(Shofar via Wikipedia)

Happy New Year!

Actually Rosh Hashanah, the Biblical new year began at sundown last night (Wed) and ushered in the beginning of the year 5771 on the Jewish calendar and Judaism’s High Holy Days-  a 10-day period of repentance that culminates on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement –Sept. 18.

Most Christians pretty much ignore this Biblical celebration since it really it isn’t on the traditional church calendar. However many Christian ministers recognize a special significance and work of God related to the Biblical calendar that Jewish folks still go by.

It was during this season that I received my first call to the ministry 44 years ago and later when I was turning 30 had a commissioning experience that still marks my life and ministry today. So usually during this time and particularly on Yom Kippur I take some time to evaluate where I am at and repent of my failures with a look towards being a far more effective witness for the Lord Jesus Christ in the year to come.

It is amazing to me when I look back to see that this time of the year usually marks all of the major changes in my life and ministry. I use to chalk it up to my birthday being in October or maybe the changes that usually come with the Fall but now I am convinced that changes in my ministry in particular seem to more closely reflect the Biblical calendar. 

Happy New Year and Blessings to all.

Don’t forget to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the Jewish people particularly during this time of celebration. Also pray for revival in America, we need it.

Related Posts?:

1. Biblical New Year -A Time For Introspection and Change
2. Yom Kippur: The Biblical ‘Day of Atonement’

He was once the respected pastor of a mega-church in Colorado and the President of the 30 million member National Association of Evangelicals. As such he was sought out by the media as a spokesman for evangelicals in America.

Now he has become a ‘media darling’ for a very different reason. Now he is the poster child of hypocrisy and a recent statement he made in an interview with the Wall Street Journal has gone  totally ‘viral’ on the Internet:

“I over-repented”

For his extra-marital relationship with male escort Mike Jones and using drugs?

and:

"Tiger Woods needs to golf. Michael Vick needs to be playing football.  Ted Haggard needs to be leading a church”

Really?

Exactly what does that mean? Does that mean that he should have kept on pastoring anyway? Seems to be implying that. What about the Biblical requirements for Christian leaders?

I truly believe that grace trumps judgment when repentance is present. But ‘over-repentance’? –never heard of it.

What do you think out there? Does Ted belong back in the pulpit? The four pastors who were supervising Haggard’s recovery do not think so:

"we cannot endorse his return to vocational ministry."

Also, it seems rather lame to me to start a new church in the same community where his old church is. Particularly after he agreed to leave the area and his old church supported him and his family with that stipulation for a couple of years. Why not start over some place else where a new church and pastor are actually needed?  

I know that in the dominate American culture today sin is no longer recognized. However this doesn’t even pass the ‘smell test’ among non-Christians.  It isn’t the sin that bothers most of those folks but the hypocrisy of it all. Atheist blogs are having a field day with Ted as are literally dozens of gay websites.

But what ever happened to an understanding of sin in the church? Sadly in the American church today so many seem to be going the way of the culture with the only caveat being that everyone makes mistakes but Grace and forgiveness covers it all. After all once saved always saved?

Now this applies to a fallen pastors also? Once a pastor always a pastor regardless? That is what Ted Haggard seems to be saying and 200 folks in his new congregation seem to be supporting that.

But what about God -it is supposed to be His church and Ted is supposed to be representing Him. I wonder what He thinks about all this -Or does it matter?            *Top of the Blog

Related Posts?:

1. -Gays Protest Again at Rick Warren’s Church
2. -South African Pastor: “Jesus Was HIV Positive”

Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday said that the church’s own sins caused the clerical abuse scandal and should not be blamed on any campaign mounted by outsiders. He called for profound purification and penitence within the church.

Response: This is more like it, finally the church accepts complete responsibility. The church took a defensive position for far too long protecting ‘their own’ rather than the victims. For a long time it seemed like the Catholic Church was doing everything it could to deny and resist the clergy sex scandals even to the point of withholding important information from the courts and moving priests around to avoid exposure.

Worse yet, many abusing pedophile priests over the years who were moved merely began their abuse all over again with a new set of victims rather than being taken out of the ministry all together.

It has been a mistake for the church to blame the media as well as opposing groups for the scandal that was actually caused by their own priests and their own lax response. This was not persecution but the natural results of major mistakes in handling their own clergy that fell into sin.

I believe that Pope Benedict is really trying to clean up the church and put new safe guards in place. The recent supposed revelations coming from the media that the Pope Benedict had blocked at least one case when he was a Cardinal was shoddy journalism at best and false innuendo at the worst.

However the church itself is to blame for giving the media and opposition greater credibility by their own inactions and defensive postures in protecting the abusing priests. It is really good to see the Pope finally taking the initiative.            *Top

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• Pope: sex scandal is greatest threat to Church (telegraph.co.uk)
• Pope Finally Admits Abuse Scandal Is Problem From Within (oliverwillis.com)
• Pope blames Catholic church’s own sins for child sexual abuse cases (guardian.co.uk)
• Pope blames abuse scandal on church’s sins (cbc.ca)
• Pope: Sex Abuse Scandal ‘Born From Sins WITHIN The Church’ (huffingtonpost.com)
• Pope Issues Strongest Words to Date on Abuse (nytimes.com)

Related Posts?:

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I am headed out today to go to TheCall in San Diego. It starts at 10 am and goes to 10 pm. It will be a 12 hour day of prayer, fasting, and worship among thousands of Christians from all over California. I’ll blog on it later.

Related Posts?:

1. -TheCall: San Diego–The Experience
2. *UPDATE: San Diego Bible Study Now Officially OK’d

Jesus began his public ministry with the declaration: “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17)  What is repentance? What does it mean, and more important, what did Jesus mean when he said- Repent?   

What is Repentance?

The Greek word behind our English word ‘repent’ is metanoeo, which means -an internal change of mind and heart.  Meta means -a change of movement, and noeo refers to the mind -including thoughts, purposes, and perceptions.

What did Jesus Teach about Repentance?

In Luke 13:5 Jesus said: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”  The people of his day believed that God brought disaster only upon sinners.  Jesus is making the point here that all are sinners and all need to repent, and final judgment is going to overtake us all.  Jesus said: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mark 1:15)  The Gospel is the ‘good news’ that we don’t have to all perish, but those who repent or change their mind, thinking and direction, can receive forgiveness and eternal life instead.

Jesus told his disciples after his resurrection to teach repentance and take the Gospel to every nation:  “Thus it is written,…that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47)

Conclusion:

The demand of Jesus to repent is a universal demand for all the world and for every person of every generation.  As John Piper says in his closing remarks:

So the demand of Jesus to repent goes to all the nations.  It comes to us, whoever we are and wherever we are, and lays claim on us.  This is the demand of Jesus to every soul: Repent. Be changed within.  Replace all God-dishonoring, Christ-belittling perceptions and dispositions and purposes with God-treasuring, Christ-exalting ones.

*Top

Related Posts?:

1. “What Jesus Demands from the World” -Demand #3: Come to Me
2. “What Jesus Demands from the World” -Demand #1: You Must Be Born Again

While Christians do not traditionally recognize the special days or events in the Biblical (Jewish) calendar, ‘Messianic’ Christians do, and many others are enriched by the symbols, and find significance in the times and seasons that are represented.  The Lord’s Supper and The Resurrection cannot be completely separated from ’The Passover’, and the ‘Day of Pentecost’ is one Biblical/Jewish day still recognized in the church calendar. 

*Top  

Related Posts?:

1. Biblical New Year -A Time For Introspection and Change
2. -Happy New Year-Rosh Hashanah, 5771

The Biblical name for Rosh Hashanah is ‘Yom Ha-Zakkaron’ meaning: “The Day of Remembrance”, it is the start of a 9 day period in the Biblical (Jewish) calendar when the people of God are called upon to look at their lives and inspect the way that they lived during the year just ending.  On ’Yom Kippur’: “The Day of Atonement”, Jewish folk traditionally repent and ask for God’s forgiveness and look forward to making changes for the better in the new year.  

Many Christians find that the Holy Spirit seems to call us to look at our lives and make changes especially during this time of year.  Most of us have thought that it is because of the change of seasons with the kids going back to school, and the changes that fall brings to church activities and ministries.  Changes in ministry for me always seem to take place around October, I use to think that it had to do with my birthday coming in that month.  Lately, I have come to realize that the Lord always seems to call me to make changes during this time of year, and that it may be connected with the Biblical New Year.

While everyday of the year is a good time for Christians to look at their lives, repent, and make changes.  The Biblical New Year is an especially good season for it. 

*TOP 

Related Posts?:

1. Yom Kippur: The Biblical ‘Day of Atonement’
2. -Happy New Year-Rosh Hashanah, 5771