Bonhoeffer Author Metaxas at First Baptist Church  January 15 and 16, 2012 

            Eric Metaxas is the featured speaker for the John A. Hamrick Lectureship at First Baptist Church of Charleston at 5p.m. on Sunday, January 15 and Monday morning January 16, at 10a.m. Both of his lectures followed by questions and answers will center on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The program will be in the church sanctuary and the public is encouraged to attend. There is no admission fee. Parking is at 48 Meeting Street across from the Richard Russell House

            “As Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seduced a nation, bullied a continent and attempted to exterminate the Jews of Europe, a small number of dissidents and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside. One of these was Dietrich Bonhoeffer—a pastor and author.  Eric Metaxas implores us to remember, “A man determined to do the will of God radically, courageously and joyfully – even to the point of death.”

             Metaxas is the author of two New York Times bestselling biographies, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Amazing Grace:  William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery. This book became a movie.   Bonhoeffer has been named as the best Christian book of the year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Metaxas received the Canterbury Medal, the Becket Fund’s highest honor in recognition of courage in defense of religious liberty.  The author will autograph his books which will be available for sale.

            In a great leap of faith The Hamrick Lectureship Committee is honored to present this outstanding program to the community. Because it is a much more ambitious and expensive undertaking than usual, the committee needs your help and your generous spirit. Please make contributions payable to First Baptist Church and mark them for the Hamrick Lectureship. Mail contributions to Catherine Brewer, Bookkeeper, First Baptist Church, 48 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401. 

The Hamrick Lectureship Committee:

Mrs. Joyce Bagwell

Rev. R. Marshall Blalock

Rev. Phil Bryant

Dr. Malcolm Clark

Dr. Mitch Carnell, Chair

Mr. Mervyn Gibson, Treasurer

Mrs. Carol Ezell Gilson

Mrs. Fitzhugh Hamrick

Mrs. John Hamrick

Rev. Bernie Waitte

E. Glenn Hinson

            The candidacy of Mitt Romney and, to a lesser extent, Jon Huntsman has aroused intense concern among conservative Christians.  Robert Jeffress, pastor of the First Baptist Church, Dallas, has declared Mormonism a “cult,” meaning thereby to distinguish the Mormon faith of these two candidates from Christianity.  By virtue of his negative assessment of Mormonism, he vigorously espouses the selection of Rick Perry as the Republican candidate.  Were the Republican Party to choose Romney, he would support him, though reluctantly.

            Because a surprising number of friends have written to ask me about this issue, I have had to think about it more seriously than I have ever had to do previously.  What the question forces us to do is to ask a prior question:  How do we define Christianity?  What does it take to be a Christian?

            A run through Christian history will show that Christians have not found it easy to answer those questions.  For the very first Christians the answer was: Belief that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah (Christ).  Very soon, though, they said, “No.  That’s not enough.  We must say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ one with God.”  By the middle of the second century churches framed baptismal confessions requiring commitment to God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as in the Roman Symbol that evolved into the Apostles’ Creed.  By the fourth century, trying to frame more precise definitions, councils of bishops formulated the Nicene and later Creeds with their emphasis upon the Son and Spirit being “of the same essence” as the Father.

            Search for Christian identity did not stop there either.  Eastern Christians recognize seven ecumenical or universal councils (up to 787) as definitive of Christian faith.  The Roman Catholic Church looks to 21 such councils up to and including the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).  Both Orthodox and Roman Catholics rely on tradition.  In the 16^th century, of course, Protestants negated those definitions and insisted on the Bible alone as offering a guide to who is or is not Christian.  Some, including Baptists, carried this principle to its logical extreme as a non-creedal people.  Since 1925, however, Southern Baptists have reversed themselves on this position and in 2000 published a Baptist Faith and Message that set belief in inerrancy of the Bible as the sine qua non for adherence to Christianity as they understood it.

            I suspect that Mormons can locate themselves comfortably across that broad spectrum.  Yet some might say, “It’s not that they don’t subscribe to some Christian affirmations.  It’s what they add to them that puts them in the ‘cult’ category, notably their use of The Book of Mormon as an authoritative revelation.  They once practiced polygamy based on that (although they had Old Testament support for it also).”   I think there is a certain legitimacy to this concern if Mormons look to The Book of Mormon as their ultimate authority, standing above scriptures as the final definer of their views.  But what if they look to it alongside scriptures like Roman Catholics and Orthodox look to tradition?  They certainly face a stern challenge in defining what being Christian means, but what Christian group does not, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant?  I’m inclined to accept Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman’s word when they call themselves Christian.

            Having said that, let me go on to say that I will not vote for or against either one because he is a Mormon.  I will base my vote on a judgment of their views, whether those views will be good for our country.  Our U. S. Constitution negates any religious test for public office.  On that basis, I didn’t need to decide whether Mormonism is Christian.

            No, that is not a mistake. For so many years of my life, I depended almost entirely on my hearing and that is what I heard as a child, “Jesus wants me for a Sunbean.” It didn’t make any sense. I didn’t know what a sunbean was, but if Jesus wanted me to be one I was ready. I knew that He would show me what to do. The truth is that I probably didn’t know what a sunbeam was either. We lived in a small town and were poor. We couldn’t afford sunbeams. We just had plain old sunlight which I couldn’t stay out in anyway because of my fair complexion.

            Gradually I came to the realization of what a sunbeam really is, but it really didn’t matter. I was already hooked on what Jesus wanted. Over these many years I have stayed hooked. There have been so many times that I did not understand why things were happening as they were, but that childhood faith got me through. I knew that if I just waited Jesus would shine a light for me to follow. It’s a funny thing about faith. Just as Jesus told us we don’t need much because he will supply the rest. If we commit just to being that little sunbeam, He will make the light bright enough for us to see and for others to follow. In the meantime that mustard seed of faith will continue to grow.

            At the end of my time, if I could choose what my legacy would be that would be it. I would like to be remembered as someone who tried his best to be a sunbeam for Jesus.

            I just read a post that starts, “If you get deleted in the next week.” Isn’t that our universal fear in life? We are afraid of being deleted. We are afraid that we don’t count and that others don’t need us, don’t see us, and/or don’t value us. We want desperately to belong.

            That is the wonderful message of our Christian faith. We do belong. We are a part of the family of God. No one can pluck us out of his hand or delete us from the Book of Life. You can easily delete me from your circle of friends. You can unfriend me on Facebook. You can even cut me off from any future contact or communication with you. You have the power to cut me out of your life, but no one can interrupt my connection with God.

            There are those who think that they can establish the criterion for who is in and who is out of God’s family, but those decisions are far removed from their realm of control. They are powerless to set the rules. God alone has established the criteria and no human being can alter it. “ …whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have ever lasting life.” There are no modifiers. We all belong if we believe. Whatever our particular demographic, we belong. God is love. It doesn’t get any more basic than that. God loved me long before I loved him or even knew who he is. I do not need to worry about whether or not I will be deleted from his great contact list. He calls me by my name. My place is secure and so is yours.

            Yesterday a close friend reminded me of how grateful I am for blessings that far exceed any expectations I ever had. Her simple but eloquent words of thanks and wonder brought a sweeping feeling of wholeness and amazement.

            We can never out give God. I have tried on many occasions to count my blessings. I cannot do it. They are far too numerous. At one of the darkest moments in my life, I heard Dr. Robert Schuller say when I was visiting the Crystal Cathedral,  “Don’t count what you have lost. Count what you have left.” I am sure that I had heard that same message before without its meaning sinking in, but this time it buried itself in my conscious. I literally started trying to make a list and kept with my efforts for several days. The list got longer and longer. One blessing mentioned would lead to remembering two more. It was a good but futile exercise. I finally gave up with the list.

            “Thank you,” is a powerful message. Spoken to God, a spouse, a family member, a friend, a stranger or even an adversary, its message can cut through almost any situation. Today I was up earlier than usual. When I brought up my e-mail that had arrived over night, there was a beautiful “Thank you” note. What a wonderful way to start a busy day! I was ready to face the world.