Manage Your Mission – Foundations – Time management

Please enjoy this excerpt from Manage Your Mission – Living wisely and abundantly for today and eternity.  This book will help craft your life mission, establish its priorities, and succeed in each area: Faith – Family – Fitness – Field – Friends – Fun – Finances. 

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Time management

Time management may seem like a secular topic, but everything we have is a gift from God. Therefore, we should be good stewards of our treasures, talents, and time. 

I learned a long time ago that I inevitably forget some things if I don’t write them down.  So I have two simple rules I follow for any to-do, whether for work or home:

1. Write them on a list.
2. Look at the list daily.

That’s it. I get lots of things done and rarely forget to do anything.  I’ve used an app called Todoist on my PC and phone for years.  It lets me quickly add any to-dos to various categories.  It is easy to assign dates and make to-dos recurring if necessary.  I use it for work tasks, lists of things I want to tell my supervisor, team, or individual employees, birthdays and anniversaries, house maintenance, packing lists for when I travel, financial tasks, miscellaneous information, etc.  When in doubt, something goes in Todoist.  I highly encourage people to have a system like this.  Forgetting important things can be very costly in terms of your productivity and reputation, not to mention that it isn’t a great way of loving your family and neighbors.  Being a little more organized can save you lots of friction.  When I meet new people, I put their names on a list in Todoist.  Remembering people’s names goes a long way in relationships. 

Another big time-saver is using the Only-Handle-It-Once (O-H-I-O) technique, where you strive only to handle documents, emails, etc., once instead of procrastinating and continually saving them for the future. 

But my biggest time-savers are avoiding social media and computer games and watching little, if any, TV.  I used to watch a lot more TV, especially sports, but I phased out much of that when we had kids.  Then I realized I didn’t get that much value from what I watched, and it was easier to cut back more. I’m too compulsive about computer games, so I avoid those.  If you can’t do things in moderation, cut them out completely.  I did that with Twitter.  I tried taking a month off to see if I could return to it less compulsively, but it never worked.  No regrets. 

I also found that scaling back on news consumption saved time and reduced stress.  We live in an unprecedented time where we unwittingly feel we are nearly omniscient and omnipotent. We think we know everything happening in the world in real-time, and if we go rant on Twitter, we’ve done something about the issue in question.  And the repetition of analyzing the same stories can be pointless.  I like being informed of current events, but I’ve learned to limit my time with the news cycles.

I’m not pressing all those views on you or judging those activities, but I offer those as examples and principles to consider when evaluating and controlling how you spend your time.  You need to be intentional about what you are not going to do.  Overriding habits can change your life. 

If you aren’t reading the Bible and praying regularly, it is because you have decided not to.  You may think you don’t have enough time, but you are saying that everything you do — all day, every day — is more important than that, and that God designed the universe without giving you enough time to hear from him or talk to him.  So watching one hour of TV instead of two each night (or playing fewer computer games, or less social media, etc.) will free up an entire hour for something more meaningful and lasting.  The idea isn’t to become a monk but to manage your time carefully. 

And be creative with your time.  Most of us spend a lot of time in the car, so instead of listening to secular music, try listening to the audio Bible (free downloads at Bible.is) or Christian podcasts.  Redeem your commute!

I took social media apps off my phone and got off them altogether, because I wasted too much time checking them.  Instead, I pick up my phone and memorize Bible verses with my Bible Memory app.  It is a much better use of time.  I know many Christians fear offending others, but if you use social media, I encourage you to work in some Christian truths where possible.  Bible verses, links to sound articles defending the faith, etc., will signal non-believers that you are safe to come to if they have questions about God. 

My wife jokes that I’m like the guy in the Cheaper By The Dozen movie, who automated everything he touched, including what his twelve children did.  My approach is that if you do something regularly, figure out how to do it in the fewest possible steps.  For example, I try to learn every meaningful shortcut on any computer software.  The time savings you accumulate will be significant.  I still get more productivity and free time because of the Excel features I learned 30 years ago.

Time is a precious gift from God.  Use it wisely. 

Copyright 2022

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible

Manage Your Mission – Foundations – Decision making and God’s will / hearing from God

Please enjoy this excerpt from Manage Your Mission – Living wisely and abundantly for today and eternity.  This book will help craft your life mission, establish its priorities, and succeed in each area: Faith – Family – Fitness – Field – Friends – Fun – Finances. 

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During a small group discussion on a prison ministry visit, one of the inmates recounted how he had heard from God that he would get out early.  He quickly said it wasn’t an audible message, but he still felt sure.  Then he noted how he hadn’t gotten out early and how that had made him rethink things.  To his credit, he realized that the message might have been from Satan or his wishful thinking.  But a less mature Christian might have blamed God for not fulfilling his “promise.” 

I could offer dozens of examples where people don’t think carefully about how hearing from God works and how significant consequences result.  I have found this to be a sadly rampant area of bad theology within the body of believers.  I joke that I have the Spiritual Gift of Rationalization (one of the lesser-known gifts). Still, the truth is that we are all rationalization machines and can easily twist things to justify doing what we want. 

You can’t manage your mission well if you are sitting around waiting on an itinerary from God that may never arrive.  You need to make decisions biblically.  Decision making and God’s will is one of my all-time favorite lessons to teach.  This is crucial because we make big and small decisions daily and constantly live with the consequences of past choices.  In addition, countless Christians misunderstand how this works, leading to needless frustration and errors.  In my experience, it is the most common obstacle to wise, practical, and God-honoring living.  And it is rampant in the church.  Many big names write books and do conferences on how to hear from God, but they do nothing but mislead people. 

Does God speak to you about specific decisions, such as whether you should pay off your mortgage, whom you should marry, what job you should take, etc.?  Or has he set out another way to live?  And if he does speak, do you need any training to hear him?

For example, if you want to know whether paying off your mortgage is the right thing to do, you have a couple of options:          

1. Ask God for a supernatural sign for the answer, whether it is a yes or a no (a la Gideon in chapter 6 of the Book of Judges, when he asked God to make the fleece wet and the ground dry, and then asked him to make the fleece dry and the ground wet).  And when I say supernatural, I mean something unmistakable for a common occurrence, such as levitating one object for a “yes” answer and another for a “no” answer.  I predict he won’t decide for you that way, but it is always his option.  If God wants to tell you something directly, he isn’t subtle.  There are zero examples of him trying to tell someone something in the Bible and not getting through.  But what if you don’t get a supernatural sign for the yes or the no?  Then perhaps that isn’t how he means for you to decide.

2. Use the wisdom model of decision making.  You don’t have access to God’s sovereign knowledge (Will I lose my job?  Will interest rates go up or down?). However, you have unrestricted access to his moral will via the Bible. Example: Is it immoral to pay off your mortgage early?  No, unless that means you won’t have enough money to feed your family.  After moral considerations, look to the wisdom angle.  Ask God for wisdom, as he promises to deliver.  But as with Solomon, whom God granted great wisdom because of Solomon’s desire to lead his people well, God doesn’t promise to decide everything for you.  Read Proverbs (and more).  Seek the counsel of others.  Consider the pros and cons of the situation. That’s how to make wise decisions.  Finally, provided the options are moral and wise, consider your personal preferences.  We have tremendous freedom in Christ to do many things with our time and money.  Will paying off your mortgage make you happy?  If so, then do it.

This model helps you make wise and biblical decisions and avoid the traps of the “God told me to ____” routine.  People who run around saying that God told them this and that convey a faux super-spirituality that can leave less mature believers wondering if they have a relationship with God (i.e., “God doesn’t tell me every little thing to do, so maybe I don’t know him.”).  That is not loving your neighbor.

The “God told me ___” routine can also be outright blasphemy, as when people claim that God is moving in a new direction counter to what he revealed in the Bible, and their only support for this is that God supposedly told them so. 

Or it could be just self-serving, spiritual-sounding words when what people are saying is, “I don’t always hear from God, but when I do, he sounds like me.”

Saturating yourself in the Bible is a key success factor in making good decisions. On the other hand, if we focus on worldly wisdom and what our heart tells us, things can go badly.

    Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

And that’s just one of many verses with that theme.  But if we repent and do everything we can to see things from God’s perspective, we will make better decisions.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

This model will help you make good decisions in all areas of life — dating, marriage, college, careers, purchases, giving, ministry, and more — so keep it in mind as you craft your mission.  You can also use it to help friends, children, and others make good decisions.  I sometimes use it at work as a “faith flag.”  For example, if people ask for career advice, I share this model with them (i.e., “At the risk of getting all religious on you, here’s the method I use to make decisions.”).  It has led to some great discussions. 

People sometimes over-spiritualize things and say God is calling them to do something.  Yes, he is sovereign, and you may see how he has worked in your life in the past.  But the Bible uses “called” in an ordinary way, in that believers were called to be Christians. There are no verses about being called to be a pastor or anything else.  The Bible says that if you desire that office and meet the qualifications, go for it.  Spiritual gifts are assigned to believers for ministry use as pastors or laypeople.

That matters because it can be used as an excuse (“I don’t feel called”) or as sloppy church talk to justify whatever you want.  After all, if you disagree with someone’s “call” or what God “told them,” you allegedly disagree with God.  Also, it can be a barrier to people if they think they must wait for a calling message from God before acting.  They have the right intentions but received the wrong program.  I could say that God called me to prison ministry, but it sounded a lot more like my friend Steve.  He needed help for a weekend program he was leading and asked me to join the team.  I enjoyed hearing him share his experiences with it, but I had never been interested.  But because he was a friend, I decided to help him and try it, and it turned out that I found it very effective and rewarding.  Fifteen years later, I still love doing it.  Was God sovereign and providential in that?  Of course, but I didn’t overthink it.  I could easily see God’s movement after the fact, but I didn’t need to hear his “voice” before deciding to participate.

Despite what many misinformed people claim, you don’t need training to hear from God.  If he isn’t speaking, there is nothing to hear.  If he is speaking, you won’t be able to miss it.  No one in the Bible failed to hear when God spoke to them.  Yet some famous teachers insist that you must be trained — by their books and seminars, of course — to hear from God.  One dared to claim that the Bible is like hand-me-down clothing since it was revealed first to others.  How blasphemous!  The Apostle Peter said that Scripture was even better than his personal experience on the Mount of Transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16-21).

So when crafting your mission and how you plan to accomplish it, don’t worry about looking for little hints from God on what to do.  Feel free to ask for a supernatural sign from God, but be sure to ask for a sign for the yes or the no answer.  Again, don’t be surprised if you don’t get it.  Besides direct and clear personal revelation from God, you don’t have access to his sovereign will when making decisions.  Just do moral things, pray for wisdom, seek advice from others, consider your personal preferences, and then go.  You have a lot of freedom in Christ, so enjoy that. 

In short, if it isn’t moral, don’t do it.  If it is moral but not wise, don’t do it.  If it is moral and wise, use your personal preferences and enjoy your freedom. Of course, if God speaks audibly to you in an unmistakable, supernatural way, or if you ask for and receive specific supernatural signs for an answer, you should obey him.  But don’t sit around waiting for that.

And when you think you want to hear directly from God, remember how the Israelites reacted when they had the opportunity:

Exodus 20:18–19 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”

Pro-tip: If someone says, “God told me that you should marry me/give me money/etc.” then reply, “As soon as he tells me that unmistakably, we’ll talk.”  Don’t let people manipulate you that way.

If you want to know more about decision making and God’s will, I have a complete video lesson here. 

Copyright 2022

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible

Manage Your Mission – Foundations – Start at the End

Please enjoy this excerpt from Manage Your Mission – Living wisely and abundantly for today and eternity.  This book will help craft your life mission, establish its priorities, and succeed in each area: Faith – Family – Fitness – Field – Friends – Fun – Finances. 

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Some key success factors cross the 7 Fs, so let’s cover those first.  They will ensure that you think and live wisely.

Start at the end

Luke 14:28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else. Yogi Berra

As you manage your mission in life, what could be more important than your ultimate goal?  The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that “man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”  That’s not a Bible verse, but it accurately assesses what the Bible teaches.  You’ll be on the right track if you focus on glorifying and enjoying the one true God. If you don’t have the correct target or drift off course, you’ll waste time and energy and fail in your mission.

I often give “start at the end” advice at work so that people will focus on the right things.  If they don’t have clarity about the ultimate aim, they may be doing things that don’t add value.  It applies to sports and hobbies as well.  To be great at something, you need consistent, focused practice.  If you’re going to be a great spouse and parent, you’ll have a plan to achieve that.  And so on, for every major goal you have.

But this advice especially applies to your faith.  If your eternal home is in Heaven, you should do everything in light of that.  Why?  Because Christians are already citizens of Heaven. 

1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Properly influencing your spouse, children, and others can make a difference for hundreds of years. Therefore, we should invest our time and money in things that will last and bear fruit for generations. 

Your goals will change as you grow and learn new things, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t always be aiming at an overall mission.  You can waste decades wandering if you let the world dictate your priorities.  Ideally, we’ll exit this life saying, “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God” (Psalm 31:5), and the next thing we’ll hear will be, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:23).

This also works on shorter-term projects, such as each of the 7 Fs.  For example, if you want to be closer to Jesus and become more like him, you’ll read the Bible and pray regularly.  If you want a long, satisfying marriage, you’ll work backward from that and not waste time on things that will make the goal less likely or unattainable.  If you want a particular career, you need to plan on how to get the right training without ending up with unsustainable debts. 

You are more likely to create a successful plan by starting at the end and working backward. For example, I knew a guy who deeply wanted a godly, Christian wife.  That was a good start.  But when I asked, “Where are you going to meet women like that?” he gave me a surprised look.  He thought God might just drop someone into his life, and he wouldn’t have to go through the normal dating rituals. Of course, God could do that, but he isn’t obligated to and probably won’t.  God ordains the ends and the means. So do not be presumptuous and think that he will give you shortcuts to these things. 

Copyright 2022

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible

Manage Your Mission – My testimony and background

Please enjoy this excerpt from Manage Your Mission – Living wisely and abundantly for today and eternity.  This book will help craft your life mission, establish its priorities, and succeed in each area: Faith – Family – Fitness – Field – Friends – Fun – Finances. 

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I thought I should share a bit about myself so you’ll know from where I’m coming. 

I didn’t have a singular, dramatic conversion experience, but I know what I believe and where my trust is now. Besides my college years, I’ve gone to church my whole life. The problem was that I wasn’t paying attention for the first 28 years. 

I rebelled in my teen years but went to church to make my parents happy.  I had a few brief times of feeling spiritual, such as when I was baptized at thirteen, but I am pretty sure I was unsaved.  I can mention this now that the statute of limitations has long passed, but even when going to church camp, my friends and I would sometimes go off and smoke pot.  So it is safe to say we didn’t get the whole Jesus thing.  And that’s just one of many things I could mention but won’t because my mom may read this.  My motto was often, “Breaking most of the commandments, most of the time” — swearing, skipping church, not honoring my parents as well as I should have, coveting, lusting, etc.

I sat in church for most of my 20s to be sociable. By worldly standards, I was a nicely dressed, relatively well-behaved pagan who went to church and only fell asleep during sermons most of the time, didn’t trust in Jesus, didn’t read the Bible, and didn’t pray.  I assumed most people were just “playing church” like I was.

Then a few things happened. First, I noticed people using study Bibles that helped explain the text, which helped me understand it better. Then God gave me the desire to read it more. Finally, an FM rock station converted to a Christian format, and inexplicably I started listening to sermons and Bible shows while driving around. I learned countless things and started thinking about God multiple times per day instead of just once a week.

Ultimately God let me see the truth: Jesus really lived, died for my sins, and rose again. The evidence was there. I was a sinner, and I couldn’t save or forgive myself for my sins against God.  I repented and believed, and I wouldn’t go back for anything. 

But he doesn’t just save us to fill up the seats in church. Just as he promised, he transforms our hearts and minds through his Holy Spirit and his Word.  Also, as Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” As he transforms us, our desires become more like his.  He has changed my desires in many ways and fulfilled them more thoroughly than I could have asked.  He gave me a real hunger for the Bible and learning about him and why we can trust his Word. As a result, I like to read and teach the Bible.  He has transformed my thinking, so I now see the world more like he does, regardless of the topic. He has given me an eternal perspective, so I think of things more often in a less worldly way. He also converted my wallet and took me from being very stingy to loving to give and looking for ways to give more and more to help advance his Kingdom.

He took me from being afraid to teach Sunday school or even say a quick prayer in class to enjoying opportunities to speak about him. Before, I was petrified, but now it’s like, “Oh look — a microphone.  And I get to talk about Jesus?! You won’t be needing this back.”

I used to avoid religious talk at all costs, but he has given me the passion and the opportunity to share the gospel with countless atheists, agnostics, and people of every major religion and cult.

He took me from being selfish with my time to enjoying serving others.  He gave me a passion for getting involved in the pro-life cause, which I consider the most crucial moral issue of our time.  At CareNet Pregnancy center — where they aim to save lives today and for eternity — I volunteered as a counselor, teacher of pro-life reasoning classes, and board member. I also got involved in prison ministry, which has been truly rewarding.

From a career standpoint, I’ve spent over 38 years in corporate America and over 27 years as a finance and accounting executive, so I’ve accumulated a lot of workplace and financial advice that people may find helpful.  I’ve also found many ways to live out my faith and maintain my employment.  That is getting increasingly difficult for believers, so I’ll spend some time on that in the Field section.

You cannot experience real and sustained joy apart from the author of joy.  I give Jesus all the credit for any good things done in my life or from my life, and I am eternally grateful for him letting me be a part of his plan. It is all by his grace and has nothing to do with any good deeds on my part.

So my challenge is to reflect on what God has done in your life. If you are like I used to be and haven’t trusted in Jesus as your Savior, I encourage you to get with someone as soon as possible and address whatever objections or barriers you have. I love being a Christian, and whether he gives me 30 more days of this life or 30 more years, I want to be relentless about being a good ambassador for him.  I wrote this to love God by exalting his name and all he has done and love my neighbors by sharing life-changing eternal and temporal truths with them.  I pray that this will benefit you in some way.

Copyright 2022

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible

Manage Your Mission – Introduction

Please enjoy this excerpt from Manage Your Mission – Living wisely and abundantly for today and eternity.  This book will help craft your life mission, establish its priorities, and succeed in each area: Faith – Family – Fitness – Field – Friends – Fun – Finances. 

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Introduction

What is your mission in life, and how well are you managing it?  Does it address all the significant areas of life, both now and for eternity?  Do you have a plan to be successful? 

Whether you realize it or not, you are on a mission in life.  This book will help craft your mission, establish priorities for its elements, and achieve success in each area.  With a bit of thought, you can change the trajectory of your life and position yourself for successful and abundant living in light of eternity.

When I entered my sophomore year of college, I volunteered to return to school a week early to help the first-year students move in.  It was pure altruism, of course, because as a 19-year-old guy, I never would have done something like that just to meet girls, right?  Years later, I realized it was the only girl-meeting scheme that ever worked for me because that week, I met and started dating the woman who ended up being my wife of 37 years and counting.

Manage Your Mission, and the simple “7F” model I coined to help track it, is like that.  After several decades of using this, I realized how spectacularly it worked. So now I want to share it with others to help them.  My goal is to honor God and love my neighbor by sharing truths to help them live better and to know and serve God better. 

I thought about writing this years ago but realized it would be more impactful if I waited until closer to the end of the story. (Does anyone want a young life coach with an untested philosophy?)  But this empty-nest stage seemed the perfect time to reflect on it all.  Christian books by theologically sound pastors and theologians are important. Still, when I was young, I thought pastors were the “religious” people while the rest of us were on a completely different level. I think it is helpful for laypeople to hear from other laypeople and realize that all Christians are gifted citizens of the Kingdom of God, and as such, there are important things we should be doing.  Also, God’s way of living is the best way, and it pays off in the long run in all facets of life.

I crafted this approach in the mid-nineties when my life was extremely busy: married, two young kids, a good but very demanding job at Compaq Computer in the middle of the PC Boom/Internet Revolution, reading the Bible daily, becoming more involved at church, working out regularly, playing in a volleyball league, and more.  I wanted to think carefully about my priorities.  I had seen many people mismanage their priorities and destroy marriages, relationships with children, and their physical and spiritual health. I didn’t want that to happen to me.  As I’ve often told my teams at work, all your money and success can’t buy your kids a second childhood, and it is a bad idea to sacrifice your health to make money to spend your money and time trying to fix your health.

I spent a lot of time thinking about how important it was to keep all these things in perspective. How could I be sure to let my faith undergird everything while maintaining a great marriage, being very intentional about raising children, advancing my career, maintaining my health, and more?  Was it even possible?  Spoiler alert: Yes, it was.  But it took planning, focus, and intentionality.  That doesn’t mean there weren’t trade-offs and sacrifices, and it doesn’t mean I didn’t make mistakes. But I’ve succeeded in all the areas below and couldn’t be more grateful for how things turned out. I’ll suppress the desire to mention this on every page, but it is all by the grace of God.  These biblical principles and the foundation of faith in Christ led to success in each area of my life: a vibrant and active faith, a great marriage and family relationships, kids who married well and are committed Christians as adults, a consistently fit and active lifestyle, a successful career in which I didn’t have to sacrifice my principles and had a great work/life balance, plenty of good friends and fun times, and well-managed finances where we’ve hit all of our goals and are easing towards a great retirement.

And to be clear, this isn’t the vile and false “health and wealth” prosperity gospel.  I’ve had trials, failures, and illnesses, but the Christian principles got me through them much better than I would have otherwise.  The trials and failures are from living in a fallen world or due to my sins.  But the successes were all grounded in biblical living.

The model I used to analyze and track my priorities is what I call the 7 Fs:

• Faith
• Family
• Fitness
• Field (or vocation — any work or main activity along with the education to prepare for it)
• Friends
• Fun (entertainment and hobbies)
• Finances 

I started making simple one-page annual plans with goals for each area. Then, I would revisit them periodically to see how I was doing. Eventually, it became so ingrained that I would reflexively run things through the 7F “filter” without thinking about it. 

Whether intentional or not, you constantly set priorities and live with your previous priorities’ good and bad consequences.  If you made mistakes in the past, learn from them, make amends or corrections as necessary, and then let them go.  But be deliberate about how you are setting priorities now.  And if you are a Christian, your faith should impact every facet of your life.

These overlap in many places.  For example, you can have plenty of fun with your faith, family, and fitness priorities.  And faith and finances are tied to every category.

The idea is to be intentional and keep the right priorities over the long term.  Work is significant, but not so much that I would sacrifice my family or health.  The Bible doesn’t teach what job I should seek other than using wisdom, but it does say what kind of employee I should be.  Apart from a few brief and clear rules, it doesn’t say whom I should marry but teaches what kind of husband I should be.  There may always be reasonable work sacrifices in the short term: travel, late nights, and general work-related stresses.  But if those late nights were required year-round, or if I was commanded to do unethical things, I would have been looking for a new job. 

Whether conscious of them or not, you constantly act based on your life priorities, which profoundly impact you and those around you.  The question is whether you are intentional and effective about your priorities.  This book is written for anyone, though it sees life through an unapologetic Christian lens. As a believer, your faith should drive everything you do — Family, Fitness, Field (vocation), Friends, Fun (entertainment and hobbies), and Finances. But what if you aren’t a Christian?  Non-believers can also benefit significantly from the wisdom of the Bible. The advice is largely universal and timeless.  The Bible has much to say about wise and practical living.  And the non-religious advice applies to all as well.  I’ve had non-Christian friends embrace this model and use it successfully for years.  We all reap what we sow.  And I pray that as non-believers consider these truths, God may grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth.  Of course, the overall approach here is gospel-focused.  Wouldn’t you want to share it if you knew the only true way to peace with God and eternal life?  But I still think there is a lot of good advice for you whether you convert or not, and I hope to give you some solid reasons to investigate Christianity further.  At a minimum, you may better understand that with which you disagree. 

Can you control everything?  Of course not.  My wife suffered through five miscarriages.  I was diagnosed with severe cancer cases four times (I’m in the middle of some intense treatments for the latest bout as I finish this). We’ve had mental health issues in our extended family.  And so on, just like every family experiences.  But we controlled what we could and were relentless about our priorities. 

What if you are farther along and realize you’ve made bad decisions?  While there is no situation so bad that pouring on some guilt can’t make it worse, this is not about making you feel guilty for past decisions. We’ve all made decisions we regret.  But wisdom dictates that we learn from them, warn others where we can, and then move on.  Even if you chose poorly at times, there is still time to improve things and make amends.  And think about those you influence: children, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.  Helping them set proper priorities and make good decisions is one of the most important things you can do.  For example, you may not need advice on seeking a spouse, but you will influence many who do.

I shared the 7 Fs concept at a team-building exercise once, and a young lawyer who recently had a child said, with a somewhat stunned look, “I only focus on two of those!” I clarified that the system was not a judgment but a carefully considered model.  For example, if you are sacrificing your health for your career, be honest with yourself and note what you are doing.  Lying is wrong, but lying to yourself is extra foolish. 

So the key is to manage your mission.  If part of your mission is to play video games 6 hours per day during your 20s, write that down.  Own it.  But if your mission is broader, you may want to reconsider whether that activity will lead to success.  As I’ll address in the Fun section, there is nothing wrong with some entertainment, provided that it doesn’t become a barrier to victory in the other categories.  But as I’ll cover in the Field section, the investments you make in skills in your early years will pay off handsomely for decades, just as putting even small amounts in a retirement account when you are young can lead to a much more prosperous retirement later.

As a Christian, I have found this model to be a great “faith flag” — bringing up your faith in conversations without it being awkward or stilted.  It is often hard for people to bring up their faith, especially at work, but if you are actively Managing Your Mission and thinking through the 7 Fs, it is easy to share with others when talking about life and career advice.  You will naturally be able to talk about your faith and how that impacts your priorities.

The book’s structure addresses some basic things like decision making and God’s will because they are crucial to wise living regardless of the area you are dealing with, and then addresses each “F” in turn, starting with Faith.  For each category, I’ll cover why it is important, how you can make wise decisions, and offer various tips for successful living.  Suggested resources are at the back of the book. 

This model is a framework for your mission and a challenge to take it seriously and strive to learn and grow.  I realized that some of this advice might seem more secular than theological, but I put it in the wisdom category.  God wired us and the world precisely, so your outcomes will be better if you do things in specific ways.  My main hope for every person I know is that they will become Christians, but even if they don’t — or until they do — I still want them to live as best they can for themselves and their families and friends.  It is a basic love-your-neighbor approach.

I deliberately wrote this with a broad appeal so that anyone could benefit from it: young, old, male, female, any background or job, any race, etc. Aside from some current-day examples from which you can extract broad principles, the model could be used by anyone, anywhere, at any time.  It is always a good time to order your life wisely, put God first, love your family, take care of your health, manage your money well, etc.  This model and these tips can help you in this life and for eternity.

Most people appreciate a challenge.  What sports team ever won a championship because the coach pampered them?  But I do not want to lay on unnecessary burdens.  The point is to give you a framework for freedom and joy in Christ, not unrealistic goals. Don’t feel like you have to do something big and new. A loving parent, spouse, and employee committed to following Jesus can truly honor God. 

As you read this, think of what goals you want to set for yourself in each area.  I encourage you to keep it simple, especially in the beginning.  Small changes can make a huge difference over time.  God is sovereign, and Jesus did all the important work for us.  Live in light of that.

Copyright 2022

Blog update

Starting May 1, I will publish my Manage Your Mission book on this blog. I hope people enjoy the series, which will run three days a week through December 23. Whether you buy the book or if you read enough blog posts to form an opinion, an Amazon review would be appreciated. Apparently, that helps the search algorithms.

This will probably be my last blogging. My cancer is back for the 6th time, so I’m focused on that. Things do not look promising for a longer-term solution. We completely trust in Jesus, as always. My faith is in him, not health or wealth, so it hasn’t wavered.

This book was my life’s work regarding eternal and temporal advice, so it is a logical swan song to close out many enjoyable years of blogging. The blog started in 2006 and had a lot of high-volume years until I didn’t have much new to say. The primary purpose was for sound theology, evangelism, and exposing the wolves of the “Christian” Left/Progressive “Christianity,” but I included economics, pro-life reasoning, politics, and fun things as well. We had some epic comment threads along the way. I enjoyed it on many levels, especially getting to know many of you.

Thanks for your readership and comments over the years!

Keep the faith, everyone, and finish strong.

Because Eternity Matters.

Religious pluralism is intellectually bankrupt

There are two main kinds of religious pluralism.  One is good, and one is intellectually bankrupt.

Good pluralism: Numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society.

Bad pluralism: All religions are true and equally valid paths to God.

Pluralism can be a good thing if it means we should tolerate the beliefs of others. Jesus, God in the flesh, didn’t force anyone to convert, so why should we think we can?

Christianity should flourish in a society with good pluralism, as the Gospel can be shared freely without pressure to fake one’s beliefs.  Sadly, we often get complacent in such atmospheres, and Christianity spreads just as well or better in times of persecution.  It tends to weed out false believers and teachers more effectively.

Of course, each religion has some truths. Still, there are irreconcilable differences in their essential truth claims regarding the nature of God, the path to salvation, their view of Jesus, etc.

Here are some examples:

One of the following is possible when we die, but under no circumstance could more than one be possible:

1. Reincarnation (Hinduism, New Age)
2. Complete nothingness (Atheism)
3. One death, then judgment by God (Christianity, Islam, others)

Jesus was either the Messiah (Christianity) or He was not the Messiah (Judaism and others), but He cannot be the Messiah and not the Messiah.

God either doesn’t exist (Atheism), He exists and is personal (Christianity), or He exists and is impersonal (Hinduism).

Jesus either died on the cross (Christianity), or He didn’t (Islam).  The Koran repeatedly claims that Jesus did not die on the cross (Sura 4:157-158). What evidence does Islam offer? One guy with a vision over 500 years after the fact. That is not what we base history upon, especially when scholars of the first century — whether Christians or not — agree that a real person named Jesus died on a Roman cross.

God either revealed himself to us (many religions), or he didn’t (Atheism, Agnosticism).

Jesus is the eternally existent God (Christianity), or He isn’t (everything else, including the Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness). In fact, in Islam, it is an unforgivable sin to claim that Jesus is God, so there is no way to reconcile Christianity and Islam.

Some people believe that God will be whatever you conceive him to be in this life.  That is one of the most bizarre religious views I have heard.  I’m not sure how they concluded that every human gets a designer god and that, at death, it will be just as one wished.

Consider the view of Mahatma Gandhi and Hinduism in general:

After long study and experience, I have come to the conclusion that [1] all religions are true; [2] all religions have some error in them; [3] all religions are almost as dear to me as my own Hinduism, in as much as all human beings should be as dear to one as one’s own close relatives. My own veneration for other faiths is the same as that for my own faith; therefore no thought of conversion is possible. (Mahatma Gandhi, All Men Are Brothers: Life and Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as told in his own words, Paris, UNESCO 1958, p 60.)

Yet the exclusive claims of Christianity prove Gandhi’s worldview (that of Hinduism) to be false.  The Bible claims at least one hundred times that Jesus is the only way to salvation.  It also commands us not to worship idols and that we die once and then face judgment (it does not hold to reincarnation).  Those are key elements of the Hindu faith.  So, if Hinduism is true, then Christianity cannot be true.  But if Hinduism is correct in stating that all religions are true, then Christianity must be true.  But Christianity claims to be the one true path, so if it is true then Hinduism is not.

Also, Hinduism claims that Christianity is true, so if Christianity is false, then so is Hinduism.  Either way, the logic of Gandhi and Hinduism collapses on itself.

When I share the Gospel, I do so as respectfully as possible.  But I always try to work in examples like the above to highlight that under no circumstances can we both be right about the nature of God and salvation.

I used to hold the position of religious pluralism.  We studied world religions about 30 years ago in an Adult Sunday School class and, sadly, didn’t dig very deep (I was attending church but not really a believer . . . at best, I was “saved and confused”).  Most of us walked away thinking the religions were “all pretty much the same” and with no incentive to go out and make a case for Christianity. 

So why did I—and so many people today, including Christians—embrace bad pluralism? I think it is typically due to a lack of clarity on the topic. When you examine the essentials of these faiths, it is not that hard to show how they are irreconcilable.

Political correctness and fear contribute as well.  It is easy to deny the exclusivity of Jesus (or the truth claims of whatever faith one follows) if one wants to avoid controversy.  But as unpopular as it is to make truth claims, it is really a rather logical thing to do.  The one claiming all religions are true needs to back up that claim with their evidence and logic.  Just rattle off a list of religions, sects, and cults and ask why they are all true.  Just be careful saying things like, “Hinduism has a lot of sects.”  If you say it too quickly, people will have surprised looks on their faces.

Sheer laziness is another factor.  Knowing enough about one’s faith to defend it in the marketplace of ideas is hard work.  Religious pluralism is a great excuse not to evangelize.

I expect many non-Christians to say that all paths lead to God, but it really bothers me when those claiming the name of Christ do so.  They should meditate on this passage, among others:

Galatians 1:8-9 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

Counter-missionaries & the Great De-Commission

Typical evangelism for any religion involves someone going out at some degree of expense and risk to share what one believes to be true.  It is a pretty simple and logical concept: If you think you know the true path to forgiveness, joy, peace, and eternal life and you truly care about others, then, of course, you’ll want to share the Good News (regardless of how you define it).

However, some believe all religions are equally valid paths to God.  As I reflected on the discussions on the Jesus is still the only way thread, I was reminded that people who hold the “all religions are valid” view should have a completely different model of evangelism.  Wouldn’t it be most loving for them to send “counter-missionaries” to encourage everyone to follow their local religions?  After all, consider the persecuted people around the world who could avoid pain, suffering, economic loss, prison, and even death if they just held beliefs more palatable to their culture.

For example, you’d want to send people to Christians in India, N. Korea, China, all Arab countries, and more to explain to them that Hinduism/Islam/Buddhism/etc. are just as good and that they should leave Christianity to maximize their comfort and happiness.  Why suffer like that if other religions are just as legitimate?

Loving universalists (those who believe everyone is going to Heaven, regardless of what they believe) should go to China to encourage people to be atheists.

What a tragedy that hundreds of thousands or even millions of Christians died unnecessarily for their faith over the centuries.  They should have just recanted and gone with the local religion, right? If only someone had told the Apostle Paul, he could have been spared all those beatings and his capital punishment.

What I’ve found is that religious pluralists and universalists do no such thing. They typically think their “home religion” is correct (why else would they belong to those denominations?) but are afraid to offend someone or risk rejection for sharing their view, or perhaps are unwilling to work to learn their beliefs well enough to defend them.

Shouldn’t false teachers who insist that all religions lead to God lend their time and money to being counter-missionaries?  Yet I never hear of them undertaking such efforts to reduce the “needless” suffering of Christians around the world.  Real faith is behaving as if what you say you believe is true.  Yet, these folks don’t follow through to the logical consequences of their worldview.  This is one of the easiest ways to spot false teachers.

Of course, since I believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation, I want to share that with people.

If you encounter “Christians” claiming that other or even all religions are valid paths to God, ask them simply and politely if that means we should end Christian evangelism efforts and “evangelize” people to follow whatever “valid” religion will result in the least persecution for them.  It will help expose their false view and encourage them to think more carefully.  They shouldn’t judge God for “only” providing one way to salvation; they should be eternally grateful that He offered a way at all.

Opposites

One of my irritations with the “Christian” Left and their theology is that it pretends to be slightly different from orthodox Christianity while it is usually 180 degrees off when it comes to the essentials of the faith and any current hot topics.  Please note that by “Leftist theology,” I don’t mean the theology of political liberals.  I am referring to people who call themselves Christians but deny the essentials of the historic faith (i.e., the kinds of things countless martyrs died for — Jesus’ divinity and exclusivity, the authority of scripture, etc.) and are indistinguishable from the world on sexual ethics.  If you want to debate the disputable matters, go right ahead.  I’m flexible on those.  But words mean things, and far too many people use the term Christian in error.

For example, claiming that Jesus is one of many paths to God isn’t a little different than saying He is the only way; it is the opposite.  There is either one way, or there is not one way.  The Bible has over 100 passages teaching directly or indirectly that Jesus is the only way to salvation.  If you don’t agree that it is your prerogative, but please don’t claim to be a Christian.

Claiming that Jesus isn’t God isn’t a little different than saying He is God; it is the opposite.  He is either God or He is not God.

Claiming that the original writings of the Bible were not inspired by God isn’t just a little different than saying they were inspired by God; it is the opposite.  The Bible is God’s Word, or it is not God’s Word.  It includes roughly 3,000 claims to speak for God, so if liberal theologians think those are all false, then why do they bother with the Book at all?  Their claim is that the authors of the Bible were blasphemous pathological liars because they falsely claimed to speak for God countless times. Here’s an example:

Claiming that miracles never happen (Virgin birth, loaves & fishes, healings, the physical resurrection, etc.) isn’t just a little different than saying they did happen; it is the opposite.  The first chapter of the first book of the New Testament clearly teaches the virgin birth.  If you refuse to believe that, then put the book down and stop calling yourself a Christian.

Claiming that marriage can be for two men or two women isn’t a little different than saying it is between a man and a woman; it is the opposite.  It is claiming that marriage is not just between a man and a woman and that “marriage” is now whatever we want to define it to be.  The Bible couldn’t be more clear about God’s ideal for marriage and sexuality.

Claiming that Jesus approves of killing children up their first breath isn’t a little different than saying, “Don’t murder,” it is the opposite.

The “Christian” Left claims the opposite of what historic, orthodox, biblical Christianity does regarding the essentials of the faith.   They are entitled to their opinions, of course, but it is disingenuous and misleading for them to call themselves Christians while espousing those beliefs.

They have invented their own religion, which is their right. It would just be less confusing if they gave it a new name. It would also be more intellectually honest to stop taking money from people who believe in the essentials that those denominations were founded upon.

They appear to worship a fictional Gandhi-Christ.  The most accurate description would be that of a Hindu sect (nothing personal, Hindus!).

Run, don’t walk, from the wolves of the “Christian” Left.  They are the opposite of Christianity.

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Problems with pro-gay theology

Introduction

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Many churches are being torn apart by false teachings about human sexuality, so we can’t ignore this topic.  I am continually disappointed that so many Christians don’t get educated on this topic and stand up for the truth.  In addition, the rapid and radical changes in public schools are a serious issue, and hate speech laws and activist judges are a blatant attempt to shut down debate and curtail religious freedoms.  Barely a week goes by without hearing about a business owner forced to cater to gay couples (e.g., bed-and-breakfasts, wedding photographers), LGBTQ indoctrination in elementary schools, religious organizations forced to hire LGBTQ people, people losing jobs for saying that skin color is morally neutral but sexual behavior is not, laws being proposed that will make it a crime to criticize homosexual behavior, and so on.

Many people who hold the orthodox Christian view would love to move on to other issues, but the problem is that the pro-gay theologians aren’t giving up.  Therefore, we need to stand firm and do a better job of educating those in the middle ground.

While this issue isn’t an essential of the faith, such as Jesus’ divinity and exclusivity for salvation, those who take the pro-gay theology view typically have to deny the essential of the authority of scripture to arrive at their conclusions.  And that is a dangerous thing.

The general Biblical ignorance of many Christians on this topic isn’t helping things.  I know of people who have gone to church their whole lives and have been in multiple Bible studies but still ask questions like, “Does the New Testament say anything about homosexual behavior?”  (Short answer: Yes.)  And it goes downhill from there.

And make no mistake: The LGBTQX lobby inside and outside the church is incredibly persistent.  God gave them over to a debased mind because they would not acknowledge him.  Therefore, simply reasoning with them probably won’t persuade them.

Romans 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Keep in mind how the men of Sodom were blinded by God when trying to sin, yet they still groped for the door!  You’d think that if you were literally blinded while sinning you just might stop, at least momentarily, to think about what you were doing.  But not them.

Genesis 19:11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

So keep speaking the truth in love, but don’t be shocked when people love the world more than God and the truth.  The “Christian” Left aggressively lobbies for taxpayer-funded, unrestricted abortions to the child’s 1st breath, so do not be surprised when they support any sexual perversion that Satan dreams up.

Before I dive in, let me state that while I firmly believe that homosexual behavior is a sin, I do not think it is something we should grandstand on.  We all have temptations and stumble and fall at times.  Romans 1 explains in no uncertain terms that homosexual behavior is an affront to God, but it also lists greed, gossip, deceit, and other things as serious sins (anyone squirming yet?).

And we should act as suggested by a believer I am friends with who is tempted by same-sex attractions: Pray for them and be their friends.

Do homosexuals have a legitimate complaint when they point out how many Christians are softer on divorce, adultery, and pre-marital sex than they are on homosexual behavior?  Sometimes, yes, although it should be noted that those aren’t being forced down our throats as the others are.  No one is trying to make it illegal to criticize those topics.  Grandstanding on sins that aren’t a temptation for us and downplaying or ignoring sins that are a temptation is not a Christian thing to do.  But the lesson is to hold consistent Biblical views on all sins, not to water things down more.  We need to raise the bar back up on all these sins because they have huge consequences and, more importantly because that is in line with what the Bible says.

But we shouldn’t call evil good and good evil.  I support the Methodist position on homosexuality, which regards the behavior as sinful but the people as having worth.  (We left the Methodist in large part due to their lack of adherence to their own positions.)  I think it should be illegal to abort babies just because they might be homosexual (Ironically, that position puts me at odds with many liberals whose support for abortion is such that they think it should be legal under any circumstances).  I mention these things simply to pre-empt any nonsensical allegations that I am homophobic, a childish and false put-down designed to stifle debate.  The real homophobes are those who are so scared of being politically incorrect that they deny God, the Bible, and common sense rather than state the obvious.

I also believe that homosexual behavior is a forgivable sin and can be overcome by the power of the Gospel.  When I meet gays, I don’t view it as my job to change them.  I treat them like I would anyone else, developing relationships and hoping to be able to share the Gospel with them at some point.  The real work is the job of the Holy Spirit.

I was sharing the Gospel with a young man once who happened to be gay.  He was all over the place with his religious beliefs and questions.  At one point, he asked, “Doesn’t the Bible say homosexual behavior is a sin?”  I could have glossed over it and said it was a debatable matter, but that wouldn’t have been true or loving.

I also could have spent an hour explaining all the verses around this topic, but that would have been overkill.  Instead I just confirmed that yes, the Bible does say it is a sin, despite how some try to twist it.  Then I just shifted back to the basic Gospel – namely, that we are all sinners in need of a Savior, and Jesus is that Savior.  It was a great back-and-forth conversation on many topics, and I pray that it planted a seed and that the young man kept searching.

Pro-gay theology tends to fall into one of three categories.  They are all wrong but for varying reasons.  Sometimes, they overlap categories.

1. The Bible is either not the Word of God, or most parts aren’t. This view claims that we can ignore the prohibitions against homosexual behavior because they were written by homophobic Jews.
2. The Bible is the Word of God, but it doesn’t really say homosexual behavior is wrong. This view holds that people just aren’t reading the Bible properly and that God’s Word is actually affirming gay relationships.
3. The Bible is the Word of God and does clearly and emphatically describe gay behavior as sinful.  However, the Holy Spirit has given additional revelations such that this behavior is now acceptable. This view holds that God has changed his mind on this moral issue, and not only is it now acceptable, but it is sinful if you don’t affirm this behavior and same-sex relationships.

—

Category 1: The Bible is either not the Word of God, or most parts aren’t.

Regarding the first view, many liberal theologians deny that part or all of the Bible is the Word of God.  Unlike those in the second view, these folks seem to understand that the Bible does describe homosexual behavior as being sinful.  They just dismiss those parts.

Some appear to believe in Leopard Theology, the false notion that the Bible is only inspired in spots and that they are inspired to spot the spots.  If God wasn’t capable of inspiring all of the original writings of the Bible to be error-free, then why should we trust him to communicate with such clarity to these people regarding what is inspired and what isn’t?

The problem is that this view is very hard to reconcile with the 2,000-year tradition of the church and, more importantly, with the clear text of the Bible itself. People are certainly entitled to hold that view, but it doesn’t seem logical for them to refer to themselves as Christians.

The Bible claims to speak directly for God roughly 3,000 times, so if someone believes that all of those are mistakes, then why on earth would he take this faith seriously?  Why would he want to be a leader in the Christian church?

Remember that Jesus validated the law and the Prophets, among other parts of the Old Testament, right down to the last little mark. He unapologetically referred to the most controversial parts, too—Adam and Eve, Noah, Jonah, Sodom, and Gomorrah. Christians should strive to view the Bible in the same way that He did.

Many of these church “leaders” are liars: They either lied at their ordination vows about believing the essentials of the faith, or they changed their minds later and didn’t do the honest thing and resign.  Their views are usually not just slightly different from historic Christianity, they are the opposite.  I believe in religious freedom, so they are entitled to their beliefs.  I also believe in honesty: HP salesman shouldn’t endorse Dell products, and Christians shouldn’t promote non-Christian beliefs about the Bible.  If either one breaks those rules, they should be quickly fired.

It is challenging to argue with those who hold the first view because you tend to go in circles.  They claim to be Christian, which should mean we can refer to the Bible as a “final court of arbitration” of sorts.  But whenever you find a passage they don’t like, they’ll claim it was written just by men, not God, or they’ll pull out the false argument that you are a Biblical literalist.

They may say things like, “But Jesus never said anything about homosexual behavior.”  That is called arguing from silence, and it is poor reasoning.  Jesus inspired all scripture. He supported the Old Testament law to the last letter, and the “red letters” weren’t silent on these topics in the sense that they reiterated what marriage and murder were; he emphasized many other important issues that these liberal theologians completely ignore (Hell, his divinity, his exclusivity, etc.), He was equally “silent” on issues that these folks treat as having the utmost importance (capital punishment, war, welfare, universal health care, etc.), abortion and homosexual behavior simply weren’t hot topics for 1st century Jews, and He did mention Sodom and Gomorrah. This view is also part of the 2nd type of theological error noted above.

They may jump through hoops trying to dismiss the plain reading of verses like Leviticus 18:22 (“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable”) yet gladly take other plain passages literally.  They may claim there were “only a few verses” but are quick to make firm statements on other topics with fewer verses.  And just how many times does God have to clearly say something before we believe it?

They may try to dismiss passages like that by misreading other passages, such as saying, “God said that eating shellfish was an abomination, so why aren’t you opposed to that?”

To have a rational discussion on the verses referencing homosexuality, you have to convince people in this group that the Bible is reliable and authoritative first.  And that may be impossible.

Here’s a sample quote from a person in this camp:

A 21st century [Martin] Luther would surely recognize that the few biblical proscriptions against “sodomy”-shaky in themselves as condemnations of same-sex love and rooted in a worldview vastly different from our own-should not bar the loving union of two gay or lesbian persons. Equally, a 21st century Luther would affirm the ordination of such persons, as in line with his theology of the ‘priesthood of all believers.’

Mary Zeiss Stange, professor of women’s studies and religion at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, responding to the recent decsion by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to expel a minister who admitted to a physical homosexual relationship-a violation of the denominations “Visions and Expectations” statement.

She tips her hand with the “worldview vastly different from our own” comment.  The worldview she is referring to is that of Middle Eastern Jews and Christians a couple thousand years ago or more.  But she misses the obvious: The Biblical commands weren’t always the Jews’ worldview – they rebelled against that view over and over!  The worldview is God’s, and Ms. Stange is absolutely right that it vastly differs from hers.  She apparently doesn’t believe the Bible is the Word of God.  And if she ends up in Heaven I think Martin Luther will have a few things to clarify with her.

The verses aren’t “shaky,” and plenty are showing God’s plan for human sexuality and his disapproval of homosexual behavior.  Some (but not all) people in this category may be predisposed to only consider verses that affirm their views, and they typically don’t have a problem drawing all sorts of conclusions from less clear passages.  Therefore, they won’t like these facts:

• 100% of the verses addressing homosexual behavior denounce it as a sin in the strongest possible terms.
• 100% of the verses referencing God’s ideal for marriage involve one man and one woman.
• 100% of the verses referencing parenting involve moms and dads with unique roles (or at least a set of male and female parents guiding the children).
• 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to homosexual behavior in a positive or even benign way or even hint at the acceptability of homosexual unions.

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Category 2: The Bible is the Word of God, but it doesn’t really say homosexual behavior is wrong.

The second view is generally better than the first (“the Bible is not the Word of God”) regarding being able to guide people towards the truth because you have a common authority to appeal to.

The problem with this view is that it is just plain incorrect.  As hard as pro-gay theologians try, the truth is that the Bible is overwhelmingly clear.  Pro-gay theologians are good at casting doubt about certain passages, but they never seem to pay attention when someone points out how their reasoning is flawed.

Even some pro-gay theologians agree that the Bible has straightforward commands, but they appeal to “experience” over Scripture.  The heretic John Shelby Spong denies the authority of the Bible at every turn; he at least admits that:

The Bible can certainly be read as condemnatory of homosexual practice. Both sides admit that.

Luke Timothy Johnson, a more orthodox theologian, said:

I think it important to state clearly that we do, in fact, reject the straightforward commands of Scripture, and appeal instead to another authority when we declare that same-sex unions can be holy and good.

As noted previously, here is a summary of the Biblical view:

• 100% of the verses addressing homosexual behavior denounce it as a sin in the strongest possible terms.
• 100% of the verses referencing God’s ideal for marriage involve one man and one woman.
• 100% of the verses referencing parenting involve moms and dads with unique roles (or at least a set of male and female parents guiding the children).
• 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to homosexual behavior in a positive or even benign way or even hint at the acceptability of homosexual unions.

I find those figures to be unambiguous and very compelling based on plain readings of the text and even more so when delving further into the context and the original languages.  I think it is important to consider all those points because some people try to dismiss the traditional Biblical view because it “only” has a few passages about homosexuality.  It only takes one clear passage to make a point, but there are many more than that in the Bible.  These folks also don’t seem to mind making broad conclusions on verses with just one verse behind them.

I have written on a couple specific mistakes pro-gay theologians make regarding Leviticus 18 (“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.”), another article on the shellfish argument and another on Romans 1.

There are solid answers for any question you can come up with, provided people want to discuss the issue.  I saw this commentary on an ex-ex-gay blog (i.e., someone who tried to leave the homosexual lifestyle and returned).  She is commenting on Mel White, a leading pro-gay theologian.

Mel White is a passionate and articulate man who makes it clear from the beginning of the workshop that he has absolutely no desire whatsoever to discuss the biblical passages on homosexuality. Over the years he has suffered a barrage of debates on the issue and he is thoroughly burnt out. He refuses to engage in the discussion any longer. Instead, he passes out a booklet he has written on the subject and tells us to read it. Then, he encourages us to refrain from discussing the Bible with conservative Christians because fundamentalists have no interest in sincere dialogue. Mel also encourages us not to engage in the debate for another reason. By having the conversation, we expose ourselves over and over again to the “lie” that homosexuality is wrong, and when heard repeatedly, “deep down inside you will wonder if they are right.”

That is a clever dodge on Mel’s part.  But I’ll be glad to have a sincere dialogue even if he won’t.

If you examine all the facts, I think you’ll find that the case is overwhelming: God considers homosexual behavior to be sinful, and his ideal for marriage is one man and one woman.

So why do people twist the scriptures so blatantly? I generally don’t speculate on the motives of individuals, as only God knows their hearts. However, I have seen some themes and evidence in various cases.

Some believe the lies out of ignorance or laziness. They may be sincere Christians who just haven’t fully examined the issue. I haven’t fully explored some issues and may have the wrong views on them, so we should approach things humbly. We should do the hard work to understand important issues.

Some believe them out of political correctness. It is much easier to go with the views of the culture. Have they noticed that the liberal theologians came to the conclusion that abortion, homosexual behavior, easy divorce, and fornication were acceptable just after the culture did?  What a coincidence.  They should remember 1 John 2:15-16: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world.

I won’t name specifics here, but I am aware of those in the pro-gay theology camp who pretend to be otherwise orthodox Christians.  But if you follow their own blogs, for example, you discover how thoroughly fraudulent they are.  You need to watch out for those who use a veneer of Christianity to justify their preferences.  They desperately want everyone’s approval – even though it will still leave them unfulfilled – and they especially want the church’s approval — or at least its silence.

There is also the passive-aggressive stance where some confidently claim that the Bible does or doesn’t say something about homosexual behavior, but when you go to analyze the verses, they “humbly” say they don’t know that much (as if the subject were just too complicated or it is so gray we just can’t reach a conclusion).

False teachers aren’t necessarily gay themselves.  They may have other motives for spreading their lies.  Jesus warned that there would be false teachers in the church, and Paul did as well.  What better way to accomplish this than to infiltrate the church and bring it down from the inside?

2 Corinthians 11:13-15  For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.  It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Of course, there are frauds at the other end of the spectrum as well, such as Ted Haggard, or hateful false teachers like Democrat Fred Phelps.  Those aren’t Biblical models, either.

Some people have a “revelation” about the lack of sinfulness of homosexuality when a loved one is involved. Perhaps this is due to new information and a fresh look at the Bible, but perhaps it is due to major league rationalization. It is similar to pro-life Christians who change their minds when their child is pregnant and encourage the destruction of their grandchildren. Did they really change their views on the morality of abortion based on new information, or did their fear of embarrassment and/or inconvenience trump their moral views?

Some people just want to believe the lies. It is a strong delusion. And Satan’s oldest trick is still used today: “Did God really say . . .?”  Hint: Yes.  Yes, He did.

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Category 3 – The Bible is the Word of God and does clearly and emphatically describe gay behavior as sinful.  However, the Holy Spirit has given additional revelations such that this behavior is now acceptable.

This view holds that God has changed his mind on this moral issue, and not only is it now acceptable, but it is sinful if you don’t affirm this behavior and same-sex relationships.

The third view attempts to affirm scripture but makes a major theological mistake afterward.  Think about the premise: God is allegedly overturning a moral law and simultaneously making it immoral to quote the Bible.

One denomination has a slogan that “God is still speaking.”  This would be true if it meant that God still speaks through his Word. However, liberal theologians use this phrase to mean God is changing his moral laws.

Some people appear to believe in Leopard Theology, the false notion that the Bible is only inspired in spots and that they are inspired to spot the spots.  That is the first error above.  However, those in this third category appear to hold to Advanced Leopard Theology, where God is also changing spots and adding/removing spots, and, oddly enough, He is only telling theological liberals and progressives.

This category overlaps a bit with those who don’t think He communicated his laws in a discernable way in the first place (i.e., in the Bible). Still, they now think He is communicating with Swiss-watch precision to them.

Here’s an example: A Methodist pastor named Laurie Hays Coffman did a pro-gay theology piece arguing that she wants to “unfurl our corporate sails to catch today’s winds as the Spirit blows afresh.”  She said she was challenged by the vision God gave to Peter in Acts 10-11 where God makes it clear that the Gospel is for the Gentiles, too, and that the Israelites’ ceremonial dietary laws are no longer in force.

Her reasoning is that in the same way that God overturned those laws he is now overturning the prohibitions against homosexual behavior.

The problem is her poor Biblical analysis.  There are at least nine things wrong with this view:

1. The person who received the revelation was Peter, one of Jesus’ inner circle and a key leader in the early church. It wasn’t made to you, me, or someone like Ms. Coffman. That doesn’t mean God couldn’t reveal something important like this to us, just that it is highly unlikely.
2. The visions were clear and emphatic.  Peter was given the vision three times.
3. Peter was inclined to reject the meaning of the vision, whereas these pro-gay theologians have views on human sexuality that are virtually indistinguishable from the prevailing culture, and they are glad to accept this “new revelation.”
4. There was external validation for Peter from the Roman centurion.
5. This lesson showed up in the Bible, not outside it.  I’m not saying miracles don’t happen outside the Bible.  It is just that things appear in the Bible for a reason.  God communicating that the ceremonial laws had been fulfilled was one of those “big deals.”
6. This vision overturned a ceremonial law, not a moral law.  There are zero examples in the Bible of God reversing his moral laws.  In fact, the more Jesus talked, the stricter the laws seemed to get because He emphasized the spirit of the law and not just the letter (i.e., lust was akin to committing adultery, anger was akin to murder, etc.).  The dietary laws never applied to Gentiles.
7. The “God has changed his mind view” is primarily being “revealed” to theologically liberal Christians in the U.S. . . . the very ones who often deny his Word to begin with!  So, we can’t trust the accurate transmission of the original writings, but we can trust their new revelations?  Go figure.
8. If God is revealing a change, why is it necessarily more liberal?  Why couldn’t God make his laws more stringent?
9. The Bible gives strong warnings not to add or take away from its teachings.

As noted above, even some pro-gay theologians agree that the Bible has straightforward commands, but they appeal to “experience” over Scripture.  Again, Luke Timothy Johnson said:

I think it important to state clearly that we do, in fact, reject the straightforward commands of Scripture, and appeal instead to another authority when we declare that same-sex unions can be holy and good.

There are simply no good reasons to believe that God is changing his moral laws (dropping those against homosexual behavior and adding those saying not to preach against it) and only informing selected people — as opposed to the Apostles and their direct followers — through revelation or “experience.”

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Summary – Pro-gay theological principles in action

I have addressed the three common ways pro-gay theologians make errors, namely by believing that:

1. The Bible is either not the Word of God, or most parts aren’t.
2. The Bible is the Word of God, but it doesn’t really say homosexual behavior is wrong.
3. The Bible is the Word of God and does clearly and emphatically describe gay behavior as sinful.  However, the Holy Spirit has given additional revelations such that this behavior is now acceptable, and the “new” sin is saying that homosexual behavior is sinful.

Now, I am taking the pro-gay theological reasoning out for a test drive, so to speak, to see how it applies to other passages. After all, if its principles are sound, they should work in other situations as well.

We’ve addressed Leviticus 18:22 (Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.) and some of the improper interpretations of it here. But I wondered how their reasoning would apply to a verse in the same passage, such as Leviticus 18:8 – Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father. After all, the context of Leviticus 18 is abundantly clear because it starts and ends with the same admonitions: Don’t be like the pagan Canaanites and do the detestable things listed in the middle of the text, or you will be vomited out of the land like they were.  These were obviously not ceremonial laws just for the Israelites.

You can use any verse from Leviticus 18 to make the same points (bestiality, child sacrifice, etc.).  I chose this one because it happened to be addressed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5.  Especially note how Paul chides them for being proud and boastful about this man’s behavior.  Read it once, then read it again and replace the descriptions of incest with homosexual behavior.  That is how I view the pro-gay theology community (especially the heterosexuals): Proud and boastful for ignoring God’s Word.

1 Corinthians 5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

Now, let’s apply the various lines of pro-gay theological reasoning to Leviticus 18:8 and 1 Corinthians 5 and see how well they work. I realize that not all pro-gay theologians hold all these views.  I tried to convey their reasoning as accurately as possible.  Using their logic, we could conclude that:

• Jesus didn’t specifically say not to have sexual relations with your father’s wife, so it couldn’t have been very important and probably wasn’t even a sin (the argument from silence).  We should err on the side of saying it isn’t a sin.  We ignore the fact that Jesus, as God, authored the Old Testament and that He fully supported it.
• The man was born that way (i.e., with the desire to have sex with females).  It was his natural desire and function.
• He and his father’s wife love each other!  Who are you to say that is wrong?  Gene Robinson, a Bishop in the Episcopal church, left his wife and kids so he could be with his gay lover.  Pro-gay theologians usually affirm and applaud this behavior.  Living up to marriage commitments made before God isn’t nearly as important as indulging your sexual preferences.
• How do you know he and his father’s wife didn’t pray about it?  Maybe God gave them a personal revelation permitting them to have sex and/or get married.  That would make it acceptable.
• Maybe the couple says that Jesus told them it was OK.  Who are you to argue with Jesus?
• Leviticus 18:8 was a ceremonial law.  It was only for the Jews.  It obviously doesn’t apply to Gentiles.  If you eat shellfish, then you obviously are a hypocrite if you don’t condone incest.
• The Bible never actually uses the word incest.
• Only a few verses say not to have sexual relations with your father’s wife [probably less than there are describing homosexual behavior as sinful]. Therefore, how can we be sure about it?  And they are kinda obscure as well.
• The man or the father’s wife was a temple prostitute, or this was part of some pagan temple worship, and that is what made it wrong [even though the text doesn’t even hint at that].
• Paul was an ignorant prude.  He didn’t understand sexual behavior or have the advantage of all the knowledge we do.  [This assumes that the Holy Spirit wasn’t inspiring his writings, of course].
• You are just using the “yuck” factor and saying “Eeewww” because a man having sex with his father’s wife seems gross to you.  There is nothing wrong with it, though – you were just made differently.
• Judge not, lest ye be judged.  Paul must be sinning here because he is clearly making moral judgments.  [Please ignore that I’m judging Paul for judging and that I’ve taken Matthew 7:1-5 out of context].
• You are just an incest-o-phobe.  You need therapy for your irrational hatred.  In fact, speech like that should be prohibited because it will incite violence against those who practice incest.
• You just don’t love the man and his father’s wife!  If you did, you’d want them to be happy.  Hater!  Hate speech!
• Other parts of the Bible portray God acting in ways that don’t appear to align with his moral laws, so they obviously aren’t really from him.  Therefore, Leviticus 18:8 may not be his Word either.  When in doubt, we should ignore Scripture because God’s revelation to my heart trumps anything in the Bible.
• Some parts of the Bible aren’t clear to us [even though this part is] so we can ignore it.

If that sounds like an unsound line of reasoning that’s because it is an unsound line of reasoning. These principles don’t work on the passages they are designed to dismiss, and they completely self-destruct when applied to other passages.  Pro-gay theology is flawed, sinful, and destructive and should be abandoned by any Christians who hold those views.

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Once again, note that:

• 100% of the verses addressing homosexual behavior denounce it as a sin in the strongest possible terms.
• 100% of the verses referencing God’s ideal for marriage involve one man and one woman.
• 100% of the verses referencing parenting involve moms and dads with unique roles (or at least a set of male and female parents guiding the children).
• 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to homosexual behavior in a positive or even benign way or even hint at the acceptability of homosexual unions.

Remember, if homosexual behavior is a sin – and the Bible clearly identifies it as such – then affirming and encouraging that behavior is also a sin and providing the orthodox Biblical view is the loving thing to do.  God is perfectly holy, but He is also perfectly gracious and merciful and will forgive those who repent and believe in Jesus.  Hear the Good News:

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Comments are welcome, but please stick to the topic.  We aren’t debating secular views, we aren’t demonizing anyone (pro-gay or orthodox), and we don’t need straw-man arguments (“You just don’t love them,” etc.).

Love LGBTQ people, be friends with them and pray for them.  If they need to develop a friendship with you so they can see what normal relationships should look like, then do so.  But don’t encourage them to participate in sinful behavior.  If you do, then you love yourself, not them, and you are committing a serious sin (Romans 1:32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them).

And remember, God catches his fish, and then he cleans them.  You don’t have to convert their sexuality before sharing the Good News that by his grace God adopts, completely forgives and eternally blesses everyone who repents and trusts in Jesus.