Thank you for calling Grinch Baptist Church!

I just received a telephone call asking the question, "Do you know any church that is giving out toys for the kids?" My answer was that I do not, which brought my call to a quick end. I'm sure the caller on the other end thinks that our church is not generous, and it's pastor is the Grinch personified.

I guess I should have been more honest with the caller. Our church is indeed giving toys to children. We collected shoe boxes full of toys that will be sent to poor children living on Native American reservations. These boxes of toys help soften the hearts of the people on these reservations to the gospel. We have also committed to provide gifts to 25 children and teens who are residents of the Palmetto campus of the Georgia Baptist children's homes. We hope these kids have a very merry Christmas. What I should have told the caller is that we won't be providing Christmas gifts to her children! Yes I know, that sounds harsh. Now you think that I'm a grinch too. That's ok, I can live with that. But before you judge me too harshly, let me ask you a few questions.

What is the mission of our church? We exist to make disciples of Jesus Christ. That means sharing the gospel with those who need to hear it, assimilating those who respond to the gospel by making a profession in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and training those we assimilate to become mature followers of Jesus. When we have a request from someone to pay their rent, put gas in their car, but them groceries, or buy their kids Christmas gifts, we need to determine whether that will help us to make disciples. If you have any experience dealing with benevolent needs in church work, you know that the vast majority of the beneficiaries never return to the church after they have been helped materially and financially, unless they are looking for more financial help. They generally do not return for worship, fellowship, or Bible study.

Aren't Christians supposed to help the poor? Absolutely we are. The Bible is filled with instructions to help those who are needy. In the Old Testament farmers were told to leave the corners of their field unharvested, and not to pick up anything that was dropped when harvesting, but to leave these for he poor. In the New Testament Jesus says that those who will receive a reward in the judgment are those who clothe the naked, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and visit the sick and imprisoned. Our church does those things. I already told you about our church providing Christmas gifts to children living on reservations and in Baptist Children's homes. We also have a ministry where we prepare a meal and serve the residents of a local homeless shelter once every other month. We just went this past Monday night and had a wonderful time. We fed about forty men, women and children, and even had Santa and Mrs. Clause join us and hand out a few gift baskets.


But there is another side to ministering to the poor also. We can only help so many, and we want to make sure we help those with the greatest needs, and those with whom we have the greatest expectation of being able to share the gospel. That is not to say that those who aren't willing to listen to a presentation of the gospel don't need help. Indeed they do. But if our resources are limited, and they are, then we must try to use them in a way that helps us accomplish the mission of the church.

Additionally, we are called to help people not only with generosity, but with accountability. Those Old Testament farmers didn't gather up the crops they dropped and deliver them to the homes of the needy. The needy had to go to the fields and glean what the paid harvesters left behind. Although Jesus fed five thousand one day, the next day when they came back asking for more, he gave them sound doctrine instead of food (John 6:25-70). At this they turned away from following him.

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." John 6:26-27

A principle we can see here is that although we are to help the poor, we are to use wisdom and discernment in determining which people we help, and how much of God's resources we expend on each.

Can this person help himself?
When an anonymous caller wants to know if we will provide gifts for his children (or food, or help with utilities, etc.) we have to ask, could this person meet this need for himself? People began calling First Baptist Lovejoy in October wanting to know if we would be helping with Christmas gifts for children. When they called, I told them yes we would, but explained that we would be doing so through our show box ministry and the Georgia Baptist Children's home. It didn't take them long to realize that their children were not included in either of those ministries. What I really wanted to say was, "It's just October! You have two months until Christmas. Skip a meal or two, or get a part time job, and you should be able to provide your child with a couple of nice gifts for Christmas." But what about the lady that called today? Christmas is only six days away. Perhaps she has suffered some major last minute setback and now has no way to provide Christmas gifts for her children. Perhaps, but we have no way to know that when someone previously unknown to our church come calling.

On the other hand, what if someone in our church family suffers a major financial setback a couple of weeks before Christmas? Well the fact is, that happened last year. Terri and I talked with a family that needed help, and we bought several Christmas gifts for the child/children (the number of children will not be revealed for the sake of the family's privacy). This year some ladies in our church became aware that another child, who attends our church, was unlikely to receive many gifts for Christmas. They collected money and went shopping for this child. You see, there is a world of difference in those we know who are in need, and those who call claiming to be in need. The people in our church are kindhearted and generous. They give sacrificially when they see a genuine need. But if you never attend church, and then proceed to go through the yellow pages trying to find one that will hand out money or toys, your odds of getting the help you need are not nearly so good.

What can we give you? If we don't know you before you call, odds are we aren't going to be giving you any financial assistance. But if you are looking for a place where you will be wanted and accepted just like you are, we invite you to join us for worship and or Bible Study. If you are looking for a way to be forgiven for the wrong you've done, and accepted by God, we would love to tell you about God's free gift of forgiveness and everlasting life to all who would believe in his son. If you are looking for a place where you can partner with other Christians to make a positive impact on our community, we would love to have you on our team. And if you become involved, as a member or even a regular visitor, when you have a genuine need, we'll be there.

Merry Christmas
Pastor Mike

Golden Compass update

Baptist Press - 'Golden Compass' disappoints at box office - News with a Christian Perspective

I never intended any of my previous posts about Golden Compass to be a call for boycott, only a warning to Christians to make an informed choice, especially with regard to allowing their children to see the movie. A boycott focuses on influencing the behavior of the movie studios and theaters by negatively impacting their revenues. My focus is on protecting the hearts, minds and souls of believers. That being said, it appears the warnings by email and the blogosphere may have had some impact. The Baptist Press article referenced above compares the opening weeks of Golden Compass with those of Narnia.

Although the movie may not have lived up to the pro-Christian Narnia, it seems to me that it has still done well financially, and will certainly turn a nice profit. It is not in the black yet, but it's been out less than two full weeks. It seems to me that is somewhat premature to be hanging a "Mission Accomplished" sign on the wall just yet.

Heisman winner has priorities in order

This week has been a real black eye for sports news. On Monday Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months for his involvement in financing a dog fighting ring. After an embarrassing defeat to the New Orleans Saints on Monday night, Falcons coach Bobby Petrino shocked his boss, players, and fans by tendering an immediate resignation to take the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas. On Thursday senator Mitchell released a list of those in MLB against whom he has evidence of using performance enhancing drugs.

With all of that negative press attention on the sports world, we need to believe that there are still some heroes and role models we can believe in. Perhaps Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow fits the bill.

Click Here for full story

via Baptist Press (BPNews) on 12/10/07

NEW YORK (BP)--Football rates a mere fourth on his list of priorities behind God, family and academics. Even so, in New York City Dec. 8 Tim Tebow became the first college sophomore to win the famed Heisman Trophy in the 70-plus years of the award.

Muslim helps Jews attacked on New York subway - CNN International

How many times have we complained that moderate, peaceful Muslims should stand up and denounce the jihadists? This isn't exactly that, but I think this Muslim man deserves credit for standing up for three Jewish men being assaulted by anti-semites. I wish we could see more stories like this one.

Muslim helps Jews attacked on New York subway - CNN International

via Google News on 12/12/07

New York Daily News

Muslim helps Jews attacked on New York subway
CNN International - 40 minutes ago
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Muslim man jumped to the aid of three Jewish subway riders after they were attacked by a group of young people who objected to one of the Jews saying "Happy Hanukkah," a spokeswoman for the three said Wednesday.
Jewish man saved from attack by Muslim United Press International
Muslim student's aid in New York City subway attack leads to ... WKBT
New York Daily News - The Associated Press - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - New York Post

Is Mormonism Christian?

There has been a lot of news coverage this week about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's speech about the role his faith will and will and will not play in his administration, if he is elected. Romney is a Mormon seeking to overcome concern from many, especially evangelicals, about whether they should vote for a Mormon for president. Many comparisons have been made to John F. Kennedy's speech after receiving the Democrat nomination, about why his Catholicism should not be an issue.

I personally like the fact that Romney is a devout Mormon. The Mormons have a reputation for sharing many of the same values that evangelical Christians do, and in some cases actually living out those values more faithfully than we do. They teach, preach, and live family values, and the sanctity of human life. Just as Joe Lieberman's Jewish faith was not an issue for me in the last election, Mitt Romney's is not an issue for me in this election. I think both men share what we have come to call Judeo/Christian values. Most Mormons I have known personally have been kind decent people. However, just because we share many of the same values does not mean we share the same doctrines.

The teachings of the Mormon church are very different than those of historical Christianity. In the last couple of days Baptist Press has published a series of articles addressing those beliefs. If you think Mormons are just another Christian denomination, worshiping the same God and the same Jesus you do, you need to read up.

Is Mormonism Christian? (Part I)

Is Mormonism Christian? (Part II)

Is Mormonism Christian? (Part III)

What to Say to Mormons When they Knock on your Door | Online Book

What is the Cooperative Program?

I had a church member email me today and ask me what the Cooperative Program is. If you don't know either you shouldn't be embarrassed. But I should. Sometimes as pastors we don't talk about the Cooperative Program very much, and if we do mention it we don't explain it to our people very often. After all, it's not in the Bible, although you can certainly find the principles behind it in Paul's collection from the churches of Asia Minor for the church at Jerusalem.

Here is my answer to the email.

The Cooperative Program is how Southern Baptists fund missions, Christian education (i.e. Baptist Colleges and seminaries), and other ministries of the denominations. Each church decides when they prepare their budget how much they are going to give. It can be a fixed amount, or a percentage of receipts. That money is sent to the State Convention, in our case, the Georgia Baptist Convention. Each state convention decides when it prepares its budget how much it's going to pass along to the Southern Baptist Convention.

The state conventions help pay salaries for Associational Missionaries, they help provide training and assistance to local churches, they may, in cooperation with an association, or with the North American Mission Board, or both, plant new churches, and they support the Baptist Colleges in that state. In our case that is Truett McConell, Shorter, and Brewton Parker. Formerly Mercer, Tift College, and the GA Baptist School of nursing were also Baptist Colleges. The last two are no longer in existence, and Mercer is no longer affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention.

The money that gets sent on from the state funds the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, and our six seminaries and any other national agencies.

In many other denominations, missionaries have to go from church to church raising support from individual churches. When the money runs out, they have to come home on furlough to raise more money. In Southern Baptist life, missionaries come home on regularly scheduled furloughs, and they do visit churches to solicit prayer and support of our mission boards. But they aren't soliciting just for themselves, but for all of the missionaries in the board's employ. In this way all of our churches are cooperating to support our missionaries, seminaries, and other agencies, thus the cooperative program. The agencies are also cooperating, rather than competing with one another for contributions from churches. The State Conventions are cooperating with each other in supporting the Southern Baptist Convention. You might say the missionaries are also cooperating also, in that they raise money for a pool that supports everyone, rather than just their particular ministry. This system (along with the Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong offerings) has allowed us to send out more missionaries than any other evangelical denomination.

For more information click here.

DSL outage hits some AT&T customers -- but not me!

DSL outage hits some AT&T customers
I read about this in the paper and on the Internet, and was surprised that I hadn't had any problems. I use AT&T DSL both at home and at work, and I live in the southeast, the area of the outage.

Today I read more about the outage and it seems the problem was with AT&T's domain name servers. A domain name server is kind of like a directory assistance service, but for IP addresses instead of phone numbers. Every website address is associated with a particular IP (Internet Protocol) address. When you type in http://mike.georgiahardins.com, your computer sends a message to a domain server asking, "What is the IP address for http://mike.georgiahardins.com?" When it gets an answer, then it uses that number (in this case, 66.249.81.121) to request the correct web site.

That explains why I didn't have an outage. I quit using AT&T's domain name servers several months ago. I switched to a free Domain Name Service called OpenDNS. AT&T still provides my Internet connectivity, but when my computer needs to know the IP address for a web site it asks the computers at OpenDNS, not AT&T. That's why I was happily surfing the net while thousands of AT&T DSL customers were cursing their computers.

OpenDNS also allows you to filter your Internet service. For example, if you turn on adult site filtering, and your kid types in http://www.samplepornsite.com, DNS will not return the correct IP address, and your computer will not load the porn site. Instead it will load a page that says pornography is not allowed on this network. Check out OpenDNS. It's free, and instructions for using it instead of your Internet Service Provider's domain name servers is provided on their website.

Sample Blocked Page

Try OpenDNS

My previous post about OpenDNS

The Bible is Full of Lies

Wait! Don't leave in disgust just yet. I believe the Bible is trustworthy and true. I believe 2 Timothy 3:16-17 when it says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." But the Bible still contains many different lies. The first is the serpent's lie to Eve in the garden, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1). God had told them they could eat from all the trees in the garden, except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The next lie is found only three verses later when the serpent tells Eve, "You will not surely die, For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5).

And I think of several more, just in Genesis. Abraham lied repeatedly about Sarah being his sister rather than his wife. Jacob lied to his father, Isaac, in order to steal the blessing of his brother, Esau. Joseph's brothers lied to their father, Jacob, when they told their father that they had found Joseph's bloody garment in the field. Potiphar's wife lied to her husband about Joseph trying to rape her.

This got me to thinking about a book, or maybe just a series of Bible studies or sermons on all the lies of the Bible. Please leave a comment and tell me some of the lies recorded in scripture that come to your mind.

Is it better to have rights, or to be right?

Charge against anti-abortion truck driver dropped | ajc.com

Last week I had the chance to join the staff of the Henry County Pregnancy Resource Center for their weekly "Pastor Prayer Time." I shared a little about that experience here. After our visit I received an email copy of our prayer list, and another email from the HCPRC about a man who had been arrested for driving a truck depicting pictures of aborted fetuses. I placed a link at the bottom of my previous post that not only tells that story, but shows pictures of the truck. I was glad to see in today's news that those charges have been dropped. However, I have mixed feelings about the whole issue. As I see it, there are two separate issues involved. The first issue is the right of Americans to freely express their opposition to abortion, and to seek to persuade others to embrace that position. The second issue relates to the ability of Christians not only to defend the lives of the innocent, but to be able to effectively share the gospel in our culture.

Free Speech

Should an anti-abortion activist have the right, under the first amendment, to display pictures of aborted, fetuses, including bloody, dismembered limbs and headless torsos, on public streets? Freedom of speech is not absolute. The courts have held that communities may limit speech that is considered obscene by community standards. Unfortunately, the definition of obscenity seems to move along a very uncertain sliding scale. What is obscene in one city or state is often ruled not to be obscene in another city or state. And even in the same geographical areas what is obscene in one decade may not be considered obscene in the next decade. I can understand why the courts lean toward allowing rather than limiting speech when the obscenity of the material is open to debate.

I wonder if the purpose of the speech should not be given as much weight as the relative obscenity. Consider the reasons of the founding fathers for including freedom of expression in our Bill of Rights. It seems apparent that having gained their liberty from a monarchy, they wanted to be sure that the people would always have the freedom to hold their new government accountable for its action. Secondly, having gained their independence from a nation with a state church, they wanted to preserve the rights of the citizens of this new nation to worship as they see fit. Therefore the first amendment seems primarily intended to protect political and religious speech. As Christians we are appalled when pornographers and strip club owners hide behind the first amendment. I don't think any of us believe that the founding fathers intended the first amendment be used to protect the right of citizens to profit by promoting the objectification of women and the cheapening of God's great gift of human sexuality. Certainly this type of obscenity should not enjoy the protection of the first amendment, and citizens ought to have the freedom to move about the the community without being involuntarily exposed to such offensive material.

But can the same principle not be said to apply to Operations Rescue's moving billboards? Shouldn't citizens be able to drive down the street without being exposed against their will to such grotesque images? I am a pro-life Christian who finds abortion abhorrent, and yet I don't want to see these trucks in my neighborhoods. But the difference here is not just the level of obscenity, but the purpose of the speech. These images are being used not to profiteer, but in an effort to sway public opinion on an issue with both political and religious implications. With that in mind, I have to say that though I don't wish to see this truck in my neighborhood, I do think Operation Rescue and their driver deserve the protections of our first amendment. Gwinnet County was right to drop the charges against this driver. Now they need to repair the damages they did to this truck, and apologize to the driver.

Christian Witness

This type of speech should be protected. That doesn't make it smart. I know some argue that some who see these images may choose to carry a child to term rather than to have an abortion. I suppose that may be so. But I can't help but think we lose the right to be heard with much of the populace when we result to such grotesque means to get our message across. Certainly images like these have their place. It would be very appropriate to use them in counseling literature in a place like the Henry County Pregnancy Resource Center. When it comes to putting them on the side of a truck and driving around town, I can't help but think that such in-your-face offensive displays simply reinforce the public perception that Christians are a hateful, self-righteous, arrogant hoard. Not only do such displays keep us from being able to engage in meaningful dialogue about the sanctity of human life, but they also close the door for sharing the good news of the gospel. They bring up not the images of a people filled with the love of God seeking to save children, but militants like Eric Rudolf filled with hate seeking to bomb clinics.

Operation Rescue, I hope you will keep your vulgar truck out of my neighborhood. However, if I see it I won't be calling my local sheriff.

Al Mohler on The Golden Compass

Dr. Albert Mohler is the current president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a former editor of the Georgia Baptist newspaper, The Christian Index.

If you can't see all the text below, scroll down to the bottom of the post. There you will find a horizontal scroll bar that will let you move the text over to the left so you can see it all. Or you can click on the link to see it in a Full Window.

War of Gog and Magog - Book Review

I just finished reading a book that was recommended by my friend Derek Leman. Derek is a leader of a Messianic Jewish congregation in northern metro Atlanta. I first met him at a minister's meeting in our association, and couldn't wait to book him in our church. We've had him here twice. Our people love to hear him teach, and I'm quite impressed with him myself. I'm also in the middle of reading one of the books Derek has written, A New Look at the Old Testament.

EPICENTER by Joel C. Rosenberg Rosenberg is the grandson of Jewish Russian Immigrants. His grandparents were orthodox, but his father rejected his faith when he left home. His mother grew up Methodist, but neither parent really knew the Lord when Joel was born in 1967. His background has given him a keen interest in the history of the Jewish and Russian people. He has written a series of fiction works about terrorism that have had an eerie way of coming true, sometimes before he's even finished them, or between sending them to the publisher and having them released. Much of his accuracy comes from his willingness to simply believe what the scripture has to say about the last days. But much more I believe is simply divine revelation. For example, in The Last Jihad he writes about terrorists who use hijacked planes to launch an attack in the United States. There are some differences in his novel and reality. The planes were private, not commercial. The target was Denver, not New York and Washington. But considering he had already written all but the last two chapters when 9/11 actually happened, it's hard not to see divine revelation playing a part. This is just the first of several instances he chronicles where he wrote a fictional account, and reality soon imitated art. I believe God is revealing this to him to let Christians know that we need to listen to him. Rosenberg does an excellent Job of walking the reader through Ezekiel 38-39 and explaining the coming events of the war of Gog and Magog. He provides a convincing argument that Magog is modern Russia, and that Russia's current alliance with Persia (modern Iran) is foretold in Ezekiel. Rosenberg explains why we need to see a nuclear showdown with Iran as a real possibility, and why it is important we act before it is too late. He challenges his readers to have an exit strategy for this coming nuclear holocaust, and tells them just how to do it.