Scott Freeman

I woke up to some grim news this morning: Waco pastor electrocuted during service.
Back in May, I had the privilege to visit University Baptist Church during my vacation.
Kyle walked up to me concerned that the service may be too loud for my two girls and directed me to the nursery.
He immediately struck me as a very warm and personable guy. I wish I had had the opportunity to know him better.
His preaching style seemed intimate and relevant to college students seeking meaning and purpose. UBC is intimately connected with the college community and features one of the best Christian artists recording today. I recommended to a friend just yesterday that they needed to check out David Crowder.
I grieve today for three small children left behind.
I grieve today for a church uncertain about it’s future.
I grieve today because of the walls of division that has kept our churches separated.
I hold a high view of baptism. I believe it ushers an individual into a new life. It claims what Christ did on the cross for the believer.
Kyle died while giving another life. In the midst of unspeakable tragedy there is that gift of new life he left behind.
And for that I am thankful.

HAPPY TO BE HERE
Todd Snider (c)2000
==============
All of my neighbors are all up in arms
About something they saw on TV
Seems some politician got busted for something
That won’t make any difference to me
Now I’m sure it’s all true and I’m tired of this too
But I can’t pray for some guy to fall
I say let all the people do what people do
I’m just happy to be here at all

Happy to be here to vote randomly
On who ought to take the next dive
Eager to see what the downfall will be
And all the hilarity on Saturday Night Live
Mostly it’s all scandal TV these days
That’s where the real money must fall
Down from the smog of some Hollywood haze
I’m just happy to be here at all

I’m happy to be here
Happy to be
Happy

Happy to be here to see how it goes
When everything blows into space
I’ve been walking my tennis shoes right through my toes
Trying to keep up with the rest of the race
Mostly I stare out my window these days
Watching my dog chase her ball
I’ll do my job here whatever it pays
I’m just happy to be here at all
Just happy to be here at all

One of the things I love most about this church family is our commitment to children.
This is so immensely important to me, not just because I have three beautiful girls, but because I believe that is what Jesus would have us do.
If we are not intentional about our ministry to children then we are unfaithful to what God has called us to be.
It is imperative to us that our children learn of Jesus and the love and grace that He offers to each of us.
That is why I am so excited about what our children’s ministry has done in such a short amount of time to make the Northside Church of Christ the place to be for children.
As you arrived here this morning (Sunday) you saw our hallways teeming with smiling faces. You probably noticed some people wearing aprons that feature different animals. Those aprons let our children know who there teachers are: The animals are each connected to a specific class.
Not only are our children immediately greeted when they arrive, they all meet together for the first few minutes of class to sing songs and to experience how special they are to us. They then dismiss to their respective, age-appropriate classes.
We don’t forget our children during our worship service either. When you hear us sing “Jesus Loves Me” you will see a sea of children (all ages welcome) descend upon the pulpit for a short “sermonette” designed specifically for them. (People tell me I shouldn’t ask them questions up there because I don’t know what they are going to say. But that is exactly why I ask the questions!)
After the sermonette they are dismissed to their very own children’s church. Children’s Church is for ages 3-7 (We also have an attended nursery for ages birth-3.)
The room that we use for Children’s Church has recently been remodeled and redecorated. If you haven’t seen it, make sure you go by and check it out. It’s amazing. I hope that we can do something similar in each of our classrooms.

Every week our children learn a memory verse that ties in to that week’s lesson.
Every week our children study God’s word and begin to learn the importance of application.
Every week our children sing songs of praise to their God.
Every week our children learn the importance of giving.
Every week our children learn the most important truth they will ever know: Jesus loves them.

I am so thankful for our children’s ministry and the sweet and precious ladies who have invested so much of themselves to truly make Northside a place where children long to be.
I think we see that in the visitors that we are attracting.
So, thank you Angela
Thank you Missty.
Thank you Jill.
Thank you Tracy.
Thank you Mandy.
Thanks to all of you who have invested time, money, love and prayers to make our children’s ministry so effective.

The book of Judges is a cautionary tale about failing to instill in the coming generations a love for God and an understanding of who He is. Because of the dereliction of the Israelite people their children drifted from God. Horrendous consequences resulted.
As Harold Korver has stated, “If you don’t make a habit out of going to church each Sunday, you shoot yourself in the foot, your children in the leg, and your grandchildren in the heart.”

Because of the work of these special people and our commitment to children in this place we can ensure that they will be taught the love of God.
We can find no higher calling than that.

So, Sheryl Swoopes has come out of the closet.
The first major sports star to openly declare her homosexuality while still playing.
Questions abound if this will pave the way for more athletes to come forward with the truth of their sexuality.
I don’t see this being enough of a spark to cause any male athlete to ‘fess up.
Yet.
But let’s not kid ourselves. It is coming.
It will happen.
Regardless of your take on the moral acceptability of homosexuality (I personally believe that it falls short of God’s ideal and is incompatible with Scripture) we must all agree that people are to be loved regardless of personal choices they might make.
But there is one thing about this story that bothers me.
It comes from a response piece by Mechelle Voepel. Here is the excerpt that grates on me:

During the press conference when she received the 2005 regular-season
MVP award in September, Swoopes said, “Scotty, thank you for being
here, believing in me and having the faith and the confidence in me
that I could get the job done.”
I said to another reporter, “Sheryl is getting
closer.” The reporter replied, “Yeah, but that nickname is
gender-ambiguous. She still hasn’t said who ‘Scotty’ really is.”

Excuse me while I shout: SCOTTY IS GENDER-AMBIGUOUS???
For those of you who don’t know, for some reason that I have never been able to adequately ascertain, my parents named me Leslie.
Leslie is gender ambiguous at best. Down-right girlie at worst. I’m not bitter. It’s just the way it is.
Hence, the fact that I have always gone by my middle name, Scott. I have taken comfort that it was straight-forward. I don’t get mail addressed to Ms. Scott Freeman. (When using my first name, I am ALWAYS thought to be female).
Now, granted, I have never liked being called Scotty, although it has been an unavoidable nick-name..

But now you want to come and tell me that my middle name is cloudy, too?

From now on, I answer to the name “Hank.”

It goes without being said that I have a highly intelligent readership.
It also goes without being said that we live in a highly fragmented and tense time.

My question for you, my august readers, what would you identify as being the most important issue(s) facing our nation today?
What about the church? What issues are front-burner items for us?

Give me some feedback. I have my own thoughts but am interested in yours.

In the fight for civil rights in America, no figure stands out as a source of inspiration and courage more than Rosa Parks. Her dogged determination to retain her seat on a crowded bus was a clarion call to the end of racial segregation in this land.
A fight that still wages today.

I pray that we will each remember the example of Rosa Parks.

I have been putting together my list of the 100 greatest protest songs of all time. In this process I stumbled across a song written by Anne Feeney. I haven’t reconciled all the theology but I thought I would share a snippet of the lyrics with you:

Was it Cesar Chavez or Rosa Parks that day?
Some say Dr. King or Ghandi Set them on their way
No matter who your mentors are It’s pretty plain to see
That if you’ve been to jail for justice You’re in good company

Have you been to jail for justice? I want to shake your hand
‘Cause sitting in and laying down Are ways to take a stand
Have you sung a song for freedom Or marched that picket line?
Have you been to jail for justice? Then you’re a friend of mine

You law abiding citizens Come listen to this song
Laws are made by people And people can be wrong
Once unions were against the law But slavery was fine
Women were denied the vote While children worked the mine
The more you study history The less you can deny it
A rotten law stays on the books ’til folks with guts defy it!

God bless Rosa Parks and her stand.

Had a brief conversation last night with the wife about how incredibly annoying I find Jay Leno. That spurred my thinking: what is my top 10 most annoying people list? I removed so of the more obvious ones such as the ubiquitous peroxide parade: Hilton, lohan, Simpson, spears, etc.
Here is my list of the celebrities I most want to see experience the end of their 15 minutes. Again, all in fun. I wish none of these people ill. I just want them off my radar screen.

10. Any Member of the Osbourne Family. Your reality show is over. This does not need to lead to any further recognition or work for anyone in the family. I was prepared to overlook Bark at the Moon but to hurl this family at us is unspeakable. Subset: All reality “families” that have followed suit.

9. Adam Carolla. You’ve made a career on Comedy Central despite the fact that YOU ARE NOT FUNNY! Misogyny and sexism is not a guaranteed laugh and a low degree of difficulty. Subset: Jimmy Kimmel.

8. John Mayer. The writer of insipid lyrics that Bryan Adams would kill for. “Your Body is a Wonderland” had to have been stolen from an eighth-grader. Subset: Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews.

7. Madonna. We get it. You know how to re-create yourself. Now, please, stop. No matter how hard you try, you cannot remake yourself as young and relevant. Subset: All Kabbalah-dabbling celebs.

6. JFK. He’s will have been dead for 42 years next month. Isn’t it time to let it go? But no, we will have to endure yet another round of “where were you when?” He wasn’t even the greatest person to die November 22, 1963. C.S. Lewis was. Where were you when C.S. Lewis died? Subset: Princess Di and Elvis Presley.

5. Baseball purists. Memo to those of you who think that baseball is meant to remain in some pristine state from a simpler era: It isn’t and it hasn’t. Baseball is not pure. Hasn’t been for a long time. If steroids haven’t ruined the game then instant replay won’t either. Subset: Soccer fans.

4. Rush Limbaugh and Ted Rall. With apologies to Dan Fogelberg these guys are twin sons of different mothers. Their views are so extreme they make both political parties look foolish. Subset: Ann Coulter, Mike Gallagher, Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo.

3. Dr. Phil. Thanks Doc for ushering in a new era of pop, exploitative, dangerous psychology. Subset: Thankfully, this guy is in a class by himself.

2. Jay Leno. The only way he ever passed Letterman in the ratings back in the 90′s was by becoming increasingly crass and mean-spirited. His monologues are neither inspired or creative but instead remain muddled in arrogance. Subset: NBC execs who gave what was rightfully Letterman’s gig to Leno.

1. Donald Trump. The most pompous, over-blown windbag on TV today. Subset: All the Apprentice candidates who exacerbate the problem by kissing up to him.

Any thoughts?

So, out of Oklahoma City comes this story about a man who is a little too basketball crazy.
It seems that he was sentenced to thirty years in prison for shooting with an intent to kill and robbery.
As most convicts do, Eric James Torpy had a problem with his sentence.

It wasn’t long enough.

He wanted to honor his basketball hero, Larry Bird, by serving the same amount of time as Bird’s uniform number throughout his playing days as a Boston Celtic.

Bird wore the number 33.
District Court Judge Ray Elliott agreed to his request.

In Oklahoma you have to serve 85% of your sentence before you are eligible for parole.

Isn’t that one of the stupidest things you have ever heard? It reminds me of an old commercial where a guy is released from jail then promptly gets himself thrown back into jail by slashing the sheriff’s tires.
The reason? Because the jail had air conditioning.

It sounds preposterous to think that people would willingly seek out an extension of their imprisonment.
But, sadly, it is a common theme in human history.

The Israelites had a get out of slavery card. The Promised Land was theirs for the taking. Yet, repeatedly they voiced their desire to go back to Egypt.
Back to their enslavement.

In essence, they were asking to add time to their prison sentence! To spend more time in captivity.
Not to honor Larry Bird but their own sinful nature.

We do the same.
When we fail to lay claim to God’s deliverance we show our desire to return to an old life: a life of enslavement to sin.
God has set us free from the prison of sin and death. Why would we want to stay there any longer?

Yet, we do.

• When we fail to flee sin we prolong the sentence.
• When we fail to end that flirtatious relationship we imprison ourselves with lust.
• When we return to that same habit of gossip and back-biting we enslave ourselves with pettiness.
• When we continue to label people because of their nationality or economic background we incarcerate ourselves with hatred.
• When we persist in seeking out the creature comforts of society at the expense of giving to others we pledge ourselves in servitude to materialism.

God has blessed us with the ultimate gift of freedom and salvation from sin and death.
When we turn back to the old ways we, in essence, ask God to extend that sentence.
Why on earth do we do that?
Is there anything that benefits us by serving more time subject to the wiles of the evil one?

No, we can and must live free.
For when we live the victorious life of the justified then we see the power that comes from freedom.
And we see that glory in sharing that freedom with others.
We will long to provide hope to the hopeless.
We will stop at nothing to be Christ in a lost and dying world.

You see, when God sets us free He does not do so that we will still wander this world as convicts and criminals.
He does so that we might save others. That we might extend the hand of release to the oppressed and forgotten.
Salvation is not just personal. God longs that no one will perish.
If we, the released, will live the life of the redeemed then others will find the freedom we enjoy.

We can’t do that if we long to go back to prison.

This is the final excerpt from a sermon I preached a couple of months back. We must get serious about our ministry to the poor and the outcast.
Here is the conclusion of my thoughts:

In Matthew 26 Jesus is anointed while having dinner at Simon the lepers by an unnamed woman with an expensive perfume-so expensive it amounted to a year’s wages.

The disciples are beside themselves. How dare she?
The response of Jesus is startling (10-13)

The lesson:

1. This is not a condemnation of the poor but a commission for the faithful.
When Jesus says the poor will always be with you, I believe that what He is saying is that, as my disciples, this is where you will go.
You will go to the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the imprisoned and minister to them.

You will not ensconce yourselves in ivory towers untouched by human hands.
You will not isolate yourselves from the cacophony of crying hearts.
You will not entrench yourselves in the walls of academia and doctrinal debates.

Instead you will be in the ditch where the people are.
You will exhaust yourselves on the wheels of mercy.
You will expend yourselves in the sating of hunger and the slaking of thirst.

You will be known by the mercy you extend and the grace you offer.

You will be actively involved in the hearts and lives of the downtrodden and forgotten.

You will be the first resort for the wayward.

The source of hope for the hopeless.

The bedrock of compassion for the crumbling heart.

You will not be found cloistered in an upper room but found invested and involved in the domiciles of the disaffected.

Where should Jesus’ followers be found? Where the people are.

What happens if we walk outside of these doors and into our neighborhood?

What if we lay aside our rhetoric about our safety and trust God that He is with us?

That we be found, not just here on Sunday and Wednesday, but out there through the week?

2. Would you rather dine with lepers or conspire with hypocrites?
While Jesus is having dinner with this social outcast, this leper, the chief priests are meeting to determine what to do with Jesus.
Their ultimate answer? Crucify Him.

The point is this: Jesus was actively involved with ministry to the poor.
He was among the people, living out His faith in practical works.
He was making a difference.

At the same time there were those who were so focused on the letter of the law that they had no time to invest themselves in ministry.
They were too concerned with their notion of legalistic righteousness to notice the precious souls that were searching for meaning.

I believe that we risk the ultimate folly of proclaiming the love of Christ yet not exhibiting that love by the way we treat people.

Do people know that we love them unconditionally? That we are tuned in to their needs and care about them. Not false sympathy but true concern?

3. Jesus is taking another form.
I think that it is no coincidence that this incident takes place so soon after Jesus’ Kingdom parables in Matthew 25.
The significance that His current physical body is being anointed and prepared for burial is another indicator of the spiritual form that He now manifests in today’s world: the orphan, the beggar, the needy, the poor, the imprisoned, the stranger.

The physical incarnation of Jesus was leaving-they would no longer have that embodiment with them.

From now on Jesus would be seen in those in need.

How do we recognize Jesus today? In the mendicants on off-ramps, the poor, homeless and dispossessed.

He is here. He is among us. And He is hungry.
Have we anointed Him?

4. This is one prophecy we should dedicate our lives to changing.

The poor we will always have with us.
That is what is said.
That is an indictment on our sinful nature.
Our lives should be dedicated to alleviate the needs that people have.

Can we change it? Yes we can.
It is not fated that it always be so. That is not what Jesus meant.
It is meant to show that wherever there is need that is where we will be.
Like Tom Joad we are to be in search of those who are without.
We can make a difference.

While women weep, as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, where there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight! I’ll fight to the very end!
Citation: William Booth

They will go away if we go get them.

Note: I make ample use of illustrations in my sermons. Due to length I have trimmed much of those.

Objections
to having the poor with us:

1. “It’s Pointless. Jesus said
they will always be around” Our main text for today.

This is all too often a response to this
passage. I believe that stems from a
fundamental misunderstanding of Jesus’ intent.

This is not an opportunity to throw up our hands in
exasperation and say that there is nothing more to do.

Instead it is a stunning statement as to the
enormity of our mission.

Look at the original verse:

Deuteronomy 15:7-11 (edited, please look it up)

The existence of poor is not due to the whims of a
capricious and malevolent God but too often it is because of our own materialism and
self-centeredness.
The disciple’s
concern here is not the poor but his own greed.

As long as we are sinful, materialistic people there
will always be poor people.

2. “They will just take advantage of us.” The
one I hear the most and the one I have been most apt to use.
This makes much sense on a human, secular
level.