Theme Verse for 2008

Mark Batterson from National Community Church in Washington, D.C. has a great post today on his theme verse for this year.

He wants to do better this year about really meditating on Scripture instead of just reading it. I agree.

You should read his post here.

My theme verse will remain the same:

The things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2

What about you? What's your plan for this year? What biblical passage do you aspire to live out better in 2008 than you did in 2007?

Snow for New Year's Day

OK, - since several of you have mentioned it now - I have to say this for the record.

This past Sunday during the message I said that the only time I really like snow is just a light dusting or a thin film at midnight on New Year's Day because it makes it feel like a clean start, a blank slate.

If you missed it, you can listen to it here (along with other weekend messages).

I did NOT ask for this! As I shoveled out this morning we already had 8.5". Throughout the day and so far tonight we've had at least a couple more.

So, again, for the record, I didn't pray for snow! So, stop blaming me!!!

: )

Dan'l

Our day in court, part 2

We went to court yesterday to have the hearing on our objection to the airport's use of eminent domain. Basically, we believe that they cannot legally use that power against us because it will interfere with the practice/expression of our religious beliefs.

The land they are trying to take includes approx. 75% of our parking, our septic system, our rear ramp (used for handicap access and deliveries), and our main entrance/exit. It also will place a four-lane, limited access, US highway within about 50 ft. (yes, you read that right - 50 feet) from our building and our daycare playground.

Ben, our other church elder, and I each took the stand to testify to this. We were questioned by our attorney and cross-examined by the airport's. (Honestly, I had a blast. I love talking about our church.)

All in all, I believe it went very well. Regardless of whether not the judge ultimately agrees with us, we made our case very well. There was no one in the courtroom who didn't understand our points.

Keep praying. The judge said that he would try to have a ruling by the end of January. I'll let you know.

Our day in court

Today we will stand before a judge and make our case as to why we believe that the condemnation suit the Airport Authority has filed against us interferes with our ministry as a church in Indiana.

This is a very important case. To the best of our attorney's knowledge, this type of case has never been ruled upon in Indiana, and maybe anywhere in the country. The last known case of this type was argued by our attorney on behalf of another church in South Bend, but it was settled out of court in favor of the church.

There is no precedent or case law that will make this easy. God's plan is the precedent.

We appear at 1:30p EST today.

Pray.

One week left

There is only one week left in our Christmas Wish List offering this year. This past Sunday was the last time to give during our weekend offering.

If you would still like to participate, you can give through our website. Visit the Christmas Wish List page and click the "Make a Donation" button.

We are over $800 total right now! Let's see if we can hit and pass the $1,000 mark!

I'll announce the total this Sunday (23rd) during the worship service and here on my blog after that. Thanks to everyone who has participated so far!

A Christmas Wish List

It's pretty common for churches to take up an offering around this time of year in order to send their missionaries a little extra at year-end. We have done that in the past as well.

This year, however, we're doing something a little different. Instead of just collecting money and parceling it out, we asked them to give us a list of specific items that they would like for Christmas. This allows us to give intentionally.

So, instead of "Here's $10 for the missionaries", we can say, "Here's $10 for that cooking oil spritzer the Browns want" or "Here's $25 to go toward the Target gift cards for the Brocks".

I am encouraging everyone to participate, even if you are not from OTCC. This should be an offering - a gift beyond your tithe to your church.

If you would like to be a part of this giving, you can go to our website, see the whole list, and give via a secure PayPal connection.

I'll post the total amount after our church service on Dec 23.

Book Publicity

I got my first bit of publicity for my book (outside of what my publisher and I have done). The South Bend Tribune wrote a little article in last Thursday's "Faith Briefs" section.

This is what they said:

Local pastor's book on marriage, divorce
SOUTH BEND -- The Rev. Daniel Goepfrich, of South Bend, believes the Bible offers clear answers to many of our questions about "Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage," the topic of his recently self-published book.

If people better understand the purpose of marriage, then divorce and remarriage will be less prevalent, Goepfrich says.

The book retails for $14.99 on Amazon.com.

Goepfrich is pastor of Oak Tree Community Church in South Bend. He also has a blog at www.danielgoepfrich.com.

"The Golden Compass"

If you are planning to go watch the new movie The Golden Compass after it comes out next week, a warning is in order.

While it has several parallels to C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, the spiritual teachings are polar opposites.

The author, Philip Pullman, said in an interview, "I suppose technically, you'd have to put me down as an agnostic. But if there is a God, and he is as the Christians describe him, then he deserves to be put down and rebelled against." At another time he said unashamedly, "My books are about killing God."

I won't say "Don't go watch it", but I will warn you to make sure that you understand what it is you are getting into; it's more than just a cute story.

However, I will say "Don't let a child watch it," for the very simple reason that Mr. Pullman is intentionally trying to spread this blasphemy to children.

For more information (and sources for those quotes), see Focus on the Family's review here.

another Huckabee video

I don't spend a lot of time on Youtube so I don't see these right away. My brother sent this link to me today.

You might have already seen this, but if not, this is an excellent response from Mike Huckabee regarding his belief in creation over evolution and why that is/is not important to his being selected as the next U.S. President. He is dead-on.

I can't say it enough - I like this guy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-BFEhkIujA

givingThanks

Because that, of course, is what this holiday is really all about. Not about the food (though that's great), not about the family (though celebrating together is fine, too), not about the football (I probably won't even watch it).

There are several Bible paragraphs dedicated to givingThanks, probably as many as to God's will. But there is one special sentence in a short letter that ties them together.

Be glad at all times, don't give up praying, give thanks for every thing; for this is God's will in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (my trans.)

One sentence - simple, yet profound. At all times, for every thing, don't give up. Why? Because that is God's will for you. That's one of the reasons Jesus came - to create a people full of never-ending gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Favorite ad yet

I know I haven't posted for a couple of weeks - I'll get back to it soon.

But today I saw a couple of my favorite public people in a short video ad together - and it ROCKS!!! I hope it's real, and not just a joke.

Check this out - go Huck and Chuck!

Is the "whole truth" always necessary?

When a witness is sworn into court, they vow "to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Understandably, in order to have a fair trial, the judge wants all witness to tell everything they know, as accurately as they can remember. But is this necessary in all situations?

In Jeremiah 38, King Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to do something that seems like a lie, and Jeremiah goes along with it. After a private conversation between the two of them:

Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Don't tell anyone you told me this, or you will die! My officials may hear that I spoke to you, and they may say, 'Tell us what you and the king were talking about. If you don't tell us, we will kill you.' If this happens, just tell them you begged me not to send you back to Jonathan's dungeon, for fear you would die there."

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the king's officials came to Jeremiah and asked him why the king had called for him. But Jeremiah followed the king's instructions, and they left without finding out the truth. No one had overheard the conversation between Jeremiah and the king. (38:24-27)

Frequently I have been asked by someone about a conversation I have had with another person. I'm sure you have as well. Of course, we don't want to lie, but it's not always everyone else's business.

So if I tell only part of the conversation, like Jeremiah, and intentionally hold back the other part(s), is that the same as a half-truth, which many people call a lie? In other words, is it a sin?

Consider another Bible example. God had told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint one of Jesse's sons to be the next king of Israel. The current king, Saul, was upset with Samuel, and this would really set him off if he heard about it. Here's the conversation between God and Samuel:

Now the LORD said to Samuel, "You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king."

But Samuel asked, "How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me."

"Take a heifer with you," the LORD replied, "and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the LORD. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me."

So Samuel did as the LORD instructed. (1 Samuel 16:1-4)

The situation is similar to Jeremiah's. Samuel was to do a specific task, but because of the sensitive nature of the job, God told him to do it in a way that no one would know and to not let them in on the real reason for his arrival.

Again, was this an intentional deception, a lie, a sin? Well, it really can't be if God told him to do it. James 1:13 reminds us that God never tempts anyone to sin. This was necessary under the circumstances, and Samuel did not hurt anyone in the process.

My conclusion: Deception for the purpose of leading someone wrong is sin. But wisdom dictates that we don't tell everything we know. This includes gossip and bringing up past hurts as well as knowledge about confidential or sensitive situations. In reference to my previous post, good leaders [and followers] know when to keep information to themselves.

Wise people keep what they know to themselves, but fools can't keep from showing how foolish they are. (Proverbs 12:23, NCV)

Jeremiah 37-38

Now that our 50-day "Discover" series is over at church, I'm back in Jeremiah. These two chapters are especially appropriate with Election Day just a week away. Good and godly leadership is so needed in our government and churches. Here are a few examples of what Jeremiah and Israel were facing in their leaders:

Neither King Zedekiah nor his attendants nor the people who were left in the land listened to what the LORD said through Jeremiah. (37:2)

Later King Zedekiah secretly requested that Jeremiah come to the palace, where the king asked him, "Do you have any messages from the LORD?" "Yes, I do!" said Jeremiah. "You will be defeated by the king of Babylon." (37:17)

Leaders who do not listen when God speaks are not good leaders. We need leaders in our government and in our church who are willing to listen to God, even when we don't like or are uncomfortable with the message.

Now [some leaders] heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He had been saying ... "those who surrender to the Babylonians will live." ... So these officials wen to the king and said, "Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!"

King Zedekiah agreed. "All right," he said. "Do as you like. I can't stop you." (38:1-5)

Leaders who are not willing to do what is right in the face of pressure are not good leaders. This counts in both politics and churches. When something is right, it is right, even if some or many or most of the people don't like it. Good leaders stand strong.

Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him. "My lord the king," he said, "these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone." So the king told Ebed-melech, "Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies." (38:8-10)

Leaders who play games and politics instead of confronting error are not good leaders. Zedekiah was trying to straddle the fence, keeping everyone happy. Doing so nearly got Jeremiah killed. Leaders are responsible for the people put under their care. Good leaders don't take that responsibility lightly.

When considering who you will vote for, don't consider just the candidate's issues; be sure to consider the candidate. Will this person be a good leader?

How many books on Amazon?

I wondering - does anyone know? Seriously. I'd like to know.

Why? Well, my book (see right) is currently ranked 774,968 on the Amazon.com sales list. Does that mean there are only 774,967 books that are selling better than mine? (It does mean that at least one has been sold through Amazon!)

I'm just wondering how many books there are out there that I'm beating - at least 1 or 2, right?

Who would you identify with?

The following is a true story I read about three men who were all former employees of a well-known, international, Christian organization. Since the company is still in operation today, the story uses only their first initials.

"S" started out as one of the line workers, but his personality grabbed the attention of management, and he soon became a spokesman and, eventually, V.P. of Public Relations.

"J" was the controller, the CFO. He was a great accountant and businessman. He made sure that the needs of the organization were handled well.

"P" originally worked for a competing company and was well-known to everyone in the industry. He was tapped to be the National Sales Manager, though because of differences in the ways the two companies worked, he had to go through some intensive training before he could really get started. But once he did! He ended up opening stores in at least a dozen cities on two continents, and usually hand-picked and trained the store managers personally. He was also probably the best trainer in the business, so they had him write much of the in-house training policies and materials - many of which are still in use today.

Because this was a Christian company, the CEO made it a corporate policy to share the gospel with all new hires. In fact, in the early days, while it was still small, the CEO did this personally. He told them that their sins had caused them to be separated from God, but that God had provided the remedy for the situation by sending a Savior, Jesus Christ. By honestly believing that he is God and that He died as their substitute, they would receive forgiveness for their sins and life forever with God.

At the outset, "J" thought it sounded pretty good. Though he didn't really believe the Christian stuff, he was glad to be a part of a moral, ethical organization that obviously cared about its people. He was just happy to be doing good work with good people.

"S", on the other hand, was on board from the minute he heard it. Right there in the CEO's office he believe in Jesus as the Savior and devoted his life to serving God through his work in the company. His enthusiasm was obvious as he issued press releases and made sales pitches.

"P" was sort of in between. When he heard about God's salvation through Jesus, he was sure it was true, but he had been in another religion for so long that he had to think about it for a few days. The CEO sent a personal friend to see him a couple of days later, at which time he accepted it wholeheartedly.

Where are they now?

"P" has retired but is still a strong proponent of the company and its work. Much of the material he wrote is still in use throughout the organization.

"S" is also retired. He did really well for the company, though he was written up a few times. He sort of had an ego-problem and didn't take criticism well. He had a couple of run-ins with the CEO and other upper-level management. A different company would probably have fired him.

"J" is actually a sad story. It turns out, as a financial genius, he was able to cover up the fact that he was embezzling money for a long time. The actual amount he stole is still unknown. He probably would have been forgiven for that, but it came out that he also sold company secrets to the competitor. When confronted about it, he quit and ended up committing suicide.

If this were your story, who would you identify with?

• "J" - Judas Iscariot denied Christ to the very end, even though he looked good and claimed Christ at one time
• "S" - Simon Peter was eager to claim Christ except a couple of times when it was inconvenient
• "P" - Paul of Tarsus went through hell on earth in order to bring other people to Christ

"For since we died together with Him, we will also live together with Him; if we continue to endure, we will also reign together with Him; if we renounce Him, He Himself will also renounce us; if we are unfaithful, He Himself remains faithful, for He is unable to renounce Himself." 2 Timothy 2:11-13

Finding Truth

I am a firm believer that God alone is the source of truth, that His truth is absolute, and that absolute truth is found in God's Word. However, I don't believe that God has limited us to finding His truth only in His Word.

In fact, the Bible itself tells us that God has infused both His creation and our conscience with the truth about Him
(Romans 1:18-2:16).

But, truth is found in other places as well. Just as Paul was able to use then-modern poets and philosophers to show God's truth, so can we (see Acts 17:22-31 and Titus 1:10-14).

I just finished Jim Collins' excellent book, Good to Great. It's not about the Bible; it's about how to turn a good company into a great one. But many of the principles he presents are truth. In fact, out of the 80 sections that I highlighted in my copy of the book, next to 25 of them I wrote at least one Bible reference containing a direct parallel. And many of the rest were similar to Bible principles. I just didn't think of an exact verse right away.

The same principles that apply to growing a great company apply to growing a great Christian and growing a great church. In fact, that sounds like a great teaching series. Stay tuned!

What's in a name?

This question from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is followed by the also familiar, "That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet".

In our college dorms and classes my friends and I used this concept as one argument when debating the necessity of denominational labels. "Who cares what the label is if we are truly doing God's kingdom work?" and such.

The name of this blog is "2 Timothy 2:2", a New Testament verse which has great meaning to me. However, passing the web address along has had its confusions: Is there punctuation? Second Timothy 22 what? Blog-where dot com? Etc.

So, for all of you who have had to ask me the address again, I've made it easier. All you have to remember is my name. The new and improved address is danielgoepfrich.com. The name and theme will remain the same. This is just a shortcut to my internet home. I hope it helps.

Now, how do you spell "Goepfrich" again?

"The Biggest Problem in Conservative Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism"

Those of you who know me understand that I don't put a lot of stock in titles.  Unless I'm talking to minors or people not yet familiar with me or the church (bulletin announcements, web site, etc.) or legal stuff, I don't typically use titles like "Pastor Daniel" or "Reverend Goepfrich".  We also don't have a denominational tie in our church name.

However, when I do use a couple of phrases or key words to describe my theological position, I like the words in the title: conservative, evangelical, fundamental.  They describe me (and maybe you, too, if you're willing to admit it).

I know, I know - they're loaded words.  But all titles are.  And eventually you're going to have to take a stand and describe yourself.  People who really want to know don't want you to beat around the bush; they deserve an answer.

Now that we have that out of the way, the "biggest problem" has nothing to do with titles; they just give us a common starting point and define who we are talking about.  But, Dr. Charles Wood (former pastor of Grace Church in Granger, IN) has written an excellent article on this big problem.

Although he couldn't pick me out in a crowd (listen to this message to understand), I met Dr. Wood years ago, and I really appreciate what he was willing to do at Grace and how much God has done through them.

Anyway, read his article and let me know what you think about his take on "the biggest problem in conservative evangelicalism and fundamentalism."

We're podcasting!

It's true.  Not only do we have our weekend messages on our website as MP3s, you can now subscribe to the podcast and download them into your podcast reader and MP3 player.

If you use iTunes, you can subscribe here.

If you use any other podcast reader, you can subscribe here.  This link is also the OTCC blog, where (I think) we'll post other things as well.

We are really trying to utilize the technology available to us to spread God's Word.  If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know.

Biblical Cussing

Dr. Dan Wallace from Dallas Seminary wrote a great post on Paul's use of four-letter words in the Bible.

You can read his post here (he calls it Pauline Scatology).

This is one of the reasons it is so important to learn to read the Bible in the languages in which it was written (mainly Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New).  God chose those languages because they are precise, and they make the points that needed to be made.  Every English translation misses something, somewhere along the way.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15

What are you doing to make sure you are accurate with God's Word?