Submitted Question:

I was brought up as a Christian, however I have one question that nags at me and that is about reincarnation. I don’t think people understand the concept and when they don’t take time to consider it along with it’s presence through history then they cannot teach against it. I believe in one God, Christ Jesus and the Holy spirit. However, if Jesus is our example, then he must have known that it would take our souls thousands of lifetimes here on Earth to become very much like him. I don’t know anyone who could measure up to Jesus. But, I think that’s the point. Our Creator must want us to strive to be like Jesus. Don’t you agree on some level? Why do I feel alone in this subject matter when it seems that we should be studying reincarnation. I just read a book that explains how our souls plan and choose the body we will be in when we come back to Earth. I think that we have a council in heaven that helps us plan every lifetime, including the ones where we have great suffering on this planet. Please comment and God bless you.

Meredith

No, Meredith, I do not think that reincarnation is an option.  We are all unique…just as God is unique.  We are made in His image and as such reincarnation is really not taught in any way.  Please give me some examples of where you think this might be true in the Christian Scriptures.

Mike

What are the main bases of you beliefs and please be specific please thank you.

Fernando

Good question, Fernando.  I think my beliefs are pretty much summed up in the posts I have made at this site.  Please take your time to go through them and then send me any specific questions you may have.

Mike

I have gotten a lot of questions recently about why I have not been blogging and why I have not answered several of the questions submitted to the website.  The answer is pretty simple…I have been enormously busy.  Teaching at the college and preparing for my first evangelism trip has consumed a great portion of my time.  Here is what has been going on:

In addition to my teaching schedule at the college, I was tasked with helping recruit for the Fall trimester.  This has been a difficult task for me because I am not good at selling stuff and felt like that was what I was called upon to do.  Of course I was wrong, but it was a big learning curve for me.  I have met with a lot of pastors and Christian educators and talked with them about the school.  It has been an eye-opener, and something I will write about at a later time.

The other thing that has occupied my thoughts was a trip the school sends its students and staff to each year…Mardis Gras.  Every year students from the school go to this bacchanalian event and evangelize on the street to people who go there to party.  I was NOT excited about going.  Street evangelism is not my thing.  I am a teacher/pastor and the idea of talking about Jesus to drunk people was not on my “bucket list”.  Frankly, it still isn’t.  Still, I was told by the Chancellor of the school that I needed to go, so I went…reluctantly….VERY reluctantly.

We spent the entire time evangelizing at the corner of Canal and Bourbon streets…party central.  There were about 240 students along with attendant staff.  My job was to watch over a certain group of the students and make sure no one accosted them.  In addition, I was to speak with people about Jesus and try to “win them to Christ.”  Not a tantalizing prospect for me but one I did out of obedience to my bosses at the school.

In addition to the street time, we spent every morning and evening in worship services geared to helping us understand the importance of what we were doing, as well as to provide encouragement and instruction.  Speakers from around the country were featured in these services and provided a measure of exhortation and education.  There were “break out sessions” with the speakers that focused on various aspects of Christian ministry.  With my reluctant attitude, I ‘m afraid I did not learn a great deal…initially.

The college I work for is Pentecostal…very Pentecostal.  In fact, it is seen as too Pentecostal for some Pentecostals…not an easy thing to accomplish.  If you are not certain what Pentecostal means, or how a school can be VERY Pentecostal, ask me and I will explain it to you.  Suffice it to say that it is not a school for those who like quiet services, preachers, teachers, or music.  All the gifts of the Spirit are practiced there and it can seem terribly chaotic to some.  Those of you who know me may wonder how in the world I came to be a professor at such a college.  The answer is that God PUT me there.  Frankly, I am not Pentecostal enough for most Pentecostals and  I am not conservative enough for most other conservative groups in Christendom.  To say that I am being stretched by being in such a place is to make an enormous understatement.  Oddly enough, I fit in there just fine.  Weird, huh?

So off I go to Mardis Gras with a bad attitude and extreme doubts about what I was called upon to do.  I am not certain but I may have been a bit grumpy in my demeanor…something Pentecostals are not supposed to be…but there you go.  If you think Pentecostal services are chaotic, they are nothing compared to Mardis Gras…especially in the midst of where we were located.  The smell of booze, vomit, pot, crack, urine, and other stuff I am too polite to write about, surrounded our mission field.  I was certain I would be in the midst of breaking up attacks on our students from the revelers.  I saw little chance of success.

I don’t want to spend a lot of time writing about this right now because I am still trying to understand all of it.  Suffice it to say that there were a lot of conversions on the street, no one got hurt, and it was an event in my life that changed a lot of my perspectives of what it means to be a Christian.  I will write about it more later…maybe.  For now let me answer a couple of questions:

1.  Am I more Pentecostal after going to Mardis Gras?  Nope.

2.  Was it a waste of time?  Nope.

3.  Did a lot of good come out of it?  Yep.

4.  Has my attitude changed about going again?  Too early to tell.

5.  Do I love my job at the School of Urban Missions Bible College?  Absolutely…especially the students…MOST of the students.

6.  How am I getting along with the staff?  Quit asking so many questions.

I wasn’t sure if teaching at a Pentecostal college was going to fit in with who I am as a Christian.  I was concerned that I wasn’t Pentecostal enough for what was going to need to be taught, and I was concerned that my theology might not fit in with the doctrine of the school.  My views of Pentecostals, prior to my beginning the classes I was assigned to teach, was very narrow and, frankly, pretty biased.  My Reformed, Baptist, and other friends, warned me that I would not be accepted and that if I did not speak in tongues at every opportunity, well…I would be considered unsaved and a heretic.  My friends were wrong.

I do not fit into the Reformed tradition because I believe in all of the Spiritual gifts.  That is a major problem between me and the Reformed tradition.  My Baptist friends were concerned because of the questions raised about salvation and whether or not one can lose it once it is attained.  My personal experience with what I thought to be Pentecostals was not a good one prior to going to SUM.  I will probably have to explain that in another blog post since it involves explaining my background.  That may come later.

I think that the thing that put me over the edge was getting to meet the students and staff at the school.  The students were accepting from the very beginning.  In fact, they made me re-think my position on being a youth pastor…not enough to feel the calling…but enough to make me realize that there are some really great people…men and women of God…that are under the age of 30.  Imagine that!

The staff, on the other hand, were a bit cautious with me at the beginning.  With the exception of the person who hired me, and the Chancellor of the school, I think that I was initially watched pretty closely by the staff.  At first I thought it was because of my background.  I was wrong.  The staff really cares about the students and wanted to make certain I was the right person for the job.  I am glad they did that…NOW…because it set an example of how I should look at people who come to teach there.  Eventually I think I have come to be accepted by pretty much everyone.  My personality is a bit different than people who have been in an academic setting for 20 years.  My 20 years of experience in an institutional setting is radically different from their experience and I tend to be a bit more irreverent than most people in the hierarchy of the college.  Still, they put up with me and are very patient and kind with my eccentricities.  They are like having older brothers and sisters who watch over a younger sibling.  I like that.

So, here we go.  Next week I begin my sojourn into being a teacher AND administrator.  I will be an assistant to the person I am supposed to eventually replace.  I need to show that I can handle the job before they actually give me the reins.  Hmmm…sounds like starting over, doesn’t it?  Yeah, kind of.  My wife is patiently teaching me about being an administrator.  She doesn’t give me direct advice but instead chooses to give me a series of looks that tells me how I should be.  I think she gets that from her mom.  So far she has done a pretty good job but I am a difficult student…at times.  My first goal is to not try to avoid staff meetings.  She knows I am not a big fan of meetings…something about my short attention span and becoming easily bored.  I got a really stern look when I brought that up with her.  Like I said, she is a lot like her mom…but, “tiny steps for tiny feet.”  Problem is, I wear size 13′s.

I am supposed to be headed to New Orleans in March to attend some sort of conference and watch the students at work in evangelism.  It all takes place during Mardi Gras.  Hmmm.  New direction.

I recently found out certain things about some people at my church, that would be considered sin.  Such as sex outside of marriage and secret affairs.  Its not my place to judge them.  I don’t want them to think that people are gossiping about them…  (At least, I wasn’t gossiping…)  Should I confront these people if they are continuing to live in sin even though they haven’t said anything to me directly?

I feel like I’m losing hope & faith in my church because these people are putting on a front.  How can we help people if they just put on a facade?

I have continued to pray for them…  But I feel like they are just fake.

Anonymous

Hi Anonymous,

Don’t put on a facade.  Be like Jesus.  If you have an opportunity to speak to these folks, (and it seems from your question that there is more than one), do so…but do so with compassion rather than condemnation.  We are not to turn a blind eye to sin.  In I Corinthians Paul says that we are to judge those in the church, but we are to do so out of compassion.  Sin in the church is fairly common.  Remember, we are a family and inside every family there are problems.  That is normal.  What is not to be normal is our reaction to it.  I can’t be more specific than that without knowing the specifics.  Have you spoken to your pastor about the issues?  Don’t lose hope or faith in Jesus because of the sins of others.

Mike

Okay, so I read all your stuff.  I have scoured this website, your blog included, and I still do not think God is interested in me, my life, or any other thing about me personally.  My life sucks.  I am unemployed, have no skills, am 23 years old, and am beginning to think that my life is a waste.  I have looked at other faiths, Buddhist, Scientology, Wicca, Native American, Mormon, Jewish, and others.  None appeal to me.  My parents were “Christian” but ended up getting divorced and my Dad now says he is gay and lives with a “friend” in London.  If God was interested in me, wouldn’t he have shown it by now?  Nothing really interests me right now.  Life is really bad.

Carole

Hi Carole,

Sounds like you’ve had a lot happen in your life.  The thing that struck me the most was that you have explored so many faith groups.  That tells me that there is something pretty significant going on inside of you right now.

I think you may have mistaken the seeming emptiness of your life.  You are searching for something or Someone to fill the hole that exists inside of you.  That is because you are more spiritual than you may think.  Why else would you have explored so many paths of spirituality?  Think about that.

I cannot change what has happened to you.  What I can do is help you to know God…the one true God who is in control of all things.  Please read I Corinthians 15:1-11.  Use the things that are written in the first few verses as a checklist and see if…beyond all reasonable explanation…you believe those things.  Please pay particular attention to these two Scriptures:

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (New American Standard Bible)

³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Use them as a checklist.  Is it possible that you believe these things…personally?  Let me know…please.  I will be waiting.

Mike

I have never been drawn to being a youth pastor.  In fact, the one thing I told God was that I DID NOT want to be around a bunch of kids because I felt as though my patience is extremely limited.  I was wrong.  It is not a matter of patience with me…it is a matter of realizing that in my heart I am still about the age of the students I teach; 18-22.  I am not ashamed of that fact.  I may be 51 years old, but I seem to be eternally stuck at a much younger age.  These students have proven this to me.  Regardless of when I die, I suspect I will always be 18-22 years old…my wife, and the rest of the staff at the college, along with my much older children, will attest to that.

These students have given me renewed hope for Christianity because they are trying hard to master a difficult curriculum AND do ministry at the same time.  Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fail but at least they are trying.  Some will become very good pastors, teachers, missionaries, etc.  Others will simply become more knowledgeable men and women of God.  All of them will be changed in ways they never imagined.  Along the way they will help grow and change the people they come into contact with…especially me.

I am not the easiest person to be married to.  I have my personality quirks that are sometimes a bit difficult to live with.  My nickname of House may give you an idea of just how difficult I can be…at times.  Still, my wife has endured much to stay married to me and I am enormously grateful to God, and to her, for maintaining our marriage.

There was a comment posted on my submission about finding a wife based upon the Scriptures…curiously enough it came in yesterday…on our anniversary.  I suggest you read Sam’s comment.  It is very moving.

I am thinking about adding my testimony to this website.  It is a tribute to God and his work in my life and that of my wife.  Perhaps it is time.  Sam’s comments made me think about doing it.  I will pray about it over the next few days and see where God leads.  I think most of the people who read and contribute to this site are familiar with most of it but it may come as a bit of a surprise to others.  We will see where God leads.

What bothers me the most about these holidays is that they are ones that man has come up with.  Thanksgiving and Christmas is not mandated in Scripture…they are mandated by man.  We are told what to do, what to eat, how we should feel, and we tend to give little thought as to what is REALLY going on.  These societal holidays have taken on a new meaning to me and I am beginning to wonder what is going on.  I am not suggesting their is some conspiracy taking place.  I just wonder if we lose our perspective and descend into a mindset of trying to meet the unrealistic expectations of society…expectations that we all seemingly have knowledge of but quite explain or live up to.  Just a thought…try not to get too worked up.

My thoughts have turned to examining these areas because there are some changes afoot in the church I attend and the college I teach at.  My first inclination was that this was a very bad time for change.  I reasoned that with all the pressures of the holidays, now is not a good time to think about, much less TALK about, change that would effect a lot of people.  I have changed my mind.  I think NOW is a great time to do some changing.  That is because God has brought the change at this particular time and the pressures and expectations of the holidays may be the catalyst needed to separate the wheat from the chaff.  I see Him as closing doors in order to direct us along the path HE wants us to follow.  I am most likely in the minority.

Holy Days in Scripture were a time of reflection and celebration…at least for the Jews they were.  Gentiles had no such mandate.  They were instructed instead to view every day as a holy day and maintain their focus on God…on Jesus.  Most think that is quite impossible…they are probably right, but the Scriptures say to do so anyway. I think as a person gets older it is easier to do that because we realize our days are indeed numbered.  It could also be because we are closer to meeting God, (a vague reference on my part to death), than most younger people think they are.  Holidays, for some, then become a time of desperately seeking that perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas…but once again perfection eludes them.  Sad.

So here we go again…another holiday season.  I fervently pray that I do not hear, “Jesus is the reason for the season!”  That goofy mantra irritates me because He is NOT the reason for the season.  Someone made that up, and I would give him or her a stern talking to if I knew who it was.  Here is what I am going to reply when someone spews that platitude at me this year:  “No, Jesus is the reason for EVERYTHING!”  (My wife and students are trying to get me to avoid adding any other words after that.  My language use to be quite colorful and they are attempting to subdue my passions and inclinations to add words such as “Idiot” at the end of particularly important statements.)

What if we had turkey and stuffing in July rather than November?  What if we put Christmas trees up in the Spring rather than Winter?  Would our friends and relatives think we are nuts?  Probably, but who cares?  I am too old to worry about that anymore…I think.  Don’t worry, I PROBABLY won’t do any of these things this year.  After all, the turkey is already in the refrigerator.  But next year?  Hmmm…