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What A Difference A Year Makes

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 7 Comments

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of one of the most infamous end times predictions to date.  Harold Camping and his Family Radio called on Christians to prepare themselves for the end of the world, the date of this cataclysmic event?  May 21, 2011.

Camping stated he had figured out through numerology and probably some complicated algebra problem that the Bible predicted the end of the world and if you looked closely enough you would find the date.  This wasn’t Camping’s first trip to the rodeo when it comes to end times predictions.  In 1994 and 1995 he made similar predictions, but this one gained some momentum largely in part (I believe) due to the internet.

Any time a Christian minister makes bold predictions it garners national attention.  For days leading up to the fateful day, news organizations from around the world held interviews with Camping as well his followers.  On May 20, people waited with bated breath to see if anything would happen in Australia.  I thought this was interesting that the notion of the end of the world was supposed to start  across the International Time Line.  The International Time Line is a human construction; Camping was banking that God subscribed to the International Date and even Day Light Savings time to ensure the end of the world.

Of course, May 21, 2011 came and went and nothing happened, we are still hear.  Camping tried to revise his claim and stated that May 21 was the spiritual judgment and the physical judgement was to come in October.  That date as well came and went.  Finally Camping declared that humanity was not supposed to know when the end of the world was going to be and therefore we should stop worrying about it.

In the wake of the prediction, hundreds if not thousands of people spent their money and said their good-byes for nothing.  One report came out that a family in New York had racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt because they thought the end of the world was coming and no one would come calling for their payment. (Greedy?)

Time Magazine called Camping’s prediction one of the top ten failed predictions of all time.  (Read it here)

People have been trying to figure out when the end of the world is going to be for millennia, the newest craze is the Mayan Calendar which goes out sometime in December 2012.

The fact of the matter is that it doesn’t really matter when Jesus is coming back or when the world will end; what matters is what followers of Christ are going to do in the mean time.  Are we going to sit around and just wait or are we going to try to bring a piece of the “pie in the sky” Heaven here on earth?  Brian McLaren (not sure if he is the originator of this quote or not) stated that we needed to stop teaching the Bible as an evacuation plan, but rather a transformation plan.  This is was the fault of the May 2011 prediction.  While they firmly believed that the world was going to end instead of trying to transforms people’s lives by allowing them to experience the same Christ they had experience they posted billboards and ran radio spots.  No billboard, picket sign, radio commercial or even blog post will ever be as effective as personal, one-on-one, communication and contact.

Jesus was with the people.  He didn’t sit from a throne and bark orders or look smugly down his nose at the outcasts of society.  No, we got his hands dirty and mingled with people who most wouldn’t have touched with a ten foot pole.  He transformed lives with his presence.  We have ability as well.

It won’t be too much longer until we get another bold prediction and we will have to re-visit this.  But in the meantime, let’s start transforming the world.  It’s a big place and we have a lot of work to do.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

“What Does Your Church Believe?”: Part II- Freedom of Belief

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 7 Comments

This is the second installment of my “What Does Your Church Believe?” series. Last week I discussed the notion of open communion and the importance of it in DOC theology (click here for Part I). This week we will look at “Freedom of Belief.”

Back in the 19th Century when the what is now know as the Disciples of Christ was beginning to form as a movement, one of the pillars that many lifted up was the notion of freedom of belief. Our founders came out of a Presbyterian background. While there is nothing wrong with being Presbyterian, the founders did not like the use of creeds in worship and as tools for believing the ‘right’ types of things. Over time the motto of the Disciples of Christ became “no creed, but Christ.” This means that we are called as followers of Christ to seek out a relationship with God in a way that is meaningful for ourselves, just as long as we center our beliefs on that idea that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.

We all come from different backgrounds, life experiences, socio-economic status, generations and education levels. We are NOT going to interpret the same thing even though we are reading the exact same passage. Some passages that were meaningful to us five years ago do not mean as much today. I like to give this example. My daughter, Violet, was born on February 1. On January 31, passages in the Bible that mentioned parenting, God as a loving parent, or that the people of Israel were God’s children, it not mean as much to me as they did when I read them on February 2.

Now if there was just one interpretation, who would get to decide which was “correct?” Would the Catholic interpretation be favored over the Baptist interpretation? Would the Presbyterians be “more correct” than the Methodists? As you can see this would cause major dissention between the denominations (and there is already enough of that to go around.)

Does Freedom of Belief mean you can believe whatever you want? In sense no. When reading the scriptures one has to remember the original intent of the book or passage one is reading; we can’t make the Bible “say” something that it never was intended to ‘say’ in the first place. The Disciples of Christ sum it up by stating “Persons are free to follow their consciences guided by the Holy Spirit, study and prayer, and are expected to extend that freedom to others.” The key here is extending grace and acceptance to others. We may not all believe the same things, we may all see something different when it comes to the Bible, but if we are grounded in the one essential of faith, Jesus Christ, then everything else is secondary.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

And You Wonder Why People Aren’t Christians: Part II

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 5 Comments

Last week I posted a video about a minister in Florida who burned the Koran as an act of protest and I stated that this was one reason why people were not Christians.  (Read about it here)

Here is another example.

One question that I am asked at least twice a month (if not more) is “what do you think about homosexuals?” More often than not people ask me these deep theological questions I am usually getting my haircut and I can’t move.   Generally I have to bite my tongue and give them a smart alec answer.  Knowing this is a particularly sensitive subject for some people and one that elicits strong reactions I generally have to tread lightly.  I get a wide range of beliefs from people, some people are totally for the inclusion of homosexuals without questions, some are completely and utterly against it and some are of ‘hate the sin, love the sinner’ mentality.  Due to other Christian’s reaction and somewhat fascination with homosexuality (I’m talking to you Westboro Baptist) many members of the homosexual community do not feel welcomed or loved in church.  This is a travesty.

Enter, Pastor Sean Harris the minister of Berean Baptist Church in Fayetteville, NC.  Harris made national headlines when in a sermon he advocated to basically ‘beat the gay’ out of your children (on the heals of a state-wide election on same-sex marriage, which the state ultimately voted to keep marriage between one man and one woman).  During his sermon he said,

“Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist… Man up, give them a good punch, OK. ‘You’re not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you’re going to be a male.”

He continues and says that girls should be girls and wear dresses and smell good.

Hear part of the sermon here

On his blog, Pastor Harris tries to explain himself and says he was taken out of context, but he really doesnt explain himself fully.  You can read the entire post here.

He writes:

I apologize to anyone I have unintentionally offended. I did not say anything to intentionally offend anyone in the LGBT community. My intent was to communicate the truth of the Word of God concerning marriage. My words were not scripted. It is unfortunate I was not more careful and deliberate. I can understand how these words could be misunderstood without the context of years of ministering to the people of God at Berean Baptist Church… I have learned from this and will seek to be more articulate and deliberate with my words in the future.However, I do not apologize for the manner in which the Word of God articulates sexual immorality, including homosexuality and effeminacy, as a behavior that is an abomination to God.

So did he apologize or not? Basically he said, “I am sorry for what I said not that I dont believe I was right to begin with but that you took it offensively.”   Not really the greatest of apologies.

According to the CNN Belief Blog, Harris stated, “No, I don’t think that I need to apologize for preaching to my people what the word of God says. That’s my responsibility.”

Did God really say that?  Should the basis of your understanding of homosexuality based on a couple of scriptures?  Where is the acceptance that was shown to all people even the outcast and the despised by Jesus Christ himself?  Has Pastor Harris taken the gospel of love and made it into the Gospel of proper sexual orientation?  Of some people would argue that if it was that important to Jesus why didn’t he ever say anything about it?

Whether or not you believe homosexuality is sin, the fact of the matter is that love has to be at heart of all conversations and ministries.  Not many Christians ministers aren’t preaching about obesity being a sin or that women aren’t covering their head during worship or people arent greeting each other with holy kisses.  Why not the same fervor with these?

The issue here that because these Christians are not ‘preach the word of God’ they have missed the word of God.  Too many things have been done in the name of Christianity and that is why many people have left.  The homosexual debate is one that is not going away anytime soon but it can if Christians who are called to be followers of Christ put into practice what Christ advocated for.

People can interpret the Bible based on their own understandings and upbringing but when does it cross the line?  Pastor Harris’ comments out of context or not crossed that line.  It made every Christian look like they disliked other homosexuals, you could not be a homosexual and a Christian and that one of the charges of Christians is enforce predetermined gender roles on our children.

When my wife was in college she had to take education courses for her teacher certification.  One day the class was on teaching Kindergarteners and some said in the class that they did not stop boys from playing with Barbie dolls and did not stop girls from playing with Tonka trucks.  My wife told me she heard someone behind her say “I’m not letting my son play with dolls.  I dont want him to be queer.”  Odds are Pastor Harris would agree.

Christ came to restore all people back to wholeness and completeness with God.  Christ did not come so all homosexuals would get released from their “egregious sin.”

The church is called to bring wholeness to all NOT advocate for people hit their children because of the preception they are giving off.

Christians should not stand for a “man of God” who is charged to profess the gospel to speak just vile words in the name of their risen savior.

Would Pastor Harris say we should hit our children if they are getting fat and want another cookie?  I mean, gluttony is a sin right?

This debate is far from over and because of the actions of North Carolina and of the President I believe it just getting started.

Hopefully we wont have any more sermons like this one… here’s hoping.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

Sermon- “But I Chose You”

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

Sunday I preached a sermon entitled “But I Chose You” based on John 15:9-17.

Sermon Link

 

Enjoy!

 

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

“What Does Your Church Believe?”: Part I- Open Communion

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 4 Comments

This is Part One of Five in Series about the Christian Church (DOC).  I have been a Disciples since my birth and I find that five major tenets or pillars that the DOC professes are some of the reason why I am ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) today.

Below is a summation (albeit brief) of what I believe and feel about the practice of open communion.

How do you as ministers or fellow followers of Christ handle the question “What does your church believe?”

Last week I introduced this series.  We will be looking at the five major tenets of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  This week we will start with open communion.

Communion is at the heart of our worship time together.  We partake of it every time we get together.  It is a reminder of the last night that Jesus with his disciples and according to the scriptures instituted this ordinance.  The Preamble of the Design of the Christian Church (DOC) states “At the Table of the Lord we celebrate with thanksgiving the saving acts and presence of Christ”

But for centuries the communion has been at the center of heated church debates: who could receive it?  How are we to partake it?  Do we use actual wine?  Do you serve communion before or after the sermon, do you take the offering before or after communion?  Is the bread a symbol or the actual body and blood of Christ? And on and on and on.

In the Christian Church (DOC), we do not have a formal doctrine per se of communion, but we do have some guidelines.  One thing that sets us apart from most other denominations is our practice to have an open table.  An open table means that the invitation is given to all people, no matter their race, creed, church membership or affiliation.  Christ invites all to the table to commune with him and with God.  There are no qualifiers to partake, there are some special hoops to jump through, just an open invitation by Christ himself.

In Disciples churches around the world the practice of communion is one that is done is a myriad of ways.  Some congregations pass trays with little cups and little pieces of bread, each one are serving another.  Some partake communion by intinction, where members come to a common loaf and a common cup to dip the broken bread in to the chalice.  This symbolizes that we are all from the same family of faith and that we all welcome at the table of the Lord.  No one way is right and the other way is wrong, rather they are both meaningful expressions of the beautiful ordinance of the church.  It does not matter how you partake, rather that if you are so moved that you have the option to partake.

Michael Kinnamon wrote a book entitled, “The People Obsessed With Bread.”  This is a good description of the Christian Church (DOC).  Communion reminds us of the ever-presence of God and thorough simple elements we are transported back to the night in which Jesus was betrayed.  So why not  remember that every time we get together?  Sure doing communion every Sunday can become a bit mundane and routine, but we are called to remember Christ’s death and each time we take the bread and cup we wait expectantly until Christ comes again, to restore the world back to the very good place it was intended to be.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

Picking and Choosing

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

Food for thought… Are we as Christians merely ‘selecting’ the parts of the Bible or the Gospel we like and ignoring the others?
Can one truly live out the gospel completely, in its entirety?

Transitions: Let the Journey Begin…

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

Change is never easy.  The future is never as quite as clear as you would like it to be.

One of my seminary professors told me once “Remember you are always someone’s interim.”  As a first year seminary student I remember hearing those words and thinking that once my time was over at a church it wouldnt be that bad.  Boy was I naive…

Our time in Orange will soon be coming to an end. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we wait patiently on Gods next calling to ministry.

So yes, we will be searching for a new church, a new place to call home.  We would ask for your prayers and thoughts as we trying to sell our house in this crazy housing market as well as listen for God’s call for the future.

Misconceptions About Christians: Part Four

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 2 Comments

Here is my fourth installment of my “Misconceptions About Christians” series for the Orange County Record.

If you missed the first three misconceptions read them now!

This is the fourth installment in the series “Misconceptions About Christians.”  So far I have discussed three misconceptions: that being a Christian one must read the Bible literally, that being a Christian means you have to go to “church” and that TV minister/evangelist are representative of all Christianity.  Today we tackle another misconception.

I was walking through a parking lot the other day and I saw a bumper sticker that made me stop to examine it more closely.  It was a blue sticker with white words and a yellow Christian cross; it read “Christian Democrat.”

Misconception #4- Being a Christian means that you have to vote for Republican candidates and conservative ideals.

Generally I shy away from mixing politics and religion.  It is of course the two things we are warned do not mix.  We are taught this adage for good reasons, people are passionate about their faith just as they are passionate about their ideals about how the country should be run and organized.  But somewhere along the way the two were interlinked and interconnected.

When did it become the norm that stating that you were a Christian meant in the same breath you were saying that you supported conservative ideals?

Christians for years have been reading the same Bible and yet due to their life experiences and personal understanding of God glean a completely different interpretation.  Christians for the most part have never been unified on much of anything.  Debates, often heated ones, are still raging today over women in ministry, homosexuality and contemporary music.  Debates and differences are nothing new to the church and the Bible has been at the center of most of them.  For the most part, the Bible has been used for and against war, used for and against slavery, used for and against accepting homosexuality and the list goes on and on– the same book at the center of all it.

Christians are free to express their understanding of God and Jesus Christ in the world in a variety of ways.  Some take to the streets and feed the homeless and needy, some fix up homes for those who are unable to do so, some go door to door inviting neighbors and strangers to church.  It is the same when it comes to government as well.  Some Christians believe that government should be as giving and caring as Christ was, some believe that charity should be the work of the church; herein lies the problem.

Most Christians would not object to some people living out the gospel by feeding homeless people, but once you start making statements about politics, then all bets are off.

Why do Christians who agree with the philosophies of other political parties than the GOP have to resort to bumper stickers to show that they are different?  Does the fact that some punched their ballot for a person with an “R” or a “D” by their name really matter?  How is this any different than having a different interpretation of the Bible?  For some people being a Republican or Democrat and Christian is fine, but there are some who believe that the Bible commands all of Christianity to come under the banner of the conservative movement.  This is not what Christ came to this earth to do. Christ did not come to start a political party or even support one; yes, Jesus was political in his time, but he did not ever want to be President of the United States of America.

With all of this said, this does not mean that our faith does not inform our political assertions.

If Christians are supposed to be about sharing the love of Christ in the world today, why bring politics into the matter?  Should politics be in the church house?  Maybe… but then again maybe not.  Does it matter if someone votes for a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Green Party member and still calls themselves a Christian? No, it does not.  The church has bigger problems to worry about than whether or not a particular party’s candidate is in office come November.

Milestone: 1000

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 2 Comments

FireworksI know it’s not much but its something to celebrate in my book.

On May 5, 2012 this blog received its 1000th hit!

I launched this blog on February 28, 2012 so after 67 days I broke the 1000 hits mark.  That is average of 15 per day!

I just wanted to take some time and say THANK YOU SO MUCH!  Thank you for reading, thank you for sharing!

HERE’S TO NEXT 1000!

(“Fireworks” available under the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/malfet/4881325010/)

“What Does Your Church Believe?”: The Beginning of a Series

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

I wrote this for my church’s newsletter and I thought I would share it on here as well.  I will be posting this series as they come out.   How do you respond to people when they ask you “what does your church believe?”

Enjoy!

As a minister I am often asked “what does your church believe”?  I try to explain to them that within the walls of our church (and more than likely theirs as well) we can have a wide range of beliefs on most issues.  Generally this is a bit puzzling for them.  The follow up question is usually “doesn’t that cause problems within the church?”  I usually smile and say “all the time, but that’s OK with me.”  I truly believe what I said.  Conversations about our faith and the questions that arise are vitally important.  People today are seeking answers to life’s biggest questions.  For many years people turned to the church to help ‘sort out’ their inquires but sometimes the answers they received were not good enough.  Today, for the most part, people do not want to be told want to think or what to believe.  They want to experience it for themselves and have a place to discern and evaluate their experiences.  This is where the church comes in.  The church needs to be a place of openness, a place where the questions are asked and the discussions are held.

As members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we pride ourselves on being open and accepting of other belief systems and interpretations.  We want to have discussions about faith and practical matters.  That is why our founders believed in the motto “No creed but Christ.”  We are called to live out our faith in a way that is in accord to teachings of Jesus Christ.  If we are able to believe and affirm that Jesus Christ is the son of the Living God and offers saving grace to all of God’s children, everything else is just secondary.

I have heard it said that Disciples of Christ churches are the ‘best kept secret’ or ‘if people just knew what we stood for, they wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.’  Well for the next five weeks I am going to be discussing the some of the theological beliefs and practices associated with the Disciples.  This will be by no means an exhaustive account but it should give you a good foundation to build from.

We are never too old to learn, grow, change, think, rethink and think again about the issues of faith. Our faith is never stagnate.   I hope that this series will be one that is informative as well as challenging.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan