Barnabas File

When I was a member of ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) in college, I was a member of a drill team called the Pershing Rifles.   The national organization was named for General of the Armies John J. Pershing.   I read the brief history of the organization and knew that Pershing was commander of U. S. forces during World War One, but I knew little else.   In this readable volume , John Perry gives an overview of a man we can identify as the first modern military commander along with the forces that shaped him. Pershing’s life story parallels the story of America.  Born during the Civil War, his journey from a middle class American upbringing to service on the western frontier and then in Cuba and the Philippines is tied to the growth of the United States from a frontier society to a colonial power and world influence.  Along the way, Pershing learned many lessons that molded his view of military strategy and national service. Perry does a good jo...

Note:   This is the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Stones River.   In memory of those who fought and died there, my blog today is an updated repeat of an earlier blog posting about a visit to the battlefield. One Saturday about five years ago, Rita and I took our eight-year-old grandson, Noah, to visit Stones River National Battlefield here in Murfreesboro. This is the site of the Battle of Stones River, an engagement that lasted from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863. The battle is characterized by historians as having the largest percentage of casualties on both sides, a total of 23,515--some 13,600 on the Union side and about 10,600 on the Confederate side. Once inside the Visitors Center, we found ourselves in front of a map showing the initial deployment of forces. This produced Noah's first question: "Which one is our side?" This led to some discussion. His mother's family grew up in the South--Mississippi and Alabama--and she was born in Tenness...

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,  but only the Father. ”—Matthew 24:36 The fact that this is my 666 th blog posting on Barnabas File seems appropriate since so many Christian associate that number—“the number of the Beast”—with the end times, and some  people expected that the world would end today based on some interpretations of the Mayan calendar.  As of this writing, the world has not ended. This type of thing comes along regularly.  Christians have been anticipating the end of this present world since the time of Christ.  Various millennialists, chiliastics, prophets, and seers arise from time to time to proclaim “the end of days.” Some modern Christian sects have been founded on such calculations and then their leaders have done some fancy interpretation when the date arrived and everyone was still here.  The predictions continue, however. In connection with the present prediction,...

I f you read my last post, you will remember that I talked about making yourself indispensable.  Here is the other side of the coin.  How do you go about making yourself dispensable? At one point in my denominational career, I was looking for a person who would become my associate.  The executive director of the state Baptist convention had one word of advice: “You need to find someone who could step in and take your place if you were hit by a truck tomorrow!”  Not very subtle, but his comments make sense.  There are certain things that you have learned how to do that you can pass on to others.  This not only calls out new talent but makes a smooth transition to new leadership more likely. Andy Stanley provides a similar challenge when he tells his staff members, “You should always be training someone who could step into your position.”  So how do you make yourself dispensable? How can you prepare someone to take your place? First, you nee...

Several years ago, I made this challenge to the ministers with whom I worked:  “How can you make yourself indispensable this year?”  My challenge was predicated on the idea that they should discover something that they offered to students, churches, and other stakeholders that would be missed if it were no longer present.  Was I asking them to seek ways to assure their job security?  Probably. As I think about this now, I would still ask the same question but my motivation would be different.  I would be more interested in these individuals identifying the ministry, service, or relationship that each one could offer that was unique to each of them as an individuals. I have often thought about this quote:  “What are the things that you should do, what are the things someone else should do, and what are things no one should do?” I would add to this, “What is the thing that only you can do?”  In other words, if you don’t do it, it won’t get don...

Every year our church’s Denominational Relations Committee leads a month-long emphasis on Baptist heritage. The approach each year is different, but the point is to remind us of who we are as a Baptist congregation.   Someone asked this year, “Why talk about denominations in a post-denominational age?   Aren’t we beyond all that?”   The answer would be “Yes” and “No.” To understand what we mean by post-denominational, we must consider how we use the term “denomination.”  If you are talking about judicatories, conventions, and bureaucracies when you use the term “denomination,” then we are well on our way to being post-denominational in the United States.  Even in churches that embrace a connectional or hierarchical approach to church government (Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, etc.), less attention is being paid to what the “denomination” (read national leadership and governing bodies) decides and what a church as a local expression of that...

Earlier this week, I visited with a friend who has publicly declared that he is no longer a part of his Southern Baptist-related state convention.   After many disappointing experiences, he has come to see that the denomination is no longer relevant in a world with significant spiritual and physical needs.   It has forsaken the sacred trust given to it by devoted Christians over the years. My friend is going through period of grief and a sense of loss.  He will always be a Baptist in his heart but he feels estranged from the faith tradition that literally gave him birth.  His experience certainly reflects my own.  Twenty years ago I was struggling with my own role within a denomination that had invested much in me and which I had attempted to serve and support for all of my life as a minster.  I had been faithful to that faith community but found it going in a direction I perceived as destructive and irrelevant. During that time I shared my con...

As I read through a list of seminary students involved in a preaching event, I noted that where their faith traditions were listed that a number indicated that they were “non-denominational” or “interdenominational.”  I don’t remember anyone putting “none.”  I would love to hear their definitions of these terms, but let’s just assume for a minute that by using either of these terms the student is saying one of two things:  “I belong to a church that is not related to a particular denomination” or “I am not committed to a particular faith tradition.” This seems to be a growing trend for some students in theological institutions.  Many schools have diverse student bodies and enroll students from a number of denominational backgrounds, but some students indicate that they are not part of any particular denomination.  My friend Dick Olsen at Central Seminary comments that he often asks students in a particular course to read fifty pages about their denominati...

I touched off a heated conversation one time when I said to a friend, “I don’t treat my children equally.”  My friend was troubled by my statement, so I tried to explain.  Each of my children is a unique person.  Each has been gifted by God in a special way.  Their placement in sequence of birth assured that there would be a difference in the environment in which each of them grew up—whether you are first, second, or third in birth order does make a difference.  I do want to treat my children fairly and I have attempted to do so, but I don’t have one standard approach in the way that I deal with them individually. This concept also applies in the area of leadership.  Each person on your staff or in your church or organization is a unique individual.  If you come up with a policy that you will treat everyone of them in exactly the same way, you show a lack of awareness for their abilities, circumstances, and needs.  You are not being fair to...

Rita and I had lunch this week with a young couple who ministry in a predominantly Islamic South Asian country.  They do not work for a denomination, but they affiliate with a Christian organization.  They have a clear vision of what God has called them to do in that particular setting and are investing their lives there. I always learn something new when we visit, and I came away from this meeting with a fresh understanding about the key values of their work.  These values could well apply to other ministries as well. First, their work is Kingdom-oriented.  This could be expressed in a number of ways, but the primary purpose of this ministry is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and his reign.  Through the death and resurrection of Christ, the Kingdom of God is already breaking through.  Their mission and ours is to tell people about this incursion and invite them to follow Christ in this movement.  Second, this ministry is contextual....