Monday, July 1, 2013
346 - Life and Death and Church
Spirituality Column #346
July 2, 2013
Current in Carmel-Westfield-Noblesville-Fishers-Zionsville
I feel fine, but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about death.
The June/July issue of my favorite magazine First Things carried an article titled “Tragic Worship.” It’s about how modern Christian worship services often gloss over the doctrinal importance of death and judgment while favoring the up-beat, shined-up, feel-good, skim-the-surface culturally synchronous rhythms of “Jesus Loves Me” entertainment.
Hip, happy and hopeful may put people in the pews, but a faithful grasp of our human mortality and God’s righteousness is critical to Christian life. Facing our Maker – i.e., God – is about our death, and God is the most important thing any of us face. Death is a tragedy, sure, but tragedy is every bit as classically entertaining and often more instructive and real than comedy, drama or a concert. We must realize there can be no resurrection without death; no truth without righteousness. Good article.
Then, coincidentally, my pastor Rick Grover at East 91st Street Christian Church (Indianapolis, Ind.) centered a thought-provoking Sunday sermon on Mark 6:14-26: the beheading of John the Baptist. The crux of the message was that while we all pray for healing of sickness and deliverance from life’s problems, and sometimes miracles happen, even John the Baptist – prophet of God, cousin of Jesus Christ and with the disciples certainly praying for him – was not spared the executioner’s sword.
The lesson? As we pray for healing and deliverance, we also had better be fully and faithfully prepared to trust God’s will, whatever it may be.
Then I learned that Mike Bolinger, a childhood neighbor and long-time attorney in my hometown of Kokomo, Ind., had died after a four-year bout with cancer. That occasioned watching a YouTube video of Mike’s magnificent post-diagnosis testimony delivered to his Oakbrook Church in Kokomo about living life and facing death. Mike’s message is stunning in its straightforwardness, insight, clarity, faith, composure and truth. This is a video to watch and discuss with others.
I hadn’t seen Mike in 30 years but the video pictures him exactly as I remember him – smart, faithful, witty and matter-of-fact. It’s no surprise that such a gifted attorney would make a truly great witness.
Death is the worst part of church, no doubt. But with the love of God, the truth of Christ, the comfort of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of believers, church is also the only place that death can honestly, hopefully and properly be dealt with.
If death is going to find us anyway – and it will – let it find us at church.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) cites 1 Corinthians 2:9 regarding Heaven: God has it handled; we don’t need to try to define it.
Links: Tragic Worship article, Rick Grover sermon 6-16-13, Mike Bolinger testimony
July 2, 2013
Current in Carmel-Westfield-Noblesville-Fishers-Zionsville
Life and Death and Church
By Bob WaltersI feel fine, but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about death.
The June/July issue of my favorite magazine First Things carried an article titled “Tragic Worship.” It’s about how modern Christian worship services often gloss over the doctrinal importance of death and judgment while favoring the up-beat, shined-up, feel-good, skim-the-surface culturally synchronous rhythms of “Jesus Loves Me” entertainment.
Hip, happy and hopeful may put people in the pews, but a faithful grasp of our human mortality and God’s righteousness is critical to Christian life. Facing our Maker – i.e., God – is about our death, and God is the most important thing any of us face. Death is a tragedy, sure, but tragedy is every bit as classically entertaining and often more instructive and real than comedy, drama or a concert. We must realize there can be no resurrection without death; no truth without righteousness. Good article.
Then, coincidentally, my pastor Rick Grover at East 91st Street Christian Church (Indianapolis, Ind.) centered a thought-provoking Sunday sermon on Mark 6:14-26: the beheading of John the Baptist. The crux of the message was that while we all pray for healing of sickness and deliverance from life’s problems, and sometimes miracles happen, even John the Baptist – prophet of God, cousin of Jesus Christ and with the disciples certainly praying for him – was not spared the executioner’s sword.
The lesson? As we pray for healing and deliverance, we also had better be fully and faithfully prepared to trust God’s will, whatever it may be.
Then I learned that Mike Bolinger, a childhood neighbor and long-time attorney in my hometown of Kokomo, Ind., had died after a four-year bout with cancer. That occasioned watching a YouTube video of Mike’s magnificent post-diagnosis testimony delivered to his Oakbrook Church in Kokomo about living life and facing death. Mike’s message is stunning in its straightforwardness, insight, clarity, faith, composure and truth. This is a video to watch and discuss with others.
I hadn’t seen Mike in 30 years but the video pictures him exactly as I remember him – smart, faithful, witty and matter-of-fact. It’s no surprise that such a gifted attorney would make a truly great witness.
Death is the worst part of church, no doubt. But with the love of God, the truth of Christ, the comfort of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of believers, church is also the only place that death can honestly, hopefully and properly be dealt with.
If death is going to find us anyway – and it will – let it find us at church.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) cites 1 Corinthians 2:9 regarding Heaven: God has it handled; we don’t need to try to define it.
Links: Tragic Worship article, Rick Grover sermon 6-16-13, Mike Bolinger testimony