Faith Into Action

By Neil Schori

Over the last few weeks, I've had some incredible opportunities to put my faith into action.  Two of my greatest passions came to fruition in an interview with WGN about serving abused women with the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit, then leaving for Haiti a day later to offer hope to the poorest people in the Western Hemisphere.  These things bring me a lot of life.  I could not be more grateful!

When I help people, I'm always helping myself in the process.  Do you know why?  Because when I help others, I'm reminded of what is truly important.  I get distracted by what is important each day.  Money, cars, well-manicured suburban yards---all of those things and more get in the way of the things that are the most important.  And when I serve the needs of others, it helps me to put a different lens into my near-sighted frames and I start seeing and living purpose again.  And THAT is a sweet spot.

What is it that motivates me to serve?  A man in the Bible named Paul of Tarsus wrote this in the book of 2nd Corinthians 8: 8,9

⁸ I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

What Paul was saying was that Jesus modeled what true service looks like.  Jesus had everything but chose to become nothing so that we could have everything.  Jesus gave up the riches of Heaven so that we could be forgiven.  Jesus served us first.  Now, I serve to honor him.

Why do you serve?  Maybe it is because it makes you feel good.  Or because you want to do your good deed for the day.  Those are fine reasons, but I don't believe either of those reasons will keep you serving for more than a very short time.  Why?  Because feelings are fleeting.  But when your service is based on the truth of God's love for you, your serving tank will not run dry.

Serving with Gratitude,

Neil

Neil Schori serves as lead pastor of Naperville Christian Church, and is a remarkable advocate for those in abusive relationships.

No Retreat Option

By Charles Moncrief

Every year at Easter we watch The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille’s epic 1956 remake of his 1923 film. One comment by Pharaoh (Yul Brynner) caught my attention this time. When the fleeing slaves were at the edge of the sea, he said, “The God of Moses is a poor general. He leaves them no retreat.” While it was great for dramatic effect, it was impractical. The Hebrew slaves, beaten up and beaten down for four centuries, were in no condition to disengage the Egyptian army and plan a battle strategy!

As the movie continued, the idea quickly shifted from the language of battle to that of return. That is, the recurring theme was that the slaves return to the hellhole they had left. A few thousand exemplary executions would have been the price for their return to even more ruthless oppression in their former life as slaves. But it was a life they’d known for a long time. This theme was in tension with that of faith, trusting God to take them through their obstacles and lead them to their destiny. In the historical events on which the movie was based, the problem of food and water was solved, as were other issues of leadership. When the Hebrew people first scouted out the Promised Land, only two of the scouts recommended confronting the last obstacle (giants in the place), while the other ten counseled fear. The result was continued wandering in a wasteland for forty more years.

I think the power of Brynner’s taunting statement hits home when I consider domestic violence. But first, let me cover my trail a bit. This was a turning point after the slaves had made a decision (yes, they could have decided to remain where they were). The tensions involved were all in the context of going back to, not escaping from, an oppressive relationship. It would be an unexpected reading of this article to consider it as counsel concerning any existing relationship; I’m addressing only the subject of continuing on course versus turning back.

Staying the course is a recurring theme in human history. So is seeking the perceived comfort of the oppressive relationship. A legend in ancient Sparta told of a mother who killed her son because he had a wound in his back. Lot’s wife became salty when she looked back on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Pilgrim’s Progress John Bunyan has his protagonist outfitted with frontal armor for his upcoming battle with Apollyon in the Valley of Humiliation. In Ephesians 11, the author describes the “whole armor of God” in terms of that of Roman soldiers. There is a breastplate, but not a backplate. (I’m not going to address the wrap-around armor of Europeans, but will leave that consideration for you.)

After you’ve made your escape from an oppressive relationship, and you find yourself deserted by those who once cheered you on, there’s often the sound of a limb being sawed off. Or you’re feeling hung out to dry, because all the support and encouragement are gone. This is where a return to the old life of oppression starts taking on an attractive appearance. This is where the expression “better the devil you know, than. . .” rears its ugly head in your own Valley of Humiliation. This is where you can be vulnerable to unproductive counsel from those you’re around.

But this is where I counsel faith and trust. The resources available through many on this site -- people who have “been there” -- can either directly or indirectly through referrals help you to get through your journey. In deMille’s movie God used Moses’ staff and an east wind to part the sea. Your obstacles may be as dramatic as an army of chariots on one side and death by drowning on the other, but they’re still very real. And it is vital that you get the continued encouragement from those who have seen those obstacles overcome in their own lives.

If you’re not getting this encouragement from friends or family, it may be time to take a breather from those relationships and replace them with fellow-travelers. After you’ve regrouped, rebuilt, and returned to a healthy track, then is the time for you to invite your discouragers back into your inner circle. Your destiny of healing, recovery, and a new life need not be sidetracked by those who would sow a spirit of fear.

My hope goes a bit beyond that. It’s for those things just mentioned, but also for you one day to become one of those who can support those who are starting their own journeys. Yes, this is my level of confidence in the idea of keeping your hand on the plow and not looking back.

Grace and Peace,
Charles+

Is There Hope When A Loved One Is Missing?

By Cynthia Caron

When a loved one goes missing it is important to always offer hope. Even when the circumstances may appear to look grim, who are we, as people, to decide for a family of a missing loved one that "things will not be good?" We cannot determine an outcome will for surely be a bad one.

Hope is what makes life bearable when times are difficult and more so when one is living with the fear of what has happened to their missing family member. It is important, that no matter how difficult it may be, to maintain hope. This can be achieved by surrounding oneself with caring people who are there to listen, comfort them, provide a shoulder to lean on and offer hope. Hope is a definite positive.

Love can create hope when families see none. This is such a profound statement and is most especially important for those having so many unanswered questions with aching hearts of needing to be able to hold and know their loved missing is safe. While nobody can change what may have already happened, we can help the family keep their stamina through hope. No, we cannot provide a miracle, but we can provide love. There are a number of ways that friends, extended family and colleagues can offer to help the family. One can offer to help hang missing posters in the community for the family or even simple offerings of bringing dinner to the family or help with babysitting. Every gesture is appreciated and the more love the family receives the easier it is to bear with their pain and fears.

Hope is expectation moderated by realization that nothing is certain. This is so true and we’ve all seen cases in which a missing loved was located safely that we surely thought was not going to have a good outcome, as well as those we felt would be located safely and were not. Again, we are mere mortals and nobody can guarantee an outcome with certainty.

The belief in a positive outcome, is hope. Therefore, nobody should ever tell a family of a missing loved one that hope does not exist and certainly not by law enforcement or any advocate who work with families of missing. Hope is an emotion, a needed bar to grab onto when one feels they may fall. It is what enables all humans to wake each morning to face another day. Nobody has the right to ever take away another person’s hope.

If you believe in miracles, then hope always exists. No matter how grim, no matter what the evidence may suggest it has happened time and again in which miracles have happened. Even those who may not be religious have to admit that they’ve seen, read or heard of miracles in which a positive outcome came from a very grave situation.

Hope is faith. While I personally believe hope is faith, not everyone holds a religious perspective and so I would like to say that for those who do not have the same belief as I, to think of your hope as a personal journey, within yourself, to whatever place in your mind that you can go that helps to bring out the positive encouragement for yourself and your family. Faith can be from your personal religious beliefs, or can be from your own self-positive comforting measures.

The light within us is hope that pierces the darkness of doubt, fears and discouragement. Think of infants that are just learning to walk. Do they have hope? Absolutely! They have doubt, fears of falling and even may feel discouraged but something within them, some may call it determination but I call it hope…hope and the excitement on their faces when they toddle a few steps with their arms raised and always with a smile on their faces. So when things look bleak, when all may seem ominous know that as long as you have hope…the days ahead will be more manageable.

Always hope. Should things turn differently there will be plenty of time for sorrow.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied, or Maybe Not

By Charles Moncrief

O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniquity and grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and strife and contention. The law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. They are terrible and dreadful... They shall come all for violence.... Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD God, Holy One? Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the righteous?
Habakkuk 1:2-13 (KJV, excerpt)

Habakkuk, one of the so-called “minor prophets” of ancient Israel, cried out to God in protest of injustice and oppression. Since he lived during the time of the Babylonian Exile, his lament was on a national level. Now that I’ve acknowledged the original purpose of this text, I’ve taken the liberty of applying the translated text in a modern setting.

The words of this prophet scream at us today on a personal level. Just as the prophet was lamenting that he looked around and saw suffering, so can we. And just as the prophet likely included himself as one of those who suffered, so can we.

Oppression is all too real in domestic violence and in crimes against persons.
Injustice is all too real in the obstacles placed before us when we want to act on it.

• When we seek redress in the courts for wrongs done to spouses and children.
• When we seek evidence buried by those entrusted with it.
• When we seek uncorrupted autopsy findings.
• When we seek to remove the unworthy from the ranks of law enforcement.
• When we seek representation from attorneys less concerned with obtaining justice than with protecting their ability to perform before the same judge in the future.
• When we seek to hold our elected and appointed officials accountable for misbehavior.

How frustrating it is today, as we look around and see that the need for action is great, and then realize that we are so powerless to make a difference!

Well, are really so powerless?

Consider God’s reply to Habakkuk in this excerpt from chapter 2.
And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, the just shall live by his faith. The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Can we appropriate God’s reply to Habakkuk? Do we have any reason to see a vision of hope for something better? Even if we do, is there any reason to write it down as the prophet was commanded to do, so that it can be published far and wide?

I believe we have every reason to do so. Look around, and above all the destruction and violence we see signs that there is light ahead. Here are just a few examples.

• In the state of North Carolina, one survivor of domestic violence has formed an organization to address the subject. Some of the results have included state legislation, and a successful lawsuit against a police body that failed in its duty to protect and to serve.
• One year ago the Time’s Up! blog was started by a few people who had a vision. They followed an inner(?) drive to write the vision down, so that it would be published far and wide.
• Not long after I joined the ranks of contributing writers, I learned of several Blog Talk Radio programs that address these issues of violence, crime, and injustice. They gave voice to those who suffer, as well as to those who actively do something about it. Lawmakers have been influenced by the spreading of this vision. If legislation has not yet been proposed, it is only a matter of time before laws will be passed.
• Resource materials are now available to assist in escaping abusive relationships, in surviving the trauma of crime, and in rebuilding the lives of survivors.
• Church leaders are recognizing their past mistakes in properly addressing violence survival issues, and the pastoral landscape is changing -- though slowly.
• Pastors are networking with resource providers and with those who are better equipped to respond effectively in a more practical manner than “Give him another chance,” “Forgive and forget,” and so on.
• Networking is spreading on a wider scale, to force accountability in the courts and in the halls of government when injustice has occurred and lives have been lost.

So Habakkuk had a vision, and so can we. Here is an excerpt of the prophet’s response, from the third and final chapter.
His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. The sun and moon stood still. Thou didst walk through the sea, through the heap of great waters. Although the fig tree not blossom, neither fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive fail, and the fields yield no meat; the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength.

So this is all well and good, you might say. And amazingly enough, I agree with you!
In the first chapter the prophet cries out to God asking Him to do something.
In the second chapter God tells him He will, but in His own time.
In the third chapter the prophet says that while he’s waiting, he will praise God.

For some reason you may not find this satisfactory. While God’s timing is perfect, many people continue to suffer and die as we wait.

This is my challenge to you. If this idea is distressing to you, talk with God about it. Maybe you may find an unexpected gift in His answer.

Grace and Peace,
Charles

Churches: Walk the Talk, Take the Risk

By Neil Schori

Have you noticed that most people don't have a problem with talking too little?  It isn't too often that you have to ask a suburbanite their opinion about something, is it?  We talk about how our bosses are unfair and how the political system is so corrupt.  We also talk about all of our big ideas to make everything better and the latest cause we've adopted and how we are going to make a difference in our families and in our schools and in our churches and in our lives. 

But how much really changes?  Not a whole lot, really.  Bosses are still good targets for complaints and politicians are never short on corruption for the most part.  Churches can start to care more about songs on Sundays instead of caring for people on Mondays.  So what's the deal?  Is it that our world is past the point of redemption?  I don't buy that for a second.  I see small incidences of redemption all the time.  So what causes change?

The Bible talks a lot about this very subject.  James 2: 14-17 says this:   

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James is telling us what most of us really already know in our hearts: that our actions show what we really believe.  If we truly want to make a difference in our own lives and in the lives of other fellow strugglers on this journey of life, then we need to act.  And we need to do it now! 

What does that mean for me?  Over the past week, God has shown me in so many different ways that the church (all churches) has been complicit in relation to the treatment of women in horrible domestic violence situations.  We talk about justice for the oppressed, but we're scared to do the hard work and praying and planning that it takes to make changes in the lives of victims.  Many of us are fearful for the implications that standing up against the abusers could have in our own family.

Are there risks for me and Naperville Christian Church in saying 'yes' to what I know I'm supposed to do?  Of course there are.  But at this point the risk of NOT doing something far outweighs the risk of doing something.  So what is that you need to do? 

If you are being abused, call me at the church and we will help you.

Peace,

Neil Schori

630.983.5600

Neil Schori is the Pastor of Naperville Christian Church.  Follow Neil on Twitter!  @neilschori for all the latest!

You've Got the Power!

By Charles Moncrief

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.
Psalms 23:4 (KJV)

The entertainment industry, in its many forms, capitalizes on presenting its audience with the appearance of one dangerous situation after another. Whether it’s the aerialist in the circus, the chase scene in cinema, or the fight-to-the-death video games, we know that the images are just that: images. They are presented to us as, if you will, mere shadows of death. The safety net under the trapezes and high wire, the special camera effects in the movies, and the animated bad guys in the video games allow us to suspend our sense of reality long enough to experience a change of pace before returning to reality -- or whatever we call our day-to-day existence.

Life differs when we emerge from the circus tent, the movie theatre, and the video game. We find ourselves confronted with the fact that these shadows are cast by something.

A black woman refuses to sit in the back of a bus, and a pastor supporting her cause receives death threats against him and his family -- along with multiple fire-bombings of his house.

A family finds itself in a nightmare when a SWAT team, assembled by the accusations of a lying ex-spouse, breaks down the door to their home and terrorizes everybody, including the children they forcibly kidnap.

A few days ago I read of Susan Murphy-Milano’s quest to expose the lies of the Oklahoma County Medical Examiner’s office, the dehumanizing attitude that cavalierly labels obvious homicides as suicides to protect special interests. When she goes to Oklahoma, a veiled threat (or perhaps a promise) that she will leave in a body bag deserves a response.

I will give a response.

But first, let me mention a couple of significant facts about Susan. She is more than six feet tall, and when she steps through a door into a group of people, she owns the room. Immediately Susan is a threat to anyone whose power comes only from the projectiles that can be launched from a pistol. Each year she saves more lives than most of us will in a lifetime, because she is dedicated to safety for the abused and vindication for those who were killed in the process of protecting a public image.

So I don’t take my response lightly because I don’t take lightly any threats against Susan’s life. Moreover, I don’t make my response directly out of my own thoughts. Rather, the power base for my response is from three excerpts in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. Since I’m pulling verses out of their textual context, the meaning is obviously different from what the original human writer intended.

My first excerpt is from Isaiah 54:17. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.
The protection has carried Susan through dangerous situations in the past is nothing less than divinely ordered, and there is every reason for confidence in that continued protection as she fights the corruption in Oklahoma.

My second excerpt is from Romans 8:31. If God be for us, who can be against us?
This is not to say that nobody is against Susan. Rather, this is to provide reassurance that those who do come against Susan simply don’t amount to much.

In writing this I found myself drawn to a scene from T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral, a story in verse recounting the death of Thomas a Becket. When the king’s soldiers were breaking into the church and his priests were urging him to escape the danger, the Archbishop’s reply was “I am not in danger; only near to death.” While this makes good poetry, it is an ideal removed from reality. The hard reality is that someone is in danger who stands against an established system of evil, and Susan is no exception. But it brings me back to the perspective of my opening verse.

For my third excerpt I’ve chosen all six verses of Psalm 23.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Recently someone pointed out the dramatic shift that the psalm takes with verse 4. The first three verses refer to God in third person: “The LORD,” “He maketh, “He leadeth,” “He restoreth.” Then, as soon as the psalmist faces the shadow of death, it’s “Thou art with me.” And God is referred to in second person -- talked to rather than talked about. As powerfully comforting as this psalm is when we think of God accompanying us when we face death (or even its shadow), suddenly the assuring power of the psalm takes a steep upward turn.

My response to the threat against Susan is my response to every one of you. Possibly you are facing real danger from someone who has abused you or a loved one in the past. Wherever your dangerous walk, God is with you. May you take comfort in knowing that the psalmist had some great insight to share with all of us.

Grace and Peace,
Charles+

Hold On Just a Little While Longer

By Pamela Chapman

So, what do you do when you can’t find the words to explain to those around you that the circumstance, the situation, the grip of the condition is so tight you can hardly get enough air into your lungs to keep breathing? What do you do when you can’t stop the tears and every waking moment reminds you of the pain? What do you do when you can’t say a word and you’re so tired of the battle that all you want to do is lie down and give up? What do you do when the systems of this world fail you?

            These are some of the words I’ve had to remember and speak to myself in the past few months: “The Lord, You, are my Sheppard; I shall not be in want! You make me to lie down in green pastures. You lead me beside the still waters. You restore my soul. You lead me in the paths of righteousness for your name sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:1-4.

            And when the pressure increased, I remembered: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:7-9.

            I have come to realize that my answer to the call or agreeing with my purpose has not come without a price. Neither does yours. I realize I could not emphatically encourage you or sincerely empathize with you if I, myself, did not experience life’s ups and downs. I could not teach you how to soar in the storm unless I knew how to soar in the storm. I could not teach you how to turn adversities into victories unless I face adversity and turn it into victory. I could not teach abundant living, if I did not know and understand abundant living—in spite of illusions in the conscious mind. I could not show you or tell you how to rise and walk, if I could not or did not know how to rise above my ill circumstance, pick up my bed of affliction, and walk.

            I wish today I could hand you a quick fix, honestly. I wish today I could make all the wrongs that life has brought you, right. I wish I could take away all of your pain, immediately. I wish I could turn your cards of life into a royal straight flush. But, I can’t. However, this is what I can do. I can encourage you to hold on. I can tell you and show you how to not give up and not give in. I can lead you toward love, light and healing. And, if you choose such, you will walk into abundant living—in this life, not just the next. You will see JUSTICE, in this world not just the next. You will experience JOY and HAPPINESS not just later, but now. Yes, in this life!

            Now, more than ever, you’ve got to hold onto your faith. And, when the systems of this world give you a resounding no, go to the center of you—tap into the very essence of you, and listen. Listen until you hear a resonating YES and hear how you’re supposed to proceed. I don’t care what your doctor has told you, it doesn’t matter what the judge’s verdict or sentence, or even what your mind-chatter or donkey talk is telling you. Today—Hold On, BELIEVE, DON’T GIVE UP, and DON’T GIVE IN. Remember this, if you want a miracle you have to be in motion. If you’ve done all you know to do, then STAND knowing there is a power greater and bigger than you, than me, and the system. And though sometimes it may seem as if all Creator doesn’t hear, He’s forsaken you and left you to go it alone, rest assured, He is right there—right in the middle of your circumstance. 

Hold on, just a little while longer.