Red, White and Blue
Yes, I pastor a church in America.
Yes, I am a mission-minded pastor.
Yes, I believe the gospel is for the whole world.
I have learned things as I have traveled the world and met people from around the world. Wherever folks are from they are proud of their native country. In Cuba, persecuted by a communist government, making wages of $30 per month as a physician, folks still wave their flag and talk about how they love their country. Bring folks from Sudan to the U.S.; they gather together to celebrate their culture. My hunch is, if I had to hunch, that Ghanaians living in America got together and rooted for their country to defeat the United States in World Cup soccer.
O.K. I am O.K. with loyalties to native countries.
I am so O.K. with native loyalties that I am going native.
I am a pastor. It is time for us to wave the flag...the red, white and blue.
Yes, I know that if you wave the Red, White and Blue flag of the United States it will not take you to heaven. Yes, I know that national loyalty is not a commandment of the Bible.
Yes, I know that we have our problems in America. We have our enemies who would destroy the freedoms we enjoy.
We have enemies in our country who seem determined to undermine morality, sow discord, and even destroy oureconomy and government.
But how about we go back to the beginning? Any fool who can read will see the evidence that the God of the Bible was the God referred to by Founding Fathers who wrote the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. It is not rocket science to discover that the purpose for founding many of our greatest universities was to train ministers.
Do a little research and you may find that powerful ministers preached from the pulpit and influenced the political winds that brought about the establishment of our government.
Hang in there with the Red, White and Blue and you might discover that over 300,000 churches still dot the landscape of America. So we do not all agree. So, some of these churches may not be everything they ought to be. But travel the world. You can go long distances to see a church building...and in some countries you will not see a church building. At least churches are a public conscience reminding us of God. The cross on churches is a reminder of Christ, not Buddha, not Mohammed, not Hari Krishna.
Wave the Red, White, and Blue. We are the most generous nation in the world. We are there around the world to help people in times of disaster. We pour out.
Some other nations give, but they give to control.
We do not know how to carry a grudge. We defeat Germany and Japan in World War II. We help rebuild their countries. Billions of dollars. We build cities and schools, roads and hospitals...and then we give it back to them as if they have been mischievous children. Vietnam, Afghanistan, et al. We have been blessed. We defend our way of life. We win wars. Then we love our enemies. What a strange breed we are.
Careful, do not get on an elephant or donkey and get carried away. The Red, White, and Blue is bigger than an elephant or donkey. Are you Greenpeace or Independent? Our men and women who wear uniform and fight for our freedom do not wear political labels on their uniforms. When they die on battlefields we do not herald their loyalty to a political party. We wrap them in Red, White and Blue.
I am an American. I pastor a trans-cultural congregation, e.g., Mexicans, Hondurans, Ghanaians, Koreans, Sudanese, Burmese, Burundis, Rwandans, Kenyans, Chinese, (???), African Americans, Caucasians. You know why I pastor such a blended group?
I will tell you. Because folks from around the world have suffered hunger, religious persecution, wars, famine, national disaster, ethnic cleansings, etc. They have come to America for freedom and a better way of life.
They have come to America because it is a land of freedom, a land of religious opportunity, and a land where education and finances disregards class and color and allows every man and woman to take personal initiative.
This Sunday during Bible study hour we will have a special time of reflecting on the power of God in founding our nation. We will celebrate the hand of God in guiding our nation. We will sing our national anthem. We will pray for our President to be a godly example of Christian leadership, our Congress and national leaders to allow the truths of God's Word to be the wisdom of their leadership.
In a word, we will wave the Red, White and Blue.
See you for this special time 9:45 AM. Don't be late!
Pastor Bare