This is the season for special summer ministries in local churches, one of which is Vacation Bible School. Each week as you look at newspapers and church web sites, you see a description of the creative teaching times offered in VBS for families and especially their children. I have discovered that Vacation Bible School is a great learning time too for the adults who volunteer their time and energy.
For the last two years, my wife and I have determined that we wanted to fulfill a goal the Psalmist stated, to “declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come” (73:18). Since I am qualified according to the first part of the verse because “I am old and grayheaded,” I thought a good way to “declare” the Lord to the next generation was to be one of the volunteer VBS workers. Since we have two granddaughters we infrequently get to see (they live in upstate New York), we thought having them involved in our church’s VBS would be an additional way to “declare” our faith to them. We expanded the “teachable moments” for our granddaughters by planning day trips to add to the VBS experience. It was a great week for the two grayheaded grandparents—and the granddaughters are already making plans for next year!
A side benefit to the week was to realize how much I learned about life by watching the interaction of the children at VBS. One lesson was that all people are different. The children came into the auditorium with a variety of emotions. Some were excited to be there and others entered literally kicking and screaming. All were different, yet all responded to the love that the dedicated VBS workers displayed for them. Even the most apprehensive children warmed up to the experience when they realized that they were in a place where someone loved them and wanted the best for them. I learned the importance of displaying love to the variety of people who enter the doors of our church, realizing some will have great apprehension.
Another lesson learned is that people don’t always play by the rules. During the game time, the game directors carefully explained the rules of the game and checked to see if everyone understood them. In the heat of the game, the rules were sometimes obeyed, but quite often they were forgotten, ignored, or resisted. When the game director enforced the rules, there were a variety of reactions, often reflecting the maturity of the child. Some compliantly yielded to the rule, while others loudly resisted with, “It’s not fair!” How often I have seen people in churches act the same way to the Word of God that has been taught. They know what the Word of God says, yet a variety of reactions occur. Perhaps those reactions reflect maturity too!
When snack time came—one of my favorite activities!—some children devoured the treats with gratitude, even expressing a word of thanks. On the other hand, there were some children who regularly expressed a complaint about what was provided. “It wasn’t like Mom’s,” or “It’s too messy,” or “Isn’t there something else?” were common comments. I learned the lesson that some people are generally grateful, while others… well let’s just say that gratitude is not their main attitude. How often in churches are people quick to complain and slow to express gratitude for what has been provided for them?
The Bible lesson time taught me something else. When exposed to the Word of God, people must do something with it. Our VBS teachers were excellent as they taught the Bible lessons. The strength of their teaching was not just the information they shared but also the application that they made. They gave practical suggestions and encouragements so the children could respond to what they heard. Too often people hear the Word of God but are not encouraged to “…be doers of it also” (James 1:22).
In the craft time I learned that what seems simple for one person to do is difficult for another. Some children could rival Rembrandt in their artistic creations. Others…well, Picasso might appreciate the effort! Some children needed the guiding hands of the VBS craft instructors, while others were flying through their project with little guidance. It is the same in some Christians’ experience. Some need guides to disciple them as they walk through this project called life and do not do very well without assistance. I learned to be better at looking for individuals who need assistance.
Children learn a lot at Vacation Bible School. Let your children enjoy one! If you are willing to volunteer at one, be prepared not only to teach but to be taught!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
A Nation Under the Influence
On May 11, 1831, a French sociologist, political thinker, and historian named Alexis de Tocqueville came to New York for an eight-month visit. He was particularly interested in discovering what made the United States of America unique from the nations of Europe battling through the last vestiges of aristocracy. Upon returning to France he wrote Democracy in America in 1835, originally a four volume set in French which was later translated into English. In this major work he described some of the uniqueness he observed in this young nation. He wrote, “Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more did I perceive the great political consequences resulting from this state of things, to which I was unaccustomed. In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom pursuing courses diametrically opposed to each other; but in America I found that they were intimately united, and that they reigned in common over the same country."
I wonder what Tocqueville would write about the USA if he were writing today? Would he see the same influences “intimately united?” Perhaps he would draw different conclusions. Would he alter his observation that, "Moreover, almost all the sects of the United States are comprised within the great unity of Christianity, and Christian morality is everywhere the same. In the United States the sovereign authority is religious, and consequently hypocrisy must be common; but there is no country in the whole world in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America, and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its conformity to human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.” He was not blind to the hypocrisies, nor was he blind to the influences of Christianity.
In the 21st century there is a notion developing in the USA that Christianity is OK as long as it is personal and private. “Worship anyway you want,” some would say, “But keep your faith behind closed doors.” How can the Christian life, which Christ said was to be by its very nature public and pervasive, be reduced to such limitations? Christ depicts his followers as light that is to be displayed and salt that is to flavor its surroundings (Matthew 5:13-16). These are not qualities easily sequestered to the recesses of personal social conciseness only to be publically drawn upon in times of national crisis. Christianity is always to be on display in the marketplace of public opinion. Christianity always addresses both the hereafter and the here and now.
Christianity, when properly lived, is to reflect Jesus Christ in the public arenas of life. Such beliefs and behaviors may be criticized and marginalized by certain elements of society. People have had similar attitudes before when Christianity operated openly and promoted countercultural ideals. The accusations of the secular citizens of Thessalonica declared that Christians, whose faith was public and pervasive, “have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). That may be one perspective. However, a follower of Christ may conclude they are really just turning the world right side up!
Tocqueville concluded, “The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other; and with them this conviction does not spring from that barren traditionary faith which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live.” Perhaps such an attitude needs to be rekindled. At the very least, attempts to silence the Christian voice and influence in secular culture should be rejected. Christians also should not cower to intimidation but lovingly reflect Jesus Christ to a culture in desperate need of light in a growing moral darkness and salt to preserve a decaying culture. Tocqueville was impressed with the “habits of the heart” of our young nation under the influence of Christianity. He saw that they would “shape the mental habits” and develop the “moral and intellectual dispositions of men.” They have; they can again.
I wonder what Tocqueville would write about the USA if he were writing today? Would he see the same influences “intimately united?” Perhaps he would draw different conclusions. Would he alter his observation that, "Moreover, almost all the sects of the United States are comprised within the great unity of Christianity, and Christian morality is everywhere the same. In the United States the sovereign authority is religious, and consequently hypocrisy must be common; but there is no country in the whole world in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America, and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its conformity to human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.” He was not blind to the hypocrisies, nor was he blind to the influences of Christianity.
In the 21st century there is a notion developing in the USA that Christianity is OK as long as it is personal and private. “Worship anyway you want,” some would say, “But keep your faith behind closed doors.” How can the Christian life, which Christ said was to be by its very nature public and pervasive, be reduced to such limitations? Christ depicts his followers as light that is to be displayed and salt that is to flavor its surroundings (Matthew 5:13-16). These are not qualities easily sequestered to the recesses of personal social conciseness only to be publically drawn upon in times of national crisis. Christianity is always to be on display in the marketplace of public opinion. Christianity always addresses both the hereafter and the here and now.
Christianity, when properly lived, is to reflect Jesus Christ in the public arenas of life. Such beliefs and behaviors may be criticized and marginalized by certain elements of society. People have had similar attitudes before when Christianity operated openly and promoted countercultural ideals. The accusations of the secular citizens of Thessalonica declared that Christians, whose faith was public and pervasive, “have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). That may be one perspective. However, a follower of Christ may conclude they are really just turning the world right side up!
Tocqueville concluded, “The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other; and with them this conviction does not spring from that barren traditionary faith which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live.” Perhaps such an attitude needs to be rekindled. At the very least, attempts to silence the Christian voice and influence in secular culture should be rejected. Christians also should not cower to intimidation but lovingly reflect Jesus Christ to a culture in desperate need of light in a growing moral darkness and salt to preserve a decaying culture. Tocqueville was impressed with the “habits of the heart” of our young nation under the influence of Christianity. He saw that they would “shape the mental habits” and develop the “moral and intellectual dispositions of men.” They have; they can again.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Welcome Home Prodigals
Tucked away in beautiful southern Lancaster County is the picturesque Rawlinsville Camp Meeting. For the last 123 years, people have gathered there in mid summer to hear the Word of God, worship the Lord, and for some to connect or reconnect to God through his Son, Jesus Christ. It has been a place where many spiritual prodigals have come home to the Lord.
In the late 1800’s, William James Kirkpatrick wrote a song entitled, “Lord I’m Coming Home,” at that camp meeting in Rawlinsville. Kirkpatrick, a church musician from the Philadelphia area, used his talent to compose over 80 songs. While at Rawlinsville, he developed a concern for the spiritual condition of the soloist at the camp meeting who was a nonbeliever. After Kirkpatrick prayed for the young man, the words to the song came to him. The song was loosely based upon the story Jesus told of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. Kirkpatrick wrote the words down quickly, and after the soloist sang them that night, the young man saw his need as a spiritual prodigal to come home to his Heavenly Father.
Within in the heart of a prodigal, there often exists a secret desire to go home to where they really belong. In one sense, all of humanity is a prodigal. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way” (53:6, The Message). While wandering around and doing our own thing, the Spirit of God pulls at our hearts, reminding us that this is not where we belong. Too often that “pull” goes unidentified and people simply seek panaceas to placate their lost and longing hearts.
Perhaps Ernest Hemingway best captured the longings of a prodigal in his short story, “Capital of the World.” The story begins with the narrator telling about a humorous event. According to the narrator, Madrid is full of boys named Paco, a nickname for Francisco. One father was estranged from his son, Paco. Hemingway tells of a father who seeks to restore their relationship and “came to Madrid and inserted an advertisement in the personal columns of El Liberal which said: Paco meet me at hotel Montana noon Tuesday. All is forgiven. Papa… The police had to disperse the eight hundred young men who answered the advertisement.” These 800 young men were looking for the opportunity to go home to their fathers and no longer roam as prodigals. In their hearts they had a longing exposed when they saw an opportunity to be restored.
Jesus tells a similar story. His story was to show why he was on the mission to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and to clarify why he was rubbing shoulders with sinners (Luke 15:1-2). He was announcing to sinners, to prodigals, that they could come home because they were loved. As Jesus claimed, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He knew the way home would be through what he would do on the cross. Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Thus he told his disciples, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The only way for prodigals to go home to their Heavenly Father was through the way he would provide for them.
The story Jesus told indicated how prodigals would be welcomed as those that returned to God by means of His Son. They would get an open-armed, joyful reception (Luke 15:20-24), a reception anyone would appreciate. Although you may not be named Paco and have a father looking for you, you have a Heavenly Father who wants to restore you and say, “Welcome Home!”
In the late 1800’s, William James Kirkpatrick wrote a song entitled, “Lord I’m Coming Home,” at that camp meeting in Rawlinsville. Kirkpatrick, a church musician from the Philadelphia area, used his talent to compose over 80 songs. While at Rawlinsville, he developed a concern for the spiritual condition of the soloist at the camp meeting who was a nonbeliever. After Kirkpatrick prayed for the young man, the words to the song came to him. The song was loosely based upon the story Jesus told of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. Kirkpatrick wrote the words down quickly, and after the soloist sang them that night, the young man saw his need as a spiritual prodigal to come home to his Heavenly Father.
Within in the heart of a prodigal, there often exists a secret desire to go home to where they really belong. In one sense, all of humanity is a prodigal. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way” (53:6, The Message). While wandering around and doing our own thing, the Spirit of God pulls at our hearts, reminding us that this is not where we belong. Too often that “pull” goes unidentified and people simply seek panaceas to placate their lost and longing hearts.
Perhaps Ernest Hemingway best captured the longings of a prodigal in his short story, “Capital of the World.” The story begins with the narrator telling about a humorous event. According to the narrator, Madrid is full of boys named Paco, a nickname for Francisco. One father was estranged from his son, Paco. Hemingway tells of a father who seeks to restore their relationship and “came to Madrid and inserted an advertisement in the personal columns of El Liberal which said: Paco meet me at hotel Montana noon Tuesday. All is forgiven. Papa… The police had to disperse the eight hundred young men who answered the advertisement.” These 800 young men were looking for the opportunity to go home to their fathers and no longer roam as prodigals. In their hearts they had a longing exposed when they saw an opportunity to be restored.
Jesus tells a similar story. His story was to show why he was on the mission to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and to clarify why he was rubbing shoulders with sinners (Luke 15:1-2). He was announcing to sinners, to prodigals, that they could come home because they were loved. As Jesus claimed, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He knew the way home would be through what he would do on the cross. Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Thus he told his disciples, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The only way for prodigals to go home to their Heavenly Father was through the way he would provide for them.
The story Jesus told indicated how prodigals would be welcomed as those that returned to God by means of His Son. They would get an open-armed, joyful reception (Luke 15:20-24), a reception anyone would appreciate. Although you may not be named Paco and have a father looking for you, you have a Heavenly Father who wants to restore you and say, “Welcome Home!”
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