Overcoming Fear - Two Sermons

Here are two sermons that may help during these turbulent times.

You can click on the PDF to follow along with the notes.

"Inner Healing of Fear, Worry, and Anxiety"

"God Has Not Given You a Spirit of Fear"  

Praying and the Kingdom

 

                                                               (Praying, at Redeemer)

(This is excerpted from my book Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God. And, as I write these words it is Tuesday, my praying day. If you have a private prayer request for me please email me at johnpiippo@msn.com.)

This morning I am praying for: 

• a young adult who contacted me last night and shared that he is drinking to escape depression;
• parents who discovered their baby has a tumor on its spine and faces surgery tomorrow; 
• a friend undergoing treatment for cancer; 
• a homeless person who regularly comes to church on Sunday mornings; 
• and a woman who left her young husband for another man. 

All this would overwhelm me if I did not understand the heart of Jesus! 

One of the most revolutionary events in my theological life was discovering that Jesus’ main message was about the kingdom of God. The term “kingdom of God” means the rule, or reign, of God. God’s kingdom is not a place or location, but wherever his power and love manifest themselves. Jesus’ parables were about the kingdom. His miracles and exorcisms were demonstrations of the kingdom. He viewed himself as the real King. And he taught us to pray for the kingdom to come, not only in the future, but presently. 

My kingdom studies resulted in viewing “the Lord’s Prayer” differently. I used to see this as entirely future-oriented. Now I see it as including praying for God to do something here, on the earth. Presently. This is wonderful, for I and my people need God with us, now. 

This makes praying a kingdom activity. Now-activity. I, and the people I fellowship with, desire God to be “Immanuel,” with us, today.

The Moral Barrenness of Humanism

 

                                                        (Redeemer Church in Monroe)

I have long been puzzled when an atheistic humanist spends time trying to refute Christian theism. Were I a humanist, I would not spend the precious years of my life debunking Christianity. If life, on atheism, has no ultimate purpose and meaning, of what purpose and meaning could it be to assault religious beliefs, especially since there's evidence that religious beliefs have made people better? (As well as studies showing, like this one, that atheism fuels violence.)

I have also felt confused when atheistic humanists make moral judgments. After all, if there is no Divine Command Giver, morality is simply a subjective human invention. How silly, therefore, for a humanist to morally critique me. (The answer to that question is no one; nothing.)

Atheist humanist William Deresiewicz, in his essay "Disenchantment and Dogma," believes the same. In his critique of New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat (who is a Christian theist), Deresiewicz, while puzzled that such an intelligent person as Douthat can believe in God, agrees with Douthat on the following.

"Douthat is right about one thing, and it is a very big thing. He is right (the point is only touched on in this particular piece, but he has pursued it elsewhere, and it is the very premise of the kind of argument he’s making here) that secularism leaves us in a moral and spiritual and in some sense emotional vacuum. It doesn’t tell us what to do or how to live; it doesn’t connect us to anything larger than ourselves; it doesn’t bring us into relationship with other people. It leaves us alone with our terrors, our confusions, our despair."

Secular humanism leaves "unaddressed the ineluctable hungers of youth: for purpose, for meaning, for belonging, for belief in something larger than the self. And so, into that vacuum, has lately stepped the ideology of “social justice,” with all the certainties and all the furies of a new religion on the march. Not only students but their institutions, which had been equally in search of purpose, have been quick to take the hint. With stunning speed and unanimity, colleges and universities have rebranded themselves en masse as seminaries of social action, places where you go to learn to “change the world.”"

"As a replacement for religion, humanism has not fulfilled the hopes that people had for it, and neither has secularism in any of its other manifestations. They never can, and they never will. And so modernity is fated to be raked by periodic gusts of religious enthusiasm—Romanticism, communism, spiritualism, even the 60s itself, with its social crusades, its shamanistic drugs, its rock and roll revival meetings. Like all millenarian movements, each enthusiasm thinks that it’s the final one, the end of history and the transfiguration of the species, and each one falls in turn."

A humanist cannot accept what Deresiewicz calls "supernatural religion." His problem with Douthat is briefly and insufficiently expressed. But he is right about this. Secular humanism "leaves us in a moral and spiritual and emotional vacuum." So, at least, perhaps, we could be rid of humanistic moralizing, as if that was giving us, from a place of nowhere, a moral compass.

PRESENCE-DRIVEN CHURCH WEEKEND for PASTORS, SPOUSES, & CHURCH LEADERS

 

(Linda and I are looking forward to this!)

PRESENCE DRIVEN CHURCH SPIRITUAL EMPHASIS WEEKEND

FOR PASTORS, CHURCH LEADERS & SPOUSES

Friday and Saturday, February 25-26, 2022

Tippecanoe Baptist Camp

featuring Dr. John Piippo, National Co-Director of Holy Spirit Renewal Ministries, pastor, professor, author, blogger, revivalist and musician

–Several workshops included!

Sign up online here:  https://presence-driven-church.ticketleap.com/.

All registrations DUE by 02/16/22.

With questions, contact Ashton Ousley, office@warrenfirstbaptist.net or 260.375.2811.

Renewal School of Ministry - Winter Classes

 

Want to grow in discipleship to Jesus? Renewal School of Ministry provides an opportunity to do so,

Every teacher brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and passion to their class. In RSOM you get to study under seasoned pastors, teachers, and various church leaders.

RENEWAL SCHOOL OF MINISTRY COURSE OFFERINGS

THE WINTER TERM WILL START JANUARY 16 ,2022

The following courses will be offered in the next Term

The Class Syllabuses can be found here or click on the course name

The Class Times are 8 PM EDT, 7 PM CDT, 6 PM MDT, 5 PM PDT.

  

1. Taking it to the Streets - Pastor Ross Lieuallen

  Sunday night @ 8 PM ET Starting January 16 - February 20, 2022

2. Bibical Understanding of Suffering and Blessing - Pastor Ed Owens

  Monday night @ 8 PM ET Starting  January 17 - February 21, 2022

3. Pastoral Leadership (and pastoral care) - Dr. John Grove

 Tuesday night @ 8 PM ET Starting January 18 - February 22, 2022 

4. Ministry through Power and Spiritual Gifts - Steve Dominguez

  Thursday night @ 8 PM ET Starting  January 20 - February 24, 2022

3 Hour Seminar

Leadership Keys - Dr. Clayton Ford

Saturday February 12, 2022 @ 10:00 AM ET

Victimhood, Blame, and Unproductive Suffering

 

Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan

A few years ago a police officer accidentally shot and killed a man in their apartment complex. The deceased man's brother was in the courtroom when the officer was sentenced to ten years in prison. When it was the brother's turn to speak after the sentencing, instead of raging at the officer, he said, "I forgive you." Then he asked the judge if he could give the officer a hug. (See here.)

The maturity of this man contains many messages. One is: We don't have to live as angry victims the rest of our lives. That... is true freedom! This is opposed to what is commonly seen - like the person who leaves their spouse, or their friends, or their parents, or their religion, claims to now "be free," but demonstrates their bondage by unleashing hatred and blame against the spouse/friends/parents/church that hurt them.

To better understand how to be free from a victim mentality I recommend John Townsend's book The Entitlement Cure: Finding Success in Doing Hard Things the Right Way.

One of the bitter fruits of entitlement is externalization. Townsend writes: "People with an attitude of entitlement often project the responsibility of their choices on the outside, not the inside. The fault lies with other people, circumstances, or events. They blame others for every problem." (p. 61)

The worship songs of externalization are...

"It's Them, It's Them, It's Them O Lord, 

Standin' in the Need of Prayer," 

and...

"Change Their Hearts, O God." 

Externalization-people fail to look at their part in their problems. "Instead, they default to answers outside their skin. The result? They tend to be powerless and unhappy. They tend to see life through the eyes of a victim. And their suffering is unproductive — it doesn’t get them anywhere." (Ib.)

The classic victim mentality is:

"Yes, I did what was wrong. But you forced me to do it." This is a testimony to human character weakness. The characterless "victim" persists in recruiting other characterless people for the self-justification of evil. They engage in perpetual destruction of others, not to mention their own soul.

"Blame," writes Townsend, "is a first cousin to entitlement." 

The constant blamer is the perpetual victim. The antidote to this bondage is to reject forces outside yourself and take responsibility for your own choices and attitudes. Be open to seeing yourself as the problem. Reject a global victimization that views yourself as someone who is always being "done to," and own your own part in your problems. 

Forgive those who have trespassed on your heart. Take responsibility for your own trespassing.

***

**
My books are:

Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God

Leading the Presence-Driven Church

Encounters with the Holy Spirit (co-edited with Janice Trigg)

Deconstructing Progressive Christianity

31 Letters to the Church on Discipleship

Are You a "Safe" Person?

 

     (Wilberforce, Ohio)

Are you a safe person? Am I? It depends.

Jesus was not a safe person. He challenged the religious establishment. He claimed to be a king. His self-understanding was that he was the long-awaited Messiah. Hence, he was crucified. 

C. S. Lewis, in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, writes that Aslan (i.e., Jesus) is "not a tame lion." In the concluding chapter the narrator tells the reader, 

"But amid all these rejoicings Aslan himself quietly slipped away. And when the Kings and Queens noticed that he wasn’t there they said nothing about it. For Mr. Beaver had warned them, ‘He’ll be coming and going’ he had said. ‘One day you’ll see him and another you won’t. He doesn’t like being tied down—and of course he has other countries to attend to. It’s quite all right. He’ll often drop in. Only you mustn’t press him. He’s wild you know. Not like a tame lion.""

Aslan is unrestrained and independent of the whims of the individuals around him. What does that mean? The dialogue goes like this.

Mr. Beaver: “Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great Lion." 

"Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he...   quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"...

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”

Recently someone told me that my church was not a safe place for them. By this, they meant I, as one of our pastors, did not affirm, or coddle, all their beliefs. (For brilliant stuff on this mentality, see Jonathan Haidt, The Coddling of the American Mind.) "Safe" depends on what one is trying to preserve and protect. A physical "safe" protects valuables. The real issue is what one finds valuable. Metaphorically, this includes beliefs. 

If I am a racist, will my racist ideology be nurtured, welcomed, and flourish in the Jesus-culture? Not as I see it. My culture (Linda and myself) will not be a safe place for a racist. We can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, love a racist, without affirming a racist ideology. But in my Metanarrative, racism is not valued and nurtured, and therefore is not protected and kept safe.

Is my church a safe place? No and yes. No, certain postmodern, progressive, secular ideas are not safe here. And, a number of my orthodox Christian beliefs and values do not find a safe home among progressive Christians and so-called "exvangelicals." Exvangelicalism is not a safe environment for my belief, e.g., that marriage is between a man and a woman. (For more, see my recent book Deconstructing Progressive Christianity. For how to hold to my belief and love at the same time, see Greg Johnson, Still Time to Care.)

Every ideology, every worldview, embraces and excludes. The idea of a safe ideology often means "safe for my particular beliefs." The idea of a "safe" person, an "authentic" person, is a *utopian vision deeply rooted in the visionary's own self-understanding, or lack thereof. 

You have a worldview. Perhaps, like me, you have a fairly studied Christology. A worldview, like yours, is not a safe place for all beliefs. As such, you are not a "safe person" for everyone. As Thomas Kuhn showed us in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, worldviews are "incommensurable." That is the nature of the beast. The real issue is not safety, but what is the Metanarrative, what is truth, and, in this discussion, who is Jesus.

***

*utopian - I am thinking of Hegel's dialectics with their utopian, spiritual outcome; and Marx's dialectical materialism and its material utopia.

**
My books are:

Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God

Leading the Presence-Driven Church

Encounters with the Holy Spirit (co-edited with Janice Trigg)

Deconstructing Progressive Christianity

31 Letters to the Church on Discipleship

Authenticity Is Not to Be Praised

 

                                                               (Bellflower, in Ypsilanti)

More and more, in conversation with people, I hear the word "authentic" used.

"She is such an authentic person."

"The people in that church are inauthentic."

"I'm looking for people who are authentic."

"I haven't been authentic with you."

"Bring your whole self. Part of what made community in our previous contexts challenging stemmed from a fear of showing up authentically in our true humanity. Whether we felt we had to hide our doubts, weird beliefs, or areas of struggle, eventually we felt dis-integrated." Martin, Colby. The Shift (p. 103). (Emphasis mine.)

The root of our English word "authentic" is the Greek word autos. Autos means "self." "Authentic" has connotations of "being who you really are." Be, in your life and choices and actions the same as who you are on the inside. To do otherwise is to be inauthentic, a fake, a hypocrite, an actor.

In American culture "authentic" is a euphemism, seen as a good thing. But "authentic" is neither good nor bad. Authenticity carries no intrinsic value. Authenticity simply claims that a person is the same inside as they appear outside. The real issue is their character. They could be, internally, morally corrupt. If their choices and behaviors are also morally corrupt, they would be "authentic" people.

For example, Hitler oversaw the slaughtering of six million Jews. It appears his choices and behaviors were consistent with his character. He appears to have been well-integrated. He really did believe Jews (and gypsys) were the scum of the earth, to be eradicated. Just read Mein Kampf to see that, in the depths of Hitler's being, he was antisemitic. 

In Britannica.com we read:

According to Hitler, it was “the sacred mission of the German people…to assemble and preserve the most valuable racial elements…and raise them to the dominant position.” “All who are not of a good race are chaff,” wrote Hitler. It was necessary for Germans to “occupy themselves not merely with the breeding of dogs, horses, and cats but also with care for the purity of their own blood.” Hitler ascribed international significance to the elimination of Jews, which “must necessarily be a bloody process,” he wrote." 

Authenticity is the quality of being genuine or real. (See here.) Given that definition, Hitler was the real deal. A person can be evil and authentic, like Hannibal Lecter. Hence, authenticity is not something, in itself, to be either praised or blamed.

Rehabbing from Surgery with Four Books

 

                                                                   (I got these for Linda.)

I had surgery this past Tuesday for a total hip replacement. I was released from the hospital on Thursday. I'm now home, rehabbing. Linda is helping me - she is incredible!

This time provides opportunities to read. For Christmas I received four books. Two of them fuel my cosmic wonder, as expressed in Psalm 8:4-8.

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

The first is Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries that Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe, by philosopher of science Stephen Meyer. The second is by astrophysicist Katie Mack, The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking). 

The third gift book is Divine Impassibility: Four Views of God's Emotions and Suffering, edited by Robert J. Matz and A. Chadwick Thornhill. This book addresses these questions. Does God suffer? Does God experience emotions? Does God change? How should we interpret passages of Scripture that seem to support one view or the other? And where does the incarnation and Christ's suffering on the cross fit into this?  

The fourth book I'm getting into is Still Time to Care: What We Can Learn from the Church's Failed Attempt to Cure Homosexuality, by Greg Johnson. What attracted me to this book were the reviews, by these authors I respect.

Becket Cook, Author of A Change of Affection: A Gay Man’s Incredible Story of Redemption and host of The Becket Cook Show on YouTube

"This fascinating book gives a thorough and enlightening account of how the evangelical church has historically mishandled and hurt gay and lesbian Christians. The damage done over the last forty years is eye-opening. Greg Johnson lays out a healthy path forward for the church regarding the LGBTQ community that is both biblical and pastoral. Every Christian (especially leaders in the church) needs to read this book in order to better understand this nuanced and complex issue."

David Bennett, speaker and writer, author of A War of Loves: The Unexpected Story of a Gay Activist Discovering Jesus

"Many critiques of the ex-gay world and its theology have been leveraged by those who take its radical opposite position. Greg Johnson is different. He is one who has fought to remain close to the Lord and obedience to His Word and yet to challenge ex-gay theology, dismantle its harm and face its complicated and flawed humanity. In this rare window into an experience that requires greater understanding, Greg points compassionately and critically to the greater hope of the Gospel and the deeper third way that Jesus provides for the LGBTQI+ community in a world addicted to ideoiogical certainty and harmful culture war divides. A must-read."

Wesley Hill, author of Washed and Waiting and Spiritual Friendship

"This book is a lament for an evangelical road not taken, as well as a clarion call from a prophetic insider who believes that evangelicalism can change. Anyone wanting to understand better the current evangelical debates around LGBTQ+ issues—from 'ex-gay' ministries, to 'Side B gay Christians,' to 'mixed-orientation marriages'—should read this book and consider the courageous witness of its author."

Mark A. Yarhouse, Psy.D., Dr. Arthur P. Rech & Mrs. Jean May Rech Professor of Psychology, Wheaton College

"Greg Johnson offers a fascinating look into the rise of the ex-gay movement and the reasons for a diminished ex-gay narrative today. He takes the reader back in history to key voices evangelicals admired to move the reader forward into a vision of biblical faithfulness and nuanced pastoral care and communal support for those who are both gay and Christian.”

Character, not Appearance, Is What Matters

Character comes before ability and reputation. Especially in the Church. (Character is also greater than authenticity - more to come on that.)

Ability without character is morally and spiritually toxic. 

Unfortunately, some, to maintain appearances, elevate prayerless people to leadership, or theatricize their worship teams, while bypassing Christlikeness. 

Being always comes before doing. Who a person is is not to be measured by what a person does. Much in American culture, and the culture-formed Church, has this backwards. (So does progressive Christianity - see here, ch. 4.)

In our post-Christian culture, virtues such as living in holiness and righteousness are not cool. Instead of cultivating who we are meant to be (Jesus-like character), we are left with how we appear to others. For many it is appearance, not reality, that counts. Just watch TV commercials and behold the vanity.

Reputations are fabricated on social media. Because everyone still needs to be loved and liked, as well as get hired, one's image is re-formed in terms of one's liked-ness. (Do you like "me" when you see "me?")

If you have the money, even though your character cannot be changed (because you are commanded to "accept who you are"), your sickly reputation can be erased, or at least hidden. Online reputation repair is available, so that who you really are will not be seen (because who you really are is unacceptable to others and, therefore, to you). This is not about how you want to be seen, but how others want to see you. Whatever that is (it constantly changes), you can pay to have yourself look better.

Here are some quotes from reputation repair specialists.

"We can make you look great on the internet." (here)

"To be successful, Google needs to approve of you." (here)

"Our experts will fix negative Google results so you look great online." (here)

How much money will you need to do this? Remember, because the surface of you is so miserably unappealing, a whole lot of ongoing expertise and time management will be needed. You are a sorry case, and will have to pay for damage control.

So,

"how much does online reputation management cost? It depends. It could range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars every month. How much does online reputation really cost? It could cost you your reputation." (See here.)

I think I'll save the money and focus on my character. It is flawed. I need more inner transformation. Rather than hide it, I'll confess it to my Christian brothers and sisters who love me and pray for me, and who have also not fully arrived. Confession and forgiveness of sins is not reputation repair, but community character development.

For some inspiration on the subject of character, see David Brooks, The Road to Character, where you will meet real people who could care less about their reputations.

See also The Character Gap.


***

**
My books are:

Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God

Leading the Presence-Driven Church

Encounters with the Holy Spirit (co-edited with Janice Trigg)

Deconstructing Progressive Christianity

31 Letters to the Church on Discipleship