Ask the Pastor with J.D. Greear

Pastor J.D. shares the valuable wisdom he’s learned from three of the women who have influenced him most.  Spoiler alert: Elisabeth Elliot Elyse Fitzpatrick Jen Wilkin   Episode Sponsor: No matter how many people you have on staff at your church, there’s only so much you can accomplish in a day, right? Your church exists to serve your community, so the mission of your church and its staff is to reach as many people as you can. So BELAY, the innovative staffing solution with over 10 years of experience serving churches with virtual assistants, bookkeepers and social media strategists, is offering a free download of their resource, ‘Church Leaders: Essential Strategies to Unleash Productivity.’  Let BELAY help your church live its mission in your community by helping you juggle less and accomplish more. Visit belaysolutions.com/lifeway for your free download.

Pastor J.D. discusses the role of women within the church, especially as it relates to positions of leadership. Resource: One in Christ Jesus: The Role of Women at The Summit Church   Episode Sponsor: No matter how many people you have on staff at your church, there’s only so much you can accomplish in a day, right? Your church exists to serve your community, so the mission of your church and its staff is to reach as many people as you can. So BELAY, the innovative staffing solution with over 10 years of experience serving churches with virtual assistants, bookkeepers and social media strategists, is offering a free download of their resource, ‘Church Leaders: Essential Strategies to Unleash Productivity.’  Let BELAY help your church live its mission in your community by helping you juggle less and accomplish more. Visit belaysolutions.com/lifeway for your free download.

Pastor J.D. and Matt Love sit down with Will Mancini to talk about his new book and answer an important question about the future of the church. Resources from this episode: https://www.willmancini.com/ https://www.willmancini.com/books/future-church

Pastor J.D. discusses God’s design for men according to Genesis 2 and 3. A glimpse inside this episode: It goes back to Genesis 2–3. Spiritual Leadership:  Woman brought into a situation where he already has a walk with God. He is supposed to explain the commands of God to her.  He names the animals, even names her!  He’s given the responsibility to lead the family. Not only spiritually: She’s brought into a home where he is providing. He takes initiative in romance: Adam’s first words were a love poem. He takes responsibility to love and protect: “This is now bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh.” When you look at Genesis 3 you can see that humanity’s fall happened, in part, through a failure of the man to lead. He was “with” the woman when she ate. He was standing there, wondering if Genesis 2:17 was true. How I know: Genesis 3:9 So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” “Where were you?”  The first sin was not one of commission, but omission.  Just sitting back. It’s no secret: Women are more faithful to volunteer in the church than men. More initiative with the kids. More initiative with the relationship. They show more initiative in mission. (IMB: 4 to 1)  They show more initiative to grow: my publisher advised me that women are reading more and you can’t write just to men.  Genesis 3:9 is still his question. Where are you, men? We’ve got a generation of males that never grow up to be men who take up their role as leaders. Dr. Anthony Bradley, sociologist:  85% of youths in prison come from fatherless homes 71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes 90% of all homeless & runaway children are from fatherless homes 60% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes Just as the fall of humanity came through the failure of a man to lead, so salvation comes when a man takes up his leadership role.  Jesus is the Second Adam And so with us… (no disrespect to the ladies) Tony Evans: “As goes the man, so goes the family. As goes the family; so goes the church. As goes the church; so goes the community. As goes the community; so goes the nation. So if you want to change the nation; change the community; if you want to change the community change the church; if you want to change the church; change the family; if you want to change the family, change the man.” Tony Evans: If the child is first to come to Christ, there is a 3.5% chance everyone else in the household will follow; if the mother, a 17% chance; if the father, a 93%. What to do:  Commit to growing as a disciple (which you can hear about in last week’s episode) Commit to re-order your relationships:  Anthony Bradley, like we said before: Wife before children Children before work  Friendships before solitude God before all of it.

Pastor J.D. shares five identities of a disciple—worshiper, family member, servant, steward, witness. A glimpse inside this episode: At our church, we’ve really made this a big emphasis this year. Jesus called us to make disciples, and that means teaching people how to follow Jesus and live the life of a Jesus follower. We’ve been walking through 5 identities of a disciple: Worshiper Daily time with God. Quiet time.  Regular church attendance.  Servant How do you approach your life, job, relationships, etc? What’s your attitude? Volunteer/serve in church and/or community.  Family Member Belonging in membership and community, specifically.  Steward  How do you treat your money? Is generosity part of your life? Witness Who’s your one?  Go on a mission trip. 

Pastor J.D. defines what it means to be pro-life and explains what it requires and the responsibility for Christians. A glimpse inside this episode: Last week, we covered some answers to pro-choice arguments, and if you missed that one, I’d encourage you to go back and listen to it. So, now, what does it mean to be “pro-life?” From womb to tomb, but that includes when the womb is a tomb. We must be pro-abundant life. And BTW, just so you know, Christians have always been like this. Sometimes I hear people say, “All you Christians care about is the pre-born!” But that’s not true. Since 1973, for every 1 abortion clinic in America Christians have built 3 pregnancy centers to assist women in crisis. They are buying groceries and helping young mothers get housing and whatever else they need. Go into foster services and adoption agencies and there you will find the group represented most are pro-life Christians and their friends. Christians have built more hospitals around the world than any other single group–for a long time in sub-Saharan African there was not a single hospital that hadn’t been built by a Christian mission. So don’t believe the tired trope that followers of Jesus only care about the pre-born. It’s just not true, and a lot of people use that to excuse the fact that they are virtually silent about the tragedy of abortion. It’s hard to say that you’re pro-life from the womb to the tomb if you’re apathetic when the womb is a tomb. Right now, children are most vulnerable, statistically speaking, when they’re in the womb. Listen to this: In 2018 abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide, with 42 million victims. That is roughly seven holocausts in a single year. I agree with Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile who says, “It’s staggeringly clear that the largest scale injustice, the most morally outrageous thing happening in our society today is the killing of children in the womb..” To be consistently pro-life, you have to want to change the law People say, “It doesn’t matter if we change the law… abortions happen just as much with pro-life justices and pro-life presidents, let’s work on the system.” The counting is skewed by things like the morning after pill.  Also, really shortsighted. This is only a 47 year question. How many lives would be saved if we truly as a society acknowledged the value of the pre-born and made it illegal to take their lives? Most importantly, we oppose Roe because it is an inherently unjust law. In 1973, we codified into law a Constitutional right to kill an innocent human child. As long as that law is on the books, we live in an inherently unjust country, no less than when we had a stipulation in our Constitution that blacks counted as only 3/5 of a human. To arrive at this “more perfect union,” that 3/5 compromise needed to be eradicated, and Roe, in my view, does as well. The worst position: I’m pro-life but think people should be free to choose for themselves.  So, what does being pro-life require of us? What’s MY responsibility? The African American pastor Thabiti Anyabwhile says that this passage is crucial in instructing us how to respond to the abortion crisis because it tells us  what God’s requirement is and the scope of that requirement  First, WHAT is our responsibility?  Proverbs 31:8 “Speak up for those who have no voice…” What better description of the preborn could there be than “those who have no voice”? No one hears their screams as they’re slain in the womb–We know they feel pain. Through microscopic cameras we see them flinch as they are injected with poison; we see their heartbeats SPIKE as they’re killed. But we don’t hear their voices. Some of them are old enough that if they were just 6 inches further out of the womb we could hear their screams. But because they’re left in the womb when their life is taken we don’t hear them.  So, we are obligated to speak for them. “Speak up” is repeated twice. Once in vs. 8; once in vs. 9. Speak up, the King says. Speak up. Say something. As with the story of the Good Samaritan, not speaking up in the face of injustice makes you guilty of injustice. It’s like Martin Luther King, Jr, said in regards to racial injustice: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Silence IS support. Speak up. ((Everywhere in the world our flag flies right now it represents this. And that is tragic.)) And hey, I want to stop here and say something: I want to ask you to seriously consider whether or not God might be leading some of you to take on the mantle of government leadership for causes like these. We need godly people (in both political parties) advocating for this. As I said, this should not be a partisan issue–much like care for the refugee or respect for the immigrant should not be partisan issues. I don’t care what your political party is–all Christians should be united in seeing the removal of this scourge from our land. Second, Proverbs 31 shows us the SCOPE of that responsibility: vs. 8 …Speak up for the justice of ALL who are dispossessed. All: If your love for the vulnerable is sincere, this won’t be the only life issue you care about. For some people, pro-life is like a moral club they use in the culture war, even as they ignore the suffering and needs of other vulnerable groups around them. If you really care about the vulnerable we’ll see you advocating for life everywhere– the poor, the marginalized, the forgotten of all ages and all races. Maybe most of all you’ll be brokenhearted about those around the world with no access to the gospel. The greatest tragedy in our world is people dying with the gospel; and the greatest injustice in the world is the failure of the church to get it to them. It’s like I said: A real commitment to life is demonstrated by advocacy for the vulnerable from the womb to the tomb. But don’t tell me you’re pro-life if you’re apathetic about life in the womb. A lot of our ministry to our community here centers around this issue. Speak up and offer help! Not just pro-life, pro-abundant life.   

Pastor J.D. explains a few of the most common pro-choice arguments and responds to each one with scientific and scriptural insight. A glimpse inside this episode: What greater tragedy is there than taking the life of another human? First, “The baby is a part of a woman’s body, and we need to respect her right to privacy and sovereignty over her body.”  I agree that the right to privacy over our bodies is precious.  But here’s the thing: The baby is not part of her body. That baby is intimately attached to her body for a period of time, yes, but it’s not part of her body. Listen, Thaddeus Williams, from whom I glean a lot of this today, says: “From the moment of conception, that baby has its own DNA–it’s own unique genetic code, a unique heart, (unique) circulatory system, brain, and more. If you’re saying it is a part of her body, does that mean SHE herself has 2 brains, 2 hearts, and 4 arms and legs?” No, it’s a separate person, even intimately attached to her body. Scripture certainly presents the preborn child as its own person: The Psalmist of Psalm 139 says that in the womb God knew me by name, as a person; there I was fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together according to the plan of God with his purpose for me already in mind.  Scripture tells us that John the Baptist leapt in Elizabeth’s womb because his spirit–in the womb–was filled with the Spirit when he came into the presence of Jesus.  Someone might say, “But it’s still IN my body.”  Yes, that’s true, but we all know our rights over our bodies are not absolute as far as the law is concerned. Prostitution is illegal in most states, and I don’t know of anywhere in the US can you legally pour drugs into your body just because it’s your body. Your rights to your body stop precisely at that place where they begin to affect someone else’s. And that’s exactly what is happening to the pre-born. Alright, here’s the next one. Someone might say, “Pastor JD, saying life begins at conception is a matter of opinion, and you shouldn’t force your opinion on others.”  Well, we’re not in the realm of opinion, here; we’re in the realm of biology and Scripture. Hear me out–let me get in the weeds for about 5 minutes. Hang with me.  If you say “life begins at birth”: Well, the only difference in a baby 5 seconds prior to birth and 5 seconds after birth is location, and “location” seems like an arbitrary foundation for personhood. Scientifically, what is the difference in the nature of the baby 5 seconds before birth and 5 seconds after?  If you say, “Life begins with brain function, when the baby can experience pain, when they are in (what scientists call) a sentient (or self-conscious) state.” Well, first, note that that contradicts the position that abortion is a fundamental woman’s right through all nine months of pregnancy simply because it is in her womb. But second, does that mean when we are not in a ‘sentient’ state we have lost our right to life? If I go into a temporary coma from which you know I am going to wake up in 9 mos., my strong preference would be that you not kill me.   If you say, “Life begins at viability,” (when the baby can live on its own). This also seems like a strange criteria for when personhood begins, because isn’t viability contingent on the advancement of technology? Every year, doesn’t newer, better technology push the length of “viability” back? If “viability” determines personhood, that means whether or not someone is a person is dependent on how advanced our technology is. And that seems arbitrary–it means that those born in more technologically advanced societies somehow possess greater personhood and more rights than those who are born in poor countries–and that doesn’t make sense. Plus, I would argue that the more helpless a person is, the more vulnerable–the less viable–the more we as a society should do to protect them. In the words of Cardinal Roger Mahony says, “We judge societies on how they treat their weakest members—the last, the least, and the littlest.” Even if you are unclear on this, and are not convinced that personhood begins at conception–shouldn’t you err on the side of life? “If you’re hunting in the woods and hear a rustling in the bushes and you’re uncertain as to whether it’s your friend or a deer, morality and common sense dictate that you don’t pull the trigger, given the potential risk of murder.” Here’s the next one: “If abortion were made illegal, people would just go back to coat hangers and back alley butchers.”  Two things I’d say here:  First, just to be clear, stories of that are WAY exaggerated. A total of 39 women died the year before Roe vs. Wade through illegal abortions. And that’s tragic, of course, but compare that to 900,000 babies who died in state-sanctioned abortions this year.  Second, again quoting Thaddeus Williams: the “coat hanger” argument misses the point that the preborn are people, and pointing out some negative side effects of a restriction doesn’t justify the sanctioning of murder. Next, “What about in the case of genetic disabilities? We shouldn’t bring babies into the world with genetic disabilities whose lives will be reduced to hardship and unhappiness.”  First, note that people with disabilities are vehemently opposed to this argument. There is not a single organization of disabled people in the world that I know of that is in favor of elective abortions of those who have disabilities. Second, you are making a false correlation between genetic deformities and unhappiness. Listen to this: “No study… has found that handicapped persons are more likely than non-handicapped persons to want to die or commit suicide… This report, which came out in Baltimore, said: “In fact, of the 200 consecutive suicides in Baltimore last year… none had been committed by people with congenital deformities.” None! If you’re trying to say that we should be able to abort those whom we know in advance are the most likely to be unhappy, it’s not those with genetic deformities that you should start with. They are on the happy end of the scale. The point is: Who are we to determine when another life is not worth living?  Again: this whole line of thinking misses the point: The preborn baby is a person. And if we think they might experience hardship in their lives, does that justify killing them in advance?   I’ve heard people say, “Abortion sometimes help poor women escape crushing financial burdens. Banning abortion would cause overpopulation and massive poverty.” This kind of statement confuses “finding a solution” with “eliminating a problem.” Think of it this way: If the neighbor’s dog keeps pooping in your yard… you go out and shoot the dog. You’ve eliminated a problem, but you haven’t come up with a solution. If poverty is a problem, let’s keep working to find a solution.  Again, the point is–the preborn are people. You can’t justify killing a person because it eliminates a problem. I mean, if you use that reasoning there, where does it stop? Couldn’t you use that same line of reasoning to justify eliminating other financially burdensome groups?  Finally, “Well, what about in cases of rape or incest?”  First, let me say I can’t imagine the pain involved in something like this. It’s unspeakable. But just to keep it in perspective. These tragic and heartbreaking cases make up less than 1% of all abortions. When someone says this to me, I always ask them: “So are you agreeing then that the other 99% of abortions are indeed immoral?”  But the bigger point is this: Does the fact that that baby got there by rape or incest change the fact that they are still A PERSON? Does the circumstances of one’s birth take away from their personhood? If a grown adult found out that they were conceived by rape, would that somehow reduce their value, or right to life, as a person?  Keep your eye on the central question: Is the preborn baby a person? If they are, how they became a person is irrelevant. Listen: That little human life, that little person, regardless of how they got there, when it’s no bigger than a speck, the size of a period at the end of the sentence, is made in the image of God. That speck has more value than all the planets and stars in the vast cosmos! It has a soul made in the image of God, that Jesus died, that has an eternal future. We’ve gotten into the weeds here a little bit because I want you to see that scientifically and Scripturally there is no question about how Jesus feels about THESE little children. “Let them come to me,” he says. Their lives are precious and valuable. And if you care about me, you’ll care about them, and not dismiss them (like the disciples did in this story) as an inconvenience.“ 

Pastor J.D. discusses how this view might be a reflection of our time and place as well as the Bible’s role throughout history. A glimpse inside this episode: Feeling the morals are regressive may be a reflection of our particular time and place. I mean, we shouldn’t be surprised that the Bible offends our culture. We should be concerned if they don’t. The Bible has offended every culture, just not always in the same way. E.g. Muslim cultures and the teaching on forgiveness An “Equal Opportunity Offender” Wouldn’t you expect, if the Bible is the Word of God, that it wouldn’t offend us?  Wouldn’t you be more suspect if it just affirmed everything we already believed? Do we really think we’re so advanced that we’ve gotten everything right?  Think about how you look at people 100 years ago. We say, ‘I can’t believe grandma and grandpa actually believed that?” 100 years from now they are going to look back on us and say, “Wow, they were advanced!”?  The standard: “If I feel a sincere impulse inside of me, it has to be right,” cannot  be correct.   Change the setting—now you have a guy in his early 20’s walking down the street of a Viking town in the 11th century who feels like his honor has been insulted and thinks, “I can’t be happy until I have avenged myself and my family name and that can only happen by killing the one who offended me.” We would say, “That is bad.”  On what basis? It’s because it violates a higher law. Just because it’s in your heart doesn’t mean it is right. We need an external standard. The Bible has been behind the greatest moral revolutions in the world End of slavery—The best work on slavery is by an African-American scholar named Thomas Sowell. He points out slavery was universal. The terrible European slave trade trafficked 11 million Africans; but twice that many were bought and sold on the Arabian Peninsula during that same time period. Furthermore, he says, almost every slave he says sold in the European slave trade were enslaved and sold to them by other Africans. So, in other words, slavery was a nearly universal problem. Yet you have an enormous amount of guilt literature coming out of the West, but none out of Arabia.  And the efforts to stop slavery came from the West. Why, he asks? Slavery is universal, but what stopped slavery it in the West? His answer? Undeniably, the Great Awakening: The preaching of men like John Wesley and the reforms of Christian statesman William Wilberforce.  The Civil Rights Movement in the United States was pioneered by pastors like MLK, Jr. The end of apartheid in South Africa had Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the outspokenly Christian Nelson Mandela—both of whom opposed the racist practice based on the Bible’s principles. Prison reform and the rights of women were led not only by Christians, but by Christians who cited Christian teaching as the inspiration for their reforms The church is still the #1 provider of healthcare around the world. Christian Atheists: I saw one atheist author mention that if you go anywhere in the world where the need is greatest, the people you are most likely to find there are Christians. Hitchens conceded the same thing. He said, “I don’t believe Christianity, but something in it compels people to get involved in the worst situations on the planet.” I was listening to a lecture by Dr. Charles Mathewes up at UVA and he said that most atheists today who have moral objections to Christianity don’t realize they are “Christian atheists,” which means that the basis for their objections usually come from teachings that have been shaped by a Christian worldview. Friedrich Nietzsche, my favorite atheist, acknowledged that. He said: My moral objections to Christianity ultimately came from the principles I learned from Christianity.  One historian notes: Atheists today aren’t like they were 1000 years ago. They are Christian atheists. Understand Progressive Revelation Bigger conversation, but God planted seeds instead of issuing a political manifesto

Pastor J.D. shares why humility and repentance are key in any discussion about Critical Race Theory.

Pastor J.D. briefly explains CRT and how injustice should be considered humbly, soberly, and charitably in the light of Scripture.