Better or Worse

In 1992 Francis Fukuyama wrote an interested book entitled, The End of History and the Last Man. In that book he wrote this:

"The experience of the twentieth century made highly problematic the claims of progress on the basis of science and technology. For the ability of technology to better human life is critically dependent on a parallel moral progress in man. Without the later, the power of technology will simply be turned to evil purposes, and mankind will be worse off than it was previously."

Now I have no idea where Fukuyama stands spiritually, but I can probably guess after reading his book, but that does not matter. The issue is not his spiritual standing; the issue is his statement above. Is it valid?

We tend to look at technology as a panacea - something that will solve all of our social and educational ills. Today's technology is no different than yesterday's; the computer, the horse or the car... all must be created or managed by mankind. Technological advances, no matter what they are, better no one and save no one on their own. We can examine history and see evidence of how technological advances, initially used for good, were eventually used for evil. Does that mean we do not continue to create and invent? Absolutely not!

But, it does mean that we must understand culture to understand where we currently are in relation to the past. Fukuyama is right in the fact that the moral progress must not stop. Sadly, it's progress has slowed. Somewhere along the way, morality became a weakness, a sickness, if you will, of which we must be cured.

It is interesting that Fukuyama makes this statement early in chapter one of his book, goes on to examine the Industrial revolution and its role in history, democracy and its relationships to fascism and communism, and, yet, never comes back to visit this idea of moral decline. Instead, he ends chapter one pointing to this idea of betterment as he writes,

"As we reach the 1990s, the world as a whole has not revealed new evils, but has gotten better in certain distinct ways. Chief among the surprises that have occurred in the recent past was the totally unexpected collapse of communism throughout much of the world in the late 1980s." 

Today, in 2011, we struggle with many things. In our country alone, we have two parties who have lost the ability to debate on issues. We have a national debt spiraling out of control, an economy on the brink and a polarized nation. Why? When morality is removed from the our national psyche everyone is right, all the time. There is no equation for unity because 1+1=1.

Morality is the fiber that strengthens the national fabric in ways that allow for difference and debate. When there is no moral fiber there will be no debate because the fabric is weak and frail, especially in the middle. The middle is where the real work gets done, and where the moral fiber is strongest. It is the moral fiber that brings the many different pieces of fabric together in order to have one large quilt made of many different pieces of fabric, each important and distinct in their own way. The moral fiber takes all those differences and brings them together, forming one strong quilt. Without the moral fiber, each individual fabric stays isolated and becomes paranoid and protective, and all actions are for its own purposes and protection. Sound familiar? Better or worse, that may not even be the question any more? Blessings! 

Inservice Talk

I have posted my opening comments from this year's In-service below.

Psalm 86:11

“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I fear your name.”

This is my fourth year at Westminster and this year I want to set a new tone; that is, not my tone but His. We all care deeply for this school, or we would not be here. I desperately want Psalm 86:11 for all of us this year, to walk in His truth and not mine, to have an undivided heart and not a divided one, and to fear His name and not each other, but in order for that to happen we have to identify that which holds us back and keeps us from moving ahead.

I wake up every morning fighting it; I get caught up in my day and forget that the way I look at life is through my addiction: myself. We are all addicted to ourselves in some way, shape or form. I expect you to be like me and you expect me to be like you – we are not alike because we were created by a Holy God to be different. If it were up to me, I would want us to unite in me, in what I know, in who I am… but as long as that is my tendency, unity in Christ will never occur. I need you, and you need me no matter how insane and insecure we are. We need each other. How can we hope to impact the culture around us if we continue to struggle with each other?

Today, as a school, it is time to move into a new light, and there is only one way to do that – unity in Christ. Most of you are saying, “I have heard this before, but how?’ I believe it begins first with a choice and an action. Today, we have a choice to make; are we going to sit, listen and agree, but then walk away unchanged and into the same routine as before or will we seek new ways and take that step of faith forward? Do you want to stay the same or are you like me – sick of the same struggles? We must choose to change and then act on that choice each day.

In my reading times and prayers, I keep running into this idea: more of Him? We must choose more of Him and act on that choice. But, that is such a general statement; of course we need more of Him, but how? I think it starts with a real question: Do I really believe that He is all that I need? Do you? Psalm 86:11 gives us a picture of more of Him: to learn His ways, to walk in His truth, to have an undivided heart rooted in Him and to fear His name. So, you’re sitting there saying, “Fine, how do we do this?” I think I finally know where we can begin.

First, we must be real with ourselves and with each other and that means asking real questions like: are we better this year than we were last year? Do I trust my fellow faculty and my administration? These are real questions we all wrestle with, and they have real answers, but our worldly tendency is to stop at the answers. Those that agree with us we welcome into our camp, those that don’t, well, they just don’t “get it.” Sound familiar? I say those things all the time. I believe as important as answers are (and they are important) He calls us beyond the question and beyond the answers. In order to go beyond the questions and answers, we must, first, depend on scripture as much as humanly possible. Real answers excite me, but I can not forget about the Biblical process because if I do, I will stop at the answer and stay there. The process is as important as the product, as it helps guide us forward past the answers. What does this process look like?

Real answers must first be obtained through His prescribed process; we must follow Matt 18:15 with each other! We can’t just talk about. We can’t just expect others to follow it. We must follow it. This is our first new action toward a new light because the old way is to agree and do nothing, but the new way is to agree, to act and to change. Second, real answers are great, but they will be detrimental to us if our only motivation for seeking them is to surround ourselves with those who have the same answers as ours, and, to be honest, that is the reason for most of our questions. Asking real questions with this as our only motivation will not bring unity of any kind to you, me or our school. Scripture demands something different from those who believe: we are to ask real question that lead to real answers, but we must not stop there. We must listen to those real answers… all of those real answers – those we agree with and those we do not. Why? Because the process is not finished; I believe we are to go beyond those answers because the answers, as real and as important as they are, are to lead us NOT into confirmation that we are right, but instead into true relationships with each other.

This summer I discovered this wonderful truth; it is not only about the answers (and I love answers), but it is also about the relationships with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Christ is not just found in His word, but He is also found in His Believers! What did Jesus say? “Where two or three gather in my name I am with them.” And this verse comes at the end of a passage dealing with the sinning Brother. It is a prescribed process of restoring the sinning Brother back into unity and fellowship with other Believers. I imagine the sinning brother had some answers that were not in agreement with the church, and those must be dealt with, but in the passage, the process does not stop with answers (as important as they are) but moves beyond answers and into the restoration of a relationship. We must strive each year, each month, each week and each day for this unity, and this kind of unity is not found in our answers but in Him.

As I conclude, let me ask a real question, and I want you think about it for a moment: are we moving in the right direction (give a moment to think)? Your minds are thinking of many different things regarding this one seemingly simple question (you may even think, how ambiguous a question). The question is purposefully ambiguous in order to bring home this point: right now, there are many different answers to this one question. Each one of us is called to provide a real honest answer to that real question, not to find those who agree with us, but to begin to build relationships with those who agree with us and those who do not. Seeking only those who agree with us is the old way and will lead no where. We must understand that our answer, regardless of what it is, is meant as an opportunity to enter into a true relationship with fellow Believers leading to a unity that is in Christ and not in our answers. We are not to define each other by our answers but by who we are in Christ. As we unite and build true relationships, we will discover that it will take all of us in Christ to discover His answers. And, then we can move forward as a body defined by Christ instead of one divided by its answers to questions. We will always have different answers to questions and we should, but those answers should never define us. Christ defines us!

So, what do we do now? Well, I don’t have an equation or formula, but I do have an idea for a beginning, and that beginning is peace. This summer our SS has been going through the Peacemaker series. One of the points hammered home to me is this: the Word states that we are to seek… peace with each other! Those who seek peace do so to discover more of Him and less of themselves… isn’t that what we want our school to be – more of Him and less of us. Isn’t that were true unity in Christ is – less of us and more of Him?

Consider Jesus as our example:

Luke 7:50 “Your faith has made you well, go in peace.”

Luke 8:45 “Your faith has made you well, go in peace.”

This idea of faith and peace… we, in faith, are to seek peace, and I believe we are to seek it with each other first!

Psalm 35:20 “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

Is this not our calling as Believers… this peace with each other, is it not a daily pursuit worth all of our efforts? Can we accomplish anything without it?

I’m no theologian, but in my prayers I believe that to begin, we must seek peace with each other first. Peace is only found in relationships built in Christ and never in our answers. So, I believe we have two major priorities this year: our first priority is to be peacemakers and not peace –fakers or peace-breakers. Which are you? I am a peace-breaker by nature because I want to be right, and I want to be in control. As long as it is about me, it will never be about Him. Peace must be my goal, and it must be your goal. Collectively, when we strive for peace we will get less of ourselves and more of Him, and that is what we desperately need. Our second priority is to be forthright with our… goals because they will require our united efforts this year and every year. Blessings!

What am I learning about reality?

We all deal with the question of reality every day! What is real? Is this picture really moving, or is my trusted sense of sight deceiving me? Is Jesus Christ real? Did he live, die and rise three days later from death? The world asks these questions every day; do we answer them?

There are no special words or chants to be said. There is no special sermon or special prayer to pray. It is God alone that saves, but I believe we can provide our answers to these questions when we Christians learn to live in love and unity.

I am learning some valuable lessons these days from two churches that have agreed to host our school for the next year. Both of these churches are different than the church I currently attend, which I love. Both have agreed to allow our school to use space for the next year while we wait for our new building to be finished. Both are currently working with us to ready space for the coming year. For me it has been pure joy to work with these people.

And, what do we have in common? Well, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and it is Jesus that unites us because we try to place Him first. I am sure there are many things that could divide us, but when we make every attempt to put Him first, we tend to come together in Him and for Him.

When we put aside our agendas, our pride, our selfish ways, our issues, and our desire to want it our way...something wonderful happens...unity in Christ.

I said I was learning some things these days. Well, I am learning to listen a little longer. I am also learning that submitting to another fellow Believer...is a wonderful experience. I am learning a lot from our students as they come every day and work hard! And finally, I am learning that the things that look impossible to us feeble human beings are always possible when we put Him first and trust Him to provide!

What is real? Life in Christ is the only real thing I know right now. He is always with me at work, at home, in difficult times and in good times. It is only through Jesus that all that has come together could have come together, but the sad truth is that tomorrow...I will not appreciate what He has done for me today. I will be like everyone else; I will forget the miracles of today and rush into what I need for tomorrow. I will make my needs more important than others, and I will make sure they are urgent... and, in my own sinful self-centered way, I will forget all about what...You, O' Lord...have done for me today. May it not be! Lord, help me to slow down and take time to marinate in your word and in your daily miracles.

And, that is my prayer for each of you. Blessings!