I heard back from the IRS this morning, and apparently when we filled out the paperwork, we filed under the wrong schedule. We filled out the paperwork as if the ministry was a church when it should be a "publicly funded organization." It is still 501(c)3, just different sub, sub, sub paragraph. They send me a form to correct and another to fill out. Both were sent out today, so we should have our determination soon!

The rough draft of the book is finished! It is being edited now by a team of crack editors, and there should be a manuscript ready in a month or two. The search goes on for a literary agent to help get it published. Please keep the book and the entire process in your prayers.

"³I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. " -- 1 Corinthians 4:3-5

As 2004 drew to a close, all the big media outlets talked about the "best of..." for 2004. It was list after list of the top movies, top books, top TV shows, top news stories, etc., etc. Lifeway, a Christian chain store compiled a list of the top issues facing Christianity today. There were a plethora of responses, but most of the responses were issues of the world closing in on the church, ie. the ACLU, the homosexual agenda, or the battle over Christmas.

While those are all important, I personally feel the top issue facing Christianity today is not anything the world is doing to the church, but rather, something the church is doing to itself. Christians have a tendency to judge each other, and sometimes quite harshly. Some accuse their brethren of being too progressive, or tolerating sinful activities. Others accuse their bretheren of being too "old fashioned" or judgmental. Both are harmful to the church, and both are extremes we should avoid. In our own "top issues" discussion we will take a look at both extremes in a biblical light, and look at the walking the fine line between them.

The first of the two extremes is something that has plagued our church from the beginning. Members of our body usurp the throne of judgment from Jesus Christ and place themselves in His stead. They freely cast judgment on those who are not party to their doctrine or style of worship. Often in a position of authority, they hold that authority over their congregation's head like the sword of Damocles. Instead of being a shepherd to their sheep, they become mini-dictators.

Such an attitude flies in the face of our Savior. Jesus Christ was God incarnate, but He did not hold that over anybody's head. Instead, he got down on His knees and washed His disciples' feet. When He was finished, He got up and said, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you" (John 13:15). Church leaders are to be a servant to their flock, not authoritarians. Such an attitude not only ignores Jesus' example, but it directly contradicts what the Bible says our attitude should be:

²⁵Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wants to be first must be your slave– ²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. -- Matthew 20:25-28

²Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; ³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. -- 2 Peter 5:2-4

Shepherds need to serve their flock, but sadly, many church leaders today lord their authority over their congregations like the rulers of the Gentiles did in Jesus' day. They are quick to judge and quicker to condemn any who have the audacity to question the status quo. Quite frankly, they are abusing their power. They are using power not given to them to cast judgment on the church. Such an attitude has wrecked congregations and even turned some people away from God.

If this sort of judgment were limited to church leaders, it would be a relatively easy fixed. However, there are quite a few lay persons who wrongly cast judgment upon their brethren, and often it is hypocritical in nature.

There is the story of a man who attended a church in middle America. He was not influential in his church, but he was faithful in attendance, tithing and participation in church activities. The man was upright and righteous. However, he was not perfect, and one day, while away from home on a business trip with a female colleague, had an affair with that colleague.

It was a one time deal and the man immediately regretted it. Upon returning home, he confessed to his wife what had happened. She was quite angry, and threatened to leave him on the spot, but the man was genuinely remorseful, and after a very long conversation, and a good bit of prayer together, his wife was able to forgive him. It would be a while before he had her trust again, but he did have her forgiveness.

After more discussion and prayer, it was decided he would confess before their church as well. While neither liked airing their 'dirty laundry' in front of others, they knew it was only a matter of time before rumors started and figured it was best to set the record straight from the beginning. With the forgiveness of his Father and his wife, the man confessed his sin to the church and sought their forgiveness as well.

The reaction was immediate. Half the church expressed loved and half indignation. Things were made worse, when a wealthy gentleman, influential in both the church and the community, led the charge against the offender. He claimed that any man who would do such a horrendous thing against his wife and against God was not worthy of their fellowship. He even quoted 1 Corinthians 5 to back up his position. Many in the church were swayed to his point of view and sought to expel him from their congregation.

Sadly, this event occurred on a day when there were many visitors to the church. Upon seeing the 'spectacle' they decided they would not only never visit that church again, they would never step foot in any church. Seeing the way Christians treated each other had convinced them they wanted nothing to do with Christianity. In addition, those who wanted to forgive the man and move on were looked upon with suspicion.

The church leadership pushed for forgiveness and asked the congregation to move forward. They quoted the parable of the lady caught in adultery (John 8:3-11), but it did no good. The people did not want to focus on their own sin. Instead, they judged this man so harshly that the church threatened to break up over this single issue. Here was a man who had sinned, and, while his sin was inexcusable, he had repented and was trying to do right by God. Still, most of his congregation wanted to judge him and cast him out.

The solution came about in the following week, when the influential gentlemen leading the charge had been indicted for embezzlement of his company. He had been habitually stealing money for years, and he wanted to hang this man for a one time moment of weakness. When news of this reached the church, the rest of the congregation finally realized they too were full of sin and not only forgave the man, but asked his forgiveness for their harsh attitudes towards him.

While that church was able to heal the damage caused by the unfounded judgment, there were some who were forever turned away from God due to that particular episode. When we place ourselves as judge, we not only harm those who are part of our body, we may well be responsible for eternal damnation of unsaved onlookers.

Thus the Body of Christ is hit with a double whammy: first, judgment sows division and strife, breaking up our one body into pieces; second it keeps the lost, lost, thus keeping the body from growing and, in some cases, will help it atrophy. That is why it is so important that we not cast judgment upon our brothers and sisters. It is quite possibly the reason Jesus gave such a stern warning against it:

¹Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. -- Matthew 7:1-5

Jesus certainly knows what He is talking about. He wants His body, His people, to be one (John 17:20-21), and He knows full well what happens when members cast judgment upon one another. At the very best there will be enough bad blood within the congregation to cause some members to leave, and maybe even split the congregation up. Therefore if you cast judgment upon someone, you are responsible for breaking up Christ's body, instead of making it one which is what His will is.

Worst case that could happen is similar to what occurred in the situation above, where some nonbelievers who witnessed the 'spectacle' were forever turned away from Christ. We know that God is "not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9), so if we are doing something that directly keeps people from Him, we are also working against His divine will.

Whether you cause division and strife in your church, keep others away from Christ, or both, you are working against God. When you judge your neighbor, you are both causing division and keeping people from Christ. When you set yourself up as judge you are not doing God's work, rather you are working against God. We should all leave the judging to God. Instead of judging our neighbors, for whatever reason, reach out to them, show them love, and try to bring them closer to God.

In our desire to not judge others, we must be careful that we do not fall too far to the other extreme, that of tolerating sin. While casting judgment is harmful to Christ's Body, tolerating sin can be just as debilitating. Paul warns us, “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

When we allow sin go to unchecked, we can wind up keeping people away from Christ as well. Sin separates us from God, and if we do not try to correct, and in some cases rebuke the sin in others, we are allowing them to stay separated from God. If we try to correct them and they ignore our warnings, that it is there own responsibility. However, if we let their sin go unchecked, we are responsible for their fate:

¹⁸ When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. ¹⁹ But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself. -- Ezekiel 3:18-19

If we permit sin, or worse, condone it, we are harming the sinner and ourselves. While it may seem harsh to rebuke sin, I believe it takes more love and more courage to do so than allowing it to go unchecked. We have to be careful not to fall to the first extreme and rebuke the individual, but cannot and should not allow the sin to continue. There is nothing wrong with rebuking and condemning sin, so long as you continue to show love and concern for the sinner.

You have heard the cliché, "Love the sinner, hate the sin," and that is what we should do. How do go about doing so? An well educated writer from GotQuestions.org gives us a good answer:

"I like the false teacher lesson. I notice that when a deep subject is presented, there is not many responses for some reason. Your rapture lesson was excellent but did not get the attention it deserved. Keep going."

"I just wanted to say thank-you so much for sending me your news letter and for including in it the prayer request for my family. It really meant a lot and your article was so awesome! Thank-You for sharing it with me."