Autumn's Gifts

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
I am grateful for the arrival of autumn. I can breathe again. I can snuggle against the chill again. I can hope again.

This summer was the hottest I remember. From mid-May to mid-September, stifling days of oppressive heat were the norm. With the merciless sun bearing down, trying to run, do yard work, or attempt most any outdoor activity ranged from unpleasant to impossible.

But now at last, fall has returned like a long, lost friend showing up on Facebook or knocking at the door. The sky is bluer, the air is crisper, the stars are brighter, and people are nicer.

The poets speak of the “rebirth of spring” but for me, autumn has always been the richest season. Maybe it has to do with all those years fall meant going back to school with fresh, white pages of notebook paper aching for new learning. Or maybe I love fall because as a pastor, autumn means the church is stirring back to life after the lean summer months. Soon, the world famous FBC Stewardship Banquet will be upon us (what are our resident comics cooking up this year?), the children’s Fall Festival will populate our parking lot with inflatable adventures, the harvest table of Thanksgiving will celebrate the abundance of creation, and the lighting of the first Advent candle will defy the approaching cold, grey darkness of winter.

Fall is also the season for a quick trip to the Georgia mountains to drink apple cider and see the explosion of color in the trees. It’s the time for state fairs and cotton candy and Ferris wheel rides. Fall is when the first fire is built in the hearth to knock back the evening chill and the rustic smell of smoke delights the nostrils. Fall is Friday night football, hotdogs and hot chocolate, cardigans and the fog of rising breath. Fall is when a freshly gathered pile of leaves invites would-be skydivers. Fall is when the little ones in the neighborhood dress up like clowns and ballerinas and come knocking at your door squealing, “Trick or treat!”

Yes, there’s much to love about the Fall, but it didn’t have to be this way. We could live (or rather die) on a planet like Mars where we’d turn into a popsicle in a microsecond, or be incinerated on Mercury or Venus. But by God’s grace, we inhabit a miracle planet called Earth where the changing of the seasons is a sign of God’s sustenance and care. As God promised Noah, so God promises us, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).

Fall is but one of God’s many gracious and often unacknowledged gifts. The least we can do is take a deep breath, awaken to wonder, and whisper “Thank You!”

READ MORE

You Invited Me In

by Bob Setzer
Last Thursday, September 16, Dan Riley and I gathered with a few dozen folk to dedicate the latest Macon area Habitat House. This house located in south Macon (4251 Roy Avenue) is part of a neighborhood reborn. Five years ago, residents of this neighborhood mostly kept to themselves behind locked doors. Today, they gather freely to stroll, visit, and help each other out. According to the pastor of a nearby church, the transformation of the Lynmore Estates is a miracle of biblical proportions. Today hope is radiant where despair once stalked the streets.

Approaching this neighborhood holistically has been the heart of Habitat’s strategy for restoring the neighborhood’s vitality. Seventeen Habitat houses have been built in the area toward a goal of 40, spurring civic pride along with other renovation and development. Today, Chuckie and Janelle Williams--and their children--are the proud new owners of a safe, affordable home. As partners in the local Habitat movement, our church played a small part in their triumph.

The Williams’ home is the 12th Habitat House First Baptist has built or helped to build; this particular home was built in partnership with Mercer University and Highland Hills Baptist. According to Dan, over the last several years, our church has given 30-40% of the monies donated by churches to the local Habitat chapter. In addition to the resources and labor our church invested in the Williams’ home, the Williams’ family--like all Habitat home owners--contributed “sweat equity,” helping with construction. Thus, the help our church, Habitat, and our other partners provided was not a “hand out” but a “hand up.” The Williams will pay in full for their home over the next twenty years.

This Sunday, our church will host a guest teacher and preacher, Dr. Robert Lupton, who knows a lot about reversing urban blight through holistic neighborhood development. He is the founder and director of FCS (Focused Community Strategies) Urban Ministries in south Atlanta (www.fcsministries.org). Dr. Lupton is author of Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life:  Rethinking Ministry to the Poor, a book studied by our Global Women and several of our adult Sunday School classes. Rather than simply wax eloquent about the problems of the poor, Dr. Lupton has developed proven strategies for empowering people to climb out of poverty. He has been instrumental in revitalizing two declining, crime-ridden neighborhoods in Atlanta, beginning by moving there himself, along with his family.

During his inaugural sermon, Jesus said his ministry, his movement, would spell “good news for the poor” (Luke 4:18). As our church strives to be “the Presence of Christ” in the world, we hope to rise to this sacred calling. Sunday’s conversation with Robert Lupton, a fellow pilgrim in the way of Jesus, may yield important insights about what we are called to be and do next.

READ MORE

Gospel on the Ground

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
I’ve been trying to sit out the Ground Zero Mosque controversy. This is one of those toxic issues sure to contaminate anyone who touches it.

Nonetheless, in light of the invective and hatred that has been unleashed during this controversy--rising to the level of “Burn the Koran Day”--I don’t think silence is golden. I think it is moral cowardice. So in the interest of being an equal opportunity offender, let me suggest a Bible passage for each side of this controversy to ponder.

To the Imam and his supporters, both Muslim and Christian, who believe building a Muslim center near Ground Zero is an effective way to combat American stereotyping of Muslims as terrorists, I would commend the truth of Romans 14. In this passage, as in 1 Corinthians 8 and Galatians 5:13-14, Paul argues being free to do something does not mean that is the wise or loving thing to do. Sometimes in the service of understanding and love, one’s freedom must be reined in. So yes, in this great country where freedom of religion is a birthright, you are free--within the bounds of local zoning and building codes--to plant your Muslim center wherever you like. But as a Christian pastor who is deeply grieved at the hatred being leveled your way, I would encourage you not to do so. Recognize that the noble intention of building bridges of understanding is not being served by building your center near such an emotionally charged site. Insisting on your rights in this matter will only further alienate and inflame the very people you say you want to reach.

And to those Americans who insist on painting all Muslims with the same brush--as godless extremists intent on destroying our nation--please meditate upon the Parable of the Tares and the Wheat (Matthew 13:24-30). Our Baptist forebearers often appealed to this passage in 17th and 18th century England and America when they were a religious minority regarded with hostility and suspicion. In this story, Jesus argues that our attempts to eradicate evil (or what we regard as evil) can be more destructive than the evil itself. I see this happening in the ugly slurs about Muslims (all Muslims, even those who are loyal Americans) that keep landing in my inbox and sounding on the airwaves. Since many of those spewing this hatred profess to be Christians, their antics besmirch the name and cause of Christ. I don’t believe the Lord who rebuked his disciples for wanting to rain fire on a village of nonbelievers (Luke 9:52-55) is pleased when his followers indiscriminately attack and vilify their “enemies.”

I understand why so many American are violently opposed to a mosque being built near Ground Zero and in time, I hope those wanting to build that mosque will fathom and respect that sentiment. But in the meantime, despising and attacking our Muslim neighbors is not something real Christians are free to do.

READ MORE

When I say, "God"

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, bright and early at 8 a.m. sharp, I teach “Introduction to the Old Testament” at Mercer university. Recently, I gave my students an assignment: “When you say ‘God,’ Who or What do you mean? Write your answer in 25 words or less.”

The answers were revealing. Several students thought of God as a philosophical or cultural idea. One wrote, “God, if not personal, is the whole sum of all ideas and morals central to the faiths that invest in him.”

Another 10 or so students thought of God as an impersonal being, someone unknown and probably unknowable, but nonetheless present as a cosmic, guiding force. A typical response: “By God I mean the Judeo-Christian and Islamic concept of an all-powerful being who is like, but not, human, and who is interested in and influences human history.”

The other half of the class gave voice to a more personal image of God as “Father,” “Friend,” “Lord,” “King,” “Savior,” or “Jesus.” One student wrote, “Our Lord, the one who helps guide us through life and gives us the power and faith to go on the journey.” Another wrote the wrenching confession, “The reality or being that saved my life and gave me a second chance, but also took two of my friends. A mysterious character.” That one weighed on my heart.

It is revealing that in a class of 30 college students in the Deep South there is no broad consensus about who or what, exactly, “God” is. Despite much wishful thinking to the contrary, many Americans do not believe in the same God, if they believe in any God at all.

So when politicians or political figures clamor for America to get “back to God,” which God do they mean? The tribal god of their political party or persuasion, who smiles benevolently on their agenda while plotting retribution on their enemies? Or the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who refuses to be confined to the genie bottle of our beliefs (Ex. 3:13-14; 20:4,7), who has a passionate concern for “widows and orphans” (James 1:27), and who implores us to pray for our enemies, rather than relish their destruction (Matt. 5:44-45). Sadly, I hear precious little about that God in our political discourse.

The back-to-God rhetoric sounded in the political arena has great mass appeal. But strip away the pious gloss and what such language usually means is: “America needs to get back to my God, my values, my beliefs, my agenda.”

If America were really to get “back to the God of Jesus,” there would be fewer smug, self-serving appeals and a lot more genuine respect, caring, and compassion. I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

READ MORE

Defining Meaning

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
For anyone who doubts the transition from print to digital media has passed the tipping point, here’s a news flash: the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary will likely be “published” on the web but not in print.

The last edition of the Oxford English dictionary weighed in at more than 170 pounds in 20 bulging volumes. 30,000 sets have been sold since 1989 at $1,165.00 a pop. By contrast, the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary gets 2 million hits a month from subscribers who each ante up $295.00 a year. You do the math. (1)

Still, there is something deeply unnerving about Oxford University Press quite literally “closing the book” on print and slinking toward cyberspace. If such a venerable old publisher steeped in stodgy English tradition, can’t be counted on to keep churning our books, who can?

Yes, I know, many of us First Baptist types are in love with books. We just finished an authors’ series featuring a number of our published authors who between them have generated a sizeable poundage of volumes. And to a person, they profess an enduring love affair with books: the heft of books, the smell of books, the tactile pleasure of turning the pages. But most also acknowledged we are in the midst of a publishing revolution not seen since the invention of the printing press.

As to how this evolution will impact Christian education and spiritual formation, we shall see. Already, numerous video and online providers are bringing top quality resources into churches, homes, and classrooms. Our own Nikki Hardeman is featured each week as a Bible teacher on one such site, www.faithelement.com. And our church’s weekly sermons are available at www.fbcmacon.org as “podcasts,” meaning a downloadable audio file playable on most computers or portable players. This sort of innovation will continue to grow as churches become more sophisticated in harnessing the power of the web.

If it’s any consolation, the church existed for its first 1,500 years without printed books. During that period, Bibles were laboriously hand-copied. Thus, most Christians only heard the Bible read in public worship, saw Bible stories etched in stained glass windows, and committed Bible passages to memory.

Fortunately, the “word of God is not fettered” (2 Timothy 2:9), whether by print or anything else. That word sounded at creation (Genesis 1:3), was fleshed out in Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:14), and remains the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), piercing the heart and renewing the soul (Heb. 4:12). And whether that word is sounded in a medieval chant, the enchanted pages of a gold-gilded Bible, or in an audio file on the web, the promise remains that God’s word will not return void, but will accomplish God’s purpose (Isaiah 55:11),

Thankfully, while the Oxford English Dictionary is destined to fade and perish, “the Word of our God shall stand forever!” (Isa. 40:8).

----
(1) The Macon Telegraph, 9A, 8/30/2010, AP, Sylvia Hui, “Internet may phase out printed Oxford Dictionary.”

READ MORE

Sessions with John

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
In a shameless act of self-promotion, let me announce the publication of my new book, Sessions with John: The Vocabulary of Grace. This book is an exploration of key words and themes from the Gospel of John. Unlike most studies of John’s Gospel, this book does not journey through John in the usual chapter-by-chapter fashion. Instead, it unpacks the meaning of twelve words from John’s distinctive “vocabulary of grace,” words like “life,” “light,” “truth,” “believe,” and “eternal life.”

My guiding image of John’s Gospel is a spiral staircase. The enchanting power of a spiral staircase rests in its ability to give an ever-changing perspective on the same space. As one ascends the staircase, the sights above and below are seen again and again but each time, from a slightly different angle, at varying distances and in shifting light. The result is a much fuller immersion in the beauty of a lovely, inviting entrance than is possible from ordinary stairs.

Similarly, in John’s story of Jesus, certain words and themes appear again and again. The reader leaves a given emphasis, only to circle round and see it reappear, but this time in a different context. With each “spiral” of the truth or theme, the reader’s grasp of the message deepens until Jesus’ “words of life” penetrate the deepest parts of the self where real transformation begins (John 6:63, 68).

The Vocabulary of Grace is, broadly speaking, a Bible study book for individuals and groups. Indeed, it is part of a larger Smyth and Helwys series called Sessions with . . . (various Bible authors). But what sets this book apart, at least in my mind, is the way it follows John’s artful unfolding of a single truth throughout his work, step by step, up each round of a spiraling ascent toward a dazzling view of God’s grace and glory in Jesus Christ (John 1:14-18).

Naturally, I hope members of the First Church family will want to buy a copy, whether out of love for John’s Gospel or just to help pad my retirement account! But in the likely event some do not, I want all to see the book’s dedication:

To the good people of the First Baptist Church of Christ of Macon, Georgia, who taught me far more about knowing, loving, and following Jesus than I ever taught them . . . and to Bambi--my wife, pastor, and friend--who has become Christ’s truth and grace to me time and time again.

I have been deeply blessed by John’s Gospel, by my dear wife, and by you, the people of God at the top of Poplar. That’s the truth. And the truth, John’s Gospel tells us, “shall set you free” (8:32).

READ MORE

Lightning Strike

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
During the severe thunderstorms that rumbled through Macon on Saturday, August 21, lighting struck the taller of the two towers on our church. The lightning struck on the Washington Avenue side where the roof line meets the face of the tower. The band of white quatrefoils ("four-leaf clovers" for the architecturally challenged like me) that borders the top of the tower shows slight signs of damage. Twenty feet below there is a damaged area of chipped brick where the lightning exited the building.

Among the fragments of brick and mortar found on the sidewalk and street below, there was a white, pressed tin quatrefoil from far above and a piece of charred timber about the size of a book of matches. That fire-blackened fragment was from a rafter in the roof line of the spire.

When I first held that charred piece of timber in my hand, I was struck by how close we came to a real catastrophe. Twice before, our sanctuary was destroyed by fire: first, in 1883 (a  former sanctuary on Second Street) and then in 1885, just days before our present structure was to be dedicated. The congregation resolved to rebuild and consecrated our present house of worship two years later in 1887.

While the cosmetic damage to the tower appears slight--and a Sunday afternoon inspection by the fire department revealed no structural problems--the lightning strike created havoc elsewhere. It knocked out the air conditioning, the PA system, some electronic stops in the pipe organ, the alarm system, and portions of the phone system. Fortunately, the wizards on our audio crew rigged up a makeshift PA system and Anne played beautifully on the piano instead of the organ. Other able helpers managed to resurrect the blowers, if not the air conditioning, so the sanctuary--while warm--was bearable. Many worshipers turned their bulletins into makeshift fans as we enjoyed an unplanned "heritage Sunday," battling August heat much as our predecessors did 100 years ago.
  
The good news is that the air conditioning is now fully functional, the alarm is on, and the phones are working. A complete repair to the audio system and organ may take a couple of weeks, but we will be in business Sunday, lustily singing our praises and proclaiming the best news of all: that whether catastrophe befalls us, or we are spared, in times of wrenching tears and joyous song, God is faithful and loving and true. For while lightning is fickle and unpredictable, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). And for that, most of all, we say, "Thanks be to God!"

READ MORE