The Faughn Family of Four

What a month!

I’ve heard people talk about certain times going by faster than others before. I thought I knew what that felt like, and then January 2012 happened. Whew! Just let it be sufficient to say that this month has flown by.

But enough about me. Let’s get to the links for the month.

1.  Time to look in the mirror a bit. Chris Gallagher wrote a short, but powerful post that I hope you will take to heart. It’s called “6 Reasons Why I Do Not Attend Your Congregation.”

2. I love my dad for a lot of reasons. One reason I love him is for his perspective on things. I think that really comes out in his article “Page Seventy-Eight.”

3. One of the major moral issues facing our country today, of course, is homosexuality. Neal Pollard wrote an excellent post that I hope every Christian will read. It’s called “What is God’s View Toward Homosexuality in 2012?”

4. I thought I would share another congregational culture article. This one is by my brother-in-law, Jeremiah Tatum. It’s called “Where Visitors Go to Die.”

5. Earlier this week, I wrote a response to the YouTube viral sensation about loving Jesus but hating religion. My dear friend, Daniel Gaines, wrote a much longer, but much more detailed response. It will take you a few minutes to work through, but you’ll be blessed for it. Here is his work.

TIME FOR A VIDEO BREAK. How about a contestant who should have just given up on this category on Jeopardy!

ENOUGH HUMOR (to quote a “Saved by the Bell” teacher). Back to the links

6. I thought this was a very thought-provoking devotional post. Jennifer Gerhardt writes, “Why I Don’t Want to be a Person Who Reads Her Bible.”

7. Here’s another good devotional post from Rick Kelly entitled “Is God Trying to Tell Me Something?”

8. Ever struggled to teach someone because you were trying to figure out their spiritual maturity level? You’ll enjoy Jeff Jenkins’ article, “We’re Not Fourth Graders!”

9. I love goal-setting, but I fail in too many goals. Michael Hyatt wrote a very helpful post that you need to read. It’s called “The Missing Ingredient in Most Goals.”

10. I recently taught a class on postmodernism. I wish this post had been up then, because it would have made a great conclusion to that class. It’s from Hugh Fulford, and it’s called “Can We Know Anything for Sure?”

WRAP UP TIME … yes, it’s Friday, and I’m in love!

Who knew that this song had been on a Disney cartoon? Well, now you do!!!

The outpouring of love and support for Blake Rader has been tremendous. Requests about his health have come from all over the world, and we continue to rally around this wonderful five-year-old boy!

One of the things that has been done is that two of our college students here at Lebanon Road have made bracelets for Blake. They are giving them away, but asking for donations that will be put into a fund to help the Raders when bills begin to come due. I know that over 1250 have been given away, and that’s probably a very low estimate.

This next week, Blake begins his chemo and radiation treatments. He is doing a lot better, but we all know that these treatments will knock him down for a while. One of the ways the family is keeping his spirits up is to show him how many people are praying for him, and the bracelets are a visible reminder of that.

So…

Michael and Connie (Blake’s parents) have a special request of all of us. He is asking that we all take pictures of our bracelets and post them to the Pray for Blake Facebook page. Michael and Connie will then show him all these pictures from time-to-time to help keep his spirits up.

If you do not have a Facebook account, you can email the pictures to me, and I will be glad to post them for you. His treatments start next week, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t have at least 300 pictures up by then. Will you help out?

Here’s our picture to start! (Thanks to Shane Williams for taking this picture and getting it to me for this post.)

Recently, a powerful video has been making the rounds. I will not embed it here, but you can find it on YouTube under the title “Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus.” In it, a 4-minute poem is spoken, decrying “religion” as man-made and hypocritical.

I have watched the video in full, and I like much of what is said. The video is well done and has truly gone viral, being viewed (as of today) over 16.6million times.

However, I do have to take issue with the basic message of this poem. You see, the poet clearly decries religion that is hypocritical. He talks about young people who go to church on Sunday, then “get wasted” on the weekends. He speaks of those who build huge church buildings (even calling them “museums”), while the poor go hungry. Of course, he mentions how Jesus spoke boldly against those of His day who were “religious.”

All of that needs to be considered, and I like what He is trying to say. However, this poet missed one very important word.

The word is “false.”

The word “religion” is just a word that means “a set of beliefs.” The problem is not with the set of beliefs, so long as they are set of beliefs that God has laid out. The problem is when we bind what God has not bound, or loose what God has not loosed. What Jesus is against is not religion, it is false religion!

In fact, Jesus stated that He is the “truth” (John 14:6), and the last time I checked my New Testament, He gave dozens of commands to be followed. Sounds like “religion”–a set of beliefs–to me. Many, though, cannot jibe grace and obedience. Is there grace in the New Testament? Of course, and for it I could not be any more thankful!!! However, grace does not mean that there are not still rules to follow.

We need to answer some questions this video raises about New Testament Christianity:

• Has “religion” built museums to men? No…those who are following Christ think carefully about being a faithful steward. Also, just because a building is large does not mean money was wasted building it. Most of the time we do not know where the funds came from.
• Does “religion” miss feeding the poor and caring for the needy? No…FALSE religion does. True religion cares deeply and does what it can to help those who are struggling.

Please listen to messages like this poem carefully. The poet is taking the word “religion” and using it as a divisive word. It is not such, except when we live falsely. When we practice pure religion, well…. I’ll let James flesh it out: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). Interesting. It seems that James’ description of religion is exactly what this poet says “religion” is not!

At the beginning of the video, a powerful word graphic comes up, stating “Jesus > Religion.” Considering that Jesus said He is “the truth,” and that He gave dozens of commands to follow, may we see it not as Jesus being “>” religion, but Jesus being “=” religion.

The word “religion” was originally tied to an ancient Latin word that meant “tie between man and the Gods.” My friend, only Jesus is that “tie,” therefore Jesus is religion! May we seek the pure religion that He requires and love both it…and Him.

Raising Real Men

Hal and Melanie Young

$15.00 (paperback) / $9.99 (Kindle)

I was honored to be contacted by the Youngs and asked if I would review their book. It has been a joy to read.

Raising Real Men is a highly practical book, showing how this family is raising six sons (and one daughter, poor girl!). The Youngs regularly present some of this material in seminar/workshop form, but the book is well-done and easy to read.

One of the aspects I appreciated the most in this volume is the emphasis on true masculinity as God defines it, not as the world defines it. The boys are taught to be mannerly, but are also allowed to be rough-and-tumble. Going against the grain of many in our modern world, they are taught to defend ladies and to always seek to be a hero to women. Personally, I want my son to learn that lesson. He needs to seek to always be a gentleman who reaches out to help women of all age, not because they are “lesser,” but because it’s just the kind thing to do.

The Youngs have a strong Christian leaning in this book, which I appreciate. One thing I wish were done is that Scripture references are done as endnotes to the chapters. Personally, I like them as a part of the text itself (done parenthetically), but this is just preference. There are many references to Old Testament passages, especially dealing with wisdom literature. These timeless traits need to be inculcated into the lives of our children.

For many of you, one “turn off” of the book is that there is a strong emphasis on homeschooling. The Youngs are very direct from the outset, that their book is just trying to tell what they have done, and that includes homeschooling their children. We homeschool our two children as well, so this was helpful information for me, but if you do not homeschool, you may find it to be a bit much.

Overall, this is a very good book with a much-needed emphasis. In a world that has seemingly forgotten what real masculinity looks like, it is past time we parents started reinforcing God-given maleness into our sons. This book is a good “how-to” for parents wanting to do just that.

[NOTE: To visit the Young's website and blog, click here.]

I am praying and thinking today of many who were adversely affected by the storms of last night. Thankfully, though the wind blew hard here, there is no real damage in our area. But I do want to share a story that happened amid the storms last night.

The storms awoke our daughter a little after midnight. She was crying, so I lumbered out of bed and went into her room, where she was obviously shaken by the storms outside. I held her for a minute and asked what was wrong. She just said, “The storms are scary.”

I said, “It’s okay. Do you want daddy to lay here with you for a minute?”

What happened next was a true daddy moment. She said, “Yes” … and then went immediately back to sleep. No fear. No compromise. Just trust in her father, though there was nothing I could do to calm the storms or stop the noise.

The application is obvious, but it is one I wanted to share anyway. Our Father can calm the storms. He can stop the noise. He never leaves us, and He will not forsake us. Why, then, do we fret and worry? This precious child reminded me that I need to have faith like a child and trust my heavenly Father when the storms of life are raging.

Some of you are going through storms in this life that are unimaginable to me. If you are, remember when you were a child and how just the touch or the sound of your father could calm you. Then, take that same trust and remember that your heavenly Father is more powerful and is perfect. Trust in Him, your Father, and remember to pray the simple words: “Keep me safe, ’til the storm passes by.”