Symbols Striving

Sabers slash
em dashes
roar—
commas
capitulate,

Who Is That Guy in the Pulpit?

Have you ever shown up to church on a Sunday, sat down in your regular spot, and when it was time for the sermon, someone other than your pastor appeared to preach? It’s said that if you listen closely, you can hear the groans echoing through the sanctuary for weeks afterward. Yes, I’m talking about the “substitute” pastor—the one person few people want to see on a Sunday morning.

I know why I inwardly groan, or at least try not to, when the substitute pastor appears: I don’t like change. I came to church expecting a message from my OG pastor, only to have been Rickrolled. Talk about clickbait. I suspect your reasoning may be similar.

But there’s something curious about this mindset, and it’s worth considering what it reveals about all of us who groan when the substitute walks up to the pulpit.

Maybe we’ve become more attached to the messenger than the message.

If we go to church to hear from God, then the identity of the person delivering the message should be secondary. The pastor may change, but if the message is faithful to God’s word, isn’t that what matters?

Did Satan Tell Jesus the Truth?

We’ve all met them—that Christian who can’t seem to go five minutes without blaming the devil for something. Maybe they were late to church, had an unexpected expense, or something worse. Whatever the issue, it’s “The Enemy” who is out to get them.

And you, too, if you aren’t careful.

What’s curious is that there isn’t any specific demographic for this Christian. They could be a preacher, an evangelist, a doorkeeper, or your run-of-the-mill, God-fearing churchgoer. Although when I think about it, I’ve never heard a new believer make such claims—not that they haven’t. Still, it’s worth thinking about.

I’ve written about this before, so no, this isn’t another “The Devil Didn’t Do It” article. Yet, we can’t deny that Christians are far too quick to blame Satan for things Scripture doesn’t attribute to Satan. Not every bad thing that happens can be blamed on this “enemy” who is out to get us like a boogeyman hiding under the bed, just waiting for us to close our eyes.

The Author Wrote It. Even the Parts You Don’t Like

That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

Daniel 5:30-31 (NIV)

In this passage, who’s responsible for Belshazzar’s death? Presumably, the person who murdered him, right?