Faith by Hearing

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
For years, I’ve been a fan of audible books. Audible books, once known as “books on tape,” are these days more likely to be “books on CDs” or “books on an iPod.”

Well, starting February 17--the first Wednesday in Lent (a forty-day season leading to Easter)--I’ve got a really great read lined up. I’m going to start listening to the story of Jesus as recounted in the New Testament, and I want you to join me.

Through our partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, every member of our church will be offered a free recording of the New Testament. By listening to this recording just 28 minutes a day, one can listen to the entire New Testament in 40 days, just in time for Easter!

According to a recent Barna survey, fully two-thirds of self-professed “Bible-believing” Christians have never read the New Testament. Thus, by participating in this church-wide listening program, you can accomplish something most Christians have never done: read (ok, listen) your way through the New Testament, cover to cover.

Here are the particulars of our “Faith Comes by Hearing” emphasis:

• Audio recordings of the New Testament will be offered to every member of our church on Sunday, February 14 and at the Ash Wednesday service on February 17.

• These recordings are in MP3 format which allows the entire New Testament to be put on one CD-type disk. By contrast, it takes 15 regular CDs to hold the New Testament. Most computers and DVD players will play MP3 disks, as will iPods or other portable players. A portable CD player capable of playing MP3 disks can be bought at Wal-Mart for less than $25.00.

• This technology allows one to listen to the New Testament while driving, exercising, or otherwise on the move. Such listening is easily incorporated into one’s daily routine.

• A children’s version of the New Testament will also be available.

• Our church will sponsor an online forum at www.fbcmacon.org for sharing thoughts and questions about the “reading” for the day.

• To learn more about the “Faith Comes by Hearing” venture, go to www.thefellowship.info/ygtt or speak with our Adult Education Chair, Connie Jones.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes, “Faith comes by hearing and what is heard comes through the word of Christ” (10:17). There is power in hearing the Word of God. For 1,500 years before the invention of the printing press, most Christians only heard the Scriptures read in public worship.

Well, starting February 17, it will be “back to the future” at the First Baptist Church of Christ. During our Lenten journey this year, as many members of our church as possible will listen to the Word of God each day for 40 days. Those who do will likely be surprised and transformed by what they hear. And when we’re done, we’ll be a “people of the Book” not in word only, but in deed and in truth.

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A Suffering Mystery

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
Pat Robertson has taken a well-deserved drubbing for his remarks attributing the earthquake in Haiti to the judgment of God. Of course, he has also generated intense media coverage for himself and his enterprise so perhaps he’s not so foolish as he appears.

But there is a sort of “judgment” in the catastrophe in Haiti if by “judgment” one means awakening to what is most vital and precious in life, and striving to reorder one’s life accordingly.

When questioned about a cruel slaughter unleashed by Pilate, Jesus said, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? NO, I tell you” (Luke 13:1-3). In answering “no,” Jesus distanced himself from the popular theology then (and regrettably still much in vogue today) that all suffering is due to sin. An earthquake in Haiti? Obviously, someone did something wrong. Job’s friends advance this argument against him again and again. At the end of the book, God sides solidly with Job and with Jesus: suffering and evil remain a mystery that defies simplistic answers.

But in responding to the question about Pilate’s slaughter and another about the collapse of a tower that kills 18 people, Jesus not only rejects the simplistic theology of Job’s “friends,” then and now. Jesus also utters a shocking, surprising word: “But unless you repent, you will all perish as they did” (Luke 13:3, 5). In other words, the disasters that leave Jesus’ hearers thinking about others need to redirect their focus to themselves. Life is precious, life is fleeting. It can be snatched away in an instant. Given that reality--which in Haiti has seized the headlines and our attention--is the life we are living really the life we want and ought to live?

The loving Abba (“Father”) Jesus revealed does not handpick impoverished Caribbean nations as Ground Zero for earthquakes. But given the magnitude of this natural disaster (caused by shifting plates in the earth’s crust rather than God) can we not thank God for the heroism and sacrifice this disaster has evoked in so many? Can we not thank God we live in a nation that responds with such altruistic fervor to the suffering of our neighbor to the south? Can we not thank God for this opportunity for Haitians and their allies to build a better, safer, and more prosperous nation?

Crises, especially those of the magnitude of the one in Haiti, bring out the best and the worst in people: in that is the judgment. Following Jesus means we side with the suffering and the desperate in their plight, doing everything in our power to help: in that is the hope, and not just for Haitians, but for Americans and Asians and Africans and all the world.

If there is an “answer” to the question of suffering and evil, that is it.

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Sanctuary in Blue

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
The sanctuary has been feeling a bit blue lately. I know this because she and I visit often. Mostly she talks, and I listen. Listening is a big part of a pastor’s calling.

The sanctuary is feeling blue because all the gorgeous ornamentation of Advent and Christmas is gone: the glorious purple and gold banners, the enchanting Advent wreath, the Chrismon tree bedecked with twinkling lights. The crimson red poinsettias have snuck off stage and the baby Jesus is no longer resting peacefully in the hand-carved manger scene. Naturally, the sanctuary is feeling the loss.

I tell the Lady at the top of Poplar she is still beautiful, and she is. I tell her how I love her soaring buttresses, the sun-drenched rose window at her back, the skylights that lift the eye and heart upwards toward God. I tell her how it calms my heart to soak up the warmth and color streaming through her stained-glass windows.

She nods appreciatively, if sadly, as fading beauties sometimes do. Because truth be told, some of her beauty is gone. At least for a while.

Maybe you feel it too. The wonder of Christmas is behind us. The sweet, non-threatening baby Jesus has been replaced by a nettlesome rabbi with an attitude. The packed house on Christmas Eve has thinned. The hymns and anthems are still moving, but how does one trump “Silent Night” and “The Hallelujah Chorus”?

The church has an expression for this awkward, less exciting season in which we find ourselves: it’s called “ordinary time.” “Ordinary time” is the season between Epiphany and Lent/Easter and from Pentecost till Advent/Christmas. In other words, most of the church year is spent in “ordinary time.” Most of life is lived in “ordinary” time.

Yes, there are special, epoch-making moments when the joy bubbles up and gratitude spills off the plate: new births, graduations, weddings, silver and gold anniversaries, the once-upon-a-time gold watch at retirement. But those special times of celebration are formed and sustained by the day-to-day caring and commitment that gives them meaning.

The same is true in following Jesus. His invitation was not “check in with me whenever faith runs fresh and free.” No, his invitation, yea, his demand was and is “Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23) in ordinary time, that is today, tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that. Because following Jesus day-by-day-by-day is what it takes to slowly become a little more like him. And thankfully, even ordinary time becomes sacred and precious when spent in his company, his service, his joy.

As I left the sanctuary this morning, she seemed to rise to her new calling. I know God’s people at the top of Poplar will do the same.

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Financial Hope

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
Since the first of the year, I’ve noticed a new breed of ads popping up on the internet and on television. The thrust of these ads is to suggest the current recession has an upside: it is teaching Americans the value of thrift. An easy-money economy got us into this mess, but it will take a return to frugality and fiscal discipline to get us out.

One of these ads features an Allstate Insurance spokesman who says our nation has weathered 12 recessions since the Great Depression. In each case, according to the pitchman, "After the fears subside, a funny thing happens: people start enjoying the small things in life: a home-cooked meal, time with loved ones... It’s back to basics and the basics are good."

I recognize this is slick marketing. It even has a name, "recession marketing." But I hope and believe the basic message in this ad is true.

Yes, many people are suffering. A lot. Jobs--even low-paying jobs--are nowhere to be found. Many parents are having to cut out the "extras" and the kids don’t understand. Tiptoeing one’s way through a minefield of financial uncertainty and stress takes a toll on families.

But with such challenges also come new opportunities, indeed, a pressing need to reclaim lost values. Suddenly, Grandma’s mantra about not buying on credit is no longer a castaway truth from a bygone age. Now such practice is a critically needed survival skill!

In the family census of our church, completed last summer, the respondents’ number one identified need was help with managing money. Thankfully, our Stewardship Committee has explored and is now ready to offer a proven seminar to address that need: Dave Ramsey’s "Financial Peace University" (see related Highlites article: "Ramsey Preview: January 17th"). This is a 13-session course in getting one’s financial house in order. In a nutshell, the course teaches one how to live within one’s means, get out of debt, save for the future, and give to worthy causes.

As those who have watched Dave Ramsey on television or heard him on radio can attest, Ramsey is opinionated, assertive, and directive. And like most people who talk for a living (present company included!), he says stuff some folks find annoying. But Ramsey has developed a proven program for helping ordinary people get out of debt and on the road to financial security. During the 13-week seminar, the average household pays off $5,300 in debt and saves $2,700.

There is hope for families in financial crisis. That hope is found first in God’s faithfulness, God’s Word, and God’s people. That hope is also found in developing the life skills to negotiate a better future. At the First Baptist Church of Christ, we aim to offer both support and skills because both are needed.

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