by Steve | Jul 28, 2009 | Archive - 2009, Magazine Articles
By James P. Gills, M.D.
In my practice as an ophthalmologist, we say that the worst part of cataract surgery is the week before the actual procedure. Thats when patients really start to think about the procedure and anticipate its effects. Many patients get concerned at this point about whether the surgery will hurt or whether they will lose their vision. And if they previously had a bad experience with some other procedure, they will be afraid of the cataract surgery.
These concerns and fears are very important and very real. A patients attitude affects his ability to relax and cooperate with us during surgery so that we can do the best possible job. Therefore, it is essential that we help a patient understand the procedure, and that we provide as much comfort and reassurance as possible.
But for some people, it doesnt matter how much support we offer. Some patients are going to worry about all aspects of their lives. Theyre paralyzed by their worries, and they cant enjoy life.
The perspective of worry blinds us to the wonderful realities of Gods loving care. We fail to be grateful for his sovereign rule in our lives. Too often we worry about things that are not so and we imagine situations that are not realities. One of the greatest reasons we worry is that we do not appreciate the Giver of life or the life that he gives us. Our lack of appreciation impairs our perspective and disposition more than we realize.
For example, when we are sick we worry about getting well, failing to realize that God has made our bodies with an estimated 60 trillion cells that are actively working to bring about healing. Our worry actually hinders that healing process. Our Creators intelligent design in our DNA has gone before us to prepare the way for our healing. But too many times we are oblivious to his ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1) because of our worry and lack of appreciation.
I often ask my patients if they have thanked God for their pancreas today. Probably not, but it has been working 24/7 for them since their birth. And there is much more that God is doing for them and will do for them. Yet, their mind-set of anxious worry shows a lack of trust in the Lord. It does not reflect a thankful spirit or appreciation of the Creator and all of his wisdom.
We understand medically that worry is self-destructive Yet, worry is unnecessary in the light of our faithful and sovereign Lords care for his highest creationmankind. Still, we all grapple with it and need to find help to overcome its deadly influence.
Do you know someone who has been paralyzed by fear and negative thinking? Or have you personally ever been so worried that you couldnt think clearly, couldnt sleep peacefully, or couldnt act wisely? This kind of chronic worry is a highly infectious disease that can permeate our inner being. It can infect our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. It can destroy us physically and emotionally. Worst of all, it can destroy us spiritually, because chronic worry drives a wedge between us and God. When were ruled by worry, we dont have complete trust and faith in God. We dont think we can depend on him. We feel isolated and alone. We blame God for all the bad circumstances in our lives, and we fail to see the blessings he provides.
Everyday, we must resist the temptation to worry and fear. I believe the most effective treatment for worry is two-fold: cultivating a spirit of thanksgiving and learning to appreciate the Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of life. When we learn to appreciate Gods sovereignty and his faithfulness, our mind-set of worry is dislodged by trust in the power and love of God. And we learn to live in his peace.
Ive seen this treatment work time and again in the lives of my patients. They have shown me that a constant attitude of thanksgiving breaks the grip of fear. These patients, in addition to facing their own surgery, may have family members who are dying; they may have financial problems; or they may be struggling in a personal relationship. Theyre certainly sad at times as they grapple with the problems in their lives, but theyre not worried. Theyre thankful to God, and they continually seek his presence. They are thankful for all of the ways he provides for them, including their pending surgery, which they know will help them. Because of their faith, they can look beyond their struggles and see God at work. These thankful patients have the same concerns and problems many of us face, but they choose not to worry. They choose to be thankful.
A thankful spirit
Patients who beat worry have learned to live the words of the apostle Paul: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 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 in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7).
Paul tells us that the thankful spirit is the proper mind-set for all believers. He tells us to not worry, but to always be thankful to the Lord. Just like my patients who demonstrate a mind-set of gratitude, we can reject worry. We can rejoice with thanksgiving. When were focused on the person of Jesus Christ in thanksgiving, our anxieties and fears can be wiped away. Our hearts can overflow with a spirit of peace and joy because he lives in us.
What a relief to know that each of us can turn to God and put our lives in his hands! We can be grateful for his blessings and let thanksgiving fill our hearts. We can be filled with peace regardless of our circumstances. We can be faithful to the One who faithfully provides. We must focus on him with thankful hearts.
Appreciation
We have been taught that there are two categories of sin: sins of commissionwhat we doand sins of omissionwhat we fail to do. My patients constantly hear me say that my greatest sin of commission is worry and my greatest sin of omission is failure to appreciate the Giver and the gift of life. Appreciation involves a sensitive awareness and an expression of admiration, approval, or gratitude. To appreciate means to place such high value on something or someone that it evokes our deep admiration.
To truly appreciate the gift of life, we must first become aware of the Creator, the Giver of all life. Our eternal Creator designed life with a divine purpose. Learning to appreciate the Creator brings us into understanding of purpose. It brings into focus that purpose for our lives. As we learn to revere and esteem our Creator-Redeemer, we are filled with thanksgiving for his benevolence, wisdom, majesty, and power already at work in our lives. We focus on his goodness and love, especially in dealing with the matters that cause anxiety.
Failure to properly appreciate God aborts the possibility of a thankful spirit. Without cultivating that divine relationship, we feel alone, isolated, and totally responsible for our own happiness and success in life. This sense of isolation traps us in self-centered, selfish mentalities, which are destructive in many aspects. They result in broken relationships, fear, insecurity, and many other unhealthy syndromes.
Lack of appreciation for God, our Designer and Giver of life, will inevitably cause us to take all of life for granted. We fail to appreciate not only ours, but also the precious lives of those around us. Like all other sin, lack of gratitude brings with it terrible consequences, the most grave being a lack of relationship with God. Conversely, developing a personal relationship with God eliminates the destructive power of anxiety from our lives.
As we learn to appreciate the Creator and his design of all of life we will seek to know his wisdom rather than rely on our own confusion. We will look to his sovereignty, power, and gracious promises instead of our own frustrated perspective. When we learn to deeply admire and appreciate God, we quickly discover that God is much greater than all our problems. We become convinced that when we are worrying, we simply need to focus on God, who will put our anxieties to shame and silence them. It is not always easy to quiet a mind that is all worked up. But when a fresh vision of God breaks through, the child of God is renewed in his or her soul. We receive new strength to rest in the Lord and enjoy his peace (see Isaiah 26:3).
Are you weighed down with worry? Are you filled with fear? Theres refuge in the loving arms of God. He will break the bonds of worry. He will banish fear. We get his real and lasting peace when we turn to him and say, Thank You, Father, for always loving me. Thank You for the eternity that you offer to me through the person of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for me. When we turn to him for redemption, no longer will we fear and worry. Jesus promises a life of peace for those who accept his salvation: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in mePeace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:1, 27).
Certainly none of us can avoid the situations and circumstances that can create worry and fear. But we can counteract the worry itself by cultivating a spirit of thanksgiving through humble appreciation for our Creator and Redeemer. When we begin to grasp Gods greatness, majesty, sovereignty, loving control, and wise purposes, we learn to cast ourselves on his care.
As we do, we will see that God has given us many reminders of his precise and detailed attention for our good in all of his creation. This reassures us that God is already at work, not only in creation around us, but also in the fulfilling of his promises to us as his children. He is absolutely faithful to those who turn to him. Therefore, he says to us, Trust Me!
The Bible tells us repeatedly, Fear not. Many of those passages are followed by the words I am with you. It is because God is with us that we do not need to fear. He will always be with his children. May we learn to trust fully in God with thanksgiving for his grace. He will destroy fear and worry! He will give us peace now and forever! Amen!
James P. Gills, M.D., is the founder and director of St. Lukes Cataract and Laser Institute in Tarpon Springs, Florida. This article was adapted with permission from Dr. Gills book, Rx for Worry: A Thankful Heart (Creation House). In addition to his extensive medical practice, he founded Love Press as the publishing outreach of St. Lukes Cataract & Laser Institute. Because of Dr. Gills belief in ministering not only to peoples eyes, but to their whole being, St. Lukes has gifted its patients with his inspirational books since 1985. Having become predominantly a prison ministry, over 8 million books have been distributed to 2,000 jails and prisons within all fifty states.
by Steve | Jul 28, 2009 | Archive - 2009, Magazine Articles
Archive: Faithful Ministry
Fond Memories
I’m basically opposed to retirement! What do you do to replace a person like Jim Heidinger? It will take years to fully recognize his contribution to our United Methodist Church. And when that is recognized, it may be too late to express the gratitude he deserves. I have felt a oneness with Jim in his lovers quarrel with the church. He is among a few who have been able to keep that quarrel positive and irenic. I have never questioned his love for the church, and though not acknowledged by his detractors, he has played a major role in sustaining the unity of our denomination. The divisions within the church have elicited mean-spiritedness from all corners, but never from Jim. He is a meek spirit, a Christian gentleman, a courageous and faithful follower of Christ. Few persons are his equal in perceiving the winds of culture and their impact on the church. His writings form a prophetic witness we need to continue paying attention to.
Maxie D. Dunnam
Chancellor
Asbury Theological Seminary
Ever since he became President and Publisher of Good News, Jim Heidinger has been a great friend to me. He gave me constant encouragement in my efforts to reform our beloved church. He helped refine some of my more unruly ideas. He disagreed with me on some of my more preposterous proposalsalways with gentleness and grace. Jim is as thankful for his salvation in Jesus Christ as anyone I know. He expresses that gratitude through his relentless work for our church, his passion for change, and even in his patience with some of his more exasperating fellow Christians (of this, I am a witness!). Thanks be to God for the gift God gave us in Jim!
Bishop Will Willimon
North Alabama Annual Conference
Dr. James V. Heidinger II has rendered sterling service to the United Methodist tradition in his many years of service with Good News. His gracious disposition, his steady hand, his readiness to listen, and his thoughtful analysis of the work of the church have been vital in securing faithfulness to the Gospel. Above all, his sensitive, spiritual nature has been a bracing tonic to those who cherish the wellsprings of Methodist doctrine and piety. He has left a splendid legacy that will bear fruit for years to come.
William J. Abraham
Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies
Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor
Perkins School of Theology
Southern Methodist University
Jim Heidinger has been at the forefront of United Methodist renewal for many years. He has also been the key figure in bringing together the leadership of the Association for Church Renewal, which is the primary ecumenical expression of church renewal movements in North America. He has edited the leading journal for United Methodists who have a heart for renewal. In all of these things he has always shown courageous leadership, deep theological understanding, and an attitude of generosity and kindness. It has been a great privilege to me over the years to work closely with Jim Heidinger. The inception of The Confessing Movement within the United Methodist Church would never have happened had Jim not brought together Bishop William Cannon, Asbury President Maxie Dunnam, and myself. His footprints are everywhere in the movements to restore integrityfinancial, theological, and spiritualto our church.
Thomas C. Oden
Henry Anson Buttz Professor Emeritus of Theology
The Theological School of Drew University
Jim Heidinger has deep commitments and strong opinions. He is a man who loves the Church and bears passionate witness to the transforming and saving grace of Jesus Christ. He keeps his promises and works to build bridges across boundary lines to advance Gods Kingdom. He has been an able and reliable contributor to projects of The United Methodist Publishing House in service to the United Methodist Church, as well as a firm yet evenhanded critic when he felt called to demur.
For over twenty years Ive known Jim as a contributor and challenger, a fan and critic. Jim may alternately oppose or endorse a particular effort in accord with his understandings and convictions. Through it all he remains consistently approachable, fair, and gracious. Dr. James V. Heidinger II is a faithful student of Scripture, a man head-over-heels in love with the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition, and a disciple who prays daily with expectation and humility as he strives earnestly to obediently love and serve Jesus Christ.
Neil M. Alexander
President
United Methodist Publishing House
Motivated by the love of Christ, and marked by an abundance of gifts and graces, Jim Heidinger has made a generous contribution to the ongoing life of United Methodism that will undoubtedly endure. Calling the church back to the touchstone of Scripture when it was all too eager to embrace the latest fad, Jim has written with genuine prophetic power in the pages of Good News and has amply demonstrated the love of God to both friends and detractors alike. Irenic and yet truthful, gracious and yet forthright, Jim has set a high standard for what genuine leadership in the United Methodist Church should look like in the twenty-first century. It gives me great pleasure, therefore, to join with others in honoring such a man who has given Evangelicals at least part of the voice they so richly deserve within United Methodism.
Kenneth J. Collins
Professor of Wesley Studies and Historical Theology
Asbury Theological Seminary
Jim Heidingers ministry transcends the borders of United Methodism. Those of us who contend for the faith in other denominations have received Good News from Jim. He is our generous colleague and faithful friend. We have been graced by his witness in our midst.
Parker T. Williamson
Editor Emeritus and Senior Correspondent
The Presbyterian Lay Committee
Dr. Jim Heidinger is a gifted leader and an influential voice in the confessional movement in United Methodism, a godly and a cheerful man thoroughly committed to spiritual growth and development in the Wesleyan holiness tradition. As president and publisher of Good News, he will be missed, yet we look forward to his continued involvement with the Good News organization and his sage counsel in other arenas of United Methodism. We at Asbury College miss his insights and leadership on our board of trustees where he served ably from 1979 through 2007, as our board secretary during most of those years. An alumnus of Asbury College, Dr. Heidinger also took a turn as president of our alumni board. His leadership and expertise have served us all so well throughout his career. Our grateful thanks to Jim Heidinger.
Sandra C. Gray
President
Asbury College
I am pleased to join the chorus of tributes to Jim Heidinger. Few people have ever loved a denomination, warts and all, like Jim has loved the United Methodist Church; and few people have ever labored harder, or longer, for a denominations renewal.
How did Jim do? His vision was not, in his career, fully realized. When, however, you compare the UM Church with the other mainline denominations who do not have strong renewal organizations or movements within their ranks, you can glimpse what the UM Church would have become by now without the reach and energy of Good News in the years of his leadership.
Through the turbulence of the last quarter century, Jim even showed us what it is like to love orthodox Christianitys enemies.
George Hunter
Distinguished Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth
Asbury Theological Seminary
Jim has been a friend and mentor for nearly 20 years. When I was fresh out of college and newly active in United Methodist affairs, especially concerned about the Board of Global Ministries, Jim was encouraging and supportive from the start. We first met face to face at a Good News convocation in 1990. Jim played some role in my joining the Good News team at the 1992 General Conference, and soon afterwards joining the Good News board. Since joining the Institute on Religion and Democracy as its United Methodist director in 1994, Jim and I have worked continuously together on United Methodist renewal, and we have now been to five General Conferences together! So many get weary in the struggle, but Jim is unfailingly steady, gracious, and indefatigable. Across nearly three decades he has become the premier leader of United Methodist renewal. The whole church and the renewal movements owe him a huge debt of gratitude. I pray Jim is not fully retired and remains actively engaged in church renewal, enjoying the fruits of his faithful labors.
Mark Tooley
President
Institute on Religion and Democracy
Jim Heidingers love for the United Methodist Church, the broader mainline denominations, and the entire Body of Christ is almost palpable. He uniquely combines that with an irenic spirit wedded to a backbone of iron. Those traits have served our denomination well, helping to hold her faithful to the original Wesleyan vision. Well done, good and faithful servant. Its been a joy to work with you over the last several years.
Karen Booth
Executive Director
Transforming Congregations
Jim Heidingers Christian commitment and professional competence are matched only by his unassuming humility and servant spirit. Because Jim never brags on himself, others need to do so. Jim, I extend congratulations to you for your years of service to the UM Church and your faithfulness to the biblical revelation. Your charity, insight, and wisdom combine to bless others beyond the telling. May your future years of ministry be powerful and productive. Christ has chosen and appointed you to go and bear fruitfruit that will last (John 15:16).
Kenneth Cain Kinghorn
Emeritus Professor of Church History and Historical Preaching
Asbury Theological Seminary
Were told change is good, but in Jim Heidingers retiring from Good News, count me a skeptic. Thats not a judgment on Jims successor, but rather a tribute to what Jim has meant to this remarkable publication.
Ive said Good News is the finest Methodist magazine published in the USA, that its independence of the General Church makes its accomplishments all the more extraordinarya tribute to Jim, and to all the wonderful men and women of faith who have made its history possible.
I have a special affection for Jim, one arising from his willingness to publish my articles, knowing that not many bylines from self-confessed Kennedy Democrats appear in Good News. But he knows, as do I, politics are a distant second to our shared devotion to James Arminius and John Wesley.
The United Methodist Church is in free fall, in large measure because it has identity angst. Good News, conversely, remains a vibrant magazine because it has no such identity crisis; Good News knows that no matter how much the world changes you cannot compromise fundamental beliefs.
Jim Heidinger and all responsible for Good News are owed a great debt; they know that eternal values triumph. I love Jim and Im grateful for his friendship and acceptance of me as a brother in Christ. I wish for him joyous years ahead.
George Mitrovich
President
The City Club of San Diego and The Denver Forum
For the past 28 years Jim Heidinger II has been the central face and voice of reform within the United Methodist Church. His Good News movement and magazine have given thousands of orthodox believers enough hope to remain in the denomination. I suspect that without Jim Heidinger the United Methodist Church would have at least one million fewer members. Though his writings have denounced heresies with biting specificity, he has been so utterly winsome that only a genuine grouch could really dislike him. He illustrates what it means to contend for the faith without being contentious. He speaks the truth in love. His love for our Methodist heritage is unexcelled.
One of the Disciplinary tasks assigned to bishops is to guard the faith, order, liturgy, doctrine, and discipline of the Church. While many bishops have been unable or unwilling to render this service, Jim Heidinger has demonstrated how it should be done. He really believes what The Book of Discipline declares, that the Holy Bible is the true rule and guide for faith and practice.
Jim has never labored for any other reward other than hearing his Savior say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. How blessed we are to have had him serve among us!
Bill Bouknight
Former senior minister
Christ United Methodist Church
Memphis, Tennessee
Dr. Jim Heidinger is a man for all seasons as well as a man of many talents. However, from my vantage point, Jim is the quintessential churchman. More than fifteen years ago, when Barbara and I moved to Lexington, Kentucky, we were invited by a neighbor to attend Sunday worship with them. Discovering that they were members of First United Methodist Church, we readily agreed. They then extended their invitation to include visiting their adult Sunday school class. You can imagine our surprise as we turned down the hallway only to find Jim Heidinger welcoming the class members! Needless to say, we not only transferred our membership but joined the class taught by Jim. Throughout the time we belonged to First Church, only out of town engagements kept Jim from his weekly appointment with the class. He is an outstanding and imaginative teacher, opening the Scriptures to his class members in clear and orthodox terms. He has a unique ability to clarify the difficult and to explicate the simple. Jim has a great love for the Church Universal and the United Methodist Church, but his love of the Church is demonstrated through his service to a specific church, First United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. His various roles throughout the years have been undergirded by his churchmanship, giving him the strength to persevere in all seasons.
James W. Holsinger
College of Public Health
University of Kentucky
When I became the Executive Director of The Confessing Movement in January of 1997, no one was more helpful and supportive than Dr. Jim Heidinger. He readily shared information with me and provided invaluable guidance. Jims 28 years of ministry have been unparalleled, having had an enormous impact on the renewal efforts within the United Methodist Church. He brought exceptional growth to Good News and the Association for Church Renewal and tirelessly fought for doctrinal integrity within the church. Not only will he be leaving his mark on the renewal movement, but also on those with whom he worked and had personal dealings. Jim is a gentleman, a man of great integrity, and a faithful servant of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His leadership of Good News will be missed. However, I am confident his passion for the renewal of our beloved Methodist Church will not dim and Jim will continue fighting the good fight. I would like to personally say thank you for everything Jim has done and has yet to do for the heavenly kingdom.
Patricia Miller
Executive Director
The Confessing Movement
I am grateful for the courageous stand in the United Methodist Church that Jim Heidinger has taken over the years to defend the male-female requirement for acceptable sexual relations affirmed by Jesus and the whole of Scripture. I know from first-hand experience that taking such a stand can be a difficult one. It invites the ire of the liberal left wing of the church like few other issues. Sometimes even the orthodox center runs for cover when the shells from the left explode, leaving the defenders of Jesus vision of marriage vulnerable to character assassination. I salute Jims front-line service in which he has fought the good fight (1 Tim 1:18; 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7). Thank you, Jim.
Robert A. J. Gagnon
Associate Professor of New Testament
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Jim loves the Lord and the Church. He has given leadership at many levels and has always been an advocate for the orthodox tenets of our faith. I am proud to call him my friend. While working on an international stage of the UM Church he is known in Kentucky for his dedication to his local church and the Sunday school class he has taught for years arranging his travel so he could be home to be with his small group on the Sabbath.
Bishop Lindsey Davis
Kentucky Annual Conference
And now, at the beginning of his retirement, let us praise a faithful, ordained ministerJames V. Heidinger II. Throughout the United Methodist Church, certain clergy are understood as statesmen of the church. Too often, men and women so described simply look out for the statistical well-being of their own congregations, conferences, and denomination. Jim Heidinger is a real statesman of the church because he keeps evangelical faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen for the salvation of the world, located in the more catholic context of the church. In part, because of God working through Jims ministry, United Methodism experiences no small amount of reform and renewal. In addition, because Jims renewal ministry is dedicated to the renewal of the United Methodist Church, his ministry is always tied to the Church, her Word and Sacraments, her tradition and history, her doctrine and morals, her glory and failure, her faithfulness and faithlessness. Because of Jims wise theological guidance, United Methodist renewal efforts do not often wander into the Jesus-and-me fever swamps, entrepreneurial side shows, or political overreaches that plague Evangelical Protestantism in America. Jim Heidinger is a brother in Christ and a fellow laborer in Christs Church. Now, Jim, please, leave us your cell phone number, your email address, and your mailing address. You might be officially retired, but you still have much to offer Christs Church.
Paul T. Stallsworth
Lifewatch, President and Editor
St. Peters United Methodist Church
Morehead City, North Carolina
Jim Heidinger has served the United Methodist Church faithfully even when it was not popular or welcomed to deliver his insights. This is a true mark of dedication and love. While many of us have been contemplating, hes been doing. Put his work over the years together and I simply know of no one who has come even close to having the impact on the UM Church as Jim Heidinger. No matter what our insights are, we all need to seriously consider following his lead. Thanks Jim, you have fought the good fight and kept the faith. We thank God for your ministry and witness.
Joe Whittemore
United Methodist layperson
Hartwell, Georgia
For some years I knew Jim Heidinger only by his reputation as the editor of Good News, with all the acclaimpositive and negativethat comes with such a role. It was after I came to know him personally that I discovered what a Christian gentleman he is. His patience and kindness, and constant willingness to lend all his gifts and strength to the renewal of the Church come through in every conversation with him. Along with many others, I join my congratulations to him on his retirement, and offer my gratitude for his faithful service to United Methodism.
Leicester R. Longden
Associate Professor of Evangelism & Discipleship
University of Dubuque Theological Seminary
I remember when I first met Jim. Alan Padget and I were in central Kentucky for a John Wesleys Fellows Christmas Conference at Shakertown, and we met with Jim at his Good News office to congratulate him on his new executive position, to talk about Catalyst (which was then funded by Good News), and to wish him well. We expressed our concern that, living as he would on the front lines, he might become overwhelmed by the difficulties of the ministry of renewal and pledged to pray for him. He responded with humility and statesmanshipa rare combination!as he spoke of his sense of call to this work. Alan and I came away from that initial meeting with the strong sense that the Church and our commitments to renewal would be well-served by this new leader of Good News. We could hardly have foreseen how significant Jims work would be, though. I found his columns sometimes surreal in their descriptions of what was happening in our connection, and often said a prayer of thanks to God for Jims awareness, insight, and perspective, as well as for the loyalty and integrity he embodied in his many years of leadership. Jim, we have come to know, is the real thing, and we are stronger, better, more faithful as a result of his ministry. Thanks, Jim!
Joel B. Green
Associate Dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies
Professor of New Testament Interpretation
Fuller Theological Seminary
When the United Methodist Church recovers its health as a faithful, evangelical Christian Church, the great leadership of our dear friend, Jim Heidinger, will be one of the major reasons.
Jims long-term, persevering leadership of Good News and the broad UM reform and renewal movement has won the respect of all of us who have worked with him. Jim has faithfully served Christ and his Church, with vision and insight. Like a wise doctor who carefully diagnoses a serious illness and prescribes the right treatment, Jim has identified and exposed the UM Churchs doctrinal amnesia and Scriptural unfaithfulness and has prescribed the needed reforms.
Jims unselfishness and absence of egotism have also won respect. Jim is a visible and effective leader, but he has done major reform work quietly and without publicity, giving the credit to God and to others.
We will greatly miss Jim as he begins his well-deserved retirement, but we trust the UM reform and renewal movement will continue to be blessed by Jims excellent analysis and writing and his strong commitment.
Dave and Jeanie Stanley
Chairman and Members of UM Action Steering Committee
Co-Chair and Directors of Methodist Laity Reform Movement (Iowa)
by Steve | Jul 28, 2009 | Archive - 2009, Magazine Articles
Navigating United Methodist Renewal
By Steve Beard
July 2009
Many years ago, I became a rather unlikely fan of the sailing memoirs of the late William F. Buckley Jr. In his book “Airborne,” the dazzling wordsmith chronicled a 4,400 mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean with his son and five friends. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is Chapter 9 where he endeavors to explain the painstaking practice of using a sextant in the middle of the ocean to read the heavens and thereby figure out one’s coordinates. Depending on the measurement, the time of day, a handy almanac specializing in this kind of celestial navigation, and tons of mathematical calculations, one can ascertain ones place in the world utilizing this antiquated instrument. While he admitted that this kind of calculation was fairly tricky business, Buckley seemed to relish the challenge.
In “Racing Through Paradise,” written 10 years later, Buckley wrote about his 4,000 mile adventure across the Pacific Ocean. This time, Chapter 12 was titled The Magic of GPS. Of course, this is where he celebrated the advent of the technological wonder of the Global Positioning System. “All the travelers in the world will smile when GPS is finally, completely, here, whether we travel on the ocean, or on land, or in the air,” Buckley wrote. “It would be fine to come up with a spiritual counterpart to the GPS, but that fix will remain inscrutable, while precious little else any longer is.”
His point was right on target. Even in a high tech culture that puts GPS in the family minivan, calculating the location and direction of the human soul is an entirely different enterprise — one requiring a spiritual compass, a theological sense of true north, and a set of charts designed for discipleship. The same could be said for leading a ministry like Good News. I thought of Buckley’s comment as we put together this issue of the magazine.
James V. Heidinger II and I have edited and published 111 issues of Good News together. Having worked side by side with him for more than 18 years, I will be the first to attest that Jim is the real deal — a devoted Christian, husband, father, and Sunday school teacher.
Over the years, we have weathered a lot of storms. In the face of controversy and acrimonious denominational squabbles, Jim never betrayed his core convictions, never violated his Christian conscience, and never gave up hope that spiritual renewal and reform could come to United Methodism.
Having recently reread all of Jim’s editorials, I chose three that best captured the heart and soul of Good News. “Remaining United Methodist” articulates our belief in working within the denomination for renewal and reform, “The legacy of Theological Liberalism” examines the negation of orthodoxy within certain quarters of United Methodism, and “The Road to Emmaus” expounds upon our belief that transformation and new life is found in Jesus Christ.
Good News believes that the spiritual integrity of United Methodism is worth defending. In his reform and renewal work, Jim always strove to be motivated by his love of Christ and the Church rather than by frustration or anger. When facing a fiery theological or ethical debate, he steadfastly contended for the faith without becoming contentious.
The poet Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. made a fitting observation: “I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it — but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.”
Recognizing that neither drifting nor lying at anchor are options, we sail forward with a smooth transition from one first-class captain to another. The compass and helm of Good News has been handed over to the Rev. Rob Renfroe. As you will realize from his article on page 10, he represents a growing, vibrant brand of United Methodism that believes wholeheartedly in Jesus Christ, the authority of the Scriptures, the power of evangelism and missions, and the integrity of Wesleyan theology.
Rob Renfroe knows that you can’t just punch a GPS device and figure out the coordinates of United Methodist renewal. The procedure takes prayer, counsel, and a keen sense of discernment — the kind of old-fashioned work done with a sextant. With the spirit of a sailor, he knows that looking upward is the best way to move forward.
Welcome aboard, Rob.
Steve Beard is the editor of Good News. Photo by Mike Bird (Pexels).
by Steve | Nov 9, 1979 | Magazine Articles
Is there reality in our worship
By John R. W. Stott
Good News
November/December 1979
The Christian Church is fundamentally a worshiping community. According to I Peter 2:5,9 it is a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood whose function is to offer to God the spiritual sacrifices of our worship.
Now I venture to go even further than that. I believe that worship is the church’s priority task. Of course, it is popular to say that the church’s priority task is evangelism. I venture to disagree. I believe that the church’s priority task is worship.
Of course, this is an unnecessary dichotomy anyway, because we don’t have to choose between worship and witness. Each, properly understood, involves the other. It is impossible to worship and love God without loving my neighbor. And, it is impossible to love my neighbor without loving God. Therefore, worship and evangelism inevitably involve one another.
Worship is derived from “worth ship.” So true worship is an acknowledgment of the supreme, absolute worth of God. How can I acknowledge the unique and absolute worth of God and not be concerned that the rest of the world will recognize his worth equally? Therefore, true worship is bound to drive me and the Church out to witness. There is something essentially hypocritical about worship if it does not lead to witness.
Why do we want to evangelize? Do we want simply to win people, get them to profess faith, and be baptized – period? Why do we want them to come to Christ? Surely in order that people, having come to him themselves, will bow the knee to Jesus, give to him the glory that is due his Name, and acknowledge him as Lord – in other words, worship. Therefore, the ultimate objective of evangelism is worship.
Having worshiped, we’re driven out to evangelism in order again that there may be more worship. So, there is a continuous circle of worship leading to witness, witness leading to worship, and so on.
It is an unnecessary dichotomy – worship and witness, worship and evangelism. Each, properly understood, inevitably invokes the other.
Nevertheless, I think we must put worship first. Partly because our duty to God precedes and takes precedence over our duty to our neighbor, and partly because evangelism is only a temporary task. It will end when Christ comes again in glory and power, but we shall be worshiping God forever and ever and ever. It is the eternal function of the Church to be preoccupied with the worship of our Creator and Redeemer. That task will never come to an end.
As evangelicals we should not be ashamed to assert this. I say this because evangelicals are supposed to be interested only in evangelism, and I think it would be greatly for the health of the Church, as well as for the glory of God, if we said that we are equally or even more interested in worship.
The subject of worship has acquired a new importance in our day because of the contemporary quest – particularly in the Western World – for transcendence [something greater or higher than human wisdom and achievements]. What a remarkable thing this is! Young people, disillusioned increasingly (thank God) with the technocracy, are everywhere seeking something Beyond. They believe there is another dimension – a higher dimension – to life than scientists or technologists have ever dreamed or conceived. And today these young people are seeking this higher dimension.
Unfortunately, many seek it in mind-expanding drugs, in yoga, in the higher consciousness, in the flight to the East, in Transcendental Meditation, and in sexual adventures. Although they’re seeking in the wrong places, they are seeking transcendence. This is what they should discover in worship within the Church.
We need to remember that our Christian worship must be more than a social habit, more than a cultural convention. It must be real. It must be authentic. This means, I think, that there are three indispensable characteristics of a local church’s worship-characteristics which make worship both acceptable to God and satisfying to the worshipers.
- Worship must be informed and inspired by Scripture, the Word of God. Human beings never initiate the worship of God. For all human worship is a response to the divine initiative. Jesus says in his conversation with the Samaritan woman, “such the Father seeks to worship him” (John 4:23). He takes the initiative. He reveals himself in order to evoke our worship.
It is impossible for us to copy the Athenians, who had that foolish altar to an unknown god (Acts 17:23). You cannot worship a god you do not know! For if you do not know him, then you cannot know what kind of worship might be pleasing to him, acceptable and appropriate.
Jesus also teaches this clearly in the Sermon on the Mount. He dismisses heathen or pagan worship (Matthew 6:1-18). He says that the heathen have these repetitions.
That is pathalogia in Greek, meaning any kind of prayer whether spontaneous or liturgical, in which the mind is not fully engaged.
Jesus wants us not to worship like this.
Why not? Because the God we believe in, the living God who is revealed in Jesus Christ, is not interested in that kind of worship.
Instead, he wants us to come to him and say, “Our Father in Heaven, may your name be honored and your Kingdom come and your will be done.” In this spirit we come to him like little children, thoughtfully, intelligently, confidingly, trustingly. We know the kind of God we come to, that he’s our Father and that he desires us to bring him our worship. And so, the kind of God we believe in determines the kind of worship we will offer him. That is why the Psalms are full of references to his works of creation and redemption.
These provide God’s people with tangible ground for their praise. I was upset a bit at the International Congress on World Evangelization at Lausanne when we kept crooning “alleluia, alleluia.” A sort of mindless trance. I wanted to say stop! stop! stop! What are you saying “alleluia” about? It’s no good just saying, “We praise you,” “we praise You,” “we praise You.” That’s never so in the Bible.
Many psalms begin with the word “alleluia” and end with the word “alleluia.” But in between this “alleluia” sandwich there is tremendous theological content. We are told what we are alleluiaing about. We are told to praise the name of the Lord because of his mighty works, for his creation, and right on through to his redemption.
As a result, our minds are filled with an awareness of the greatness of the Lord. That is the reason for saying “alleluia.” We need to recover some content-full theological hymns and songs so that we can know what we are singing our praises about.
I long for more evangelical reverence. Why not teach our people to come to church early, not to hurry in during the first hymn or after it, but to come in time to be quiet as a prelude to worship? I wish we could teach people that instead of the bout of conversation, to be quiet at least a minute or two before the worship service begins. It’s quite a good idea for the clergy to come in and sit down and be quiet a minute or two before 11 a.m. Also, it’s a good thing to have periods of silence during public worship.
Our worship, if it’s inspired by God’s Word, will not only be reverent but warm. Worship is cold only when the preaching is cold. There is no need to stir a congregation’s emotions artificially when Christ opens the Scripture through the reading and preaching of the Word. That is what makes worship warm, joyful.
- Worship must be offered by the whole congregation. The second mark of true worship is that it is congregational.
During the Middle Ages, worship was a theatrical performance. The stage, especially the eucharistic stage [having to do with Eucharist or the sacrament of Communion], was the church chancel. The actors in the drama were the priests and the language of the play was Latin. Congregations were mere spectators in the audience, watching the drama performed by priests around what they called the altar.
One great insight that God gave to the Protestant reformers was a determination to replace this theatrical performance by congregational worship. This reform brought the action down from the chancel to the naves (people). The Protestant reformers insisted on the use of a language understood by the people.
The Church of England produced a book of common prayers, or, in the Church of Scotland, the common order. They did this because they were determined to involve and engage the people in congregational worship.
Some churches today have gone back to the Middle Ages. The pastor does everything while the people sit and doze and listen, interspersing their dreams with hymns.
The highest some churches reach in so-called congregational worship is that during the prayers a hundred, two hundred, three hundred people engage in their own individual prayers. Really, this is not much different than the medieval mass in which the congregation was just encouraged to go on with their private devotions while the priests performed up in the sanctuary.
Do we come to church in order just to enjoy our private devotions, although standing or sitting next to somebody else who is doing the same thing? Surely we should come together for public worship!
Therefore, anything that will better involve the congregation in common worship seems to me highly desirable. Take the seating of the church, which symbolizes our understanding of worship. The Roman Catholic custom was to erect a screen to segregate the chancel from the naves and the clergy from the people. Protestants have opposed this. Yet we tolerated a kind of confrontation between the clergy and the people which the traditional arrangement of pews creates. Over here you have all the people … and over there the clergy. This separation establishes a confrontation between the clergy and the people. It perpetuates and encourages that clerical domination of the laity which has been one of the most disastrous things in the history of the Church.
When Christians meet in houses we gather around in a circle. Somehow we need to secure this intimacy again in our public worship. We need a sense of the congregation being gathered around the action.
In our own church in London we have recently made all the furniture movable. The chancel furniture is movable, the pulpit is movable, the Communion table is movable, the baptismal font is movable. For a Communion service, the table is brought right forward and the people feel they are gathered around the table for the Lord’s Supper. If it’s a baptism, we bring the font forward, closer to the people. If it’s a preaching, we put the pulpit in the center and the people are gathered round. We want to overcome this appalling feeling of confrontation, of separation, between laypeople and clergy.
Related to seating is the question of lay participation; it’s good to involve laypeople also in the reading of the Scripture lessons.
God has gifted many Christians with good voices or an understanding of Scripture so that they can read well. We can also involve laypeople in giving testimonies from time to time or being interviewed about some significant aspect of their lives as Christians. These can greatly enrich our worship.
Why should the pastor always lead in prayer? It’s a very good thing for the laypeople to lead the prayers individually or as a group.
Bach once composed a fresh cantata for every Sunday. And at a Roman Catholic cathedral in Holland there is a group of young people who produce and compose a fresh folk mass every Sunday. Do you have a little worship group in the congregation to help the pastor with the composition of the worship?
There are people in your congregation with creative and innovative artistic and liturgical understandings, laypeople who need to be involved with us clergy in preparing worship that is acceptable to God.
- Worship must be related to the contemporary world. Public worship can have a very damaging effect on our Christian lives if worship is regarded as an escape from the real world. A minister in the United Church of Canada, writing about the Jesus People, has said that like the early Christians they live simply, they read Scripture, they break bread together. But he goes on, “Like drugs, a Jesus religion can be an escape from the world in which He is incarnate.”
We gather together as the Lord’s people on the Lord’s Day for worship; then we scatter into the world for our witness. This is another rhythm of the Christian life – gathering and scattering, gathering in church in order to scatter as Christians out into the world. It is vital that we keep the gathering and scattering together in our minds; that we don’t divorce them from one another. In church on the one hand, and at home and at work on the other, we are in the same world.
God’s world. We mustn’t live a double life, oscillating between two worlds, secular and religious. Instead, we must carry our business into our worship and our worship into our business.
Many worshipers, when they come to church, deliberately and consciously step out of the real world into a religious world which has nothing to do with ordinary life. They even step back three or four centuries into an Elizabethan world which no longer exists. And when they look around at the ecclesiastical architecture or the clerical dress or the liturgical language, they must sometimes wonder if they’re dreaming. Is this the real world?
I want to urge that we must worship in modern English! I believe honestly it is inappropriate to worship the living God in a dead language. Oh, we’re so used to “thee’s” and “thou’s” and other archaic words and phrases. But using such archaic words tends to separate our worship from reality.
That is why using today’s language is indispensable, if our worship is to have about it the quality of reality.
It’s very important, as we worship, to keep in our minds the modern work-a-day world to which we belong. Do our worship services encourage the congregation to shut out of their minds the world of their home and of their job and of their community life? If so, then we are promoting by our public worship an unBiblical, spiritual schizophrenia. And we are contributing to that divorce of the sacred from the secular – possibly the most disastrous thing in the whole history of the Christian Church. We need to teach our people that the God whom we worship is the living God who created the world of work and marriage and homes and leisure and community.
His Son, after all, was incarnate and lived and died in the world. So we must not shut out the world in order to retreat into God. Instead, we must worship the God who made and rules the world. We must submit to his sovereignty that bit of the world in which we are involved day by day.
In its widest sense worship is living for God. It is honoring God in the totality of our lives. The hour or an hour and a half in which we mouth our hymns, songs, prayers, and praises simply focuses and verbalizes what is (or ought to be) the direction of our whole life. The sacrifice pleasing to God, according to the Scripture, is not just the praise of our lips, but the offering of our bodies and our money and our service in the world of everyday affairs (Romans 12:1,2). That is true worship! And Scripture states with great plainness that mere words, when divorced from social righteousness, are nauseating to God, disgusting to Him (Amos 5:21-24).
So we need to help people, in public worship, not to forget the world, but to remember it. Not to escape from life into God, but to bring all our life, as it were, with us and subject it to God as an act of worship. At least some of our prayers in church should be really concrete and topical, relating directly to the contemporary concerns of the people. Not just mentioning the sick and the bereaved by name and the missionaries {although that is very good), but also to take up newspaper concerns that are local, national, and international: racial conflict in the community, war, tragedy, disaster, high-jacking.
Public worship is God’s people responding to God’s Word in God’s world. And so my final exhortation is: do let’s toke trouble over the worship. A lot of preachers, I’m afraid, come to church with a prepared sermon and an unprepared service. It seems to me we ought to take equal trouble with the worship as we do the preaching.
John R. W. Stott (1921-2011) was Rector Emeritus, All Souls Church in London. This article is condensed from an address Stott delivered to a combined meeting of leaders of Good News and the Covenant Fellowship of Presbyterians.
by Steve | Aug 11, 1973 | Magazine Articles
“Christ Above All?”
By Ed Robb Jr.
Summer 1973
I think I would like first of all to give you a word of encouragement. I travel all over the United States, around the world. In recent years and the last two or three years particularly, I’ve seen the Spirit of God moving as I have never seen before in my lifetime. And of course, many of you have found this true also.
But another thing that encourages me is, more and more, I am seeing the Spirit of God working in the United Methodist Church. And I believe that this great Good News Movement has made a significant contribution toward that end. I believe that great things are going to happen yet in the United Methodist Church. I am seeing more evangelicals in positions of leadership and taking part in the structures of the church than I have ever known in my 26 years in the ministry. I am encouraged about this. I believe that there is a place for those of us who call ourselves conservatives in the United Methodist Church. I believe there is a place of leadership for us. I believe we have a contribution to make within the United Methodist Church.
I was ordained a good many years ago, and when I was ordained, I knew that the leadership of the United Methodist Church was dominated by liberalism. This would be the case of almost every man here tonight who is a United Methodist minister. Is that not right? You knew it was a liberal church.
But I have found a freedom to serve my lord in the United Methodist Church. I have never had a district superintendent or a bishop who has tried to tell me what to preach.
I also want to say this. I have been told for many years, that United Methodism is an “inclusive” church, a pluralistic church. I believe it is. And I appreciate this fact. There is room for me. But if this is a pluralistic church, why can we evangelicals not have representatives on the faculties of the theological seminaries of United Methodism? I would guess that a great percentage, if not the greater percentage, of money that is being given to United Methodist institutions is being given by evangelicals. By conservatives. I want to know why — if we are an inclusive church — we do not have our representatives within the institutions of our denomination? Recently a United Methodist institution had two vacancies in the department of religion. I submitted the names of five competent Ph.D’s who had degrees. from prestige schools. But not one of them was chosen. I ask you why. I ask you, United Methodist leaders, Give us a chance! Give us a place of expression. Give us a part in the decision-making processes of United Methodism.
If we do not have representatives in the religion departments of our colleges and our theological seminaries, you are going to see the money and the students going elsewhere.
We have come to St. Louis to give witness to the Church and to the world, “Above All Christ.” This is an attractive slogan. It is a proper theme for a Convocation of evangelical Christians. For we affirm that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself (II Corinthians 5:19}. The only God that we know is the God that has come to us in Jesus Christ. All other great religions are founded upon a system, upon ethics, upon philosophy; the Christian faith is founded upon a Person, Jesus Christ. He is our message. He is our hope. He is our religion. He is our salvation. He is our God. It is to Him that we owe our allegiance. We worship Him. We adore Him. We come to St. Louis to praise Him. He is our King. The best definition I ever heard for Christianity is this: Jesus Christ. He is our faith. So, we say, “Above All, Christ.”
Now what does this affirmation imply? It’s easy to have a motto, a theme. But if we really mean it, what does it demand of us? “Above all, Christ.” If we are going to put Christ above all, it is going to require courage. But I have discovered that when you really follow Christ, unapologetically, without reservation, He gives you the courage.
General William Booth was standing before a Methodist Conference, asking for an appointment as evangelist. They voted “no” and Katherine Booth stood up in the balcony and she cried out, “No, never! No, never, William.”
William Booth walked out of the conference without any security, but obeying God — and founded the great Salvation Army.
If we are going to put Christ above all, we will likely be controversial. This Convocation is controversial. This Movement, as most of you know, is controversial. But any vital movement is going to be a controversial movement. And any person who takes a clear stand for Jesus Christ is likely to be a controversial person. We are likely to challenge the status quo. And there’s too much vested self-interest, too many anxious to preserve the status quo.
We look back at such great men of the Church as Martin Luther. But don’t you ever forget that in his lifetime Luther was controversial, a most hated man. I see him standing before the Diet of Worms. They demand that he recant his Protestant faith, and Martin Luther cries out, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. Here I stand. I can do no other.”
Today John Wesley is universally respected, but it was not always so. He was invited to preach at Oxford University, and in the afternoon after his sermon he wrote, “I preached at Oxford today, but I fear it was for the last time. He was almost right; it was 30 years before he was invited back. They thought that they had invited a frustrated priest, but instead a flaming evangelist came to the campus. They did not want that; he was controversial.
The prophets of God, by their very nature, are controversial. They challenge the status quo. They probe our conscience. They make us uncomfortable. The Church has a history of killing her prophets and then 300 years later canonizing them. We love dead saints, but we don’t care for living prophets. But I would that God would raise up in our time the prophets of courage and boldness who would die to declare the truth of God.
If we are going to put Christ above all, then we are going to have a compassionate concern for the hurts, the heartaches, sins, and the suffering of this world. Oh, that as Christians, as evangelicals, we would be moved by the suffering of the world! It hurts me when my liberal friends are making a greater impression upon the world about their concern and about their care than you and I are making. We must carry a burden for the lostness of the world, if “Above All, Christ” is truly our theme. We must love the unlovely and the lonely, if we are truly going to be followers of Jesus Christ. Evangelicals are not going to make the impact that we want to on the Church and the world by witch-hunting for doctrinal heresy or by political manipulation. I have never read in the history of the Church where revival or renewal have ever come that way, have you? If we are going to experience renewal, and if God is going to use us in the Church today to glorify Christ, to bring needed reform in the Church, it is going to be because the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is in us. Not only that we are orthodox. Not only that we believe the Book.
Hardnosed fundamentalists seeing a heresy behind every bush are a most unattractive people. There is nothing so dead as dead orthodoxy. Evangelicals maneuvering for political power tend to become like those they are seeking to replace.
I recognize the need of working through the structure. I recognize the need of participating in conference debates. But let us remember this: we have never yet had a revival because of a victory at General Conference. We have never seen renewal come to the Church because some individual was elected bishop. Revival and renewal follow Pentecost. When we have a Pentecost, then we are likely to see change in the Church. When you and I make a full surrender, make a complete dedication, when we have a new baptism with the Holy Ghost, then we are likely to have revival. Then we are likely to see changes at General Conference. Then we are likely to see some great men raised up by God, elected to the episcopacy, to lead us forward in a mighty way. It follows Pentecost, it does not precede Pentecost.
I challenge you today, fellow evangelicals, fellow United Methodists, fellow Christians, to put “Christ above all” in stewardship. I’ve been hearing something lately that disturbs me greatly: “God’s children deserve the best.”
When I was in Chile a while back, I was preaching at a community called Libertad. A humble, frame, unpainted Methodist Church. It was 40 degrees, and they didn’t have heat in the building. They had no organ. They didn’t have a piano, and they had little rough benches that people sat on. I ‘II always remember the day I walked up to that little church. There, standing in the mud, in the rain, in 40-degree weather, was a little 10-year-old Chilean girl barefooted. When I go back to Chile, I ‘II tell that little girl (and the tens of thousands like her all over the world) that American evangelical Christians deserve the best. I’m sorry we couldn’t send you any shoes. I’m sorry we couldn’t help you paint your Church. American evangelical Christians deserve the best.
I was in India last year. We went up to a typical Indian village. And we went into a typical Indian village home. Open fire with no chimney. Two dark rooms with no ventilation. Seven children sleeping on the cow-dung floor beside their father and mother. Two water buffaloes, their most prized possession, in that same room sleeping with them there. Their annual income was $60.00. When I go back to India, I’ll tell them that American Christians deserve the best.
A prominent author recently said that any Christian minister who has more than two suits is a hustler. There’s just enough truth in that statement to make me feel rather uncomfortable. Does it you?
“Above all, Christ” . . . in stewardship. We have professed the faith, but we have not always lived it. We have talked humility, sacrifice, but our hearts have shrunk from them. We have lived to see militant atheists stagger us with the utterness of their self-giving.
Have you read Dr. Sangster’s The Pure in Heart? It’s a great book. He tells of Alger Hiss and Whitaker Chambers, an editor of Time magazine and a former communist. One of the grand jurors asked, “Mr. Chambers, what does it mean to be a Communist?”
He answered that when he was a Communist, he had three heroes. One was a Pole, one was a German Jew, and the third was a Russian. He said the Pole was arrested for taking part in the Red terror of Warsaw. When he was put into prison, he requested that he be given the job of cleaning the latrines of the other prisoners, for he said, “It is a Communist philosophy that the highest and most developed of the party must be willing to do the lowliest of tasks.” This is one of the things it means to be a Communist, Whitaker Chambers said. His second hero, a German Jew, was arrested for participating in a revolt. He stood before the military tribunal; the judge sentenced him to death. Eugene Levine said proudly, “We Communists are always under the sentence of death.” Mr. Chambers said, “That, too, is what it means to be a Communist.”
He said his third hero was a Russian pro-revolutionary who had been arrested for his part in attempting to assassinate the Czarist Prime Minister. He was sent to Siberia. He wanted to bring to the attention of the world the awful conditions of Siberian labor, so one day he drenched his body in gasoline and became a living torch.
Whitaker Chambers said, “This, too, is what it means to be a Communist.”
While we have been talking about commitment, while we have been playing church, while we have been mouthing the words, while we have been going through the motions, the Communists have become more committed, and they have conquered more than 1/3 of the world – while we have been in retreat.
I’ve got a minister friend with a large church. One day one of his inactive members called him and said, “I’d like to come by for coffee.” While they were drinking coffee, the layman said, “Do you happen to have a pledge card?”
Now if you want to make your pastor happy, just ask for a pledge card! The pastor gave him a card and the man signed the pledge for $600 a month. The pastor was rather astounded. He said, “Would you mind telling me why you made this generous pledge? You haven’t been giving anything to the church.”
The layman said, “I’ve been successful at making a living, but I’ve been a failure at making a life. I have a son who has a rather meager salary, but he is giving $600 a month to the cause of Communism. I cannot allow my son to outgive me,”
Are we going to allow a pagan world to outgive us? To outlove us? Are we going to be committed to Jesus Christ? Are we truly going to put “Christ Above All” in our lives?
I have been studying some conference journals. They reveal some interesting facts. I have discovered that churches with evangelical pastors have the best record in missionary giving. Their Advance Special record is impressive. I have also discovered that these same churches have a better evangelistic record. Evangelicals have the motivation to win the world to Christ.
Lest we smugly wrap the robes of self-righteousness around ourselves, we should look more closely at the facts. I have a liberal friend of whom I have been most critical. The other day I was visiting with him and discovered that he goes to the jail every Sunday to share Christ’s love with the prisoners. I have not witnessed in a jail in years. Also, I learned that he has been actively involved in the black churches of our city. Before we throw stones, we had better examine ourselves.
Have we put “Christ Above All?”
Some time ago I read a novel about a young married woman who was having severe personal problems. She had a brother who was a renowned priest. Someone suggested that she discuss her problem with her brother. “Oh, no,” she said, “I could not do that. He is too busy with important things like ecumenicity to be bothered with me.”
Is that the story of some of us? Have we been so busy with important things like church renewal that we have no time for persons?
I know an evangelist who has traveled around the world preaching the Gospel. He has preached from some of the great pulpits, coast to coast. Last month he was working in his yard. Two young boys aged seven and three stopped and visited with him. He asked them if they went to church.
“No!”
He asked them if they knew who Jesus was.
“No!”
They lived across the back alley from the evangelist — I am that evangelist.
Are we witnessing? Are we witnessing where we are?
If we are serious about putting “Christ Above All” we must carry Him out into the world. Too long we have proclaimed the Gospel from the captivity of the sanctuary! Too long we have been satisfied to convince the convinced! Too long we have moved in the isolation of a Christian ghetto! Are we frightened by the world? Are we inhibited by the world? Are we insecure in the world? Is our concept of the Kingdom of God and the duty of a Christian too limited?
Some time ago I was in the home of a Presbyterian elder. Some friends called and asked him to go to the precinct convention of his political party the following week. He answered that he did not have the time because he was going to a Christian meeting that particular night.
I submit to you that the political convention might have demanded his Christian concern more than the committee meeting scheduled at his church. The Kingdom of God does not stop at the front door of our churches. Our faith demands involvement in the world, in the name of Christ.
Three years ago, last January I was in Kansas City. One afternoon I was having coffee with three young ministers. One said to me, “Ed, last summer I was in Chicago at the Democratic Convention and participated in the demonstrations.”
I said to him, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
He answered, “Ed, I have chosen the way of radical obedience. I am completely dedicated to Jesus Christ.”
I felt rebuked. For while I disagreed with this young man very much, I had to respect his dedication. He was willing to put his reputation, his ministry, his future, his very life on the line for what he believed. And where were most of us moderates and conservatives? At home watching our color television sets in the comfort of our airconditioned homes, wringing our hands and crying out, “What is the world corning to?”
Some time ago I received a magazine with a statement by Jonathan Edwards on the cover. I liked it so well that I pinned it on my clothes closet wall. This is the statement. “Resolved, to live with all my might while I do live.” I like that, don’t you? I see so many people vegetating, not really living. There are so many who are carefully protecting themselves. I want to live with all my might!
So, I have changed the statement and made it my own. It now has been painted by an artist, is framed, and hangs on my study wall. It reads: “Resolved, to live with all my might for Christ, while I do live.” □
Ed Robb Jr. was a United Methodist evangelist from Abilene, TX. This address is condensed from his sermon at the St. Louis Good News Convocation. It appeared in the Summer 1973 issue of Good News.
by Steve | Aug 9, 1973 | Magazine Articles
“Christ Above All?”
Condensed from an address by United Methodist Evangelist Ed Robb
From the St. Louis Good News Convocation
Good News Summer 1973
I think I would like first of all to give you a word of encouragement. I travel all over the United States, around the world. In recent years and the last two or three years particularly, I’ve seen the Spirit of God moving as I have never seen before in my lifetime. And of course, many of you have found this true also.
But another thing that encourages me is, more and more, I am seeing the Spirit of God working in the United Methodist Church. And I believe that this great Good News Movement has made a significant contribution toward that end. I believe that great things are going to happen yet in the United Methodist Church. I am seeing more evangelicals in positions of leadership and taking part in the structures of the church than I have ever known in my 26 years in the ministry. I am encouraged about this. I believe that there is a place for those of us who call ourselves conservatives in the United Methodist Church. I believe there is a place of leadership for us. I believe we have a contribution to make within the United Methodist Church.
I was ordained a good many years ago, and when I was ordained, I knew that the leadership of the United Methodist Church was dominated by liberalism. This would be the case of almost every man here tonight who is a United Methodist minister. Is that not right? You knew it was a liberal church.
But I have found a freedom to serve my lord in the United Methodist Church. I have never had a district superintendent or a bishop who has tried to tell me what to preach.
I also want to say this. I have been told for many years, that United Methodism is an “inclusive” church, a pluralistic church. I believe it is. And I appreciate this fact. There is room for me. But if this is a pluralistic church, why can we evangelicals not have representatives on the faculties of the theological seminaries of United Methodism? I would guess that a great percentage, if not the greater percentage, of money that is being given to United Methodist institutions is being given by evangelicals. By conservatives. I want to know why — if we are an inclusive church — we do not have our representatives within the institutions of our denomination? Recently a United Methodist institution had two vacancies in the department of religion. I submitted the names of five competent Ph.D’s who had degrees. from prestige schools. But not one of them was chosen. I ask you why. I ask you, United Methodist leaders, Give us a chance! Give us a place of expression. Give us a part in the decision-making processes of United Methodism.
If we do not have representatives in the religion departments of our colleges and our theological seminaries, you are going to see the money and the students going elsewhere.
We have come to St. Louis to give witness to the Church and to the world, “Above All Christ.” This is an attractive slogan. It is a proper theme for a Convocation of evangelical Christians. For we affirm that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself (II Corinthians 5:19}. The only God that we know is the God that has come to us in Jesus Christ. All other great religions are founded upon a system, upon ethics, upon philosophy; the Christian faith is founded upon a Person, Jesus Christ. He is our message. He is our hope. He is our religion. He is our salvation. He is our God. It is to Him that we owe our allegiance. We worship Him. We adore Him. We come to St. Louis to praise Him. He is our King. The best definition I ever heard for Christianity is this: Jesus Christ. He is our faith. So, we say, “Above All, Christ.”
Now what does this affirmation imply? It’s easy to have a motto, a theme. But if we really mean it, what does it demand of us? “Above all, Christ.” If we are going to put Christ above all, it is going to require courage. But I have discovered that when you really follow Christ, unapologetically, without reservation, He gives you the courage.
General William Booth was standing before a Methodist Conference, asking for an appointment as evangelist. They voted “no” and Katherine Booth stood up in the balcony and she cried out, “No, never! No, never, William.”
William Booth walked out of the conference without any security, but obeying God — and founded the great Salvation Army.
If we are going to put Christ above all, we will likely be controversial. This Convocation is controversial. This Movement, as most of you know, is controversial. But any vital movement is going to be a controversial movement. And any person who takes a clear stand for Jesus Christ is likely to be a controversial person. We are likely to challenge the status quo. And there’s too much vested self-interest, too many anxious to preserve the status quo.
We look back at such great men of the Church as Martin Luther. But don’t you ever forget that in his lifetime Luther was controversial, a most hated man. I see him standing before the Diet of Worms. They demand that he recant his Protestant faith, and Martin Luther cries out, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. Here I stand. I can do no other.”
Today John Wesley is universally respected, but it was not always so. He was invited to preach at Oxford University, and in the afternoon after his sermon he wrote, “I preached at Oxford today, but I fear it was for the last time. He was almost right; it was 30 years before he was invited back. They thought that they had invited a frustrated priest, but instead a flaming evangelist came to the campus. They did not want that; he was controversial.
The prophets of God, by their very nature, are controversial. They challenge the status quo. They probe our conscience. They make us uncomfortable. The Church has a history of killing her prophets and then 300 years later canonizing them. We love dead saints, but we don’t care for living prophets. But I would that God would raise up in our time the prophets of courage and boldness who would die to declare the truth of God.
If we are going to put Christ above all, then we are going to have a compassionate concern for the hurts, the heartaches, sins, and the suffering of this world. Oh, that as Christians, as evangelicals, we would be moved by the suffering of the world! It hurts me when my liberal friends are making a greater impression upon the world about their concern and about their care than you and I are making. We must carry a burden for the lostness of the world, if “Above All, Christ” is truly our theme. We must love the unlovely and the lonely, if we are truly going to be followers of Jesus Christ. Evangelicals are not going to make the impact that we want to on the Church and the world by witch-hunting for doctrinal heresy or by political manipulation. I have never read in the history of the Church where revival or renewal have ever come that way, have you? If we are going to experience renewal, and if God is going to use us in the Church today to glorify Christ, to bring needed reform in the Church, it is going to be because the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is in us. Not only that we are orthodox. Not only that we believe the Book.
Hardnosed fundamentalists seeing a heresy behind every bush are a most unattractive people. There is nothing so dead as dead orthodoxy. Evangelicals maneuvering for political power tend to become like those they are seeking to replace.
I recognize the need of working through the structure. I recognize the need of participating in conference debates. But let us remember this: we have never yet had a revival because of a victory at General Conference. We have never seen renewal come to the Church because some individual was elected bishop. Revival and renewal follow Pentecost. When we have a Pentecost, then we are likely to see change in the Church. When you and I make a full surrender, make a complete dedication, when we have a new baptism with the Holy Ghost, then we are likely to have revival. Then we are likely to see changes at General Conference. Then we are likely to see some great men raised up by God, elected to the episcopacy, to lead us forward in a mighty way. It follows Pentecost, it does not precede Pentecost.
I challenge you today, fellow evangelicals, fellow United Methodists, fellow Christians, to put “Christ above all” in stewardship. I’ve been hearing something lately that disturbs me greatly: “God’s children deserve the best.”
When I was in Chile a while back, I was preaching at a community called Libertad. A humble, frame, unpainted Methodist Church. It was 40 degrees, and they didn’t have heat in the building. They had no organ. They didn’t have a piano, and they had little rough benches that people sat on. I ‘II always remember the day I walked up to that little church. There, standing in the mud, in the rain, in 40-degree weather, was a little 10-year-old Chilean girl barefooted. When I go back to Chile, I ‘II tell that little girl (and the tens of thousands like her all over the world) that American evangelical Christians deserve the best. I’m sorry we couldn’t send you any shoes. I’m sorry we couldn’t help you paint your Church. American evangelical Christians deserve the best.
I was in India last year. We went up to a typical Indian village. And we went into a typical Indian village home. Open fire with no chimney. Two dark rooms with no ventilation. Seven children sleeping on the cow-dung floor beside their father and mother. Two water buffaloes, their most prized possession, in that same room sleeping with them there. Their annual income was $60.00. When I go back to India, I’ll tell them that American Christians deserve the best.
A prominent author recently said that any Christian minister who has more than two suits is a hustler. There’s just enough truth in that statement to make me feel rather uncomfortable. Does it you?
“Above all, Christ” . . . in stewardship. We have professed the faith, but we have not always lived it. We have talked humility, sacrifice, but our hearts have shrunk from them. We have lived to see militant atheists stagger us with the utterness of their self-giving.
Have you read Dr. Sangster’s The Pure in Heart? It’s a great book. He tells of Alger Hiss and Whitaker Chambers, an editor of Time magazine and a former communist. One of the grand jurors asked, “Mr. Chambers, what does it mean to be a Communist?”
He answered that when he was a Communist, he had three heroes. One was a Pole, one was a German Jew, and the third was a Russian. He said the Pole was arrested for taking part in the Red terror of Warsaw. When he was put into prison, he requested that he be given the job of cleaning the latrines of the other prisoners, for he said, “It is a Communist philosophy that the highest and most developed of the party must be willing to do the lowliest of tasks.” This is one of the things it means to be a Communist, Whitaker Chambers said. His second hero, a German Jew, was arrested for participating in a revolt. He stood before the military tribunal; the judge sentenced him to death. Eugene Levine said proudly, “We Communists are always under the sentence of death.” Mr. Chambers said, “That, too, is what it means to be a Communist.”
He said his third hero was a Russian pro-revolutionary who had been arrested for his part in attempting to assassinate the Czarist Prime Minister. He was sent to Siberia. He wanted to bring to the attention of the world the awful conditions of Siberian labor, so one day he drenched his body in gasoline and became a living torch.
Whitaker Chambers said, “This, too, is what it means to be a Communist.”
While we have been talking about commitment, while we have been playing church, while we have been mouthing the words, while we have been going through the motions, the Communists have become more committed, and they have conquered more than 1/3 of the world – while we have been in retreat.
I’ve got a minister friend with a large church. One day one of his inactive members called him and said, “I’d like to come by for coffee.” While they were drinking coffee, the layman said, “Do you happen to have a pledge card?”
Now if you want to make your pastor happy, just ask for a pledge card! The pastor gave him a card and the man signed the pledge for $600 a month. The pastor was rather astounded. He said, “Would you mind telling me why you made this generous pledge? You haven’t been giving anything to the church.”
The layman said, “I’ve been successful at making a living, but I’ve been a failure at making a life. I have a son who has a rather meager salary, but he is giving $600 a month to the cause of Communism. I cannot allow my son to outgive me,”
Are we going to allow a pagan world to outgive us? To outlove us? Are we going to be committed to Jesus Christ? Are we truly going to put “Christ Above All” in our lives?
I have been studying some conference journals. They reveal some interesting facts. I have discovered that churches with evangelical pastors have the best record in missionary giving. Their Advance Special record is impressive. I have also discovered that these same churches have a better evangelistic record. Evangelicals have the motivation to win the world to Christ.
Lest we smugly wrap the robes of self-righteousness around ourselves, we should look more closely at the facts. I have a liberal friend of whom I have been most critical. The other day I was visiting with him and discovered that he goes to the jail every Sunday to share Christ’s love with the prisoners. I have not witnessed in a jail in years. Also, I learned that he has been actively involved in the black churches of our city. Before we throw stones, we had better examine ourselves.
Have we put “Christ Above All?”
Some time ago I read a novel about a young married woman who was having severe personal problems. She had a brother who was a renowned priest. Someone suggested that she discuss her problem with her brother. “Oh, no,” she said, “I could not do that. He is too busy with important things like ecumenicity to be bothered with me.”
Is that the story of some of us? Have we been so busy with important things like church renewal that we have no time for persons?
I know an evangelist who has traveled around the world preaching the Gospel. He has preached from some of the great pulpits, coast to coast. Last month he was working in his yard. Two young boys aged seven and three stopped and visited with him. He asked them if they went to church.
“No!”
He asked them if they knew who Jesus was.
“No!”
They lived across the back alley from the evangelist — I am that evangelist.
Are we witnessing? Are we witnessing where we are?
If we are serious about putting “Christ Above All” we must carry Him out into the world. Too long we have proclaimed the Gospel from the captivity of the sanctuary! Too long we have been satisfied to convince the convinced! Too long we have moved in the isolation of a Christian ghetto! Are we frightened by the world? Are we inhibited by the world? Are we insecure in the world? Is our concept of the Kingdom of God and the duty of a Christian too limited?
Some time ago I was in the home of a Presbyterian elder. Some friends called and asked him to go to the precinct convention of his political party the following week. He answered that he did not have the time because he was going to a Christian meeting that particular night.
I submit to you that the political convention might have demanded his Christian concern more than the committee meeting scheduled at his church. The Kingdom of God does not stop at the front door of our churches. Our faith demands involvement in the world, in the name of Christ.
Three years ago, last January I was in Kansas City. One afternoon I was having coffee with three young ministers. One said to me, “Ed, last summer I was in Chicago at the Democratic Convention and participated in the demonstrations.”
I said to him, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
He answered, “Ed, I have chosen the way of radical obedience. I am completely dedicated to Jesus Christ.”
I felt rebuked. For while I disagreed with this young man very much, I had to respect his dedication. He was willing to put his reputation, his ministry, his future, his very life on the line for what he believed. And where were most of us moderates and conservatives? At home watching our color television sets in the comfort of our airconditioned homes, wringing our hands and crying out, “What is the world corning to?”
Some time ago I received a magazine with a statement by Jonathan Edwards on the cover. I liked it so well that I pinned it on my clothes closet wall. This is the statement. “Resolved, to live with all my might while I do live.” I like that, don’t you? I see so many people vegetating, not really living. There are so many who are carefully protecting themselves. I want to live with all my might!
So, I have changed the statement and made it my own. It now has been painted by an artist, is framed, and hangs on my study wall. It reads: “Resolved, to live with all my might for Christ, while I do live.” □
