Words from Wags

Folks,

As you know, from time to time I get questions via email, and in answering them, want to share those responses with a broader audience in an effort to further instruct/encourage. Recently I was forwarded a request to read through the story of a woman who is precious to the Lord and suffering with Type 1 diabetes. As much as I sympathize with her plight and want to see the Lord heal her, I cannot Biblically justify some of her reasoning behind wanting to have research done for her disease in the manner she is pleading. Read below and think through how you would respond!

From: Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2011 11:33 AM
Subject: Pass this on!

Hey Peeps,

This is not my story. This is someone else’s, but she makes awesome points. She makes the same points that I try to make, but can’t always get across in a fluid fashion. I copied and pasted her story from the JDRF website so you might see the impact this stupid disease has on people who “follow the rules”. I realize that I have broken a few here and there, and so my credibility may be lacking. I urge you to think about this young lady and what she is saying. Furthermore, I don’t personally condone stem cell research on aborted fetuses, but there are tons in storage right now just sitting there. Use your judgement on that point. The rest of this stuff is dead on! So, please read it, think about it, and do something about it. Write somebody a letter. Donate a dollar the next time a Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund sneaker campaign comes around. Talk to your pharmacy reps and ask them why. Please, do something! My days are numbered folks. I have a beautiful little girl to raise and I cannot explain these things to her. So, please, do something. Thanks for reading my impassioned email for the day.;)

“I’ve had Type 1 diabetes for 40 years. I’m almost 42, so diabetes has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was diagnosed in 1969, medicines & care protocols were primitive by today’s standards – but they were affordable. Today, the insulin I use, available only with a prescription, is over $100 per bottle without insurance coverage. A bottle might last a month, but often doesn’t for most diabetics. Insulin is not a luxury; it is critical for surviving with Type 1 diabetes. Without insulin, we WILL die.

The test strips we use to check our blood glucose levels can cost nearly $125 for a box of 100, without insurance. Type 1s should test at least 4 times a day for adequate disease management. A box lasts less than a month at that rate of testing. I use an insulin pump, which is a much more powerful tool for disease management than multiple daily injections. The pump itself is a one-time cost ranging from $1,000 to $6,000. Yet I must meet a high deductible before insurance will cover even part of the cost of the supplies for the pump. The pump I use has disposable pods-which I fill with insulin-that must be changed every 3 days. A recent order of 3 boxes of pods cost $735. Based on that bill, a box of 10, which lasts a month, costs about $250. So every month I spend $250 on a box of pods, $100 for a bottle of insulin & $125 for a box of test strips. So diabetes costs me roughly $475 EACH month, not counting the cost of other meds I take.

And God help me if I lose my job & can’t get another one before my “prior credible coverage” period (usually 12 months) runs out. I’ll be unable to get health insurance on my own. Period. Once I find a job, I’ll be subject to a pre-existing condition waiting period, lasting anywhere from 6 months to a year or more. So insurance wouldn’t pay for the prescriptions & doctor visits I need in order to stay healthy, but they’d pay for the dialysis after my kidneys have failed because I couldn’t afford the insulin I need to survive. Illogical.

Something must be done to rein in the skyrocketing cost of the healthcare & meds we need just to survive. Insurance companies must be taken to task for their callous disregard for the health of their clients, & must reform their standards for coverage & care. Right now in America, insurance isn’t for healthcare; it’s for profit. That is greedy, shortsighted, & downright immoral.

Funding for research to cure Type 1 diabetes is just as important. So many huge advances have been made in the last few years in stem cell research that a cure may actually be found in my lifetime. People against embryonic stem cell research argue about the “rights of the unborn”, but my response is that I am already here & I am suffering. Am I less deserving of rights than a clump of cells in a petri dish? If so, why? Elected officials spend a lot of time worrying about the “unborn” while their living constituents suffer physically.”

From: pastoraloffice
Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 10:17 AM
To: Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Subject: RE: Pass this on!

Xxxxxxx,

With great compassion for this woman (it is easy to empathize with her), she is sadly participating in furthering a very dangerous idea about the dignity of life and so I could not support forwarding her email as it is currently composed. Her points are strong enough without having to make the case that the unborn should be compromised. As sad as it is (her thinking is the same thinking of those who follow her same line of reasoning that only the strongest and healthiest forms of life should survive) that others would argue toward the elimination of the weak amongst us who have diabetes (those whose clumps of cells are predisposed to need insulin and expensive care to survive). I am sure she would not like hearing this, but that untenable and offensive thinking is rooted in the same argument she makes about compromising the unborn for her good. They are already here as well…only not in as strong a position to defend themselves. As people who know that the value of all human life is rooted in the image of the One who created us and not in our utility or strength, we cannot be casual about our stance on this subject.

Bless you and may the Lord allow us to find relief for diabetics in the form of better more affordable treatments soon.

Todd Wagner | pastoraloffice@watermark.org
www.twitter.com/wordsfromwags
www.watermark.org
214.239.8809

All is well in Bomet (western Kenya part of Rift Valley area). Day one in the books, with Celestin kicking it off after an extended time of raucous worship. Lots of energy over here, as you know. By far largest group we have had – 500-600 in all, they say – really the entirety of the African Gospel Church pastors and senior leadership. Many different tribes (think racism, even though they are all Kenyans) and the right group to provide better leadership for the nation if next year’s elections carry as much controversy as 2007′s did (which led to murder/rape, displacement, and other sadness).

I continue to be encouraged at all the humble servants I meet every time I leave Dallas. Many kindred spirits busy getting after it for the Lord’s sake everywhere I go. My prayer is that others always feel the same when they run into members of Watermark. Six guys from an Indiana church showed up who are involved with a child placement agency for Kenyans who want to adopt abandoned children. I started talking with one guy whose daughter is having a rough go of it – in Dallas of all places – and he tells me she teaches at “some school down there.” I ask him what district, and he says she’s teaching 7th and 8th grade in the same school 2 of my kids are at. Crazy. Said he was trying to figure out how to get her connected with the right people as her 4-month marriage has just come crashing to an end. God has His ways. Even if he has to drag guys from Dallas and Indiana to Western Kenya to answer prayer.

I am teaching 4-6 hours the next several days. Should be great fun.

Rick and Chad completed day one in southern Sudan safe and encouraged. Looking forward to joining them later in the week. Pray the Lord gives them favor and creates many divine appointments prior to conference kick-off up there. Sudan is set up for awful tribal racism that will implode their country. Good news is the Church has the chance up there to set the foundation that will bless the nation for generations. Praying we can play whatever role the Lord wants for us faithfully. Pray with us.

Col 4:2-6 NASB
I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.

Another question out of the Wagner email bag…what should I tell newer believers about drinking alcohol? See below for a great question and my response to it. Be encouraged as you read through/process the Scripture and feel free to jump into the conversation!

From: Xxxx Xxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 12:55 PM
To: pastoraloffice
Cc: John Cox; Jonathan Pokluda
Subject: What is a good answer to give baby christians regarding drinking?

Hello Pastor Todd, John, and Jonathon:

I have been asked by several baby christians regarding drinking and since I didn’t have a good biblical answer, I then informed them that I would get back with them once I received an answer from the pastoral office. I was given the following answer from a member and wanted to get your opinion to see if this is ok for me to give to my baby christian friends.

I will appreciate your response.

Thank you so much and many blessings to each and every one.

RESPONSE FROM CHURCH MEMBER:

Please see the below portion of a commentary that we would be in agreement with from www.gotquestions.org It does a good job of articulating the biblical view on Christians and their use of alcohol and the many scriptures that speak on the subject: http://www.gotquestions.org/sin-alcohol.html

Jesus changed water into wine. It even seems that Jesus drank wine on occasion (John 2:1-11; Matthew 26:29). In New Testament times, the water was not very clean. Without modern sanitation, the water was often filled with bacteria, viruses, and all kinds of contaminants. The same is true in many third-world countries today. As a result, people often drank wine (or grape juice) because it was far less likely to be contaminated. In 1 Timothy 5:23, Paul was instructing Timothy to stop drinking the water (which was probably causing his stomach problems) and instead drink wine. In that day, wine was fermented (containing alcohol), but not necessarily to the degree it is today. It is incorrect to say that it was grape juice, but it is also incorrect to say that it was the same thing as the wine commonly used today. Again, Scripture does not forbid Christians from drinking beer, wine, or any other drink containing alcohol. Alcohol is not, in and of itself, tainted by sin. It is drunkenness and addiction to alcohol that a Christian must absolutely refrain from (Ephesians 5:18; 1 Corinthians 6:12).

From: pastoraloffice
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 7:55 PM
To: Xxxx Xxxxxx
Cc: John Cox; Jonathan Pokluda
Subject: RE: What is a good answer to give baby christians regarding drinking?

Glad you want to make sure you communicate God’s heart on this topic accurately. GotQuestions.org is a website we refer to and trust….and I think their response is excellent. In addition to the Scripture referenced in their response, I would encourage you to read through Romans 14 and see how that passage stirs your heart. Talk through this with your community group and sharpen each other by searching God’s word together. I typically find that I learn/grow the fastest when I study Scripture with others who know me well.

We don’t have a standard “Watermark policy” on alcohol other than to be aware of the Scriptures teachings and exhortations highlighted in the questions below and in the Got Questions piece. Remember, to compromise (dissipate) your mind with any substance is not God’s best for us (Ephesians 5:18) and therefore prohibited by Scripture…that much is clear. Here are a few questions I would encourage you to use as you share with anyone who asks you about drinking or anytime you are discerning how to honor the King in any activity that the Bible doesn’t explicitly forbid.

• Am I/Will I be mastered by this activity (1 Corinthians 6:12)…aka is this or could this become an addiction that takes the place of God?
• Is it profitable/beneficial (1 Corinthians 6:12)?
• Could it cause other believers to stumble/be confused if they saw me engaging in this activity (1 Corinthians 8:9-13)?
• Does it help me to make disciples/advance the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20)?
• Am I living under a yoke of legalism that doesn’t honor the Gospel? Am I limiting my freedom in Christ for any reason other than my love for Him or my concern for others (Galatians 5:1)?
• Will participation in this action violate the encouragements found in Ephesians 5:3, Psalm 101, Philippians 4:8, 1 Peter 2:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, or Romans 14:13-23?
• Does it glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31)?

Hope that helps …may we all be continually yielded to the Spirit as we honor our Lord as His servants and image bearers.

Todd Wagner | pastoraloffice@watermark.org
www.twitter.com/wordsfromwags
www.watermark.org
214.239.8809

As promised, today I am making public another email exchange that I expect will challenge, instruct, and encourage all. This week, in response to a message I had given at Watermark on July 10th, I received an email from someone who had been in attendance and very kindly asked me to clarify some comments that were made in regards to different Christian denominations. Below you can see the emails. Read, be reminded of truth (or informed of it for the first time), and share it with others who may need to know where our hope comes from!

From: Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 9:41 AM
To: pastoraloffice
Subject: Sunday’s Service

Dear Pastor Wagner:

Yesterday’s service struck a chord that I can’t seem to shake and I wanted to reach out to you for clarification. Did I understand you correctly when you said Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians and Catholics aren’t Christians? Is that how you feel? I found it highly offensive that you would say Baptists and Methodists aren’t Christians. I’ve been going to some other denominational churches in town and they are definitely Christians that believe Jesus died to save our sins. This isn’t the first service that you have put down other religions such as Muslims and Jews and I want you to know that I find it a real turn-off when you start bashing other religions. What is the point?? I really felt like Watermark might be different from other churches I’ve attended over the years. I discovered WM through your Divorce Care Ministry. As mentioned, I had been going to another church, but was so impressed by the way DC touched and changed my life in such a short time that I felt like I needed to give WM a real shot and have been attending Sunday service for the last two months. Honestly, I feel like I owe WM my life with the transformation DC did for me. And I really want to find the right church to call home. But I’d really like to know how you feel and if I heard you correctly yesterday.

I appreciate your sincere response.

Thanks,

Xxxxx

From: pastoraloffice
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 4:44 PM
To: Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
Cc: Jessica Gober
Subject: RE: Sunday’s Service

Xxxxx…thanks for reaching out and asking. I appreciate you giving me the benefit of the doubt and taking the time to make sure you heard me correctly before you left discouraged or represented to others your understanding (Proverb 18:13). May that humility and wisdom continually mark both of our lives.

Now to your questions. I think you must be referring to my comments about the fact that we have had a long list of presidents (and other governmental leaders) who were “members” of Churches but who have not consistently represented a Christian worldview, and I was making the case that this was because of lack of discipleship, accountability, and leadership both within and from the church. In other words, our problems nationally, governmentally, locally, in our families, and in our individual lives are not that we are or are not Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, etc., but rather that too many are professed “Christians” by either affiliation or aspiration but not in practice. You would not hear me say that Methodists/Baptists/Episcopals/Presbyterians/Catholics are/are not Christian any more than you would hear me say that because someone goes to Watermark they are/are not a Christian. Note: I am not diving into or addressing the much more complex issues of denominational dogma and shifting positions because not everyone who attends any given church subscribes to, or even is aware of, official church positions, some of which are thoroughly unbiblical and thus call into question the entire foundation of the denomination…but that is not your question.

To your question about who is and who is not a believer…that is not my position to decide but the Lord’s, so I only want to direct you to Scripture. If you look at Romans 10:9-10 and John 5:24 you will see what it is that defines salvation. There is obviously nothing mentioned in these verses about a denomination or association with anything other than a personal trust and confidence in Jesus. One thing that cannot be missed in Scripture is that belief is never mere intellectual assent or profession. It is about responding in faith, trusting in His provision for your sin and recognizing and following Him as Lord. We don’t “accept” Jesus, we don’t profess Jesus, but we follow Jesus. This is always what belief means in Scripture when related to salvation. There is an eternal difference (and to my point on Sunday, there is tremendous present day consequence) between a said faith and a saving faith. Biblically speaking, heart change always results in life transformation and increasing conformity to Christ. Any exceptions to this, if they even exist, are tragic and filled with both eternal and present life consequence.

To this point, what I wanted to communicate Sunday was that the leaders of many churches have failed to shepherd the flock of God among them and help them understand what true faith, humility, and obedience look like. The result of a compromised pastorate and weakened church has been devastating to us individually and nationally. My job (as both a pastor and follower of Christ) is not to “see through people” (to see who is or who isn’t saved) but rather to “see them through” to greater obedience, joy and faithfulness in their relationship to Christ. If you were in the 11:00 service on Sunday, you may have missed this quote by A.W. Tozer that I shared in the other services. It speaks to the same point:

“Our most pressing obligation today is to do all in our power to obtain a revival that will result in a reformed, revitalized, purified church. It is of far greater importance that we have better Christians than that we have more of them. Each generation of Christians is the seed of the next, and degenerate seed is sure to produce a degenerate harvest not a little better than but a little worse than the seed from which it sprang. Thus the direction will be down until vigorous, effective means are taken to improve the seed….

So vitally important is spiritual quality that it is hardly too much to suggest that attempts to grow larger might well be suspended until we have become better.”

The Set of the Sail by A. W. Tozer, p. 154-156.

Below are some messages I have done in the past on the topic of salvation in general that I think will help further communicate my heart…hope you get the chance to listen and are encouraged:

http://www.watermarkradio.com/index.php?id=153&channel=237&series=162&me
ssage=6

http://www.watermarkradio.com/index.php?id=153&channel=9&series=210&message=9

Finally, you also asked about my thoughts on belief systems that are fundamentally non-Christian. Though I hope that I have never been perceived as “bashing” others who don’t believe the same things as I do, I do not mind being understood as representing what Scripture represents, specifically that there are not multiple paths which lead to the same “mountain top”. There is absolute truth and anything which contradicts this truth is by definition false or untrue. Scripture is clear that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one comes to the Father except through faith in Him (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). Sadly, this means that those who follow the tenets and beliefs represented in Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, Judaism, etc. are separated from God and in need of transformation by grace through faith. This does not mean they are our enemies humanly speaking, but it does mean they are enemies of the gospel whom we should pray for, love, speak truth to, share the hope of Christ with, remind, reprove, and exhort with great patience, kindness and humility. I have many personal friends of all these faiths who are kind, loving, sincere, and moral whom I love deeply and discuss differences freely with gentleness and respect. Sincerity (mine or theirs) never defines reality/truth. Truth defines truth and because I am their friend I pray for them and labor with them that they might come to know the truth that Scripture says will set them free.

What it all boils down to is that, no matter what religious affiliation one may have, if we truly place our trust in and follow Christ, believing He is the only way to have a relationship with God, then we are reconciled to him (Romans 5:1) and it is our role in His Kingdom to lovingly share the hope of the gospel with others in word and deed (1 John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:20-21).

Very grateful for the work that He has done in your life through Divorce Care, and I pray that He would increasingly transform you into His likeness. Please let me know if we can be of further service to or if there is anything Watermark’s staff can do to get you further connected here. We would count it no greater joy! I’ve CC’d Jessica Gober here, who I am confident you may know through Divorce Care, so that she can help serve you in any way as well.

Thanks again Xxxxx…hope that is helpful and grateful for the chance to clarify. I look forward to hearing your reply.

Todd Wagner | pastoraloffice@watermark.org
www.twitter.com/wordsfromwags
www.watermark.org
214.239.8809

If you have been around me for very long, you know that I am CLEAR on the issue that next to God’s word and His Spirit, there is nothing as present a means of His grace in our lives as authentic fellowship with other believers. This is such a central issue to the Christian life that from the beginning we at Watermark have made connection to other believers non-negotiable for members of our larger faith community. Periodically, we have to remind brothers and sisters of this fact. Below is a copy of the letter (and the reason) we send to individuals who are not in accountable relationships with others at Watermark as well as some links to further resources on the community topic.

If you are a member of Watermark and need help connecting with others this way….contact Dana Douthit at ddouthit@watermark.org.

Meanwhile….Read it through, pass it on and live it out!

Dear XXXXXXX,

Thank you for completing your 2011 4B and for your desire to stay connected with us at Watermark. We are writing to let you know that our records indicate that you are currently not in a community group. We realize that our records could be wrong or there could be a misunderstanding about what we define as a Watermark community group. A Watermark community group consists of yourself and a minimum of at least two others, with at least one being a member of Watermark. Because the nature of this letter is about your membership and community, we want to let you know why this is so important to us.

As your church leaders, our Elders are continually challenged by Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

The privilege and trust given to us to lead His flock is one we take very seriously (Acts 20:28). All members (elders and staff included) have chosen to make the body of Christ at Watermark the place where we find community, accountability and encouragement. The first line of care always comes from other members closest and committed to you. Watermark has a direct touch with every member through the almost 1000 community group leaders we regularly meet with, train, encourage and serve. Each leader provides constant care and attention for everyone in his or her group. If someone is struggling or needs assistance beyond the group’s ability, every leader has direct access to a staff member who has access to every spiritual and physical resource in the church. In this way, every active member of Watermark has accountability that tracks throughout the church, directly to the elders.

This is consistent with the model provided for us in scripture (Exodus 18) and because of its importance, we supply significant resources and staff to assist our body so they can pursue and prosper in these life-giving relationships.

We have seen again and again that the single most important step a person can take for radical life transformation is to be committed to authentic, biblical community. The commitment to biblical community that is shepherded by trained and accountable leadership produces growth. That growth pushes you towards a deeper understanding and desire to be transformed in the image of Christ.

Because we believe firmly in the importance of the biblical call for God’s people to live in community, after six months we make members inactive who are not in a group of three or more people (with at least one other person being a Watermark member). As your church leadership, we would not be loving or leading you well if we allow individuals who remain isolated from relationships with other members of our body to believe that they are being cared for and shepherded as Christ intends.

Please let us know if you believe we have not served you well in your effort to connect, you need help connecting or if you have chosen to find God’s provision for community at another church. If we do not hear from you on where you are in the process of finding a community group or how we can help care for you, we will not be able to take responsibility of your care before Christ. Therefore we will move you to “inactive” as a member. We understand that it takes time to find a group, but we also want to be faithful shepherds of our members and call you to all that scripture calls you to. If there are any extenuating circumstances that we need to be aware of please let us know.

Right now, we would like to know if you:
1.) Have found a community group and we don’t have that accurately reflected in our records
2.) Would like to share with us how you are living in obedience to scripture related to this area
3.) Plan on attending group link or have a personal strategy in place to find community
4.) Do not wish to join a community group at this time.

We look forward to serving you and hearing from you soon, and are praying that you would avail yourself to all that Christ intends. For some great reminders on the importance of community and the heart behind this communication, please see:

THIS IS THE LIFE Part 1
THIS IS THE LIFE Part 2
Connected to Others
Gifts I’d give my children 2007

Four fools on a stool Part 1
Four fools on a stool Part 2

Hebrews 3:13,

The Community Team