When It's Naughty to be Nice

Beloved, it seems we have a problem. It turns out that the Western church is embroiled in a battle; a schizophrenic civil war, to be more precise. This shouldn't surprise you. Dating as far back as the penning of Romans 7, we have done, and continue to do, that which we shouldn't, forsaking that which we ought to do. Shoot, this dates back to the advent of the sin nature, then. More specifically, however, I find that, in my own life, in my reading, and in my daily experience, there is an inner struggle between what is "nice," and what is "holy."



It's a natural tendency, of course. The path of least resistance rarely, if ever, merges with the straight and narrow, and yet, it must be a four-lane highway, with all the traffic it gets. "Now, we don't want no trouble," do we? No, for our own self-preservation, the only thing we fight for is the lowest common denominator, a banal mediocrity that quietens everyone and pleases no one. Yet, when I consider the life of Jesus, I find that He very often was confronting the niceties of established religion, and was consorting with the rough rabble of prostitutes, tax collectors, and lepers. I think His most telling statement to this end was, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:12-13)."

And, let's be honest. Doesn't even our neighbor see through our niceness? If we can see in each other our own insincerities, doesn't God certainly see through it, He who searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts (1 Chronicles 28:9)?" Sincerity of heart is what counts, not appearances. Jesus' track record with the Pharisees and religious leaders should well demonstrate that.

What lies at the root of our ingratiating desire to "just be nice," anyway? Do we fear our fellow man that much, that we sacrifice what we know to be right for what we know to be easy? Do you realize that the nicer your facade, the less relevant you become? Don't we understand that Christ made such an impact precisely because He moved past cliches, past the status quo, so that even the secular voices need respect His impact? People don't want packaged answers and glib diatribes nearly as much as they want honesty. Think back to when you became a follower of Christ. Were you responding to your deep-seated need to simply have a pleasant life? Of course not! You had found in Christ Jesus the answer to your deepest need, and a God big enough to handle any question, even if you can't understand the answer. Let's be real for once, because things aren't always nice. Wipe away the veneer; be geniune, and find true satisfaction.

Being About the Business

Brothers and Sisters,

I am writing this as a confession, and a call to repentance. As I reflect upon the current events of my life, I am challenged to become more active in the life of my church. I fear that membership means little if anything nowadays in our churches. Strong, Bible-believing churches are allowing lax entry into the church, an error on the part of our leadership, while members have erred by not vesting a fuller involvement in the goings-on of the church.

So often, at least in Southern Baptist life, decisions are made on a congregational level, in the dreaded Business Meeting, and yet these meetings are rarely reflective of our congregations. Oftentimes, the large majority of members elect to not be bothered with the events of the church, and then complain that "nothing is being done," or, "I wish things were different."

While business meetings are often boring (if you're lucky), heated, and/or uneventful, we are remiss not to attend. Granted, I would have second-guessed my recent attendance, perhaps, if I were not on staff, for all of the above reasons. However, I am firmly convinced that much of the stagnation we are frustrated by in our churches, overall, is because many ministries and initiatives are never seen, because the church at large is not at the meetings to have such things voted in.

I appeal to you, as vibrant and concerned citizens of the Kingdom of God, who have tired of the lethargy and apathy that plagues our churches, to become active, as a voice in your respective congregations. You are missing a grand opportunity to support new, vibrant ministries of the church that you never even hear about because they are defeated in business meetings. I know they can be messy, frustrating, and outright enraging sometimes, but if the Church elects to do something, the Church should have spoken; NOT the politicking minority.

Be a Soldier of the Cross. Be a Part of the Body. Be an Active Member.

God Bless! Pastor Jeremy