You make me think. In 1975 joined the Psalm-singing Presbyterians, whose Sabbath is strict enough that it would be hard to run any small business. But godly Sabbatarians have survived and blessed both the church and the world. Look at Eric Liddell. Next question is, "Should I invest in a company which breaks the Sabbath? Should I eat Peanut Butter that a trucker transported over the Sabbath, etc.? I ended up joining the Army, because my church elders called the military a "work of necessity," so I could drill and participate in other training on the Lord's Day without fear of church discipline!
Amen, Erick. I feel the same way you do about these grey areas and about the infighting among fellow Christians. Both sides think they're standing up for the gospel, but both sides have a tendency to attribute bad faith or evil motives to the other side. No doubt both sides have made mistakes, and no one is above criticism. But what unites us is more important that what divides us. May we never forget it.
Well Eric there’s alot in your message and it started out regarding a business and its leadership influence . Having been a former small/ medium business owner with a small board of directors however i was the majority stock holder I ruled the roost. That was not the case with AT&T so the best scenario was the influence of a Christian is a Plus. Regarding NIH it is a very different situation i believe there i position myself the Influence of a Christian in the jaws of evil the the influace of Christ will make change as small as it may seem in the beginning.
No Influence equals no change toward the good. So much for my small spot in this world. God Bless and stay the course 🙏
Would you rather have people running companies that have zero regard for anything biblical (FB, IG, twitter, etc) or someone that believes in God and tries to balance, as best as they can, shareholder equity and their personal beliefs?
It's a no win situation for the latter. The evangelicals are going to say you're not doing enough and the other side will say you're a bible thumper and try to cancel you. I would say it's time to employ their own tactics against them. Because, Nahum.
I just subscribed. I believe we need more people like Erick fighting for the faith.
To that end, I was reminded of the Augustinian Code: in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, charity. This embodies what your recent newsletter describes. The individual who reminded me of this is in the process of writing a book and has the entire manuscript available for reading on his website. If you don't read anything else, take a minute to read Chapter Eleven: The Middle. It sums up the entire thesis of the book and speaks to EXACTLY what you Erick has been saying.
Thank you, Erick, for continuing to fight. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Eph 6:12
What a lovely, thoughtful insights. Too often we can get caught up in making points and tearing each other to pieces and put Christ and his teachings out of the equation.
I agree with you, totally! Nicely said. Am grateful every day that God loves humanity so much He sent Jesus to die for our sins. Jesus pour out mercy and grace upon your people!
I’m sitting in my pricey condo in Winter Park on a ski trip. So many lessons learned on this trip. Picked up a ski hitchhiker just trying to get back to his car after avalanche risk forced him down another path. Helped 2 disabled skiers after they skied down the mountain on a mono ski and needed to be uprighted. Boy it was humbling and I’ll never complain. The image of this virile beautiful young man lying on his side needing to be uprighted is emblazoned in my mind. I witnessed all of this and experienced all of this with my beautiful, wondrous, amazing partner. Y’all we just gotta love and be on the lookout for one another. Every day as a psych NP I witness and serve and treat unbelievable human tragedy and suffering. This week I took a break sorta. I still got calls and texts from patients. We need to get our heads out of our ass and look around and serve and love. We ain’t got much time left and all this petty shiitake will not matter when that Trumpet sounds! That’s all. Enjoy the day.
Erick..., Christian Love(?). That's actually the Greek Word, "agape". Agape love is the love that God has for us and the love that He asks us to show Him and other people. "Christian Agape" love is about loving others because they are "children of God like ourselves" even if we don't like them. This means we love a person despite his or her flaws or shortcomings. We're not to love this world system or those that live and operate in it, although we are to expose them to Christ by our compassion, loving one (Christians) another as Christ loved the church for then they (the world) would know we are His disciples 'in deed' and to evangelize. Keep up the good articles, which are challenging. Iron sharpens iron. :)
Please receive this reply with grace. As you said, iron sharpens iron and we should do that as brothers and sisters in Christ.
I agree that we are to love others. Luke 10 teaches us that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. I disagree only when you say "they are children of God like ourselves". If by they, you mean those who have called on the name of the Lord to be saved, then yes, I agree with that. If you mean the entirety of society, then I would say we become children of God when we have a moment of acceptance of God's free gift of salvation. Others are not the children of God until that moment. I know it may seem like semantics, but I hear this phrase used often and I feel it needs to be corrected.
As to our neighbor, in Luke 10 Jesus teaches us that our neighbor is ANYONE we come in contact with. He also teaches us in Matthew 25:45 that when we serve the poor and lowly, we serve Jesus. I take that to mean that we are to demonstrate our love in a tangible fashion to those we may not like or agree with. We are called to call out oppression when we see it as Jesus did. But we must always do so in the spirit of the Augustinian Code: In essentials, unity, in non-essentials, diversity, but in all things charity (love.)
You make me think. In 1975 joined the Psalm-singing Presbyterians, whose Sabbath is strict enough that it would be hard to run any small business. But godly Sabbatarians have survived and blessed both the church and the world. Look at Eric Liddell. Next question is, "Should I invest in a company which breaks the Sabbath? Should I eat Peanut Butter that a trucker transported over the Sabbath, etc.? I ended up joining the Army, because my church elders called the military a "work of necessity," so I could drill and participate in other training on the Lord's Day without fear of church discipline!
Amen, Erick. I feel the same way you do about these grey areas and about the infighting among fellow Christians. Both sides think they're standing up for the gospel, but both sides have a tendency to attribute bad faith or evil motives to the other side. No doubt both sides have made mistakes, and no one is above criticism. But what unites us is more important that what divides us. May we never forget it.
Well Eric there’s alot in your message and it started out regarding a business and its leadership influence . Having been a former small/ medium business owner with a small board of directors however i was the majority stock holder I ruled the roost. That was not the case with AT&T so the best scenario was the influence of a Christian is a Plus. Regarding NIH it is a very different situation i believe there i position myself the Influence of a Christian in the jaws of evil the the influace of Christ will make change as small as it may seem in the beginning.
No Influence equals no change toward the good. So much for my small spot in this world. God Bless and stay the course 🙏
Well communicated! Thank you!
Would you rather have people running companies that have zero regard for anything biblical (FB, IG, twitter, etc) or someone that believes in God and tries to balance, as best as they can, shareholder equity and their personal beliefs?
It's a no win situation for the latter. The evangelicals are going to say you're not doing enough and the other side will say you're a bible thumper and try to cancel you. I would say it's time to employ their own tactics against them. Because, Nahum.
"It’s hard for the world to know us by our love for one another when we’re all so busy hating on each other in order to build our credentials."
Yes...the fighting around the table has to stop. Why would anyone want to come sit down at the table if they see everyone at each others' throats?
I just subscribed. I believe we need more people like Erick fighting for the faith.
To that end, I was reminded of the Augustinian Code: in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, charity. This embodies what your recent newsletter describes. The individual who reminded me of this is in the process of writing a book and has the entire manuscript available for reading on his website. If you don't read anything else, take a minute to read Chapter Eleven: The Middle. It sums up the entire thesis of the book and speaks to EXACTLY what you Erick has been saying.
Thank you, Erick, for continuing to fight. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Eph 6:12
Here is the link: https://www.collisionlearner.com/post/chapter-eleven-the-middle
When will this book be released in final form? What I read was interesting.
Not sure, but he also has a podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-minivan-centurion/id1592573155
This piece in CT seems appropriate to this discussion.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/january-web-only/covid-church-pastor-quit-ministry-burnout-breaking-point.html?utm_source=CT+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=636322&utm_content=8363&utm_campaign=email
Yes!
What a lovely, thoughtful insights. Too often we can get caught up in making points and tearing each other to pieces and put Christ and his teachings out of the equation.
You don't like sweet tea? I'm canceling my subscription! 😝
I agree with you, totally! Nicely said. Am grateful every day that God loves humanity so much He sent Jesus to die for our sins. Jesus pour out mercy and grace upon your people!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I’m sitting in my pricey condo in Winter Park on a ski trip. So many lessons learned on this trip. Picked up a ski hitchhiker just trying to get back to his car after avalanche risk forced him down another path. Helped 2 disabled skiers after they skied down the mountain on a mono ski and needed to be uprighted. Boy it was humbling and I’ll never complain. The image of this virile beautiful young man lying on his side needing to be uprighted is emblazoned in my mind. I witnessed all of this and experienced all of this with my beautiful, wondrous, amazing partner. Y’all we just gotta love and be on the lookout for one another. Every day as a psych NP I witness and serve and treat unbelievable human tragedy and suffering. This week I took a break sorta. I still got calls and texts from patients. We need to get our heads out of our ass and look around and serve and love. We ain’t got much time left and all this petty shiitake will not matter when that Trumpet sounds! That’s all. Enjoy the day.
Erick..., Christian Love(?). That's actually the Greek Word, "agape". Agape love is the love that God has for us and the love that He asks us to show Him and other people. "Christian Agape" love is about loving others because they are "children of God like ourselves" even if we don't like them. This means we love a person despite his or her flaws or shortcomings. We're not to love this world system or those that live and operate in it, although we are to expose them to Christ by our compassion, loving one (Christians) another as Christ loved the church for then they (the world) would know we are His disciples 'in deed' and to evangelize. Keep up the good articles, which are challenging. Iron sharpens iron. :)
Please receive this reply with grace. As you said, iron sharpens iron and we should do that as brothers and sisters in Christ.
I agree that we are to love others. Luke 10 teaches us that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. I disagree only when you say "they are children of God like ourselves". If by they, you mean those who have called on the name of the Lord to be saved, then yes, I agree with that. If you mean the entirety of society, then I would say we become children of God when we have a moment of acceptance of God's free gift of salvation. Others are not the children of God until that moment. I know it may seem like semantics, but I hear this phrase used often and I feel it needs to be corrected.
As to our neighbor, in Luke 10 Jesus teaches us that our neighbor is ANYONE we come in contact with. He also teaches us in Matthew 25:45 that when we serve the poor and lowly, we serve Jesus. I take that to mean that we are to demonstrate our love in a tangible fashion to those we may not like or agree with. We are called to call out oppression when we see it as Jesus did. But we must always do so in the spirit of the Augustinian Code: In essentials, unity, in non-essentials, diversity, but in all things charity (love.)
Wow, well said❤️