Religion, Sex, and Politics

So I'm a little late on finding Al's blogs... But I was reading over them last night and this one has just kept me thinking, so I figured I would share my thoughts on it.

I'm in agreeance (and I'm pretty sure I just made that word up) with the thoughts that we should not only ask God to provide in situations, but to go out and BE the hands and feet of Christ as well. But the main thing that keeps coming to my mind when I think about prayer (and the comment about unsaved people being turned off by thinking we can't come to God with even small things) is that if I were an unsaved person observing a community of believers taking time to speak with the God that they tell me about; the God who created the world, who split the Red Sea, who raised the dead, who sent His only Son to die for us just so we could have a relationship with Him... If I were looking in on that time, and all I saw was them asking things of Him, I would be a little confused.

If we are claiming that our God is Creator, awesome, indescribable, Savior, LORD of Heaven and Earth, The Beginning and the End... Shouldn't our prayers reflect that? When we come before God and He allows us to SPEAK with Him, shouldn't we be awe-struck and consumed with how incredible He is? Look through Psalms at David's prayers. He does ask God for help and guidance and deliverance. But also, a majority of his prayers are just telling God how amazing He is and thanking Him for the blessings He has poured out (even as David is in hiding from his enemies!)

How much of a testimony to our God would it be if people came into our church and instead of constantly treating God as JUST someone to go to when we have things that need "fixed", we actually stood in awe of who He is. It makes my heart sad to think of how often we just go straight to God with needs (and I'm just as guilty as the next person). Think of how He must long to hear His children come to Him and just thank Him and praise Him and bring Him the glory He deserves.

I think if we could truly understand the God we are praying to, our prayers would be radically different.

I thought of 1 John 3:18 when I read this: "Dear Children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show truth by our actions."

Yes, of course, we should pray. I’m not going to deny the importance of prayer; however, I do NOT want the church or myself to use prayer as an excuse for inactivity when the need right in front of us is so intense.

Thanks, Mary! One of the things I like about the blog is that thoughtful folks like you also make me think more about the topic. This blog is not the declarations of a guy who has all the answers (though it may come across that way sometimes), but a guy who is wrestling with some issues and needs you smart folks to share your insights.

And, sports prayers - that's a whole new area! How many people have been praying for the Redskins to go to the Superbowl? I once played golf with a group of ministers in which there was an African American pastor. When a fellow golfer prayed for his shot to be a good one, this pastor said, "Frankly ______, I don't think God gives a damn about your golf game." (Hey, I'm quoting.) It was a truth about the proper use of prayer that I've never forgotten.

I am grateful that this blog exists because it forces me to think through topics that I have previously taken for granted. I have been thinking a lot over the past few days about what I believe about prayer.
First, I don’t think God despises any prayers that are sincere and come from the heart, with a couple of notable exceptions. I am pretty sure that the prayer of the football coach who is asking for victory for his team is not well received in heaven. Ditto, the prayer that I heard from a minister when I was 15 years old, praying that integration would not come to that particular church. So I don’t think we should be self-conscious when we pray in church. But…..
From my reading of Scripture, it is pretty clear that God wants us to praise him as much as we ask Him to intercede on our behalf. But often we do just the opposite—we jump right to what’s wrong in our lives rather than being grateful for the many blessings we have received. It IS a little embarrassing in church when the prayer leader asks “what blessings have you received this week?” and no one responds (I am guilty of this as much as anyone). So I think we need to make a conscious effort to praise continually—we do have so much for which to be thankful.
Also, I am now aware that it is a whole lot easier for me to pray for someone rather than to actually get my behind off the sofa and actually go do something for that person. So personally, I think I have let praying be an excuse for me to avoid putting my Jesus into action. I am not denigrating the power of prayer—just saying that I need to both pray AND do. Instead of just sending my “adopted” Mountainside resident a card, I will go and visit her in person. Instead of praying for Ethel R., I will go see her. You get the idea.
Last, I have found that the hardest part of being a Christian thus far in my life is being submissive to God’s will. Sometimes we pray as if by praying hard, often, and with a lot of people, we will gain control of a situation. If this were true, there would not be any sick people, no lay offs, no car wrecks, no errant children. But Jesus tells us to pray “Thy will be done.” So I am resolved in my future prayers to acknowledge God’s supremacy and pray for myself that I will believe that whatever happens, it is according to God’s plan.

Thanks for participating, Doubting Thomas, but there's no need to hide behind a mask on this blog! And I think you missed my point, because I don't disagree with you that God does care about the "little things" in our lives. My focus is not on our private prayers, but on the content of the prayers that a prayer leader presents on behalf of an entire congregation.

I think my position is far MORE compassionate. Where is the compassion in refusing to let God mobilize you to care for the sick, for the hungry, for the lonely, etc., by saying "God, here's the problem in Joe's life and I'm dumping it on you so I can keep watching American Idol every night instead of visiting him, calling him, sending him a card, mowing his grass, taking him a meal..." Compassion is not found in telling God what to do, but in asking God how you can be a part of the solution to the hurts around you. That's what's missing from many of our group prayer times, and that's the subject of the blog post. So, I suspect we might be more in agreement than you think.

Well that will sure win the unsaved people over to Christ. After reading that statement,most unsaved people will say "Why bother praying at all if God is not concerned with my small everyday problems or concerns." I thought the Lord is our comfort in our time of need whatever our need is. It troubles me that a spiritual leader would be telling people such things. Where's the compassion???

I completely agree. I thought I was the only one that felt this way. Prayers do at times seem to be self-centered and shallow. We need to pray for the greater good for Christians. The bigger picture so to speak. The strength to deal with difficult things. There will always be illness and difficulties in our lives.

Amazingly enough my son will get up and go to Sunday School without me! He loves the youth group at HBC. There was a time when I had to drag him kicking and screaming and sometimes I wondered if it was worth the aggravation. But is seems like it has paid off, so far. I agree with Terry's comment about educating our children and making sure they have a "spiritual education" also.

My kids are grown now, but I do remember how hard it was to get everyone to Sunday School (which preceded church) on time. I remember thinking a lot of unholy throughts as we approached the church parking lot ("stop fighting! didn't I tell you to change your shirt?" etc, etc) and using the 100 feet from the parking lot to the church to try to revert myself into a "worship" state of mind. I envied older couples who just strolled into church, looking rested and carefree. So young families, you deserve a lot of praise for putting God first--it sure isn't easy sometimes.

This comment comes from my (Pastor Al's) Mom:

Years ago my cousin told her pastor, "My little girl doesn't want to come to Sunday School and church and resists in every way when Sunday morning comes."

He replied, "If she got up each morning and cried and said she didn't want to go to school, would you allow her to just go to school when she wanted to?" Of course, the answer was "no", and she said this was something she always remembered.

Now this adult child is a committed Christian, probably because she had a mother who was a committed Christian and took a firm stand.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. -Proverbs 22:6

If you train a child to be constantly busy, constantly putting church in the backseat, chances are that's how they will grow up.

If you train a child that church is vital to everyday life, chances are that's how they will grow up.

I love how the Bible is so simple and so clear on life sometimes, yet we try to over-complicate things by "doing them our way". Good thing that Jesus guy came. He's a Savior!


Sorry, I can't end on a bad joke. I blame it on being a drug baby...
Every Sunday, my momma drug me to church!

I have heard several of these excuses more often than I care to remember. While, the Bauer's aren't perfect and don't have perfect attendance, what we do KNOW is that to be hearing the Word, that changes hearts and lives, is an absolute necessity.....like air and water. When my children have balked over the years at going (I know, shocking....), I have told them many times, that it helps me be a better Mama.....funny, no more balking....hmmmmmmm.....I am so thankful in retrospect, as an adult, that my mom (eventually) in my childhood, took my sister and me to church. When I was 8 yrs. old, a friend invited me to go with her and her family one Sunday, and it was that Sunday, that I walked down the aisle and asked Jesus to be my Savior. There have been a number of studies that indicate that the majority of believers in Jesus Christ, came to that saving Grace prior to age 18; very few, after that age.....yikes! We're blessed when we make time for Him, as He does for us...right on Mark!

I have more than 9 reasons/distractions not to go to church, but the good news is that each time we come we add another reason on to go! Sometimes it is for a good nap when Al gets long winded. The better news, my family now is as much a "going" force as I am. Nothing is an absolute, but a clear guideline for church family health is a great thing. There are times that options should not be presented, parents forget to "wear the pants/or skirts" in the family.....the kids like the direction. And, shoot, I am doing the same lessons that Bill has given out to the Youth...learning a bucketload. I did not go to church as a child, but when visiting my Catholic grandmother (and living with her for a bit), I learned that I was not alone and could talk "to someone" all of the time. God was the "someone". Practicing and reinforcing this gift is one of the great common and reinforced lessons verbalized in a variety of venues each week at church. Many published studies (as noted by Bill last week) noting that kids "watch" what we model. Sometimes I wonder who is more the role model....them or me. That is what I call a "good problem".

Oh, my first blog, and I am late finding out about it. Why not simulcast the service where adult Sunday School is in the main church is (where those getting dunked go after getting dunked). Put an area rug, link the video to a big screen and have coffee. Kind of close, but not too far away.

There seems to be a heavy emphasis these days on getting kids involved in soccer, baseball, piano lessons, etc. I'm not sure why that is, but I think some of us have our priorities screwed up. My opinion is that children are lacking one on one time with their parents and also need their spiritual education to be more of a priority.

We have so many things to compete with these days. The one thing that sticks out to me is that we may be concerned about our children's education, but what about their spiritual education?

I think it seemed almost comical. The excuses (some of which I have to admit I’ve make myself from time to time) are all incredibly LAME.

I struggle like everyone else, and my attendance record certainly isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but if God is truly first in your life, and what you want for your child, then they need to be in church learning and growing and putting God FIRST, where he belongs. If your child is walking with the Lord, what else REALLY matters?

I agree completely. I may be guilty on occasion of being lazy and not wanting to get the kids up, dressed, etc., but I think we're on the right track. The way I look at it is, "What if Jesus was too busy or too tired or just not in the mood to die for our sins? Then what?" "Yeah, no thanks, me and the boys are eating and drinking wine right now, maybe tomorrow Mr. Soldier"

To be more specific, our "wrappers" are our newsletter, our buildings, the demeanor of our leaders and members as they connect with people in the community, our advertising, the types of programs we provide, our preschool ministry... even our new bulletin format is designed to shape people's expectations in advance of the message we proclaim. We have a lot to be happy with in these areas. How can we take our "wrapping" to a new level?

I admit to liking worship in the sanctuary--so cozy, so friendly, so intimate--but when I was thinking about this subject on the way to work this a.m., two thoughts popped into my mind.

First--every Sunday Ross and I go to a Thai restaurant in Belmont for lunch after church. As we are going down Water Street, we pass signs for the Portico Church, which apparently is housed in a building downtown that is used for another purpose during the week. And there are TONS of cars parked everywhere, with signs pointing to additional parking spots for the church. I don't know what that church is about (Hilary attended once or twice and said it is a contemporary worship service that is almost entirely singing) but clearly it is attracting a lot of participants AND THE FACT THAT IT IS NOT IN A TRADITIONAL SANCTUARY IS APPARENTLY NOT KEEPING PEOPLE AWAY.

The other thought that came to mind was Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Exodus mentions frequently that the Israelites had a hard time, despite the brutality of their slavery, leaving the comfort and security of the things they knew in Egypt--despite God's promise of blessings beyond belief in the promised land. It occurs to me that maybe when I am clinging to the comfort and security of the Hillsboro sanctuary, that I am inadvertently depriving myself and Hillsboro of blessings that we can't even imagine right now that God would bring to us if we left our comfort zone. We just (ha!ha! "just")have to have faith that God is leading us where we need to go and have patience as we await his abundant blessings.