SMR 171 Everyone believes in something

Smoky Mountain Reflections #171

            Who is your God? Comparative religion classes on university campuses lack analyses of some belief systems that therefore avoid being studied critically. While not normally referred to as “religions”, they should be addressed because they, just like all other religions, have an ultimate authority and a system of beliefs driving their worldviews. Here are four ‘belief systems’ which I think should be added to the studied list and a summarization of their beliefs as I see them.

Atheism is the belief that there is no God. It follows naturally then, that the atheist views himself as the ultimate source of authority in his own world; functionally speaking, his own god. Psalm 14:1 says “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” (It would be logical to celebrate Atheist day on April 1^st.) J

Secular Humanism embraces human reason, ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, pseudoscience, and superstition as the basis of morality and decision making. To a secular humanist, the ultimate source of authority is the collective goodness of mankind. Therefore, one can logically deduce that functionally speaking, in this view, mankind is the benevolent god of the universe. This, however, is a fantasy. World history flies in the face of the idea that mankind is capable of moral decision-making.  Romans 3:23 tells us “all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.”

Scientism is the belief in the universal applicability of the scientific method and approach, and the view that empirical science constitutes the most authoritative worldview or the most valuable part of human learning, to the exclusion of other viewpoints. To someone who holds to this view, the scientific process is god. In the not-so-famous words of Esqulieto of the movie Nacho Libre, “I believe in science”.

Similar to eastern mysticism, one can hold one or all three of the aforementioned views simultaneously, and since they each have logical inconsistencies, they can all occupy the same mind and not be concerned enough with each other to cause any conflict. We then come to the last on my list today.

Agnosticism is the view that the truth of certain claims – especially metaphysical and religious claims such as whether God, the divine, or the supernatural exist – are unknown and perhaps unknowable. This position sits on the fence between theism and atheism. It expresses skepticism, but is not foolish enough to assert atheism because logic, history, and truth demand the existence of a god.

            Most other religions claim the existence of one or more gods or at least some form of divine consciousness, and are therefore addressed in comparative religion classes. Let me conclude with this thought: Christianity rests on the evidence of real events testified to by witnesses who saw the risen Lord. Many of them gave their lives rather than deny that witness and thousands of copies were made of their firsthand accounts. The truth of the Bible’s claims are affirmed by the findings of history, archeology, and science, and the unique nature of that truth is this: the goal of the individual in non-Christian belief systems is to get themselves to whatever their version of god is, while the metanarrative of Holy Scripture is how God came to you in the person and work of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of redeeming you to Himself. He is the only way, not one among many. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Have a blessed summer

In Christ,

Pastor Portier

SMR #170

Smoky Mountain Reflections #170

          “I am personally against abortion but it is the law of the land”. “I am for traditional marriage but the Obergefell v Hodges case made genderless marriage the “law of the land”. “It’s the law of the land” seems to be a popular phrase among politicians who want to excuse themselves from inconvenient protests against such laws. As Christians, however, we don’t obey laws simply because they are the law of the land, we obey laws because God has placed the governments and officials who make the laws where they are for our good. He admonishes us in His word to obey the ruling authorities to the extent that we can, without violating His laws.  Luther stood against Rome, pointing out that Popes and Councils erred whenever they departed from scriptural truth; in the same way, we as Christians must stand against laws that depart from God’s truth. In our democratic system, through good citizenship, we can and should attempt to effect positive change when our leaders go astray. We have done it before and we have been called by our Creator in our time to stand for His truth as we speak it in love (in accord with Ephesians 4:15) regarding life and family ethics. We obey God rather than men (in accord with Acts 5:29).

            When the Supreme Court gets it wrong, dedicated Christian citizens need to speak the truth in love to uphold God’s moral standard of truth.  The separation of church and state does not remove our freedom to live and act in
accord with our faith. The first amendment protects our right as American citizens to exercise our faith and speak freely about it in any setting, even on the campuses of our schools. We as Christian citizens are called to speak the truth in love to our neighbors when the Supreme Court gets it wrong as they have numerous times in the past. We are to seek, with the help of God, to set things right so that our laws would promote and protect lives and families in accordance with God’s word. Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court can only be overturned or superseded in two ways: constitutional amendment, or by the Supreme Court overruling itself.

            There are actually many examples of the court reversing its decisions. Many have nothing to do with morals or faith, but it shows there is a process to correct poor decisions made by previous courts. When the Supreme Court changes its position it changes US legal precedence; sometimes making things better and sometimes making them worse. We will avoid a list of good decisions that later were overturned and focus on the times the Supreme Court ruled wrongly and was corrected later by one of the aforementioned mechanisms.

      -1857: The Dred Scott decision declared that black people were inferior to whites, weren't and couldn't be U.S.
             citizens, and had no rights. It took the Emancipation Proclamation, a civil war and two amendments to fix.

      -1883: The Supreme Court upheld a law forbidding mixed marriage, then overturned it in 1967.

      -1896: The Supreme Court upheld “Separate but Equal” laws, then overturned the decision in 1954.

And some not yet corrected:

      -1944: The Supreme Court upheld Japanese internment camps (some reparations were made but this decision is
            still in force today as we sacrifice civil liberties for safety).

      -1973: The Roe v Wade decision declared that the unborn are not people and had no rights. In the words of one of
             the current presidential candidates, “unborn persons have no rights under the law”.

      -2015: Obergefell v Hodges declared genderless marriage the law of the land.

            Today, the last two decisions on that list especially put your first amendment right to exercise your faith and speak freely under attack.  Make no mistake about it, the abortion industry wants to use the government to make you pay directly and indirectly for what they do. The radical LGBT agenda is to get everyone to celebrate who they are and what they stand for. Human sin does not want to simply live and let live. As we try to speak the truth in love we will be condemned as judgmental, bigoted, homophobic, and misogynistic, even while the very people who make these accusations do so in a judgmental, bigoted way. Take comfort though; there is nothing new under the sun. God will prevail; He is in control of all things even though we do not understand how. Keep Matthew 7:24-27 in mind as you pursue God's truth.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Press on, be wise, and seek to do His will in your life.
In Christ

Pastor Portier

Smoky Mountain Reflections #169

            We all know the story of the boy who cried wolf. Signaling emergency when there is not an emergency teaches people to ignore or simply be annoyed by an alarm. There is no such thing as a good time for an emergency, even if an alarm is really for an emergency most alarms are still annoying. By their very nature they are designed to get your attention, make you stop what you are doing, and get you to react appropriately to the emergency.

            Proper use of drills to keep people on task is vital and likewise improper use can be very costly. Regular drills had become common place in the US Navy in the 1930’s so when the alarms went off on December 7^th 1941 many thought they were just drills that did not concern them, and it was Sunday morning, sleep-in time. Because of the poor response many lives that could have been saved, had people responded properly, were lost. Since then, all Navy drills have a phrase tacked on the end of the announcement; either “This is a drill” or “This is not a drill” This may seem to be a simple precaution but it keeps people from risking their lives for a ‘drill’ and lets them treat it like the training it is. Proper announcements also get people to react properly when there is a real emergency.

            You may be familiar with the warning sign of a canary in a mine. If the breathable air gets too low the canary falls over and that is the sign to get out of the shaft quickly before the workers fall over due to the lack of breathable air.  Why all this talk of warnings and alarms? Well I find myself puzzled when I look at our world that overtly rejects the simple warnings, alarms, of God’s truth while labeling those who speak this truth in love and kindness in concern for others as homophobic, bigoted, hate mongers.

            There used to be a ‘live and let live’ motto in our society, ‘you have your opinions and convictions and I have mine’, but in the past decade the tone has shifted. What used to be labeled as politically correct (PC) correctly directed what was acceptable to be said in the public square. PC has now taken on an aggressive nature. The PC police are not only regulating acceptable speech they are dictating thought. Freedom of speech and religion has become freedom from offensive speech and freedom of worship (not religion). We might like to retreat into our own little world and escape all this madness but we as Christians are called to be in but not of the world. So brothers and sisters in Christ press on!

            If you saw a building on fire the loving thing to do would be to pull the fire alarm. Now there may be people in that building who will be upset and angry with you for interrupting their sleep. Maybe the smoke turns out to be from a BBQ pit, leading to a false alarm. Or it could be that someone in the building is in the middle of robbing or harming their neighbor and they don’t want to be found out. Even as you tell some of the people to get out for their safety they may growl at you saying; “that fire alarm is really irritating, make it stop and go away”. Still the loving thing to do is to continue to sound the alarm, even if they do not like what you have to say.

            Free speech and freedom of religion are under attack as never before in our society. Freedom of worship is a new phrase used to keep you and your faith out of the public square. They say “Feel free to worship as you wish but do not try to live out your faith in public”. If the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandates that your company help abort unborn children…..shut up and do as you are told or we will fine you out of business and if that does not work we will imprison you for violating the civil rights of others who are offended by your convictions. Does that sound like some fictitious communist novel (?)…. Well, though we are currently free to be faithful, we need to be ready to take it on the chin for our faith if things continue the way they are going.

            Do not despair! There is nothing new under the sun (!). Even as our college campuses post warnings against trigger words (words that are off limits because they cause fear in others); even as the halls of higher education shift from teaching critical thinking to PC indoctrination clubs, God is still in charge. He can and will work for your good according to His purpose….I know because His word says so. Have a blessed spring, boldly living out your faith in your daily life despite the naysayers.

In Christ

Pastor Portier

#168 how do we great guest?

Smoky Mountain Reflections #168

            It is often difficult for us to be good hosts. When others are in our home, we sometimes act differently or become a bit self-conscious about little things that we normally overlook. The same thing can occur in church; in many congregations, guests are only an occasional occurrence, so a number of awkward behaviors sometimes surface. For example, the rude look shot at someone sitting in “MY” pew, the expectation for a stranger to know that we “have always done it that way” here, and of course, the overly friendly crowd pouncing on a new face in a way that would drive even the most confident person to hyperventilation and a mild panic attack. Here at St. Paul, we rarely have a Sunday without a guest; 80% of the time they are vacationing Lutherans, but regardless, this reality keeps us on our toes, always seeking to be good hosts.

            So what is a congregation to do? How should we treat our guests? I prefer the word guest because that is what they are; would you call someone who came to your home a visitor or a guest? This is of course a simple word preference issue, but I do believe that the word “guest”, in a way, lifts the bar regarding our behavior. One of the first things we often do in answering these questions is to confuse our priorities. Oftentimes, we base our actions on a man-centered approach, like a marketing strategy. There are two problems here: first, we as Christians gather to receive God’s gifts to us and focus on our savior, not ourselves. Second, we are faced with the reality that we are not able to please everyone; what is appealing to one guest can be offensive to another and vice-versa.

            Let’s examine a few pitfalls of man-centered greeting practices. In my youth and early adulthood I was a guest in many worship services because my family moved often. In my early days it was a common practice to ask guests to stand and introduce themselves. While this was a great way to greet people in the 60s through the 80s, to make such a suggestion today sends chills of fear down the spines of some. I have heard people speak of not visiting churches due to their fear of this practice. On the flip-side, a church may try not to call attention to the new face for fear of scaring them off, but to the point that the guest feels ignored and wonders why everyone at that church is so cold and unfriendly. There are, however, some people who would like to quietly enter and exit church unseen because they dislike interacting with crowds and strangers. In their cases, greeting someone to make them feel welcome could be seen as too friendly, and I have even heard that said about a congregation that I was once a member of! Besides all of these, there is also that messy practice in most of our churches of sharing the peace of the Lord… “Eeeewww that spreads germs! The next thing you know we will all be in the hospital!” In my youth, seeking to be a chivalrous gentleman, I held a door for a young woman only to be told in a not-so-kind tone, “I am capable of opening the door for myself, young man!” Unfortunately, if we base our actions on the changing desires of mankind’s sinfully schizophrenic appetite, we will only succeed in, as the saying goes “pleasing some of the people some of the time”.

            However, if we base our actions on a biblical strategy, of loving God and our neighbor in accord with His word, we are always guaranteed to at least please God. That is, of course, if we succeed in treating others as He would have us treat them; with love and respect, with the motive of fellowship and the sharing of His truth.

So, regardless of how the world responds to your attempts at being kind and loving, you can always take comfort in remaining faithful to loving God and neighbor in accord with His will.

In Christ,

Pastor Portier

# 167 Be a Champion for Life

Smoky Mountain Reflections #167

            Sometimes our Church body stands on the front line on issues of great importance. That was the case on Friday the 22^nd of January just hours before a great blizzard hit the DC area. The group that was scheduled to carry the lead banner for the national march for life did not show up, and our contingent seen here in yellow ponchos and lime green caps was called to take their place. It is times like this that I am proud to be an LCMS Lutheran.

            As I reflect on the sanctity of human life, I have a few questions to ask those who would argue that the prochoice movement is about woman’s health. Please feel free to use these question with speaking the truth in love to your prochoice friends and family.  If abortion is just a simple medical procedure, but when a state tries to pass laws treating it as a medical procedure the prochoice movement fights it as infringement on the rights of woman. why are there so many inconsistencies in practice and application of the prochoice position?

Here are just a few examples: Licensing: you need a license to cut hair, drive a car, hunt, or fish, but there are still places in our country that do not require licensing for abortion clinics. Why? If this is a simple medical procedure would it not be in the best interest of woman if every person and location that did these invasive medical procedures that can have complications that lead to death, would simply be licensed, and inspected like any other medical facility.

            In an era of electronic payment methods most planned parenthood clinics take payments in cash only. Why you may ask? Because those the charge “these fees for service” are often very unhappy with the negative and painful side effects of this decision and they cancel checks, and stop payment or contest payment and often this “not for profit organization” loses the chance to make a buck.

            Hospital admission privileges: In order for a Doctor to have such privileges they must meet certain medical standards that are in the best interest of their patients. Sadly, there are abortionist who cannot meet those standards that are legally conducting abortions and collecting fees today. How does this protect woman?

            And finally if our church were to donate funds to a political campaign we would justifiably have our 501c3 status revoked. Why can Planned Parenthood give money to political campaigns? And not have their non-profit status questioned. While at the same time receiving over 50 million in tax dollars.

            It really is time for us to stand and be counted among those who champion the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. In this month of Love and candy hearts remember that speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, regardless of the consequences is a truly selfless act of love.

In Christ

Pastor Portier 

SMR #166

Smoky Mountain Reflections #166

            Is it ever good or healthy for a church to get smaller? Well, if you understand the church to be people and not a building, there are some realities we should consider when answering this question. Much church growth literature will point out that 80% of churches in America have either plateaued or are in decline, but plateauing or declining is not always a terrible thing. In fact, the numerical size of any congregation is at the discretion of the Holy Spirit. We should always strive to reach out to the lost with God’s truth, but we do not cause a congregation to grow; we are but workers in the harvest field. We as Americans often think that more and bigger is always better, but I feel that this is a faulty assumption when applied to churches, causing us to be unsatisfied with God’s provision and support. So, let’s look at some reasons why a good church, that is doing God’s will in the community in which He called them to serve, might see a healthy decline in membership or attendance.

First, unconverted people may leave because the gospel is being preached. Of course there are unsaved people within the visible church, but sadly, many of these individuals only want to hear a typical feel-good, better-yourself, itching-ear kind of message (which sadly is all that is preached in many churches). Such people will not like the Biblical message of law & gospel (“You are a sinner, but Jesus Christ died for you”). This type of church member will either repent and grow, leave, or stay and cause problems, especially if they are in a leadership position. Preaching the gospel is the right thing to do and is the only thing that can give life to a church. No pastor or congregation should ever be discouraged if they lose people as a result of declaring the gospel. We should, however, always remember those who leave in our prayers, and continue to try to reach out to them.

Church members also pass away and go to be with Christ. In my 10 years here, 23 of our members have left the church on earth for the church triumphant. In some years a church may have more funerals than baptisms or new member receptions, but this is part of the typical life cycle of any church family regardless of size.

Pastors, teachers and other missionaries are trained, tested, affirmed and sent out to serve the church in other places. If a church experiences decline in numbers because they send workers out to be trained or serve the broader church, that is a good thing.

An intentional process is in place to catechize people before they become members. Sometimes people do not join a church because the church takes a stand on Biblical truth. People declined to join or have left St. Paul because they did not like scriptures’ position on women’s ordination, close(d) communion, cohabitation, or homosexual marriage. Speaking the truth in love is not always received well, but it is better to be upfront and honest than to pull a bait-and-switch.

Sometimes a church has been in decline for a long time, but the membership roll has not been cleaned for many years. After an honest evaluation of the congregation’s roster, if it is discovered that many members have moved, gone to another church, or no longer consider themselves members, then reducing the number on paper may appear drastic, but it is simply acknowledging the reality of the situation.

Finally, if the demographics of a community are on the decline, fewer people in the community will mean fewer people in church. For example, Detroit has shrunk from almost 5 million to less than 380,000, and as a result a great many churches have closed their doors. We should of course always seek to have a church wherever there are people to serve, but if a church is a reflection of the community it serves, then it should not fret, but thank God for the opportunity to serve that community.

In Christ,

Pastor Portier

#165 Go to Chruch

Smoky Mountain Reflections #165

            “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” What does this mean? “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” We should all be familiar with these words, whether we memorized them in our youth or learned them as an adult. However, we often have a skewed view of how to apply this commandment. I was at an elders meeting in one of my previous congregations when I learned that sadly, only about 35% of our members were in worship on any given Sunday. I was further saddened to find out that for a congregation of that size, this was an average percentage. “Regular attendance” is a term that is defined clearly in scripture as weekly, but many Christians define it as every other week, or monthly, or quarterly, or occasionally, and some who attend only for Christmas and Easter would even call themselves regular in their attendance.

            When I was a Vicar, Pastor Dettmer and I were having a conversation about attendance and I mentioned to him that it seemed to me that some folks were just looking for any good excuse to avoid church. His response was, “No, they will take the first excuse that comes along”. The evil one is trying to take God’s gifts away from you and two of those gifts are His Word and Sacrament, because that is where you are fed spiritually. If he can tempt you while you are spiritually starving, his odds of success increase. So he provides a long list of excuses and distractions to get in the way of your regular weekly attendance in God's house to receive God’s gifts.

When I was in that meeting I mentioned earlier, one of the elders mentioned that it was unrealistic to expect 100% attendance because of all the legitimate things that cause people to miss worship. This may be a true statement, but it should still be our personal goal to attend worship weekly. However, let’s look at some of those things that make us miss church.

I think one of the first on the list would be travel; many of us use the weekends to get to and from faraway places, and while being on vacation in Hawaii is a good reason to miss church in Tennessee, it is not a good reason to miss worship altogether. God has good churches all over the world; one should put as much time and effort into looking for a place to worship on vacation as one would into finding a good restaurant.

The list of “reasons” (excuses) we do not attend is long: boredom, tiredness, laziness. So while Jesus bleed and died on a cross we can’t be bothered to miss our only weekly opportunity to sleep in. Some avoid church because they are angry with someone and do not want to run into them, which is really difficult if that someone is the pastor. Sometimes we are just mad at God for some pain and suffering in our life and blame Him instead of trusting, learning, growing and attending. And let’s not forget those all-important sporting events. It's much more fun to attend a softball tournament than to listen to my pastor tell me that I am a sinner. And if in your mind a sporting scholarship is the only way you think you can afford college, then working for your future then becomes more important than what some would call just singing a few hymns of Sunday. Or maybe you have a hobby or project that just needs a few more hours to be finished. Or maybe you are participating in or helping to coordinate the Santa Run. And don’t forget all those all important political news shows that only air on… you guessed it, Sunday morning.

So what is a church supposed to do with all that competition on Sunday mornings? Well first, some of these things are out of the control of some of the people who are absent. Some have to work or have other real obligations that make church attendance nearly impossible for them. To help with this we have a Wednesday service year-round to provide an additional worship opportunity.

But we must also admit that we make time for things that are important to us, so please pray that with God's help, weekly worship could be and remain a high priority in your schedule. Good habits are hard to start, but once begun, progressively easier to maintain. Our attendance here at St. Paul is actually a little above the average for a congregation our size, floating usually between 65-70%, though these numbers are a little bit padded by the fact that we get a lot of vacationing Lutherans. So while we can agree that a 100% attendance goal is a pipe dream, we can also do our best with God’s help to make missing out on God’s gifts a less regular part of our lives.

In Christ,

Pastor Portier