Suzanne Pleshette, age 70, died two days ago of respiratory failure. She had received chemotherapy in 2006 for lung cancer. I remember her best as Emily Hartley,
Bob Newhart’s wise and amiable schoolteacher wife.
When the Bob Newhart Show entertained a faithful TV, our family laughed along with millions of viewers. Having worked in Chicago’s Loop during my student days at Moody Bible Institute, I chuckled every time the program’s introduction showed Bob walking across a Chicago River bridge on his way to the office. I took the same route every workday afternoon to reach my jobsite at 22 W. Madison Street, just west of State Street. Sometimes, the trek across the bridge in winter was brutal. I know how Bob must have felt.
A couple of Christmases ago, our son Brian gave us a DVD series of Bob Newhart shows. I wish TV programming would return to the simpler but funnier times of the likes of Bob, my favorite psychologist, and his wife Emily. We don’t have much wholesome entertainment that makes us laugh about now.
Suzanne Pleshette’s death offers a stark reminder that death is inevitable and life is brief. I used to think 70 was a ripe old age. Now that I am 72, 70 doesn’t seem old. I suppose, if the Lord keeps me alive until 82. I won’t think 80 is old. But life does move along at a fast pace, bringing us inevitable to our final breath on planet Earth.
Unlike life on Earth, life in eternity never ends. But each of us must choose in this life where we will spend eternity. I’m glad the Lord persuaded me a long time ago to trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior. Heaven is my eternal home.
The experience of walking across the bridge over the Chicago River is etched in my memory, but the experience of crossing the bridge from sin to salvation and from Earth to heaven is etched forever in my soul. Jesus is the Bridge.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
My Spiritual Birthday
January 18 holds great significance for me. Fifty-six years ago, on January 18, I became a Christian. About a thousand teenagers and I had gathered at the Armoury in St. Catharines, Ontario, to view the Bill Pierce film, “The Gathering Storm.” While viewing this film, I was impressed with the victorious faith of Korean Christians when tested by militant Communists. That night, I knelt by my bed and received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Less than two years later, I enrolled at Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, to study for the ministry.
I became a pastor at age 22, and have never lost the wonder of the salvation message. Jesus loved even me, died for my sins, and arose triumphantly from the grave. Nor have I tired of proclaiming this message. It is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
I will be engaged in pastoral visitation today in the vicinity of Penrose, Colorado, about 35 miles southwest of Colorado Springs, and I will be taking the message of salvation with me. It is as relevant now as it was 56 years ago!
I became a pastor at age 22, and have never lost the wonder of the salvation message. Jesus loved even me, died for my sins, and arose triumphantly from the grave. Nor have I tired of proclaiming this message. It is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
I will be engaged in pastoral visitation today in the vicinity of Penrose, Colorado, about 35 miles southwest of Colorado Springs, and I will be taking the message of salvation with me. It is as relevant now as it was 56 years ago!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Trilingual USA
I grew up in a bilingual country, Canada, but I attended college in the United States and moved to the U.S. on a permanent basis in 1960. Five years later I became an American citizen. I don’t remember when I dropped “eh” from my vocabulary. Now, I think I am living in a trilingual country in which our languages are English, Spanish, and slaughtered English.
Case in point: the editorial page of yesterday’s local newspaper features a column about the presidential race. The title in large boldfaced type announced, “Whomever wins the Oval Office faces daunting budget tasks.” This title employed neither English nor Spanish; it used slaughtered English.
It isn’t always easy to figure out our relatives, is it? “Who,” “whom,” “whoever,” and “whomever” are relative pronouns that trouble many speakers and writers; but try to remember “who” and “whoever” are subjects, whereas “whom” and “whomever” are objects. Is it asking too much of journalists to get it right?
“Where is it at?” is another example of slaughtered English. So is, “He was laying at the side of the road.” We don’t have to use “at” with “where,” and we should not use “lay” unless an object follows it. It’s is right to say, “After laying my book on the computer desk, I decided to lie down on the sofa.”
Preachers, too, may be guilty of using slaughtered language. It isn’t kosher to say, “This verse applies to you and I.” Nor is it appropriate to say, “Please move closer to the front of the church and fill the empty space between you and I.”
The English language has rules. Let’s try to follow them, eh?
Case in point: the editorial page of yesterday’s local newspaper features a column about the presidential race. The title in large boldfaced type announced, “Whomever wins the Oval Office faces daunting budget tasks.” This title employed neither English nor Spanish; it used slaughtered English.
It isn’t always easy to figure out our relatives, is it? “Who,” “whom,” “whoever,” and “whomever” are relative pronouns that trouble many speakers and writers; but try to remember “who” and “whoever” are subjects, whereas “whom” and “whomever” are objects. Is it asking too much of journalists to get it right?
“Where is it at?” is another example of slaughtered English. So is, “He was laying at the side of the road.” We don’t have to use “at” with “where,” and we should not use “lay” unless an object follows it. It’s is right to say, “After laying my book on the computer desk, I decided to lie down on the sofa.”
Preachers, too, may be guilty of using slaughtered language. It isn’t kosher to say, “This verse applies to you and I.” Nor is it appropriate to say, “Please move closer to the front of the church and fill the empty space between you and I.”
The English language has rules. Let’s try to follow them, eh?
Monday, January 14, 2008
Trust Your Pilot
Boarding a commercial airplane can be a scary experience, especially if you spot a fellow passenger who fits your preconceived image of a terrorist. But an equally scary experience for me is that of seeing a pilot who doesn’t fit my preconceived image of a trustworthy pilot. In my thinking, the person who sits at the controls should look like Mr. America or Wonder Woman. I want a pilot that inspires confidence. I would feel uneasy if a Barney Fife look-alike in a pilot’s uniform stepped into the cockpit. And I wouldn’t feel at ease either if my pilot wore trifocals. Maybe these are just personal hang-ups, but I’m guessing you have them too. Deep down inside I know it doesn’t matter what a pilot looks like if he knows what the instruments look like and how to use them. All that really matters is his ability to have everything under control from takeoff to landing.
I don’t know what Jesus looks like, but I do know He is always in control. He holds all authority in heaven and on earth. Nothing escapes His gaze. Nothing slips from His grasp. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Nothing thwarts His purposes. He protects all who trust in Him, and He will land all of us safely in heaven someday.
—Jim Dyet, from The Anchor, © 2008, Haven Ministries. Used with permission.
I don’t know what Jesus looks like, but I do know He is always in control. He holds all authority in heaven and on earth. Nothing escapes His gaze. Nothing slips from His grasp. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Nothing thwarts His purposes. He protects all who trust in Him, and He will land all of us safely in heaven someday.
—Jim Dyet, from The Anchor, © 2008, Haven Ministries. Used with permission.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
How Can We Reach Our Post-Christian Culture?
“Pastoral ministry is far different now than it was in the 1950s,” a pastor friend intoned as he pushed his coffee cup aside and leaned across the table at Village Inn. “Somehow churches must find fresh ways to reach our post-Christian culture!”
Maybe these words were intended to educate me. After all, I am in my seventies, and what do seventy-somethings know about twenty-first century culture? We aren’t expected to know how to Google let alone know how postmodernists think? We grew up in an era of music with a melody and lyrics with a message. We based our theology on the Bible, not on our feelings. We learned to respect authority and to believe biblical truth was absolute. We didn’t always live up to the truth, but we didn’t try to reinvent it to fit our personal taste.
I didn’t try to convince my pastor friend that a seventy-something preacher might know something about postmodern culture, but I pondered his challenge long after we had emptied our pot of coffee. First, I acknowledge that new ways of reaching today’s culture are not wrong just because they are new. I’m all for using high tech means to reach a generation keyed in to i-Pods, Blackberries, Bluetooth, the Internet, cell phone cameras, GPS, video games, Tivo, MP3s, YouTube, MySpace.com, modems, and gigabytes. Second, I believe it helps to know how our contemporaries think if we hope to persuade them to believe the gospel. However, in our efforts to reach the culture are we running the risk of letting the culture reach us?
Here’s what I mean. Knowing our post-Christian culture is biblically and theologically ignorant, do we pare away essential biblical and theological words from our vocabulary and replace them with user-friendly ones? For example, do we cringe from using words like “sin,” “saved,” and “Hell,” and replace them with words like “mistake,” “a relationship with God,” and “eternal disappointment”? Do we opt for songs and choruses that appeal to the emotions but bypass the intellect?
Knowing our post-Christian culture is biblically ignorant and ambivalent about— or even bereft of—morality, do we give our churches a makeover in order to project an image of unconditional acceptance of all who want to continue a lifestyle that offends God? If a church hopes to persuade such non-believers that it is totally loving and non-judgmental, its leadership must avoid passage of Scripture that define morality and decry immorality. The desire to increase attendance figures must not squelch the desire to be loyal to God’s Word.
Much of our post-Christian culture believes truth is what works for you in a given situation or moves you at the moment. Touchy feely is in; thinking seriously about propositional truth is out? Discovering “truth” for oneself is hot, learning what is truth from some authority figure is not!
So how do we reach the culture? It may sound simplistic and old-fashioned, but God’s Word communicated in the power of the Holy Spirit through personal witness is still the way to reach any culture—even our culture. The book of Acts reports evangelistic successes in cultures ignorant of the gospel, thoroughly pagan, and morally corrupt. The apostles and other first-century followers of Christ did not conform to those cultures; instead, they confronted them. They boldly declared Christ crucified for sinners, buried, and risen; and they presented the Christian life as one of faith and perseverance. They did not suggest for a moment that Christianity’s purpose is to build self-esteem and make everyone enjoy a warm fuzzy feeling.
The first-century proclaimers of the gospel took to heart not only their obligation to “teach all nations” (Matt. 28:19). Their boldness and effectiveness were fueled by the fact that their Commander-in-Chief had risen from the dead and held “all power [authority]” . . . “in heaven and in earth” (v. 18). The same risen Savior’s authority and the same mission rest with us today and for future generations of believers in every culture. We do not have to adjust the message to accommodate the culture; we simply need to declare it to rescue sinners.
The apostle Paul wrote that he was “not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). Can you conceive of Paul surveying the pagan, immoral Corinthians to find out what would attract them to Christianity and then constructing a “worship celebration” that catered their tastes? Of course not! He reminded the Corinthian church: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God . . . . And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 1:18; 2:1, 2).
If the clear, uncompromised declaration of the gospel could penetrate the Corinthian culture, it can penetrate ours. Although so many of our contemporaries embrace humanistic philosophy, they also exhibit an intense desire to be in touch with something beyond themselves. They pursue parapsychology, new age attitudes, and pseudo-spirituality.
The culture of first-century Athens was similar to postmodern culture. Philosophers congregated daily on Mars Hill to discuss philosophy and hear new ideas. Monuments throughout their city attested to the Athenians’ polytheism. And then, along came Paul. He declared the Athenians were “in all things too superstitious” [too religious] (Acts 17:22), and he observed they had erected an altar to “the unknown God” (v. 23). Obviously, their religion was inclusive and groundless.
So how did Paul get through to the Athenians? He defined the true God, called for repentance, predicted judgment, and announced that Jesus had risen from the dead (vv. 24–31). Was this the wrong approach to use in a culture ignorant of the Bible and Christian terminology? Decide for yourself! Verse 34 reports positive results. Certain men, including a government official, a woman, and others believed.
In addition to biblical preaching, personal godliness can impact our post-Christian culture. Paul urged the Christians in Philippi to “do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye maybe blameless and harmless, the sons of God, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:14, 15). Their godly life would pierce the darkness of the culture that surrounded them.
How brightly does the light of modern-day Christians shine into our dark culture? Do we offer a personal witness to postmoderns by word and deed? We know evangelism is not the sole responsibility of pastors. Every Christian has been commissioned to be an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), and our ambassadorship demands that we represent our Lord well by leading a Christlike life.
Many years ago, lamplighters strolled our cities’ sidewalks at dusk and lit streetlamp after streetlamp. When asked by a young boy what he was doing, one lamplighter answered, “I’m poking holes in the darkness.” Perhaps at no previous time has the moral darkness been as thick as it is today. Each us should be poking holes in the darkness. Let’s not underestimate the influence we exert by paying our bills on time, by being honest, by showing kindness, by offering a helping hand and a listening ear, by maintaining a loving family life, by keeping our language pure, and by presenting a clear picture of unity in our local churches.
I readily admit we are living in challenging times. Many of our contemporaries are clueless about the gospel and fail to believe the Bible is God’s absolute Truth, but let’s not abandon the preaching of the gospel and a godly personal witness as the means to reach them. The gospel is still the power of God unto salvation, and a godly personal witness is still the salt that makes others thirsty for the truth. We may change our methods, but we must not change our message.
© 2008, Jim Dyet
Maybe these words were intended to educate me. After all, I am in my seventies, and what do seventy-somethings know about twenty-first century culture? We aren’t expected to know how to Google let alone know how postmodernists think? We grew up in an era of music with a melody and lyrics with a message. We based our theology on the Bible, not on our feelings. We learned to respect authority and to believe biblical truth was absolute. We didn’t always live up to the truth, but we didn’t try to reinvent it to fit our personal taste.
I didn’t try to convince my pastor friend that a seventy-something preacher might know something about postmodern culture, but I pondered his challenge long after we had emptied our pot of coffee. First, I acknowledge that new ways of reaching today’s culture are not wrong just because they are new. I’m all for using high tech means to reach a generation keyed in to i-Pods, Blackberries, Bluetooth, the Internet, cell phone cameras, GPS, video games, Tivo, MP3s, YouTube, MySpace.com, modems, and gigabytes. Second, I believe it helps to know how our contemporaries think if we hope to persuade them to believe the gospel. However, in our efforts to reach the culture are we running the risk of letting the culture reach us?
Here’s what I mean. Knowing our post-Christian culture is biblically and theologically ignorant, do we pare away essential biblical and theological words from our vocabulary and replace them with user-friendly ones? For example, do we cringe from using words like “sin,” “saved,” and “Hell,” and replace them with words like “mistake,” “a relationship with God,” and “eternal disappointment”? Do we opt for songs and choruses that appeal to the emotions but bypass the intellect?
Knowing our post-Christian culture is biblically ignorant and ambivalent about— or even bereft of—morality, do we give our churches a makeover in order to project an image of unconditional acceptance of all who want to continue a lifestyle that offends God? If a church hopes to persuade such non-believers that it is totally loving and non-judgmental, its leadership must avoid passage of Scripture that define morality and decry immorality. The desire to increase attendance figures must not squelch the desire to be loyal to God’s Word.
Much of our post-Christian culture believes truth is what works for you in a given situation or moves you at the moment. Touchy feely is in; thinking seriously about propositional truth is out? Discovering “truth” for oneself is hot, learning what is truth from some authority figure is not!
So how do we reach the culture? It may sound simplistic and old-fashioned, but God’s Word communicated in the power of the Holy Spirit through personal witness is still the way to reach any culture—even our culture. The book of Acts reports evangelistic successes in cultures ignorant of the gospel, thoroughly pagan, and morally corrupt. The apostles and other first-century followers of Christ did not conform to those cultures; instead, they confronted them. They boldly declared Christ crucified for sinners, buried, and risen; and they presented the Christian life as one of faith and perseverance. They did not suggest for a moment that Christianity’s purpose is to build self-esteem and make everyone enjoy a warm fuzzy feeling.
The first-century proclaimers of the gospel took to heart not only their obligation to “teach all nations” (Matt. 28:19). Their boldness and effectiveness were fueled by the fact that their Commander-in-Chief had risen from the dead and held “all power [authority]” . . . “in heaven and in earth” (v. 18). The same risen Savior’s authority and the same mission rest with us today and for future generations of believers in every culture. We do not have to adjust the message to accommodate the culture; we simply need to declare it to rescue sinners.
The apostle Paul wrote that he was “not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). Can you conceive of Paul surveying the pagan, immoral Corinthians to find out what would attract them to Christianity and then constructing a “worship celebration” that catered their tastes? Of course not! He reminded the Corinthian church: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God . . . . And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 1:18; 2:1, 2).
If the clear, uncompromised declaration of the gospel could penetrate the Corinthian culture, it can penetrate ours. Although so many of our contemporaries embrace humanistic philosophy, they also exhibit an intense desire to be in touch with something beyond themselves. They pursue parapsychology, new age attitudes, and pseudo-spirituality.
The culture of first-century Athens was similar to postmodern culture. Philosophers congregated daily on Mars Hill to discuss philosophy and hear new ideas. Monuments throughout their city attested to the Athenians’ polytheism. And then, along came Paul. He declared the Athenians were “in all things too superstitious” [too religious] (Acts 17:22), and he observed they had erected an altar to “the unknown God” (v. 23). Obviously, their religion was inclusive and groundless.
So how did Paul get through to the Athenians? He defined the true God, called for repentance, predicted judgment, and announced that Jesus had risen from the dead (vv. 24–31). Was this the wrong approach to use in a culture ignorant of the Bible and Christian terminology? Decide for yourself! Verse 34 reports positive results. Certain men, including a government official, a woman, and others believed.
In addition to biblical preaching, personal godliness can impact our post-Christian culture. Paul urged the Christians in Philippi to “do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye maybe blameless and harmless, the sons of God, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:14, 15). Their godly life would pierce the darkness of the culture that surrounded them.
How brightly does the light of modern-day Christians shine into our dark culture? Do we offer a personal witness to postmoderns by word and deed? We know evangelism is not the sole responsibility of pastors. Every Christian has been commissioned to be an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), and our ambassadorship demands that we represent our Lord well by leading a Christlike life.
Many years ago, lamplighters strolled our cities’ sidewalks at dusk and lit streetlamp after streetlamp. When asked by a young boy what he was doing, one lamplighter answered, “I’m poking holes in the darkness.” Perhaps at no previous time has the moral darkness been as thick as it is today. Each us should be poking holes in the darkness. Let’s not underestimate the influence we exert by paying our bills on time, by being honest, by showing kindness, by offering a helping hand and a listening ear, by maintaining a loving family life, by keeping our language pure, and by presenting a clear picture of unity in our local churches.
I readily admit we are living in challenging times. Many of our contemporaries are clueless about the gospel and fail to believe the Bible is God’s absolute Truth, but let’s not abandon the preaching of the gospel and a godly personal witness as the means to reach them. The gospel is still the power of God unto salvation, and a godly personal witness is still the salt that makes others thirsty for the truth. We may change our methods, but we must not change our message.
© 2008, Jim Dyet
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