Natural or Supernatural

This past Wednesday at the church which meets in our home we had a new guest. I met this man about 7 months ago shortly after we moved to Honduras. Charley is 72 years old and lives on a mountaintop overlooking the capital. It's a dangerous area with a murder or two almost every week. He lives on social security and is loved by the town people because of his obvious love for them and the Lord. He reminds me of an Old Testament prophet.

Four months ago he woke up completely paralyzed. Friends, ex drug dealers who had become followers of Jesus, carried him onto a plane and he was flown to San Antonio, TX. The doctors never gave him any medication other than pain killers because they were unable to determine what he had. They told him that there was a good chance he would never walk again.

What I am going to relate to you is a paraphrase of Charley's words, but more or less as he expressed them.

"When the doctors told me I may never be able to walk again I rejected those words as lies from Satan. God does not want his children to be sick, or lame, or diseased. I began to rebuke the illness and Satan in the Name of Jesus and to believe the Word of God to be more powerful than any spoken by doctors or the Devil himself. Three weeks later I walked out of that hospital. The doctors didn't know what to say. Yes, it was a slow process of recovery and I needed therapy, but I am completely recovered."

And he is. During our prayer time we prayed for two friends who have or had cancer. Then one of the ladies, also a new guest said her heel had been hurting a lot lately. Charley asked her to remove her sock and he and one of the young ladies prayed for her healing. Charley asked this question, "What would Jesus do if he were standing in the room at that moment and Linda's foot was painful?" I though it was a very good question and one that almost every Christian would answer the same way. "He'd heal it." Charley said to us, "Jesus gave us His power and authority to do the same thing and we're going to right now."

Why then was I slightly uncomfortable with this action? (Remember, I call myself the Honest Christian) I believe God heals....without a doubt. I believe that God has given us authority over the enemy. Why then was I just a little uncomfortable?

Here are a few reasons. I was afraid of what the others in the room might be thinking. I was afraid that Linda's foot might not be healed and God would look the fool, let alone us or Charley. I'm not completely convinced that God heals all the time and in every situation. There are a few of the reasons.

But here's my real question for you, for me. Why is it that we Christians want to claim to believe in a supernatural power whom we call God, whom we believe created us and the universe, whom we believe is capable of doing anything He wants...and has, yet...when someone has enough faith to actually believe He can and will do a miracle, we shy away? We back pedal and claim that the gift of healing or of tongues no longer exists. That God no longer reveals Himself to us in the same way He once did.

Why would we want to serve a supernatural God and live our lives only looking for natural results?
I ask the question to you. Why? 

Would You Leave?

We live in Honduras. We don't usually call ourselves missionaries for a number of reasons. I don't like the name tag, it's been misused for so long now it has lost it's relevance. It has been used by so many who are not actually missionaries that there has become a preconceived idea in peoples minds that is associated with the word, one I don't usually like to be associated with. It places people on pedestals, a very dangerous place to be. We didn't go through a missions organization with 501C3 status and all the required support raising to get here. Those are just some of the reasons we don't often refer to ourselves as missionaries.

However, it doesn't mean that we aren't missionaries, at least based on the true definition of the word. (I explain this more fully in a post I did in another blog I write.) We're around a lot of missionaries though and missionaries have their own way of talking. Special words we use, kind of like a techie or a mechanic does. Instead of using words like "gigs" or "thingamajigs" or crimpers" we use words like "calling" or "mission" or "work" to describe why we are here in another country. Personally, I've always hated Christian lingo, but sometimes it's the only way to get your point across, at least to other people in the same business.

You may not have heard this, but Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world per capita. Something like 90 people killed for every 100,000 each year. (We missionaries love to put that out there every chance we get despite the fact that most of us live behind walls with razor wire on it.) But here's the deal. Honduras really can be dangerous as are many other countries. As I write this there is a very real possibility that today there could be civil unrest. Yesterday was election day. It was a close race between two very dissimilar parties, both probably corrupt, both claiming victory.

A man whom I deeply respect, a pastor and missionary raised the question yesterday whether or not we, meaning missionaries, would run back home if things got rough here. It was a very valid question. To paraphrase his question it went kind of like this. "If you are really "called" here, if your "mission" really is the people of Honduras and you are certain that God has "called" you to this "work"....will you stay and risk your life for what you believe in and the people you serve?"

It's a good question. It is one that missions organizations should be asking their people as troubles around the world deepen. Are you there for the long haul? Will you be there when the going gets tough and the fun and adventure has worn off? When the bullets start flying? Will you stay if your support dries up?

My wife and I are in a little different situation than most missionaries are. We have never said we were called here. We are not living off of donations from people who are giving money to us for the sole purpose of sharing the Gospel in places they can't or won't go.

However, the longer we stay here, the more deeply we involve ourselves in the lives of people here, the more I can say that, yes, we are called here. Forever? Through thick and thin? Through the Good, the Bad and the Ugly? If we run out of money? I don't know the answer to these questions. But as my friend said. "The most dangerous place to be is outside the will of God."

So if God says, "Stay here," then we stay, even at personal risk to our own health and safety. We stay if we truly believe we are called. Bottom line.

Are you called?

Church, the Way it Should Be?

So in  my last post I criticized the "church" as we know it in America. I dislike the organization we have turned it into. I dislike the corporateness of it. I dislike the specatorship that it has become. I dislike the idolatry we at times participate in as we worship a building, a program or the pastor. Ok, you know where I stand on all this.

So here are my thoughts on what "church" should be.

My wife and I and our three boys recently moved to Honduras. Shortly after we arrived we started what we refer to as a fellowship group in our home. We missed having Christians around us to encourage us and with whom we could share life. This wasn't the first group we had started. Over the years we have been part of several.

This is what I realized. Real "Church" should be family. The Bible refers often to the "family of God". I don't know about you, but when my family gets together, we don't have a board meeting, or form a committee. When one of us in in need, or in the hospital, or leaving the area, we don't make a phone call and see who is next on the list to take a meal or check the deacons fund to see how much money is available in the account. No, we pitch in and help, we do whatever is needed. Why? Because we are family. Bottom line.

So back to this home group here in Honduras. Why is it different than a church service? Does it even qualify in Biblical terms as a church?

Let me answer the first question first. We meet in our house, or an other's. We share a meal together. We laugh and talk and catch up with each other. Eventually we gather around and we share our week, the ups and downs. We study the Bible. Usually the men take turns each week as we study through one of the books. This gives everyone an opportunity to grow in being able to accurately teach the Word. Then we have a short discussion time. If we feel something was presented inaccurately we talk about it, or share how this has impacted our lives. We sing, we take communion together and then we pray. We pray for each other, we praise God, we bring our needs before the throne. From start to finish we're together 3 - 4 hours and we enjoy every minute of it. It's like a family get together

Question 2. What I just described is, I believe far more Biblical than anything you'll experience in a typical church service. Why? Because it is life. It is family and it is community.

You may ask, "What about structure, bishops, pastors and elders and deacons?" Let's follow this family thing for a bit. If your father is a good father, even though you are an adult now, do you still ask him for advice. If he came to you and was concerned you were taking a wrong road, would you listen to him? Do you have older men in your life who you respect and who have insight into life and you trust them enough to desire their input on decisions? I do. That's the way I see church. It's elders who have enough living and enough God given giftedness to be able to lead the "family" through tough times. Sometimes there is someone who takes charge of an event or a need. You know, a coordinator, like who is going to bring what for dinner or whose turn it is to take Grammy to the doctor. That's ok, that's family too.

What about gifts and calling? Well, I'm a pastor. Not by education or as a job description, but by calling. A pastor, or more literally, a shepherd, is one who watches and cares for a flock. That is what shepherds do. Part of what I do in our home group is I watch out for those who are in our family. It comes naturally, it is a God given gift or calling. I don't have to work at it. It's what I do. I recently had a young person call me and ask what I thought they should do in a life situation they found themselves in. I talked it through with them, but in the end I left that decision up to them. There was no right or wrong, just two choices. The important thing is that this person knew that I cared enough about them to take the time to talk and they trusted me as a shepherd.

We add people to our family all the time. But here's the thing. We aren't trying to build up an organization. I feel absolutely no pressure to try to get people to join. I am free to tell them about Jesus without inviting them to church...although sometimes we invite them to dinner. We don't take up an offering. Wait, correction. We have taken an offering once when one of our "family" was really in need. But there's no light bill to be paid, no staff, no pastor, no rent.

For me, it works. Our time together is the highpoint of my week. It seems to be for everyone else too.

What's your opinion?