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Every once in a while a word(s) strike(s) me funny. A recent article containing the words “bound conscience” caught my eye and I read on. It was an article about the recent decision of the ELCA to permit homosexuals to pursue appointments as leaders & pastors in the church. What they did was not surprising but their rationale is systemic of our burgeoning western mindset.

Years ago, thinking about this topic, I wrote in my journal, ‘God has called upon me to obey Him and His Word as my personal “public relations” (John Piper) project for the Kingdom of God’. “When principles that run against my deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith” (Abraham Kuyper). “In a fallen world like ours unity is no treasure to be purchased at the price of compromise. Loyalty to God, faithfulness to truth, and the preservation of a good conscience are jewels more precious than gold” (A.W. Tozer). “God wants our conscience to be certain and sure it is pleasing to Him. This cannot be done if the conscience is led by its own feelings, but only if it relies on the Word of God. The conscience unconverted leads to the idolatrous religion of conscience” (Martin Luther).

In Luke 11:14-36 there is a flow of things that all speak to the issue of faith and discernment; in the end Jesus says, “See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness” (35). Words like “bound conscience”, “tolerance”, “open-minded”, “multiculturalism” and “unity” are all good or bad after you reveal what those concepts rest on. If they rest on the notion that man is essentially good doing evil occasionally they are dangerous and need to be scrutinized constantly. On the other hand if they rest on the Biblical teaching that man is evil and occasionally does good we have a standard to mark all consciences, all levels of tolerance, all open-minded ideas, all efforts at multiculturalism and struggles for unity – The Word of God.

The gods of this age are no different than the gods of all former ages, they simply have different names (words) but what they are remains constant; the forces of Satan working to contradict and draw people away from the redeeming and freeing truth of God’s Word. Jesus said, “Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness” (Luke 11:34-35). The only pure light is Christ Jesus and I know His perfect will by the Word of God. If I intend to improve my discernment and grow my faith I must choose to make His Word my daily food. I, we must choose to drink from its living water and eat its life-giving bread lest we drink at the fountain of tolerance and find our food at the trough of personal conscience. Dear God, give us spiritual discernment in this age of conscience-worship.

I have been reflecting on my life these last 5 years and two things about my children stand out that compel this blog.

First, my children as maturing young adults, each magnify a small part of my inner identity and personal desires. The longer they live, express themselves and find their unique places in life the more clearly I see little pieces of me in them. They simply take them and run to new levels of expression. I think it is the coolest thing to observe and enjoy! I am vicariously living in their accomplishments and through their unique contributions to their world. I never expected this blessing from God!

Second, an important means to clear the way for children to become what God has designed for them is to rear them in front of open doors of opportunity. To me that means two unwavering principles: the Bible defines what we can and cannot pursue and they must be properly trained to resist negative influences and to be Godly influences where they live and work.

Another unexpected blessing has been that they are growing within the Biblical boundaries and becoming Godly influences. I could never tell how well we were doing but in gratefulness to God, I hope to continue enjoying these unexpected blessings for the rest of my life.

“Church Leadership”

A notion that has occurred to me and I have heard discussed addresses a curious late twentieth century and early twenty-first century problem; moral failure and career changes out of ministry. Finding an answer to this problem wanders into a harsh reality check for the Western Church. The American experience, being what it is, has been the soil of Evangelicalism and as disappointing as it may be has had significant influence on the Church. This influence is easily seen at the denominational and institutional level but is also detectable in the local church; although harder to observe.

One cultural phenomenon that continues to influence the church is the effect of results oriented business models that find their way into the church and seem to have an increasing role as churches grow larger and larger. Why the Church has trouble leading and instead follows the business world continues to trouble me. Nonetheless, we must have a look at what the business world has collectively brought us. Don’t get me wrong, I was reared by business people, primarily entrepreneurs who love the tenets of capitalism and despise the slow calculating move towards Marxist Socialism that the Western electoral milieu are clamoring and voting for. At any moment we are publically saying that just because Europe and Canada failed doesn’t mean we will. We can get it right and still enjoy unrestrained freedom and the best care in the world. If it doesn’t work we can simply start over.

We are wandering—back to the moral failure and ministry drop-out rates. When America was young and Harvard turned out theologian/pastors the most important quality for pastoring was personal holiness and Biblical uprightness. This reputation boded well in the public square with moral voice and essential influence. As America got educated and organized denominations and related educational institutions took a closer look at educational parity with the world and slowly moved towards advanced degrees for those in ministry. The need to be accepted in academia not to mention on Main Street now required two masteries; Biblical uprightness and education.

Enter the modern world of growing economies; super-power status, think tanks and CEOs. Main Street was taken over by corporate America and along with them came Business Schools, MBAs and leadership gurus. The Eastern establishment led the way; first with great men, then only curious ideas. Nonetheless, things were changing and the Church, by now located in the suburbs, finds itself losing market share. No problem, let’s add “leadership” as a topic for mastery to succeed in ministry. The results are easily detectable after perusing Seminary catalogs. Add to that the arrival of the mega-church and the CEO pastors who guide them and we have three complete life consuming masteries for the local pastor: personal holiness; graduate level education; and training and skills in vision casting, staff development and 21st Century leadership. The burden became and is too great to bear. The statistics demonstrate that we, pastors of all size churches, cannot stand under the stress of these three monstrous tasks so we at first subconsciously let the personal holiness stuff slide. The challenges of modern life in the west just make it hard to live the life that is called for by text like 1 Timothy 3:1-7 or 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12. Tolerance is in order and now we amuse ourselves with high-tech sermons given by pastors who occasionally use language in the pulpit that they practice on the fairways. It is what people understand, it makes for relevant messages.

Pursuing holiness and staying in the touch with what is going on in Seminary academia is consuming. Leading a morally upright life and reaching my goal of 50 books a year and maybe taking a graduate class every five years is more than enough for a second born with average leadership skills. I made a decision that I will wait this leadership stuff out, see what comes next and prompt and promote personal holiness and committing to life long learning while serving the local church.

What the Church lacks at the beginning of the 21st Century is not educated pastors or giants who lead impressive churches; what they lack is moral voice and that is rooted in a pursuit of personal holiness. My vote is to abandon all the leadership, vision casting stuff that drives corporate America, Detroit and the mega-church movement. Let’s get on our knees, ask forgiveness and begin again with the simple but challenging commitment of personal holiness and build on that an education that is rooted in Bible training that will rear a generation of pastors that can guide the Church and perhaps morally influence the Western culture away from the precipice of historical irrelevance.

When someone uses the word “Separatists” I am reminded of the original Puritans who came to the shores of Massachusetts to find a place to worship God. They left England because it was not a friendly place to worship as they saw fit. They separated so that they could worship God their way; the challenges came from both the institutional Church of England as well as the State that was wed to it. That was the 1600s.

When someone uses the word “separation” I am reminded of a story that took place in the 1800s. Thomas Jefferson had just been elected the third president of the United States and he sat down New Year’s Day (1802) to send a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut. In that letter he stated two things which define an issue of separation in 2009.

He wrote, “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.”

It did not take long for the letter to be published and then it went quietly away into the same place that all Presidential papers go. However, in 1879 the Supreme Court referenced the letter and used it to describe the “scope and effect of the [first] amendment.” It went away again, for 68 years but returned in the majority opinion of Justice Hugo Black in “Everson v. Board of Education”. He wrote, “a wall of separation between church and State.’ . . . That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach.”

Jefferson idealized “Individualism” and provided a missive metaphor that has become a “Legal Absolute”. In 21st Century America we are sold on individualism as our personal right and “the wall that separates Church and State” as a national distinctive among the community of nations.

A couple of years ago I listened to a radio commentator interview a Muslim cleric who identified a key difference between his country’s political views and America’s. He said that we Americans celebrate “separation of Church and State” as an enduring strength; whereas he comes from a country where their strength is rooted in the “absolute union of Mosque and State”. He further stated that because of the union of Mosque and State the Muslim world would defeat the West. He believed that without their union there is no enduring reason to engage an enemy who threatens a nations’ lifestyle that is solely rooted in capitalism. He did not believe that the American public would battle the Muslim world just to sustain our Western Capitalistic ways; there has to be more. At that moment I turned off the radio and pondered his comments. I believe that his conclusion has merit.

As we separate our national conscience from traditional Christian mores we grow more and more fragmented around our individual agendas. The political result is that our new leaders are the people who promise the most to the most people yet are unable to keep any of those promises. Meanwhile they access the top rung of the good life as elected representatives. Just today two Cabinet nominees have withdrawn because they were “sloppy” living the good life.

Perhaps traditional Christian virtue would return to the political stage if we separated all levels of political leadership from money and placed every elected official in the same Social Security network that the blue collar worker lives with. End any and all contributions from PACs and any and all gifts from Lobbyists; limit all contributions to $99 per person, period. Put the entire sum of PERS into the Social Security Trust Fund and separate the “mother’s milk of politics” from the politicians who have the power to direct money. Finally, deposit all “left over” campaign funds into the public till and begin again.

We began as a country with deeply held religious beliefs and it was expected that those beliefs would inform and govern our public and political conscience. Over the past 60+ years we have systematically separated our national soul from our religious roots and the moral convictions that nurtured them. All we have left is the capitalistic machine that was born from it and it is consuming us; it may be destroying us.

We stand on the precipice of financial disaster. Could it be that we have separated ourselves from the wrong thing and cling to the one thing that should never be the goal of any person or nation?

On patriotic days I like to sing “America the Beautiful”. The words of that song say two essential things that ring true in my heart and mind. First, we live in a blessed place: “spacious skies”; “heroes proved”, “fruited plains”; “mountain majesties” and “alabaster cities that gleam”. The songbook I am looking at has Psalm 16:6 under the title, it says: “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a goodly heritage”.

To be born an American is still a privilege many envy. There are plenty that still believe that America is “undimmed by human tears”, enjoys “crowned good with brotherhood” and is a choice place from which to know the “shedding of God’s grace”.

The second thing I like about it is that it is a prayer to the Creator God who intervened to bring about this “shining city on a hill” this “experiment in democracy”. Yet, recently we have taken our lumps, the Middle East effort has soured, the economy is languishing under a massive weight of debt and we have lost confidence in those who we elected to govern and those they seek for advice.

Yesterday we “began again” with the peaceful transfer of political power from one administration to that of our new President. “America the Beautiful” was on display once more. The ceremonies were breathtaking, the words were carefully crafted and the extravagant Inaugural Balls went on past my bedtime.

I am hopeful that we can straighten our course, mend some foreign relations fences and reassert the good of freedom and free enterprise. We all know that it will take time and plenty of sacrifice. Some of our past choices will end up costing us dearly and I suspect that my children will be running the show when the bill is still being collected. Be that as it may, America remains a beautiful place to live, labor and leave for heaven. Until then I remain committed to “beautifying America” as I can from my little remote place in this magnificent land.

In England they say, “God save the Queen” and for a moment this morning I prayed, “God save the President” as we begin again to live and work in “America the Beautiful”.

I recently read a quote from C.H. Spurgeon that struck me. He was commenting on 2 Timothy 4:13 – “When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.” Spurgeon’s comments are a blessed reminder to all in ministry and all others who care to stay engaged to read.

“He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He has had wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up in the third heaven, and had heard things unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! He has written a major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books! The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every Christian, ‘Give thyself to reading.’ The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves he has no brains of his own.”

If you glance through “The Treasury of David” and have a look at his “Commenting & Commentaries” you quickly realize that Spurgeon was a committed reader. The prince of preachers was a serious reader. His example challenges me; and I would challenge you to make a New Year’s Resolution to read in 2009.

For the past number of years I have resolved to read daily; first my Bible and then good important books. I always get something from reading Scripture but I am surprised at what reading has afforded me. I generally begin my year by picking a general topic and reading on that topic throughout the year. Last year I read 3 books on the life of Paul and 6 books on Jewish studies. Every year I read at least one book in the field of Psychology and then I look for good biographies. This past year I read a great book on the life of Golda Meir and another on John Adams. In 2009 I hope to read the biographies of D. M. Lloyd-Jones, Thomas Jefferson and William Carey. As a Pastor I read theology and Spiritual formation books; I read books with others in ministry and occasionally I read novels and other good literature.

Go figure, when I opened my Christmas gifts all but one was a book. The majority were for sermon preparation and research but one I am really looking forward to reading is, “Five Minds for the Future” by Howard Gardner.

Two years ago I was in North Carolina and visited the Vanderbilt Mansion. The house is the largest family dwelling in the United States and the grounds are spectacular but what surprised me was the library. The guide told us that Mr. Vanderbilt recorded that he read 4000 books in his life and was the most “well read man in America” by some accounts. That turns out to be 50 books a year for 80 years – WOW! I have got a ways to go and time is running out.

Let me conclude with the wisdom of Solomon which hangs in my office under the picture “The Bookworm” by Karl Spitzweg – “My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

When I put all this together I am resolved to spend adequate time finding good books so that when I read my faith grows and my heart and mind mature. Join me!

I recently read McCullough’s biography of John Adams but what irritated this blog into existence is something that dawned on me while recently shaving.

The difference between Adams and Jefferson was significant in many ways but one thing that brought people to their camps when they ran against each other was their rhetorical skills. Jefferson was a natural at public speech who rarely spoke extemporaneously whereas Adams was challenged and worked hard to prepare public speeches and succumbed to unrestrained public statements and at times hot tempered letters. He won his election by a small margin and lost his second by a good bit more.

So what? I would submit that Adams should have won by large margins both times he ran but the electorate was and still is enamored by rhetorical skills. I am very concerned that the public has come to regard rhetoric so highly that they are willing to overlook serious character flaws when that person’s rhetorical skills are superior. Upon reflection it dawned on me, before the mirror that day, that Obama won because his public rhetoric is superior to McCain’s. When Bush, whose public rhetoric is inferior to McCain’s, won twice, his opponents had average to poor rhetorical skills.

The greater question is, should rhetorical skills matter as much as they do in our culture? The last two democrats elected were people with the ability to deliver a speech and move a crowd. In two election landslides the Reagan victories were in part the result of natural and developed rhetorical skills.

The reality is that rhetorical skills matter and we should nurture them in our lives and the lives of our children and students. I disliked speech in High School but now give at least two significant speeches every week and wish I had more training in rhetoric. It was a required subject at Harvard when Adams was a student there and should be a focus in the education of our children in the 21st Century.

Years ago, when I had a stint in politics, I was surprised to discover that the politicians who made headway were not ideologues but rather good speakers. From the good speakers arose a few who could debate and “think on their feet”. And amongst those politicians the best were those who had convictions and reasoned minds. I continue to be amazed at how far a person can go with good speaking skills.

Having said that I remain reticent to cast a vote for someone who can deliver a great speech. I agree with one of Reagan’s biographers, character must always be king. So while we work at speaking well we must rear our children with character because rhetoric should never be the most important virtue.

I just completed reading David McCullough’s masterpiece “John Adams”. If you have not read this author or know anything about John Adams I would recommend it as a worthy and fascinating read for 2009. But on a different note I would heartily recommend that you read biographies.

McCullough relates that John Adams began writing an autobiography and in the end gave it up because his view of himself was impoverished and therefore distorted. (My words) I can understand such notions. What is astonishing about Adams was the volume of letters he wrote and that still survive. It was certainly the core of McCullough’s research in writing the book.

Shortly before I completed the book I decided I would do less than Adams, who in one year wrote more than 1000 letters, and begin writing letters in 2009. I made a list of those to whom I would write and sketched out the order in which I would write them. You may be wondering why.

We “know” Adams by what he wrote. One of his addressees was Thomas Jefferson who would write him back. But the difference is that we do not “know” Jefferson the same way we know Adams from their letters. When Adams wrote he communicated his heart and soul with passion and life; whereas when Jefferson wrote he communicated ideas while carefully guarding his person.

Adams was as transparent a man as there could be but Jefferson was, in some sense, a truly post-modern man. I think he would have loved the technology of today that facilitates personal anonymity while communicating ideas and all the other things necessary to administer ones reputation and public persona. I think one significant difference between our two most recent Presidential candidates is that we “know” McCain, but Obama remains “unknown” and I think that was by design.

I am not given to radical public transparency, but after reading John Adams I think he had the right balance. He bore his very soul to Abigail and in time to John Quincy; but in lesser degrees his grandchildren and as the letters moved from there to public officials and friends he was less transparent. After Abigail died he found someone to take her place but by then his writing had shrunk because of age and tremors. Nonetheless, he loved to roam, ride and ruminate when he was outside but when he was inside he loved to read and write.

I have come to love reading, and I have plans for some biographies in 2009 but at the end of 2008 I have learned another more valuable reason for writing. I think my first letter will be to my new grandson – I shall tell him what the world was like when he arrived so that one day he can read it from grampa Nymeyer’s point of view. But more importantly I think I shall take up this challenge because I want him to know me and the God who brought me to this wonderful time in life.

At this time of the year my ears feast on Handel’s Messiah; as a matter of fact a group of us at Church have taken up the challenge of learning and by God’s grace singing the great chorus that caused the King to rise, “Hallelujah!”. There are other “auditory feasts” but none compares to the inspired work of Doctor Handel.

As for the eyes and what reading brings to an active mind I would like to take a moment to recommend some excellent reading material to nurture and arrest your thinking in the next year.

First, I have read the NLT translation of the Bible this year and would recommend it for 2009 if you are looking for a dynamic translation.

Second, “Outrageous Mercy” by William Farley – “God hides His power in weakness, His wisdom in folly, His goodness in severity, His justice in sins, His mercy in His wrath” (Martin Luther). This little book will rewarm any cold heart and stir you to worship well.

Third, “Love: The Ultimate Apologetic” by Art Lindsley – “As I travel around the United States and overseas interacting with believers and nonbelievers, certain common themes emerge. First, many people desire passion; they want to have a passionate commitment to something or someone. Second, many also desire a mentor who exemplifies love and shows them a good way to live. Third, many people crave a perspective that is comprehensive enough to make sense of both their personal and public lives.” This excellent read explores the answer for these people – enjoy!

Fourth, “The Courage to Be Protestant” – David Wells – This modern day seer exposes the real problems with church marketing and emergent trends and challenges the Western church to return to truth. If you are new to Wells this is a great read!

Fifth, “Historical Drift” – Arnold Cook – Cook is not really a writer but what he addresses made this the best book I read in 2008.

Sixth, “A Journey Worth Taking” – Charles Drew – In contrast to Warren’s popular book “The Purpose Driven Life” this read has something for the maturing believer to chew on.

Seventh – “Tell the Truth” – Will Metzger – This author is new to me but he could easily be my favorite author on the topic of evangelism. His subtitle: “The Whole Gospel to the Whole Person by Whole People”. It has a great study guide and some excellent illustrations.

Eighth – If you want some culture notions to think about and digest have a look at the two best books I have read on the topic: “Culture Wars” – James D. Hunter; and “Amusing Ourselves to Death” – Neil Postman. These are not necessarily Christian authors and they don’t cover the same material but they unravel what is going on in the public square and the living room.

Ninth – “Jesus – Made in America” – Stephen Nichols – As the center of Christianity shifts to Africa and South America and the West is more and more pagan this read will challenge your thinking about our contemporary theology and how we got there.

Tenth – “John Adams” – David McCullough – This masterful historian has crafted a story that makes 651 pages whiz by. I read his “1776″ and decided I would read this author whenever I had the chance. The man John Adams will inspire you as much as William Wilberforce. Enjoy this sumptuous literary dine by a warm fire.

Honorable Mention: “The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment” – Tim Challies and “Why we’re not Emergent” – Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck.

If I may steal a phrase from a wonderful author, “don’t waste your life” in 2009 by ignoring the discipline of reading and the blessing of thinking after another person’s thoughts. Join me at the feast!

MN

Once in awhile I get to have a conversation that is a generous mixture of personal observations and cultural analysis. I had one recently with my brother. When I talk to him it is mostly about life and family but once in awhile he and I are equally free to rumminate.

This conversation began with a question that he posed: What one word symbolizes the generation that just engaged politics and pushed Senator Obama over the top to become our next president? I never answer such questions because they are really opening statements for something that is brewing just below the surface of a man’s mind that thinks about things like that.

“What?” brought the one word answer, “entitled”. He went off with some examples from his life in the Midwest and my mind went off to evaluate his notion. The man is right! It does not only describe the 25 and less crowd, it is coming to describe all of us.

The “American Dream” was once about opportunities and access but it is becoming about “entitlements”. When we began the experiment we call a democratic republic it was about “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”; but now it’s about ending life if you choose, the guarantee of secure and adequate retirement, a free education that leads to a meaningful job, and someone else paying for your health care including body augmentation and sex change operations. In this last economic bubble the proposed bailout is an attempt to rescue a new addition to the American dream, having your own home whether you can afford it or not and now its helping Auto makers whose advertisements appeal to greed rather than need.

The word “entitled” is contrary to the word “grace” just like the word “bailout” is contrary to the word “opportunity”. I learned one thing while growing up in an economically struggling Midwest family; you don’t live beyond your means and you are grateful for anything that you don’t deserve. The very words “entitled” and “grace” raise the question, “What do I (we) deserve?”

As a follower of Jesus Christ and as a Christian living in America I of all people should live “grateful and humble” not “entitled and expecting” because I am undeserving, but God’s grace continues. I am not entitled to health care yet I have good health; I am not entitled to security and adequate retirement but I am better off than ever before; I am not entitled to a first class education but I and my family have access to resources that continue to develop our minds and our understanding of a burgeoning global community; I am not entitled to heaven but by God’s grace through faith I am sealed by the Holy Spirit and certain that I will spend eternity in a place that I do not deserve.

Thanksgiving is “commercially and economically skipped” these days but it should remind us that we are the recipients of grace. It should reinforce that we must resist “entitlements” as a future commercial and economic disaster and thank God for grace.