Nathan E. Lewis

Sermons preached by Nathan Lewis at Evergreen Church in Beaverton and Chehalem Valley Church in Newberg, Oregon, 2006
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“Global Christianity in the 21st Century”
Presented by Nathan E. Lewis
Resurrection Sunday, March 27, 2005

What is your view of Christianity and the Church today? Is the Church in decline? Why hasn’t a revival come to North America in a very long time? Is the evangelical movement dead? American sociologists have assessed most Church growth in the past 20 years in America to be transfer growth, members of one church joining the membership of another. The Canadian Mennonite University at the turn of the century published the decline of Church members in Canada. In 1900, 90% of Canadians were members of a church. From 1981 to 1991, the United Church of Canada, the largest Canadian denomination, lost 650,000 members. England was the missionary force of the 19th century. In 2003 England was home to 1 million church members and 750,000 members of the mosque. As our missionaries to Berlin, Jay and Holly Eastman, have reported, Western Europe is overwhelmingly agnostic to atheist. What is the present state of Christianity and the Church?

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In her book, “Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas,� Elaine Pagels takes issue with the Church as a confessional community. She believes that creeds exclude people from the community of the Church that ought to be welcomed as members. She opens by sharing her personal story of finding warm reception at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City, during a difficult time in her life. She writes on page five, “I wondered when and how being a Christian became synonymous with accepting a certain set of beliefs.� She references Jesus telling his disciples that the world will know them by their love for one another, and concludes that the only mark of the Church should be love.
I decided to call the rector of the Church of Heavenly Rest. I never doubted Pagel’s report of this church’s warm acceptance of people. I needed to discover whether or not this church was a confessional church.
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Elaine Pagels has devoted much of her time to Irenaeus, that fiery Christian theologian, circa 125-202. He published “Against Heresies,” a strong apologetic against Gnostics. Clearly Pagels is trying to make room for Gnostics in the Church. Her book, “Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas,” would be more appropriately titled, “Beyond Belief: Why I Reject Irenaeus as Founder of the Church.”
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One of Evergreen Church’s neighbors contacted the City of Beaverton’s mediation group to complain about the parking lot lights. Apparently, the lights are reaching his bedroom window and their glow prevents his pursuing of a new hobby in astronomy within the urban growth boundary. (This is not the first complaint or demand this neighbor has made.) The mediator called me to discuss our neighbor’s request that we install make-shift metalic shields on three lights. Continue reading »

Pagan: So, you are standing outside the museum today protesting the featured exhibit of NEA art?
Christian: It’s an abomination to my God and to my faith.
Pagan: I think that would be its purpose. There are a few of us around who don’t particularly revere your God or share your faith.
Christian: Does that give you the right to publicly desecrate God? What about freedom of religion?
Pagan: I believe that the exhibit is protected by the freedom of speech. By the way, what kind of art do you like?
Christian: Oh, I’m not much interested in art. This is the first time I’ve been to this museum.
Pagan: You mean, this is the first time you have actually stood on the steps of the museum. Give me some examples of 20th century art produced by your Church that would make a fine exhibition in this museum.
Christian: (pregnant pause) I don’t rightly know of any. Our church doesn’t encourage the arts.
Pagan: By the way, most of the art in this museum, the featured NEA exhibit excepted, was patronized by the Church in past centuries. You should go inside sometime soon, I mean, after the NEA art is gone. Here’s a complimentary pass to use at any time.
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Recently, I dragged myself to see our children perform “The Tempest.â€? I thought to myself, “These grammar school students are way over their heads! I’m going as a supportive parent and pastor, to view an educational exercise.â€? I was wrong. Continue reading »

sermons preached by Nathan Lewis at Chehalem Valley Mission in Newberg and Evergreen Church in Beaverton,
2006 Continue reading »

As we read Deuteronomy, we discover how different ancient life was from our experience. We loathe the dust of nomadic life. Our stomachs turn at the thought of mass animal sacrifices. It is nearly impossible for us to imagine the voice of God, like thunder, speaking from the mountain. The ancient Near East seems to be quite removed from our experience. Nevertheless, some things never change. Human nature and relationships are remarkably similar to our experience. The Ten Commandments are surprisingly relevant today. Sadly, we discover another similarity. In Moses’ day, nations would war against other nations. Today, approximately 3,400 years later, we still go to war. Moses devotes his address recorded in Chapter 20 to the rules of war codified in God’s holy law. Continue reading »

We have observed how similar is the judicial system of ancient Israel to our present judicial system. One of the greatest safeguards to our freedom is the American rule that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Most of the present world does not enjoy such a freedom. The Old Covenant laws, outlined by Moses, provide this protection. God’s law maintains a person innocent until proven guilty. Continue reading »