As much as I love to chat about current topics, do not even begin to think that I am okay with being lazy on this issue. If you guys are not faithful to continue growing, I will have to crack the whip on you.. Ask my kids. I am not even kidding.

Another Dose of Wilberforce: Lazy Minds Repent!

In Jesus' summary of the Law, he tells us we are to love the Lord God with all our soul, all our strength, and all our mind (Luke 10:27; Mark 12:23). What does it mean to love God with all our mind? At the very least it must mean a rigorous mental pursuit of God through the Scriptures. This is a fundamental part of developing a biblical worldview. William Wilberforce took to task the Christians of his day for not pursuing God with a strenuous exertion of the mind. Perhaps, we too, could use his words as an encouragement to press on to know God more (Hosea 6:3).

How criminal, then, must this voluntary ignorance of Christianity and the Word of God appear in the sight of God. When God of His goodness has granted us such abundant means of instruction, how great must be the guilt, and how awful must be the punishment, of voluntary ignorance!

And why are we to expect knowledge without inquiry and success without endeavor? Bountiful as is the hand of Providence, it does not bestow its gifts to seduce us into laziness. It bestows gifts to arouse us to exertion. No one expects to attain to the heights of learning, or arts, or power, or wealth, or military glory without vigourous resolution, strenuous diligence, and steady perseverance.

Yet we expect to be Christians without labor, study, or inquiry! This is the more preposterous because Christianity, a revelation from God and not an invention of man, shows us new relations with their correspondent duties. It contains also doctrines, motives, and precepts peculiar to itself. We cannot reasonably expect to become proficient accidentally, as one might learn insensibly the maxims of worldly policy or a scheme of mere morals.

What could you do differently today to love God with all your mind?

To read more of Wilberforce's own ideas, check out his classic work, Real Christianity.

There was a recent movie based on Jim Elliot and his team of missionaries called 'The End of the Spear'. What is interesting is the actual documentary made previous to that called 'Beyond the Gates of Splendor'. In it, you see actual reaction by people in the US when this event unfolded. And the major channels (ABC, CBS, NBC) were broadcasting this event as this nation rallied to pray for the situation.

In this day and age, we seem too distracted to pray for martyrs. What a shame upon us living in this age.

Wiping out Christians

Brutality in Burma

January 31, 2007

A few years ago, I told "BreakPoint" listeners and readers the story of Burma's Christians, in particular the ethnic group called the Chin. As I said, "for many years, crosses dotted the mountaintops and villages in the Chins' homeland," which made sense in a region where 90 percent of the population is Christian.

That's changing, not because the Chin have lost their faith—quite to the contrary. It's changing because the Chin, along with other Burmese Christians, are the preferred targets of one of the world's most brutal regimes.

Things have not gotten better since that first "BreakPoint" broadcast. In fact, according to a leading British newspaper, things have gotten much worse.

The headline in the January 21 Sunday Telegraph said it all: "Burma 'Orders Christians to Be Wiped Out.'" The story quotes from "a secret document believed to have been leaked from a government ministry." The document, titled "Program to destroy the Christian religion in Burma," begins with the line "there shall be no home where the Christian religion is practiced."

In furtherance of this goal, the document provides its intended audience with "point by point instructions on how to drive Christians out of the state." These instructions draw their demonic inspiration from the idea that "the Christian religion is very gentle" and, thus, its would-be eliminators should "identify and utilize its weakness."

While the ruling junta "has denied authorship of the document," it has "made no public attempt to refute or repudiate its contents."

Given its track record, the junta could hardly repudiate its contents. Recently, reports have surfaced that, in one Chin Christian area, "300 [Buddhist] monks" were sent "to forcibly convert the populace." In another area, another monk, working on behalf of the regime, burned down a Christian church.

This is all part of a pattern of persecution, which includes "ethnic cleansing" of Christian minority groups, the destruction of villages, forced conversions, and even rape and murder. It's part of the regime's attempt "to create a uniform society in which the race and language is Burmese and the only accepted religion is Buddhism."

Christians in the West cannot sit idly by and let the Burmese junta get away with this. We must act and defend our brethren.

The first thing we need to do, of course, is to pray. And then we need to educate ourselves about what is going on in Burma and educate other Christians, including our pastors, who should speak out from the pulpit, and, finally, our neighbors. Much of what is done in places like Burma is made possible because the world's attention is diverted. Tyrants count on our being more interested in American Idol than in genocide when they formulate things like the Burmese "Program."

We must also hold our leaders and the leaders of other countries accountable. While the United States has no influence over Rangoon, China has plenty, and that influence, by all accounts, is not helpful. We must make it clear that "doing business" with China doesn't include turning a blind eye to genocide. No amount of cheap goods at Wal-Mart is worth that price.

Even if our options are limited, we owe it to our brethren to try. If the junta succeeds, let it not be on account of our silence.

So, are you like almost every other person out there, or every other 10th person?

George Barna and his group for a long time have attempted to identify the true evangelical. I am sure most of you can attest to the fact that the word has been marginalized — or maybe you don't. Please look with me at the criteria Barna Research uses to identify the "true" evangelical:

1. Personal commitment to Jesus Christ.
2. When they die they expect to go to heaven — because they have been "born again."
3. Their faith is important in their life today.
4. Believe they have a responsibility to witness and share their faith with non-Christians.
5. Satan does exist.
6. Eternal life is possible only through grace, not works.
7. Jesus was sinless on earth.
8. The Bible is accurate in all it teaches.
9. God is an all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.

This criteria had nothing to do with church attendance or organizational affiliation. I am sure I have watered the nine items down a bit, but I think you get the point. Although 38 percent of Americans call themselves evangelicals, only 8 percent actually agree with Barna's key evangelical beliefs. Barna's group even goes so far as to say, according to their research, one out of every four self-identified evangelicals has not even accepted Christ as their Savior.

Thoughts on this?

Asking the Right Question

The War in Iraq

January 19, 2007

The debate over the war in Iraq intensifies in Washington and across the nation day by day. Just last week, I was asked by the Washington Post and Newsweek magazine to respond to a question about the war on their "On Faith" website. The question was: Is the Iraq war just?

It's a question a lot of people continue to argue about. And it was a great question to ask in 2002. Now, in 2007, it's not the right question.

At the time when American troops were first committed to Iraq, the issue was whether the war met the Augustinian "Just War" tradition with its various criteria: like just cause, proper authority, right intention, etc. I believed that just war standards were met by the threat presented.

There were precedents, as well, for a preemptive attack; as Sir Thomas More put it, "if any foreign prince takes up arms and prepares to invade their land, they immediately attack him in full force outside their own borders." But it was a close call at the time, and particularly so now, in light of the failures of U.S. intelligence.

But however the war started, the just war criteria are not in question now. In fact, in all the debate about pulling out our troops, no one is really asking the right question. For better or for worse, the United States made promises and commitments to the Iraqi people. So the question now is this: Is it morally acceptable for U.S. forces to leave Iraq in the midst of the bloodshed?

I know what I'm about to say is not going to be a popular thing. But to pick up and leave would break the promises we have made to the Iraqi people, would leave hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians defenseless, would lead to massive chaos and bloodshed, and would be an act of moral dishonor. It would be akin to what the Allies did after World War II, when they abandoned Eastern Europe to the Soviets and returned millions of Russian refugees and POWs to lands occupied by the Red Army—even though the Allies knew that, for many, it meant death and, for the rest, tyranny. That was one of the most shameful chapters in the history of the West—an abandonment of our most fundamental moral principles.

American policymakers must also consider the serious consequences for American security and for the security of our closest ally in the region, Israel. A total withdrawal now would only embolden al-Qaeda (which is active in Iraq and Afghanistan), and it would embolden Iran, whose president, a Holocaust-denier, has declared publicly and often that Israel must be wiped off the map. I believe that abandoning Iraq now could leave Israel's very existence in question.

As we weigh our moral responsibilities, we need to remember that Thomas Aquinas put the just war doctrine—the idea of government wielding the sword—under the heading of "Love" in his great Summa Theologiae. He did that because being willing to defend innocent civilians is an act of Christian charity.

The job of government biblically is to wield the sword to preserve order and protect life. A policeman in the middle of a gun battle that starts during a robbery cannot just walk away when the shooting gets too heavy. It is his duty as a magistrate to stay and restore peace. Isn't that the same position we are in now in Iraq?

The politicians tell us we should bring our troops home, and everything will be just fine. Sadly, in a fallen world, it doesn't work that way. The innocent will die.

Aim high this new year. Hope your holidays were great. =)

'I Resolve to Transform the Culture'

Thinking Big on New Year's Day

January 1, 2007

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.

What resolutions have you made as you start this new year? I've made a few in the past, a few I'm embarrassed to recall. You know—the kind that last about two weeks.

This year, I'd like to encourage you to consider resolutions that go beyond the small and personal. Consider making at least one big resolution that is focused, not on self-improvement, but on looking outward: a resolution that embraces your neighbors and your culture.

Someone I know who is doing that is Ron Gruber. His modest New Year's goal: to win his prison for Christ.

Ron is a former biker gang leader who has spent years in and out of prison on charges ranging from rape to murder. One day, on the run from authorities, Ron armed himself with a gun and hid in the woods. That's the day, he later said, "When I realized how lost I really was, how much I needed the Lord." He begged for forgiveness—and turned himself in and was sentenced to fifty years.

Not long afterward, Ron enrolled in the InnerChange Freedom Initiative® program launched by Prison Fellowship. He waded through Bible classes, educational opportunities, and vocational training. He apologized to his victims. He began to mentor fellow inmates and pray with them.

In 2005, a unit manager in the segregation unit noticed Ron's ability to calm his fellow inmates. He invited Ron to visit prisoners in the "hole" to see if he could help them with the behavior problems that put them there. Ron agreed on one condition. "I'm not going to talk to the guys about [not] wrestling with the guards," he insisted. "I'm going to tell them about Christ."

Because Ron himself had spent time in solitary confinement, the inmates listened to him—and their behavior began to improve.

Because of his murder conviction, Ron will probably be in prison a long time. What better New Year's goal for him, then, than the one he has chosen: to witness to every inmate in his prison about Jesus Christ?

When it comes to New Year's resolutions, members of our Centurions have a few big ideas of their own as well—great examples for the rest of us. One of them told me, "My New Year's resolution is to teach Christian bioethics to my church family [and] my theology students."

Another Centurion announced he was leaving his job, moving to Georgia, and joining a small animation company. His resolution: to help shape the worldview of children through creative and biblically sound media.

Yet another Centurion has resolved to teach Christian worldview classes to inmates at a Texas prison; he has recently received permission from the prison chaplain to do so.

These are tremendous resolutions—the kind our Lord would heartily approve of. When you are making your own resolutions today, ask yourself: Are they as centered on Christ as Ron Gruber's? Are they as committed to life-changing outcomes as our Centurions?

So go ahead, if you must: Resolve to lose those pesky holiday pounds, exercise daily, and obey the speed limits. But I hope you'll also have at least one great and glorious resolution on your list: to offer yourself as a living sacrifice to transform the world around you for Jesus Christ.