MuddyPuddles

There is a myth that is widely held by many of the more “conservative” members of the Church of Christ about what the more “liberal” members believe about doctrine.  That myth is that the “liberal” members are not interested in teaching “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” They hold that the “liberals” want to make the determination of what is right by using their emotions or by what feels good or by what is popular at the time.  In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.  Though I can’t speak for all “liberals” I can speak for myself when I say that my goal with my Bible study is to be exactly dead center correct in my interpretation of it.  I want to be EXACTLY right and I don’t want to vary from that standard by one nano-particle.

I have come to believe that the “conservative’s” misconception comes from the belief that the biblical principals of  “salvation by grace,” “freedom in Christ” “grace is a free gift from God,” “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love,” and other similar teachings are not considered to be as important as the doctrines of “the five acts of worship,” “meeting three times a week,” “no instruments allowed,” “no guarantee of salvation unless you ask forgiveness right before you die,” “works are necessary,” and other such "high value" doctrines.  In their minds, the latter far outweighs the former in importance.  They believe that if you stress the former you are soft on doctrine and don’t care about the truth.  I submit to you that there is more absolute truth in the former than there is in some of the contrived items listed in the latter. 

The EXACT truth is that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works so that none can boast.  The EXACT truth is that Christ set us free from the law of sin and death and he does not want us to be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (which comes in the form of rule-keeping and relying on rule-keeping for our salvation). 

I also submit to you that it is really the “conservatives” ones who live by their feelings.  They don’t feel right unless they hold on to these doctrinal issues as a way of legitimizing their existence.  They don’t feel right by just accepting this free gift from God and giving their heart to him and living for him because he died for them.  They don’t feel right unless they’ve done something to deserve this salvation that God has made available to them.  Hopefully, before it’s to late, they will know the truth so it can make them free.  God Bless.  Dennis

I have a friend with whom I have been studying the Bible recently.  He is very “conservative” in his understanding of scriptures.  I would even describe him as somewhat legalistic.  To his way of thinking, we should all be able to agree on what the scriptures teach and that we should use command, example and necessary inference to make those determinations as well as the principle of the “Thundering silence of scriptures” (meaning that things not specifically authorized in scripture are necessarily unauthorized and therefore forbidden).” 

This approach seems very reasonable if this is the way you are first taught by seemingly wise and knowledgeable men for whom you have great respect.  But the reality is that those guidelines are not commanded.  Nor are they exclusively exampled.  And they are not necessarily inferred.  In fact the scriptures are “Thunderingly silent about how to interpret the scriptures.”  Well, maybe there are clues here and there, but historically we’ve “strained out the gnat and swallowed the camel” in this regard.  And, even after exhaustively examining the poop, some of us haven’t realized it yet.

What’s good about my discussions with this young legalist is that, though he is a legalist, he still seems to be open-minded.  What I mean is that he seems to genuinely consider the things that I say.  Most legalists that I’ve dealt with in the past few years remind me of the Pharisees that stood there and watched Jesus heal the man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years and then complained that Jesus had done it on the Sabbath.  They totally missed the point.  They focused on the wrong things and felt threatened by anything that didn’t fit their preconceived notions.  In short, they were not open to the possibility that they had been wrong or that they had been majoring in the minors for all those years.  They read the scripture, (1 Cor. 10:12 (KJV)),  “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall,” but didn’t consider the possibility that it might apply to them.

I am hopeful that this young man will not be a legalist one year from now.  In fact, because of his open mind, I feel optimistic that his legalistic days are numbered.  Legalism and open-mindedness cannot co-exist in one person for long.  I believe they are incompatible when it comes to studying the new covenant (which is written on men’s hearts rather than on tablets of stone).  Maybe that is why it is so rare to find an open-minded legalist.  They can't stay that way for long.  If correctly challenged with scripture, they must either close their minds (like the Pharisees) or move toward grace, like the Galatian brethren.  

Please pray for me and this young man as we study the word together.  Pray that God will open our eyes and lead us both to the truth. Thanks in advance,  Dennis

I’ve been driving around in the State of Texas a lot over the past couple of weeks—hundreds of miles in three different directions.  In nearly every little town I’ve seen the obligatory “ Church of Christ ” signs just outside the city limits.  Most of these signs look pretty old and weathered.  Some are down right dilapidated.  Rust is creeping through in spots and colors have faded.  I can’t help but think that the condition of these signs is probably very much indicative of the conditions of the “churches” in these towns.  And I’m not talking about the paint job on the buildings.  I’m not saying it has to do with cause and effect; painting the signs won’t cure the problem.  It goes much deeper than that.

There was a time when seeing a C of C sign gave me a little boost—knowing that the “Lord’s church” was in this place.  But now, it doesn’t.  Because of my preconceived notion about what this little church is probably like and what positive impact it is probably NOT having on that community, the up tick in the heart beat is gone. 

As reality sets in more and more, I've been drifting toward the conclusion that most conservative small town Churches of Christ are pretty much irrelevant.  Though they are generally made up of pretty good people they, as a church, have little or no impact on the community.  In fact, they are pretty much ignored by the community.  Sure, everybody knows they are there, but that’s about it.  They are basically impotent but don’t know it.  They live in a vacuum.  Because they go through the motions of the "five acts of worship" each week, they think they are the exact replica of the 1st century church—the one true church—and that’s good enough for them. 

They would bristle with “righteous” indignation at the thought of someone calling them irrelevant.  But I shake my head in amazement that they can’t see it.  It’s beyond my comprehension that they can’t see it.  And yet, they don’t  

Though I think that there is some positive change taking place in isolated spots, I’m afraid that full scale change is unlikely in the near term.  I think that it is more likely that most of these churches will slowly die out completely rather than to risk change.  What happens after that is anybody’s guess.  Hopefully, they will be reborn with a new and loving spirit that will have a positive impact on their surroundings.  Until that time we must keep the faith and share the love. We can’t be the solution for everywhere, but we can bloom where we’re planted.  Though we can’t make a difference in every place, we can make a difference in this place.  And that is where we need to focus.  God Bless you this week as you make a difference your world.  Dennis

I visited the grave site of my Great Grandfather yesterday.  It’s located outside of Bartlett City (near Salado ).  That ancestor of mine was born in 1822, 186 years ago.  He died 111 years ago in 1897.  That felt pretty amazing to me that I was standing next to the body of someone of whom I am a part all these many years later.  I looked around and tried to imagine what life must have been like back then. 

Then I visited the little town of Prairie Dell where my Grandfather first married in 1891 at the age of 19.  He had married his 17 year old bride in the house of her parents in this little town.     

The town is off to the side of I-35 now and has a population of about 30 people.  Except for a couple of fairly old houses, it’s mostly made up of mobile homes and small brick homes.   I doubt if anything is the same as it was back then except for the street locations and some of the lots that touch those streets.  Some of the biggest trees might have been upstarts about then but that’s probably about it.  The oldest looking man-made thing around was an old rusty barn which was probably built about 60 years ago. 

In spite of all of the obvious changes it still seemed special to be in a location where I knew for sure that my Grandfather had walked with his new bride over a century ago.  I’m sure that he rode his wagon down this exact same street, which I’m sure was just a dirt road back then.  It was a great glance back into the past and a reminder of my own mortality.  I’m glad I took the time to make that trip into my past.  I think it grounds me and helps me appreciate my blessings and my family.  God Bless, Dennis    

I’ve been thinking about this day for 26 years—not as a day in general, but specifically as a last day.  On this day, May 12, 2008, I have lived the exact same number of days on this earth as my father lived in his entire lifetime.  Even now I have lived a few hours longer than he.  It’s pretty sobering to think that if I had been him, this would have been it.  My life as I’ve known it would be over.  My spirit would have left my body and my record would be “in the books.” 

It has gone by so fast.  Because of this day I can’t help but reflect on how I’ve spent my life—my time and energy and money.  In some ways I’ve done well, but I’ve sure botched a few (million) things too.  I’m thankful that God has blessed me in spite of my shortcomings. 

I obviously don’t know how many days I have left.  I’m sort of breaking new ground here.  But I do know that each day is a special gift, a bonus day, and I want to make sure it counts for something special. 

My friend Cody’s great grandmother lived to be 107 years old.  I wonder how it feels to be that old.  Check back with me 51 years from now and I’ll let you know.  God Bless.  Dennis   

You know what’s worth a thousand words, don’t you?  Of course you do---a picture; and yet I remember in college when I showed a friend my high school yearbook that he thought some not very attractive people were beautiful and that some very beautiful people were not so attractive.  So maybe those pictures gave off the wrong set of words.   

I think there are two things at work here.  One, some really ugly (physically and otherwise) people can look pretty good in a snapshot.  (I’ve known a few people that I would have liked to turn into snapshots.)  But if you know them in real life you can see behind the pretty smile and the pretty dress and they don’t look so good in reality.  Other people have such a beautiful spirit that all you can see is beauty in them and you are truly blinded to their asymmetrical face and body.  Or you see beauty in someone’s confidence or leadership or humility or grace or humor or thoughtfulness, though it wouldn’t show up in a lot of their pictures.

The good news is that in spite of what we may look like (and believe me when I say I’ve seen what a few of you look like), the beauty that others may see in us is in a large part within our control.  We can choose to be thoughtful and loving and non-controlling and kind.  We can proceed with confidence that we can be what God wants us to be and we can radiate the image of Christ in our lives.  Like the song says, “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”

In looking at pictures of my dad from his childhood I’ve wondered what he was really like.  I’ve always known that he was a very talented and confident man.  I knew he was a good athlete and was handsome.  But until the past couple of weeks I wasn’t sure if, as a nice-looking high school athlete, he was cocky or arrogant or stuck up or mean, as some with those earlier characteristics have a tendency to be.  And to my great relief I found from several that knew him back then that he was confident but humble.  He was gifted but kind.  He was respected and admired by everyone.  He never met a stranger.  And that warms my heart.

Without realizing it, by growing up in the manner he did, he was giving a gift to his children that they wouldn’t receive until more than sixty years later.  Though each of us may have no control over our past, we can, from this point on make a difference in the kind lives we lead and thus in the kind of gift we eventually give our children.  We can live such Godly, loving, encouraging lives that our children will treasure that gift long after we are gone.  It will be like placing the right snapshot of the right person in the right place to lead them on.  God Bless you and me as we strive to be that kind of person for all the right reasons.  Dennis