Senior Pastor Blog - Greg Waybright
Since coming to Lake Avenue Church, people ask me questions that I myself have wondered about before. But, just as often, here in Southern CA I’ve found that some of the questions are about matters I had never really considered. Tattoos? Ancestor boxes? Cremation? Following Jesus without dishonoring parents when turning to Jesus from Buddhism? These are just a few of the issues the people at LAC write me about. So, I look at God’s Word and seek to provide some guidance and direction. I have wondered whether others have questions about related matters – though they have never asked. Finally, my Executive Assistant convinced me to post parts of my responses via this blogging medium.
Perhaps you are searching for answers to the issues that others have brought to me. My hope is that what you read in my blog will, at the very least, send you to God’s Word to discover wisdom and direction beyond anything a blogger might offer. If you don’t find your issue addressed here, feel free to ask it. I may not be able to get to it immediately – but, of course, if you do not ask then I will never get to it.
I especially enjoy communicating with people who desire to do what is biblical, loving, and right. Together, we might be able to seek principles from scripture and discern a good path forward.
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Lake Avenue Church and Fellowship Church
We believe that Scripture teaches that healthy churches are reproducing churches. When Pastor Waybright discussed this biblical principle at his first Ministry Council retreat in 2007, he emphasized that to be a reproducing church, LAC will need to obey the mandates found in Colossians 1:28
& Ephesians 4:11-16 . Title:
What's the point of a commentary?
Teaser:
Do you think it is necessary to read the Bible with a commentary? Someone told me I was studying wrong by only reading the Bible. It just didn't settle right in my spirit.
What would happen in your personal life if, beginning today, churches went out of existence. What would change if there would be no church family that you could be a part of? I know some would say that you find the teaching in church about how to live for God, or the support to live for God in your church family gatherings, or the encouragement you receive from singing and praying together are very important to you. But, I think many American church goers would have to admit, "I think little would change."
There are "lightning rod issues" in the life of any church. There always have been and always will be. Human beings seem to have the ability to get into a dispute over almost anything. This doesn't change easily once we become followers of Jesus. Some of the New Testament books exist because there was a dispute in the church: Can non-Jewish people lead or should only Jewish (Rome)? Should men or women wear head coverings in church – both, neither...(Corinth)? Should we quite serving, working, etc. and simply go off and wait for the return of Jesus(Thessalonica)? You all know I could go on and on.
But one issue that seems to have a remarkable resiliency in inspiring us to disagree is the issue of our worship together within the church family – particularly the style and volume and length of the music. Can you believe that after only four months at Lake Avenue Church, I am going to have the courage (foolhardiness?) to talk about this? Well, I believe God is at work in our hearts. I think we're ready.
“They took down the bodies…and went to Jabesh, where they burned them” 1 Samuel 31:12
Christians disagree about whether cremation is an appropriate way to deal with a body after death. The Bible, however, nowhere answers the question specifically as to the method of disposal. Some people have raised moral and religious questions about whether Christians should “destroy” a body through cremation of the remains. Occasionally, even the procedure of autopsy has been challenged on religious bases when the cause of death required further investigation. These questions, ultimately, can only be answered in an individual’s or family’s conscience. The Bible does not require one technique over others.
"Where does the Bible stand on getting a tattoo?..."
"...I was told that there is a verse in the Book of Leviticus that teaches it is wrong. But, what if the tattoo is a verse from the Bible? Mostly, what if the big problem is that my father disapproves even though I am over 30. I want to show him respect but wonder if I have freedom in spite of his viewpoint. My wife loves the idea."
I had a Jewish friend tell me his religion is more intellectually and historically sound than Christianity. His main point was that Jewish oral tradition is the source that gives insight into interpreting the Scriptures accurately and that, since Jewish oral tradition contradicts Christian interpretations, then the Christian faith must be wrong. I had never heard anything like this so I’ve been somewhat shaken by it. Where is a Christian to start when faced with this kind of daunting search for truth?
All through my doctoral studies at Marquette and Cambridge, I was confronted with challenges to my thinking – and that included challenges to the very source of my understanding of God, i.e., the Bible. Sometimes, I would think, "Well, my faith must not be true..." (And then in the next breath) "But it is real!" Then, "But, what about...?" On and on it goes while we live by faith and not yet by sight.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7
Since coming to Lake Avenue Church, people ask me questions that I myself have wondered about before. But, just as often, here in Southern CA I’ve found that some of the questions are about matters I had never really considered. Tattoos? Ancestor boxes? Cremation? Following Jesus without dishonoring parents when turning to Jesus from Buddhism??? These are just a few of the issues the people at LAC write me about. So, I look at God’s Word and seek to provide some guidance and direction. I have wondered whether others have questions about related matters – though they have never asked. Finally, my Executive Assistant convinced me to post parts of my responses via this blogging medium.
