Tomorrow is December 1, and in America the Christmas season has been underway for over a week. The commercialism surrounding the holiday is enough to make me sick. I thought holidays were a time of rest, spiritual reflection, and family reunion. We tend to get so busy caring for our family and friends (by way of shopping for gifts, preparing food, etc.) that sometimes we fail to slow down enough to ask why we do the things we do this time of year.

The other night, I happened to turn on the television to see "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on ABC. This simple children's film provides a powerful social commentary. In telling the story of Charlie Brown's search for true meaning amid the contemporary over-comercialized, over-produced interpretation of the holiday, it speaks volumes. The climax involves Charlie shouting "Can't someone tell me what Christmas is all about?" Then Linus, security blanket in hand, trots to the microphone in the school auditorium and recites verbatim the story of Christ's birth from Luke.

That brilliant understatement shouts the truth to a world deaf with materialism. Christmas is a time when we should pause and reflect on the magnitude of what happened in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. That should motivate us to prayer, discipleship and a renewed commitment to the truth, not to a harried few weeks of indulgence.

Post-Election Thoughts on God's Sovereignty

Well, the Democrats did what all their cronies in the mainstream media have said they would do for months now in taking over Congress. As a conservative, I should rightfully be disappointed in the outcome (or with the ability of the American people to fall for rhetoric), but I'm a little more optimistic about this loss for a variety of reasons.

1.) Hats off to the Dem's strategy - they successfully made Iraq and the President an issue in some otherwise very locally focused contests. That, in itself, didn't do it, though. For the other half of the picture, they had to paint themselves as equally conservative on social issues in order for the voters to buy their take on foreign policy. They did this admirably too (particularly in Indiana & Pennsylvania), running pro-gun, pro-life (but anti-war) candidates in traditional Republican strongholds. That's all well and good - they've got their majority and their committee chairs (honestly the only scary part of the deal). Because, however, they used a bunch of more conservative candidates, they'll have to put the social issues to rest because they really don't have a pro-abortion, etc. majority. They can wield some actual power in terms of foreign policy and taxation (okay, so that's scary too), but not on the stateside liberal agenda. Plus, we still have the veto on our side.

2.) This is a good wakeup call for the Republicans. It's told them that they can't count on conservatives to vote for them if they don't stick to conservative policies when they get to D.C. I'm glad this happened now, because it was bound to happen sometime. Now there's enough time to reorganize and present a more chaste, honest, and winsome party to run a good race for the presidency in '08. Additionally, the Dems have 2 years to make some real progress and prove that they actually can govern, not just complain. Otherwise, they'll get the boot right back.

3.) This isn't that disappointing because it isn't that abnormal. The congress historically changes hands in some form every 12-14 years. The founding fathers designed the House of Representatives to work as a barometer of the will of the people (hence why it turns over every two years) and the Senate as a more nationally focused, discerning body with less immediate turnaround (hence why senators serve six years and no state elects both of its representatives in any given election). The people, at this juncture, want a better strategy on protecting us from terrorism (i.e. - not involving ourselves in nation-building and instead forging cohesive alliances with other Western powers to be on the defensive), and that's what the House now reflects.

4.) Okay, so there is an obvious downside, too. I don't think the republicans anticipated losing the Senate as well. This kind of dual oversight is a bit much on the checks and balances - the Bush administration will be forced to walk on eggshells with everything they do for the next two years or risk investigation and/or impeachment. Additionally, the president's social agenda is out the window now - no pro-life legislation or judicial nominees will clear the capitol for a while. Look for the rest of Bush's presidency to be focused on getting out of Iraq, repairing relations with other world leaders, and attempting to stabilize Iran and North Korea enough to build credentials for the next Republican presidential nominee.

5.) Finally, I think Nov.7 should have served conservatives with a reminder that God is in control, no matter what we think (or try to solve on our own) down here. We have to remember not to put undue faith in finite men to plan our future. No political system is going to usher us into a "Christian" world - that's just flat out non-Biblical. Government is ordained by God to keep the peace so that we don't all kill each other, and a little turnaround every so often helps keep that system fresh and working. That doesn't mean I'm not already trying to figure out what it will take to orchestrate a conservative resurgence next time, though . . .

Voting In Support of Marriage - Attitude and Action

The cultural debate over the definition of marriage always heats up when elections roll around, and the 2006 midterms have proven to be no exception. In addition to candidates for office kicking the issue around as a campaign tool, eight states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin) are putting the issue directly to voters in the form of constitutional amendments protecting marriage as the union of one man and one woman only.

In the wake of the repeated defeat of a federal marriage amendment in Congress, the states have taken it upon themselves to protect the values of their people. To date, 20 states have already passed amendments banning same-sex marriage, most by comfortable margins.

As Christians go to the polls next month to cast ballots for our values (and/or those who espouse them), we should know why we support what we do—we need to know the difference between standing for what we believe instead of simply against what we do not.

Other life issues on the ballot are fairly clear. Abortion is the killing of a human being created in the image of God, something no follower of Christ should ever condone. In essence, the marriage debate should fall into the same terminology, but seldom does.

It seems as though God created the institution of marriage to reflect His image. Jesus, ending the Pharisees’ legalistic discussion about divorce in Mark 10:6-9, quotes God’s original plan from Genesis and adds a little extra punch. He says, “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

God wove into His creation two different expressions of His image—He created male and female human beings to more fully explain His nature to finite man. God is our provider and protector as surely as He is our comforter and nurturer. In marriage, we see an allusion to the Trinity—“one flesh” exercising together the different aspects of God’s image. Marriage should be an earthly picture of the unity, harmony and purpose that God has within Himself.

In addition, we are all familiar with God’s choice of marriage to represent the way he relates to His children. Ephesians 5:22-33 lays out the extended metaphor—the incredible passion of a husband for his wife on their long-awaited wedding night is but a reflection of the ardor of Christ’s love for us! Taking it a step further, the intimacy in a Godly marriage that drives out sin and fear is held up as a picture of the process of sanctification that Christ works in us.

On the whole, marriage is designed by God to give Him honor and glory; it is part of the story of His nature and His plan for creation.

This is why the defense of marriage in the public sphere is important. Our rationale for voting in support of such amendments should follow from this. If we view such things negatively (as triumph over homosexuals) instead of positively (as a preservation of God’s image on earth), are we really honoring the Lord as we should? The issue is about promoting God’s design for love, not about promoting ourselves as better than those who oppose it (Romans 3:23 should remind us that we’re no better than any other sinners—it is only by the grace of Christ’s sacrifice that we are held clean).

Romans 12:17-18 says, “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” As the country becomes ever more divided over this and other issues, it is more and more difficult for us to follow this directive. Standing in support of marriage for the right reasons is indeed one way to do this.

As we speak with a common voice by voting on November 7, let’s remember that it was Christ’s forgiveness and not the Pharisees’ condemnation that changed lives. We can stand for truth and condemn the institutionalization of sin without ceasing to extend the love and forgiveness of the Lord to individual sinners. Let’s vote for marriage out of God’s goodness in our hearts, and not out of spite for those who haven’t discovered His grace.

Posted by Justin Lonas

We're So Average

Aim Low. This would serve very well as our national motto. Worse yet, it could be the motto of most Christians today. Perhaps it is even my personal goal. In so many aspects of life, we choose to reach for the lowest common denominator; we do the shoddiest job with the least amount of effort; we choose inaction over involvement. Excellence has become subservient to convenience.

The most obvious reason for the decline of excellence is the increase of cultural laziness. If you value doing nothing over doing things to the best of your ability, it’s no wonder that the quality and quantity of your achievements will plummet. Apathy is an easy alternative to caring. Passion is a noble goal, to be sure, but it takes effort (which is often a synonym for giving up free time, sleep, and comfort). Nine times out of ten, most of us will choose to shirk involvement simply because of the effort it takes to enter the game.

Walker Percy in his 1961 novel, The Moviegoer, nailed this problem before it was nearly as widespread as it is today. “Our civilization has achieved a distinction of sorts. It will be remembered not for its technology nor even its wars but for its novel ethos. Ours is the only civilization in history which has enshrined mediocrity as its national ideal.”

Is that all there is to it, though? Do we underachieve simply because it is the easy option?

If we sharpen the focus a bit, we might notice that laziness isn’t the core of the issue. If lethargy is our collective goal, what principles in our culture back it up? Peeling back the layers of our indifference forces us to confront things we’d rather not. Laziness may not be admirable, but it’s an acceptable excuse for apathy. What if we were to discover, however, that we are lazy because we fear losing what we love?

Doubtless, our cultural pursuit of the mediocre is tied to our national attitude of risk aversion. We will step up to the plate occasionally, provided that we can be totally assured of not losing a thing. If caring involves risk (which drawing near to people and/or putting all your effort toward a goal often does), we’d rather sit it out.

So self-protection becomes the pedestal of apathy. We can stand by this because it is the natural goal of man to manipulate his environment for his preservation and comfort. We still haven’t reached the bottom of the matter, though. We value comfort because our possession of it means that we are in control of our lives. If we step outside of our private fortresses to do what we need to in any given situation, we open ourselves up for the realization that something outside of our control could bring us down. Our pride is the ultimate foundation of our indifference. We don’t care because we don’t want to realize the truth that we are not in ourselves the only thing that matters in this life.

Where do we go from here? The accusation has been levied, the editorial finger points back at me with more fervor than I care to tolerate but tomorrow is another day that will require of me things that I would rather not do (or at least not do well).

I find it hard to believe that the lack of concern about issues, the lack of concern for others, the lack of concern for excellence and the desire to avoid tough issues is indicative of the hearts of Christians. At our core, don’t we really care deeply about most things? Our selfish pride allows us to persevere in our intentional indifference.

There is a Navajo proverb that says “You cannot wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.”

Addressing a problem that all of us have and precious few of us acknowledge is not easy. I’m not suggesting that we throw caution to the wind and put our whole selves into everything we can get our hands on. We would then be just as uncaring because we couldn’t give any one person or thing the attention they merit. I merely want to care enough to keep us from becoming, as Percy prophesied, “the most sincere Laodiceans who ever got flushed down the sinkhole of history.”

Perhaps the most frustrated people I speak with are those of you who are
getting Pulpit Helps but do not want them. A surprisingly large number of
you are not even churches. At one time, your residence housed a church
secretary or a pastor and despite your diligent efforts for years, you are
unable to even stem the tide of "junk mail." Please know that Pulpit Helps
does not want to be a part of your junk mail problem.

You can e-mail me at subscriptions@pulpithelps.com to have your name removed
from our list, but obviously, Pulpit Helps is only a tiny portion of the
problem. There is another company that can more completely solve your
problem, and they are Direct Marketing Association. Their web address is
dmaconsumers.com. They are basically a "do not mail" list and I understand
you can give them your name and address once to enjoy drastically reduced
amounts of mail for up to 7 years.

Naturally, if you're not getting Pulpit Helps and you'd like to be, give us a shout as well!

Mail Chauvinism?

Every month, I get a few phone calls from subscribers that did not receive their issue. It's just part of doing business and mailing 50,000 items each month.

In August, however, we seem to have had a few more phone calls than usual. My printer assures me everything went smoothly with the mailing, so I don't know where the breakdown has occurred. Perhaps one link in the post office chain is weak this month - who knows.

Rest assured if you did not get your copy, getting a backup is as simple as e-mailing subscriptions@pulpithelps.com or calling 1-800-251-7206.

Thank you,
Lisa
Subscription Services
Pulpit Helps Magazine

Digital Edition Troubles

Well, I've just had my first encounter with the now infamous "Pulpit Helps Digital Edition." While navigation became easier as I learned the various button functions, the overall impression that this version left me can be distilled into one word - cumbersome.

Still, It was very nice to be able to access all of the content (the look and feel of the print edition, rather than simply the static text that you can read at www.pulpithelps.com) online. Another nice feature was the ability to click on the ads for a direct link to each advertiser's website. Perhaps in the future, we'll be able to make it easier for you to access and navigate. We don't want to keep something that doesn't help anyone. One thing is for sure - we'll find out the easiest way to wade through it all and tell you the most user-friendly way to take in the same PH you know and love in a whole new way.

What do you think? Have any of you had a chance to try out the digital edition? Just click the comment tab below and let us know what you're thinking!

In effort to keep up with our changing readership, we've decided to institute a weblog, or "Blog", to facilitate communication between you, our subscribers, and the editorial staff.

We are here for your benefit! The magazine, the website, everything - all exist to provide you with a combination of services you cannot receive in one place from any other source. You've all learned to rely on Pulpit Helps for Sermon Starters, Illustrations, and advice from those more experienced in the ministry. Now that we are more fully a subsidiary of AMG International, you'll be able to find resources to connect your church to short term mission opportunities, updates on the work of the Gospel around the globe, and so much more.

We no longer simply want to "feed" you information. We want to create a much more interactive publication that gives the reader more freedom to choose what goes in. We want to provide material that sparks discussion and prompts you to study and learn. We are committed to equipping you to be Christ's Ambassadors (as described in II Corinthians chapter 5) to your congregation, Sunday School class, and the world at large.

With this new blog (which will be updated frequently), you can have access to the "gears turning in our brains" as we plan out each month's print edition. We'll post articles and/or ideas for your enjoyment, and you can post insightful comments that will be read daily by us and then appended to each entry for the rest of the readership to benefit from.

We hope that this generates a good response because we believe that it could be a wonderful tool to give us easy access to your changing needs and desires as we work to make PH an invaluable resource to your ministry!