Religion: A Pastor Ponders

Standing Room

by Pastor William Jenkins

October 29, 2005

October 31 is Halloween. It is Halloween every year on October 31. This is unfortunate because it shadows a great event when one man took a stand and changed history. On All Hallows Eve (Halloween), October 31, 1517, a slightly overweight 38 year old German monk named Martin Luther posted 95 questions for public discussion on the church door in the town of Wittenberg, Germany.

At that time this was a common thing to do whenever someone had something they wished to discuss in the public arena. This common event precipitated the Protestant Reformation…”Protestant” because they were protesting. Martin Luther held strong beliefs which he was unwilling to compromise.

In the heat of opposition that followed he was brought before a tribunal which demanded he recant all he had been teaching. To this he replied, “I cannot and I will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against God or conscience. Here I stand, I can do no other. May God help me. Amen.”

It is an impressive and inspiring thing to witness whenever, in the face of overwhelming opposition, someone takes a stand. To be able to take such a stand requires strong convictions, undaunted courage and an awareness of Providential support. We live in an era when compromise is the opiate for getting along. Usually it is the majority compromising in order to get along with the minority.

There are no core convictions which compel people today to say “This I do surely believe. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me.” Such a statement is interpreted by the larger culture as arrogance and intolerance. So, we bend the knee to the winds of popular opinion and the whims of personal preference.

There was a family that decided they had had enough of the crowded city life. They bought a ranch in the wide-open spaces of Wyoming; after a month had passed a neighbor stopped by to welcome them. “Nice place you have here”, he said. “What are you calling it?” “Well”, said the rancher, “I wanted to call it the ‘Flying W’, but my wife wanted to call it the ‘Suzy Q’, and my son wanted to call it the ‘J Bar J’, then my daughter thought we should call it the ‘Lazy Y’.”

“What did you do?” asked the neighbor. “Well, we compromised and call it the ‘Flying W, Suzy Q, J Bar J, Lazy Y Ranch.”

“Well, that’s interesting”, said the neighbor. “By the way, coming in I did not see any cattle. Where are they?” “Funny thing”, said the new rancher, “None of them survived the branding.”

In I Corinthians 16:13, the apostle Paul encourages us with these words, “Be watchful, stand firm in your faith; be courageous, be strong.

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org