Steve's Letter: "Truth...once you see it, you're stuck!"
I've often asked Christians how their lives would be different if they woke up tomorrow morning and found out that all they believed about God, the Bible and their faith was not true. People look at me as if I've lost my mind.
But it's a good question.
I, of course, would be out of a job if I told people what I had discovered.
But maybe I would just keep quiet. Who would know? I could pretend that it was still true, still pray the public prayers and preach the sermons. I could maintain Key Life and write these letters. I could still teach at the seminary if I didn't tell the students about my discovery. I could still go to church and support what's happening at the church. As long as I was really careful, I could keep on writing religious books and doing religious broadcasts.
If I found out that none of this was true, I could still fake it until I died. Then it wouldn't matter.
But, frankly, why would I?
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Steve's Letter: "I've been remembering!"
Do you know what I did this morning?
I've been remembering.
I got an email from Wanda Lu Paxton who lives in Brevard, North Carolina, and works at WSQL, a radio station there. She said she was putting together a brief history of that station which had previously been WPNF ("Wonderful Pisgah National Forest"). In 2007, the station was bought by a number of local business folks, renamed WSQL and moved to downtown Brevard on Main Street.
At any rate, she had been doing some checking and found out that I had written about having worked at WPNF years ago and wondered if I could tell her something of my experience with the station.
Let me share with you some of what I wrote to Wanda:
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Steve's Letter: "For All Frustrated Perfectionists!"
I read the Bible this morning and found something I can hardly wait to share with you, that is, if you're a frustrated perfectionist (all perfectionists are frustrated), care what people think about you, are driven by getting it right and stay awake at night worried that you did it wrong.
That's me, by the way.
You too. I'm just honest about it.
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Steve's Letter: "Did I mention I had a heart attack?"
Yes, it's true. I did have a heart attack.
I died!
Do you know where I'm writing this from?
Seriously, I really did have a mild heart attack. The doctor wasn't even sure I had one. I have two stents and am doing fine. I spent two days and nights in the hospital. And both the people at the hospital and I am glad that I'm not there anymore. (I don't do quiet well.)
Just so you know, the doctor said that there were no restrictions. In fact, the Saturday after my time in the hospital I spoke for a convention in Nashville, the next weekend at a denominational mission gathering and on Easter Sunday for the sunrise service at Sea World. The doctor has given me medication; I can't eat anything I like anymore; I have to get back on that stupid treadmill and I've got to do something about my pipe.
So now you know. I don't want to talk about it anymore.
But I will.
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Steve's Letter: "What's the Gospel? What's Evangelism?" (Part 2)
I can't believe that I'm still talking about evangelism...but I am.
As I've said before, I haven't always had a great "passion for souls." Heck, I didn't have any passion for souls at all. It's not that I'm calloused or anything. It's just that I don't even know their names. A lost soul, without my knowing them, was not something that kept me up at night.
Don't get me wrong. As I said last month, I've always been faithful to the task of doing what I'm supposed to do regarding evangelism. If God put me on an airplane next to a pagan and he or she made it clear that God was going to be the subject, I would share my faith and then invite them into a relationship with Christ. I've taught evangelism courses and taken people and trained them on how to do evangelism training. And, when a text in the Bible warranted it, I've presented a plan of salvation, often saying to the person, "Don't ever say that nobody ever told you. I just told you...and now the ball is in your court."
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