 
 My wife Carolyn and I were running some errands in Dayton late Tuesday afternoon when my cell phone buzzed. It was my good friend and ski buddy Vic Haddad. “I’m at the emergency room at Upper Valley Hospital. Gary Cairns just died.” Gary has been a faithful servant in many capacities, including teacher, cell group leader and board chair at Ginghamsburg Church. He and Carolyn were going to teach a class together this fall. He had marked on his personal planner the dates he planned to participate in a New Orleans mission trip this fall with his wife, Melissa. All followers of Jesus are called to do the work of evangelism, but Gary had an evangelist’s heart. He was passionate about every person knowing the freedom and saving power that comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
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Gary had taken the week off from work to take care of some home projects. He had just finished painting a bathroom and headed next door to visit with his mother. He and his mom were sitting at the kitchen table when suddenly Gary said, “I don’t feel well,” slumped over and was gone.
Carolyn and I met Melissa, Gary’s mother, their children and several members from Gary’s cell group in the emergency room. As we walked in, Melissa said, “Mike, this is what you always remind us of. We are going to die--and we don’t know when!”
Gary’s life, love, friendship and faithfulness in serving Jesus’ saving mission reminds me again—I am going to die! So risk living, act lovingly and keep serving faithfully while it is still today!
God bless...
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Jul 10, 2008 02:31PM
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 Probably a majority of the people that I pastor would consider themselves on the conservative side of most political issues. There is a gross generalization made about conservative Christians implying that they only care about two issues (abortion and family values), while being indifferent to the poor, HIV-infected, Darfur, justice issues, etc. While this limited-unbiblical perspective is true for some, the majority of conservative Christians that I pastor at Ginghamsburg make great personal sacrifices to stop genocide and provide agriculture, safe water, and child protection-development programs in Darfur. Ginghamsburg Church has sent 42 teams to the Gulf for the work of rehabilitation, and our people will continue to give their resources and vacation time as long as they are needed. (Over 90% of the Hurricane Katrina recovery work has been performed by faith-based organizations.)
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Conservative Christians on a whole give a greater percentage of their personal income to missional causes that impact the poor than do their more liberal sisters and brothers (who tend to be louder verbal advocates). In part this difference is ideological. Conservatives feel that their money can best serve the needs of the poor and oppressed more efficiently and effectively without government waste and involvement (as demonstrated in the Gulf region up to this point). Liberals tend to feel that it is the collective responsibility of every citizen whether they are inclined to give or not (government involvement is still needed in the Gulf region to rebuild the infrastructure).
This much is clear; the Earth and all it contains belong to the Lord! The poor, health care, HIV, stewardship of the environment, Darfur, war and justice, sanctity of life and family values are all biblical concerns that all Christians need to work together on solving.
God bless...
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Jul 03, 2008 02:31PM
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 UPDATES
- I had a great week last week teaching an intensive course for United Theological Seminary: The Missional Church. We held the class on Ginghamsburg’s campus complete with early morning workouts, lectures and field trips to Ginghamsburg mission sites. I really enjoyed meeting 18 new friends.
- A big shout goes out to my friends Ira and Mary Pat who were married last week in Troy, Ohio. You both will be missed, but what an opportunity to begin your new journey together in New Orleans!
- Can you believe that it is the first of July already? We are half way through ‘08. Carolyn and I are spending a few days together in the North Carolina mountains, and then we are heading to Boston to see our daughter and son-in-law over the holiday weekend.
SURVEY FINDS THAT 70 PERCENT OF AMERICANS BELONGING TO A CHURCH FEEL MANY RELIGIONS CAN LEAD TO ETERNAL LIFE
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life conducted the study. Among the more surprising numbers were that 57% of evangelical church attendees said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional biblical teaching. We have discussed many issues on this blog that should be informed by biblical witness and Spirit-filled thinking. This one stands alone! The uniqueness of Jesus Christ and God’s redemptive act of love revealed in the cross for all of creation is the heart of the biblical message. Jesus Christ is the Gospel. When Philip asked Jesus to “show us the Father,” Jesus response was both unique and exclusive. “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Any one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” Jesus’ declaration to Thomas was absolute. “I am the way and truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Now why have I chosen to bet my life on this exclusive worldview?
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- In no other religion or ideology can I see more clearly the complete face of God. There is a moral integrity that is revealed in Jesus that stands heads above any other. The great Hindu leader Gandhi took much of the moral directives for his movement from the Sermon on the Mount. A Buddhist friend of mine told me that she became a Buddhist because compassion is one of the highest ideals. Jesus is compassion incarnate!
- Jesus is grace incarnate. Many religions understand law and the consequences for the violator. All of us carry some kind of baggage from our inner sense of brokenness. As Jesus said to the woman caught in the act of adultery, “I do not condemn you. Go and live above your brokenness!” He also empowers us to do so.
- Jesus is God’s offer of inclusive reconciliation regardless of race, gender, nationality, and political or cultural ideologies. Jesus transcends all cultures. He is truly the universal savior who transcends any one particular culture or ideology. For example, Hindu religion is encapsulated in Indian culture and Islam is encapsulated in Middle Eastern culture but the movement of Jesus becomes incarnate and distinctive in every culture.
- Jesus values the poor and disfranchised and calls his followers to go into the entire world and proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God through practical and sacrificial works of service. In other words the good news of the gospel is not just about getting people into heaven but the intentions and resources of heaven into the world.
- Jesus as “The Way” does not give any human being the right to judge or determine who gets in or who is out. God alone is judge and the ultimate One who makes those calls!
God bless...
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Jun 30, 2008 01:31PM
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 Illegal immigration has become a growing dilemma in the U.S. There is growing documentation on the effects of illegal residents that impacts everything from the U.S. medical systems to crime. My question is, what should be the church's response to these persons who live among us and in some cases even worship with us? I have met some of these people who participate in Ginghamsburg ministries. This is a very complex issue. "Illegal" and "immoral" are not necessarily one and the same.
I have recently read of a mother who was deported back to Mexico, but her baby was placed in the foster care system here. Apparently, the current U.S. law states that if a baby is born in the U.S., then it is a naturalized U.S. citizen and cannot be deported. What do we do as a church when "legal" conflicts with "moral"?
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There is a story told of Abraham Lincoln when he was a young attorney in Springfield, Missouri. A wealthy farmer tried to hire him to sue a poor widow who owed the farmer $600. Lincoln wrote this reply: "I could probably win your case for you, but it would surely distress the widow and her six children. You seem to have a legal claim to the money; however, there are some things that may be legally right and morally wrong. I refuse to take your case, but I will give you some advice. Try your hand at making six hundred dollars some other way." Ok, what is the Christ response to this most complex issue? God bless...
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Jun 20, 2008 09:31AM
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 When people ask me if I am part of the emergent movement, I prefer to refer to myself as "missional" rather than "emergent." As I mentioned in my last blog, emergent is about the church in transition in a post-Christian age, invitation to conversation, and diversity in theological perspectives. You cannot lump emergent leaders into one category. Missional, on the other hand, seems to be focused on visible, physical demonstrations of Christ’s redemptive mission in the world. (I highly recommend Alan Hirsch's book, The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating The Missional Church. It is one of the best books that I have read in a decade.) The missional church embraces Jesus’ Kingdom of God theology. The emphasis is on getting the redemptive work of heaven into people and into the world and not primarily getting souls into heaven.
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 The church is the literal body of Christ in the world (indwelt by the Holy Spirit) being his physical hands and feet, carrying out his redemptive work, demonstrating his Kingdom’s presence. The missional church spends its energies on getting the church into the world rather than trying to get the world into the church. Trevor Hudson, in his work Listening To The Groans, says, "We are not called to rise above the groans of our world into some abstract spiritual sphere of joy and peace and serenity. Instead, we are called to become for the world what Christ was for the world. We are called to become the place and means where the world’s pain can be focused and concentrated and shared and even healed." The missional church goes to the places of greatest challenge and need. Ginghamsburg Church continues to be involved sacrificially in Darfur. We begin a new chapter in the life of our mission as we commission a community of urban missionaries to open our Dayton campus on July 1. Please don't misunderstand me. Emergent and missional for many are two sides of the same coin. But please, sisters and brothers, let’s not get lost or become divisive in the conversation at the expense of Jesus’ mission!
God bless...
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Jun 13, 2008 12:43PM
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