As more than a few of you have remarked, I have fallen into one of my light blogging spells again. No need to worry, all is well—or at least, getting better. Right after I returned from my unauthorized summer’s end sabbatical, I came down with the flu, which laid me out of mind longer than I care to admit. And I have been occupied with applying for a teaching pastor position in a church. The position sounds perfect, although some of the language they use in describing their aspirations gives me pause. I have to wonder if I’m the guy they will actually want. Time will tell; it is in God’s hands.
Employment has been a worrying challenge for some time. I have applied to numerous churches to no avail. Usually I’m told that I don’t have the “right” experience. When I apply for teaching positions, I am told I don’t have the right qualifications (i.e., PhD). So all I could do yesterday was laugh when I interviewed for a desk clerk’s position in a small hotel. The owner told me I was over-qualified, even though I didn’t know his DOS-based reservations and accounting program!
So I am in an unenviable position: I am unqualified to do what I have trained for, love, and have some measure of proficiency in, and overqualified for hourly work! It is a conundrum. Am I under the Curse? I must review Deuteronomy 27–28 to see if Moses described my situation! That’s probably just my (ex-) Catholic-guilt talking!
Nonetheless, hope springs eternal. My wife recommended I go to McDonald’s or Chick-fil-a; she figures I could end up in management in a few months with good benefits. But—whether its pride or an overweening sense of self—I just can’t bring myself there yet. Instead, I will obtain a credential that will open a door—a CDL—learning to drive “the big rigs.” Don’t laugh; over-the-road drivers can make some serious money. Besides, I love to drive and being on the road for days at a time intrigues me. If I can have time to write, and still be able to gather with others sometime for worship, then it will be fine. And if a ministry opportunity presents, well, I’ll drive the moving truck! But seriously, if a church or ministry position opens up, then it’s a no-brainer. Or, if God reveals that we are to plant a church, then I will have the means to support both it and my family. So on Monday, I will launch into my fourth, and hopefully final, career; if you think of it, say a prayer for me!
As to the blogging, a friend suggested that I mustn’t be mad at anything; otherwise I would have something to write! I had to laugh; she was right. I had been in a comfortably calm and peaceful state for a few weeks. But I find myself becoming more exercised of late—especially as I encounter evidence that we are in the time of the apostate church. You read that right. I fear that the contemporary protestant/evangelical church has apostasized—they have abandoned historic orthodox faith and its biblical principles and embraced a practical paganism. When we have churches that read The Shack from their pulpit instead of the Bible, then friends, we are in the time of deception’s triumph. When I hear church elders and employees argue for The Shack on the basis that it “helped their relationship with God,” a cold chill runs down my spine. For it is overwhelmingly obvious that the chickens of “culturally relevant ministry” have come home to roost. The abandonment of systematic expositions of the Word and inspired teachings of orthodox theology by pastors has left the church of God—the saints themselves—incapable of discerning truth and error. Like sheep without a shepherd, they muddle on ignorantly, only to feast on poisonous weeds.
Pity the poor saints throughout the centuries who died knowing nothing of God but what He revealed through His Word. Think what their faith might have been had only someone penned a heretical book to warm their hearts! Pity those who gave their bodies to be burned so that we could have the Bible in our own language(s). We have no need for the Bible today—our proof of truth is in how it makes us feel! Silly rationalists! We wasted over 600 years learning about God when apparently, all we needed to do is feel Him!
And pity poor God, who so misunderstood the needs and emotions of modern humanity as to choose to reveal Himself through such a stuffy, irrelevant text as the Bible! But thankfully, he has William Young to do a good work for Him—or is it Her?—or It?
So yes, I have discovered a lot to say, motivated by my increasing anger at the rejection of God’s Word in our time. This land has been experiencing a famine of the Word since the summer of 1995. That was the beginning of God’s judgments released on His people in this nation. But rather than returning with desperate hunger and thirst for His Word and righteousness, the American church has turned to new and novel management techniques and pagan political communitarianism to stir up their spirits. The judgment soon to be released on this will be breath-taking!
My friends, my prayer is that we will see, recognize and be part of the Remnant that will survive in the days ahead. That is a courageous prayer, for the Remnant of those who cling to the Bible will endure tremendous persecution from the dominant apostasized church. But no pain of persecution can outweigh the tender grace, mercy and compassion of our Lord. It is time to make some serious decisions. It is time to stop halting between two opinions. As God called Abram, and as He called Lot, He calls to His own today: “Come ye out from the midst of them, and be ye separate!” That time is now.
It is a time for prayer, a time for fasting, and a time for waiting on the Lord. Let us comfort and encourage one another. But most of all, let us purpose that we will rely on God’s Word and serve the Lord. May God have mercy on us all.
