10. Worship, Walking, and Balance

Ihave just been walking and worshiping here by the Hookses where John Stott must have often walked, prayed, and watched the birds. I took a look in his office and saw that many of his books were on the shelves, including his two-volume biography. I even found a new book I had not seen before called John Stott: A Portrait by His Friends. It’s edited by Chris Wright who is now the leader of the Langham Partnership. Wish I could just sit down and read it all.

I have walked this area many times. Walking and, for quite a few years, jogging have been important parts of my life. I often combine them with praise, prayer, and worship. I find it easier to worship out in the midst of God’s creation than in a building filled with people, but of course I believe in both. Being alone with God has been a major part of my handling stress and all the challenges of leadership. I am especially fascinated by water, canyons, gorges, and rugged coast lines.

My favorite places (competing with the Swiss Alps while on the trains dictating letters) are all the national and state parks in southern Utah and northern Arizona, including Bryce, the Arches, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. God in His mercy and love has let me visit these places many times with various people including my children and grandchildren.

I am actually sitting on an inside window ledge looking out over the beautiful coastline with Milford Haven somewhere in the distance, where I remember the Logos visiting many decades ago. It is my prayer that many of you will read The Logos Story, The Doulos Story, and now Logos HOPE. You will be amazed at how the Lord has used these ships to do His work. My mind jumps back to when John Stott and I ministered together on Logos II in London. He and I were very different, and when he first heard me speak at Urbana in the late 60s he was quite upset with the lack of Bible content in my message (it was mainly my testimony). When he confronted me I started crying. Little did we know that it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. The more we spoke or ministered together the more we realized how much we had in common and he became a great supporter of OM. What a joy to have preached recently to All Souls Church where he was the leader and rector for so many years.

I write all of this to encourage people to find balance in their lives. I hope you have read about this in some of my other books, but I cannot overemphasize the importance of it, especially finding the right balance between the aspects of work and ministry that you find quite draining and those aspects that refuel you.

Even in your Bible study it is vital to let one strong Scripture be brought to its true perspective by other Scriptures. Taking verses out of context, especially from the Old Testament, and hitting people on the head with them is not the way to go. I never cease to be amazed at the misuse of Scripture. We of course take the passages we like and leave out those we don’t like or understand. People can get caught up with misguided views often circulated by one-sided emails or websites that take verses out of context and seldom give the full picture.

When I meet such people, they are sometimes very negative, or even bitter and angry. Talking to these people makes me think that selective reading (reading only one side of issues) is worse than not reading at all. Everyone with any education and experience knows you cannot believe everything you read; even Christian books, magazines, and papers exaggerate or get it wrong sometimes. Even some major papers are dominated by only one viewpoint. There are endless cults and extremist groups propagating their “thing” all over the world. Apologies sometimes come, but so often in such small print that most people miss them. Some popular emails and blogs have been proven totally false. All kinds of conspiracy theories are flying around, some as old as the hills. Health, religion, and politics are the big areas of endless generalizations, half-truths, overreactions, and pure nonsense.

When people are locked into a particular political party (not necessarily wrong) they find it impossible to see any positives that the other parties may be saying or doing. I often find such a lack of balance in what people say, and that includes a lot of the preaching that I have listened to. People are often unable to understand how much their own temperament and experiences affect what they believe and speak about. Of course, black-and-white thinkers are especially vulnerable in this world of so much gray. As committed believers in Jesus and His Word, we know certain things are clearly black-and-white. Thou shalt not kill, for example. Yet even there Christians are not always in agreement, especially about weapons and war. I have upset some people when, after they set forth their great opinion about something, I point out the complexity.

Can we not—even with our strong convictions—be humble and realize we might be wrong? Can we not read more sides to an issue? (I realize this is hard work in our fast-lane, “send-a-text” world.)

Should we not learn from scholars and especially godly men and women as they write and share on almost every subject in the world? The generalizations about Muslims (and many other peoples) that often include prejudice and hateful language should be a concern to all of us. Some books are feeding the fire and many people now claim to know a lot about Islam. I may be wrong, but I see so much pride, impatience, and arrogance and so little of Jesus, humility, and brokenness.

It sometimes is a huge stumbling block for those who are trying to reach these different peoples with the gospel. When we meet someone we don’t agree with, say on a political or doctrinal issue, are we more concerned about changing their viewpoint than we are seeing them come to Jesus? Or if they are a believer, extending our love, fellowship, and listening to their story? One reason some people have few friends is that they do not really love people or listen to them. They just press on in their own views, looking down on those who are not in agreement. The missing word with too many today is “repent”, which involves a U-turn and life change.

In the midst of the mess we see all around, even in the church and Christian organizations, how do we press on and stay encouraged and positive? Of course there are whole books and sermons that answer this, but for me it must include messiology. It was hard for me as a Christian leader to admit that I had a wrong view of God and the way He works among His people. What about you?