ClarkeComments.com

Warning: My post today is more of a theological rant than it is any type of quasi-pseudo-scholarly examination. If that is what you are looking for today, you will not find it here.

Hello all:

I listen to several radio stations around the Portland area, including a couple of Christian music stations. Two of these Christian radio stations regularly play the James Dobson Family Minute.

Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but growing up, I thought James Dobson was a member of the Church of Christ because he seemed to be very respected by our fellowship, even my parents. Listening to him now, I can somewhat see why that is… he fits decently into our worldview..close enough to be counted as safe.

I don’t typically care for most of the advice I hear from James Dobson and Focus on the Family. Most of it seems to be psychological and behavoral advice that they try to pass off as biblical or “approved by God,” but really just are human insights that may or may not be correct because of our fallen state.

Most of the time I can handle that, but then I heard this radio clip:

James Dobson Family Minute, 05/23/08 (59 Seconds).

Dobson says that “Any effort to destroy this great nation . . . has to be the ultimate assault on family values.” He goes on to describe how destroying this nation is to subject it to a foreign force that would endanger our freedom. Bill Maer then tells us that it is important to “be grounded in God’s word and to be involved in the Democratic Process . . .whether it is at home or abroad, any issue that threatens the family is one that needs to be faced head on.”

This clip makes several worldy assumptions: that the United States is a great nation, approved by God; that an attack on democracy or freedom is an attack on the family; that Christians have a duty to vote; that Christians have a duty to fight any aggressor that might threaten our nation, democracy, or our freedom.

This flies in the face of Jesus words recorded in Matthew 5:39, “But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

We equate the United States with Israel. Sometimes it appears that we have embraced Alexander Campbell’s Post-Millenialism… and believe that the Millenium is here, and that we are living in the renewed Earth, with our country as the renewed Israel, our President, no matter who he is, sitting on the throne of David.

Instead, we are living on a fallen Earth, in a Nation that is just as wicked before God as Babylon, believing that we are doing right by fighting anyone who attacks our freedom and our ability to buy whatever we want.

Our forefathers in Churches of Christ wouldn’t have bought into James Dobson’s Worldview, but we appear to have swallowed the line whole.

-Clarke

Hello all:

I came across an add on DisciplesWorld.com this morning advertising the Disciples of Christ Historical Society’s Journeys in Faith project. The Society is looking for members of Stone-Campbell churches to go online on their website, and fill out a survey about your memories growing up in your local church. The survey takes about 45 - 60 minutes to complete, and they will take your answers and put them in their oral history collection for current and future Stone-Campbell Historians to use in learning, teaching, and writing.

-Clarke

Hello all:

I am 29 today…and I’m not very thrilled/happy about this…not sure why….

I just have a feeling that its not going to be a great day…prayers accepted and solicited.

I guess I’ll take birthday greetings, too.

-Clarke

Hello all:

Today, Sara and I made it to Doug Foster’s class entitled “Three Decisive Years for Churches of Christ (A Church Historian Reflects on 1809, 1909, and 2009)”. It was such a blessing to hear Doug Foster speak; he is a great teacher and speaker who can really make Church History interesting, even for my wife, who actually wanted to go to his class. This was the second time I’ve heard Doug Foster speak, and both times have been great.

Dr. Foster spent the last part of the class talking about 2009, the year of the Great Communion. To commemorate 200 years since Thomas Campbell’s Decleration and Address, the three streams of the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement will hold “Great Communion Sunday,” encouraging churches from all three streams to worship, fellowship and commune together. Dr. Foster encouraged people to go out and meet the Disciples and Independents in their areas and to start a plan to celebrate the Great Communion. One of my goals for 2009 will definatly be to help organize a Great Communion event for the Portland area.

Dr. Foster also just released a new book through Leafwood Press focused on the Great Communion called One Church that you can order here.

After Doug Foster’s class, I went and heard Lynn McMillon talk about “Lessons Learned from Restoration History (The Scottish Experience).” Dr. McMillon spoke about the Scottish Glasite and Sandemanian Churches, that called themselves Churches of Christ and which bear quite a resemblance to our movement. This has been a topic I’ve been curious about ever since I read Leroy Garrett’s history of the movement, and it was a very enjoyable class. Dr. McMillon wrote a book on the Glasite churches called Restoration Roots that I’m looking forward to buying and reading.

I ended up missing the next two sessions because of homework, but I ended up with a good great so I guess it was worth it.

Later in the day, I was quite blessed to have dinner withBobby Valentine, and we got to talk about life, school, and theology.

The Main Lecture was by Gary Selby of Pepperdine, who spoke on “The Wealth of the Faithful.” Selby criticized the security and wealth that we cling to, and how that wealth and security interfears with the Christian life, which was odd to hear in Malibu among the million dollar homes, $75k cars in the Pepperdine parking lot, etc. It was a powerful message, though, and helpful to myself and Sara as we continue to strongly consider quitting my secure civil service job to go back to school to study theology.

The night ended in Bobby Valentine’s class on The Struggle for the Soul of Churches of Christ, which was excellent. I must admit, I went to Bobby and John Mark Hicks’ class on Kingdom Come two years ago at Pepperdine, bought the book, read it, and enjoyed it. I was persuaded by many of the arguments in Kingdom Come. And then…I heard Bobby speak about it for three days this year, and had a chance to talk to him about the Nashville Bible School tradition… and that, coupled with the events that have taken place in my spiritual journey over the last two years, has won me over to the apocalyptic worldview embraced by Lipscomb and Harding. I believe it is true to scripture, true to our heritage, and true to the Spirit… I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about these things, and you may see a change in which topics I blog about soon because of it.

Another great night at Pepperdine.

-Clarke