By the time I started pastoring a church in Geneva, Ohio I had already been a pastor for twelve years and had been in the ministry for twenty years. I had never interacted much with pastors outside of my own denomination and I was more than a little leery of other pastors. I had heard of pastors who rejected the Bible and pastors who did bad things and pastors who were not trustworthy. But eventually I began to find this was true in my own denomination, as well. When the church in Geneva contacted me (they were of a different denomination) I was ready to step out of what had become my comfort zone. However, the Geneva church wanted me to become part of the local ministerial group. Twelve different churches, twelve different denominations. I figured I would go to a couple of meetings and not return.

          The funny thing, though, is that these people became the best friends I have ever had in the ministry. Chuck, the Methodist minister, probably is the best minister friend I have ever had. Totally dedicated to the Lord and to the church he pastored. Skip, the Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor was just a joy to be around. Harold, the Church of Christ pastor, was like sitting with an Old Testament prophet. Rick, the Christian Missionary Alliance pastor, was like talking with Paul. Harry, the Assembly of God, was the only other pastor who got up as early as I did and once a week we met for breakfast at a little restaurant. I think they didn’t like us coming in, because I could get Harry happy in the Lord and he would start squirming and fidgeting and pretty soon he would bellow out an ‘AMEN BROTHER’ and startle the other diners. Harry was so easy. There were others, all great people. I learned that it was possible to believe the Bible but have a difference of opinion, but if you really believed the Bible, you came to the same conclusion. Jesus willingly died for our sins, was buried and rose again, and salvation is only through Jesus. That was a great time in my life.

          So, when the first pastors’ retreat came up, I was eager to go. I asked at a meeting of our local pastors who was going. No one was going. Chuck looked over and said, “Think twice about going, guy.” Skip said, “Yeah, Larry, it really is not a good time.” They all seemed to be in agreement, but they weren’t saying why. So now, I really wanted to go.

          The retreat grounds were about four hours away. Beautiful day, beautiful drive, beautiful grounds. I got there at 10 AM and checked in. I was looking forward to the next three days. Lunch was at 11:30, so after I got settled, I headed over to the pavilion where we would be taking our meals. This was where my education began.

          Since I didn’t know anyone, I got my tray and went to a table of four pastors. I asked if I could join them and they invited me to sit. I am a listener, especially the first time in a group. I am not shy. I am just gauging people. You learn a lot about people when you are quiet. These pastors were having a discussion of a few troubling passages in the Bible. One said he just didn’t feel that a certain passage even belonged. “I cannot believe that a loving God would say that!” Oh boy! I sat back to see the fireworks begin! But a couple agreed with him. The fourth spoke up and said that he believed that part of the Scripture, but had a hard time accepting another part. WAIT? WHAT? WERE THESE GUYS SERIOUS? One of the men turned to me and asked what I thought. “Well, I believe the whole Bible is God’s Word and is infallible.” This was met by laughter and then I was asked what I really thought. “Well, again, I believe the whole Bible is God’s Word and is infallible.” They looked at me like they thought I was joking, then one said, “You are serious, aren’t you?” They just couldn’t wrap their minds around that concept.

          Word spread quickly that there was a fanatic in the group. As the day wore on, whenever there was a break in the schedule, someone would come up with one passage or another that they questioned and wanted my take. Finally, at the evening gathering, I became the target. How could I possibly believe all of it? Finally, I quit listening and started talking.

          “What I find interesting here, folks (there were female pastors as well, so I couldn’t just say ‘men’), is that he can say one thing and you can say something different and you over here can say something else altogether, yet you can all agree to disagree. Which leaves me with two questions. One, why can’t you just accept what I believe? Instead you are all mad at me. Second question, if you all disagree on various passage, who decides what is right and what is wrong? There is only one truth. There is no truth for one and a different truth for another. Allow me to answer these two questions. First, you cannot accept what I say and are angry with me because you know that if I am right, you folks are in real trouble. And second, if you accept there is only one truth and not multiple truths, you folks are in real trouble.” After that first night I was avoided like the plague. I went back for two more retreats and was challenged again on various things and then avoided. I seriously had a great time.

          In Genesis 3:1-7 we have this; Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”  And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

          We have always been told, of course, that the first human sin was Eve eating the fruit. But the first sin was “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.” In Genesis 2 God told Adam that that they could not eat of the tree. He never said you could not touch it. So, the first sin was altering the Word of God. Satan, in the form of a serpent, led Eve down that path.

          And that is how Satan works today. All he has to do is to get us to question the least little thing in the Scripture. Not some big thing, like did God create all or was Jesus born of a virgin, but something small. Something you can blow by. ‘Boy, the way Paul wrote, he sure didn’t like women. Wives submitting to their husbands…I don’t know.’  And the first little question is put into your mind. And most people never try to find out what was behind what Paul said.

Here is something interesting. Gallup Poll, 2017. 71% of Americans claim to be Christian. I was surprised it was that high until I read what the normal definition of ‘Christian’ is in this country. But, only 21% say that the Bible is all God’s Word, no errors. Think of that. If one part of it is wrong, then you cannot trust any of it. So, less than one fourth of the people in church around the country think that the Bible is true and therefore can be trusted. The rest are willing to take it, but with a grain of salt.

It is not American values that are being challenged in society today. The values that are being challenged today predates America by eons. Biblical values are being ripped down. America was built on Biblical values. But we have become so watered down as Christians that we can’t bring ourselves to even say ‘Biblical values.’

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the Cross. Lift high the royal banner, it must not suffer loss!

I do not worry about the country. The country will only be as strong as the real Christians in the country are strong. The founding fathers knew this and it is in their writings. But when only 21% of professing Christians believe the Bible to be the error free Word of God, our country has no chance.

I have two e-mail addresses; oldirishguy51@yahoo.com and nypc6972@yahoo.com. If you have an issue with any passage of Scripture, please contact me and we will figure it out. Do that before you write off even the tiniest bit of Scripture. Be strong in the faith.