Pastors Edge

James Merritt

More Than An Average Joe

On the day after Christmas, like most of you I had not burrowed out from under bows, wrapping paper, gift boxes, and clothes (LOTS OF CLOTHES) to discover that the world is pretty much the same as it was on Christmas, the most wonderful day of the year (at least to children and consumers). Pretty much…but not quite because today at 7:50 EST my friend Joe, age 53, received his final and best Christmas gift ever. He got an all expenses paid first class trip to Heaven. Most of you have no clue who Joe was but you will when you make your own trip to Heaven (assuming that is your final destination).

I first met Joe in the mid 90’s when he struggled on canes to the front of my church to surrender his life to Christ.  He was the typical looking Italian—strong facial features, jet black hair with a mustache to match. He looked like he might be hiding a tommy gun beneath his pin stripe suit and I assumed he could cook some mean Italian cuisine.  When I went back to the area where we met and spoke with those making spiritual decisions I  immediately went to Joe for some unknown reason. “Joe, God has something great in store for you,” I said. The shock on his face was palpable for was Joe not only beginning his journey with God, but he been on a journey struggling with a brain tumor that would never go away. He had long since given up on any meaningful fruit coming from his life.To my surprise, Joe had a smile that would light up your heart in spite of a debilitating physical condition that would break it.

Not long after his conversion, I felt God leading me to invite Joe to become a part of our staff. He would often say that I took a chance on him when no one else would. Looking back now I realize that I really took no chance at all. In fact, it was a no-brainer that made me look like a brilliant judge of talent!

Joe added to our staff a red-hot love for Jesus Christ and an equally sizzling passion for unchurched people that was inspiring. I will always remember Joe telling of the time he literally crawled up some stairs in a home to share the good news with another person. With Joe it was always about Jesus and people and remained that way until the end.

I saw Joe for the last time several weeks ago. I was told he might be in his final stages and wanted to make sure that I saw him one last time.  When I walked in I was told to be prepared as he was drifting in and out of consciousness. However, when I came in and spoke he immediately rallied, opened his eyes, and we spent some precious minutes together.  Trying to minister to him, I would start quoting various scriptures and he would quickly finish them for me. Typically Joe, he wound up ministering to me.

I made two requests of Joe before I prayed and left. First, I asked him to tell Jesus how much I loved Him since He would be the first one to see our Savior. Then, I asked him to look up my dad and tell him the same thing and tell him that I couldn't wait to see him again. He did that on the morning of December 26 after conquering his last enemy and going to be with the One whose birthday the world celebrated the day before. He was far more than an average Joe. He was so full of Jesus and so full of joy that he left this world having impacted countless lives, including my own.

Joe reminds me--and I want to remind you--as we close out an old year and ring in a new one that we really should make every day count. This year, you'll meet "Joes" in your ministries that no one else believes in. Believe in those people and challange them to do great things. People in your church will astound you with their gospel fervor. Partner with these people and help them make a difference. Let's make every day better for those we meet for we never know which day will be our last. Joe reminds me that average people become astounding people in Christ. Thanks to the baby born over 2,000 years ago no Joe ever has to be average—this one certainly wasn’t.

A Minister and His Books

Every pastor should have one thing in common, both personally and professionally: a passion for reading.  I know of no other profession or vocation where reading and staying current with the culture is more vitally important than the modern day pastorate. This means we do a whole lot of reading! (I am assuming that those of you who are reading it do in fact read.)  I want to give you some observations that I have gleaned through the years about reading profitably.

One of the things that I learned early on in my ministry is the danger of becoming too narrow in my reading.  For example, it is very tempting for some pastors to read nothing but books on theology. Obviously, reading books on theology and theologically oriented materials would be a given for any pastor. 

However, I believe that pastors should constantly be reading books that are varied in both topic and perspective.  I also understand there is a fine line between being so broad-minded that convictions can fall through the mental cracks that are formed and being so narrow-minded that new perspectives cannot break through the walls that are built.  Nevertheless, with the information explosion that we have experienced in the last twenty years, it is simply imperative that pastors take time to read and use that time wisely to expose the mind to as many different fields of knowledge as possible.  I make this statement with one conviction in my heart – all truth is God’s truth.

As a practical example I will share with you my own reading habits currently and some things that I am reading and have just recently read.  I’ve always had the philosophy to keep several books going at the same time (that may not be your style – you may want to only read one book at a time).  Frankly, I have mental ADD at times and I get bored pretty quickly with only one book.  Also, I make sure, however, that I try to finish at least 4-5 books in a very timely fashion.  Just looking at some of the books that I am reading now they include a book by Gordon MacDonald entitled, Who Stole My Church?, The River of Doubt – a book about Theodore Roosevelt’s almost fatal journey into the Amazon jungle, Forgotten God by Francis Chan (kind of Holy Spirit 101 type of book),  In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson (I recently saw Mark at a Catalyst Conference and told him I’ve never know anyone who could write an entire book about one event in scripture that only took maybe two minutes!) and Vintage Church by Mark Driscoll.

I have just bought two books that I am about to read.  One is entitled Love Is The Killer App by Tim Sanders (what a neat title), a book about winning business and influencing friends and an unusual book called Under The Covers and Between The Sheets – which is the inside story behind classic characters, authors, unforgettable phrases and unexpected endings.  This ought to be chock-full of great illustrations that nobody else will know about!

Beyond that, if it fits your budget, I would strongly encourage every pastor to buy a Kindle.  The types of books that I load on my Kindle are what I call “fun reading books.”  Those are books that are just what they sound like – fun reads that may not help a whole lot in my ministry, but would be enjoyable.  I’ve got every type of book on here from Economic Facts and Fallacies by Thomas Sowell (one of those brilliant thinkers of our time) to another book on the Secret Service just published that is a fascinating read on how the Secret Service really works. You get the drift. 

I strongly encourage you, if you are not reading like you should--Start!  If you are reading too narrowly broaden your horizons and make sure you have some kind of system where you can file the great stories, illustrations, quotes, statistics, etc., that you find in books to use at a later date.  Remember, you may have a book in your library, but you don’t own it until you can retrieve from it what you need when you need it.

Happy Reading!

Healthcare, Jimmy Carter, and the Race Debate

Confession and disclosure: I am somewhat of a political junkie. In fact politics hold a certain fascination to me. If I could choose another career I would love to be a constitutional lawyer. I happen to be one of those patriots who love my country but is absolutely convinced that much of what our government is doing today--regardless of whether it is good or bad, effective or ineffective--is simply unconstitutional. I also believe we have in effect reduced the Bill of Rights to nine from ten as the Tenth Amendment has been completely thrown into the waste bin of judicial irrelevance (if you don’t know what that amendment says, look it up).

All of which leads me to reflect on the most heated political debate I have seen in the last 25 years—the debate over health care. It is so intense that for the first time in history a congressman was reprimanded by the House of Representatives for calling the president a liar while he was addressing Congress in a joint session.

I am not going to venture my views personally on this issue as I will be the first to admit it is extremely complex. There are no easy answers, and I believe there are good people on all sides of the issue who are sincere and wanting the best for their countrymen. I do have my opinions on governmental intervention in general in domestic affairs (clue: my first presidential vote was for Ronald Reagan in 1980) but that is not the concern I want to address.

I want to weigh in on the issue of race in this debate. You may remember Jimmy Carter’s blanket statement that opposition to Barack Obama’s policies—specifically, health care—are motivated by racism. Still, my problem is summed up in the following statement by a college professor: Robert Watson, a history and political science professor at Hampton University in Virginia said this in defense of Carter’s statement: “He clearly knows the minds and attitudes of Southern leadership and Southern people.”

Therein lays my problem from both a common sense and a spiritual perspective. First of all Carter doesn’t possess supernaturally omniscient knowledge of the minds and attitudes of millions of Southerners—nor does anyone else. At the very least I can say this—Carter certainly doesn’t know mine and I am a born and bred Southerner who hates racism with every fiber of my being.

But my greater issue with Carter is spiritual and biblical. As that oft repeated verse of scripture reminds us: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Carter just gave the classic illustration of what this passage prohibits—judging a person’s motives for any action that person takes.

To wit: was the congressman who called the President a liar doing so because the President is black and the congressman is a racist who hates black people or at least hates the thought of a black man being President? Perhaps. But the only being in the universe that knows that for sure is God. Even the congressman doesn’t know his own heart according to scripture. The moment a Jimmy Carter puts himself in the place of God and says in effect “I know why that person did what he did,” he is guilty of judging another person.

I absolutely believe that Congressman's actions were disrespectful, and I think that people who feel passionate about the President's policies should express those views civilly with dignity and decorum. But if you ask me whether or not I think that those who oppose the president’s policies or even disrespect him publicly are racist, I'd respond that I have no way of knowing that and I can’t judge them. Neither can Jimmy Carter. You can judge a person’s methods—you cannot judge a person’s motives.

How Do You Tolerate the Intolerable?

For those Rip Van Winkles who just woke up and wonder if there has been indeed a massive, earthquake size culture shift in our country in just the last 10 years just think Proposition 8 and e-Harmony.com.  

Who would have dreamed just a decade ago that a state would have to put up for a vote that marriage should be limited to a man and a woman? Who would have thought just a decade ago that an online dating service would have to agree with a court to become a matchmaker for homosexual and lesbians?

I will be the first to admit that my heart has not always been loving and compassionate toward homosexuals. I will be the first to admit that my attitude was indeed pharisaical and harsh toward those who have chosen this sexual lifestyle.  God broke me when several years ago I deliberately visited two lesbians who had visited a former church and saw firsthand how these are human beings who are loved by God and need His grace just like I do.  I not only became friends with them but led them eventually to Christ and saw them forsake their lifestyle.

That said, I am angry and somewhat astounded at the lack of toleration of those who scream the loudest for tolerance.  It is bordering on both the insane and the infinitely arrogant.

Proposition 8, which went before the people of California, was a totally legitimate effort following the democratic process of allowing an amendment to the state constitution. Not one person said there was anything unconstitutional about amending the constitution!! But then the completely unexpected happened-the proposition passed by a strong 52-47%...and what happened-the one who worship the idol of tolerance rioted, marched, screamed  and filed suit to have the people's will overturned!

In New Jersey, although there are hundreds of internet sites where homosexuals and lesbians can hook up, e-Harmony was intimidated by the courts into opening up their website to homosexuals as well as straights.  Apart from whether or not e-Harmony caved (I think they did) this is just another case where the poster children for tolerance are completely intolerant of others who in every way possible tolerate them!

Let me be brief and to the point: toleration works both ways and those of us who indeed practice it must stop at the line where we are forced to tolerate the intolerable. Not every hill is worth a Christian dying on-but this one certainly is. Let us act toward everyone with grace, love and compassion. But when the people have spoken in one instance and when law abiding are forced to make choices that violates both one's conscience and values, it is time to stand up and stand against those on the other side. Not to do so is to tolerate the intolerable.

When the Election is Over

I have been more quiet and reflective during the last 18 months in the race for President than ever before in my lifetime. I admittedly love politics. In fact I want to recommend a book to you if you have any interest in being a truly informed voter and one who can intelligently discuss and debate the various issues facing the next President of the United States (POTUS). The book is entitled What You Should Know about Politics...But Don't by Jessamyn Conrad. It truly is as the subtitle states a "non-partisan" guide to the issues. I found the book a great read and extremely informative and will be a more intelligent voter because of it.

That said, in a matter of hours, we will have elected the next POTUS in what will be (regardless of who wins) an extremely historic event. Either the first black person will be elected POTUS or the first woman will be elected V-POTUS. Either way, to say the least we have come a long way baby, no doubt about it!

The purpose of this post is neither to persuade you to vote for one candidate nor dissuade you from voting for another candidate.  However, I will go on record as saying this without apology: it would be wrong to vote against any candidate strictly because of the color of their skin. That is blatant racism and has no place in what should be a truly color blind society.  On the other hand, it is just as racist to vote for a person strictly because of the color of their skin. That too is just as racist and is simply not a reason to vote for anyone.

That being said, today we will have elected a new president and I want to give some observations, offer some counsel, and make some suggestions that hopefully will apply to everyone. I do this in no particular order.

First, do not make the political personal. I have never seen such venomous and vitriolic disagreement over a presidential election in my lifetime. Indeed, I just read where a fight broke out in a retirement home in Florida between some senior adults over the upcoming election! (I wonder if they were members of AARP-American Association of Retired Pugilists)  Obscene gestures, profane language, murderous looks can be had in an instant if you are wearing the wrong button, or have the wrong bumper sticker, or an unpopular yard sign. 

Though I don't want to underestimate the importance of this election ( just maybe one of the two most important of my lifetime) we do need to remember that we are accountable only as to how we vote, and that the differences offered in a democracy are what make living in one so great. Be passionate, be bold, and be willing to speak your mind but do so with an allowance for others to disagree without declaring war on them.

Second, don't whine about the winner and don't laugh about the loser. Frankly, I don't know why anybody would even want the job today! Have you ever seen more difficult issues facing a POTUS both in quantity and quality than the one facing the next one? From domestic to foreign issues, we are living in perhaps the most unstable, difficult, perilous times since the beginning of WWII.  Once the American voter has spoken it is time to move on. Mercifully, the debates, ads, primaries, and campaigns are over-at least for a few weeks, and we can all move on with our lives and get back to simply governing our own lives responsibly.

Finally, pray for the next POTUS regardless of who wins. Not only will he need it but he deserves it and God demands it!  One thing I am grateful for-it is the knowledge that behind all of this is a sovereign God who is in complete control and whose Son is coming back one day not to take sides but to take over!  Looking at the headlines right now-that event can't come soon enough

Dr. Merritt's personal thoughts on a variety of subjects is covered in this section. He shares his insight and experience on issues that you are working though yourself.