Fountain
They turned on the fountain today. There is a little fountain in our church foyer, a reminder of our annual vision to become smooth stones in God’s service – like the ones David selected. The little cascade has run since September, a lovely and continuous reminder that no stone should remain unturned.

In March, the fountain was turned off. Without members congregating, there was no need to run it. Of course, the vision continues, as important as ever. No fountain needs to run in order for God’s people to grow. Nonetheless, the dry fountain seemed so forlorn – silent and still in the cavernous foyer.

Today, I walked out from my office and noticed the fountain was again running. I was struck with the kind of joy Hebrew pilgrims appear to have felt as they journeyed up to Jerusalem. Their inspired songs of ascent speak well to the moments of delight granted to us as we wander through the current plague. Through our lamentation, God provides joy that wells up like streams in the desert.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy! [Psalm 126:4-5 ESV]

God bless,
Wayne

Cauldron bubble
In his play Macbeth, Shakespeare opens act four by revealing three witches in a cavern. They prepare a brew that seems to comfort the usurper Macbeth. Though Lord Macbeth is blind to it, the audience can sense that the witches are actually facilitating his doom. As they throw ingredients in their cauldron, they sing…
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake…
The witches continue until they successfully bring specters to speak to Lord Macbeth. In response to the first apparition that arises from the cauldron, Macbeth gives this short speech:
Whate’er thou art, for thy good caution, thanks;
Thou hast harp’d my fear aright [1]
[He’s saying, “I don’t know who you are or what’s behind you, but thanks for warning me. You both understand and stoke my fears.”]

Remind them

Over the coming days, you will likely deal with increasingly depressed or angry Christians. There is a massive deception playing out in which people believe other humans are sovereign – either over their life or livelihood. May God bless each of us as we gently remind ourselves and our brethren of the truths found in 1 Timothy 6:11-15 and Titus 3:1-2.

^{1 Tim 6:11} But you, man of God, flee from these things [greed and false doctrines], and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the presence of God, who gives life to all, and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate, I charge you ¹⁴ to keep this command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ God will bring this about in his own time. He is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. ^CSB

^{Titus 3:1} Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, ² to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people. ^CSB

In summary:
•    God is sovereign. Period. He rules over health, employment, and governments.
•    We can trust God without testing Him.
•    We can submit to human authorities because God is in charge.
•    We must not attack or slander.
•    We must be kind and gentle, even (especially) with those with whom we disagree.
•    We can and should be ready for every good work.

God bless,

Wayne

Fearsome Foursome

Here’s something I recently wrote to our church pastors. It seems possibly useful to all our ATD community:

You will likely get grumbling from people who are understandably put out and stressed. During this plague, the grousing falls into four general categories. Below is a description of each and my recommended response.

1. The bully who believes that everyone must follow their own chosen response

This bullying is often unintentional, but nonetheless damaging to the redeemed community. Usually, the bully will employ his favorite articles or education to call others “idiots” when they don’t act as he would. This cuts across the spectrum of reactions, from the stay-inside-go-nowhere person to the let’s-all-just-ignore-this-foolishness individual. Please remind the bully that the biblical response is to trust God without testing Him. Fleshing this out mostly falls into the “meat sacrificed to idols” category. [See Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8.] That is, no one else call tell you how to exactly apply trust-don’t-test to your specific situation. Thankfully, the Lord has told us how to treat with each other: One who eats [goes to get food] must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat [leave home] must not judge him who does. [Rom. 14:3]

2. The biblical thinker who remembers that Hebrews 10 commands Christians to not forsake meeting together

The ekklesia [church] is built on the idea of ekklesia [assembly]. In other words, gathering together is in our very name! So please agree with this brother who sees the need to gather as Jesus’ church. However, comfort him that the Hebrews 10 command is not discussing missing a few weeks of church. The tone is a lifestyle issue – missing regularly or not make the assembly a priority.

3. The citizen deeply concerned about the economic impact of continued isolation

It may prove that our political leaders used poor calculus in determining their “man v. mission” parameters. In other words, the price may prove far too high for the number of lives saved. Regardless, it is not the place of believers to attack or smear those faced with difficult decisions. It is rather our place to encourage those who lead. You may wish to share this quote I sent to a few regional leaders last week:

I should have realized the trouble I was getting into. There’s nothing worse than having people look up to you – because the more they expect, the worse you feel when you fail them. Take my advice. You don’t want to be the one in charge. Becoming a leader is, in a way, like falling off a cliff. It feels like a lot of fun at first.
Then it stops being fun. Really, really fast.
…Personally, I like it much better when someone else does the decision making. That way you have legitimate grounds to whine and complain. I tend to find both whining and complaining quite interesting and amusing, though sometimes – unfortunately – it’s hard to choose which one of the two I want to do.
Sigh. Life can be so tough sometimes. – Brandon Sanderson, The Scrivener’s Bones, 129-148

4. The person sick of being told what to do

Bombarded with information and opinion at a clip no human brain can manage, our brethren are particularly overwhelmed with shame (see #1 above) and ever-changing directions. In their frustration, they may snap at you. After all, at our church you are dealing with the trifecta of civil disobedience! Christians are by nature counterculture; Americans are revolutionaries at heart; and Texans take self-reliance to a level that “don’t dial 911.” Therefore, when people get angry at you for saying no to something, please do not push back. Forgive them as God in Christ has forgiven you.

God bless,

Wayne

Redbud magic

There is a little copse of a wood near my house. Every March, something magical occurs. Over a brief period lasting about two weeks, a lone redbud blossoms while all the other trees are still dormant. Stunning the eye, those reddish-pink flowers attract all attention. Later in summer, the redbud can sometimes be harder to see. All the big foliage trees can crowd it out. It’s always there, of course, playing its vital role in the ecosystem. But during the odd dormancy of early Spring, it shines.

Such is the opportunity afforded us today. While all the cultural trees around us lie under enforced winter, we can bloom.

God bless,

Wayne

Dear Church,
We want to update you on what is happening at FBC in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in our area. Like you, we’ve been following this evolving story with great concern. Please read through this entire letter as it contains detailed plans for living out our redeemed community during this season.

The biggest issue is to trust God without testing Him.
Scripture guides us to reject fear, even in the plagues the Bible promises are part of life this side of heaven. We are also commanded to never test the Lord our God. The dynamic of trust-without-testing can play out differently for different Christians, and the book of Romans specifically decrees trust and understanding across the various consciences of the brethren. Therefore:

1. If you choose to stay home, we understand that. No one will judge or assume you are enslaved by fear.
2. If you choose to continue gathering, we agree with that as well. No one will condemn you or assume you are testing God.

At this time, officials are not recommending the cancelation of public events or church gatherings. Frisco Bible facilities will remain open, and we will continue to have Sunday services and all midweek programs. In the event that local and state health officials do recommend closure, we will inform everyone to the best of our abilities through our website, emails and social media.

We are committed to keeping our campus safe:

1. We will continue our normal practice of sanitizing highly touched surfaces before every service in FB Kids. We will also continue our regular cleaning of each building, which occurs many times each week.
2. Our staff and volunteer teams will wash their hands frequently and stay home if they are sick.
3. Communion will change to a single-serve system. Each person will receive bread & cup together in one serving so that no hand will touch what another will intake.

During this time, we are asking you to help stop the spread of the virus in the following ways:

1. Stay at home when you or a family member is sick. If you or someone you know tests positive for COVID-19, please let us know so we can find a way to help, pray for everyone involved, and take any necessary precautions here at church.
2. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
3. Cover your sneeze or cough with a tissue or your arm and get in the habit of NOT touching your face.
4. If you wish to not shake hands, let others know by smiling & waving instead. They will understand.

Frisco Bible Online:
If you or a family member are sick or need to stay home during this time, we have a couple of different options for you to watch our Sunday services online. We are currently working on a temporary livestream for you to watch our 10:15 am service live this Sunday, March 15th, so please visit our website this Friday to learn more about it. You can also catch the edited sermon videos at friscobible.com/sermons

Ways you can help:

1. Pray.  Pray for those impacted by the virus, as well as their families and loved ones. We will also have special times of prayer in service for all affected.
2. Prepare to give.  In the coming weeks, there may be opportunities for our church to help the FBC family and our surrounding communities. Also, our ongoing costs will not be dropping during this episode, so please continue your faithful giving before the Lord. If you have never established regular online giving, this may provide the perfect prompt. Click HERE to give now.
3. Look for the opportunity!  Our forefathers survived many serious outbreaks and were remarkable for turning crises into an expansion of doing the great commission. For example, the last great outbreak of bubonic plague slammed into 18th century London. Daniel Defoe wrote a fascinating account, A Journal of The Plague Year. Consider this paragraph:

The threat of imminent death bro’t people together. People crowded into churches and did not, as usually was the case, care if the people around them were Dissenters [those who did not belong to the Church of England]. In fact, since many of the Church of England’s clergy had fled to the countryside, it was sometimes left to the Dissenting preachers to perform the services. The people who once persecuted Dissenters now had no problem inviting them into to preach.

Those Dissenters were our theological forerunners, and their willingness to help people in the most important way – spiritually – led to the ending of persecution. It made no sense for the government to countenance continued oppression of the very people who stood in the breach at the darkest hour of need. May that be true of us! When this virus blows on, as they always do, may the world be better because we stood strong in the Spirit who empowers us with love and discipline. Amen.

God bless,
The Frisco Bible Church Elders