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I’ll never forget it. The night of the first time I wanted to kill someone. I mean really wanted to violently cause another person’s death. I wanted it so bad I could taste it; I was shaking with rage and begging for a chance to kill. I was a cop for 16 years. During those years, I was involved in two police action shootings; one I pulled the trigger, one I did not. The one I did not is the one I referenced to start this post. My fellow officers killed him. The one I pulled the trigger did not result in the suspect’s death. He lived and, as far as I know, is still in prison. I was recently asked my opinion about the recent police shootings and the racial ramifications. I had declined to comment but now I think I’m ready to comment a bit. So I want to start by telling you a story about that night mentioned above. I was a member of two different departments during my career and, during my 16 years, I spent 10 of them on SWAT or SRT or whatever you want to call it. If you watch TV or movies or the news, you know a bit of what those guys do and what I did. That night was cold. We had been called out to help the local Sheriff’s Office execute a court order. An elderly WWII vet had apparently lost his mind and had been threatening people with harm. He would answer the door to receive his mail with a carbine slung over his shoulder. So a judge issued an order that he was to be detained and brought to a hearing to determine mental competency. We got the call. I won’t bore you with all the details but will cut right to the chase, so to speak. I was deployed on a sniper post that night so was not on the entry team. Under “normal” circumstances I was the point man, the first one through the door. But not this night. When our guys made entry into the house, the suspect opened fire from behind a fort he had built inside his living room. I will never forget it; the sharp staccato of the Glock 18 carried by our shield man, the heavy sound of the suspect’s rifle, the screaming on the radio of, “Shots fired! Shots fired! Officers are down, officers are down!” Then the covering fire commenced. I could hear via the radio in my ear, “Get out, get out! I’ve got covering fire!” Chaos. Screaming. I was raging and shouting while squinting through my scope, begging for a shot, my mind working far too fast. I don’t even remember what I was thinking. Then an eerie stillness. Our guys were out. I ran across the street to help with the wounded. Craig’s blood was gushing over my arms and hands. It was so hot compared to the cold air that it almost felt like it was burning me. Craig was bleeding to death in my arms while the medics scrambled to control the bleeding. His femoral artery was ruptured. I held him and kept saying, “You’re gonna be fine, brother. Hold on! Look at me, you’re gonna be fine!” But I really didn’t know. By God’s grace, the three officers wounded in that operation lived. Two of the three were forced into medical retirement because of their injuries. The suspect was killed in the firefight. I tell you that story because I want you to know that cops are not bad people. Now don’t get me wrong, there are bad apples out there on the job. There are bad people in every job imaginable. But, based on my personal experience, 99.9% of cops are good men and women doing a job that is becoming increasingly hard and heavily scrutinized. So here’s what I think about what has happened recently. Let’s wait for all the facts before we all start rioting and calling cops racist and chanting for the death of police officers. When those facts come in and the investigation is complete, then you may protest if things aren’t kosher. But don’t call people racist and riot just because you have an agenda. There are no police officers who go to work wanting to kill someone; I guarantee that. If, when the facts come in, it turns out that the police involved used force that was unlawful or unnecessary, then by all means punish them to the full extent of the law. Lock them up just as you would anyone else. But don’t convict them before you have the facts. I speak from experience when I tell you that pulling the trigger is never a fun thing and will haunt that officer for the rest of their life. Trust me on that. I still have nightmares. I can still hear the gunfire and feel my buddy’s blood soaking my hands and arms. Without delving too deep into the weeds of race, let me say this. During my career, I worked with black, white, Hispanic, male and female officers. Rampant racism was not something I saw from my fellow officers. Were there cops that I worked with who had improper and wrong views of people different than them? Of course. But that was not solely white officers I worked with. I worked with black officers who made their racial biases known loud and clear. But this is where I want to offer some hope. This is where the Church can do so much. When these times come and these situations happen, we have a chance to be the voice of love, hope and reason. I’ve been frankly disappointed in some religious leaders who feel they need to shoot their mouth off about things that are outside their experience. We can be the ones the world turns to in moments of violence and pain. We have the greatest news to give a broken world! We can be the ones to embrace our fellow humans no matter their ethnicity or gender and tell them that there is a better way, that grace is for them also. Can we all just agree that there is sin in the world and that our job as the Church is to offer an alternative to the narrative of pain and death? We are the voice of peaceful opposition to the narrative of division and death. We are the hands and feet of Christ in the world today. Let’s show that love and offer grace to any and all that come our way. Of course pray for justice. Of course speak out against injustice. And above all, preach the reconciling power of the gospel and the love of Christ. Grace is for all who will repent and believe. Let us preach the reconciling gospel of God’s grace. Let us pray that His kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. Soon. Come quickly Lord Jesus!
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I need to talk about something in this blog post that many of you will most likely disagree with. So let me start by saying that, sometimes, disagreement is okay, even among Christian brothers and sisters. Here’s what I want to talk about; the church.
Actually, let me be more specific. I want to talk about the weekly worship service. Here’s why. There are some really dangerous trends in evangelical Christianity today and one of them involves the weekly gathering we call worship. Specifically I would like to opine on what we do in worship, why we do it and to whom are we “catering” in our worship. Let me start with this question: To whom are we catering when we gather for worship? My wife recently overhead the lead pastor of a large church near where we live say that, at their weekly worship gatherings (they call them “worship experiences”), the majority of their gathering were not “saved.” This particular church has several thousand people that gather weekly at their worship “experiences” via different campuses. Let me say that again in case you missed it. The majority of those who gathered, according to the lead pastor, were without a relationship with Christ. Read that again and let it sink in. I feel several emotions when I read that statistic. First, I am sad that so many in that one gathering are without Christ. Second, I am staggered that this could be true. Third, it motivates me even more to preach the full gospel of Jesus the Christ. This led me to a recent discussion about the “seeker sensitive” movement that has been ongoing in evangelical circles for some time now. This also led me to ask questions of this church, such as: If all those lost people are coming to your church week in and week out, why are they still lost without Christ?! If they are hearing the gospel over and over again, how can none of them be converted? To say that they remain lost can only mean one of two things. It can only mean that either God’s Word along with the Holy Spirit is not sufficient to convert hearts or that the full gospel of Jesus is not being proclaimed. Those are the only two options. You can guess which option in this case I’d vote for. But this leads us back to the question of to whom are we catering in our worship services? I want to be very clear here. It is my firm belief that worship can only be done properly in the context of the gathering of the true church, the regenerated and converted followers of Christ. That means that those who are not converts cannot be a part of the church. Let me say that again. The church cannot be made up of those who are unconverted. So if your gathering is all lost people, that is not the church. So who is the church? If you’ve read the Bible at all then you know who the Church is. The Church is the people of God. I think the Westminster Confession is helpful here. In Chapter 25 of the Confession, we find this definition in paragraphs 1 and 2: The catholic or universal church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of Him that filleth in all. The visible church, which is also catholic or universal under the gospel (not confined to one nation, as before the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion; and of their children: and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. What does that mean? It means that unless you are a regenerate, born again follower of Jesus (or the child of a believing household), you are not a part of The Church. So it is impossible for unbelievers to be considered The Church, because they simply are not members thereof. So if your gathering is made up of unbelievers, your gathering is not a church. That’s going to strike some of you as harsh and insensitive in today’s politically correct climate. But the Bible is clear that the people of God are those who have been marked out and separated from the world by the Holy Spirit and by their professed faith. Now this is not to say that we should not be evangelistic and share our faith and invite unbelievers to our gatherings. Of course we should! Just know that they are not of The Church, so don’t be surprised when they don’t “get it.” If this is the case, and The Church is made up of believers and their households, how then should we worship? In other words, what should be done in worship and why? I’ll start with what should be done in worship. Have you ever heard of “The Regulative Principle?” I’ll give you a very brief description of it and I’ll paraphrase that. The Regulative Principle basically states that God is to be worshipped only in the ways found in Scripture. So what does that mean? It means that, if God is God, He gets to set the standard for how He is to be worshipped and not us. We don’t “make the rules” where God is involved. He is God. We are not. Practically, how does that flesh out? Again, I find the Westminster Confession helpful. In Chapter 21 of the Confession, we find some help in paragraph 5, which says: The reading of the Scriptures, with godly fear; the sound preaching, and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God with understanding, faith, and reverence; singing of psalms with grace in the heart; as, also, the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ; are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God; besides religious oaths, and vows, solemn fastings, and thanksgivings upon special occasions; which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner. So here we see some of the proper elements of corporate worship; reading of Scripture, the preaching of God’s Word, singing songs of worship to God and the proper administration of the sacraments. How is God to be worshipped? By the reading of His Word, the preaching and teaching of His Word, the singing of songs about Him and the proper outworking of the sacraments that He has instituted in The Church. Yes but why worship this way? Well, because: He is God and we are not. He has spoken by His Word and we are to obey. Please hear me, I’m not criticizing smoke machines and laser shows…well, I kinda’ am. I think that is just silly and gives in to our obsession for entertainment, but that is just my opinion. Nevertheless, if in the smoke machines and laser shows, the Word of God is read and preached and the songs are about Him and the sacraments are properly administered, then bring on the light show! However, what has become apparent in this “seeker sensitive” movement is that worship is not at all about God the Father or God the Son or God the Spirit and what He has said. It is apparent that, for many, worship is about us and our insatiable desire for entertainment. It then becomes about our experience and not our worship of Him. If God is God, He gets to say how we are to worship Him. Let’s be really careful to put Him on the throne and make Him the center of our worship and not ourselves. |
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