Talk Is Cheap

January 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment

It is said that, after the Civil War had ended, someone asked Ulysses S. Grant to offer an evaluation of his fellow general, George B. McClellan. Grant replied, “McClellan is to me one of the mysteries of the war.”
Most historians are baffled by McClellan. The grandson of a Revolutionary War general, and second in his class at West Point, he had the makings of a great leader. In the early years of his career, he demonstrated considerable organizational skills. He was selected to serve as an observer of the European armies in the Crimean War. He had extensive knowledge of troop organization, and was successful in civilian work for two different railroads. When the Civil War broke out, McClellan was highly sought after. He was eventually selected by President Lincoln to form the Army of the Potomac and to serve as its general-in-chief.
But despite his skill in forming an army, McClellan was unable to achieve victory. On many infamous occasions, he failed to use the North’s considerable numeric advantage to bring a quick end to the South’s rebellion. He consistently overestimated the strength of his opponents, and thus was hesitant rather than decisive. It is widely held that McClellan’s failure to act resulted in a much longer conflict and considerably more deaths for both sides.
Lincoln eventually removed McClellan of his command, but not before he famously exclaimed, “If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time.”
As we continue to dwell on our theme for this year, we’ll find that the same thing is expected of us. We are called to take action. “Building on the Rock” is what happens when we hear the words of and put them in to practice.
McClellan had the pedigree, the skill and the intelligence to be a great leader. But none of it was helpful, because he failed to put it all to use. We may have all the spiritual gifts in the world. They will not help us if we fail to act. This morning, I hope we can all take seriously God’s call to express our faith through action.

Robert Lee

Posted by NCOC | Filed Under Amen Corner, Articles 

A STORM IS COMING

January 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Author and Singer/Songwriter Jennifer Rothschild recently shared her story in an issue of Decision Magazine.

When Rothschild was 12, her eyesight began to fail.  Throughout Junior High School, her situation worsened.  She was soon having difficulty performing standard tasks like opening her locker, catching a ball, or reading the chalkboard at school.

The last straw came when she and her mother went to visit a friend who lived in an upstairs apartment.  Jennifer was stumbling up the stairs, while her mother didn’t have any trouble seeing them.  After a trip to a hospital that specialized in treating illnesses of the eye, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive deterioration of the retina that would eventually result in total blindness.

On the ride home, she dwelt on all that she was losing: “I’m not going to be able to drive a car. I’m not going to be able to be an artist…Are boys going to want to date me? How am I going to finish high school? Will I be able to go off to college?”

When she arrived home, Jennifer went and sat at her old piano, hoping to preoccupy herself by plunking out a tune or two.  She was surprised to find that she could play one song by ear: “It is Well With My Soul.”  Rothschild goes on, “It was a miracle that on that very dark day, God gave me hope and light through the gift of playing by ear. But the greatest miracle wasn’t that I played ‘It Is Well with My Soul;’ the greatest miracle was that, because I was a Christian, it really was well with my soul.”

My sense is, if you were to ask Jennifer if she deserved to go blind, she would say no.  And she would be right.  She didn’t do anything to bring this on herself.  And yet she did lose her eyesight.  In spite of whatever innocence she had, she still suffered a debilitating illness.  What sets her apart is her ability to let God work through the tragedy.

The first step in building on the Rock this year is recognizing why we are doing it.  We are trying to build on the Rock, because we want to survive when the storms come.  And Jesus is sure to tell his followers that the storms will come.  No matter who we are, we will have to ride out some storms in our life.  That’s a given.  What is unknown is what the condition of our faith will be when the storm makes landfall.  I hope this morning you will start preparing for the storms you will face.

Robert Lee

Posted by NCOC | Filed Under Amen Corner, Articles 

CHALLENGE SUNDAY

January 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment

God can’t clean the house of you when you’re still in it.
–Anne Lamott

The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: First, it is a very unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live.
–Wolfhart Pannenberg

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
–Jesus

Jesus doesn’t do moderation very well. The religious leaders of his day accused him of being a drunkard. That’s because he practiced such radical forgiveness, that he was willing to eat with the dregs of society. He didn’t just forgive the morally decent, he forgave the least (worst) of these.

This Wednesday we talked about the bold prayer we get to make as a part of the Lord’s prayer: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” That’s a radical statement to make to Creator of the universe. We come to God and we simply ask him to forgive us. We boldly ask him to forgive us. And he does! Without condition, God forgives us. It is complete, eternal, deep-down forgiveness. Not because we have earned it, but because that is how Jesus works.

Jesus also isn’t moderate in his expectations of us. He tells us stories about “counting the cost” before signing up to follow him. In exchange for his forgiveness, he simply wants everything that we have. He warns us that no one can serve two masters, and anyone who starts plowing a field and looks back might as well not begin in the first place. Here’s what C.S. Lewis says about it in Mere Christianity:

Christ says, “Give me all. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think are innocent as well as the ones you think are wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you myself: my own will shall become yours.”

Today, on Challenge Sunday, we’re going to ask you to do the same. We’re going to challenge you to give more of yourself this year than ever before. And we’ll do so unapologetically. We’re going to challenge you to get back to basics. To build your house on a foundation that will withstand rough times. God goes all out in forgiving us. He asks us to do the same in serving Him.
Robert Lee

Posted by NCOC | Filed Under Amen Corner, Articles