Hell on Fire on Technorati)

Mega church pastor Rob Bell’s controversial book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, arrived in stores last month. Even before then, some of his teachings had been labeled as errant, even heresy by some prominent Christian leaders.

Esteemed by some as a rock star in the church world, Pastor Bell also is regarded by some as a universalist, meaning he believes everyone will be saved from eternal damnation, including those who have not expressed faith in Christ and His redemptive work on the cross. But Bell denies that he is a universalist. Because of the widespread attention given to the book, resulting primarily from its controversial views on hell, the Evangelical Alliance published a response to the book on last week. The Alliance’s response was written by Derek Tidball, a member of the Alliance’s board and council, and a former principal of London School of Theology.

“Above all, Love Wins, is confusing,” Tidball writes. “I can see now why people are asking whether Rob Bell is a universalist (all will be saved in the end) or not, because it’s unclear.”

In the book, Pastor Bell attempts to paint a more appealing picture of hell. He questions the traditional Christian belief that most persons will go to hell, and relatively a few will be saved. He does not believe that a person cannot repent after death. Moreover, he wrestles with the prospect of scores of people around the world who have never heard the gospel and innocent children going to hell at the hands of a loving God.

The truth is, none of us are all-knowing on the subject of hell and the fate of others. What we do know is that God is love AND God is holy. He is not only love but also He is holy. If He were only the former, the idea of everyone going to heaven on his own terms would be a possibility. But if that were the case—that is, that holiness was not an attribute of God--there would have been no need for Him to send His Son to die for the sins of the world. Hum, so much for that idea.

We must be careful not to try and develop our own theology to provide answers for the things that we don’t understand or that we disagree with, regarding the mysteries of hell. For in doing so, we run the risk of giving multitudes a false sense of eternal security.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Beware of False Teachers and Prophets

2011-04-05T22:46:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine sent me a link to a You Tube video clip of a popular Christian pastor who has come under attack by some other Christian leaders for some of his teachings that they regard as being unbiblical. I won’t bother to mention his name because I know so little about him, and I must be careful to not be so quick to judge. An estimated ten thousand worshipers come to hear this preacher each week so he does have significant influence.

After watching most of the video and hearing some of the things that were being taught, I started entertaining the idea of false teachers in the world. The Bible warns, “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). According to this verse, the existence of false messengers was a widespread problem even doing the first century A.D. Moreover, this verse admonishes us to be discerning. We must not indiscreetly lend our ears to everybody who claims to be a messenger of the Lord. If we do we will find ourselves embracing seriously errant teachings.

Some months ago, Harold Camping, an influential Christian radio broadcaster and president of Family Stations, Inc. predicted that the end of the world would begin on May 21, 2011. He claims that he based his calculations on his studies of the Bible. I did a post on this subject already so I won’t retell the story here. Click here to read my previous post. Anyway, this was one of the most heavily read and shared articles I have ever posted on my blog. I am certain that based on the readership associated with that post, many people are quite anxious as we approach the May 21, 2011, date. But how serious should we take Mr. Camping’s prediction? He was wrong in his previous prediction that the world would end in 1994. Moreover, the Bible is clear that no one can accurately predict the coming of the Lord (see Matthew 24:36).

Today, there are many signs pointing to the end of this age and of the coming of the Lord, though we don’t know the day or the hour these will occur. As these signs become more pronounced, we will see an increase in the amount of false prophets and teachers coming on the scene. It is imperative that we study the Bible for ourselves. For until the Lord returns, the Bible will be the standard by which we are to judge the proclamations of men.

What is True Worship

2011-04-02T13:47:00.002-04:00

Look in the yellow pages of the phone book in any sizable American city, and you will see many Christian churches and denominations listed. You are bound to find a place of worship to your liking. Might even find a denomination or two you haven’t heard of before.

Variety is good because not everybody worships God the same way. Some people believe that a traditional form of worship is the only way to go. Others like a more contemporary style. Still others may desire something in the middle, etc. But though diversity generally is a good thing, when it comes to worshiping God, we must make sure—very sure—that what we do is based upon a clear understanding of what constitutes true worship.

In the fourth chapter of the Gospel According to John, the Bible tells of a meeting between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. They had an interesting conversation about worshiping God, and during that conversation Jesus said, “The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23).

In simplest terms, to worship God in spirit is to worship Him from our innermost being, as distinguished from some superficial display. To worship Him in truth denotes worship in accordance with His Word because His Word is truth (John 17:17). That means the true worshiper is one who worships God from the depths of his being and in accordance with biblical truth. Jesus said we must worship God this way because He is a Spirit (John 4:24).

Interestingly, sometimes different Christian bodies who claim to worship the same God are polarized along the lines of their different styles of worship. We must be careful not to “write off” those of other Christian denominations simply because their style of worship or their house of worship differs from what we are accustomed to. Different is not necessarily wrong or less appealing to the Lord.

The word worship used in the Scripture above comes from a word (proskuneo, pronounced pros-koo-NE-oh) meaning “to do reverence to.” That’s what worship is all about; it involves acts of reverence to the Lord, and it is not limited to a physical location. We can do reverence to God in a stately edifice, and we can do the same in a hut of clay!

Also, we can reverence Him in a ritualistic setting with monotone preaching and traditional hymns, and we can equally reverence Him in a very free style of worship with fiery preaching and loud, contemporary music. We can also fail to do reverence to Him via both of these forms of expression and anything in between. Style and location are not what matters to God; what matters to Him is whether or not we are worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.

As I reflect on Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman, I get this chilling thought. She and her people the Samaritans had a zeal for God, but it was not in accordance with the truth. Many churchgoers today are that way. They take their worship experience seriously. They put all their heart and soul into it. There is nothing they wouldn’t do for their “church”. They literally worship all it stands for. Their sincerity is not in question. But the warning in Jesus’ meeting at the well is that if we are not careful we can end up being sincere but dead wrong in what we deem as worshiping God.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Natural Disasters--Are They a Sign or Punishment from God?

2011-03-30T06:36:00.021-04:00

(Article first published as Natural Disasters--Are They a Sign or Punishment from God? on Technorati.)

The recent earthquake/tsunami/nuclear nightmare in Japan is certainly not your everyday occurrence. The incalculable toll on the people living there continues to mount. The outlook becomes more grave by the day. Ever wondered where is God in all of this? What is He saying to us through tragedies like this one or Haiti’s killer earthquake last year?

While most Americans believe in a personal God who is in control of what happens in our world, most do not believe that natural disasters are a sign from Him or that He sometimes punishes nations for the sins of its citizens through such disasters. These are among the findings of a survey designed and conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, a non-profit, nonpartisan research and education organization. The survey was conducted between March 17, 2011, and March 20, 2011.

According to the survey results, seven out of ten Americans believe that a person can have a personal relationship with God, and 56 percent believe God is in control of everything that happens in our world. Based on these findings, it would appear that the only logical conclusion to draw from events like the recent Japan tragedy or the killer earthquake in Haiti last year is that the hand of God was involved. However, according to the findings, most Americans do not believe that to be the case. Only 38 percent see natural disasters as a sign from God, and only 29 percent believe God sometimes punishes a nation for the sins of its citizens.

The majority of Americans, almost 6 out of 10 (58 percent), attribute the severity of recent natural disasters to global climate change while 44 percent attribute it to the end of this age, as taught in the Bible. To reconcile the findings of the study, I conclude that most Americans believe that a person can have a personal relationship with God, that He was in control during events leading up to the Japan disaster, but though He did not intervene to spare Japan of this misery, He was not making a statement regarding the people of that land.

The current death toll in Japan has been estimated as high as 18,000. Over 200,000 died as a result of the Haiti earthquake. Interestingly, only about 18% of Americans say that seeing innocent people suffer shakes their faith in God, according to the survey results.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

We Are All Called to Serve

2011-03-26T22:52:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, I hear fellow church members complain about the worship service. For instance, they may say something like “the service was dead today.” I guess that means they did not get what they were expecting. You know, maybe the choir didn’t sing to their satisfaction, or perhaps they feel the preacher did not knock it out of the park that day, whatever.

I understand that people want to be encouraged, edified and the like when they attend worship service. But it is also necessary that mature Christians come to worship service with a mind to contribute to the overall worship experience. The Bible teaches, for instance, that the Lord blessed the church with ministers “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature….” (Ephesians 4:12-13, NIV). There is this errant thinking in many churches that the pastor should do the bulk of the work in the local church because he gets paid. But that’s really not what God had in mind. The purpose of the church leadership is to equip the members of the church for the work of the ministry so that the entire body can become edified that way.

God gives each of us different ministry gifts and abilities. These abilities are not for us to just keep to ourselves. Rather, they should be used to help others to grow in their relationship with the Lord. Hence, one of the main purposes of the local church is to equip its members with the necessary tools to effectively use their God-given abilities. If there is one serious problem I see in the local church today, it is that too many people attend the house of God to receive, and too few come to give of themselves.

The pastor and his staff can’t do all the work needed to effectively operate the ministry, no matter how large his staff may be. Neither do all the necessary gifts reside among the paid staff. Furthermore, as we have stated above, that was never God’s concept of ministry. Each of us has been blessed with some ability to do ministry in our local church. Let us become good stewards of what the Lord has entrusted into our care.

A Link between Faithful Church Attendance and Obesity?

2011-03-25T19:40:00.002-04:00

(Article first published as A Link between Faithful Church Attendance and Obesity? on Technorati.)

Young adults who regularly attend church are 50 percent more likely to become obese by middle age than young adults who have little or no religious involvement. The report of these findings based on a study by Northwestern Medicine researchers was released this week. To make it clear that the participants were normal weight younger adults with high religious involvement, as opposed to obese adults who became religious, the weight gain of participants was tracked over time.

The study tracked 2433 men and women for 18 years. Young adults ages 20 to 32, with a high frequency of religious participation, were 50 percent more likely to become obese by middle age, according to the findings. A high frequency of religious participation was defined as attending a religious activity at least once a week.

So what’s the mystery here? I attend church two to three times a week, and that has been a consistent part of my lifestyle for the past thirty years. So allow me to share a couple of things I believe have bearing on the findings. For one, my experience has been that in the church we love our social gatherings that involve eating. And there is nothing holy about the portions most of us eat in these settings. Neither do the kinds of foods on the menu help the cause. It is commonly taught in church that we are to be good stewards of the body the Lord has blessed us with, but many churchgoers don’t faithfully adhere to that rule when they fellowship among themselves.

Also, for faithful churchgoers, religious activity is not limited to church attendance. They are also the ones most likely to study their Bible at home regularly, to spend solitary time in prayer, and to devote time as volunteers to their local church. This kind of lifestyle leaves less time for physical recreation and, hence, can predispose them to obesity.

The authors of the study caution that the findings indicate that those with a high frequency of religious activity are more likely to become obese by middle age, and not that their health is worse overall. Obesity is currently an epidemic in our country, placing its victims at higher risks of diabetes, heart disease, other chronic illnesses, and dying earlier. Said Matthew Feinstein, the study’s lead investigator, “These findings highlight a group that could benefit from targeted efforts at obesity prevention.”

How Can We Sing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land?

2011-03-23T05:25:00.002-04:00

It’s not unusual for us to sing songs of joy when we are happy. One of my favorite parts of worship service is when we corporately sing songs that exalt the name of our Lord. Each of us has his favorite songs. Those are the ones we sing around the house as we worship Him at home. But if the truth is told, singing those songs can be much more difficult when life deals us a hard hand.

When the people of God were in captivity in Babylon, for instance, its captors required of them to sing to the Lord. They were not at home in Jerusalem but in Babylon. They were not free but in captivity. They were not at the house of God but by the rivers of Babylon. “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” they asked (Psalm 137:4). Similarly, we might ask the question, how can we sing the Lord’s song when we find ourselves in a strange place?

What is a strange place? Well, it might be unemployment for the first time in your life. A strange place for you might be the real prospect of divorce after 10 years of marriage. Or it might be a serious health matter that you just found out about. In short, a strange place is one that we are not familiar with and that puts our relationship with God to the test.

As I write about this, I remember my last pastorate, over ten years ago. Some of those years were extremely trying. At times, it was hard being excited about the ministry. I had some high hopes when I started that labor for the Lord. The first couple of years were exciting and things were going well. After that, things began to go downhill. My favorite song was not coming to mind around the house. I did get to the point of singing and worshiping the Lord, but it certainly did not come as easily as before.

When we find ourselves in a strange place, we need to remember a couple of important points. One, we don’t worship God because of what He has done for us but because of who He is. In other words, God deserves our worship and adoration simply because He is the awesome God that He is. Yes, it’s easier to adore Him when life is good, and we are being showered with blessings, but He is no less God when life is otherwise.

Secondly, God is wherever we are. Through the thick and through the thin, He is with us. He never abandons His children. For instance, when the Jews were in Babylon, the same God whom they had known in Jerusalem was with them in Babylon. A strange land does not separate us from Him, though the feeling we have may be one of abandonment. Again, He never, never, never, abandons His children. If we keep the faith, He will move on our behalf—in due season.

As Christians, we are on a journey with the Lord. By the very nature of that truth, we will at times travel through strange territory. But even during those unpleasant sojourns, God is still God, He is very present, and He is in control of the situation. So sing on.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All Rights Reserved.

Forty Percent of Millionaires Don’t Feel Wealthy

2011-03-21T01:33:00.000-04:00

If you were a millionaire, would you consider yourself a wealthy person? The Fidelity Millionaire Outlook survey, an online survey, was conducted by Northstar Research Partners during the period of October 18-29, 2010. The results reflect the responses from 1011 financial decision-makers of U.S. households with investable assets of at least one million dollars.

Needless to say, most of us were not included in that survey. Millionaires make up only 5% of the U.S. population. By contrast, in 2008, the median income for all households in the U. S. was approximately $52,000, according to figures by the Census Bureau. That means the households addressed in the survey represent income levels that were at least 20 times the median income for all households. Nonetheless, of those millionaires surveyed, 42 percent of them did not feel wealthy. These millionaires said they would have to achieve an investable asset level of at least $7.5 million to feel wealthy.

Moreover, according to the survey, 4 in 10 millionaires say that their most pressing financial concern is that of securing enough resources to support their lifestyle during retirement. However, overall, these millionaires had a dramatically improved outlook on the future of the economy.

So what is the take away value from this survey for the average American? Most of us don’t need to have $7.5 million dollars to feel wealthy. And our status of living that needs to be supported during retirement is in a world that’s altogether different from theirs. Also, for many of us, our definition of wealth and/or our value system may substantially differ from those of the millionaires surveyed. Nevertheless, the views of this wealthy community should be of value to us because they have the means to influence financial markets, and their outlook on and their confidence in the future of our economy determine what level they are willing to be a player in our economic recovery.

The Japan Disaster; Are We Near the End?

2011-03-17T11:58:00.005-04:00

I’m a firm believer of what the Bible says about the end of this age and of the return of the Lord. So when things happen such as the Japan nightmare that is currently unfolding, I am prompted to think about them from a biblical standpoint. Regarding the end of this age, the Bible talks about, "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.... And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Luke 21:26-27).

Two interesting points to note about these two verses. One, the Bible promises that some horrifying things will take place on earth. And, two, these will precede the return of our Lord. Of course, we have no idea as to whether we are a day or a hundred years away from the end of this age. I dare not even take a guess at that. There are enough false prophets out in the world doing that already.

When disasters such as Japan’s strike, it should have a sobering effect on God’s people. Even we, like those who don’t believe what the Bible says about Christ’s return, often live our life as if the world as we know it will continue forever. Perhaps one of the reasons is because these portions of the Bible are not preached from and taught from in our churches nearly enough. But these cataclysmic events tend to bring to our remembrance the many places in the Bible that talk about the things that will signify the end of this age. Sometimes, I even hear reporters refer to events such as the Japan nuclear disaster as being of “apocalyptic proportions.”

A year from now, the cameras will no longer be on Japan, though its people will be affected by the current disaster into the distant future. The rest of the world will get on with its life. But with time, other events on the scale of the Haiti earthquake, the oil leak in the Gulf, and the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan will visit us. I will not venture to say or suggest that any of these events be regarded as God pouring out judgment on anyone. Rather, the Bible declares that events like these we are seeing will precede the day of Christ’s return. Let us live each day as if that day is today, and let us pray for the people in Japan.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Japan Nuclear Disaster and the Power of The Images

2011-03-17T09:31:00.000-04:00

(Article first published as The Japan Nuclear Disaster and the Power of The Images on Technorati.)

One of the fascinating things about modern technology is that it makes this big world a real small place. Let something significant occur any place around the world, and we get the news almost instantly. During the recent unrest in Egypt, for instance, the government shut down social networks such as Facebook and roughed up some U. S. reporters. The goal was to keep the world from knowing the truth about what was going on. The government knew that, generally, pictures don’t lie, and viewers around the world could see for themselves what was really happening, as opposed to depending on the government owned news service to give us its version.

Similarly, remember the disastrous oil leak in the Gulf last year? We were not simply getting some reporter’s written or verbal account of what was happening, but via live video feeds, we were able to see the footage that showed the oil gushing from the failed blow off preventer and the environmental damage, in real time, all day long for months.

Now for the Japan nightmare, spawned by last Friday’s earthquake. Some people are extremely fearful of the thought of power generation via nuclear plants—even though approximately 20 percent of our country’s electricity today is generated that way. On the other hand, some advocates of nuclear power plants tend to downplay just how ugly things can get when nuclear reactors go wrong. But, again, thanks to modern technology, the public can see for itself the images of the Japan disaster unfolding.

When it was first reported that an earthquake of 8.9 (revised to 9.0) had spawned a killer tsunami, little did we know, the worst was yet to come. The nuclear tragedy is playing itself out in an extremely ominous way. The images leave little to the imagination as to the dynamics of what can go wrong with nuclear power generation. The average person may not know the theory of how a nuclear plant works, and he may not know the jargon of the industry, but he can look on his TV screen and see the compelling images of the disaster unfolding in Japan.

Because nuclear plants produce no soot or greenhouse gases, and they help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, which the U. S. must do, the Japan disaster will not kill the idea of the increased use of nuclear technology. On the other hand, even though our plants have run safely the past 30 years, as far as we have been told, the images from the Japan disaster make for a compelling case of what can go terribly wrong with a nuclear plant. This will no doubt make the increased use of nuclear power in the US a tougher sell.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Experience God's Peace

2011-03-13T22:59:00.003-04:00

In our world today, so many things are happening around us that we don’t understand and that we can do little about. The natural disasters we have recently seen in the way of the Gulf Oil Spill, massive earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as the spreading unrest in Arab countries are unprecedented in terms of the frequency and magnitudes that they are happening.

But God can give us peace in the midst of these troubled times. One of the fascinating things about the Bible is that it gives us practical ways to deal with every aspect of our life. So allow me to present a passage that instructs us on how to experience the peace of God: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds….” (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV). Now, let’s look further into the three components of this guide to peace.

Don’t be anxious. It’s natural for us to worry and become anxious when it appears as if our personal world is falling apart, and there’s too little we can do about it. But as the people of God, we must learn to cast all of our cares upon the Lord (see 1 Peter 5:7). The better we become at doing that the less anxious we will be about life. That brings us to the second component of the way to peace:

In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. This is the means by which we cast our cares upon the Lord, as I mentioned above. Note that the verse juxtaposes our being anxious with instructing us to petition God about everything. This tells us that we have two ways to deal with whatever stresses us. We can either worry about it, or we can petition God about it—with thanksgiving. But how can I pray—with thanksgiving—about something that troubles me? you might ask. That’s where our faith in God has to come in. We must believe that if He commands us to do that, it can be done. The first few attempts at doing this may not go so well. But we must discipline ourselves and make this our way of life.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds. When we learn how to replace our natural tendency to worry with prayer to God—with thanksgiving—He will give us a peace that only He can. The Bible refers to this peace as one that transcends our understanding. That means there is no way for our natural mind to possibly know this kind of peace.

People today seek peace in all kinds of things and in other people. But these all pale in comparison to the peace of God. The thought will never occur to the human mind that peace on the level that God can give us is to be desired. That’s because this peace from God transcends our understanding. It is superior to any peace available on this earth. Though our mind can’t even imagine this peace, the good news is that God will grant it to us when we learn how to overcome anxiety by casting our every care upon Him through prayer.

Twenty-One Priests Suspended This Week; What is the Long Term Solution?

2011-03-12T21:18:00.000-05:00

(Article first published as Twenty-One Priests Suspended This Week; What is the Long Term Solution? on Technorati.)

This week, parishioners were learning the names of the 21 Philadelphia-area Roman Catholic priests who were suspended on Tuesday, following a two-year, child molestation investigation. Feelings about this latest development are mixed. Some church members refuse to believe that their priest could do what they are being accused of. Others have expressed their dissatisfaction with how slow the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been in dealing with the problem. Of course, those who have been victimized by priests in the past are still hurt and wounded.

As I mused the matter, I have a few questions of my own. I believe they need to be seriously addressed as the Catholic Church moves forward on this ugly situation that just doesn’t seem to want to go away. First of all, what the priests are being accused of having done is not normal. It’s not normal for a grown man to want to have sex with little boys. That one fact kind of sets the tone for my line of questions, so here goes:

What additional safeguards will the Catholic Church put in place to assure the children’s protection from a bad shepherd? Since the cloud of this misconduct/crime on the part of some priests has been hovering over the church so long, leaders must become much more aggressive in putting control measures in place to stem this tide. This will certainly make some of those priests who do an excellent job of upholding the honor of the office feel as though they are guilty by association, but if there is one place church members ought to be able to regard as safe, it should be in the house of God.

What impact is this on-going nightmare having on how priests are vetted for the ministry in the future? Yes, I know they are servants of God, but like the rest of us, they are not above reproach. I also know that when the best effort is made to try and weed out the bad priests, the process is not foolproof. But I believe the current situation warrants taking a second look at how to prevent sexual predators from becoming priests.

How committed are the dioceses to adequately addressing the child molestation problem? For instance, a grand jury report criticized the Philadelphia archdiocese's handling of sexual abuse accusations, claiming that 37 priests were child molestation suspects, yet these priests remained in ministry.

Priests who prey on children need serious help. And you would think that those who are spiritual leaders should at least know when they need help in this area. Perhaps it’s pride and/or embarrassment that keeps them from admitting moral failure. But if they shun getting the help they need, at the expense of the children, church leaders need to stand up and vigorously defend those who can’t defend themselves.

Faith Does Not Preclude the Need for Wisdom

2011-03-12T01:46:00.002-05:00

We can never put too much emphasis on the importance of faith in the life of a Christian. I think it’s safe to say that no one can live the Christian life if he is not willing to exercise faith in God. We can’t see God, we can’t see Jesus, and we can’t see the Holy Spirit, yet the teachings of the Bible require us to make these the essence of our life.

On the other hand, many Christians tend to put too little emphasis on the importance of wisdom. In fact, some people have the idea that a person must be mindless to be a good Christian. On the contrary, the Bible commands us to pursue wisdom: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God…and it shall be given him” (James 1:5, KJV). Specifically, this verse is referring to the times in which we find ourselves in various kinds of trials. During such times, not only do we need faith, but also we need wisdom.

If you are a Christian business man or woman, all the faith in the world will not compensate for you making bad business decisions. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?” (Luke 14:28, NIV). The idea of a Christian claiming to be acting by faith while acting totally contrary to wisdom is not biblical.

It is incumbent upon us to study the Bible to get a practical understanding of the Scriptures. They impart to us faith AND wisdom. This is not the wisdom that comes from this world but from God. This wisdom works hand and hand with our faith in God. The latter without the former will render us an ineffective Christian.

Let’s Get Serious About Energy Independence

2011-03-09T11:24:00.000-05:00

(Article first published as Let's Get Serious About Energy Independence on Technorati.)

The current unrest in Libya and the rise in prices we are seeing at the gas pump highlight the precarious situation we find ourselves in because of our heavy dependence on foreign oil. Some lawmakers are urging President Obama to tap our oil reserves in an attempt to stabilize prices. But there are some who doubt that this will be done; they argue that the White House is only saying that it will consider tapping the reserves as a ploy to stabilize prices.

I seem to remember that we were in a similar situation back in early 1991, when Iraq invaded Kuwait. What we need to do is to get busy fixing the problem once and for all. That brings me to a current law called the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007). Section 433 of this law requires that for new federal buildings and major renovations, they shall be designed so that the fossil fuel-generated energy consumption will be reduced in accordance with the following: 55% reduction by year 2010; 65 % reduction by year 2015; 80 percent reduction by year 2020; 90% by 2025; and 100% by 2030.

The target reductions are based on comparisons with the fossil fuel-generated energy consumption of similar buildings in fiscal year 2003, as measured by Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey data (CEBCS 2003) or by Residential Energy Consumption Survey data, according to the type of building under consideration. What this energy conservation requirement means is that the federal buildings built in 2030 are to result in NET ZERO fossil fuel consumption. This in effect requires that the buildings be powered, heated, and cooled via solar technology, photovoltaic, wind power, biofuels, etc.

We are far behind on compliance with this energy conservation mandate. For instance, most federal buildings constructed in 2010 did not meet the 55% energy reduction of fossil fuel use, relative to the CBECS 2003 baseline. Our country is not alone in this endeavor. Six weeks ago, I and about 400 other engineers, researchers, and program managers from 12 countries attended a weeklong Energy Conference in Las Vegas, NV, to share information as to what our respective countries are doing to meet this serious energy conservation challenge. Of course, one of the challenges will be the first cost associated with incorporating the required new technologies into new and renovated buildings. But we must find a way to get it done. Our energy independence and national security and depend on it.

God’s Ultimate Plan for this World

2011-03-08T23:29:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I hear people jokingly make the statement that this world must be coming to an end. This they say because of all the troubling things happening around us. We are talking mega challenges, here. For instance, our nation is drowning in over 14 trillion dollars of debt! There is gridlock in Washington, as lawmakers debate this current year’s federal budget, not to mention next year’s. Many of our states have critical budget crises. The spreading unrest in the Middle East is interrupting the normal flow of oil, driving up the price of gas, and who knows when things will stabilize there. The list goes on and on, but I won’t bore you with the details since it’s all in the news.

There is much speculation as to who will get in the race for the presidential election of 2012. Where is the dream team that will solve all of our problems so that we can know the prosperity we once knew? And what about God? What is His game plan for our world?

First of all, there is no dream team that will be coming to Washington to solve all of our problems. I appreciate all of our politicians who sincerely desire to make a positive difference at the local, state, and federal levels of government. But there is one thing I am convinced of, having observed one administration after the other descend on Washington with enthusiasm and lots of great ideas, and it is that our politicians don’t have the answers to many of our most serious problems. That does not mean we should not do our best to find effective solutions.

But it is not hopeless. God does have a master plan. Consider this prophecy regarding the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6). We often quote this verse during Christmastime because it foretells of the birth of the Savior. But note the last part—“the government shall be upon his shoulder.” You see, eventually this world as we know it will cease to exist. Ultimately, the Lord’s Christ will return, and He will bear the rule of government. He will reign forever, establishing rule in righteousness.

Generally, our government prefers that God not butt into its affairs. Too many of our politicians feel they can solve the nation’s problems without God’s input. Well, a truth about God is that He does not force His help on those who don’t want it. But if it is one thing that we have proved, in our zeal to show that we are in control, it is that we are not in control. With time, our inability to rise to the occasion will only highlight the truth that we are at our wits’ end.

I believe that God will allow us to do things our own way until we have exhausted all human attempts to succeed, after which we will be forced to look beyond ourselves for answers. This will set the stage for Christ to return and to sit on the throne of David. And the Bible says something awesome about Jesus’ return to reign: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). Can you imagine a government that will abound in peace and increase? Well, friend, that’s God’s ultimate plan for this world!

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.