MuddyPuddles

This morning I was in a Walmart that had a McDonalds Restaurant inside.  Since I was waiting for a one-hour picture development I decided to eat something so I ordered a “bacon, egg, cheese biscuit.”  I spread a little grape jelly on it and took a bite.  Somehow, in that first bite I got the perfect blend of flavors.  It was marvelous.  I paused and savored the moment.  I didn’t expect that from a McDonalds. 

As I continued eating I began to think about foods that often gave me that special feeling.  I thought about that first bite into a perfectly grilled, tender, marbled steak.  I thought about that first slurp of the perfectly blended, smooth and creamy chocolate malt.  I thought about the taste of that sweet and juicy, succulent red heart of a black diamond watermelon.  It makes me want to experience all three of these right now.  I would probably have to say that these are my top three (or at least in my top five) flavors.  I relish them (no pun intended).

And then I got to thinking about other things in my life that deliver that special feeling where, for that moment, all is not only well, but it’s so much more than well—it’s sublime.  It may be one of those mountaintop experiences—like reaching summit on Wilderness Trek or crossing the finish line of a marathon.  It may be watching someone you love as they reach a personal goal in spite of great obstacles.  It may be just holding a tiny new granddaughter or being on the receiving end of a non-coerced kiss or a big hug from a sweet grandson.    It may be an uplifting and fulfilling time of worship and fellowship with a loving and caring church family.  It may be looking back at photos and keepsakes and reliving special moments from the past.  It may be something as simple as a quiet and peaceful evening at home with your spouse or family.

Whatever it is, I’ve come to appreciate it more and more as time has gone by.  Life is so fleeting.

I want to make the most of it and to “smell the flowers” along the way.  Won’t you join me?  God Bless, Dennis

According to the study notes in my MacArthur Study Bible, “Early Rabbis had determined that there were 613 commandments contained in the Pentateuch, one for each letter of the Ten Commandments.  Of the 613 commandments, 248 were seen as affirmative and 365 as negative.  Those laws were also divided into heavy and light categories, with the heavy laws being more binding than the light ones.  The scribes and rabbis, however, had been unable to agree on which were heavy and which were light.”

            Beyond that was the problem of the interpretation of the commandments themselves.  For example, they knew they weren’t supposed to work on the Sabbath.  On that they could all agree.  But exactly what that encompassed raised many questions and debates. “Could a man wear a wooden leg on the Sabbath?  Was it lawful to eat an egg laid on the Sabbath?”  They did come to some conclusions.  “Some knots could be tied or untied on the Sabbath, but not others.  Vinegar, if swallowed, could be used to relieve a sore throat, but it could not be gargled.  No woman was to look in a mirror on the Sabbath lest, seeing a gray hair, she might be tempted to pull it out.” (from A Church That Flies, Tim Woodroof, page 103)  It’s enough to drive you crazy.  It’s a good thing that God provided a way for us to get rid of all those trivial questions and wranglings by nailing the law to the tree and giving us a law of the spirit—or did he?

            As I look around I see a whole new set of laws being debated weekly in our midst.  You know what I mean:  How should we sing?  Is it wrong to use an instrument?  Can we use an instrument to sing “church” songs outside of the church building?  Can we clap during the songs?  Can we raise our hands during the songs?  Can we snap our fingers?  Can we sing the newer more contemporary songs?  Can we sing while partaking of the Lord’s Supper?  It is okay to use more than one cup?  Is it okay to use church funds to help non Christians, support orphans homes, build a fellowship building?  Can a young man who has not been baptized serve communion?  Can a young man who has not been baptized lead a prayer?  Can women start songs or say a prayer during small group devotionals?  Can we pray with our hands lifted up?  Can we study, in our Bible classes, from a book which was written by a person who worships with instrumental music? Can we even have Bible classes at all?  And there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other issues on top of that.   

            In a high percentage of our Bible Belt towns, several groups proclaiming to be the Church of Christ are divided over these issues.  They will not fellowship with one another because they each have come to different conclusions about one or more of these issues.  On top of that, a majority of their Sunday preaching topics include a condemnation of some other group that has come to a different conclusion on one of these “all important” matters.

            When Jesus was asked about the commandments of God, he spoke with a paradigm shift in mind.  Some of our astute brethren have somehow failed to pick up on it—even though he said it several times and in several ways.  He said,  “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt 22). 

            Did you hear that?  “All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  In case that wasn’t clear enough, he also said,

Matthew 7:12 (NIV)  So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.   And,

Romans 13:8 (NIV)      Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.  And,

Romans 13:10 (NIV) 

    Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.  And,

Galatians 5:14 (NIV) 

    The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  And,

Galatians 6:2 (NIV) 

    Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

How many ways must Jesus say it before we get it?  Jesus could not care less about whether we clap, or raise our hands or wear pant suits or have Bible class or use church money to help anyone in need, as long as we are doing what ever we do out of love for him and for our neighbor.  God wants our hearts and if he has our hearts he knows we will sincerely try to please him and respond to the needs that are placed before us.

Maybe if he would have said something as plainly as “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love,” we would have gotten it by now.  O yeah, he did say that, didn’t he (Gal 5:6)?

It’s time to back off of these trivial pursuits and get down to what’s important—Loving God and loving our neighbors.  After all, these two commandments fulfill all of the Law and the Prophets.  If we will just do that, the rest will take care of itself.  Dennis 

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 

Have you ever heard about the dog and the tractor?  Or maybe I should say the dog the farmer the tractor and the cotton.  My father was a farmer but not “the” farmer.  “The” farmer was his dad, my grandfather.  He had come from a long line of farmers dating back to the 1600’s when they first immigrated to America.  When I was interviewing some “Oldtimers” last week, Leonard and Rita, Leonard told me about a farm related event that took place between him and my grandfather (“Papa”) many years ago. 

The family farm was about a mile from the cotton gin at Petty, Texas, near Lubbock .  The way things generally worked was that the farmer would bring in a trailer load of cotton (usually containing about a bale) and park it on the lot next to the other full trailers.  The two men working the suction hose of the gin would alternate getting the next trailer from the line while the other one was sucking the cotton out of the previous trailer.  Once a man had sucked all the cotton out then he would take the trailer back to the lot so the farmer could pick it up and take it home to fill again. 

Leonard happened to be one of the ginners in the rotation at the time of my story.  He said that my “Papa” drove his little Allis Chalmers tractor up to the gin lot with the trailer in tow and parked it to be ginned.  He then got off and walked home.  When Papa’s trailer was next in line it turned out to be Leonard’s time to get it.  He started walking toward the little tractor when out from underneath it came a growling noise which stopped him in his tracks.  Then Papa’s big red husky dog stepped out from under the tractor and bristled at Leonard and wouldn’t let him get near it.  Enjoying the current placement of his skin and bones, Leonard decided to skip Papa’s trailer that day. 

The next day when Papa came to get his trailer he noticed it was still full of cotton so he asked Leonard, “Why didn’t you gin my cotton?”
Leonard said, “Well Bob if you’ll take your dog home when you bring the next load I’ll gin your cotton.”
Papa laughed and said, “That dog wouldn’t let you get on that tractor, would he?”
Leonard said, “No, he sure wouldn’t.” 
So Papa took the husky home and Leonard ginned the cotton and all was well once again.  And now you know the story about the dog and the tractor.  

God Bless, Dennis

I’ve spent several days this week on the road and doing family research for my book.  I’ve interviewed several people who are in their 70’s or 80’s and who knew my grandparents and my father when he was a boy.  I have discovered quite a bit about my grandparents that I hadn’t known before. One of those things was about the fact that my grandmother was a very devout member of the Church of Christ .  I knew she was a member, but I didn’t know how “devout.” It became obvious that everyone knew exactly where she stood in those matters.  I got the idea that her mother was even stricter than she was and was even a little obnoxious and judgmental about it. 

One of the couples I interviewed was my 82 year old cousin, Royce, and his wife, Jewell Dean.  Jewell Dean said that when she started dating Royce, her mother warned her about dating a Church of Christ-er .  (One of the other interviewees, Leonard, informed me with a grin that the term that she probably  used was more likely to be “Cambellite” rather than “CofC-er”.)  She said, “Don’t be dating a Cambellite or you will start going to the Church of Christ .”  Jewell Dean assured her mother that she would not convert to the C of C, and she didn’t. 

I took the opportunity to ask her “What was it about the C of C that made you and your mother feel this way.”  She said that she had visited there a few times and they told her she was going to hell if she didn’t become a member of the C of C.   They even told Royce, who was a member, that he was going to hell if he continued to date this girl who was not a member.  He said he thought that was a little harsh.

The other couple I interviewed, Leonard and Rita, had similar experiences.  During the course of our discussion Leonard, with a grimace on his face as he shook his head side to side, said, “They drove away countless numbers of people with this condemning attitude.” And I think he is right.  There is no telling how many people “we” have driven away by our self-righteous, judgmental, “two by four between the eyes” approach to evangelism. 

Our “good news” has often been, “You are going to Hell if you don’t become a member of the Church of Christ .”  I can barely contain the joy that wells up inside me as I think about this approach (for those of you in Rio Linda, I’m being facetious (in other words, I’m joking about this approach bringing me joy.  It actually discourages and frustrates me.)) 

As I look back over my own experience in the Church of Christ and think about what caused us to take such a confrontational approach to “evangelism” I think it was about the fear we had about missing any opportunity to spread the “truth”—not so much because of our desire to spread the truth but more out of the fear of our own guilt if we didn’t.  We thought about “What if I don’t say something and that person gets killed on their way home?”  So, to cover ourselves from this possible guilt and sin, we would choose to force-feed this “gospel” on anyone who came into our sphere—whether they wanted us to or not.  That way we were covered and if the person didn’t respond appropriately, then the guilt was on their shoulders instead of ours.  If they die on their way home we can say we tried to reach them and they just wouldn’t respond.  In reality, if they didn’t physically die on their way home, they may as well have in regard to our ever being able to reach them with the true gospel.  We’ve totally turned them off.

I still see some of that attitude today.  There is this uneasiness that creeps in to many of us if we allow anything unusual to slip by.  When someone visits the assembly and does something a little unorthodox, we generally have someone who is willing to “straighten them out” that same day—even if it means that this person will never set foot in that building again.  We are willing to lose their soul for the sake of our traditions or orthodoxy and in the name of “defending the faith” or in the name of doing things “decently and in order”.   And that’s just wrong. 

Our efforts should be more about loving those with whom we come in contact.  It should be about treating them the way we would like to be treated if the roles were reversed.  It’s about meeting needs.  God Bless you as you reach out in love to those around you this week.  Dennis