Hear & Examine

{From the  weekly MLUPC Pastor e-Letter.}

Dear MLUPC Friends and Members,

I trust this email finds you doing well. I pray that you continue to stand firm in your faith because of God’s great love, for He alone is our hope.

At Geneva College I had the privilege and opportunity to earn degrees in youth ministry and in philosophy. For most folks philosophy class is like a toothache or a painfully boring subject to endure. However for me, it was philosophy that opened up a world of examination and wonder that drew me closer to God day by day in college and eventually led me into youth ministry. I had the privilege and opportunity to study under two incredible men of faith, who happened to be my philosophy professors: the late great Dr. Byron Bitar and Dr. Bob Frazier. I remember my first day in class and the robust question was cast out like a deep-sea fisherman before hungry and aspiring minds, “What does it mean to be a Christian?” Young in my faith and thirsty for something more out of life, I decided and committed right there in class, that I wanted to understand and know what it meant to be a Christian. How about you today, what does it mean to be a Christian in 2011?

The son of a Lutheran pastor, the 19^th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was famous for his harsh and constant critique of the Christian faith and Church.  His most famous and enduring quote comes from his book entitled ‘The Gay Science’, from section 125, in which Nietzsche calls God a “madman” and says, “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.” This philosophy of God and religion continues to linger today like a bad stench. A cover of Time magazine couched the concern as a question, “Is God Dead?” The world continues to wrestle and critique the Christian faith and Church.  Many are seeking more from the Church than what is presented to them. I believe the Christian faith must hear the words around us in the culture, examine our hearts and then respond in and through Christ. Nietzsche called those in the Church “rabble, the herd, a passionless bunch, or a religion of the spiritually ill.” Dr. Bitar and Dr. Frazier challenged the philosophy majors to prove Nietzsche wrong. Prove to the world that Jesus is alive. Prove to the world that the Church is the vehicle in which Christ has called the broken sinner to participate in something magnificent, redemptive and beautiful! How about you today, are you ready to prove Nietzsche wrong by living out a faith that shines with the love, grace and truth of Jesus Christ? Now is the time my friend.

Sunday we will continue to look at the words of Christ spoken to the Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation, in our series called “What Christ Thinks of the Church.”  We will hear words spoken by Christ in Revelation 2:18-29 and examine our own hearts. See you Sunday for a time of worship and praise. Pray for Pastor Tim while he is away for rest and that the Spirit will guide him.  May you show the world what it means to be a Christian. May you prove Nietzsche wrong. May you shine with the love of Christ!

For the Kingdom,

Ben Kendrew

MLUPC Youth Director