Church Hurts And

Who is your favorite famous personality, writer, actor, politician? Isn’t that an easy ice breaker for a small group discussion? I’m guessing your mind is already wondering to that person, thinking of favorite anecdotes you have about them on the tip of you tongue. But now imagine you have the opportunity to introduce this person to the world, not just with words, but you get to play the part in a movie about them. Today, we welcome stage and screen actor, Max McLean, a man whose credits are easily found on Google, or better yet at the Fellowship for the Performing Arts web page: fpatheater.com, where Max is the founder & artistic director. He is here today because in just a handful of days, on November 3rd, there is a major one day release of a compelling movie telling the untold story of C.S. Lewis entitled, “The Most Reluctant Convert.” Welcome Max McLean. https://www.churchhurtsand.org Closing: Closing: A few words before we close. What church should you go to?  “And above all, you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and panelling…the question should never be: ‘Do I like that kind of service?’ but ‘Are these doctrines true: Is holiness there? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to move to this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike for this particular door-keeper?”  ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity In my lifetime I have observed faith in God moving from a rather passive assumption in the culture around me, to a rather passive irrelevance. “Which church do you go to?” is a question with far more assumptions than a modern American would now make. Atheists have claimed the high ground in academia, somehow assuming they have won the day, disinterested in revisiting arguments from antiquity which allowed theism to dominate in world history. In my world I come across a lot of atheists and less courageous agnostics. When allowed the chance I often express to them my envy of their assurance. I tell them I might be willing to join them, but I just can’t get there intellectually. This usually causes them pause. That’s their line. “Did he just say he can’t get to atheism intellectually?” What they don’t know is that I don’t believe they came to a belief in the absence of God intellectually either. It doesn’t take a genius to look at a sunset and have a pretty strong intuition that this didn’t come from nothing, or chance which is another word for nothing. As prayers are cancelled in public gatherings, I haven’t noticed many hospitals and senior centers asking for fewer chaplains. When one is waiting for results of the cancer screening, I don’t know many calling out to the local atheist society for help. In you are reluctant to follow thinking which could land you in the camp of Christ followers, perhaps it would be worth the time to meet one of your predecessors. His name is C.S. Lewis. You can find him in the movie “The Most Reluctant Convert.” Oh, and don’t be surprised if he becomes a rather good friend. It’s Worth a Thought For Church Hurts And, this is John Bash. Go and enjoy God today.

Producer: Church Hurts And is a listener-supported podcast. Please go to ChurchHurtsAnd.org and click on the DONATE button to become part of our support team.  Do you need grace? Tired of feeling judged by Christians? Stay tuned as we look at God, Golf, and Grace with Dr. Doug Rehberg. I have seen huge cultural shifts in my time, a comment worthy of one who admits to being an old curmudgeon. One of those shifts was in the role and status of the clergyman. When growing up, the clergy was among the most respected professions in America. A local minister was revered in a way, often asked to open public meetings in prayer, provide benedictions at political functions, sought after for wisdom in times of crisis, and appreciated for his willingness to visit shut-ins, perform funerals, and preside over weddings. Often his counsel was even desired the way professional therapists are today. While historically clergy have been among the most educated people in society for over two thousand years, they have also been notoriously underpaid, treated at times as “the help,” tipped a little extra at Christmas, or recipients of extra vegetables from the garden. There were other benefits as well, sometimes including a home while they served the church, along with a coveted free membership at the local country club, or at least the opportunity to play on Mondays when courses were traditionally closed. Early in my ministry, I discovered those days were fading, which isn’t saying I didn’t pine away wishing for them to return. Ministry, as a “profession” was being stained daily by abuses as educational qualifications for ordination, were watered down by many independent and congregational churches.  Today we have a guest a man who straddled that generational gap as well as any I know. Highly respected in his community, he honored his country club for their generosity to him. He used their fairways to minister to many, and find refreshment for his own soul. Let’s welcome the Reverend Dr. Doug Rehberg, author of the new book, “God, Golf and Grace.   If you have benefitted from these podcasts, please consider joining our support team at Standing Stone Ministry. ChurchHurtsAnd.org

Have you ever had something happen to you which has haunted you for your entire life? Playing in the woods was my favorite part of childhood in suburban Pittsburgh. As those years passed, the woods continued to provide new discoveries, new paths, new creatures, and invited adventures created by developing adolescent minds. Tadpoles and insects soon came to be replaced by the thought of building our place of habitation, free from adult eyes, nasty weather, and a safe refuge from the watching world. Finding the right spot took many weeks of roaming through the trees, wanting to be close enough to civilization to provide easy access, but far enough in to be hidden even during the winter months when the leaves were gone. Of course, we didn't want to dig too much; a level spot would be ideal. Imagine going through the design and materials stage with the resources of early teens. As you might imagine, all of this was facilitated by the slowing sprawling suburban neighborhood. New construction was asking for little boys to come to steal a few sheets of plywood, 2x4s, and nails. I undertook this project with my partner, Jim, whose father was an attorney. My dad was an insurance man. That's my way of suggesting our trade skills were at best lacking, as was proven by the result. But we had a shack, and we were proud of it.  Over the years of life, I have remained handyman-challenged, constantly in need of friends with developed skills and knowledge. But I have also come to appreciate those who design in the mind structures which provide the walls we live within. Boring designs make me yawn. Poor construction, I find repulsive. Yet somehow, there seems to be a connection between our view of life and the buildings we build and live in. Perhaps they even say something about God. Today we have a guest who can make sense out of these meanderings, welcome Architect Ron Thomas to Church Hurts And. Dr. John Bash is a shepherd with Standing Stone, a ministry that ministers to ministers, a need as important in this time as any in our lifetime. Consider joining this support team at www.churchhurtsand.org.

Ever faced pain? I mean real pain, deep pain, defining pain? Stay tuned as we look today at “Deep Pain with Dr. Mark Talbot” author of “When the Stars Disappear”. Church Hurts And is a listener-supported podcast. Go to ChurchHurtsAnd.org and click on the DONATE button to become part of our support team.  There was one wooded winding road at the bottom of a hill right at the midpoint of my 20-minute jaunt to Jim’s house. It seemed like a long way in my early teens, traversing the way only teens can do, unabashedly combining quick sprints, slow jogs, periodic skipping, and rarely a normal walking gait. Somehow this hollow at the bottom of the hill at the end of Murdstone Road seemed special, the terrain prohibiting the constant suburban sprawl for a few hundred yards as the woods grew wild. By this point in my journey, I was ready for some deeper reflection, a safe distance from the place of my fear called home. Few would have guessed the content of the conversation I permitted myself to speak out loud in this private hollow. Almost always it was filled with prayerful questions reflecting confusion about the pain and fear I lived in on Murdstone Road, one of the least safe places I ever have experienced in life. I asked God to do things on that stretch of road I would never have done in public. “Please God, just lift me up and transport me ten feet so I can know you really exist.” I’d close my eyes as I continued walking, waiting to feel the lift, and then laughing at my own silliness. I knew God didn’t play those games, but I thought it would be nice and surely strengthen my faith in the midst of the pain nightmare I called home. Pain comes in a lot of forms. We could begin putting adjectives in front of the noun and be here all day, or we could turn it into an adjective and talk about all of the painful people, experiences, churches, muscles, thoughts…you get the idea. So today we turn for help to an unusual place. A real philosopher of all things.    Let’s welcome Dr. Mark Talbot to Church Hurts And. Dr. Mark Talbot encourages support of www.christianscholarsfund.org. Dr. John Bash is a shepherd with Standing Stone, a ministry that ministers to ministers, a need as important in this time as any in our lifetime. Consider joining this support team at www.churchhurtsand.org.