Baptists, Liberty, and Mandates

Religious liberty is gift from God.  Our civil government didn't grant us this right.  Our civil government cannot deny us this right.  God created us with what we have called "soul freedom."  Baptists were birthed amid battles to secure this freedom to follow Christ according to our own conscience.

Our country's founders recognized the foundational importance of religious liberty as they formulated the Constitution.  The Constitution does not grant religious liberty but secures it.  The first amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."  This is the first and most fundamental of the rights stated in our "Bill of Rights."

Also, our Southern Baptist identity reflects the importance of protecting God-given religious liberty.  Our own guiding document speaks powerfully and clearly:

"God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. . . .  A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power."  (Baptist Faith and Message, 2000)

While our Great Commission mission remains the top priority for us, we still must pay attention to protecting our liberty.  There are times when the government so intrudes on our religious freedoms that followers of Christ must take a stand.  This is one of those times.  The US Department of Health and Human Services issued an enforceable legal mandate directing almost all employers to offer their employees health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception.  Baptist institutions will also be forced to provide these "services."

Our Catholic friends have taken the lead in voicing opposition to this HHS Mandate.  We should not let them stand alone.   Here's a couple of things we can do:

• Get informed on how this HHS Mandate affects you.
• Join with other defenders of religious liberty and publicly voice your view.  Attend a public event.  In Fresno area you can join others on Friday June 8 at Noon at St James Anglican Church on the corner of Cedar and Dakota. 

Richard Land frames the issue well, "This is not a Catholic issue -- it's not a Baptist issue.  It's an issue of freedom.  This is about religious freedom, not reproductive freedom.  This is about conscience, not contraception."

The voice of John Leland, Baptist pastor in Massachusetts in the 1800's, echoes, "Be always jealous of your liberty, your rights.  Nip the first bud of intrusion on your Constitution."

Some ideas are worth fighting for.  Religious freedom is one of them. 

For Christ,

Rich Johnstone

Self-Talk Should be Truth-Talk

China Graveyard Hill

"You can dominate this hill . . . you've run it dozens of times," I told myself.  This kind of self-talk was especially important when I was running up China Graveyard Hill.  By car, or even bicycle, the hill is not that intimidating; a 250ft elevation rise over a half mile.  However, running the hill at 100% capacity as part of a 5K workout, China Graveyard Hill is Mt. Everest.  The hill is just large enough for local runners to give this section of China Graveyard Road a name.  

I ran regularly with a great group of local guys over our lunch hour.  These runs were a perfect combination of friendly and competitive.  Group runs helped me beat my two main competitors, myself and China Graveyard Hill.

The laws of physics and biology are mercilessly constant.  On this hill, gravity is an anchor on every step.  Every breath is a searing fire. 

The laws of psychology are equally constant.  "Ease up.  Back off and the pain will go away."  Sometimes I did.  And it did.  Most times, though, I pressed through the pain and the fire. 

With experience comes understanding of capacity.  When my body screamed, "Stop," wisdom and experience answered back, saying:

• Keep running.  You know this hill, every curve, every grade.
• You've run this hill dozens of times.
• You've conquered this hill and have been conquered by it. 
• You know your capacity, and you can improve.
• You can beat your main competitor.

Even now, when I face daunting challenges in ministry, I often think of China Graveyard Hill.  It helps me press through the challenge.  Spirit-led self talk is really truth talk:  

• Keep serving!  You know Jesus Christ.
• The "battle" belongs to the Lord.
• He's given you victory over significant challenges.
• God is invested in the successful fulfillment of your calling to follow Christ.
• With God's strength, you can press through for the glory of Jesus.

Let your past wins inform and inspire your future successes.  Self-talk should be truth-talk.  Speak biblical truth, especially to yourself.  The truth of his Word will propel you.  God's truth is even more constant than the laws of physics. 

Rich Johnstone

Right Things Right

by Rich Johnstone

Are your actions linked with God's Kingdom mission?  Is what you are doing accomplishing what God intends?  We all want to do right, and do well.  We all want to advance God's mission to make disciples.  And we want to do it effectively.  Alan Hirsch defines church as “a community of God’s people that defines itself and organizes its life around its real purpose of being an agent of God’s mission around the world.”  This describes a church that is doing the right things right.  Its actions focus on its mission.  However, this isn't always the case.  Here are four scenarios describing how actions relate to mission: 

Right things Wrong -- This scenario describes a well-intentioned, but ineffective effort to advance God's mission.  My golf game describes this scenario.  If I hit twenty approach shots from 120 yards, the balls scatter wildly, almost randomly, in the region of the green.  I had a clear look at the flag and my intentions were good.  However, I demonstrated a distinct inability to execute.  Mission focus paired with skill-building can move toward doing the right things right.

Wrong things Right -- In this scenario, churches use effective strategies in pursuit of non-critical goals.  Continuing the golf analogy, this is like hitting twenty beautiful chip shots in a row . . . to the left of the pin.  The beauty of the shots shields a hard reality:  each shot missed the target completely.  The focus here is on the competent execution of insignificant goals.  Only prophetic leadership will re-focus actions back on God's mission. 

Wrong things Wrong -- This is the worst of all cases.  Here, a church ineffectively works to accomplish insignificant goals.  Shots miss the target because the target is unknown or unclear.  Focus and vision are both mission.  This situation demands leadership to bring fresh focus on the mission of God.

Right things Right -- This scenario describes a disciplined focus on accomplishing God's mission effectively.  The target is clear and the strategies are effective.  This doesn't happen by accident.  Leaders relentlessly focus on God's mission.  Continuous feedback, reflection, and correction keep actions linked to God's mission.

Two questions to consider:

1. Which scenario best describes my own life?  My church?
2. What actions can I take to move toward doing the right things right?

For Christ,

Rich Johnstone

Jesus and CD20

Suppose Jesus toured CA Congressional District 20 today.  He stopped at local churches long enough to preach and to heal sick people.  He traveled to the west side to Firebaugh, Mendota, and Coalinga.  He swung through S. Fresno, Sanger, Selma, and Fowler, on his way to Lemoore and Hanford.  His trip took him through Kings County on into parts of Kern.  

 Jesus was "moved with compassion."  What moved him?  As he surveyed the harvest field, he observed people.  He witnessed their brokenness firsthand.  People were physically broken . . . and spiritually broken, needing a Savior.

Every community in the USA has human need.  CA Congressional District 20 is one of four districts that intertwine through the Mid-Valley and beyond.  However, CD20 has the distinction of ranking 435th out of 435 districts in the country on the Human Development Index.  Dead last.  The HDI is a nation-wide study that combines indicators in three areas:  life expectancy, access to education, and standard of living.  Another unusual feature of CD20 is that 5.7% of its population is incarcerated in a state prison. 

The good news is that Jesus is indeed present in CD20 through his people and his churches.  He is present through the pastors of the 20 Mid-Valley congregations throughout CD20.  These pastors bring the heart of Jesus as they fulfill the God's mission in these communities. 

Jesus developed an action plan as he surveyed the brokenness of the people.  His plan is to "ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."  I challenge each person in the Mid-Valley to:

• Thank God for the workers already sent and deployed in CD20.
• Pray that God will raise up more mission-focused workers to engage lost and broken communities in CD20 with the gospel. 
• Finally, engage the imprisoned 5.7% of the population through Weekend of Champions on May 3-5.  Contact Ron Climer to engage your church.

 -------------------------------------------
Here are the Pastors of CD20:

• Terry Glover
• Jesus Guerrero
• Mike Duke
• James Page
• Richard Daniels
• Tra Xiong
• Moises Cabrera
• Javier Carrillo
• Mark Jackson 
• Ed Coleman
• Lawrence Chisom
• Mark Curts
• Reuben Scott
• Rod Rodriguez
• Osvaldo Reyes
• Ernie Sanchez
• Chuck Antaramian
• Isaac Chavez
• Franco Atkinson

 

God, Google, and Missions

You just scored a job interview with Google.  You are a software engineer, and you need work.  After introductions, the interviewer begins asking as series of unusual questions:

• How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?
• Name a piece of technology you’ve read about recently.  Now tell me your own creative execution for an ad for that product.
• You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and your mass is proportionally reduced so that you maintain your original density.  You are then thrown into an empty glass blender.  The blades will start moving in 60 seconds.  What do you do?
• Design an evacuation plan for San Francisco.

These are among actual questions that Google job seekers were asked.  How did you do in your interview?  Do you have a shot at the job?

These interview questions have little to do with technical knowledge.  They have everything to do with the capacity to approach problems creatively.  They force job seekers outside the normal thinking ruts. 

Google seeks entrepreneurial thinkers who have the capacity to solve problems not yet imagined.  Google obviously expects technical mastery of its employees.  Technical mastery is not enough, though.  Entrepreneurial creativity is what brings life and innovation to the technical knowledge, keeping Google on the leading edge.

 

God gave Bazalel the ability to integrate all areas of his personhood in order to build the tabernacle.  “See, I have chosen Bezalel . . . and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts.”  (Exodus 31:2-3)  

God's gospel mission is the one constant in a time of dramatic change.  Living in a time of upheaval provides great opportunities.  Fortunately, God created us with the capacity to exercise Spirit-led creativity with a focus on God's mission.  The result is the ability to see kingdom possibilities that others may miss.  What gospel opportunities are you currently missing that require a Spirit-led entrepreneurial approach in order to solve?  How will Mid-Valley churches best reach second and third generation immigrants?  What's the best way to train and deploy pastors to help reach the exploding Hispanic population?  What does international mission look like right here in the Mid-Valley?  What's the best way to connect among our churches to advance the gospel locally?  These and other questions require a dependence on the Holy Spirit to dislodge us from our "spiritual ruts."

(By the way, somebody actually did the math. Just under five hundred thirty thousand golf balls fit inside a school bus!)