An important aspect of our institutional identity is our belief in the Bible as the fully inspired and authoritative word of God.  We hold it to be God breathed and the basis of our teaching and life.

Harding University has always been a leader in world missions. Nearly 1/3 of all the missionaries who have gone out from churches of Christ have graduated from Harding… {Evangelism is important to the life of the church} we continue to believe that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ and that Christians are to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).

Harding has always been deeply connected with churches of Christ, and we reaffirm this connection. Our goal will be to continue to hire only members of churches of Christ as faculty and administrators. Though we live in a time of significant confusion over our brotherhood’s identity, we are determined that Harding will become captive to neither a rigid legalism on the right nor a formless liberalism on the left… we affirm on this occasion such distinctive convictions of the mainstream churches of Christ as baptism for the remission of sins,    a capella music in worship, and male spiritual leadership.

It is my hope that SS will always be a church that stands for and teaches NT Christianity without compromise.

Once more he hit redial.  The voice, Did you figure it out?  The policeman said, Yes.  It’s because no one ever calls you, right?   You got it – click.

Once more he hit redial.  The voice, What now?  Policeman: Well, if no one ever calls you, I thought maybe I should!

Have you ever known someone who was a grump?  Have you ever known someone who was rude?  Have you ever known someone who was LONELY?  Maybe their gruff behavior was because no one ever called… never said hello…   Maybe it was a cry for help, wanting to be bothered?

As you reach out to others with the gospel… don’t be afraid to use REDIAL.  It may take 5… 6… 100 redials, but keep reaching out.

Do you want to run the country?  I prefer the role of just telling the President how to run the country!!!  I want to be his chief advisor – actually his only advisor – and he listens only to me.  I read recently that when Bin Laden was killed in the raid that Vice President Biden advised against it.  The President, no doubt, gets lots of advice. The bottom line is that the President runs the zoo – and this country with all its problems is a zoo!

I can’t imagine wanting to be President.  I like sitting down at the end of the day and having supper with my family and occasionally watch a good hockey game on TV.  I like going to church and a good Bible study with someone wanting to learn.  I don’t need to run the zoo.  What we want from those who do run the zoo is faithfulness and dedication.  We want them to step up and take responsibility.  Jesus said, He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep.

Recently, there was a cruise ship that ran aground.  The ship turned on its side and hundreds of people had to escape.  Unfortunately, something like 17-18 died and there are still several who are missing.  Good news – the captain made it safely ashore.  Actually, it is not good news.  There is a saying, the captain goes down with the ship.  The captain is supposed to be the last one off the ship.  This captain, as some news reports said, was told to go back to the ship!!!  He was told that he needed to be there and oversee the abandon ship cry.  He refused to go back.  Today he is under arrest.

Running the zoo sounds like fun, but it carries with it awesome responsibility.  When the wolf shows up he can’t flee.  When the ship sinks he can’t be the first in a lifeboat. He must care!!!

Somewhere in time, he let me mow the yard became he made me mow the lawn.  It reminds me of the small girl who mowed the lawn for the first time.  Her neighbor saw her and asked, Would you like to mow my yard?  Sure was the instant answer. The neighbor said, Ok, how about for $10?  With that she signed and said, I only have $5.  He was going to pay her… she thought she was supposed to pay him for the privilege of mowing his yard!

Sometimes we lose the joy of service.  But, once we know the joy of service it is hard not to want to serve.  There is a sense of joy… a sense of satisfaction… just a wonderful feeling… that comes from doing things for others.  There is a euphoric feeling of doing something and not being paid for it.  There is a euphoric feeling from doing something for someone that they never knew it was you.  You did it in secret – and your reward was in the secret.

If you have lost that feeling – find it again!  Reawaken some special feelings and joy.

Aroma is such a beautiful word.  It has a poetic sound to it, much better than smell, odor or olfactory perception (I think that’s a scientific term)!  Aroma is an inviting sensation.  They say the best way to sell a house is to bake bread during an open house.  Who can resist the aroma of popcorn as you enter the movie?  It is the aroma that leads you to pay some ridiculous price for a dollar’s worth of popcorn.  Then, of course, you need a drink to go with it so you pay another ridiculous price for a drink!

Aroma… it is a powerful tool.  Christians are the aroma of Christ – both to those who are being saved and those who are lost.  And, more importantly, every Christian has an aroma.  Let me repeat that: Every Christian has an aroma.  Every Christian is constantly sending signals about himself and about the church.  I have gotten a whiff of Christians that love the church and the Christian life they are living.  It attracts me to them and to Christ.  I have also gotten a whiff from Christians who were bitter about the church.  Somewhere in their past they had a bad experience that has turned them against the church.  They are critical of the church. They cannot hide their bitterness.  There is an aroma, only the aroma is more of a smell – and, it drives me away from them and sadly drives people away from the Lord.

Every Christian has an aroma.

• Chew with your mouth closed   (I appreciate that one)
• Avoid slurping, smacking, blowing your nose or other gross noises     (Gross noises – that covers a lot of territory!)
• Don’t use utensils like a shovel or stab the food you are about to eat
• Don’t pick your teeth at the table
• Use your napkin     (I might add – not your sleeve)
• Don’t place your elbows on the table while eating, however it is okay to prop your elbows on the table while conversing between courses.    (Or, as we say/sing at camp, Get your elbows off the table…)
• Don’t r-e-a-c-h across the table for something, ask for it to be passed
• Always say, Excuse me, whenever you leave the table     (When I was a kid we were taught to say, May I be excused, when wanting to leave.  Watch an old Leave It To Beaver episode)

Rules for the table according to Emily Post.  I could not find an Emily Post rules for church, but there are some good rules to follow:

• Don’t be late, lateness is rude and interrupts the worship of others
• If you are late, choose an appropriate time to enter the service like when there is a pause in the action.    (Don’t enter in the middle of a prayer, wait until the prayer has ended.  Don’t enter while the Lord’s Supper is being served, it is one of the most reverent times in the service.)
• Enter as quietly as you can
• If you baby cries, take him/her our as discreetly as possible.  Babies are going to cry.  We expect it.  It is a good problem for a church to have.  Just use good judgment as to how it affects others
• Always tell the preacher, Great Sermon!, even when it was not so great.  It is not necessary to tip the preacher.
• Participate in the service – avoid talking, laughing, or other actions that hinder others from worshiping.

Hebrews 12:38 says we should offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe.  That’s our goal, an environment and atmosphere realizing we are in the presence of God in a special way when we come together as a church.  Consideration for others is an Emily Post thing.

One of the things I have noticed about small children and those learning the English language is that often they get the tense wrong.  It’s not a big deal as we can still understand what they are saying.  But, a small child might say, I was going to the store, meaning they were getting ready to go or they are going to the store.  Sporting a new dress a child might say, I was pretty, meaning I am pretty. Though not a hindrance to communication it is nice to get the tense right.

I like what I read recently.   Someone writes that baptism is not a past event, it is a present fact. I thought, Wow! What a statement.  As we think about our baptism we might say, I was baptized into Christ.  Would it be correct to say, I am baptized into Christ?  Paul writes, I am crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.  Paul didn’t say, I was crucified with Christ…   Paul’s transformation was on-going, a present fact.

 The tense we use often makes a difference in the life we live.  I taught Bible class or I teach Bible class.  I invited people to church or I invite people to church.  There is often a difference in the way we used to live and the way we live today

I had the meanest parents in all the world.  When I was 7 years old they dared to spank me just because I told them I would not do what they asked me to do to help around the house.  My friend next door never got spanked.  He didn’t have to help at home.  He had nice parents.

I had the meanest parents.  I had to eat all my broccoli and carrots before they would ever let me have dessert.  My friend next door never had to eat vegetables.  He had fast food brought in with burgers and shakes and brownies with all kinds of ice cream.

I had the meanest parents.  They made me go to church every Sunday as long as I lived under their roof, sit there in that boring worship service.  My friend next door could do as he pleased. He never went to church.  Sunday was a fun day for him.

I had the meanest parents.  They made me work for my allowance.   I had to get a job helping an elderly old man with chores around his house.  My friend next door never had to do anything and he was given four times as much allowance as I could ever earn.  He had nice parents.

I had the meanest parents.  When I turned 16, they made me earn points before I could drive the family car.  My friend next door was given a brand new luxury automobile.  My folks had bought an old jalopy for me to get back and forth to school, but you think I’d drive that hunk of junk and park it beside those Jeep Wagoneers, BMWs, Buicks and Mercedes?  My friend had it made.

Or… so I once thought, but, when I reached age 30, I had a change in perspective.  I had learned that my parents were not so mean after all.  I was experiencing: the pleasure of work… the reward of recreation… the strength of a healthy body… the bonds of a strong marriage… the inner confidence that comes from faith… the wonderful supportive fellowship that comes from the Church as a community of believers.

As for my friend, things were not going so well. He was not finding his niche in the workplace… nothing seemed to satisfy him…  He was having difficulty getting along with people who were not willing to do everything just as he thought he knew it ought to be done… his marriage had not lasted even 2 years…  His body was getting out of shape… and he evidenced a cynical outlook without any under-girding that comes from the assurance of faith. 

A For Better or For Worse cartoon struck me as interesting recently.  The young boy is building with blocks.  He adds one too many blocks before he has what he wants and the whole thing comes crashing down.  He screams, Aagh!!! Not again!  Next frame he kicks the blocks all over the room saying, Stupid, dumb, crummy…  Mom comes in to see the anger fit and carries him off to bed.  He says, I don’t wanna go to bed!, and cries, Waaah!!! Things settle down… he’s in bed and says, Mom? Aren’t you gonna kiss me good night?  Mom stops in her tracks, turns and looks at him, To tell you the truth, Mike, when you act like that… I just don’t feel like kissing you at all!

Mike, a bit more humble says, But, mom, that’s when I need it the most!

In almost 40 years of preaching now, I don’t know how many times I have picked up the phone to hear someone calling when they needed it the most.  Some hadn’t been to church in years.  Some thought they would never need the church.  Some are lonely.  Some, actually, MANY, have a problem and don’t know where to turn.  Perhaps a good definition of church is: when you need it the most.

I like church on Wednesday nights.  Often that has been the time I needed it the most.  I like church when I want to be with friends.  I like church when I need to be encouraged and built up.  I like the church when there is some one that I can help.  I like Sundays, often the best day of the week.  I like the kind of people at the church that encourage me to live right.

Come to think of it, the church is what I need the most.  The start of the new year is a good time become a part of a great group of people who love the Lord.

Dr. Maxwell Maltz tells a story of a woman in her mid-twenties who came to his office.  She had a deep scar on her cheek from an automobile accident.  The scar took away from her looks and was a constant reminder of the unhappy event in her life.  Every time she looked into a mirror to brush her teeth or comb her hair, she could not help but see the scar and think, I look awful.  In talking with Dr. Maltz, a plastic surgeon, he told her he could fix it!  He told her he could smooth her face and the scar would be barely noticeable – if at all – and she would be a new person!

He operated.  The operation went well. After a week she came back and he took off the bandages… and handed her a mirror.  The scar was a thing of the past… it was gone!  He watched in anticipation for her reaction.  What do you think?  How does it look?  Do you like it?  She responded, I really don’t see much improvement.

Shocked, he shared a before picture of her scar.  She then said, It does look better, but I don’t feel better!  It was then that Dr. Maltz realized that it is not the physical scars that control a person’s happiness, but the inward scars.  Fixing the scars of sin is what brings peace and happiness.

Reminds me of the old poem, The Touch of the Master’s Hand

Twas battered and SCARRED, and the auctioneer
thought it scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin,
but held it up with a smile; “What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?” “A dollar, a dollar”; then two!” “Only
two? Two dollars, and who’ll make it three? Three dollars, once; three
dollars twice; going for three..” But no, from the room, far back, a
gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow; Then, wiping the dust from the old violin, and tightening the loose strings, he played a melody pure and sweet as caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low, said; “What am I bid for the old violin?” And he held it up with the bow. A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two? Two thousand! And who’ll make it three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going and gone,” said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, “We do not quite understand what changed its worth.” Swift came the reply: “The touch of a master’s hand.”