The Orthodox Christian Church-Since 33 A.D. "In the world but not of it."

"Because I Said So!"

"Because I said so" are the four most dreaded words to any child. Almost every child had that standard confront them at one time or another. To a child, those words are unreasonable. In fact, the very supposition demanded that we forego our self-applied prerequisite to understand before we obey. The Age of Reason, akin to the Age of Enlightenment, has heavily influenced the way modern man discovers and applies truth. All cultures have been so influenced, but western thought has been particularly impacted. The western mind says, I will understand it then I will believe it. The Eastern mind says I will believe it then I will understand it. Christianity is Eastern. Our parents were the standard of truth and living for us as children. So our Heavenly Father and the Mother church is our standard. Why do we obey our parents? Because their reasoning is beyond ours. As we mature, we understand and we find that their standard of reasoning was our protection. So is the way of Christianity. The greatest obstacle to the theosis of man is the elevation of his intellect above that of his Creator. A God-given intellect, void of proper alignment, is assurance of spiritual death. Jesus said, "Blessed is he who does not see and yet believes." The most pivotal epiphany I have experienced on my Journey To Orthodoxy was the realignment of my intellect. When I trusted the reasoning of the Father and discovered that all protective truth is contained in the bosom of the Mother church, my theosis began. Then, and only then, could my intellect digest the precepts of God. One must first believe the truth, then set out to understand it. This is the way of the the Kingdom of God for it is within and not without.

Realigning Relationships

The further I step into the bosom of the Church the more I am confronted with the need to realign relationships. I fully expected that there would be an adjustment with my immediate family members and even cousins, uncles and aunts, who knew me as a good protestant minister. What could not be foreseen is that relationships with friends, and other evangelical acquaintances would change and in some cases dissolve. Of course the Church does not require such a divide as a practice, but as the commonality of belief, ethos, world view, doctrines and the very definitions of "church" becomes more glaringly uncommon, I find my links to these relationships less important and less fulfilling. Some have run their own course and ended of their own accord. Others, I have had to speak to or lend energy to redirect the course. Neither option is without pain and loss.

My wife and I recently had a 20 year friendship with another couple end at their request. Certainly with 20 years of history there are many elements involved in such a divide and I am not without fault, but the common thread of unity between all people of faith is made strong only in the Church. Without that commonality there is no firm foundation of belief, practice or friendship. A friendship based on anything other is destined for polarization. It is only from the other side of that relationship that we can more fully see the inherent fragility of its structure. We believed in the Visible Church, they did not, to the extent that they committed themselves to none (a very common and accepted evangelical charismatic practice-love God but loath the "church"). They were given to worldliness and vulgarities and though we also have that propensity to sin, we are convicted in heart to not do so and chastised severely of the Spirit when we do. We see now that we were not included in their entire circle of friends because our conservatism and desire for righteousness would throw cold water on the party. We are very leery of any belief or practice that does not have its origin in the life of the Church. They embraced spiritualism to the extent that they denounced catholics and embraced the mysticism of the Native American religions while living their life following signs and visions and chasing after individual prophetic words given them by charismatic prophets.

God forbid that any should read this as a comparison of who is the more righteous, for I am sure anyone knowing me will be able to list my sins with a fair amount of accuracy. The point here is the existence of the lack of commonality of the desire to adhere to the faith of our Fathers. When that assessment is accurately made, the need for realignment of relationships becomes profound.

Today I had another breech and realignment. This one was at my request. A dear, committed friend who heads up a valuable ministry in the marketplace, recently made clear to me that realignment of our relationship was imminent. Though I addressed it with her previously, provoking a less than kind response, she did not seem to understand the gulf that exists between those who have as their desire the building up of the Church of the Apostles, and those who proactively seek its destruction. Unfortunately, I recognized that she had joined the later ideology. As a result, I sent her the following letter:

Sandra (not her real name),
I am grateful for your phone call today I recognize and appreciate the wonderful things you do for the souls of men. It is important for me to express however, that our relationship has changed from the time we first met on the phone. Our season of mutual prayer and similar goals for the marketplace quickly ebbed away after we had our confrontation over "tearing down the old structures." If you will recall, I told you that I could not support the idea that you were writing, speaking and promoting an "Invisible Church" and advocating the demise of the very thing I was trying to build up- The Visible Church and the return of all believers to the historic faith, doctrines and practices of the Church of the Apostles - the Orthodox Church. You reacted very strongly to my words. I was surprised after that when you called as if nothing had happened. Knowing your heart for God, I cannot consider you an enemy nor hold any contempt for you, but the fact is I am not comfortable with future phone calls where you ask me to "give you a report." I will continue to hope for the very best of God's will for you and will invite you to follow my journey at www.journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com, as I make my way out of the maze and mire of the evangelical charismatic world, which is the modern day equivalent of the heretical Montanists and Gnostics. I am and will forever be grateful for your kindness to me and and prayers for me and my family. I will still look forward to the day when we might meet face to face. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Your Brother in Christ,
Nathan

The realignment of relationships requires that some change and others go away. But I am reminded of the scripture of promise to all who will follow Christ in the bosom of the Orthodox Faith. It gives me hope even now and I pray it will you as well while you make your Journey to Orthodoxy.

"So Jesus answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sister or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time-houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions-and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first shall be last and the last first'."

"I Have My Rights!"

"I have my rights!" Foreign as it may seem to the Western mind, the idea of personal rights is not a heavy emphasis in Christianity. In fact, the opposite is true. As Christians we are to give up our rights. We are to die to self. We are to become servants of God and of man. The Western culture breeds an attitude of independence and individual rights. This is at odds with the Orthodox faith and results in conflict in the body of Christ.

Thank God for the United States of America. We should pray and work to preserve the freedoms that we know. The very purpose, however, of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights is to allow Christians to be servants to all and to advance the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of heaven is within not without. In essence, the advancement of the individual stands opposed to theosis of his soul. "He must increase and I must decrease", said Saint John the Baptist. When Christ comes on the scene He becomes preeminent. This goes against the grain of this society, but it is the very grain of Christianity. Herein should be the mantra for all who follow Christ. "Jesus is Lord and I have no rights." When one is able to say that, theosis has only just begun.

Cream of the Crop

Although I am not sure my priest will appreciate being referred to as the cream of the crop, that description serves him well. I am sure he will not appreciate any accolades, especially public ones, but such an attitude is indicative of his heart. Father Steven Rogers was a writer and a print journalist before becoming an Orthodox priest. He and I also have in common the fact that we are both good Southern Baptist boys. He is not only a humble, well reasoned individual, but a dynamic speaker and passionate pastor. What most do not understand about the commitment of an Orthodox priest is that they are devoted body and soul to the welfare of our souls. Father Steven physically and spiritually stands at the altar in the temple many times a week in prayer and at regular hours. He stands on our behalf in the temple when people are present and when there is no one there but God. He has a demeanor of good humor, meekness and strength. His ministry reaches beyond the acreage on which St. Ignatius sits. He is mission minded having assisted in the development of other bodies, most recently the establishment of a new parish in a neighboring town. He did so knowing that some of his own parish members would be leaving his own flock to join there. His lack of feeling threatened or fear of someone encroaching upon his territory shows his heart's attitude that it is God's church, not his, and the goal is men's souls. When you ask Father Steven a question, bring your notepad, for the answer will be thorough. You may find, however, that your notepad remains empty as your soul is activated rather than your mind. To become Orthodox, he will say, is not mental gymnastics. It is not the type of Liturgy used, and it is definitely not Western in thought or philosophy. The main challenge Father Steven gives to all who will hear is that Orthodoxy is not shapes and forms but the renewing of your mind and the changing of your soul. For the Western man this is a greater challenge. Father Steven understands that challenge. With him there will be no quick or easy answers, because the soul and mind of man is not quickly or easily changed. It is said that if there is a longer way to do something the Orthodox will find it. Father Steven's own life reflects this perspective. He actually is a marathon runner. May my days under the pastorate of Father Steven be long, slow, and exhaustive, and may God give me the grace to hear with my soul what God would say through him.

[Note: Father Steven Rogers is priest of
Saint Ignatius Orthodox Church in
Franklin, TN]

Be Nice

One of the great mysteries of my life is the fact that I have often been referred to as "nice". This may come as quite a shock to some who would not consider me such. I have discovered along the way a propensity in some to take advantage of nice people. There is something inherent in them that smells blood around a nice person as they set out to pounce on them. I have found this to be true in business and interpersonal-relationships. Such people who have pounced on me for various reasons have discovered that their understanding of nice may be flawed. They are the same who confuse meekness with weakness. Christ was meek but he wasn't weak. He could be the lamb and the lion. Such is the case with the Christian. A case in point right now on the national scene is Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee. He is being called "nice." Some would use it against him and call him "too nice." But, watch him for a while and you see the fire in his eyes, the resolve in his voice and the determination of a man who walks in integrity. Cross that and you won't think him so nice.

My lack of niceness is usually displayed when I see someone hurt by another. I also become a lion when I am confronted with unrighteousness by another. Christ took up the whip and turned over tables. It is that same indignation we should have within us when we see the innocent being wounded. Our whips are our words and our tables are our actions to confront such. I am certain that those in the Temple that day did not consider Jesus very nice, but in that was His righteousness displayed and so should ours.

To be fully like Christ, we must also be longsuffering and slow to anger. That means to be nice as long as possible. But, the greatest challenge is to be very slow or even void to take up your own defense. Christ didn't slap back when he was slapped. He didn't spit back when spat upon. He could have called ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set him free from the cross, but he didn't. Herein he was meek, not weak.

If you have lived at all you know what it is to have enemies. I especially know what it is to have enemies for righteousness sake. Love those who persecute you and pray for those who despitefully use you. It is anything but easy to suffer as Christ did, but lest we forget, we have been crucified with Christ, yet nevertheless we live. Yet it is not we who live but Christ who lives in us.

Be the lamb and be the lion but all in all just try to be nice.

Orthodox Problems...Not So Much

When my former priest in the Charismatic Episcopal Church set aside his Holy Orders in that communion to become Orthodox, other CEC priests looked East as well. Some of his fellow priests were dissuaded by those around them as they were made aware of various problems that exist in the Orthodox Church. I told him, "Father, just ask them,'would they rather deal with problems and know they are within the original true church or stay outside and deal with the same problems'?"

To once more quote my priest, Father Steven Rogers, as he sat in his office and pointed toward the temple. "Just remember, there are people over there." Make no mistake by the entries on this BLOG and lest you use any of the Church's challenges as fodder to decide not to be Orthodox, the Orthodox Church is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. It is the original Church and "Orthodox" is synonymous with "Christian". I love the Holy Trinity and His Church. I will serve Him in His Church for the rest of my life. Now if it weren't for those darned people!

Since When Is "Religious" A Bad Word? Part Two...

I received a very gracious reply from the Pastor of The Spiritual But Not Religious Church, he having read my previous post of the above title. The Pastor was well reasoned, kind, and extended a wise suggestion that he and I should have coffee. I agree with him that personal discourse rises far and above internet communication. I responded and accepted his offer. I am waiting for him to call.

I will be careful not to use this follow-up to renege on that offer. But, I will say that he recognized my use of rhetoric to make a point. In other words, we agree on the true definition of "religious." His assertion, of course, is that the definition has changed and that to some it means "holier than thou". At our coffee, I would like to ask him how the anti-religious visitors they reach react when they realize there are requirements to following Christ and that becoming holy, in essence, means they must become holier than they are. The natural course of this is that they eventually become the "holier than thou."

Most who have an aversion to anything religious do so because they desire to stay the way they are. Most do not like religious people, not because the people have a self righteous attitude, but because the religious person shines light on the sinful state of their unholy lives. It is called light and darkness. Being religious is being the salt for this hurting world. Salt preserves and flavors but it also can sting. I'm afraid that the use of the redefined "religious" to mean"holier than thou" does not reach the anti-church or the un-churched, but rather is a shingle for pseudo religious people who want to continue living carnal lives with no consequences. Isn't this just a form of political correctness? Wouldn't this same method require the elimination of the very word "sin" and other objectionable religious words because of their inherent offensiveness?

Of course, I do not stand on a platform of personally indicting this particular church, its pastors, or the effectiveness of their ministry. I have not met them. I am simply editorializing on the methods of evangelism that would communicate an easy Christian life. The discourse should be, "To follow Christ, you must give up everything you are and die to self." They should be told, "Straight is the path and narrow is the way that leads to salvation and few there be that find it." Contrary to what some teach, salvation is not free, rather, it is unmerited. We receive the love of God, but we are "crucified with Christ."

So, we are remiss when we present an easy, non religious Christianity when our brothers across the world have been martyred by the millions and are being martyred at this very hour for their religious lives. Christians are the most martyred group on the planet and we in the West continue to tickle the ears of potential converts. Whatever happened to, "Choose you this day whom you will serve?" We would do better to prepare all within the sound of our voice for the day when they will be called upon to deny Christ or die. It is already happening in public discourses with cries of "bring back the lions", with militant homosexuals storming churches, with religious freedoms being eroded and revisionist history taking its place, and with Islamic radicals sworn to our destruction. And slogans are what we have to offer?

"The Spiritual But Not Religious Church"

"The Church Where Exciting Things Are Happening"

"The Church Where Everyone is Welcome"

"A Program For Everybody"

"No God -- No Peace. Know God -- Know Peace"

"Free Trip to heaven. Details Inside!"

"Try our Sundays. They are better than Baskin-Robbins."


"Searching for a new look? Have your faith lifted here!"


"Fight truth decay -- study the Bible daily."


"How will you spend eternity -- Smoking or Non-smoking?"


"Dusty Bibles lead to Dirty Lives"

"Come work for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours are long and the pay is low. But the retirement benefits are out of this world."

"If you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns."


"If you don't like the way you were born, try being born again."


"Looking at the way some people live, they ought to obtain eternal fire insurance soon."


"This is a ch_ _ ch. What is missing? U R"



"If you can't sleep, don't count sheep. Talk to the Shepherd.""In the dark? Follow the Son."

"Running low on faith? Stop in for a fill-up."

Maybe this is when "religious" is a bad word.

"Surrounded" A Letter From a Soldier

Number three in a series of letters from SGT Daniel Nuoffer

Dear Mr. Lewis

I am sorry for the delay between letters. I write as I can and as things come about. Some of these stories come as a shock to others I tell. Some say, "How could that happen? How do you deal with all that stress? Do you ever break down? What is it like?"

Some people think that Iraq would be the furthest place away from God- very little if any Christians. Bibles are illegal for the public to own. Up until now the penalty for owning one was death, no questions asked. Its hot, dusty, dirty, full of hate from years of wars, really not a place that a Christian would go looking for God. But it is hard to miss him here. I have been several times to the house of Father Abraham not 3 miles away from one of the forward observation bases South of Baghdad. Babylon is here and all kinds of things that remind you that Jesus, God's only son, was here in this area. All around me, God is here. So, now back to the questions.

"How could this happen?" Read the bible- it says that this area will be at war 'till the end of days. How do you deal with the stress? 2 ways: 1. I know that there are prayer warriors at home right now praying for me and that gives me hope and calms my spirit. 2 I answer to a higher power and he is my strength. Psalms 91 before I go on mission every time.

"Do you ever break down?" Yep. I am not going to lie to you. This is not an easy job and sometimes I need to take a knee and let some tears out. Knowing you are hurting someone is being hurt, is never easy, even if they are the enemies of freedom.

"What is it like?" That is the hard one and no matter how well I explain it to you Sir, you could never fully understand unless you were here with me.

I was on a mission to a base North of Baghdad. We were escorting heavy equipment trucks (HET) . They are larger than 18 wheelers- Very big and very slow, top speed is about 45 mph. On this mission, we got a redirect to another post. So, we had to turn at the base North of Baghdad and go in to Baghdad. We move at night and try to go as fast as we can. While on the mission we came on an Iraq Army check point (friendly). They divide the road with very large concrete barriers to check vehicles as they pass. Sometimes for these HETs there is not a lot of space to get through and movement slows way down. I am the rear Gun truck and I have to listen to the radio at all time to know what I need to do in the back. 2 HETs had made it past the check point. But the 3^rd HET, also the convoy commander’s truck (CC), was having trouble and stopped. Over the net I hear, "SHOT FIRED! 3, now 7!" I called for a direction and description to engage the enemy so the rest of the convoy could move past. The HET pulled out fast and the rest of the convoy with it. As the 2nd gun truck made it up to the end of the check point she stopped and looked for a target. She called up that an Iraq Army soldier had been hit and they needed help. But there was no aid personnel on that gun truck. 3^rd gun truck, my gun truck commander, told the truck to move out and he took her place. He had a soldier that could speak Arabic and had aid on the truck. The rest of the convoy pulled past as an angry mob began to form and move towards the truck. As I passed I saw that he was all alone and I stopped my truck to help him. There were easily 30 to 40 Iraqi nationals and Iraqi army swarming and surrounding our trucks trying to get us out to pull first aid. And all we could do is tell them to get back away from the trucks. It didn’t seem to help matters. Inside our truck we communicated with our higher element and land owners for assistants. A land owner is the US Army unit in charge of operations in the area of the country. Quick reaction forces (QRF) were sent as fast as they could and I kept the (CC) informed on what was going on using the radio. After about 5 min, QRF made it to the check point and the crowd of IA and civilians left at the sight of more gun trucks headed that way. We found out that when the CC’s truck passed the check point the back tier of the trailer hit one of the barriers and knocked it over on to IA sleeping on the other side killing one and injuring another. We found out also that the shots that where fired where to try and get her to stop. The CC, who’s name I will keep to myself, has been relieved of her command and faces charges of vehicular man homicide. She had a lot of problems earlier in the convoy and more than 4 times came close to putting an American soldier's life in negligible danger.

Now the readers want to know why. Why do I care about his story initialed, 'SURROUNDED'? It seems in our lives that there are days, months, and even years that we feel that we as Christians are surrounded by the enemy, outnumbered and trapped. And all it seems we can do is call to outside sources for help. As humans there are so many to choose from- money, food, material things, even drugs. But I go back now to the very first commandment: You will have no other GOD before me. Keep calling to God the father. When you are surrounded, help is on the way and will save you. Now some will say, "I have waited so long." There are 2 things to think about:

Number one: When you know help is on the way it always seems that it takes longer to get to you.

Number two: You are in the wrong area and the chopper can’t get to you. Move out and find another area to call out for help. Churches work great and can provide first aid and shelter.

God bless you all. I love you and thank you for your prayers. They are what keep me safe and in his hands.

SGT Nuoffer

Note: Sgt Daniel Nuoffer is on his second tour in Iraq. His duty is to command the lead gunnery vehicle that guides our troops in convoy down treacherous roads from Kuwait into Bagdad. He will be gone for 15 months. His new wife awaits his safe return as do we all. Send him your love and support. You may e-mail him at chemicalninja@yahoo.com.

(minor edits by JTO)

I'm No Mathematician

I'm no mathematician, but a laborious perusal of the SCOBA Orthodox Church Directory lists a total of 1661 Orthodox Churches in the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. This includes all jurisdictions. The most commonly quoted statistic is "about 6 million Orthodox people in United States". According to this, there is an average of 3613 parishioners per church. I have quoted the head of the SCOBA Media outlet as having said there are actually just under 2 million. Using that figure, there are 1,204 parishioners per church. Help me, but does something seem amiss with these statistics? Knowing that I am but a lowly artistic type- actor, writer, film producer, singer, composer, please help me with the math. How many Orthodox are there in America? Are we blindly choosing to use unverified stats in order to earn the title "rapidly growing church." Haven't we been here since the late 1800's? Please correct me if I am wrong or are there other equations to include for better accuracy? Congrats to Pennsylvania for having the most churches-222, but 37 states have under 50 churches. Of those 50, 19 states have under 10 churches. Of those 19, 7 states have under 5 churches. By the way, and attempting to be generous, I will offer one more math equation. Giving each Orthodox church in America an average of 250 members per church (and that is very generous), would mean that there are closer to 415,250 Orthodox parishioners in America. Orthodoxy is the second largest Christian body in the world, but it comes close to dead last in the United States. The first rule of change is to admit that something is wrong. The word is evangelism. Metropolitan Philip has expressed hope in the inclusion of the evangelicals to the Orthodox faith in America in that they may teach the rest of the church how to evangelize.

Okay, evangelism lesson number one: Not to lessen the importance nor the value of the tradition thereof, but, did the Apostles or the early church use the Eastern Rite? Thank God for the growth of the Church during the Byzantine period and the development of the Eastern Liturgy, but weren't there Orthodox Christians in the West at the same time? Turn the Western Rite loose. Better still, let SCOBA launch them in a public and dynamic way. Then and only then can the Orthodox Church even begin to come close to the 6 million people statistic and be one step closer to truly unifying as one, jurisdictional, American Orthodox Church.

UPDATE: In the June 2009 issue of The Word magazine, the Antiochians have revised their numbers. In the section "Orthodox World" on page 58, under the heading "The Orthodox Church Today: New Research Reveals Some Not-So-Obvious Facts about American Orthodox Christianity", there is the statement,

"With its historical roots in nineteenth-century Russian Alaska, Orthodox Christianity in the USA today accounts for ahout 1,200,000-1,300,000 faithful worshipping in 2,200-2300 local parishes spread all across the nation."

So, it seems they are getting closer to the correct mathematical truth of the size of the Orthodoxy membership in the USA. But this revised figure still gives each church an average of over 500 members. The article is still too generous and speculative to be accurate as illustrated by the fact that they don't seem to know whether there are 2200 or 2300 parishes. Where are the hundred parishes and why is there a question? Should not each jurisdiction know exactly how many parishes they have? This looseness or laziness with the facts seems indicative of what led to the overstating to begin with (6,000,000). I have yet to have anyone dispute my math (though I am not a Mathematician) which concludes that there are closer to 415,250 Orthodox Christians of any jurisdiction in ALL of North America.

With the seeming oblivion of it leaders and the current threat of a split within the ranks of the North American Diocese, there follows an obvious question:

Antioch, it's getting late. Do you know where your children are?