Grace Greater

“Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
threaten the soul with infinite loss;
grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
brighter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see his face,
will you this moment his grace receive?

Chorus
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!”

— Julia H. Johnston

Blustering wind ushered me into that historic church basement. I welcomed the radiator heat. It was a pastor’s meeting. I love pastors.

Hand shakes and hugs, connections made and stories exchanged—new friends and old—our meeting began as most do: a welcome, a prayer, and a song.

The worship leader with earnest voice and acoustic guitar began singing Grace Greater Than Our Sin—a familiar hymn. First verse and chorus I sang enthusiasm. But then, a new to me second verse. Knowing the tune, I began singing it.

“Sin and despair like sea waves cold, threaten the soul with infinite loss…” Until I couldn’t.

My tongue froze. My mind raced. Sometimes its sin; my circumstances being the object of my own rebellion. Sometimes its choice; causing concern in retrospect. Sometimes its happenstance; the unkindness of our fallen world.

“Grace that is great, yes, grace untold. Points to the refuge, the mighty cross,” that verse concludes.

As the chorus returned, I still couldn’t sing. Grace. In the cross. Our refuge. My refuge. No matter my sin. No matter my rebellion. No matter my circumstances. “Grace, grace, God’s grace!” Others sang on. I remained silent. Reveling in great grace.

The Good News in One Verse

“Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. ”

— Galatians 1:4, NLT

The Good News in one verse. The Gospel message of God’s redeeming love for all humanity is recorded in this single verse. The whos, the whats, and the whys of the Good News are right there in three, concise groups.

The first group: Jesus (who) gave his life (what) for our sins (why). The second: just as God our Father (who) planned (what), in order to rescue (why). And finally: us (who) from (what) this evil world in which we live (why).

There can be no argument that our world is fallen and evil. Not only can folks be inconsiderate and mean, at times folks can be utterly evil and terribly wicked. Human inhumanity to others is appalling. The Bible calls such evil sin.

All of us, though we may not be so terribly evil or wicked, are sinners. We’ve all broken God’s laws. We can’t even meet our own standards of morality. We certainly can’t meet God’s measure of righteous perfection. We are all sinners and our world is evil as a result of our sins.

Such sinfulness is exactly why we need to be rescued. We are so sinful, so imperfect, so broken that we can not by any means save ourselves. We need a Savior. We need someone with the strength of righteous perfection to save us from our sins. We need Jesus.

Jesus, God’s sinless son—who showed his righteous perfection through his countless miracles and his truthful teaching as recorded in the Bible—gave himself to save humanity. He gave himself to save each and every person who has ever lived. Including you.

Why? Because we couldn’t do it for ourselves. Why? Because God, in his sovereignty, planned it this way. Why? Because God who created humanity in His image loves us. Why? Because God; He is Sovereign.

So here it is: the Good News of God’s amazing love for you in one Bible verse. God loves you no matter what. Jesus died for you because of your what. Will you commit your life to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? Will you commit your life to be a follower of Jesus?

You can do that right now. Voice a simple prayer.

“God, I know I have sinned and broken Your law. I believe Jesus is Your Sinless Son. I commit my life to follow Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for saving me. Amen.”

If you’ve done that for the first time or if you’re seeking greater understanding, then contact me directly. Tell everyone about your decision. Continue to pray all the time. Read the Bible every day. Attend a Bible teaching local church every week. Find a more mature Christian to meet with regularly for guidance.

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Sexual Misconduct in the SBC

“I want you to guarantee me this will never happen again. That this man can never do this to a young lady again.”

Those are the words of a mother spoken to me as it was revealed that a single youth pastor in his twenties had involved her 19 year old daughter in a sexual relationship.

I will never forget. The contrite brokenness of the young lady. The controlled rage of her mother. My frantic mental search for the right answer.

You see, we’re Southern Baptists. We are not a denomination with hierarchy or the controls or the accountability that may come with it. We are independent and autonomous churches that voluntarily cooperate together for the purpose of missions. We join together in local associations—a county or region of the state—state conventions, and, of course, the national body, the Southern Baptist Convention. We’re only technically a convention when messengers from churches meet together each June. The rest of the year, we entrust leadership of our various agencies to our Executive Committee. The polity is similar on state and local levels.

Given our independent but affiliated system with no centralized reporting system, what was I to say to this mother truthfully?

“I will do everything I can. I’ll ask others to do everything they can. You have my word,” I replied.

I discovered that our state convention did in fact have a database of pastors accused of or involved in sexual misconduct. And they did provide counseling and accountability for this pastor for the next year. But, as I talked to the state convention executive, I had to ask, “Why don’t we know about this? Why haven’t you used your communication resources—the state Baptist newspaper, pastor’s meetings, and even a special mailer—to tell us this exists? We need to protect people!”

His honest, yet woefully disturbing reply, “You are right. But people are just supposed to know; they call like you when something happens.”

“How are we supposed to know?! What about before it happens?!,” I pleaded. Then I used an example he’d know that should frighten any of us, “So a guy leaves a pastorate due to sexual misconduct. He leaves that off his resume. He says all the right things to get hired by a new church. Then he can do it all over again?” I was angry. Grasping. Concerned that—in some ways—our system was worse than the Dallas Catholic Diocese that was in the news at that time for systematically covering up sexual abuse by priests. We weren’t covering it up, but we were not doing enough to create a system to help prevent it.

And now, 15 years after the encounters I’ve reported herein, this. Finally someone is calling the Southern Baptist Convention out. Sadly, it had to be a news organization since calls from within have been ineffective. We have some initial response from SBC leaders here and here.

Most local churches do background checks now. But what if the person—pastor or prospective volunteer—has moved? What if the background check doesn’t look far enough back or into other states or counties? What if the offense was not illegal, but still immoral and sinful as in the case I reported?

It is well past time for the Southern Baptist Convention to establish one simple, shared, well-known, nationwide sexual misconduct database. Publicize it to our churches, let other denominations and non-denominational churches share it too. Any local church would check it before hiring a new staff member or enlisting new volunteers.

Sexual misconduct is sin. Sin destroys. That damage is exponential within the church. We must make it harder for known offenders to repeatedly offend. We must change this now.

You'd Think I'd Have Learned

More than ever. Our nation troubles me.

When a hopeful exchange of ideas blows up into battle simply because of different viewpoints. You’d think I’d have learned by now.

When a reasonable discussion crumbles as one seems only desirous to prove themselves right rather than consider where we might (both) be wrong. You’d think I’d have learned by now.

When politicians—apparently more concerned about “their” office and the possession of power rather than serving others—act like politicians. You’d think I’d have learned by now.

When any call for unity or attempt to find common ground is met with distrust or even contempt because we are so divided. You’d think I’d have learned by now.

God bless me for wishing we could be kind to one another, discuss ideas freely without fear, seek good greater than self, interact like reasonable people, and treat others no matter who they are with respect. You’d think I’d have learned by now.

A friend wrote (with apologies to King David), “Some trust in orange men; others trust in women in white; but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Trusting God; you’d think I’d have learned that by now too.

A Little More Than Half-Hearted

“No one can say I’m half-hearted. I’m 5% more!”

— J.L. Schmidt, punctuated by his patented chuckle

55%. My friend, J.L., has a heart that is functioning at only 55%. He's the same friend who continually reminds us, "God's got this," but we want to make sure God's got him. We love him and this is worrisome. Besides, imagine what he might be able to do with more than 55%.

My friend learned that accurate 55% number through a TEE—Transesophageal Echocardiogram. It's as bad as it sounds—pun intended. As an "echocardiogram," it utilizes a transducer—the end of the black cable above—to send ultrasound waves producing a picture of your heart's composition and function. And the "transesophageal" part? You guessed it. That black cable is down your throat to give doctors the best look at your heart possible. I'll stop there with the cringy details. Know that doctors have scheduled procedures soon to follow in hopes to improve his heart function.

We chuckle with J.L. at being a little more than half-hearted, yet that raises a question for Christ followers.

Jesus gave us a command about our hearts—our spiritual commitment to him.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”

— Matthew 22:37-38, ESV

If there were a spiritual TEE to measure the function of your capacity to love Jesus, how would you score? 55%? Just a little more than half-hearted? Maybe better? Maybe worse?!

Take a moment to reflect. Remember what it was like when you first came to faith in Christ; remember the times you felt closest to God. What was different then? Consider what you did or did not do at those times in which you had a greater love for Jesus. What do you need to change now? Ponder what habits or sins may be hindering your spiritual vitality now. What do you need to confess to God and repent from?

Jesus commands us to love God with all our heart. Imagine what he might do through us if we truly did...

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