Joe McKeever

Greed: the Favorite Sin of Free Enterprise

"Is life passing you by because you don't have a high definition television? Well, now you can...."

The advertisements in the various media make no secret of it. If you do not have the latest computers, televisions, phones, and techno-gadgets, if you are not driving a car less than three years old and equipped with rear cameras, heated seats, and Sirius radio, you are surely among the deprived in this world. You must be the poor and deprived we keep hearing about.

Life is passing you by.

That's how it feels to some of us. Teens in particular fall prey to this deadly syndrome.

The old-timers called it avarice. We know it as greed.

Twenty years ago, Wall Street was telling the world that greed is good, that the hunger to get more and more, to gain and possess and control and dominate, was all good. If anyone is listening to Wall Street any more, they're not saying.

And yet, greed is alive and well in this country. And every other country, too, I expect, since it seems to be related to the depravity of the human heart and not geographically situated.

Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. (I Timothy 6:9)

Someone responds, "I don't want to be rich. I don't actually care for money. I just want the things money buys." That's a little word-game we play to camouflage our grasping, groping greediness.

The Pastorate: No Place for Crybabies

It comes as a surprise only to a very few that pastoring a church can be extremely hard work. Rewarding, yes. Fulfilling, challenging, and blessed. But there are times when it taxes the child of God to the core of his being, when it tests his sanity, and drives him to question everything he ever believed about the faith he is proclaiming and the people he is serving.

Only the strong need apply.

They used to say that only the hardiest of stock settled the early American west. "The cowards never started and the weak died along the way."

There's something about that which fits the ministry.

What triggered all this for me was the sports guys on ESPN the other day talking about Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback. He's had an ankle injury this year, and has been making every effort to play on in spite of it. Whether this is smart or foolhardy, we'll leave to other people. The commentators were of one mind on it, however: Isn't Big Ben great! He doesn't give in to a little injury. He knows how to play hurt!

Playing hurt.

I've played hurt. You too, pastor? I will go so far as to say that every pastor who stays in the Lord's work for any period of time will sooner or later "play hurt." He will have a serious burden or strong opposition or major trial or some kind of massive handicap which would destroy a lesser individual ("a career-ending injury" it's called in sports), but he still stands in the pulpit preaching, still goes to the office, still leads his church.

Every week I hear from pastors and/or their wives with similar stories of great upheavals in their ministries. The one this week said, "I perceive that you too have had troubles and trials in your life. That's why I decided to write you."

She said what the others have say: "Please do not use any details from my story. I wouldn't want this to get out to certain people."

If they only knew. Each story is so similar to all the others, one would think it was the same thing happening repeatedly.

Take the letter this week.

Cartoons from Ecclesiastes

Nostalgia: Why This Friend Bears Watching

A few years back, a young friend in our church became hooked on "Happy Days," the television series. She fantasized of the 1950s as the golden age in American life. She thought it was all Elvis and sock hops and soda fountains.

One day I just couldn't take it any more and did something really mean.

I said, "Melissa, I became a teenager in 1953. In the '50s, we fought the Korean War, then went through the Cold War. We feared being bombed by Russia every day, and racism was rampant. I wouldn't go back there for anything."

I know, I know. I should have left her alone to her daydreaming. She wasn't hurting anyone.

The truth is I'm as much into nostalgia as anyone I know.

Nostalgia: Fantasizing about an earlier time in a way that denies the reality. That's my definition, not one you'll find in a book somewhere.

The current Sherlock Holmes craze owes its popularity to an idealized love for the 1890s as much as to an admiration for the observation and reasoning skills of the great detective, I wager. This fictional creation of Arthur Conan Doyle is more popular today than he has ever been, and that's saying something.

In "The Sherlockian," Graham Moore's new book that plays to the fascination for all things Sherlock, the protagonist, Harold White, sizes up the nostalgia thing perfectly.

Looking Back on 2011

My friend Don Davidson, who pastors Alexandria Virginia's First Baptist Church as well as it's ever been done, turns out an end-of-the-year retrospective which will serve as my model for what follows.

So, here's my report on my (ahem) Retirement Ministry in this, my third year of unemployment....

Revivals

Six revivals this year. In diverse and wonderful cities such as Ochlocknee, Georgia, Saragossa and Deatsville, AL, Mt Hermon and Crowville, LA, and Picayune, MS. I loved every one of them and made friends for life and beyond.

Banquets.

McComb and Columbus, MS. Zachary and Moss Bluff, LA. Linden and Grove Hill, AL. In banquets, I sketch people before, during, and after the meal, and at the appointed time get up and tell my stories, doing my best to be entertaining and inspirational. I have more fun than anyone there.

Senior Adult stuff.

My 1975 Super Bowl Sermon

I remember that sermon like it was last month. I was one year into pastoring First Baptist Church of Columbus, Mississippi, and as a 34-year-old determined to say something significant on the cultural disease afflicting this country, chose Super Bowl Sunday to address America's fascination with sport.

How well I did it is another matter.

Last week, a lady who had been in the congregation that morning came across the printed copy of that message and forwarded it to me. "It will give you the giggles," she said.

After reading it, the only thing I could see that would make her say that was my reference to the New Orleans Saints as losers. Which they were, at that time.

All right. Here's the printed copy of the sermon. At the conclusion, I'll share where the sermon came from and what happened afterwards.

Envy: The Sneakiest Sin of Them All

Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:26)

It's funny that the Old Testament's references to envy focus on God's people looking outward to the world ("sinners"). They were not to envy wrongdoers.

The New Testament's references, by contrast, are directed inwardly, warning believers against envying each other. For those of us who know the inner workings of church life, we fully understand the change.

Now, a confession first.

Over the last two weeks, as I've reflected on the seven deadly sins (pride, envy, avarice, anger, sloth, gluttony, and lust), the one that interested me least was this one: envy. What's exciting about that? Nothing exotic. No funny stories to tell, no dramatic scriptural stories to relate.

In fact, I decided envy is not a problem in my world. I honestly don't know anyone sitting around stewing over the neighbors having a car and wishing it was in their own driveway. I know of no preachers fuming because another pastor received a doctorate which he should have rightfully received. So, maybe envy is no longer a problem to moderns.

The reason for that strange--and erroneous--conclusion is the narrow definition I was applying to the concept.

If to envy means to wish we owned something another person now possesses and only that, few of us would be guilty. But that's far too skinny an interpretation of this obese transgression.

Here then are several observations on envy, what I'm calling "the sneakiest" of the seven deadly sins.

Pride: The Sin That Looks Most Like Me

God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (I Peter 5:5)

When a British newspaper invited readers to submit their answers to the question "What's Wrong With the World?" the inimitable G. K. Chesterton wrote: "Editors: I am. Sincerely, G. K. Chesterton."

Of the so-called seven deadly sins, pride always leads the parade. It's the granddaddy of them all, the source of the other six. Consider how this is so---

--Lust is pride expressing itself sexually, as well as in other ways. It takes what it wants, uses it, and tosses it in the trash.

--Avarice is pride in the marketplace and in our culture. It wants more and more and is never satisfied.

--Anger is pride on the highway and in relationships. It didn't get what it wants and wants revenge.

--Envy is pride casting an evil eye at its neighbor, wishing for what he has and that he had a wart on his nose. (An old childhood curse we would inflict in jest)

--Sloth is pride expressing its selfishness concerning work. None for him, thanks. He'll sit this one out. Everyone owes him.

--Gluttony is pride at the dinner table.

Pride is an exalted sense of oneself. It's that simple.

Sometimes people speak of pride as a correct and healthy sense of oneself, as in, "Take pride in yourself" and "Take pride in your work." And since there is no Czar of Correctness concerning word usage, that is as legitimate as using pride to mean an inflated, puffed up ego.

This is probably as good a place as any to quote my wonderful old professor, Dr. Ray Frank Robbins, who would tell us seminarians, "Words do not have meanings. Word have usages."

Chesterton was correct; he was the problem. But so am I. And so are you.

Why Sin Matters

...the idea of sin is preeminently a construction of Christian theology. (From Henry Fairlie's book, "The Seven Deadly Sins Today.")

It bugs some people that the Bible does not give us a comprehensive list of sins and end all the speculation, frustration, and false guilt.

I suspect we are victims of a rulebook mentality as a result of the endless controversies over interpretations of rules in NCAA football, NFL football, MLB baseball, and so forth. What complicates those discussions is that the authorities are forever tweaking the rules. Each year representatives of the NCAA get together to discuss requirements for athletes to play collegiate sports, rules governing the playing of those sports, and one thousand related issues.

The IRS constantly tweaks the rules for taxpayers, forcing CPAs to attend regular updating conferences.

Why don't we do that in church, some wonder? How in the world could the Lord send us forth into this world to accomplish such grand missions without providing a list of all the no-no's and taboos?

We are such legalists at heart. And for good reason.

When we have a list of rules to keep and prohibitions to avoid and do them perfectly, we have a wonderful sense of accomplishment. "Look what I did." Ahhh. Such self-satisfaction.

And that's why the Lord doesn't do it. Self-satisfaction is the last thing He wants in His children. "Boasting in the flesh," scripture calls it, and it is anathema to believers who would be used of God.

The Lord much prefers His children have an on-going sense of dependence on Him, that "I can't do it without you, Lord," and "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Once we get the hang of that, we find ourselves saying what those who do not "get it" consider utterly stupid, such as "when I am weak, then am I strong" (II Corinthians 12:10).

So where does the concept of sin figure in this? Answer: Prominently.

My Favorite Sin: Gluttony

I read somewhere that Diamond Jim Brady, a character in American life a few generations ago, loved food so much, his stomach was 6 times the size of a normal belly.

Now, that, we think, is a glutton!

Can we talk?

How ironic that the season during which we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus provides us the perfect excuse to over-indulge.

Like the megalopolis that now stretches from Washington to Boston or from Dallas to Fort Worth, this eating holiday dominates our calendar from Thanksgiving to New Year's.

Walk through any modern large-box store, and study the edibles they're offering during this season. It's not just turkey and dressing and yams and egg nog any longer. It's chocolates like you would not believe, in every kind of assortment and combination. It's cookies and cakes and pies coming out your ears. Books pour off the shelves telling homemakers of new recipes for the latest taste sensations for these holidays. Restaurants offer special smorgasbords for the holidays with prices approaching $100 per person.

The wonder is that Americans are not all 400 pounds.

What's that? We are? Well, far too many of us are.

What position should the disciple of the Lord Jesus take regarding this little crime-against-one's-body we call gluttony?

What Godliness Means

I'm always conflicted on those rare occasions when someone attributes godliness to me.

There's not a disciple of Jesus Christ anywhere who would not want to be thought of as godly. But I strongly suspect that anyone to whom the label can be legitimately applied would never in a million years think they qualified.

There is that dichotomy which we see with a lot of spiritual disciplines. With humility, if we think we have it, we don't. With maturity, if we think of ourselves as mature in the faith, we probably aren't. And with godliness, one of the features of this most wonderful of all traits is a strong awareness of our frailness, our fallibility, our wicked heart.

That little contradiction gives rise to the silly bit that goes: "If I think I'm humble, I'm not. If I'm truly humble, I don't think I am. And since I don't think of myself as humble, I must be."

Godliness is Christlikeness. The presence of the Lord Himself is so strong within us, we reflect Him to all we meet. The character of the Lord Jesus is exhibited through us in all we do. The love of Jesus--the love of God, same difference--shines forth to all we meet.

And yet, we are no less human than we've ever been. We do not "channel" Jesus, as a friend asked me the other day. No, nothing goofy or spooky. It's simply that the closer to the Lord Jesus we get, the more these two realities grow up side by side: the presence and power of Christ in us, and our humanity, meaning we become more fully the individual God made us to be.

When John the Baptist said of Jesus, "He must increase, I must decrease," he did not imply that there would come a day when his personality and his individuality would be absorbed into the Almighty Messiah and he would cease to exist, as some have thought. Instead, he would always be John, but would get more and more out of the way while Jesus Christ would be everything to him.

Godliness does not have to be as elusive a subject as we sometimes make it. Think of it as "More of Christ in Me" and at the same time, "I become more the person He created me to be."

Why Do People Stay?

We have two kinds of people in our churches today: those who flit from church to church, never putting down roots or establishing relationships and finding their ministries, and those who will stay in a church regardless.

It's the second group that puzzles me.

Why do they stay?

Like the note I received today: "Our church treasurer stole 60,000 dollars from us. He was a drunkard and the preacher knew it and constantly talked with the man about his problem. But now, the man has left town with the church's money."

"Meanwhile," the writer went on, "attendance in our church has dropped from 70 to around 10. The pastor is retiring and wants a large financial settlement and for us to pay his retirement. What are we to do?"

I'll tell you what I'd do. I would walk away. With only 10 people coming, there's hardly a church there anymore. And with the kind of non-leadership they've had, from this distance, it would appear that for this church to go out of business is no loss. After all, assuming that church is not in the frozen tundra where there is not another congregation within a hundred miles, it's not like there aren't other good churches in the area.

I'd go join one.

Yet, people persevere.

Why do they stay in such dysfunctional churches when they could so easily drive another mile down the road and find peace?

Why do they continue coming to a church that cannot go a month without a fight? Can't go a year without someone wanting to run off the preacher? Can't vote on a budget without conflict arising.

Why don't they just leave for their own peace of mind?

Solitary Conceit

C. S. Lewis was fielding questions from his audience. Someone asked how important church attendance and membership are to living a successful Christian life. From his book "God in the Dock," his answer:

My own experience is that when I first became a Christian, about 14 years ago, I thought that I could do it on my own, by retiring to my rooms and reading theology, and I wouldn't go to the churches and Gospel Halls; and then later I found that it was the only way of flying your flag; and of course, I found this meant being a target.

It gets you out of your solitary conceit. It is not for me to lay down laws, as I am only a layman, and I don't know much.

Yeah, right. C. S. Lewis doesn't know much. Oh, that I knew as little as he.

Solitary conceit. That one has snagged my attention and will not turn me loose. I see it in Christians who stand aloof from church attendance, in pastors who will not associate with other ministers, and in myself.

Swat Team: Find the Sleeping Gifted

(Fifth and last in the series "Church Members Extraordinary.")

A Swat team is a small group of highly trained military or law enforcement people who can go into a tense and dangerous situation, armed to the teeth, able to respond in any way necessary. (The initials stand for "Special Weapons and Tactics.")

No, we don't require such combat specialists in the church, as far as I know.

I'm suggesting a different kind of Swat team. Let's have a small band of church leaders who are constantly on the alert for fellow members who have spiritual gifts which they are not using in the Kingdom, or are under-utilizing them.

Such gifted church members are usually unaware of their spiritual endowments, of the ways in which they could be serving, and of the difference they could make in the lives of others.

Our job--your job, if you are one of those gifted by the Lord for this kind of work--is to find these people, open their eyes to what God has done in their lives, teach them, and then help them find their place of service. Find their calling.

The strange thing is that far more people believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to every believer than believe that there is a place of service in the Kingdom for each person. A rather odd little dichotomy, I think.

Here's a director of human resources who puts someone on the company payroll and sends them to the plant manager with instructions, "See if you can find a place for this one." An hour later, the individual returns with a post-it note on his back saying, "Don't need him."

If God loves us and saves us, calls us and gifts us spiritually, then has no place of service for us in His work, He is as inefficient and foolhardy as that director of human resources.

If God gifts you for His service, He has a place for you in the Kingdom.

And that, I say to you, is one of the most exciting things in the world.

Midwives: Find the Lost and the Seekers

(Fourth in the series 'Church Members Extraordinary')

I wish for your church a small, dedicated group of people who are called and gifted, trained and faithful, in helping other people into the kingdom of God.

Call them soulwinners or witnesses. I call them midwives. They are not responsibile for the new life, but they assist it in coming into being.

Someone walks forward during the invitation time and tells the pastor, "I'm ready. I'd like to become a Christian."

Fortunate is the pastor who can turn to a member nearby and say, "Bill, this is Tom. Tom wants to become a Christian. Would you help him?" Bill invites Tom to come with him, and they exit the sanctuary into an adjoining room where they can speak quietly and privately. Bill opens the Scriptures and shows Tom what God has to say about becoming a disciple of Jesus, answers his questions, and prays with him. Then, after Tom is satisfied he has done what he came to do, Bill begins the process of disciplining him--that is, grounding him in the Christian faith.

There are those who teach that every member of the church should become soulwinners, capable of leading others to Christ. In a perfect world, I agree. But the reality is that not everyone is going to do that. Others have gifts and callings, burdens and opportunities, in other directions.

All are witnesses. But not all are soulwinners or midwives.

Reach the Ugly Woman in the Balcony

(Third in the series on Church Members Extraordinary.)

My wife tells me not to use the term "ugly woman" and as you surely know, for a preacher to go against the advice of his wife is foolhardy. But since we were unable to find a better substitute, it remains. At least for the moment. This program allows me to return and tweak the article. Readers with better ideas should send them this way posthaste!

The story comes from a longtime friend, Lynn. Now, Lynn is a better Christian than almost anyone I know. She has had enough pains and heartaches for several lifetimes. Instead of making her hard and calloused, the trials have driven her closer to the Heavenly Father. Consequently, she is full of mercy and grace.

Her church has wisely made her a greeter for the congregation. That sweet spirit and smiling face draw people in. Every church should have such people out front to welcome worshipers.

Not long ago, prior to the service, Lynn spotted a woman in the balcony. I'm using Lynn's words when I say that she was ugly. The scowl on her face warned everyone to stand back about 500 feet. And that's why Lynn did what she did.

She sought her out. Climbed into the balcony and went straight to her, thrust out her hand and said, "Hello."

The woman may as well have uttered a "bah, humbug!" for she was a living personification of Scrooge himself. She said nothing and turned away.

Now, for most people, that would have done it. They would have written the woman off. But not Lynn. Not even close.

Leaders: Find the Devil in Pew Number Seven

(Second in our series on the League of Church Members Extraordinary)

Deacons and other mature leaders of the church have a responsibility probably not spelled out in their bylaws, but as necessary as any given them in scripture or by the membership: Be on a constant lookout for trouble and troublemakers within the congregation.

The Apostle Paul told the Ephesian leaders that they could expect deadly threats to the congregation's survival to arise from two sources: outside and inside. (Acts 20:29ff) The first they would have expected. It is no secret that the devil wants to destroy the church and neutralize its effectiveness, and will use any means necessary to pull that off.

It was the second--enemies arising from within the body itself--that must have surprised them. Had those leaders been as trusting and naive as many of us, they would have expected all the worshipers to be loving and gracious, faithful and trusting, and would have been blindsided by tyrants arising from their own number.

So, Scripture warns us to be alert, to be watchful in both directions.

This is not the pastor's job alone. Granted, he is charged with this responsibility. But in a congregation of hundreds or even thousands, he needs eyes and ears other than his own. He needs the deacons and Sunday School teachers--note that we are assuming them to be godly and mature--to keep their eyes and ears open, their antennae up, to remain always vigilant.

They are to watch out for the devils in their midst, plainly put.

Rebecca Nichols Lonzo's new book, "The Devil in Pew Number Seven," ought to read by every pastor and leader.

In the 1970s, Rebecca's father went to pastor a small Holiness congregation in rural North Carolina. Everything about it seemed normal at first. The people were warm and gracious, they built a new parsonage, and they appreciated Pastor Nichols' messages. There was, however, one problem.

The devil sat on the last row, in pew number seven. And he ran this church.

The League of Church Members Extraordinary

(The First in a Series of Articles on Finding People Within the Congregation Who Need Us)

Yesterday, as the receptionist at the medical specialty clinic checked my wife in for a procedure, she handed me a small lighted gadget. "When it goes off," she said, "they're through in the back and will be coming to get you."

We're all familiar with these things. What are they called--buzzers? They fit in the palm of your hand, they're operated by batteries, and restaurants use them for patrons awaiting tables. When they go off, lights flash, the buzzer sounds, and the thing vibrates.

Pretty handy.

Perhaps this is what the Holy Spirit does when alerting believers to opportunities for ministry, something important to note, a critical moment that has arrived.

Lights, buzz, vibrate.

Pagers. That's what they are called, my daughter-in-law informs me. It brings to mind former days when bellhops would roam hotel lobbies with notes on silver trays, calling out, "Paging Doctor Smith," or whoever. Rumor held that some insecure individuals actually arranged to have themselves paged that way in order to alert others in the lobby to their presence.

Is there a Bible verse that promises the Holy Spirit will alert us--page us--to opportunities, needs, moments? I'm still searching for that.

But it's true. It happens. Everyone who goes to work for the Lord knows those moments when the Spirit nudges us. Go back and give to that homeless man. Get up and speak to that lonely soul. Call her back and ask her to forgive you.

"He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." (Psalm 23:3)

Now, I'm proposing that every church needs to have at least four teams of workers--probably unofficial, nothing really organized--who will focus on people in the congregation who need our help. As always, be the Holy Spirit who alerts them to the individuals who need them.

What are the four teams? They are four uniquely gifted groups who focus in on four specific kinds of spiritual needs.