Nate LaClaire

“Will We Have To Leave?”

// December 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Faith

I came across an interesting post on Internet Monk a few weeks ago and want to share it with you. It has led to interesting discussions among my family members and caused me to question my own reactions to certain behaviors. The post is entitled “Will We Have To Leave?” and relates to cohabitation and other sinful lifestyles and how the church responds to them. Here’s a snippet:

Nothing really works in this situation. People are broken and looking for something to glue themselves together. Religious people are accumulating morality points and abandoning the Gospel. The possibilities of a community of Christians to show what it means to love people as Jesus did and in their own weakness get lost in drawing lines and pretending there is such a [thing] as justification by having never [cohabited].

The possibility of seeing someone repent of sin, come to Christ and move toward true gifts of forgiveness and marriage is apparently less appealing than the Pharisaic joys of letting sinners know they aren’t welcome with us or the God we worship until they clean up their mess.

Read the entire post here.

It’s confession time. I actually have avoided inviting people to church because they were cohabiting and I wasn’t sure how this fact would impact the people’s experience at my church. You can probably imagine the thoughts that were going through my head: “What will people say if they find out? Will they still be welcoming and be a good testimony?” The good news is that when I’m being honest with myself I do think that those in my church would do the right thing. Most of them, at least, would join me in welcoming any guest, regardless of the areas of sin in his or her life. That doesn’t mean that my church would be accepting of the behavior, but sensitive to the fact that while the behavior shouldn’t be approved of, the person should feel welcome. The behavior should change if/when the person forms a relationship with Christ. If, at that point, the behavior continues, then we have a problem that needs to be dealt with.

Time for self-examination: how do I really feel about this? Would I participate in gossip about this individual? If it weren’t my friend, would I feel comfortable with the situation? Would I be a good testimony? I would like to think so. I pray that I wouldn’t gossip, that I would feel comfortable enough to make the visitor comfortable, and that I would be a good testimony. I also pray that I wouldn’t be so accepting that I inadvertently show acceptance for the behavior.

How about you?

Your Whole Self

// October 27th, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Faith, Life

Several years ago, Christian singer Dan Haseltine (of Jars of Clay) challenged readers of Relevant Magazine to bring our whole selves into our relationships. I must admit that when I first read his article, entitled Your Whole Self, certain aspects turned me off. However, on closer inspection the truths found within overpowered the negatives.

There is a weight to the Gospel. There is a mass connected to the story of redemption. It is in the dark places – the addictions to pornography, alcohol, drugs, power and control. It is in our propensity to blame and abuse each other, our greed and our depravity. It is the substance of these things that gives us a place to speak about the slow road to recovery… In our church culture, there are behavioral codes set in place to give the appearance of victory. There are things that church people cannot talk about. There are activities that church people do not engage in…. There is not a darkness or a shadow to speak of… Because we have chosen to speak only about the victory from these things, we are left to promote a gospel that is feeble and moveable at best… Our Gospel is unbelievable because it is only half a Gospel. It is the resurrection without any signs of the crucifixion. I believe there are profound reasons why Jesus still carried the scars from the nails on His hands when He appeared to His friends. He was bringing the entire Gospel to His disciples…

The full article is available here.

Last winter, a series of events reminded me of his article. I was reminded of the importance of being authentic. It is only in our total authenticity that we are able to testify to what the Lord has done for us. Too often we Christians give an air of perfection. Several years ago, I heard a testimony that the giver was saved from a life of “terrible sin” at the age of five and had lived for Christ ever since. Twenty years of the person’s life was missing. Twenty years of struggle, twenty years of growth. As someone who was at that point very much teetering on the edge, suffering from addictive behaviors and very nearly ready to give in at any moment, the testimony left me with a sour taste in my mouth. “Terrible sin at the age of five,” I thought, “you don’t know terrible sin – I’ll show you terrible sin!” At the same time, I knew better than to believe that someone so close to my own age hadn’t struggled over the previous 10-15 years with certain sins that were very much a reality to me. It seemed insincere. And yet, that testimony reflects the norm for our sterilized church culture. In fact, if you had asked me yesterday you probably would have heard a similar response: saved somewhere around the age of five, forgiven for my sins, now I’m a new man and look forward to eternal communion with my Savior. Is it untrue? No, not at all. I believe that I was forgiven for my sins once and forever when I accepted Christ at around the age of five, but there is so much more to my story. The fact that I don’t have much of a pre-conversion story (due to my young age at the time) doesn’t mean that God hasn’t been working in my life.

Funny thing about sterility: it tremendously inhibits the ability to reproduce/multiply/spread the Word. Seeds that aren’t planted will never grow, stories that aren’t told will never inspire, and pain that is never shared will never give hope to another hurting soul.

So, what now? I’m going to work harder to bring my whole self into my relationships. It might hurt – probably will – but anything else is a lie and will inhibit my ability to serve Christ.

PS Despite my initial reaction, I don’t question for a moment that a five-year-old can be saved from a life of “terrible sin.” All sin is terrible. Life in sin is terrible. I am confident that the person giving that testimony was referring to this fact. I don’t mean to suggest that my own sins have been worse than anyone else’s, but rather that our struggles as redeemed children of God are very much realities that we should embrace in the name of authenticity. Failing to do so shortchanges those around us and fails to give God the glory for the progress He has made in our lives.

This Will Keep Us All Thinking

// September 19th, 2009 // 7 Comments » // Faith

Not sure if the story is true, but it certainly gets one thinking!

Boasting About Tomorrow

// December 1st, 2008 // No Comments » // Faith, Life

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes…Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
Excerpted from James 4:13-17 (NIV)

Talk about convicting…

Temptations

// August 13th, 2008 // No Comments » // Faith, Life, Memorable Quotes

O how the world to evil allures me!
O how my heart is tempted to sin!
I must tell Jesus, and He will help me
Over the world the vict’ry to win.
– Elisha A. Hoffman, “I Must Tell Jesus,” verse 3

A few months ago, during a worship service, I was playing “I Must Tell Jesus” and singing it with the congregation. Now, I have sung and played this song many, many times before – many tens if not hundreds of times – but this time, those words from the third verse stood out. Sometimes it seems to me, especially with hymns, that the words are wonderful and spiritual, but lack reality. Like when we sing hymns about raising hands in celebration in a very conservative church with no one raising any hands. Or when we sing about giving up everything for the cause of Christ, knowing full well that few if any of us will ever make such a sacrifice. Not this time… those words fit me exactly at that moment. My eyes actually teared up as I was playing, which seldom happens. It was a moment from God, a reminder that only through Him can I ever hope to find victory over my temptations. I praise God that He brought those words to me when I needed them most and, most of all, that He will give me the strength to stand up against my selfish addictions. Praise the Lord!

Texas Bar Sues Church

// July 25th, 2008 // No Comments » // Faith

In a small Texas town, (Mt. Vernon) Drummond’s bar began construction on a new building to increase their business. The local Baptist church started a campaign to block the bar from opening with petitions and prayers. Work progressed right up till the week before opening when lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground.

The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, until the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means. The church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building’s demise in its reply to the court.

As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork. At the hearing he commented, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that does not.’

As far as I know, that’s just a great illustration, with no truth behind it. Thanks, Alex, for brightening my day!

The Ultimate Gift

// October 9th, 2007 // No Comments » // Entertainment, Faith, Life

A couple weeks ago I finally went to FYE and bought The Ultimate Gift on DVD, after asking at the Bible Bookstore and being told that they had no plans of getting it. I watched it with my family the next night. I must say that if the trailer had been more honest, I probably wouldn’t have watched the movie. That might possibly have been the biggest mistake of my life. The Ultimate Gift is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Although heart-wrenching at times, the story is one of hope, of life not wasted, and of true love of the non-romantic nature (although the romantic kind may be found in the movie as well). Now I need to read the book. If you have not yet seen this movie, please take my advice: watch it today. I guarantee that you’ll come away a changed person. All of us can benefit in one way or another from The Ultimate Gift.

Warning: have a box of tissues handy when you watch this. My family agrees that we don’t regret watching the movie, but all five of us had tears in our eyes for much of the movie. You’ll find tearfully happy and tearfully sad moments, but the happy ones far outweigh the sad.

Meteor Shower

// August 13th, 2007 // No Comments » // Faith, Life

I saw the meteor shower this evening. What an awesome testimony to God’s power and His wonderful creation! I understand that last night would have been the best night to watch it, but in about ten minutes I saw at least four meteors and possibly another out of the corner of my eye. Just looking at the stars is amazing and something I seldom stop to do now. I don’t know how people can look at such a spectacle and question intelligent design.

Pat Robertson, will you PLEASE GO HOME!

// March 28th, 2006 // No Comments » // Faith

A few months back my Dad and I discussed the fact that Pat Robertson seems to be shooting himself in the foot quite often lately. Well, apparently we are not the only ones who feel that way. Tom Ponchak has started a petition entitled Christians Against Pat Speaking (CAPS). I have great respect for Pat Robertson and consider myself honored to have walked within 6 feet of him as I left a restaurant after a wonderful lunch last April, but his recent inflamatory comments are not progressing the cause of Christ. As Christians, it is our duty to love others (remember the “greatest commandment”?), but Rev. Robertson’s recent behavior demonstrates everything but love.