Hey, It Could Happen

Fast forward to 2056. The United States has weathered wars and recessions and is again sitting on top of the world in education, exports and technology. The nation is no longer a right versus left, split and divided country. The out-going President is stepping away with an unprecedented 92% favorable rating and could easily be elected President of Earth (which thankfully is not yet a position). He is also the first President in modern history to come from neither of the historical wings of American politics. Press from across the globe are clamoring to obtain the first post-presidency interview. In a twist that shocks the old-line press (those who continue to use 2025 computers) and the uber-progressives using implant technology, the President selects a small media firm in the tri-cities megalopolis of Johns Creek-Cumming-Sugar Hill, Georgia (one of America’s most progressive hot spots). The President is a native of this region and spent his first eighteen years there (before going on to earn degrees from Georgia Tech, U.G.A., U.A.B., Oxford and Cambridge). Below is an excerpt from the interview:

Mr. President, to what do you owe your immense success? Honestly, I have been blessed with great parents and family, excellent educational access and the opportunity to spend six months in Congress before becoming president.

You’ve brought America from the brink of extinction in just eight years. How did you do it? Well, my six months in Congress were quite eventful and I was on a steep learning curve. The Presidency was very hard but in the tough times I called upon my early years for guidance.

By early years do you mean the short time in Congress or when your were a 5-Star General, or even when you were a double-Eagle Scout? No, obviously I learned a lot in each of those phases of life, but I am referring to my early years in church, especially in Vacation Bible School.

I apologize sir, but what is Vacation Bible School? V.B.S. was a unique week of emphasis in my childhood church where we learned about following God, living by faith and how to love other people through giving. Something we call stewardship and missions. If I may be so frank, it was a rocking week of fun and study. Shaped my life for sure.

So sir, you equate your success more with a kid’s Bible week than you do with leading our military, graduating from five prestigious universities by the time you were 25 and serving in Congress? Yes, absolutely. You know young man, evidently you never attended a kid’s Bible week as you refer to it, if you had, you’d understand. One can be educated well past their capacity to learn; war is never positive; and, I wasn’t in Congress long enough to learn everyone’s name. I am who I am due to the people who sacrificed their time and resources to give kids like me Vacation Bible School.

So Vacation Bible School changed the world? Oh yes, and in more and better ways than my story. There were five hundred of us back then. I imagine the cure for cancer was discovered by a V.B.S. graduate, plus the lady who solved the world’s water shortage was indeed a V.B.S. person. I asked her at the Nobel Prize event. 

Michael McCullar

The Storms Blew in Questionable Theology but Excellent Response

This article is being written from the perspective of an outsider touring a portion of the recent tornado’s destructive path through Alabama. I drove through two of the lesser damaged cities near Birmingham and the level of destruction was in a word, amazing. The sad reality I felt while viewing the masses of twisted trees and metal was these places wouldn’t make the top ten list of damaged areas across Georgia and Alabama. This was truly one of the worst storms of all time in an area already infamous for being a tornado-zone. The upside of my trip was the sight of church and faith-based relief work in place in both areas. Denominational and church teams were involved in many visible ways. Such rapid and on-going response to people in crisis is one way to share the Gospel of Jesus with the public. This is also a proper demonstration of Christian theology: God doesn’t cause destructive storms but He works for good in the aftermath. The church responding to someone else's crisis is part of the good that God brings to the afflicted and damaged.

Sadly this isn’t a universally accepted view of theology. There are preachers and tons of Christians who place the blame for such storms on God. Growing up I heard this preached and discussed on many occasions. God sent that storm (or insert earthquake, flood, disease, etc.) due to the sin of the people. God was just gettin’ their attention! Thankfully this shallow and wholly inadequate theology (my view) did not stick and I have been able to see the God of the New Testament profiled in the person and teachings of Jesus. This is not a haughty statement of theological superiority. That too would be against the teachings of the New Testament (Romans 14); it is simply a confession of personal theology that does not inadvertently make God out to be a very bad deity.

Imagine your house was totally destroyed in a storm and you were left with nothing but a pile of rubble. How would you feel? Would you want to hear that God brought your loss due to sin or a lack of attention? Or, would you hope to feel the enveloping love of God while standing in the midst of personal tragedy? I’m guessing most everyone would chose the latter. So why do so many people move so quickly to blame God and sin? Well, it’s easy and convenient and very human to require a scapegoat or someone to blame. It’s also true that humans want a concrete handle on even the most abstract events of life. In the case of tornados it might be best to simply apply meteorological science available on the evening newscast: hot air and cold air banging together cause very bad storms.

And to those who are so quick to blame sin or the act of ignoring God for storm damage…why are our houses still standing?

Michael McCullar

SAVE THE DATE: THE END OF TIME IS JUST THREE WEEKS AWAY!

I’m happy I didn’t buy season tickets for baseball this year. In just over three weeks the world will cease to exist. Dang, I have a new pair of western boots; they won’t even be broken in by then. Do they allow cowboy boots in Heaven? I tuned up my lawnmower for what? And I renewed a magazine subscription for twelve more months and paid up front! If I’d only read the work of Harold Camping a couple of months ago I wouldn’t be in this mess. 89-year old Mr. Camping is a self-taught Bible-scholar who is also quite good with ciphering. By combining the two disciplines and, with just a bit of creative license, he has determined that the end of time will occur on May 21, 2011. You might want to hold off on putting down a deposit on a beach condo rental for July.

Mr. Camping began his time-sensitive equation with Noah’s floating zoo in 4990 B.C. He next took Peter’s statement “one day is with the Lord as a thousand days and a thousand years is one day.” 7000 added to 4900 gives you 2010, and since there had to have been a year one, add one additional year and the worlds shelf-life reads 2011. May 21 was a bit harder to discern as Genesis states the flood began on the “17^th day of the second month.” But which calendar? Camping is convinced God uses the Hebrew calendar so the exact date is May 21. Piece of cake. So mark the date. It’s a Saturday.

Mr. Camping’s first foray in prognosticating Christ’s return didn’t go well. In his book 1994 he chose that year for the Rapture. In 2005 he published Time Has an End and at that point honed in on May 21, 2011. He isn’t alone in picking the end of time and being wrong. 88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Return in 1988 was a big seller until 1989. William Miller (founder of the Seventh-Day Adventists and former Baptist) picked October 22, 1844 and convinced thousands of followers to ready themselves. Huge numbers of believers spent that entire day on their roofs (ten feet closer to Heaven). Oops!

Kudos to Mr. Camping for trying but it’s highly unlikely Jesus will return May 21, 2011. Scripture is clear that no person knows when God’s next phase will begin. In reality, no person can know when God will act next. So why spend decades trying? Pray and repent daily and trust God for the future is all we can do. God only needs our help in reaching and reconciling the world back to Him. God does not help planning the end of time. But just in case I’m wrong…might want to hold off on painting or re-roofing the house until May 22.

Michael McCullar

A Third World Education

Ever been to the Third World? Ever wonder why it’s referred to as the Third World? I’ve been to the Third World several times and actually know my way around several slum areas scattered across the globe; and, while I don’t know who coined the term Third World, I realize it defines the absolute worst places for humans to inhabit. If there is a Fourth World I would hate to experience it, although I have a feeling the world is headed in that direction.

The worst place I’ve seen up close is Haiti. Haiti was a Third World country before the 2010 earthquake and now it’s much, much worse. Possibly portions of that country are close to reaching Fourth World status. I’ve never been to the African continent or to India but I’m told by missions’ volunteers that both places have many Third World areas. The Dominican Republic is where I spend the bulk of my missions-time now and I’ve covered three-fourths of the country visiting Baptist congregations assessing needs and possibilities. Surprisingly, the worst area I’ve visited is in Santo Domingo and not in the rural north. That was also the only time I’ve feared for my life while doing mission work. Americans, especially white Americans, have ignored that particular barrio and as a result my small team starkly stood out as we walked over rutted dirt streets flowing with human waste. A group of men stood in a pod and looked at us with eyes filled with suspicion and, I assumed, some level of hate. I was there to meet with an exiled Haitian pastor about an upcoming trip to supply medicines to earthquake victims and to provide financial aid for his work. The walk into his ramshackled church seemed like a hundred miles as we had to walk through the groups of assembled men. I was trying to walk with confidence but was failing miserably as we inched our way toward the church. It was at this point that the Haitian pastor came out and loudly called to us, My Brothers in Christ, welcome to God’s church. He embraced us and we walked in together. With those few words I was safe and more importantly, the Third and First worlds were momentarily fused.

Recently I was in another Dominican slum assisting a Johns Creek Baptist Church youth mission team’s work. I was mostly in the background so I had the privilege of watching First World teenagers engage Third World children. They did well in every aspect of the work and saw what life is like on the other extreme. They are just beginning the journey of serving Christ in extreme circumstances. Hopefully they will continue on and as adults champion the missions’ causes of their generation. If they do, they will acquire a Third World education like mine. It doesn’t come with a diploma or fancy photographs. It comes with a healthy share of existential guilt and tears. There are serious financial costs. But, the good will easily outweigh the bad and the pull toward missions will be strong. They will learn that God’s church is meant for the whole world and they play a role in making it all come together. And, best of all, they will achieve a Third World education!

Michael McCullar

The Intersection of Peace & Quiet

There’s probably a math whiz somewhere who could quantify the proliferation of chaos in the world. To pull off that feat would indeed be rocket science, but to a lesser degree it would be simple perception. We normal people, sans rocket science brains, can easily perceive the tremendous tumult and chaos that surrounds us. On a global scale there was Haiti last year and now Japan. People dying in large numbers due to natural disasters now seems inevitable. Has it always been this way? Are there more hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes than in the past or does it just seem that way? According to the United States Geographical Survey the number of earthquakes have remained steady over the past one hundred years. The difference they say is in the media awareness and the number of specialists in the field of research. If an earthquake hit Japan in 1900 it would take time for the news to reach America and we would not see the reality of the devastation for months. Today a natural disaster is literally seconds away from worldwide news. In 1931 there were 350 seismograph monitoring stations and now there are 4000.

I know little about the science of natural disasters so I will leave it to the experts to determine if the number of events is increasing. I work in an area where chaos can’t be determined by experts or by science. Having seen the aftermath of post-earthquake Haiti proves that chaos can be both seen and proven. Having looked myself in the mirror for years proves that chaos is also an unseen foe that disrupts the spiritual balance of people of faith. If you look chaos up in a dictionary you will find definitions such as complete disorder; jumble; and, confusion. A patently Christian definition is based on comparisons: the lack of peace; and, turmoil in life. In essence, chaos is the opposite of peace. Think of a cacophony of awful noise and then think of a moment of peace and the unique quiet found in therein.

We can’t do anything about natural disasters but be prepared to react and help those who fall victim. We can, however, do something about the general chaos so common to life: we can eradicate it through communion with God. We can ask God to alleviate the source of the chaos. We can actually say no to a bad choice. We can separate ourselves from chaos-inducing practices. We can be still and know that God is. Peace beats the heck out of chaos! I bet even rocket scientists would agree with that assessment!

Michael McCullar

New Bible or "New" Bible

It’s a warm lovely Saturday afternoon and I’m sitting in my 400-square-foot study finishing up tomorrow’s words. Sunday comes around every seven days and in ministry one has to be ready mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; if not, it shows. Today is sweet though as I’m using my new Bible. I sprung for a new large print model that is wide rather than tall and as such fits on podiums, lecterns and pulpits and doesn’t protrude over the top. I decided large print was in my near future after having trouble reading the small print during a teaching session last week. The lights were dimmed for video and when the time came for reading scripture to the group, I had trouble making out the words. I have new glasses! The only option was to buy a large print Bible.

My new Bible is quite cool with its unique shape, large margins for making teaching notes, and the bigger font size. But in reality, it’s basically the same as all of my other copies of scripture. The Bible is the Bible is the Bible, right? Yes, I know that the version or translation type means something; and some prefer the older versions they grew up with, but in the end it is still God’s Word for humankind. So as I’m sitting here reading, praying, and writing, I’m aware that it’s up to me to make the Bible new to me. Ask yourself this question: “Have you read a verse or section of scripture dozens of times only to have it jump out at you as if you’d completely missed it all along?” I have, and each time it happens, I smile as I remember how powerful this book can be. In preparing to write on Paul’s letters to Timothy & Titus I read each letter five times before writing the first word. As soon as I began writing I encountered a verse on prayer that I could’ve sworn wasn’t in there the last time I’d read it. Where did that come from? Scripture became new to me that day; and while I will admit this doesn’t happen every day or even every week, there are times that the Bible morphs into our lives in new and profound ways.

So here I sit hoping my cool, odd-shaped large print Bible goes all new on me. If not, there’s always tomorrow.

Michael McCullar

Missing John and Karen

I miss John Denver and Karen Carpenter, especially on down days and Karen on many rainy Mondays. What passionate voices those two possessed, and their writing was unbelievable. I never saw Karen Carpenter in concert as that was one of those things I meant to do but alas, never did. I did see John Denver live several times and still remember the experience. I’m not sure if either was of my faith choice, and I don’t know a lot about their private lives. I choose to not read biographies of people whose art inspires me and make me feel better about life. I read one article about Karen’s battle with anorexia and it made me so sad I decided to not read anything else about her. For my money she had the best female voice of all time. John Denver didn’t have a hall of fame voice, but his enthusiasm and love of life made up for any and all vocal deficiencies. I listen to John Denver and I smile. I see majestic mountains and a pure blue sky and the world’s a much better place thanks to John.

Who makes you feel better about things? I’m exempting Matthew, Mark, Luke and John from this endeavor as it’s a given we get much of our life-oomph from scripture and prayer. Feel free to be secular for a moment and focus on music or words or faces. Who makes you feel it’s all worth it? To whom do you turn to feel better or to gear up for another tough experience? How does it help you?

When I was running in road races I would make sure I listened to certain music before each race. I would turn on the music while warming up and would slowly slip into the groove I needed to push myself to my honest limits. I used this to set me apart from my competition; in my mind, it was me against the world (thankfully it was a very, very small world). I’ve been told it’s not good for Christians to allow themselves to be set apart in life. I disagree. God sets us apart from our sin and our base humanity. When we pray we are praying as one individual to our God. There are times we are at our best when we set ourselves apart from the fray. This is especially true if the act of setting ourselves apart drives us to be better at what we do for God…which, by the way, is supposed to be everything we do.

With thanks to the memories of Karen Carpenter and John Denver,

Michael McCullar

What's Your Opinion?

Opinions. People have them on just about any subject that comes up. Some people are very firm with their opinions and others seem to float in and out of various options. Some people make a living sharing their opinions. Many of today’s cable television most-watched programs are led by talking heads who do little more than share their opinions. This is America, so sharing one’s opinion is a freedom we enjoy; there are, however, a few courtesy-based guidelines that should be adhered to when opinions are being debated.

Webster defines an opinion as what one thinks true. Notice it doesn’t read what one assumes to be true, or hopes to be true. One’s opinion is a personally held belief that is held to be true by that individual; thus, differing opinions on the same subject can be true. Obviously every opinion is not true in actual fact, making this a case of relative truth. Say a person believes the Bible to be totally without error and another person believes the Bible is God’s infallible word; but, due to countless translations from one language to another, holds a few errors in date, time, and place. Who’s right? They can’t both be correct as an error is an error no matter who’s defining the word. In the sphere of relative truth they can both be right as it’s a personal matter of belief. The same goes for politics and other oft-volatile subjects. One opinion is as true as another if it’s held by someone.

The takeaway is simply this: opinions are plentiful; but never forget that behind every opinion is a person. If and when we engage in opinion-based discussion we need to separate the opinion from the person holding the opinion. If we don’t hold the person in proper esteem we will convolute the person and their opinion, and the end result is often bad relationships, if not hate. Another word for this is fundamentalism. Fundamentalists see themselves as being the holder of actual truth and as such if you disagree with them you are automatically wrong. Fundamentalists exist in every field and tend to do more damage than good in the long run. Fundamentalists do not encourage discussion and the sharing of ideas. Some fundamentalists even go as far as disallowing discussion, seeing it as unnecessary since they have the answer already in hand. I’m guessing we would not have made it to the moon if this form of leadership had been in place: Forget the Jetsons and Star Trek! Rockets can’t make it to the Moon! This meeting’s over!

This is an equation that works: Mix opinions and respect, and the outcome will be an excellent discussion and sharing of ideas among equals. If you run into a fundamentalist say you have two words for them: George Jetson! Works every time, but that’s just my opinion of course.

Michael McCullar

It's Not about Religion in Egypt

The Arab world has been upended in many ways over the mass protests in Egypt. While it’s easy to read Islamic proliferation into the various Middle Eastern struggles, in the case of Egypt, which isn’t in the Middle East, it’s about the structure and function of government. In a world seared by the fear of radical Islamic terrorism it’s a positive to see Egypt’s internal strife focused on a dictatorship rather than an ayatollah or imam. Egypt, much like Iran, has a young population that seems hungry for a form of democracy. This is about the only similarity between the two countries. Egypt is a Sunni Muslim country without a theocratic element; Iran is predominantly Shia Muslim and is run from the shadows by radical clerics. Sunni and Shia Muslims do not get along with each other, an issue that goes back to the 7^th century. Iran is in the Middle East and Egypt is part of the African continent. Miles apart in many ways, these two countries are poised to define the face of the future for Islam.

No one knows how the acute Egyptian upheaval will end, or what the lasting results will be. The same can be said for the smaller, quieter freedom movement in Iran. The brightest light is that a yearning for some form of freedom and democracy is in evidence among the younger Muslims in each country. Radical Islam can only be stopped from within Islam. If it’s true that 15% of Muslims are on the radical right; 15% form the liberal left; and, 70% occupy the middle, it’s possible that the average Muslim is not intent on the destructive progression of Islam (the end goal of Islam is to permeate the world with Islamic influence). If this assessment is accurate, there is a hope that the huge majority of centrist Muslims will sway both Sunni and Shia Islam away from the Al Qaeda, Taliban, Hezbollah and other extremist elements. Obviously this is only a hope as there are no guarantees and thus far, the larger centrist faction has been quiet. But, hope is what makes today’s world go round.

So pray for all Egyptians as this epic uprising continues to unfold. Pray for the Christian church in Egypt and the safety of missionaries and believers caught in the middle of this struggle. Pray also for Iranian Christians, some of whom have faced strong persecution over the past years, and for the amazing progress of the Gospel in Iran. Our close work with Elam Ministries has allowed us to keep up with the growth of the Christian church in Tehran and across the country. And pray for the quest for democracy from within each country. An open mind for democracy signals an opening for other new ideas and practices…and the light of Jesus Christ has an amazing ability to find its way through even the tiniest of openings.

Michael McCullar

And the Spiritual Gifts Are As Follows: Teaching, Service, Algebra...

God created two kinds of people: right-brained and left-brained. Actually, God created many types of people, but the job of a writer is immensely easier if the contrasts are limited to two. Obviously there are short and tall people; thin people and big-boned people; people who waste precious time and money on hair care and those who’s hair dries before they exit the shower; and, people come in various colors and accents and drive on different sides of the road. In reality we are a multi and varied lot. Scripture points this out in several places, none more vivid than when addressing the various spiritual gifts provided to people. Have you noticed, however, how down right churchy the spiritual gifts sound? You got your preachers, your teachers, your music people; you got your mercy-sharing people and you got your witnessers; you got your prophets and you got your behind-the-scenes-people that take up the offering, hand out the juice and them tiny crackers that taste like the cook left something out, and the people who love to put chairs out. Have you ever wondered why something like algebra or fixing cars or pharmacy isn’t considered spiritual gifts? I have.

In 7^th grade, I decided I was going to be a lawyer and I almost made it (a completely different article). I majored in Criminal Justice and took one law school course while still in college (a fluke). I loved the way attorneys represented people by using oratorical skills and mastery of the law (gleaned from a childhood of watching television). I also checked and found that few, if any, math skills were necessary. I was terrible in all things math. I am right-brained and my people tend to trip all over rhythmic geometry and free style ciphering. If I could become a successful lawyer and not have to take math in the process I would be happier than Perry Mason at the bar association buffet. Alas, as they say, I didn’t fulfill my childhood dream of math-free law school; nor did I enter a field devoid of math as I was forced to take several statistics classes. Things worked out OK though because lawyers are required to understand the tax code and how to bill in increments of minutes, both of which require a skill in math or, in hiring gifted assistants.

I’ve also decided that all vocations can be extensions of spiritual gifts and God’s call for everyone to serve the Kingdom. It’s a fallacy to believe only the professional clergy are supposed to serve God as a vocation. If you’re a lawyer, serve God as a lawyer. If you’re a medical professional, serve God through medicine. If you’re a math teacher, serve God by whatever it is you do, but be kind and graceful to all those odd, right-brained, math-impaired budding preachers and attorneys you run across. Believe it or not, they do come in handy now and again. And, no matter what you do as a vocation…do it for God. You are a spiritual gift!

Michael McCullar

Turning the "Page"

There are many ways to view the annual ritual of passing from one year to another. For our purposes let’s use the noun page, as in turning the page from one year to the next. As we merge years and experience January we tend to look back and analyze the just-past year, and look forward to a new year of opportunities. The idea of making a resolution(s) to correct an issue or to improve life and health is part of the rite of passage from one year to the next. Studies have shown that the majority of Americans make at least one resolution each year. Studies have also demonstrated our lack of follow-through and commitment to our new goals. In short, the majority of us fail to honor our goals and, to make matters even more depressing, we fail rather quickly. I went on a strict diet one year and actually did well for several weeks; only to fall prey to an apple pie during a week of few, to zero, carbohydrates. I’m talking the pie; not just a piece.

We fail for many reasons, mainly due to attempting to change our strongest weakness. Life change is rough stuff, especially when we are battling our own personal demons. Another reason for quick failure is impatience. Are you inherently impatient? A quick test is the elevator: when you enter an elevator do you become impatient and irritated because the door doesn’t close fast enough? Do you push the close button several times, only to become even more irritated when a late arriving person pushes the open button as they attempt to join you for your ride? If you answered yes to either question you are indeed impatient, and as a result you will likely fail to keep your resolution; especially if it had anything to do with patience. We need less stress in life. We need reachable goals that actually lead to a better life. We need the sweet taste of success, not the bitter taste of failure. We need to move past apple pie and resolve to read more in 2011.

Reading is a low stress endeavor that can improve the quality of life. There is so much from which to choose virtually everyone can succeed in reading more. Plus, the paper and ink book is now sharing time with the electronic version. In seconds you can download an entire book and read it from your phone. Not even George Jetson could do that! I browsed a bookstore to note the varied titles available and came away with quite a list: The History of Salt (could be interesting, it’s been around a long time); The Science of Kissing (pretty sure it’s not actually a science): The New Evolution Diet (probably takes a million years to lose those last five pounds); A is for Armageddon (can’t wait for the sequel, B is for…); You Might Be a Zombie & Other Bad News ( maybe for a rainy day, but not at night for sure); and, The Carb Lovers Diet (been there, done that, ended up with apple pie all over my face, not gonna read this one).

Pick a book; pick a genre; turn the page on a new year with a new book and feel the stress ebb away. And, there’s always the Bible. Can’t go wrong there. Check out the new version titled The Story; a rendering of the Bible in free flowing story form. Scripture will change your life; other books will change your life; the beauty is that your life will be changed in different ways when you read both. That’s like 2 for 1. And who isn’t looking for a great deal in the new year?

Michael McCullar