“This is not your father’s culture war”

by Tom Goodman

From William McGurn for the WSJ:

Back when…Roe v. Wade established a right to privacy that…appears nowhere in the Constitution, [Harry Blackmun] wrote under the conceit that his decision would resolve the issue once and for all. Instead, his 1973 ruling launched the culture wars.

Obergefell is Roe on steroids….Roe didn’t demand much of those on the other side—or on the sidelines. Obergefell is another thing altogether.

…

What can it possibly matter to you, [we] were asked, if two men or two women who love each other call their relationship marriage?

We learned that it matters a great deal….

The right for men to marry men or women to marry women is only half of the equation—and not even the most important half at that.

The other half involves antidiscrimination statutes and regulations, not to mention the discretion of federal, state and even private bureaucracies regarding everything from funding and accreditation to tax exemption.

In short, there is nothing live-and-let-live about the way this movement has operated the past few years, and to pretend otherwise requires a willful blindness….

As Justice Samuel Alito suggested in his dissent, thousands of Americans who never dreamed that the issue would affect them will soon get highly personal lessons in how the legalization of same-sex marriage by judicial fiat threatens their schools, their institutions and even their livelihoods. This is not your father’s culture war.

We prepared for this several weeks ago in Week 2 of our series, In and Out: Seeking Christ in Sexual Confusion. The series of sermons and all resources are here.

ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

Austin Zoo reenacts Jurassic World velociraptor scene in viral photo

 

Apparently I’m not the only pastor who found Allen’s Getting Things Done system helpful: “GTD’s most surprising superfans have their minds on higher things. "The clergy love it," says Allen. "I have often argued that we should create a clerGTD. From any and all denominations. It’s quite ecumenical. They know how to do the God stuff, but it’s all the stuff they have to handle that they weren’t trained to do. The more they do that, the more they can focus on the more meaningful stuff."”  This article provides a summary of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system, which I (sort of) use, and his claim that not everyone is doing it right.

 

Here’s how our own BGCT-affiliated Baptist Standard angled the report on the SBCs action toward a church with views incompatible with our Baptist Faith and Message: “SBC ousts Alabama church over pastor’s stand on homosexuality.” Listen, folks, any time a reporter—or an editor—uses the word “ousts” in reporting on this subject, you’ve just received a big tip on his or her bias. So, the SBC did some “ousting” while the pastor “stood.” Got it?

 

Confederate Battle Flag Talk:

“The cross and the Confederate flag cannot co-exist without one setting the other on fire.” Russell Moore, in a must-read piece

 

“Some [in the 50s, 60s, and 70s] displayed it as a curiosity, a general symbol of rebellion against authority, or an emblem of regional pride…[but] the flag was created by an army raised to kill in defense of slavery, revived by a movement that killed in defense of segregation, and now flaunted by a man who killed nine innocents in defense of white supremacy.” The Atlantic

 

National Review’s David French on why the Confederate battle flag should stay.

 

NYT:

In Austin, Tex., a tall bearded man went into the tattoo parlor where Kelly Barr works with a request: the removal [of] a 10-year-old tattoo of the Confederate flag.

He told Mr. Barr that he had decided to get the flag removed when he saw the pained look on a middle-age black woman at his gym on Monday.

“ ‘If South Carolina can take theirs down,’ ” Mr. Barr recalled him saying, “ ‘I can take mine down.’ I told him, ‘Right on.’ ”

This week's newsletter from Karen

7 Things Every Kid Needs to Hear

I Love You – As parents I know we all show our love to our children in many different ways. We may even say “I Love You” very often. But how often do we really sit down with our kids and tell them we love them when we (and they) are giving our full attention to the words and their meaning. Take some time this week and purpose to tell your children how much you love them.

I’m Proud of You – Believe or not, parents are still the #1 influence in the lives of their children. Statistics show that this doesn’t change until well into their 20s. Our children need to know that they give us a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction just the way they are.

I’m Sorry – I don’t know about you, but I hate being wrong. But there is one thing I hate more – admitting out loud I was wrong. We all make mistakes and we must tell our children we are sorry when we have done something wrong. This not only humbles us, it models the behavior for them.

I Forgive You – Just as we are going to make mistakes, so are our children. If we are modeling proper “I’m Sorry” behavior, they will begin to say they are sorry for things they have done. Once they have taken responsibility for their wrongs, we must forgive them. They need to know that our love is never attached to their behavior.

I’m Listening – Have your ever been talking to someone and knew the whole time that person was not listening to you. How did you feel? Sometimes my kids will be talking to me and I’ll catch myself not listening to them. I immediately know that empty feeling they are having because they’ve been ignored. If you will listen to your kids when the topics seem silly, mundane, boring, etc., I can almost guarantee they will come to you when the topic’s of greater importance or dire.

This Is Your Responsibility – Kids need to fail. I’ll repeat that – kids need to fail. We cannot be parents that continuously clear obstacles out of the paths our children are taking. Some parents clear obstacles in such a way that their child never knew the obstacle existed. Kids need to come up against obstacles and (with your advice and support, but not your action) make the decisions of how to tackle them. Sometimes they’ll get it wrong and fail, but this failure won’t ruin them. It will most likely make them better decision makers in the future. The earlier we start letting them take responsibility in the small things, the better they will be when the larger and more complex problems come their way.

You’ve Got What it Takes – Kids need to understand that God has created them just exactly the way he wants them. They also need to understand that God is in control. Knowing and understanding these two things is all they need to know they can face anything that comes their way.


The above was adapted from JoshShipp.com

This week's newsletter from Steve

Summer is flying by, and July is already peeking its head around the corner. There are a couple of things coming up on the calendar that I want to highlight here.

First, our in-town Mission Trip, called Rock Week, will be held at Hillcrest on July 6-8, 2015. We will treat this like a mini-camp, in that the kids will stay at the church on Monday and Tuesday nights. We will work at the Soup Kitchen downtown, have a car wash to raise money for disaster relief, feed homeless on street corners, and so much more! We will also have a group Bible Study and worship time each night, led by Jesse Hicks from Spring, TX, with Joey Porter leading music each night. Top that off with some late night activities, and it is bound to be a great week together! The greatest part of this is the cost. Students can participate, and even bring friends along, and the cost is ZERO! What an amazing opportunity for our students to minister right here in Austin!

There are still a handful of spots open for Youth Camp at Pineywoods, July 20 – 24, 2015. It is going to be an amazing week! Looking forward to spending time seeking God with our students among the beautiful pine trees in east Texas!

Please let me know if you have any questions about either of these events!

This week's newsletter from Gene

Lynn, Michael, Paul and Jodena Smith and I are in Orlando, Florida with the youth choir. Lynn and I were here several years ago with a youth choir, and it was an excellent experience. We’re here Monday through Friday of this week.

We have a very busy schedule, including a mission project, an afternoon at Universal Studios, and lots of singing, Bible study and a special speaker.

There will be 800+ students, with rehearsals all week and then a special recording session Friday afternoon to record a CD.

After the recording session we will head home, and be back Saturday evening. Please pray for us.

ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

NYT: “Many in their 20s and 30s [are] feeling financial pressure over attending elaborate and demanding festivities that lead up to and also include the wedding.” Just the next stage in runaway narcissism that I’ve watched take over weddings during my years as pastor.

 

Jim Gaffigan: “My faith is very associated with the notion of mercy. I understand that there is something greater than myself that does not judge me in a negative manner—or forgives me I should say. For me, being in touch with the idea that I’m not in control of everything is important. When I find myself frustrated, I have some distance from that idea I’m not in charge, for instance in how this conference call is setup.” First Things interviews the Gaffigans about being Catholic celebrities.

 

“He has baptized 66 umpires so far, calling them safe in the only way that matters.” An ESPN profile of Pastor Dean Esskew and his ministry to major league and minor league umpires.

 

His conversion led him to the feet of one he oppressed under apartheid.

 

Know Your Southern Baptists: A Directory

This week's newsletter from Karen

Summer Camp by the Numbers

3650 – dribbles of the basketball.
2000 – waves of pom poms.
1164 – trips to the restroom.
633 – meals served.
473 – pictures developed.
213 – t-shirts given out.
108 – minutes of daily scrimmage time.
123 – elementary children.
71 – adult and student leaders.
25 – awards medals given.
36 – professions of faith.
17 – preschool children.
15 – cheers performed.
8 – very tired committee members.
1 – amazing God!

This week's newsletter from Steve

Steve is serving at Super Summer at Hardin-Simmons University this week. Please pray for him and for our other members who are involved in service there.

Are your students signed up yet for Youth Camp at Pineywoods? There are still a few slots open. This camp is open for incoming 7th graders as well, so get your registrations in as soon as possible! The camp is July 20-24, and the cost is $290. 

This week's newsletter from Gene

How often do you have to decide if you are coming to church? That may sound like a strange question, and for some, the answer is every week; for others, maybe a couple times per month. For some it will be, “I haven’t made that decision for years.” Which group is the “preferred” group? The group that hasn’t decided in many years. Does that seem like a strange answer? Not when you really understand.

I’ve seen many people over the years that make the decision regarding their church attendance every Saturday night, depending upon their circumstances. Consequently, their church attendance is kind of a hassle for them, since they have to decide every week and attendance is up and down. There are those who have adopted the position you heard Bro. Tom describing this past Sunday, and they have decided early on in their relationship with the Lord, that regular church attendance is a part of their on-going commitment. For these people, they have decided that they were going to church each week and the only decision they have to make is when their life circumstances make attendance not make sense. These people are at peace in this decision making process and it doesn’t come up as a family discussion for a vote each Saturday night. Life works so much better.

Decide to decide. Is church attendance going to be an important part of your relationship with the Lord or not? If it is, make that decision and be done with it. If it isn’t, ask yourself, “why not.” Hebrews 10:25.

ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

Austin couple's wedding photos go viral, but husband gets the last laugh

 

Uncertainty for Bruce Jenner Lane in South Austin

 

How the Red Cross Raised Half a Billion Dollars for Haiti ­and Built Six Homes

 

The Myers-Briggs Personality Test is unreliable—and why you should use it anyway.

 

At Georgetown University, Robert Putnam and President Obama said that America’s churches have failed the poor for being too obsessed with the culture war. Ross Douthat, in reply: “It would be too kind to call these comments wrong; they were ridiculous.” Indeed. “The belief that organized religion is organized around culture war is largely a conceit of the irreligious.”

 

What Would Clockwise Mean Without Old-Fashioned Clocks?

 

When politicians talk about “freedom of worship” instead of “freedom of religion,” are they watering down First Amendment rights?

This week's newsletter from Karen

In the coming days graduates will hear much advice on how to approach the next phase of their adult life. Some will catch their attention, some will get eye rolls, some will not be understood, and some will never even be “heard.”

What I think God would say if He was the keynote speaker at commencement:

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
(1 Thessalonians 5:12-24)

Congratulations Class of 2015!

This week's newsletter from Steve

This week’s column is from Amy Cloud:

Thank you for being the hands and feet of Christ during my long recovery. My family is so thankful for all the meals, donations, and visits from so many of you. Thank you also for the continued prayers. You are a blessing!

This week's newsletter from Gene

We are in the process of changing out all our thermostats to ones we can control remotely and program to match our activities. However, we don’t have them all switched yet (we have 27 total), which leaves some of them available for anyone to change. Please allow me to present “Thermostat 101,” which will also help you at your homes and wherever you have access to thermostats.

Think of a thermostat as an “On/Off” switch. It is a “timer” with a thermometer. The thermometer tells the thermostat when to turn on or off. When an air conditioning system is in the “On” position and working properly, it will push air into the room at about 55 degrees.

When you set the thermostat to cool, you are telling the thermometer when to turn the AC off. Remember, the AC is either “On” or “Off.” It produces cool air of approximately 55 degrees. The question is, “How long do you want that 55-degree air to flow into the room?”

For example, the room temp is 80 degrees and you set the thermostat to 64 because it’s really hot and you don’t have much time to cool off the room. The AC comes on and puts 55-degree air into the room until the room temperature reaches 64. No one wants to be in a room at 64 degrees, which is what we sometimes find when we come in the morning: condensation on the windows and a 64-degree room when the AC was left on all night.

If you want the room to be 72, set the thermostat to 72. The AC will push 55-degree air into the room until the thermometer says it is 72, and it will turn off the AC. Setting it lower will not cool it faster.

If you happen to be in a room that is not yet converted to the new thermostats, please NEVER set them below 72 degrees, regardless of how hot it feels. Remember, you are turning on a timer. At what temperature do you want it to turn off? (By the way, when you leave a room, turning the thermostat to 85 really helps.)

Too Busy Not to Pray

by Tom Goodman

 

Are you “reviewing the dailies” with God?

Pastor John Ortberg was struck by an article from cinematographer Bob Fisher about the need for movie crews to spend some time every day reviewing the film that was shot the day before. Before rushing into the next day’s production, reviewing the previous day’s work enables filmmakers to spot little mistakes while they can still be corrected, and they can celebrate what is going right.

Ortberg recommended that we take a few moments to “review the dailies” with God, too. How are you doing in that important work? Do you have a daily Bible reading routine? A place and time to pray and briefly reflect?

I have a love-hate relationship with the writings of Anne Lamott, but Andree Seu alerted me to an absolutely beautiful Lamott story of a friend whose two-year-old inadvertently locked himself in his room while they were on vacation. It illustrates why we need that regular time of prayer and Bible study. As Seu recounts it:

The Mom struggled vainly to get the door unlocked -- trying a few keys she knew weren’t the right ones, phoning around to get the landlord. Finally someone was reached and on the way, but there was still a frightened little boy to deal with as they waited for rescue, and his reasoning and verbal skills being minimal, he would not understand the nearness of his deliverance.

So Mom got the bright idea to get down on her knees on her side of the door and slip her fingers underneath in the inch or so gap between door and floor, and she asked the inconsolable child to do the same. He would not be able to see his mother’s face until the savior bearing keys arrived, but the feel of her presence through her fingertips while they waited provided some comfort and a sense that everything would be all right.

This is like our relationship with God. For now we are bereft of his full presence, for reasons not entirely clear. But he holds out his fingers and I hold out mine, as we touch through his Word and his Spirit every morning. Like Anne says, “It isn’t enough. And it is.”

We are often very much like frightened, confused children. Through prayer and Bible reading, let God give you that “touch” from the other side, reassuring us that everything’s going to be okay as we wait for deliverance.

__________________________________________

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This week's newsletter from Karen

Parents – Please read the blog post below and be aware. I’ve had conversations with elementary students that have been participating in this game. It might not be so innocent. 

Church and Culture
Vol. 11, No. 45
Don’t Call Charlie

A new challenge game is going viral. It’s about connecting with a dead spirit from Mexico named “Charlie.” 

Fueled by thousands of videos from young people supposedly showing “contact,” the game is played by placing two pencils in the shape of a cross on a piece of paper with the words “yes” and “no.” Those present then repeat the phrase, “Charlie, Charlie can we play?” in order to make contact with the demon.

If “Charlie” is there, the pencils are said to move toward his answer. 

If “present,” then questions of any kind are asked…and answered. 

To end the game, players say, “Charlie, Charlie can we stop?” 

If you are ever invited to play this game, don’t. In fact, flee the entire situation. Don’t even be present as an observer. 

If you are a parent that catches even the slightest whiff of this in your child’s life, do quick intervention.

Because it’s not a game.

It’s the occult. 

The word “occult” just means that which is hidden, or secret, beyond the range of ordinary human knowledge or below the surface of normal life. Used in that sense, it’s almost a neutral term. But it has come to be used as a reference to those practices which link up, intentionally or not, with the hidden, or secret, world of Satan and his demons. 

And that is not neutral.

Then it involves engaging the forces of darkness, connecting with Satan and his fellow demons. When someone does that, they willfully open the door of their life to their presence and activity. 

And nothing could be more dangerous. 

So what are the marks of something “occultic” in this way? There are three primary characteristics: 

The first characteristic is the disclosure or communication of information unavailable to humans through normal means. This would involve things like horoscopes, fortune-telling, psychic hotlines, and tarot cards.

The second mark of things occultic has to do with the placing of persons in contact with supernatural powers, paranormal energies, or demonic forces. This would entail the attempt to summon up a spirit, or a deceased relative through a séance, or channeling a spirit, or procuring the services of someone claiming to be a medium. 

The third mark of the world of the occult is any attempt to gain and master power in order to manipulate or influence other people into certain actions. This would include all forms of witchcraft and the casting of spells.

There is no dead spirit from Mexico named Charlie.

There are, however, demons only too happy for the ruse.

And the open door.

James Emery White

Sources 

“The Charlie Charlie Challenge – what is the spooky craze?,” The Telegraph, May 27, 2015

This week's newsletter from Steve

This Sunday, June 7, is our chance as a church body to recognize both our high school and college graduates from Hillcrest. We will be taking some time during the service to give a gift to our high school seniors, and to pray over them and our college graduates.

High school graduates need to be at the church by 9:45 AM, and please sit on the first or second row. We will give you some instructions about what is going to happen during the service, and when to come up onstage. Looking forward to honoring you guys this Sunday!

There are also still a few spots left for Youth Camp in July. If your student has not signed up yet, there is still time! However, space is very limited, so please contact me ASAP! Have a wonderful week!

This week's newsletter from Gene

You may have seen a new van sitting out front this past Sunday. We have a new 12 passenger van, a 2015 Mercedes Sprinter with lots of luggage space and extensive safety features. FEDEX owns approximately 60,000 of these vehicles, so they are some of the most reliable on the road. We have looked at the various vans in this class for the past several weeks and this model was head and shoulders above the other brands. The Lord made this one available at very little price difference from the others in the market.

As you are probably aware, we try very hard to avoid borrowing money. It’s been about 15 years since we had debt from a financial institution. That was for about 18 months to fund completion of the three story Education building. It was about a $1.5 million project. We completed the auditorium renovation by borrowing from ourselves, and those funds have all been repaid.

We paid cash for this van, as we have all the vehicles we have purchased since 1991. Part of what made this purchase possible was using funds from the Jeanne Schmidt estate. We are also using some of those funds to provide proper campus-wide signage, which we hope to have completed by the end of the summer.

As we have evaluated our vehicle usage, we have determined that there is a very limited number of times each year when we need three vehicles. We have decided it is more cost efficient to rent an extra vehicle for those times. We will sell our oldest van, a 1998 model, as soon as possible. We will wait to sell the other traditional 15 passenger van, a 2011 model, after it is used for a couple of summer camps. That will give us only two vehicles. Funds from these sales will go back into the Schmidt estate account for future use.

The two remaining vehicles should provide us the needed space for our ongoing events, and both are easily accessible by senior adults as well as the other age groups who will use them.

How to Survive a Cultural Crisis

by Tom Goodman

“It’s going to be an issue.”

These six words might tell you all you need to know about the road ahead for faithful Christians in the public square.

It was an answer given during oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, a case that sets the stage for the legalization of same-sex marriage in all fifty states. Justice Samuel Alito asked Solicitor General Donald Verrili if the redefinition of marriage he was advocating would negatively impact the tax-exempt status of religious institutions who continued to maintain policies built on the traditional definition of marriage.

“You know,” Verrili said in reply, “I — I don’t think I can answer that question without knowing more specifics, but it’s certainly going to be an issue. I — I don’t deny that. I don’t deny that, Justice Alito. It is — it is going to be an issue.”

Indeed.

In fact, stories of discrimination against people of faith have already been piling up. On the west coast, the CEO of Mozilla was fired because someone dug back in contribution records and found the Catholic businessman had donated to the campaign that (briefly) codified traditional marriage in California. On the east coast, Atlanta’s fire chief was terminated when someone complained about a book the Baptist had written about his Christian faith because deep into the book it contained a line against homosexuality. It didn’t matter that investigations proved no actual acts of discrimination against gay or lesbian employees by either man. In between these two coasts are former owners of family businesses now made bankrupt by lawsuits and government fines because they wouldn’t use their talents and resources to celebrate a marriage their faith said was no marriage. Even in red-state Texas, when Houston pastors objected to the mayor’s equal-rights ordinance, her administration had all their sermons subpoenaed for review.

So, yeah, like the Solicitor General said, it’s going to be an issue.

Some react to these reports with apathy, but others react with alarm. Neither response is appropriate. When Peter and John wrote to Christians facing hardship, they both opened with the statement, “Do not be surprised” (1 Peter 4:12; 1 John 3:13).

So, then, what is a fitting reaction to the growing religious liberty crisis? That’s my topic this upcoming Sunday. Join us for the study at 10am, and then at the 11am small-group hour, I will lead a panel discussion in the Multipurpose Center on this subject.

__________________________________________

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