"In Our Own Evangelical Ghetto."

"In Our Own Evangelical Ghetto."

By: Rev. Jack Schneider

“It has always been my ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. As it is written: ‘Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.’”  [Rom.1520,21, NIV]

“We hide in our own evangelical ghetto, and we go to churches that would only be welcoming to people that think like us.”  So writes Jeff Christopherson, vice president for the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Missions Board.

We might think at first glance that his comment applies only to his Baptist brethren -- but it doesn’t. The fact is, studies today are showing that 60% of the non-Christian population has no relationships with Christians.  Few Christians embrace them, not in neighborhoods and communities, and certainly not across ethnic boundaries. A non-Lutheran friend of ours calls it a “suburban social ethnicity that uses shared values and religious consumerism” and nothing to do with a sense of mission for God’s Kingdom.

Ouch. If they smell like us, look like us, talk like us, think like us and, most importantly, think and believe the way we do, they’re okay.  If not…  Well, there’s another church down the road for people “like that.” God forbid we should ever become this kind of dead church. A church like this has lost its purpose for life in this present world, abandoning Jesus’ call for abundant life here and now while we have both feet on terra firma. Yes, we live in the midst of strife and sin, but Jesus’ promise and ministry are fulfilled in sweat and blood and tears, not through halos and harps and clouds.

Both Jesus and John the Baptist had the same message: “The Kingdom of God is at hand…it is near…it is among you…in you.” Be about the King’s business! Share the Good News, for the time is coming when the window of opportunity will not be open for others to hear it and the Spirit can no longer work on their hearts.

I have the privilege of mentoring Ed Torea in our Seminary’s Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology program as he and 5 other men study for the pastoral ministry. How powerful it is to hear how God has led them across African deserts and Asian deltas to join Ed in this great journey of service in the Kingdom because someone cared enough to reach across ethnic and social boundaries to share God’s Word with them.

Lutherans who don’t look or sound German? Wow! Whodathunkit?!

Just remember: on the horizon is the Lutheran Church of Ethiopia -- 6 million people. And they don’t look German, either.  Praise God!

- Jack

"Excitotoxins & Sin."

"Excitotoxins & Sin."

By: Pastor Jack Schneider

“He loved the taste of his wickedness, letting it melt under his tongue. He savored it, holding it long in his mouth. But suddenly, what he has eaten turns deadly within him, a poisonous venom in his body.”  [Job 20:12-14, PJV/NLT]

My doctor is helping identify foods I cannot afford to eat, and we’re not talking dollar signs on a menu. Built-up physical/nerve damage over the years has taken a toll on my back and hearing, triggered by foods containing certain chemicals and even natural substances proving harmful to my health and, perhaps, to yours. The worst, for me, have a name: excitotoxins, and they act exactly as they sound. They excessively stimulate nerve and brain cells [think of your brain’s response to your taste buds on this one…] until, after a short time, these cells die. Hence, the last part of the name: “toxins.”

You’d think this would keep me in check. But we like flavor and sweetness, don’t we? We don’t want bland, tasteless food or crave drinks that pass for last night’s dishwater. So, on goes the MSG [monosodium glutamate, “flavor enhancer”] and in goes the aspartame [“natural sweetener”]. Our taste buds are thrilled! Oh, yeah, one more thing… For the next two days I walk and move like I’ve been run over by a truck, and that’s how I feel.

On a spiritual level, this is exactly how satan pitches us with the excitotoxin known as sin or, in the Word above, “wickedness.” What does the Father of Lies slip under your tongue to get your senses rolling and your brain charged up? It’s the same process as our taste buds, but far more deadly. Flattery is sweet, and envy has a way of creeping in to add a little “zing.” But there are some biggies that absolutely burst onto our spirits: pride -- because we do not like it when someone appears to get the better of us or things have not gone our way; and do not forget the subtlety of lust and the physicality of our looks.  Make no mistake, satan knows just how to pull your chain and mine. He knows us inside and out. And the flavor lasts, like a Jolly Rancher.

The Good News is, “He that is in you is greater than the one who is in the world!” [1 Jn.4:4]  Jesus lives in you and will not leave; He will not quit.  Even when we struggle with the lure of sin and only later discover how deadly it is [Prov.20:17 “Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but we end up with a mouth full of gravel.”]. There is joy and forgiveness as we turn and confess our sin, trusting our faithful Lord’s promises. You see, it takes two days of drinking pure, cleansing water to flush the poison out my system before I can walk upright again; it takes only one instant of absolution based on the pure, cleansing waters of your baptism to flush the poisons out of your life. [1 Jn.1:8-2:2]

- Jack

"Black Socks With Sandals."

"Black Socks With Sandals."

By: Pastor Jack Schneider

“What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short… For this world in its present form is passing away.”  [1 Cor.7:29,31, NIV]

Apparently I’m a trend-setter. Oh, certainly not with style -- my wife and grown-up kids still have to pick out new clothes for me if I want to look decent. In fact, they still threaten to sew “Garanimal” tags into my clothing so I can match up outfits; you know, tiger shirts go with tiger pants, lions with lions, etc… I’ve made progress through the years, though. I know enough not to wear plaids with plaids and never, never, black socks with sandals!

So what’s the trend? At our Synod Convention in St. Louis I found two former classmates who are following my lead in retiring. One, Jim, decided after a lengthy, positive conversation this was something he needed to do. The other had made his commitment about the same time as I, retiring from Lutheran Hour Ministries in St. Louis after ten great years of seeing God’s Word change lives around the world. That’s Bruce, and at the convention he reminded us that of the 7 billion people in the world, 4.8 billion of them do NOT know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. To give you an idea of the enormity of 7 billion people, let’s turn that into dollars, and I’ll challenge you to begin spending at the rate of $1 per second, 60 seconds per minute, 60 minutes per hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And it would take you 217 years to spend it all.

Classmates spend time talking about “the old days,” sure. But we also spend time talking about the challenge of today with so much yet to be done. Retirement doesn’t mean we stop the Great Commission in our own lives or even “hand off the baton” to someone else. It has to do with re-prioritizing the time and energy God gives us at this stage of our lives to be good stewards, more effective coaches and mentors with those around us.  How do you touch 4.8 billion people who don’t know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  By training and equipping teachers, pastors, evangelists, church planters, DCEs, deacons, missionaries, every imaginable door and pathway that God can use to touch and change the lives of these people with His love and grace through the Gospel.

We at St. Paul are an incredible part of that mission. What a privilege, and what a joy! Almost yearly we take another step of creative faith in some venture, either in mission or education or training. In September Ed Torea will become a Vicar through Concordia Seminary’s Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology on his way to ordination as an LCMS pastor. It takes time, but that’s how you touch people.

It’s a trend we, and they, can live with!

- Jack

"Don’t Go Looking For Trouble."

"Don’t Go Looking For Trouble."

By: Pastor Jack Schneider

“Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible.”  [Rom.12:17,18, NLT]

My grade-school teacher, Mrs. Wright, used to tell me, “Jack Arthur, if you go looking for trouble, it’s bound to find you!”  Of course, she always said that after I tried to excuse my behavior by blaming someone else for what had taken place.  You see, things were never my fault…someone else always made me do it. If not innocent, I certainly was not guilty. Man, does that ever resonate with recent events in the George Zimmerman case.

Such a travesty, and all because one ill-advised person went looking for trouble. Make no mistake, I understand and agree he was acquitted, which, in this case simply means the prosecution did not prove the necessary intent of hatred. Yet no amount of legal maneuvering or self-justification can erase the needless death of a young man who was pursued in a manner opposite the Biblical admonition above. Here in Texas we are allowed to defend our homes and families in a reasonable manner; when we step outside those homes, however, common sense and brotherly love are expected to rule our hearts and minds.

Do they? When we walk our communities, do we see our brothers and sisters as people worthy of God’s compassion and grace? If not worthy, do we see them as needing His mercy and peace? You see, those are hard questions -- for me -- because I am often an unmerciful respondent to those who drive alongside me, or those who clearly reflect different values than those I supposedly hold dear. Oh, dear Lord, hardly a day goes by that He doesn’t show me what a poor job I do of genuinely loving my neighbor! Truth be known, it’s not that I hate those in my community, I just don’t give them a second thought -- and that’s perhaps worse.

If George Zimmerman wanted to be effective in his neighborhood watch, he’d have done better to stop and ask Trayvon Martin if he could help him. Instead, he suspected the worst and instigated the worst possible scenario. God forbid we should do the same as people of faith in our own neighborhoods and communities. Our call and commission is to be a Light, the light of Christ to all we meet in our everyday lives. Where necessary, indeed we are to be wiser than serpents and harmless as doves.

Don’t go looking for trouble. Surely, it will find you. Instead, live at peace, as far as it depends on you. 

- Jack

"Be Well"

"Be Well"

By: Pastor Jack Schneider

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”  [Rom.1:7, NIV]

My daughter was incensed -- a nice way of putting it. She was truly hacked off when she called the other day to say, “Dad! You need to write about this! I can’t believe what just happened!” Once calmed down enough to explain what had her upset, we talked about the creeping cultural shifts making their way into our lives…and, perhaps, the faith-life of careless Christians. The issue? She had gone into one of our national-chain drug stores and, at checkout, got a greeting she’d never heard. 

What do you normally expect to hear from your checkout clerks? That’s right -- probably something like, “Have a good day!” You might even get a “Thanks for shopping ______!”  Not this time. The greeting/dismissal that had Karen so worked up was “Be Well.”

Be Well? Come on…be more creative!  “Be Well” is a line from the 1993 sci-fi action film, “Demolition Man” with Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bullock.  In this satire about a 2032 A.D. Utopian [supposedly] society, Stallone is the “thawed” hero, John Spartan, charged with capturing bad-guy Snipes [also thawed]. Bullock is the hero’s modern police partner, and the film has as much unprintable humor as action in presenting the flaws of a politically-correct society gone amok. “Be Well, John Spartan!”

Someone in the drug store chain didn't do his/her homework.

Compare this with Paul’s greeting to the Romans [and others]. We’re not supposed to be so direct today as Paul writes, but wouldn't you rather hear -- and give -- a grace- and peace-filled greeting than the empty “Be Well” now required in Walgreens? In fact, the best greeting is one that’s shown in our lives by the way we deal with one another in Christ-like love and transparency. Treating sales-people and others with kindness and thanks is a start; being unhesitant to smile and wish someone a pleasant day in a Godly fashion is just a step away. Faith that shows will grow and bear fruit.

I have no plans to boycott Walgreens over this inanity. I will, however, send their corporate office an e-mail of my opinion.  That’s part of what makes America great: we’re free to communicate important principles while exercising respect for others. Now if only the rest of our culture would allow Christians the same freedom with no bias…

This can get a person worked up, even make you hungry. Wanna go get some Taco Bell, John Spartan? And, hey, don’t worry; be happy!

- Jack