But the other day, he got it right.  Joel recently appeared on Oprah’s new show and faced some difficult questions.  The difficult questions every preacher sooner or later faces.  It seems like the media spends a lot of time focusing on the people who only gets one out of two of the questions Oprah was getting at right.

The first question: Is homosexuality a sin?  Answer: Yes.
The second question: Does that mean a gay person will got to hell.  Answer: Maybe.

Maybe?  Yes, maybe.

Joel answers perfectly when he says essentially that sometimes we make homosexuality into a bigger sin than it is.  It is made into something more than it is.  Homosexuality is a sin.  So is lying, so is cheating, so is stealing, so is many other things.  The truth is, homosexuality is not on some other level than these other sins.  All sin exists on the same level.  Sin is sin is sin, no matter which category you try to put it in.

So why the maybe?

The very nature of God is perfect.  Joel says that God doesn’t categorize sin, and in many ways he is right.  But it’s more than that.  Far more than that.  The very nature of God is complete perfection.  Sin is imperfection.  For something to be perfect, there can be no imperfection near it or associated it.  Sin (and therefore sinners) is(are) completely incapable of approaching God.  But God was unwilling to accept that.  So God found a way to approach sinners.  Through covering our sin with the sacrifice of the Son.

What does that mean for someone who is gay?  The same as it does for all other sinners.  If you accept the truth that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and ask forgiveness for your sins then your sins (all of them) will be forgiven.  And if you don’t, then they won’t.  All sinners could go to Hell.  No sinner has to.

Those who would make homosexuality out to be something greater than any other sin is misguided, and probaby forgetting of their very own sins.  Yes, we should strive to stop sinning.  We should lead a perfect life as possible.  Habitual sin is not good, and we should all strive to stop it.  But many of us commit habitual sin, so we should stop throwing stones and first take care of our own sins.

Did Joel get anything wrong?  Maybe.  I’m not sure.  His comment on “many paths to Jesus” is a little worrisome.  It could be entirely correct, or entirely wrong.  But I didn’t see any elaboration on exactly what he meant.  Did he mean that Jesus is available to all people in all the world?  Then yes, that’s correct.  Did he mean something else?  I don’t know.  So I can’t say either way until I see elaboration.

But in the mean time, good job Reverend Joel.  It’s about time someone prominent spoke out and got both answers to the two questions often asked correct.

I’m going to admit today that this post dwells in my geek roots. It’s a geeky post, and full of geeky stuff. I am a geek. So bear with me. Because today I’m going to talk about superheroes.

If you are into superheroes, you’re probably into one of two types of superheroes.

You’re either like me, who likes Superman. Because he’s powerful, and virtuous. Because he flies, and does things no humans could do. He’s the superhero who would leave you wishing you could be something more, like that.

Or you’re more like my wife. Who prefers Batman. For all the opposite reasons. Because Batman IS human. No powers. No flight. No special anything. He’s just a very determined man with very developed skills. He leaves you thinking, with the right motivation and time I could do that too.

We love superheroes for much the same reason at the end of the day. We like a good story, we like the thought of heroes, we like to see conflict overcome.

But right here, we have the best superhero story of all. This man. The Son. As the song that started me down this line of thought puts it, the Savior to the world. The Savior of the world.
Jesus is the best superhero of all. Because he embodies both the attributes I love about Superman, and the attributes my wife likes about Batman. You may be asking what I mean. So let’s take a look.

How is he like Superman? Jesus showed awesome power. Let’s compare.

When you think of Superman’s powers, the first that comes to mind is that he can fly. It seems like most superheroes do these days. But what about Jesus? Well long before we had comic books about flying people, we had this bit of scripture.

Matthew 14: 23-25

After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.

Now, is walking on a lake flying? Maybe not technically. But for anyone who says that’s not as awesome, I’d like to suggest you try walking on water.

What else? Well Superman had a strength like no other.

How about this?

In Luke 9, the disciples argue about who will be the greatest. And Jesus tells them that the greatest should act like the least, or the youngest. You think that would settle that though? Let’s jump forward in Luke over to Luke 22.

Luke 22:24-27
A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

You know. If it were me. If I had spent years training up these guys. Teaching them over and over again certain principles. And they spent all of their time bickering about who’s better. I would have been angry. I might have lost it. Jesus showed great strength. Not necessarily in some physical way such as lifting cars. But in patience. Have you ever thought about all the things he put up with? Have you ever read something that occurred and thought, “Man if that were me, I’da whipped them good…” But that’s exactly what Jesus didn’t do.
One last thing about this line of thinking. One of my favorite things about Superman? He’s always good. He’s uncompromising. Other heroes are so human that they do evil. Not Superman. He’s the original boyscout. He is the one other Superheroes look to. Now if you ask me, that sounds like he’s based on Jesus.

1 Peter 2:22 tells us:
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

I like how Hebrews 4:14 reminds us:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Well then if he’s like Superman, how is he like Batman?

Batman was an extremely well educated man with great understanding.
That sounds familiar. In Luke we see Jesus has great understanding.

Luke 2:47 says:
Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Batman was human. Funny thing, so was Jesus. We often focus on the divinity of Christ, but sometimes it’s important to focus on the humanity of Christ. He experience life as a human. He lived life as a human. He walked, he bled, he cried.

Batman is a beloved character because there’s this small part of the reader. The one who wants to be a super hero that says, “I could do that..” And that’s the truth of Jesus too. He lead a life that potentially we could live. Even the miracles he performed, we can perform.

He said so himself in John 14:12.

Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

There’s one thing that makes Jesus more human than any of the fictional superheroes. He has scars. In his hands and feet. Superheroes don’t get scars. They sometimes are created with them, conveniently located to look cool and not be an inconvenience. But Jesus has real scars of real consequence.

We live in a super hero generation. But you know what? There’s no reason to really get lost up on fake superheroes. Not when we have a true hero to aspire after. To follow after. Even to worship. Those of you who know me well know that I have a love for coats. My favorites are trench coats. Because they’re like the modern day cape. You can’t wear a cape anymore, it just looks weird. But trench coats, they’re a good substitute. We often symbolize the superhero with the cape. Flapping in the wind. Standing triumphant.

But what’s great. What’s spectacular. What’s stupendous is that we worship and actual triumphant God. We worship someone who made a true sacrifice. Who had the greatest story of all. A real hero. Jesus. As I finish today, that’s what I want to focus on. Worship of Jesus, of God, of the realest hero in our lives

That has to be one of the single darkest verses that ever opens a book of the bible. And Saul approved of their killing of him. Imagine if that were Saul’s entire story. His one verse. Many people get little screen time, as it were, in the bible. Imagine if this were the beginning and the end of Saul’s tale. It would be sad and dark wouldn’t it? Acts 8 opens up on just a whammy of a line. And to understand it we have to rewind a bit I think. Imagine if this was the very first verse you ever read. It would just smack you out of nowhere wouldn’t it? You’d be left wondering, “Who’s Saul? Who’s this him? Why was he killed? Why did this Saul guy approve?”

To get those answers, you have to rewind of course. I think most of us have been around long enough to be able to easily answer these questions. Who’s him? Him is a man named Stephen. We don’t know a great deal about him. But we know this much. He was a good man, God was with him, and he spoke with great wisdom. He was a man so lost in God he was willing to die for his faith. Why was he killed? Because he preached the truth. Who was Saul? He was a pharisee who didn’t like what Stephen had to say. That probably answers why he approved.

But I think we all know who Saul really is too. He’s Paul. The author of roughly half the new Testament. Paul did some really stupid and terrible things once. But God got a hold of him, changed him, and he ending up leading a much better life than what he started. But I sometimes wonder if what he did haunted him. It must have in the beginning. To escape it in a way, to distance himself from it, he changed his name. From Saul, to Paul. And that’s the title of my sermon today. Your name doesn’t have to be Saul either.

I think we all go through that sometimes. We look back on all failings. Our former lives. Our used to bes. All the things that, now knowing better, we wish we could forget forever. But can’t. Our Saul moments as it were. I find myself torn in this all the time. Going back and forth between reminding myself that the Lord has forgotten and so should I. But also reminding myself that my testimony is important. If there is two things we should get out of our past misdeeds, it’s this.

One: Our past is important. It’s incredibly important. In witnessing, in telling the truth of God, in explaining all that He is. Do you know, sometimes I wish we still did fiery hell sermons? Not all the times. But sometimes I do. Because here is the truth. You can’t have the grace of God without the fall of man. And every time we gloss over sin. Every time we downplay wrongdoing. Every time we pretend that hell isn’t really all that bad a place to be, we do a giant disservice to God. We harm the body of Christ, in my opinion. Because every time we downplay the horrible thing that we once were, we diminish the triumph that is God’s freedom. We shrink the grand thing he did for us. If Christ died for our sin, but we end up trying to be politically correct and say sin isn’t that all important then we are essentially saying that Christ died for something that just isn’t that important. And I don’t know about you, but that just doesn’t taste good. Our past is important. Because it IS our past that God freed us from. He did hear us. When we prayed, as the David did in Psalm 34 when he cried,

“I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

If you’ve never tasted something really bitter, can you really truly understand what it is to taste something sweet? We talk of freedom, but if you want the best definition of freedom find a man who’s just been let out of jail.

The second thing we should learn from our Saul moments is that our past is NOT important.

I know. I know. You’re all out there saying, “Uh Canterrain… did you forget your first point already?” No, No I didn’t. And yes, I realize that it sounds contradictory. But let me clarify. Our past is important. Just not THAT important. We should acknowledge the things that God has done in our lives and the transformations that He has led us through. But we shouldn’t get lost in despair of what we were so much so that we forget what we are today. Imagine for a moment if you will how differently Acts would be if Peter forever said, “I can’t stand up and speak. I’m the one who denied Christ.” Imagine if the disciples besides John dwelt on the fact that when push came to shove, they shoved off, ran off, and let Jesus die without them. It’s ok to recognize our past for what it was. But we can’t let it rule our present.

How do we do that though? How do we not let our past overshadow our present and future? I think Paul gives us good advice, as he was advising Timothy. In fact, you should notice three things that Paul advises Timothy to do to be a good leader. I think these bits of advice actually apply to more than just leadership.

The first is found in 1 Timothy 19.

“Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscious clear.”

This is a two parter! But I think the first naturally leads to the second. Cling to your faith in Christ! You know, most of the time it seems like Paul is teaching advanced Christionomics 404, now with greater insights into the divine understanding of theologic mysteries. This right here. Is simultaneously the most straight forward instruction Paul has ever written, and also the hardest. Cling to your faith in Christ! Well everyone knows what that means. Hold fast to Jesus! Don’t let your eyes stray from Him! Why that’s easy. Just ask Peter. Oh wait. Yeah. Cling to your faith in Jesus. It’s a lot harder than it sounds. Because it seems like everytime you really decide to do it, that’s when the waves get really choppy. But if you do. If you set your sights on Jesus and try your best to win that staring contest, you’ll maintain a clear conscious. It’s really hard to stray from God while looking at God.

Well what else does Paul tell Timothy?

How about 1 Timothy 2.

“1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.”

I like this advice. You know why? Because I think it fits right in with human nature. No really. In fact it takes one of our worst traits and turns it to good. The trait of gossip! We humans are gossipy. We are! The mall I work in is being purchased by new owners. You know, I actually know what they look like? In fact, I knew before they ever stepped foot in the mall. Other mall employees showed me. I also know when security arrests someone for fighting, when a store closes too early, and when someone has been fired from one of the other stores in the mall. The worst part about knowing all this? I don’t actually care. But that doesn’t stop people from telling me, or telling my employees. We humans love to focus on all things about other people. It takes our minds off of all our problems, I think. So why not use that to good? If we have to know about other people, then we should pray for them. Ask God to intercede on their behalf. If we really must poke into the lives of all our politicians, then let’s pray for them too! I don’t know about you, but I’d love to have a peaceful and quiet lives free from political bickering. And if makes God happy, what more reason do I need?

Now, a quick clarification. I don’t want anyone going to their Pastor after reading this and saying, “Some guy online just give us all permission to gossip to our hearts content about all the juicy stuff that happens at!” No I didn’t. So you can stop right there in your thoughts about how you can’t wait to tell so and so that this and that happened. I’m personally a believer that we have enough terrible drama on daytime tv. We don’t need it in the Church. What I am saying, of course, is that we can use that terrible urge for good! Instead of telling everyone what you’ve heard about this and that you could be praying about what you heard. And for whom you heard it from. I’m convinced that if I spent less time talking and more time praying, I’d spend less time being insecure about myself and more time being secure in my faith!

On Monday, I’ll continue with part 2 of this topic. 

Genesis 37:18-36

8 When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. 19 “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. 20 “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”

21 But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. 22 “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.

23 So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. 24 Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.

26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? His blood would just give us a guilty conscience. 27 Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. 28 So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces[c] of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.

29 Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the cistern. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in grief. 30 Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”

31 Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. 32 They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?”

33 Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time. 35 His family all tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “I will go to my grave[d] mourning for my son,” he would say, and then he would weep.

Jospeh was the youngest brother of eleven. Eleven brothers. Eventually 12. Just one is so insignificant right? What’s one among 12? How about one among six billion? I’m reminded of a story a missionary once related to me. This was a man who traveled the world, and spoke to many. There was an occasion where he was in another county and had the chance to preach before thousands. He said it was one of his better sermons. He gave it his all and he asked that important question, if anyone wanted to give their lives over to Jesus that day. Standing before thousands and how many answered that call? One. One person. I remember the missionary describing his emotions as he walked away from that service. Defeat. Disappointment. Dejection. He said he found himself asking God, “Why? Why did you send me there if one one person was going to come to know you? Couldn’t I have been better used in a place where more would have come to you?” It’s so easy to get lost in the theory that one doesn’t mean much. He returned to that country the next year. And after the service a woman approached him. She asked, “Do you remember being here last year? And a man who answered the call to Christ?” How could he forget? Politely, he stated that he did. She explained what a miracle it was, his coming to Christ. The man was a hard line atheist, someone who would never believe. She had prayed for years that God would get ahold of him. He had only come to the meeting by chance. Feeling a little better, the missionary asked the natural question. How is that man now? The answer? The very next day after that service, the man was in a car wreck and died.

One man. One day. One service. These things can change lives. Why? Because we are real people, and yes we have real problems, but we worship a real and true God. One God. Who says that despite the many people who would have us believe that we are insignificant in the context of a large universe, we ARE important. God find his people so important that he will put one man in a place completely out of his realm, out of his comfort zone, out of his expectations in order to change the life of another?

What about Joseph? I think we know the rest of the story. His journey was harrowing, it was harsh, it was long. But this journey took him to being second only to the Pharaoh of Egypt. And he saved the lives of his family, and the Egyptians… seeing them through a famine.

We can often look around, and think the too easy thought. My life is insignificant. My actions do not matter, my words do not matter. But I believe that life and death hang in the balance at times on a single word. A single smile. Have you ever brightened someone’s entire day with a smile? A small gesture, yet it can mean so much. As a new husband, I have quickly learned that forgetting the “little things” quickly adds up into big problems. One can make all the difference in the world. A flower to my wife. A word, just for encouragement. Even Jesus’s plan for sacrifice hinged on one man betraying him. It’s so easy to tell ourselves that we don’t matter, and nothing we do will ever matter.

But let me remind you of this. That number one? We worship the One true God. The whole human race started from one man and one woman. The Jewish people count their lineage back to one man, Abraham, who had such great faith. When man couldn’t save themselves, the One man who was more than man did. Even the largest church started small, started with the hope and belief of one person.

One can make all the difference. And that’s my encouragement to you today. God has a plan for all our lives. A path, a roll, a wish, a desire. And even that plan hinges on one thing. You. And your willingness to follow it. There is no such thing as too small to God.

Sometimes. Sometimes, life is so hard. Sometimes we are faced with decisions and events that leave us asking “why?”.

Why did this happen? Why am I dealing with this? Why isn’t this easier? Why don’t I know what to do? Why isn’t God speaking clearly to me?

Sometimes these are things in our control and sometimes they are just beyond our control.
For these days, these hours, these minutes I turn you towards James 1:2,3.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”

Sometimes we pray for guidance and hear nothing. And it can be tempting, oh so tempting to ask “where are you!?”

This is human. Even Jesus asked “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

I admit that His words used to bother me. How could the Messiah despair? How could He ask such a thing? I’m not sure I will ever fully understand. But I know this. When we despair we isolate ourselves. We hide from and deny the truth.

We are never alone. He will never abandon us. Even when we don’t feel His presence.

And in the bad times, the worst of times, when we lean on Him our faith will grow. It will be perfected, strengthened.

I stand on these promises.

That while no evil ever comes from God, He will “cause everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8 )

That “…the temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (1 Cor. 10:13)

And most of all “… I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

Hard times are unavoidable, decisions sometimes paralyzing but these days strengthen us. The strongest sword first faced the fire and the hammer.

Most of all know, you are not alone.

And that you never will be.

Some would say I am in fact taking a great risk just by writing this post. After all, the people who would be interested in reading it might be gone tomorrow (May 21st).

Out there, right now, a group of people are saying that on May 21st the rapture will occur. And the world will end on October 21st.

A rather strange mathematical formula is given that explains the conclusions drawn and the date is set in confidence.

So why then do I write this post that is unlikely to be read?

Because the only reason it may not get read is that I don’t post often enough to gain a following.

I do not believe the rapture will occur tomorrow.

I believe the person in question who has set this date will be wrong. Again. (Perhaps I should mention this isn’t their first attempt at predicting the end)

The thing is, Jesus was clear on this matter. Extremely clear. He said:

“…no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” (Matthew 24:36)

Some one argue that this means no one in that day knew. That it doesn’t necessarily mean no one will ever know. They might have a point. But one thing strikes me as odd. These mathematical formulas are based on passages from the bible, most of it the old testament. Anything taken from the new testament is knowledge that Jesus surely would have known, as the Son would likely know more of the Father than the disciples.

So I have a hard time believing someone would have greater understanding of the works of God and the scriptures than the living Word of God.

Could we be raptured tomorrow? Sure. It’s possible. But will someone correctly gleam the knowledge that God the Father didn’t even share with the Son? I find the concept impossible.

This will come, “Like a thief in the night…” when no one expects it. And as much as we should “expect the unexpected” we won’t be able to predict it.

Instead, what we should do is live our lives in anticipation of what we could be, and with our eyes on God.

Gleam knowledge of God from the Bible, but don’t make it say something it doesn’t. Don’t put God in boxes He doesn’t put Himself in. Focus on God, let Him Focus on you, and the rest will take care of itself.

Osama Bin Laden is dead. He was killed in a firefight by a team sent for just that purpose. The details are easy to find. Just open yahoo, google, or any news site and I’m sure that it will be front page. (As of the writing of this post)

But then there are the inevitable questions. Now what? Does the war end? Continue? Can we finally go through the airport while keeping our shoes on? Will gas prices go down to something that won’t require a bank loan?

I don’t know the answers to most of these questions. (I’m going to guess though that in the immediate, most things will stay the same)

But I do know the answer to this.

Now is the time for prayer.

Like so many others, I remember exactly where I was on 9/11. I’m old enough to have lived more years before 9/11 than I have since. But young enough that this won’t be the case for long. And I think every generation will have one of these events. If not more. Flashpoints that we never forget.

But as much as I can’t ever forget where I was that day. My thoughts, feelings, fears. I know that this can not compare to others.

The one’s directly affected by that fateful day. The people who said I love you one last time. The people who didn’t get to say I love you one last time. The people waiting in the airport for planes that never arrived.

Now is the time to look to the future. But for so many the death of this man will force them to remember the past. To cry. To cheer. To feel relief. And anguish.

And so now is the time to pray. For those who have been forever touched just one day. That they have the comfort and solace they need. That grief passes, and happiness once more finds their door. That anyone who lost a loved one will see them again in the tomorrow.

Now is the time to pray that as a people we turn to God for guidance and wisdom. For His peace and grace. The days ahead will not be smooth, or easy. But they can be navigated with His help. Most of all, whether we lost someone or not, now is the time to pray.

Because we never have to be alone.

It’s just that I want to be a Pastor. I’d like to someday lead a Church. And as I train towards that goal, I can’t help be examine the way we (at least my denomination) does Church.

So I guess I’ll start by saying, if the shoe doesn’t fit… don’t wear it. If this doesn’t apply to your Church, well then it doesn’t apply.

But sometimes I wonder if we’re going about Church in a way that just doesn’t make sense.

The typical modern Church with a ‘contemporary service’ goes something like this.

Sunday School ~ 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Worship Service ~ 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Sermon ~ 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.

This will vary. Some Churches will be very loose. Sometimes the Worship Service takes over and becomes the only service. Sometimes the Sermon will run much shorter, or even longer. Some Churches on the other hand are very rigid. If it has been decided that Worship begins at 10:30AM, the Sermon begins at 11, and the service is to be done at noon, it will be done at noon on the dot without fail.

And it’s the Sermon that worries me.

I like preaching. I was born to preach. I like to think I’m not terrible at preaching. (I might even be good!) But I’m also an intelligent man, and I know what the studies say.

The typical learning adult has an attention span of about 15 minutes. After that, if you continue lecturing (and I don’t mean the bad connotation, but the denotative meaning), you will probably lose them and they won’t get anything out of it.

So why do we preach for an hour?

In fact, what studies show us is if you want someone to learn something you should make them do.

I think the Church has picked up on this some. You see a lot of powerpoint presentations going on now. But I don’t think that really is doing enough to have any real additional retention.

There’s an old statement about retaining 10% of what we hear, 20% of what we etc. and it’s actually based on misconceptions and is for the most part is wrong.

But I do know this. Everyone learns differently. Some people learn very well from a lecture. Many do not. So I find myself wondering, why do we treat Church like a school? It’s as though the Pastor is the Professor, and the parishioners are students.

It’s something that’s been bothering me for years. But I confess I’ve never found the alternative that is viable and cost effective.

Around 2005 I saw videos of multitouch screen large scale computers being demonstrated. It was new, and seemingly impossible. The potential was limitless in my mind. I could imagine having several of these in a Church so that a member could scroll through scripture, or perhaps a game could be built that demonstrates creation. They could walk through biblical lands without leaving the states. With the era of the Ipad and Android tables I see this as far more possible, but still just outside the feasible in the area of cost.

Yet I still have a hard time seeing where Church should go.

What do you think reader? Is it ok that Church’s act much like a school? A good thing? Or should it somehow be different? Am I off base? I’m left wondering and pondering this. What is the goal of Church? What is the point? And is schooltime an effective means to achieve that?

I serve an all knowing, all powerful God who could instantly sweep away all the disasters away. Large or small, natural or not, they would be nothing to Him if He so chose.

Why does God let bad things happen if He so loves the world? Why is slavery found in the Bible? Why do some people get away with the worst of atrocities? Why are innocent people punished for things they didn’t do?

I’ve been speaking with a friend for a few hours this night. He often has described himself as an atheist. In this conversation he described himself more along the lines of seeking, of wanting to believe, but having trouble. Being skeptical. Having questions. I would describe him as a good man, and a man with the makings of an excellent Christian.

The truth is, I don’t have a perfect answer for the hard questions. I can’t write away the bad of the world and justify it so it is good. I may never have those answers. There may not even be answers in this life to those questions.

Some might say that not having an answer to these hard questions is a bad thing. Some might even say that even having these questions at all is a bad thing. If you have faith then there’s no need to question, to doubt, to wonder. Faith means not doubting doesn’t it?

No. Not really. Faith overcomes doubt. But you can’t overcome something that isn’t there. The Bible often speaks of the race. And the thing about the race is, it is still happening. It isn’t finished. The Bible has little to tell about what comes after the finish line. And much to say about the race itself. And there is no such thing as a race without struggle.

To struggle is to be human. To question is to be human. And to choose is to be human. I know that God could prevent us from doing any bad thing. But that would be preventing us from choosing. It would be removing the struggle from our lives. And that would be the same as making us not human at all.

Bad things happen. And hard questions are raised. But sometimes the point of life isn’t having the answers, but seeking them. My good friend has asked me many questions that have challenged my faith. And my faith has grown stronger from those challenges. Sometimes this good friend who is atheist does more to strengthen my relationship with God than any pastor, any evangelist, or even any book.

My friend tells me he’s earnestly seeking the truth of God. He wants to know. Need to know. That means asking the hard questions. And without yet being a Christian, I think this makes him a better Christian than I’ve ever been. I can’t wait for the day when he tells me that the final crucial step has been taken.

And so I wonder, how have the hard questions challenged you? And have they helped your faith grow? Or stifled it? What hard questions do you really struggle with and why?