On Thanksgiving day, what better way to be reminded of giving thanks than to remember God's Word, the Bible. Charles Morris joined by a person well-known for receiving and telling the story of God's book. Be sure and listen to a HAVEN Today called "The Bible with Max McLean".
November 24, 2005
The Bible with Max McLean
He’s an actor. He’s a storyteller. He’s a student of the Bible. I’m speaking of Max McLean. I’m Charles Morris and welcome to Haven Today on Thanksgiving Day. In the next few minutes, we’re going to hear the passion of a man who loves God’s Word and wants to see others get into God’s Word, but before we start, why don’t we begin with the sound of Christmas, the Mighty Strings of the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.
Song: Oh Come All Ye Faithful
Performed by: The Philadelphia Orchestra
That is the Mighty Strings of the Philadelphia Orchestra, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”. It’s from the number one selling Classical music album of all time – “The Glorious Sound of Christmas”, and we have it for you this Christmas at Haven Today. You can go to our website and read about it if you want later, haventoday.org or call us after the program at 1-800-65-HAVEN. I want to give a big welcome to a friend of mine on this Thanksgiving Day, from New Jersey as we’re getting ready for Christmas. I want to say hello to Max McLean.
Max: Thank you Charles, it’s a pleasure to be with you.
CM: Max people may have heard you on your own radio program or they may have heard you do a public recitation of God’s Word. You want to get people into God’s Word, but first of all, would you tell us about your own program?
MM: Well, sure. Charles, it’s really a pleasure to be with you on Haven, because I do think we share similar objectives in ministry.
CM: Yes.
MM: Our mission is to serve the church of Jesus Christ with compelling presentations of the Bible that evoke a deeper desire to know God. And our basic way of doing it is through Bible on Stage, presentations of the Bible, memorized books of the Bible which we present at colleges, at churches, at theaters around the country. We also have a “Listen to the Bible” radio network of one and three minute radio programs of Bible readings that we present to 650 radio facilities worldwide. And of course we also produce listener’s Bible resources. And those are the three cruxes of our ministry.
CM: And we’re going to tell people about how perhaps for this Christmas, they can get the entire Bible on tape, you’re reading the New International Version. And also we have the Christmas story, we’ll talk about that in just a little bit, but you have a background Max. You were an actor. And I mean really an actor, not just some put together Hollywood actor. Tell us a little bit about your background.
MM: Well, my background was in the theater. And, I studied in London and did some regional theater work and a lot of Shakespeare, but I came to the conclusion pretty early in my career that being an actor was a little bit of being like a hired hand. Your job was to communicate as much as possible, as best as possible, as brilliantly as possible, other people’s ideas. And I did find that to be, as I was growing in faith – I had just recently become a Christian – and as I was growing in faith, I did find that to be, at some points at least in my life, and I’m not saying this about other, other Christians who are in the theater, but at least where the Holy Spirit was directing me, it was time to move on because I was making the theater too much of an idol and the Lord just asked me to leave the theater. And that was the first part of the story and the second part of the story was how the Lord used that emptying of one idol and filled it with a desire to know him and that was God’s Word.
CM: Why is it so important to not just read God’s Word, and to hear God’s Word, but to know God’s Word?
MM: Well I guess the simple answer Charles is that because we’re sinners. And I don’t mean to take that lightly, but we just have a sin nature that fights against what God wants all the time. And in our day to day life, you know the battle ground of the flesh and the spirit is our daily life and one of the things that is emerging is that, you know, God’s Word, the things of the Spirit get crowded out. And if we’re not in God’s Word, just so many difficult things happen to us. John’s Gospel, the 15th chapter, the 5th verse says, “I am the vine. You are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.” And you know, to me, the key connecting point for the Holy Spirit and for us to be in Jesus – be the vine – is by meditating and spending daily time in God’s Word.
CM: Amen, yes. Can you just share with us maybe the story of someone you know, or maybe yourself, of how just the power of the Word came home to rest in that heart of someone you know?
MM: Well, I mean, I always start with me because if it doesn’t hit me, it’s not going to hit anyone else. I think that in recent times, in recent days, I have been really focusing on Romans 7, and how the sin nature just overwhelms us so that we don’t do what we want to do. And when we come in touch with God’s Word, when I come in touch with God’s Word, the thing that happens to me that makes me become more in touch with the vine is that I become more humble. I don’t try as hard to perform or to put on. I really seek God’s Spirit speaking to me. I ask him to lead me. I had a situation just this weekend with my sister who I had been very estranged from for 20 years. There’s a long story in that, but the short story was, is we, God put us together and it was so interesting how in my flesh, I just didn’t want to connect. But in really seeking God’s Spirit in that moment and through meditating on God’s Word, I said, you know, I’m not going to let this happen. And we had a connection this weekend that brought us both to tears that we could break through a lot of the issues that go back to childhood, and I see that as how God can work.
CM: Yes, God’s Word is so powerful. And sometimes we perhaps read a verse and, you know, “sharper than a two edged sword”, but it really does cut through in real life, doesn’t it Max?
MM: Well, that’s the proving ground of it. It’s words on a page, yes it’s God letting himself get to know us. And that’s a very, very important part of what God’s Word is, is it that he’s allowing us to get to know him. And when we get to know him, he tells us about what he likes and who he is and then he wants us to conform to his image. And that means we can’t conform to the image that we want. And so that molding process, I think when we humble ourselves before God, there’s a tremendous humbling process. I think that’s the primary reason we should devote time in God’s Word.
CM: Max McLean, our special guest here on Haven Today. Let me ask you two questions. First, why do you do what you do? And second, what does Jesus mean to you?
MM: Well, in terms of our ministry, I mean, the historical part of it is, is my background was in the theater and when I came to faith in Jesus and I decided to, you know, how do I integrate my faith and my work? I thought well why not use the skills and techniques I’d developed in the theater and apply it to the Bible? And it was like an event waiting to happen, because so much of the Bible originated in the voice. There’s a level of, of insight that emerges when you hear God’s Word that is often missed when you read it. I mean I think of, you know, how much of the Bible’s content was originally communicated orally. Jesus, as far as we know, wrote no words that have been handed down to us. In Galatians 4, Paul writes, “How I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you.” And I think what Paul is saying is he wishes that he could be with his friends so that they could catch, and it’s not just the written word, but they could catch his tone of voice so they could truly understand the energy and weight behind his words. I think just like a well written sermon, you know, it’s not energized until it’s spoken. I believe that presenting the Bible in an engaging manner that encourages people to devote more time in it, is perhaps the most important contribution to the body of Christ. So that’s your first question. The second question is, “Who is Jesus?” The whole Bible is about Jesus. And my first interaction with Jesus in a way that I truly understood it was, I was beginning to do a Bible study. This was before I was a Christian. And while I was at this Bible study I was becoming engaged, but I had a lot of questions and such. But this person said to mean, “You know, you really should read the Gospel.” And I said, “Well, which one?” And they said, “John’s Gospel”. So I read it and I went home and I read it in one sitting. And I thought, because I tend to read visually, I thought Jesus was going to come right out of the page and, just he was so real to me. And then when it came to the crucifixion, I was just in tears. I didn’t quite understand what was going on in my life, but I knew my life would be radically different from that moment on. And it has. I mean, Jesus has been with me now as my Lord and my Savior for, you know, since I was 23 and I’m now 51.
CM: He has a way with changing our lives and our hearts and we can’t forget him, can we Max?
MM: No, no.
CM: One question I’ve been wanting to ask you, and I know it’s not the focus of your ministry, but so many of us have struggled with memorizing God’s Word. You’ve memorized entire books -
MM: Well, I’ve memorized a lot and of course I have the privilege of presenting it, which is quite a motivation for memorizing.
CM: Yes.
MM: I think the important thing, memorizing is a tool, that if people who really desire to have that word just so right there so that they can meditate on it, so that it can change their thinking, you know. And that’s the key. The way I have found, that if there’s a verse that you’re reading, or you’re listening to a verse – and one of the interesting things is, if you’re listening to a verse, it’s kind of the music in the verse makes it much easier to memorize, because you’re, it’s almost like listening to a song. Because you’re not just memorizing the content, you’re actually memorizing the rhythm and that’s a tool that helps get it into you psych – into your mind. But let me give you an example.
CM: All right. Please do.
MM: If you’re looking at John’s Gospel and you want to memorize John 1:1, let’s start with the beginning, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” You know, when you say it like that it’s kind of hermetically sealed, you can’t get to it. But if you break it down into its thoughts, because essentially the mind can only receive a thought at a time and once it processes that thought it can receive the next thought. So let’s break that first verse of John into its component thoughts, [spoken more slowly] “In the beginning, was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. He was with God, in the beginning.” All of a sudden –
CM: Wow.
MM: -the text opens up.
CM: What a difference!
MM: Yeah, it really does. It opens up because you have time to process it and you’re kind of meditating on it as you say it. And if you do that, at least in my experience, if you break it up into its thought groups and if you do it aloud, you can memorize your favorite Bible verse if you do that 8 times – which will probably take you less than 3 minutes – but it’s not a matter of rushing it. It’s the matter of meditating on it 8 times and in the process of meditating on it you’ll be surprised how well you know it, that you may almost have it memorized. I would, in my experience, I would have it almost memorized, maybe with a little brushing up down the road after doing what I just did with John’s Gospel 1:1, 8 times.
CM: I know many people listening to this Haven Today will be blessed just by hearing what you’ve said in the last 2 minutes.
MM: Oh, Praise the Lord!
CM: And if that can get us all into the Word, to hide it in our hearts even more, then I feel like God has answered our prayer we prayed before we started today’s Haven Today.
MM: Amen.
CM: Well, Max McLean, we’re going to tell people how to get “The Christmas Story”, which is a wonderful CD that you have prepared. We’re going to tell them how to get the whole Bible on tape in a, in a variety of formats. But I just want to say thank you for blessing me and I know blessing everybody listening right now to this program because you’re a blessing to be around. You are contagious and I say that in a good way.
MM: Oh, well, thank you Charles. That’s a very kind, and I feel the same about you and the ministry of Haven.
CM: Well, thank you and I probably won’t get to see you for a couple of months until we’re together in California for the National Religious Broadcasters, but just blessings to you, my brother and thank you.
MM: Charles, thank you. I’ll look forward to it.
Song: What Child Is This
Performed by: Bill Cantos
Sharing Christmas with us, even on Thanksgiving Day, that’s Bill Cantos from his “Joy” album. And you can find that at the Haven Today Christmas store and I’ll tell you how to find that in just a moment. Hasn’t it been a great time with Max McLean? Someone who loves God’s Word and he just makes you want to dig deeper yourself into God’s Word, and maybe that’s something the Lord is calling you to do. I know he is me. We have Max McLean’s Bible for you on CD, we’ve got it on cassette, we’ve got it on MP3 if you carry around an iPod, or just want to load it into your computer, and you can read about all those versions or just the New Testament version if you’ll just go to haventoday.org and you can read all about it. Click the little button there that says “Christmas Store” and that’ll take you to where we have all the different versions of Max’s Bible and it’s in the New International Version. Max McLean, and just go to haventoday.org. If you would like perhaps to have the entire Bible on CD or the New Testament on CD or on cassette, or you’d even like it on MP3. And the nice thing about MP3 if you can use it that way, it only takes 7 disks and it’s really a wonderful thing to share with somebody else. So, we want you to get into God’s Word and I can’t think of a better way to do that than to just be able to listen to the Word when you’re driving your car, or just sitting at home, or with something else happening on your computer. So, thank you for that. You can call us as well. We’re available even on this Thanksgiving Day at 1-800-65-HAVEN, 1-800-65-HAVEN. You’ll also see that album, “The Glorious Sound of Christmas” and we’re asking for people to make a gift to Haven Today of $25 or more. More if you can, to get the wonderful Mighty Strings and the Temple University Concert Choir doing “The Glorious Sound of Christmas”. This is all Christ-centered Christmas music and we have it for you and can get it to you so that you’ll have plenty of days to enjoy it before December 25. Well, this is Thanksgiving Day and I want to wish you a day of thanks. Thankfulness for what Jesus Christ means in your life and that he protects you and looks after you. May the Lord be with you this day and many more days to come until he calls you home. I’m Charles Morris, thank you for being with me and with Max McLean. Come back again tomorrow, we’ll be there with Christmas music for you in full blast, tomorrow, together on Haven Today.
