Letters to the Editor - May/June 2009

'The Need for Foster Parents Is So Great . . .'
(posted 6-26-09)
Your June 28 issue on adoption and foster care was excellent. My husband and I are foster parents in Louisville, Kentucky. In our two-plus years we have had 11 kids come and go. We closed our home for a short break after our last group left us (19 months exactly from the day they arrived to stay with us for “four to six weeks”), but notified our social worker just this week we are ready to reopen. Hard work and hard on the heart? You bet—but worth every minute of it to get to love on those kids for whatever length of time they need us in their lives. The need for foster parents is so great; my hope is that articles like yours will motivate others to join in caring for them.
—LuAnn Johnson
Louisville, Kentucky

Thanks for Speaking Up
(posted 6-26-09)
Brother Glen Elliott is honest about all the fun junk churches have tried to get people in the church (see “Finding Your Focus,” June 21). I want to thank him and you for FINALLY speaking up on the “stuff” churches do that is not glorifying God.
—Bill Dinwiddie
Garner, North Carolina

An Outstanding Ministry
(posted 6-26-09)
Congratulations to Luke Erickson and Tom Moen for their article “Why We Partner with Civic Organizations to Serve the Community” in the July 5 issue of the CHRISTIAN STANDARD. The ministry they describe is one more extraordinary credit to the vast ministry of the Mountain Christian Church to have the will, the means, and the good sense to give witness to the gospel by serving alongside community agencies. And it is a well-written article!
—Bob Wetzel
Johnson City, Tennessee

Another Cheer for Eastern Tennessee
(posted 6-26-09)
Thank you for Paul Williams’s June 21 column, “The State of Franklin and Beyond.”

As a graduate of both Milligan College and Emmanuel School of Religion, and as one who shares Paul’s enthusiasm for “Tennessee’s fair eastern mountains,” I join with him in celebrating this unique area, her churches, and these two schools who are doing so much to advance God’s kingdom in Tennessee and around the world! Keep up the good work!
—Clinton J. Holloway
Nashville, Tennessee

'We Needed to Hear Them'
(posted 6-26-09)
Brother David Fiensy’s words in “That Old-Time Religion” (June 28) needed to be said and we needed to hear them. May our compassion be our brand!
—Al Forthman
Gaithersburg, Maryland

A Sentence Ideal for Ordination Services
(posted 6-18-09)
List me as one who reads Paul Williams’s article first, before anything else, in the CHRISTIAN STANDARD. He’s a thoughtful wordsmith and makes sense.

I have to say the following sentence in his June 14, 2009, article, “Generation to Generation,” ought to be read and explained at every ordination: “That one should be able to spend a portion of time in the employ of the only eternal institution is a privilege.”
—Norm Kidd
Via e-mail

'Perpetuating an Unfair Stereotype'?
(posted 6-18-09)
(This letter is in response to “What I’ve Learned While Serving Single Moms” by Nancy Karpenske in the June 7 issue.)
Perhaps the ratio of single moms to single dads is about 1 to 50. Perhaps fewer dads have custody of their children, low-paying jobs, and are willing to ask for help. These statistics are changing as women work more outside of the home, bias against fathers wanes in the courts, and men find their identity in their family. Single dads are, and will increasingly be, in need of support from their local churches. Single ministry is a great calling. It sounds like many wonderful things are being done in the name of Christ for women and children. But we need to consider that we may be perpetuating an unfair stereotype by limiting single parent ministry to mothers only. Perhaps someday we can expand our ministry mentality from “single mothers” to “single parents.”
—Matt Johnson
Via e-mail

'Busyness' Doesn't Equate to 'Spirituality'
(posted 6-18-09)
My thanks to Mark Taylor for his comments on “busyness” (made available in the May 31 CHRISTIAN STANDARD eNewsletter), and to David R. Nicholas for his letter to the editor (see below). It seems that we, in the church, often equate busyness with spirituality, which is far from the truth. My how we would benefit if we would learn to stop, be silent, and listen for that still small voice and just be. Is it any wonder since God made us “human beings” and not “human doings”?
—Jerry Langley
Danville, Virginia

'Lacked Both Sensitivity and Sensibility'
(posted 6-18-09)
Normally I appreciate Paul William’s insightful commentary on church and culture, but unfortunately his May 31 column on Facebook lacked both sensitivity and sensibility (see “Social Networking Gone Mad”). I’ve been on Facebook for nearly four years now and have found it a great place to reconnect, be inspired, learn, debate, share interests, fight for a cause, or announce good and bad news. For me, I daily use my page to post devotionals, prayer requests, display hobbies/books/music, send birthday and anniversary greetings, share news articles, commentary, and, yes, occasionally I’ll confess the mundane stuff that makes my life real. But that’s life. When you get together with friends you talk about stupid stuff like “last night’s episode of Lost.”

It’s also why Facebook is popular. It’s a mall. A high school reunion. A crusade. A coffee shop. A classroom. A prayer chapel. A street fair. A Bible study. A mission field. A bulletin board. An employment agency. A living room. A library. A church.

I’m saddened that Paul didn’t give it more of a shot. It’s like someone who goes to a foreign land but leaves two weeks later without tasting the food, engaging the people, and enjoying the traditions, music, and landmarks. You can say you went, but you truthfully didn’t experience the culture.

I actually hope you come back, Paul, and I invite you to look me up. I’d love to “friend” you and listen in on what’s happening in your soul, mind, heart, and life. That’s what friends are for.
—Rick Chromey
Meridian, Idaho

'The Pastor' Is Disturbing
(posted 6-18-09)
First of all, I wish to commend you for a wonderful paper. I read regularly both the CHRISTIAN STANDARD and The Lookout and find a lot of good helpful reading in both of them.

During the past few years, however, I have been disturbed by people associated with the Restoration Movement and the CHRISTIAN STANDARD using the word pastor in a way that, to me, doesn’t seem biblical. I read it at least three times in the May 10, 2009, edition of STANDARD.

I was a student at Lincoln Bible Institute in the 1950s, and we were taught the term pastor was always plural when used in the Bible and was another term for the office of elder, overseer, or bishop. I cannot read Greek, but I believe that I was taught the truth. We were taught to call “Bible things by Bible names.” The preacher/evangelist by many is now being called “The Pastor” and many preachers themselves are using this title. If he has been chosen to be a part of the eldership in a local congregation, then he is “a pastor” but not “The Pastor.”

It seems to me we are falling into the terminology of the Evangelicals. A friend told me it’s being used as a substitute for reverend, a little more acceptable to those in the Restoration Movement. We feel we must have a title of respect that sets that person apart from the rest of the Christian family.
—Joann Strobel
Brownstown, Illinois

Positive Aspects to Facebook
(posted 6-3-09)
I just finished reading Paul Williams’s article about Facebook and his experience with it (“Social Networking Gone Mad,” May 31). I know he didn’t mean to come across as condescending and elitist, but he did.

I became acquainted with Facebook a few months ago. I love it. However, I don’t go to it to get the news. I use it to reconnect with friends and family. I have seen several people who recently lost loved ones be comforted by the love of people on Facebook. Vic Knowles (hardly a intellectual lightweight) has privileged us by sharing his grieving process with the loss of his dad. Esther Burgess’s family has opened their experiences with her death to all of us. Facebook allowed them to easily inform people about the memorial service, where to stay in Portland, etc. They even had a place to let them know if you planned to attend and a place to see who was coming. It would have been overwhelming to coordinate the hundreds of people who attended her service. There are ways to block people who overuse the sight—and no one ever said you need to get on Facebook every day.

Facebook is a great political tool. There are groups devoted to pro-life issues. How cool would it be if every Facebook user wrote a letter to the president asking him to quit killing babies? Do you think he might start to realize he had better tone down his promotion of it? Christians could use Facebook to organize and maybe be a little salt in an increasingly anti-Christian world.

If Facebook isn’t something you enjoyed, that’s fine, but please don’t make other people feel shallow for enjoying it.
—Brenda Frame
Via e-mail

Examples of Ways to Simplify
(posted 6-3-09)
The May 31 issue about simplicity really rang a bell with me. I’ll give a couple of examples.

The first is from college. Many colleges like to advertise (brag?) about how many majors they offer. I once taught at a college with 5,200 students that offered 17 majors and 240 courses. No one taught his “hobby.” Eleven years before I went there, the college was in dire straights. It had 255 students and listed 740 courses in the catalog and dozens of majors. A new president was hired who introduced efficiency in all operations.

Recently a college in Portland, Oregon, closed after trying to be many things to a few people. It had 280 student and 45 faculty members. Few colleges can survive with that kind of student-faculty ratio.

Second, some people give a small amount each month to a multitude of recipients. I give twice per year to one recipient and once per year to two others. Someone might ask how I can come up with several thousand dollars at a pop. My income is not large. I’ve been retired from full-time teaching for 18 years, but I live simply. My outgo is generally less than my small income—so the dollars mount up. A little + a little + plus a little = a lot.

I could go on but this gives you the idea.
—Roger Clites
Via e-mail

'His Calling Is Certainly Not for Everyone'
(posted 5-29-09)
I deeply appreciate the spirit expressed by brother Joe Bliffen, and wish him great success in having his conversations (see “To Know and Speak,” May 24). It sounds like his calling is that of a missionary. His calling is certainly not for everyone, but I recognize that the same Holy Spirit who gives us different gifts, gifts us for different roles.

Brother Bliffen also made the case for why a quest for unity among the three streams of our brotherhood is misguided. We have much more in common with the a cappella churches of Christ (or the charismatic Churches of God or the fundamentalist independent Baptists, for that matter) than we will ever have with the Disciples of Christ. To seek unity with the DOC as a movement is to seek an unequal yoking as surely as would be the seeking of membership in the World Council of Churches.

While I truly believe Joe to be a brother, I believe his path to be one that must only be followed with a definite sense of God’s call. It is not one I join.
—Al Forthman
Gaithersburg, Maryland

Thoughts on 'the Busy Factor'
(posted 5-29-09)
Dear Mark A. Taylor, I’m impressed with your comment on busyness (made available in the May 31 CHRISTIAN STANDARD eNewsletter). I agree, and as a pastor here in Australia, welcome any thoughts on how to stop the busy factor in our churches. I’m reminded of two things. First, Kagawa the Japanese Christian, who said, “Jesus went about doing good—we just go about.” The other is a line from an old song: “We’re busy doing nothing, working the whole day through, trying to find lots of things not to do. We’re busy going nowhere, isn’t it just a crime . . .”
—David R. Nicholas
Via e-mail

'Thank You' for DOC article
(posted 5-19-09)
Thank you for Joe Bliffen’s article “To Know and Speak” (May 24) I, too, am a Disciples of Christ pastor who certainly is evangelical and eagerly reads every issue of the CHRISTIAN STANDARD. For lack of better labels, I am clearly on the far right of the DOC on theological matters. Perhaps from an independent perspective I am not quite where most of your readers are, particularly on the issue of women in leadership. Regardless, I love the independent pastors who minister with me in my community. We are looking forward to the Great Communion celebration in October.
—Marcus Lynn
Via e-mail
www.smalltownpastor.wordpress.com

Why More 'White Hair' Than Young People?
(posted 5-7-09)
Would someone please explain to me “the Way of God more adequately.” The front page of your May 3 issue repeated boldly the old mantra “The Future of the Church.” Yes, I know that the youth of today will be the future members of our congregations tomorrow.

My question is this: If this mantra is accurate, then why are the majority of our congregations growing more white hair than young people?

Over the last three or four decades, we (Restoration congregations) have collectively spent large amounts of time and money and energy to win the young with only a few pockets of success to show for our efforts.

I used to believe the primary outreach of the church was toward the young; that is until I tried to find such a mandate in Scripture. There I only found less than a handful of New Testament passages that even remotely referred to ministry to the young.

I am not at all against reaching the young, but I feel that one major fallacy in our culture today is that of making youth the center of our world. It’s all about them. I believe this teaches the young to become self-centered. When they grow up and if they continue in the church, they will become self-centered leaders of our congregations. Most of us can identify with the many problems that this causes.

Lest you think that I want nothing to do with youth, the congregation where I minister has a campus ministry we support with both a substantial amount of money and other nonfinancial efforts each month. We have done this willingly for quite some time and have no plans to discontinue this support. I just find in Scripture that the success (future) of the church was in the evangelistic/missionary efforts to reach whole households and to establish viable congregations. Balance seems to be a better formula for success.

Just some thoughts. Keep up the good work!
—W. J. “Bill” Brewer

'Campus Ministry . . . a Huge Blessing'
(posted 5-7-09)
Thank you for the May 3 issue focusing on campus ministry. Campus ministry has been a huge blessing to my family, our four children, and for our church. As our church mission team chairman, I believe campus ministry is a vital ministry area that is very worthy of church support. Student ministry leaders, parents, and anyone that cares for the spiritual health of high school graduates should bookmark www.NACCM.org—the Web site of the National Association of Christian Campus Ministries—and give that info to graduating seniors.
—Steve Stewart
Via e-mail

Seeking Clarification
(posted 5-19-09)
I am wondering if I could get some clarification as to why Simon J. Dahlman’s article (“Seen & Heard”) was included in the May 3rd issue of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. I read it three times, passed it around to my coworkers, had my wife read it, and no one was able to make any sense it. Can you help us connect the dots? What did we miss? Given the topic of the article, I think it is important to clarify the meaning behind it, not only to those who have voiced concern, but you may want to actually run an explanation in a future issue.
—Danny Harp
Zanesville, Ohio
(See Simon J. Dahlman’s explanation, further down.)

'No Logical Reason . . .'
(posted 5-7-09)
I can find no logical reason you have included the above referenced article (“Seen & Heard” in the May 3 issue) in the CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It was brought to my attention through a group of teenagers who wondered what exactly is the point? The subject matter clearly doesn’t belong in the STANDARD, and more disturbing is that the article makes no point or sense. Why would you feel it necessary to include a story of this journalist who opted to go down this path? What possible redeeming value does this article bring to the CHRISTIAN STANDARD? How exactly should I answer teenagers who wonder the same thing?
—Victoria Kain
Dublin, Ohio
(See Simon J. Dahlman’s explanation, further down.)

'Why Was the Article . . . Included?'
(posted 5-7-09)
First let me tell you that I enjoy reading CHRISTIAN STANDARD and have been a reader of it for most of my life. I am the children’s director of Discover Christian Church.

Upon reading the CHRISTIAN STANDARD on Sunday (May 3), I have to ask and wonder: Why was the article “Seen & Heard” (back cover, written by Simon Dahlman) included? After reading it, I searched the issue for an explanation of why something of that nature would be included. I was looking for an explanation, a follow-up, a turn-around story . . . something that gave it purpose in this Christian-based reading. I looked back over the months, and even a year ago, and know that this area is sometimes used to highlight “current events”—perhaps to get us thinking about what is going on around us; but most items had some biblical turn, or reference to what should be. This one I just can’t figure out. Can you explain this to me?
—Wanda Wilt
Dublin, Ohio
(See Simon J. Dahlman’s explanation, further down.)

'A Bit Concerned'
(posted 5-7-09)
I just finished my weekly reading of The Lookout and CHRISTIAN STANDARD, and am a bit concerned. I am trying to figure out the purpose of the “Seen & Heard” for this week (May 3) which spotlights Michael Precker’s strip club, and his views on integrity. Why is this in the STANDARD? It seems to be saying there can be integrity in any field. I heartily disagree with this view of topless clubs, or “gentlemen’s clubs” (a true misnomer). I hope that this is not an indication of a slide in the STANDARD in regard to purity and holiness.
—Pat Werths
Via e-mail

A reply from Simon J. Dahlman, compiler/editor of "Seen & Heard" (updated May 19, 2009): Thank you for writing about the May 3rd installment of “Seen and Heard” in CHRISTIAN STANDARD.

'A Bit Disingenuous'?
(posted 5-7-09)
I just read Paul Williams’s column in the May 3 STANDARD (“Holding One’s Tongue Can Be Good”). Although I may be mistaken, I think he has been a bit disingenuous in his article. I continually checked Willow’s Web site after it called Gene Appel to ministry with them. I admit I have not checked that Web site for some time, but I did for months after Appel and (Mike) Breaux were called to Willow. Every time I checked, the Web site stated adults could choose to be sprinkled or immersed. At the time CHRISTIAN STANDARD published the interview with these two men (in the June 27, 2004, issue—CLICK HERE), the Willow Creek Web site continued to stipulate that those accepting Christ could choose the mode of their baptism. So what was—is—the position of Willow Creek Community Church on this issue? What does Willow Creek understand as the purpose of baptism? Did they also abandon the typical Evangelical view that baptism “is the first thing you do after becoming a Christian”?

I think Williams needs to see just when, or if, Willow Creek actually made the transitions he claims were made during Appel’s ministry there. Even if that transition occurred, let’s not pretend that Willow Creek accepted Restoration Movement principles.
—Michael Hines
Palm Spring, California