What Are We Sowing?

Here is an interesting line of thinking that I read yesterday:

Sow a thought, reap an act.
Sow an act, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Let's commit to sowing compassion, joy, goodness, truth, mercy, peace and kindness today! Because that's the kind of character we want God to form in us. And I pray that we fulfill the good destiny that He has for us.

An Honest Search For Truth Is A Good Thing

An honest search for truth will involve hard questions, penetrating questions. Never fear that these questions are wrong. Don't worry that God might be offended by direct and difficult questions. GOD IS TRUTH. And that means that an honest search for truth will never offend Him or intimidate Him. In fact, an honest search for truth by an open, willing, genuine seeker will lead to God. See Jeremiah 29:13.

Alright, alright . . . For those who don’t have time to look up Jeremiah 29:13, here’s what it says, “You will seek me [God] and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Wisdom and Understanding

The Roman orator Cicero described "understanding" as knowing which things should be sought after in life and which things should be avoided in life. When I read that I thought, "Wow, just think of how our lives would be improved if we were very, very, clear on what we should be seeking after and what we should be avoiding." I'm hoping that we will all have clear understanding today. I could use it! How about you?

Leading By Example . . . That's What's Needed

This article originally appeared in the Southtown Star Newspaper, August 9, 2009.

==============

It is unfortunate, to say the least, that one of the most significant aspects of true leadership appears to be embarrassingly absent in so many leaders today, whether it be in politics, business, religion, education, or media. And this missing aspect is arguably the most effective quality of true leadership. The missing aspect is: leadership by example.

Where are the leaders whose lives will authentically show us what their many words seem to be indicating? I don’t think people expect leaders to be perfect; we know they are human. However, we are all looking for some consistency between words and actions.

For all of the talk about different values in our culture, most leaders of the key influential cultural institutions still speak passionately about the importance of certain fundamental values that most people—no matter their background or worldview—can agree upon; values like: courage, generosity, compassion, integrity, responsibility, justice, human dignity, honesty, freedom.

Are we seeing clear examples of these values being shown to us in the lives of the various leaders in our nation? I suspect I could guess how the majority of people reading this would respond.

The authority and influence that so many leaders in our culture yield is merely the authority and influence that come from wealth, or position, or the respect—fading respect—that some people still have for the institutions they lead. And this authority has been greatly diminished precisely because people can see the lack of consistency between the stated values and the lives of the leaders. Some of our political leaders are an extraordinarily sad example of this inconsistency between talk and actions. Their disconnect in this regard is shameful. But they are certainly not the only ones.

As a leader in a church I am acutely aware that the authority and influence and credibility of my leadership is very directly tied to the degree to which my life matches what I teach. I confess the need to do much better, with God’s help. One of my old friends used to say, “Talk is cheap.” That’s an uncomfortable truth for a preacher to confront. But it is true, nevertheless.

Philosopher, Dallas Willard, writes, “ . . . what we know of human nature seems clearly to indicate that insight on how to live can be provided effectively only by those who are prepared to lead the way by example. Only by showing how to live can we teach how to live.”

It is high time for more business leaders, religious leaders, political leaders, media leaders, and education leaders to courageously show the way.

Dan Marler
Oak Lawn, IL

Review of "Truth and Transformation" -- What Do We Look Like To An Easterner?

Truth and Transformation, written by Vishal Mangalwadi

Interesting and profound. But also, insightful and troubling.

This book is insightful in diagnosing what has strongly contributed to Western Civilization's unparalleled achievement, development, prosperity and success. (Yes, I'm using the word "success" even though I know it is a loaded word.)

Mangalwadi points to the historical influence of biblically-centered moral values; the biblically-directed pursuit of rationality; the biblically-centered institution of marriage and sexual mores; and other foundations of Western culture. His argument for the positive results of this biblical influence is powerful and persuasive.

One of the interesting distinctions that Dr. Mangalwadi makes is the difference between the Church's influence on Western culture and the Bible's influence on Western culture. He tends to look more favorably on the Bible's influence. I realize that many people would assume that there would be no difference between the two, but the author believes that there is. If you disagree, I'll let you argue that with him. I'm just pointing it out here because I found it to be interesting.

On the other hand, the book is troubling because over and over again Mangalwadi asks some variation of this question: Why is the West abandoning the biblically-oriented cultural morals and values that have been so central to its success?

Part of what gives the book an extra edge is that the author brings such a unique viewpoint to his observations. Dr. Mangalwadi is a Christian intellectual (some folks aren't even accustomed to seeing those two words together) who was born and raised in India and educated in philosophy at secular Western universities. So, he observes and analyzes the West with something of an "outsider's" perspective.

I believe many Christians who read this book will be motivated to pray for spiritual revival and a fresh commitment to the pursuit of truth--God's truth.

Dan Marler

Has God Messed With You Lately?

I asked a friend recently, “What have you been reading these days?”

She said, “I read this book ‘Crazy Love’ by Francis Chan. And God has really been messing with me, as a result of it.”

So, I picked up a copy of “Crazy Love”. It’s a quick read. And God’s been messing with me, now, too.

Oh yes, I’ve thanked my friend for contributing to my nights spent laying awake staring at the ceiling, pondering these matters. But she just laughs at me and says, “join the club, bub.”

I think Chan has a gift for challenging one to seriously grapple with questions like:

· Am I really committed to God and not just playing a game?
· Is there evidence of a true commitment to God in my life?
· Am I really trusting in God or does my life reveal that I have back up plans and insurance policies in case God doesn’t actually come through?
· If my faith in God could possibly seem “strange” to those who don’t walk with God, isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?


The questions listed above may or may not be found in the book, I don’t recall for sure. I’m just saying they are the types of questions that I found myself pondering as I read the book.

One of the questions that definitely is in the book is this one that was posed to a class in which Francis participated back in Bible college: “What are you doing right now that requires faith?” It’s an interesting question for an authentic Christ follower to ponder. Is there anything you are doing in your life, right now, that truly requires faith?

“Crazy Love” is likely to get you thinking and provide a good and important challenge to your faith in God. In fact, He might just “mess” with you as a result of reading this book.

Dan Marler
Oak Lawn, IL

E-Flash From Dan, June 3, 2009

Dear E-Flash Friends;

Hey, whacha’ doin’ this Sunday?

Bull fighting in Madrid? Bungee jumping in Rio? BMX racing in L.A.?
(Reading a book in Oak Lawn?)

See, that’s my point. Whatever you’re doing, it probably won’t be near as interesting as what’s happening here at church. We have a special guest speaker coming to our church this Sunday, June 7th, at 5:30 p.m. His name is Rick Green. Rick is a successful author, former Texas State Representative, co-host of a daily radio talk show “Wall Builders Live!”, professional speaker, and former stunt double for Scott Baio on “Joanie Loves Chachi”.

. . . Alright, I’m just kidding about the stunt double line, but all the rest of it is true.

Rick will be doing his talk on “America’s Religious Roots”. What were the intentions of America’s founders regarding the role of religion and morality in government and the civil arena? What did our Founding Fathers actually write and say about the matter? Rick will be giving us a tremendous amount of interesting, helpful information in regard to those questions.

He’s a great speaker. Funny. Interesting. Insightful. Challenging.

And Rick is going to do a Q&A time with the audience following his talk. I’m really excited about this portion of the evening because I believe some of us will have questions about his subject matter and this will be an opportunity for us to dialogue with a person who is an expert on the these issues.

We still have tickets available and there will be tickets available at the door Sunday night. The tickets are $5.00 and we are only selling tickets in order to help pay for Rick’s expenses, not to make a profit on the event.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

Blessings,

Dan


P.S. Also, this Sunday morning at 9 am & 11 am, we have a wonderfully gifted speaker who loves God. I can’t mention his name because of legal copyright issues but his initials are D.M. He has grey hair and an odd, overly active imagination. The title of my . . . oops, I mean “his” talk is: “What Not To Do . . . What To Do”, from Ephesians 4:31&32. Can you think of someone you could invite? Come on, take a risk!

E-Flash From Dan, May 23, 2009

E-Flash Friends;

Because of the planning that is a necessary part of church work, I’m often thinking about projects and sermon series and church events that will be happening 3 or 4 or 5 months from now. (If you have any good ideas for a Christmas message, let me know.)

I was in that “advance planning” mode for a while, earlier today—thinking about some issues that will be coming up for us in the fall. And in the midst of my “fall” planning, it occurred to me that summer hasn’t even arrived yet. (When I start to forget about summer, you know something strange is happening because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE summer, it’s my favorite season. I’m pretty sure it’s God’s favorite season, too.)

Many of us typically have some vacation time in the summer and do some traveling, so BE CAREFUL, if you’re planning on traveling. We love you and want you to come back safe and sound.

But don’t forget that we have some fun things coming up this summer, too.

On Sunday, June 7th, 5:30 p.m., writer and speaker Rick Green will be speaking here at our church, in person. (I know, technically, that’s still not summer yet.) If you haven’t gotten your tickets, there’s still time. Five dollars per ticket, simply to pay for the expenses, not to make a profit. Rick is an expert on issues of church and government and the writings of the American founders regarding their intentions on the role of religion in government and society. Hope you can make it. This will be a great learning opportunity.

Also, our children’s ministry, Promiseland, kicks off their summer-time theme on June 28th. That will great fun, as well as, great spiritual learning for our kids. (The Promiseland picnic will be at the end of July, this year. That’s always a riot! And I say “riot” in the best sense of that word.)

Also, wait to you hear some of Chris’ teaching this summer. He will draw us to God and deliver the Word with power and effectiveness.

Also, our church will be participating in a spiritual growth survey later in the summer. You’ll be hearing more about that later, but I thought I’d stir up a little curiosity, for now.

I’m switching gears, now, so this won’t have anything to do with what I’ve written up to this point. Hope you don’t mind an abrupt change in thinking. I had a conversation this week that reminded me that churches can get so wrapped up in doing the next thing on the agenda that we can move along without God, if we’re not careful. It’s not intentional, when something like this happens. Nobody means to leave God out of the equation, but we can get too busy doing things and just don’t notice.

I don’t want that to happen. We don’t want that to happen. We need God! Our church is here because of Him; and only because of His goodness and grace. We exist to help people connect with Him and know Him and follow Him and worship Him and serve Him. I realize these might be unusual thoughts to communicate in an e-mail message, but even now, I pray that God would be a part of everything I do and everything that we, as a church, do. In fact, I would greatly appreciate it if you would take a moment, right now, to invite God’s presence into everything you do today, this week, this summer, the rest of this year.

An authentic encounter with God is what changes our lives. That’s what we need! I’m hoping that lots of people are saying “Amen!!!” right now.

Alright, I know this has been a lengthy message. I’ll wrap it up. Thank you for taking the time to read it.

I love you, but more importantly, God loves you.

Blessings,

Dan


P.S. I’m sending this on Saturday afternoon/evening, so, by the time many of you read this, it will probably be too late for me to invite you to the service on Sunday, May 24th. We will be dealing with “Practical Advice About Anger”. This is a very relevant and helpful teaching from God’s word. If you receive this message after the services on May 24th, then I’m inviting you to the services on Sunday, May 31st, “Can We Make God Sad?” That will be interesting and helpful teaching, too. Really. I promise.

Will There Be Tolerance For The Unfashionably Religious?

Some Christians, particularly those who hold to traditional understandings of the teachings of the faith, feel that they are encountering a subtle—or sometimes not so subtle—intolerance of their beliefs. This is especially true when it comes to matters that have to do with sexual behaviors and mores.

If your religious teachings hold that sexual intimacy is only to be expressed between a man and woman, within the confines of a marriage relationship, it’s pretty obvious from a casual perusal of virtually any TV show, movie, popular magazine, zany morning radio show, etc., that you are hopelessly old-fashioned when it comes to the opinions of those who are most influential in shaping opinions, these days.

I suppose some people might be inclined to say, “Oh well, too bad, you uptight religious nuts!” And then have a good hearty laugh.

And, frankly, to be laughed at or mocked because of your religious convictions could properly be considered an honor. And it could certainly fall into the category of: That’s the least I could do for God. (Though, to be really honest, most of us don’t like it very much.)

But my concern is this: Will this relatively harmless mockery and—at this point—fairly subtle intolerance of these traditional beliefs become an increasingly overt intolerance of traditional beliefs?

Several people have cautioned me, in recent months, “Hey Dan, your biblical teaching is going to be labeled illegal ‘hate speech’ at some point in the future.”

Is that true? I don’t know. I have had a notoriously difficult time trying to predict the future. But it’s going to be interesting to see if those who have in the past claimed to speak on behalf of a robust tolerance for other viewpoints will now be willing to extend tolerance to the increasingly un-cool and unfashionably religious among us.

Dan Marler

Oak Lawn, IL

www.VisitUsOnline.org

College--Do You Remember How Much Fun It Was?

I wish I would have known, at the time, how much fun I was having. Oh, I was enjoying myself and that was evident to me. But I didn’t realize during those college years that getting out of school and having a job was going to require so much time and effort and attention. People actually expect me to work and be productive every day as a condition of giving me a paycheck, it’s nuts!

So, I tell my son—who will be starting college this year—to cherish every moment. I tell him, “Pay attention to the little things because they go quickly. These will be some joy-filled, fun and low-stress years of life.” [Of course, that’s assuming that you choose your classes with the same strict attention to “lack of difficulty” that I did.]

But right after the words “pay attention . . . ” come out of my mouth he has already left the room and the rest of the deep and profound advice that I offer is left unheard.

When I try again, later, to speak these words of great wisdom to him, he simply stares at me with a look of sadness and pity.

“Mom,” he tells his mother, “he’s trying to be profound again. I think he’s been reading fortune cookies, or something.” And he turns up the volume on his I Pod while I stand outside tapping on the window. (They keep telling me they’re going to give me a key to the house one of these days. That’ll be cool, if that happens.)

I think back and wistfully ponder those college years. I wish someone would have told me to savor them more fully. But, then again, if someone would have, I probably would have turned up the volume on my “record player” as I put the gigantic, bulky headphones over my ears and continued listening to some awesome “Foghat”.

The Simple Truth

I recited a poem I have written at the service last Sunday, May 3rd. After the service, a couple of people asked me for a copy of the poem. Well, as you can imagine, I got all excited and began to envision having a book of poetry published. Unfortunately, this is the first and only poem I've ever written. So, I'm printing the poem here with great excitement.


The Simple Truth

The truth.
It seems so simple, doesn’t it? Just tell the truth.
But, of course, you can slice and dice with the truth.
Or, you can be very nice with the truth.

You can hurt with the truth.
You can flirt with the truth.

You can laugh with the truth.
You can cry with the truth.
But you can’t really ever lie with the truth.

“Does this dress make me look fat?”
You might avoid the truth.
“I’m considering getting this large skull and crossbones tattooed on my face, what do you think?”
Proclaim the truth!

“No such thing as truth” . . . some people say.
“Truth doesn’t matter” . . . they tell us.
But we all know better.

If the person sitting next to you knows the truth . . . don’t look at him.

The truth . . . it seems so simple.


Dan Marler
May 2009


P.S. This poem was read in a message titled: "It's Simple, Just Speak The Truth In Love". To hear the entire message go to www.VisitUsOnline.org and click on "media", then on "messages".

How Does A Guy Who Doesn't "Know Anything", "Know" So Much?

This is a review of the movie/documentary "Religulous" by Bill Maher.


I thought “Religulous” would be more antagonistic toward religion than it was. Oh, don’t get me wrong, Bill Maher makes it very clear that he does not like religion, actually, that’s probably putting it gently. He believes religion is a significant aspect of what’s wrong with our world. If he doesn’t say it in those exact words, that’s the basic gist of his message.

And it’s not just that he doesn’t like religion, he feels that religion is a form of stupidity that no rational, thinking person could possibly accept. In fact, often, his argument against the religious beliefs that he encounters is simply to smirk and have the attitude of, “Oh, come on . . . !”

But even allowing for all that, the movie wasn’t quite as mean-spirited toward religion as I thought it might be.

I, also, thought “Religulous” would be funnier than it was. There were some moments and there were a few good lines. One of the lines that made me laugh was when Maher was describing his experience in catechism class, as a kid. He referred to it as “vast stretches of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.”

But, let’s face it, religion and religious people provide lots of material for comedy—and I say that as a devout Christian believer and pastor of a church. In fact, there are a number of “Christian” comedians who have mined church life and the basic Christian experience for great hilarity. Although, come to think of it, people probably find comedy at the expense of their religious experience to be much more palatable if it comes from another believer who is basically saying, “Aren’t WE pretty funny, sometimes?”

Well, I got a little sidetracked, there. My point was that “Religulous” had some amusing moments but for a movie about the pitfalls of religion, made by a well-known professional comedian, I thought it would be funnier. [Before I submitted this review, I read a few of the other reviews and noticed that many of them considered “Religulous” to be very funny, even, “hilarious”. So I guess we see, once again, that “comedy”, like “beauty”, is very much in the eye of the beholder.]

But, that brings me to my final point about the movie. In some ways, it probably wasn’t as funny as one might have expected because there’s a serious edge to it; there’s a “message” to this movie. Throughout the movie, Maher, describes himself as someone who is merely asking questions, a doubter, a skeptic, he refers to himself as someone who “doesn’t know” and he insists that none of us can really know with any degree of certainty about the big issues that religion raises. And, yet, the flaw in Maher’s logic is that he actually does claim to know some things. And his movie has an agenda that is driven by the fact that he is certain of some things, foremost among the things that Maher knows is the “truth” that ALL religions are wrong, false and ultimately very bad for our world.

If you think about it, that’s quite a vast, comprehensive and impressive thing to “know” for a guy who “doesn’t know” but is merely asking questions.

Dan Marler
Oak Lawn, IL