Whirled Views with Dan Burrell

Tonight, I will watch my oldest daughter and second child cross the stage to receive her High School diploma.  She is the apple of her daddy’s eye — probably more like me than either she or I would care to admit.  She’s a reader, thinker, brooder.  She can laugh uproariously one moment and be in a dark corner of contemplation the next.  She’s beautiful and generally seems oblivious to it.  She’s conservative — not prone to spending money, wearing expensive “big name” clothes or demanding what is impractical or frivolous.  She sees things that others miss –whether it’s through the eye of her beloved camera or as she considers God.  She’s my baby and I’m so very proud of her.

I love you, Megs!

I just read something that my dear friend, Dr. Charles Wood, wrote in his daily musings and thought it worthy of sharing….

“ For three semesters I attended Faith Seminary in a suburb of Philadelphia.  On the first day of classes, we were given a one hundred question test of “general Biblical knowledge.”  Having spent my entire life in a Bible-preaching and teaching church and having done all of my college work in fundamentalist settings, I assumed I was being handed a “piece of cake.”  How wrong I was!  I only managed to get 49 out of the 100 questions correct (made a little easier to bear by the fact that only two others of my twenty classmates had better scores - both in the low 50’s).  I honestly think the test was designed far more to show us what we didn’t know than it was to find out what we actually did understand.  Whatever, it got my attention.

Were that same test (and I can’t find my copy) to be given today in the average local church, I doubt if there would be many, if any, scores higher than the low teens.  I am often utterly appalled by the lack of basic factual knowledge when it comes to the Word (I recently heard of a “church leader” who didn’t even know that a Pastor and an Elder were one and the same).  There are likely many reasons for this ignorance: too busy lives, too many demands on time and energy, lack of personal Bible study, shallow preaching, a steady pulpit diet of John 3:16, a reduced number of weekly services, and such.

Whatever the reasons, it seems to me that there is absolutely no excuse.  We have more Bible study helps readily available to Joe Average Christian than ever before.  There are enough translations and versions to cover every aspect of American dialect, study Bibles proliferate, study guides are available in abundance, computer programs(many of them free) make the most infant Christian actually able to check Greek and Hebrew meanings, and seminars and “satellite conferences” abound.  In addition, we have the excellent Bible teaching on radio and T. V. that is provided by men such as Charles Stanley, John Piper, Josh McDowell, Dave Jeremiah, Chuck Swindoll and a multitude of others, most of whom are solid exegetes, doing expository preaching in one form or another.

It isn’t really clear to me how the reasons and the lack of excuse correlate, but what is clear to me is that a great many professed Christians know little or nothing about Biblical teaching.  Ignorance is bliss?  Absolutely no way!  Ignorance is an open door to the enshrinement of human reason, the acceptance of false teaching and recruitment to the latest slickster seeking to lead God’s people in any given situation.

But, there is a step beyond Biblical ignorance, and that is the dismissive attitude toward Biblical teaching so often evident in our churches.  This phenomenon appears to take the form of, “I don’t really know what the Bible says about that, and I guess I really don’t care.  I let the Preacher or some loud-mouthed layman do the work (or, more often, the talking), and I just assume they must be right.”  The work of Bible study and interpretation is deemed not worth the effort when there is a sense that the individual won’t agree with what the Bible says when all is said and done.  Although this is an old note that I have often sounded, I think some preaching in our churches contributes to this situation.  We recently heard an otherwise excellent sermon on the need to move from Christian 1.0 to Christian 2.0 (with just enough computerese involved to make it “catchy”), but the sermon simply ended with the call for us all to download the newer version.  Not one word was said about how to do so.  It was like a Nike commercial, “Just Do It!”

When the Word of God is preached without application or specific instruction concerning how it applies to life, it seems to me that it leads to the kind of indifference against which I am speaking.  We are once again listening to others preach, and a couple of sermons we have heard recently have left me wanting to yell out, “So what?”  Ignorance may not be excusable, but it does tend to be explainable.  Indifference?  It seems to me to be more of a choice than an accident.

How I wish it would all stop there (if you’ve read this far, you likely do also), but it moves on one more step to deliberate defiance of the Word.  There are more than a few in our churches who would gladly eliminate any part of Scripture with which they disagree.  This deliberate defiance can be annoying or frustrating.  It can also be the source of intense conflict in a local church.

She sat across from me about fifty years ago.  She was a fine person with good background and greatly involved in the church.  She was talking with me about her impending wedding when I asked the “fatal” question, “Is he a believer?”  Her answer was rather convoluted, but it boiled down to a simple “No.”  I asked how she could be considering such when she knew the Bible taught otherwise.  She said that she knew what the Bible taught, but that God had told her that she was right in pursuing this relationship.  It took a while, but I finally got her to articulate the fact that she really didn’t care what the Bible taught; she was simply going to do what she had decided to do (without any participation on my part).  This is the annoying, frustrating part.

Unfortunately, however, there is more.  There is an attitude that says that the Bible cannot possibly mean what it appears to mean because it doesn’t make sense, doesn’t fit in with current trends in society, doesn’t take into account changing cultural customs and mores, etc.  This is embodied in The Jesus Project and the New Perspectives on Paul.  If you don’t like it, say it wasn’t so or create an imaginary division between Jesus and Paul or write The DaVinci Code.  Whatever!

The conflict part of this attitude often shows up in the church when there are those who know better (or have been informed of the correct Biblical position on an issue) press forward in a wrongful course of action with an attitude that essentially says, “I know (or have been informed of) what the Bible says about this, but I really don’t care because the Bible disagrees with me or with what I am planning to do.”  Pretty harsh words?  I could readily make them seem tame simply by revealing what I know about a couple of situations.

It would be extremely easy for me to cite any number of cases (by church name and location) where ministries have been destroyed or seriously damaged by this attitude of defiant refusal to obey God’s Word. The “new kids on the block” are very likely to run into something of this nature before they are far into their ministries because of the anti-authority attitude so prevalent in our society (and which has been allowed to seep into our churches while we have been jousting with windmills over matters that really don’t qualify as genuine worldliness).  The old catechism said that the Bible is the only infallible rule of faith and practice.  Instead, it has been turned into something resembling a guide book or even a series of chapters provided for us to select those with which we agree or those which support our desires, plans and programs.

Young graduate, “it will be worth it all when we see Jesus,” but there will be times when you will wonder.  You will help yourself a great deal, however, if you will decide from the very beginning what you will and will not tolerate regarding the Word of God.  I find myself, at least temporarily, without a church home, ministry opportunity, etc., on the basis of a decision I made more than fifty years ago.  It is not pleasant, particularly at this time of life, but I will stand before the judgment seat confident in my stance on the Word while those who violated it will be seeking to explain why they decided that they were exempt from Biblical obedience.

The Bible is the Word of God, and that means exactly what it says.  God has spoken.  It is mine to determine - as exactly as I am able - what it is that He has said.  Beyond that, I have no right to ignore, change, disregard, etc., anything that He has said, and if I do so, I do so at my own risk of eternal loss.  How tragic would it be if what the gates of hell could not accomplish was complicitly done by those supposedly in the army!”

Wow…it was a busy day in New York City.  We started off at Ellis Island, then on to Battery Park, a walking tour of the financial district and Ground Zero and then lunch at Seaport.  Then we went over to Chinatown where we spent a few hours negotiating for “stuff”, followed be a brief visit to SoHo.  Following a wonderful Italian dinner at Carmine’s, we went to the 67th floor of Rockefeller center and viewed the sun setting over Manhattan.  Then everyone went off to the movies and by everyone, I don’t mean me.  I decided to go back to the hotel to grade some paper and post these pics.  The kids will be a bit tireder (hopefully) when they get back after midnight and maybe we’ll get them to bed sooner.

Tomorrow is a movie/TV tour, visit to 5th Avenue, some more shopping and then off to the airport to get back home so we can get this class graduated.  It’s been a great trip and we have some super students and a fine group of chaperones.  Here are some pictures of our day….

On the ferry on the way over to Ellis Island with a beautiful view of the skyline in the background.

Megan and I with the gap left by the lost Twin Towers in the background.

Waiting for dinners outside of Carmine’s Italian Restaurant where we had salad, garlic bread, two kinds of pasta, chicken parmigiana and Italian ice cream.  If you left hungry, it was your own fault.

 Haydon, Manny and Brandon enjoyed their meal.

Christian and Alex made for great table mates as well.

Dad enjoying the perks of being a chaperon on the trip — dinner with his daughter!

I’ve enjoyed making friends with many of our fine students — particularly, Steven from Ecudor!

Thursday was a beautiful day in our nation’s capital and the DCS Class of 2009 had a jam-packed day.  We started the morning touring the Museum of American History, Ford Theater and then the Holocaust Museum.  We then traveled to Arlington Cemetery where we saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Lee Mansion and the Kennedy Graves.  After that we hustled back to the mall and took in the Lincoln, Vietnam and Korean memorials.  By 6:30, we were at the stadium to watch the Nationals play the Pirates.  I was able to enjoy a private dinner with Megan who was celebrating her 18th birthday at a restaurant that had a veranda overlooking center field.  The evening was beautiful and she even had her picture taken with one of the National mascots.  Then we hustled back to the hotel and let the kids go swimming for about 90 minutes to burn off any excess energy.

Friday was filled with our trip to the White House, the Capitol, the Pentagon Mall and several other monuments.  Saturday was spent all day at Six Flags in New Jersey before we drove in to near New York (we are staying in Newark, NJ).

This morning started with a church service at the hotel and then we drove to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Some also went over to Central Park to ride bikes or take a walk.  Then it was off to the Lion King which was a real highlight for many of our students.  After that, we visited Madam Toussand’s wax museum, at at Hard Rock Cafe and then did some shopping in a jam-packed Times Square.

Tomorrow, we start off at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty before heading to Chinatown, Carmine’s for dinner and several other fun stops.  Apart from a few runny noses, the occasional bout of teen “drama” and having a bunch of tired people moving from place to place, everyone is getting along great and we’re having a super time.  Below are a few more pics for your viewing pleasure.

Waiting for the lecture to begin at Ford Theater.

Our Class Office with some of the soldiers who were placing 250,000 flags on the graves in Arlington.  Many of our students stopped soldiers that they saw and thanked them for their service to our country.

The name in the center, Richard F. Waterfield, is on the Vietnam Memorial Wall and is my second cousin.  I remember him spending a day with us at our family lot on the lake right before he left for Vietnam where he was killed a few months later.  The war memorials always remind me of how many brave young people are killed in wars that are often valid and other times the result of egomaniacs, twisted worldviews and a variety of other stupid reasons.  Freedom isn’t free and to see all these names is sobering as we realize their sacrifice.

My daughter, Megan, took this picture of one of our seniors, Brandon Rosado as he looked at the names on the walls.

The Seniors enjoyed a BEAUTIFUL night at the ballpark.

We had a bird’s eye view of the game.

Megan and I enjoyed dinner on the terrace as we celebrated her 18th birthday and “George” even came by to give her a birthday hug.

We had a long wait for the Marine Band and Parade.

The Iwo Jima Memorial was one of the highlights of our last day in DC and the students made friends with several marines who were there paying their respects.

Times Square tonight — wall to wall people!

I just spent the last hour trying to get pictures of today’s Senior Trip excursion up.  When I clicked on “publish”, everything completely and totally disappeared.  I’m sorry to all the DCS folks who were looking to see a chronology here and we’re working on getting things fixed.  Hopefully, tomorrow I can get something posted for everyone.  If you have facebook, I’m trying to upload an album over there, so you might want to check that out.  As of right now, it’s late and we have a 5:30 wake-up call, so I’m calling it an evening.

We’re are in Washington, DC with 65 of our Seniors from the class of 2009 and had a super busy day.  The trip was smooth, the kids have been great and the weather is perfect.  The only downside is that the city is PACKED with tourists.  Where’s the recession everyone is talking about?

I know some of you are frustrated with my blog website right now.  I’m having a host problem of some sort.  It is taking an extrodinarily long time for the site to connect.  If you wait long enough (which you know by now or you wouldn’t be reading this), it eventually loads, but the wait is maddening.  We’re working to get it fixed.

If you want to follow the kids through the day with text updates, you can “friend” me on facebook or Twitter (@danburrell) and I’ll update that throughout our trip.

Here are some photos from today’s journey….

Waiting for our luggage at Reagan National Airport after a quick 2 hour flight.  The skies were clear so the kids got a great view of the city as we landed alongside the Potomac.

We are using two, very new tour buses to get around the city.  The kids have as much fun on the buses as they do off the buses.

Our first stop was the mall area and the Museum of Natural History and the Air and Space Museum.  Both places were packed with Memorial Day tourists and lots of school groups.  We were scheduled to go the National Archives next, but the 2 hour plus wait was too much for our schedule, so instead, we headed to the White House for an exterior look.  We go inside on Friday.

 This is me with my own “personal” senior….my daughter, Megan, who turns 18 on Thursday.  I was able to take her older brother on his senior trip and I’m really glad I get to be an “administrator/chaperone” for her senior trip as well.  We’re standing, of course, in front of the White House.

Next, it was off to World-Famous Phillip’s Seafood Buffet where they lost some serious money on some of our guys who ate plate after plate of crab legs and other great seafood.

At the end of the day, we were off to the races…go-cart racing that is and there was some NASCAR like action as we worked off the last bit of energy before heading to our hotel.  We arrived there at about 11:00 and by midnight, everyone was settled in.  Tomorrow, we start off at the Museum of American History and end with a baseball game with the Washington Nationals in their new stadium.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more updates.

On Mondays, I often write a thought for the week for our teachers, administrators, pastors and support staff regarding worldview matters.  Today, I shared with them my thoughts on why absolutes and using your authority to transfer them are important.

————-

When was the last time you heard someone say something like this?

Well, who am I to say?
Who are THEY to say?
I’m not trying to be “preachy”
As long as no one gets hurt, who cares?
If it feels right, go for it!
Follow your heart!
Trust your inner voice.

These are just a tiny fraction of the phrases that are rooted in a philosophy called Postmodernism.  Postmodernism is a system of “thinking” that denies the existence of Absolute Truth.  Interestingly, often postmodernists will exuberantly declare, “There is no such thing as Absolute Truth!”

At which point, it is perfectly appropriate for one to respond with the question, “Is THAT an Absolute Truth?”

Sadly, in many Christian homes, schools and churches, we have bought into the postmodern political correctness which is anti-authoritative and anti-absolutist.  We are too often either silent or even apologetic about being dogmatic about the things about which God is very clear in Scripture.  We, by neglect or intention, misrepresent God as Someone who “goes with the flow” when it comes to truth and allows each of us to arrive at our own conclusions.  However, that is not the God of Scripture who spoke in absolute, dogmatic, declarations.

I am God and there is NONE else!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, NO MAN comes to the Father but by me!
Unless a man is born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven!
There is a way which seems right to men, but the end is death!
There is NO OTHER NAME given whereby you can be saved.
Thou shall have NO OTHER Gods before me.

As pastors, parents and educators, it is important that we do not present truth as Wishy-Washy and optional.  All Truth leads to God.  That’s why things like order, decorum, authority, obedience, self-restraint, submission, civilization, respect and other traits, behaviors and habits are important.  It helps us to see His order in His Universe and our role in it.

Our children (and we ourselves) need to hear Truth.  Those of us responsible for communicating Truth need to do so with overtness.  We use our leadership and positions of authority, not for personal gain, but for philosophical clarity.  In our hearts, we need order, boundaries and absolutes on which to build our decisions and to determine our direction.

When we teach absolutes, we equip others to gain the confidence to pursue God without reservation and to know Him more intimately and completely.

Several years ago, a study was conducted at an inner-city elementary school.  It was visited by a group of progressive educational psychologists who noted that the children were confined in the play area by a large hurricane-wire fence.  The children could be seen running against the fence, sometimes climbing on it, leaning against it and peering through the loops of galvanized metal.  This was not good, the psychologists quickly ascertained.  The students weren’t allowed to roam and explore and felt caged even.  This reduced them to “animal-like” status and more than likely conditioned them to think of their life in terms of “boundaries” rather than freedoms.  So they ordered the fence removed to ensure a message of “openness” was achieved.

An interesting thing occurred immediately.  The children no longer ran to the very edges of the play area, but instead they clustered near the center.  They spent more time next to the teachers.  They rarely went to the previous locations of the fence and when they did, they often would hurriedly run back toward the center of the play area where the other kids were located.

Finally, the administration directed the fence be replaced.  The first day, the kids went back to the edges.  They climbed on the fences, used all of the play area and spread out across the entire playground.

The fences had not been about confinement to the children.  They had provided boundaries, order and safety.  The absolute parameters of what was acceptable gave them security.  The absence of those absolute values created confusion and fear.

As teachers, parents and pastors, we need to remember that part of our responsibility is to speak and lead with authority.  Speak clearly.  Direct without apology.  Stand for what is right.  Correct wrong actions.  Do not tolerate disorder.  Train behavior.  Explain consequences.  Respond to disrespect.  Reward genuine achievement.  Celebrate character.  Develop talents.  Don’t feel bad about using your influence and authority.

Absolutes.

Understanding them, respecting them and communicating them is part of our mission in developing a Christian worldview in ourselves and others.

I just addressed an issue with the faculty and staff at our church and  school.  It was the result of hearing God’s name used with increasing casualness as a matter of routine.  Let me give you an example.  I just returned to my office after walking to the cafeteria for a cup of ice.  During that short trip, I heard the phrase, “Oh, my God!” three times and “God!” twice, by students ranging from elementary, to middle school, to high school.

Lest someone jump to an accusation about large Christian schools, South Florida “issues”, neo-evangelicalism, or some other rationalization…, I will state for the record that I can’t think of a pastor’s conference I’ve attended in recent years where I did not hear at least one example of God’s name being used disrespectfully in ways ranging from “Oh my God” to “My God” and more.  I went to one of the most conservative “fundamentalist” schools in the world for my undergraduate work and routinely heard the expression “Bless God” as a curse or at least a colloquialism during sermons my entire time there by the highest levels of leadership from the Senior Pastor on down.

Devout Jews refuse to even write the word, “God” thinking it too casual for Someone so sacred and significant.  Instead, they will cite him as “G-d”.  In Biblical days, Scribes, who made copies of scriptures prior to the printing press, were required to use a fresh quill each time that they began writing the name of God.  They also took a ceremonial bath prior to the first stroke.  At the conclusion of each stroke of the quill that was required to write the name of God, they would repeat the bathing and take a new quill.  It served as a constant reminder of the majesty and authority of the One Whose words they were copying.

Of course, we know that one of the Ten Commandments was a directive that we should not use the name of God “in vain” – meaning without thought, casually, commonly.  In the New Testament, when Peter was denying Christ and actively trying to identify with those who were murdering Jesus, he did so by cursing and using God’s name in vain.

Using God’s name disrespectfully is not limited to the “mother of all curses” – G**D***.  It is any use of his name (or in my opinion, a close derivative of it) without reverence, thought, respect or care.

You might ask why I would even raise such an issue when there are many other “problems” in our culture, schools, churches and communities.  The presence of other sins does not negate any sin.   To do so is a tired and cliche’ tactic that any high school debate student can identify in a nanosecond.

I would also suggest that when one gains an awareness of and respect for the Holiness and Place of God in our lives, other matters of questionable practice and conduct will more readily fall into place.  Will a person who loves and honors and respects God enough to treat His name carefully be more or less inclined to acknowledge His authority in matters of ethics, morality and integrity?  Indeed, acknowledging God’s Sovereign Authority in our lives will lead to a better life of straighter direction. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Can a man have a polluted heart even if he doesn’t use God’s name carelessly?  Absolutely.  Now let me ask the opposite.  Can a man have a pure heart if he uses God’s name carelessly?  In fact the Scripture tells us that out of the mouth flows the content of the heart.  (Matthew 12:33-37)

So in closing, may I ask that each of us who have influence over the training of our young people, speak before audiences privately and publicly, lead our families and converse one-on-one take some time and examine the importance of keeping the names of God and Jesus Christ sacred, carefully used and thoughtfully assigned?  It’s part of the development of a worldview that is first and foremost about loving God first, best and most.

I’m sorry to keep hitting everyone with links and leftovers today, but I’m multi-tasking and coming across several important things as I do that I feel like I should share.  Todd Rhodes has a popular blog called “Monday Morning Insights” that I often follow.  Today, he asks an important question of pastors and others.  Click HERE to see what it is.

I lifted this from an article written by my friend, Charles Wood.  In the article, he cites a pastor friend who wrote the following to him:

“The greatest upheaval I have experienced with it, is when the Bible definition of what is spiritual is preached.  It reorders who is spiritual in the minds of the people. Consequently, folks once thought to be spiritual are found to be carnal. Folks once dismissed as peculiar are found to be spiritual. It breeds a tremendous amount of resentment in those who are revealed to be less than they have pretended to be. They want the ‘honor’ once given to them for holy living restored without having to live such a life. They immediately clamor for such Bible application to cease. Their comfort zone mentality resents moving up to Biblical guidelines. They press for pastoral qualifications to be upheld (such as in Timothy and Titus), but they excuse their own lack of personal holiness.”

Pastor Wood goes on to say this in another section:

      We often hear calls for unity among God’s people, and such calls at least appear to have a Biblical basis (“endeavoring to keep unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.”).  There is, however, a great deal more to the subject than meets the eye.
At the outset, it is important to identify the difference between unity and unanimity.  Unity involves likeness of purpose, aim or desired result.  Unanimity denotes complete agreement.  Two men may be united in purpose (such as advancing the kingdom of God or the best interests of a local church, but they may have very divergent approaches to how that is best done.  A good example might be that of Paige Patterson and Al Mohler.  These two theological giants both desire nothing more than the advancement of God’s kingdom and the winning of the lost, but they disagree on some aspects of how that is best accomplished and even on the way in which God operates in accomplishing His purposes in these matters.  They are in unity, but they hardly represent unanimity.
Recently, I heard of a local church situation in which another requirement has been added for the role of deacon - agreement.  Obviously, this is not a Biblical requirement, but it was slipped in under the guise of unity.  At the risk of being both pedantic and redundant, unity in the Spirit does not require complete agreement on methods, practices or other details.
When I was a young man in ministry, unity was something of a byword that was heard frequently.  It was the time of the zenith of the ecumenical movement (that was the precursor of the coming world church, if I remember correctly).  The cry was for unity and unity at all costs (and many churches surrendered their orthodoxy in order to heed the call to a mis-defined unity that had no Biblical basis whatever).  The call for unity was merely a cover for a call to get everyone together in spite of differences, gloss over the differences and present a powerful front to society.  By now we’ve all seen how that sucker melted down.
An appeal for unity in a local church may be genuine and sincere.  It may also be an attempt to cover up something that has been done that those involved know deep down inside was wrong.  The call to unity is thus an attempt to avoid admitting wrong or seeking to correct that wrong.  It may also be little more than  an attempt to “spiritually coerce” others to “fall into line.”
Unity has little genuine validity and no essential force without a basis of  truth.  Just as there was no truth behind the ecumenical calls for unity, so there is little or no truth behind many modern calls for unity.  Evangelicals and Catholics Together is hardly a basis for unity; it is merely an expression of wistful thinking on the part of a group of men.  Many of these men are doubtlessly sincere, but they apparently would compromise certain tenets of the faith in an effort to gain some form of unity in the mistaken belief that a “united front” would accomplish more than the daily practice of Biblical Christianity on the part of those who claim to be its adherents.
Although so many years in ministry may have left me a bit cynical in this regard, a call for unity almost always raises red flags in my mind.  Why is it necessary to call for unity at a particular time?  What has happened that would make such an emphasis suddenly necessary when it has not been featured before?  Is someone (or several) trying to hide something that has been kept from those to whom the unity appeal is now directed?  Are there those who are refusing to follow the orders of those who had no authority to issue those orders in the first place?  In brief, I want to be sure there is nothing wrong before I join the parade behind the banner of unity.
Remember, the call of the Apostle is for the “unity of the Spirit,” not for some man-made variety thereof.  The Holy Spirit is elsewhere called the Spirit of Truth.  Many of the appeals for unity that I hear today seem to deeply trouble me, and I am convinced that this troubling is due to the inner working of the Spirit of Truth Who dwells within me.  It, indeed, is good for brethren to dwell together in unity, but a unity that is not based on truth is no unity at all.  It is merely an attempt to gloss over wrong-doing or to guarantee the achievement of some man-made plan or to bring to fruition the vision cast by those who have no Biblical warrant whatever to be casting any vision at all.

Good stuff!