This is the last week...partial week, actually...that I'm holding down the fort, so to speak. The senior pastor returns Thursday. I haven't had many people contact the church looking for financial assistance this time around. The few I did, I ended up challenging or regretfully declining assistance (for good reasons, trust me). The longer I'm here the more the stories start sounding familiar, and the more familiar I am with how things work and don't work.
So when someone asks for help restoring utility service and cites an amount that is obviously several months' worth, I wonder what's going on. And whether our help will merely enable wrong behavior. Three years ago I probably would be bending over backwards to try to help.
Many of the requests we get are for gas "vouchers." We've an arrangement with a local service station whereby we send people who need gas (we call ahead). When we moved up here, ten bucks would give you half a tank of gas. Nowadays, it doesn't give one alot. But our pockets aren't any deeper just because costs are up.
And we still must remain good stewards of the funds people entrust to the church for benevolence help. Not everyone who asks for help, needs the help they've asked for.
06 May 2008
03 May 2008
National Day of Prayer
Thursday (May 1) was the National Day of Prayer. Our senior pastor has been away on vacation (good for him), and so our church did not host the community service as in the past. Another church, one with a bit more charismatic flavor, served as the community venue. I certainly didn't expect a staid, buttoned-down affair.
My wife and I arrive about 15 minutes late (rehearsal at our own church) and they group was still singing its opening song set. I didn't know any of the songs, and found myself wondering "Where do people find these songs?" I vaguely recognized one and tracked its information down Friday. Now I just need to locate the music...
The evening was "energetic," but no overly so. There was a lot of "claiming" and petitioning God to clean up our country's messes. It got me thinking. Why do I approach these types of affairs with so much trepidation? I think, as I listened to the various prayers and pray-ers, that my hesitancy arises from the tendency people have to place God on the hook for our incompetence as His people. We've abdicated our societal responsibilities long enough that government and other organizations have stepped into the gap. They don't meet needs from a Biblical perspective--they're not the Church, after all--and we complain that they don't and aren't.
For example, the group used a prayer guide distributed by the national coordinating organization, and one area suggested several points to pray about the media. Some of the prayers--and suggested praying points--sounded downright naive! Then a thought crossed my mind. We individual followers of Christ are the Christian media.
If we aren't sharing the good news with family members, friends co-workers and acquaintances who are outside the Christian faith, we shouldn't complain about the movies a secular production house generates. Most of the outsiders don't darken our church doors, and if we keep sitting on our comfortable pews (or seats) awaiting for them to come to church, well we've a long wait. Rather than expend energy trying to "attract" people to church--there's a reason they're not coming--maybe we should try doing what Jesus called us to do: become fishers of men.
Fishermen study the habits of the fish they want to catch: where they swim, the kind of food they eat, the best weather to find them, the time of day they're most likely to be around. Bass, trout, pike, perch...all differ in these areas. A wise fisherman doesn't try to use the same equipment, bait or techniques for all of them.
Which means we need to become students of outsiders. Go to them and befriend them where they are, not where we want them to be. James defined pure religion as seeing to the needs of those unable to care for themselves (James 1:27). After that, we are to avoid becoming stained by the world. But to help people we will need to get dirty. We just don't have to wallow in it.
Anyway, we will conduct a prayer service tomorrow morning, meditating on Psalm 18, as a follow-up to the National Day of Prayer.
My wife and I arrive about 15 minutes late (rehearsal at our own church) and they group was still singing its opening song set. I didn't know any of the songs, and found myself wondering "Where do people find these songs?" I vaguely recognized one and tracked its information down Friday. Now I just need to locate the music...
The evening was "energetic," but no overly so. There was a lot of "claiming" and petitioning God to clean up our country's messes. It got me thinking. Why do I approach these types of affairs with so much trepidation? I think, as I listened to the various prayers and pray-ers, that my hesitancy arises from the tendency people have to place God on the hook for our incompetence as His people. We've abdicated our societal responsibilities long enough that government and other organizations have stepped into the gap. They don't meet needs from a Biblical perspective--they're not the Church, after all--and we complain that they don't and aren't.
For example, the group used a prayer guide distributed by the national coordinating organization, and one area suggested several points to pray about the media. Some of the prayers--and suggested praying points--sounded downright naive! Then a thought crossed my mind. We individual followers of Christ are the Christian media.
If we aren't sharing the good news with family members, friends co-workers and acquaintances who are outside the Christian faith, we shouldn't complain about the movies a secular production house generates. Most of the outsiders don't darken our church doors, and if we keep sitting on our comfortable pews (or seats) awaiting for them to come to church, well we've a long wait. Rather than expend energy trying to "attract" people to church--there's a reason they're not coming--maybe we should try doing what Jesus called us to do: become fishers of men.
Fishermen study the habits of the fish they want to catch: where they swim, the kind of food they eat, the best weather to find them, the time of day they're most likely to be around. Bass, trout, pike, perch...all differ in these areas. A wise fisherman doesn't try to use the same equipment, bait or techniques for all of them.
Which means we need to become students of outsiders. Go to them and befriend them where they are, not where we want them to be. James defined pure religion as seeing to the needs of those unable to care for themselves (James 1:27). After that, we are to avoid becoming stained by the world. But to help people we will need to get dirty. We just don't have to wallow in it.
Anyway, we will conduct a prayer service tomorrow morning, meditating on Psalm 18, as a follow-up to the National Day of Prayer.
30 April 2008
A veritable potpourri...
According to my current reading list (to the right), I'm wading through two books at the same time. The first is Shopping for God: How Christianity Went From In Your Heart to In Your Face, by James B. Twitchell. The second is The Emotionally Healthy Church: A Strategy for Discipleship That Actually Changes Lives, by Peter Scazzero.
Shopping for God is a very interesting read: Twitchell is Professor of English and Advertising at the University of Florida. I like his style, which is a new notches short of, say, Ann Koulter. But with just as effective a punch, and little irreverence for spice.
Twitchell characterizes himself an apatheist (his term): as one who believes religion and faith are critical ingredients to society and culture, but he doesn't what form-or to use his term, brand--you use.
I'm only a quarter of the way through the book, but he does have some very insightful gems among the dirt. Here's one:
"...with the exception of furniture and major appliances, it is possible to outfit your entire self and home in Christian products--bird feeders to body lotions, luggage to lamps. It has been said that the medieval peasant lived surrounded by such iconography, from the door frames incorporating the cross, to his eating utensil laid out in the shape of a cross, to the cross on the church. We're coming close. Clearly, religiously informed objects are now a part of the modern scene, asserting their place in a multicultural world...
"...the statement is not about belief as much as about an entire lifestyle. The new Christian decked out like a bumper covered with stickers considers his faith not something to exercise on Sundays but something to do in public, in front of you. It's not something to believe in; it's something to wear."
Scazzero's Healthy Church book reads more like a personal testimonial. He describes his journey with his church, where it learned how to dig beneath the surface issues most churches prefer to stay with, and get to the root issues people really need to address. Chapters include:
Shopping for God is a very interesting read: Twitchell is Professor of English and Advertising at the University of Florida. I like his style, which is a new notches short of, say, Ann Koulter. But with just as effective a punch, and little irreverence for spice.
Twitchell characterizes himself an apatheist (his term): as one who believes religion and faith are critical ingredients to society and culture, but he doesn't what form-or to use his term, brand--you use.
I'm only a quarter of the way through the book, but he does have some very insightful gems among the dirt. Here's one:
"...with the exception of furniture and major appliances, it is possible to outfit your entire self and home in Christian products--bird feeders to body lotions, luggage to lamps. It has been said that the medieval peasant lived surrounded by such iconography, from the door frames incorporating the cross, to his eating utensil laid out in the shape of a cross, to the cross on the church. We're coming close. Clearly, religiously informed objects are now a part of the modern scene, asserting their place in a multicultural world...
"...the statement is not about belief as much as about an entire lifestyle. The new Christian decked out like a bumper covered with stickers considers his faith not something to exercise on Sundays but something to do in public, in front of you. It's not something to believe in; it's something to wear."
Scazzero's Healthy Church book reads more like a personal testimonial. He describes his journey with his church, where it learned how to dig beneath the surface issues most churches prefer to stay with, and get to the root issues people really need to address. Chapters include:
- Break the Power of the Past
- Live in Brokenness & Vulnerability
- Receive the Gift of Limits
- Embrace Grieving & Loss
21 April 2008
Since my last post,...
For you three people or so who actually read this blog, I apologize for the long dormant period. Easter season was a "killer" at church. Right. Lame excuse, I suppose.
But I've taken on a new project: training people to run PowerPoint slides during services. I've been doing it since August 2007, not for lack of recruiting. But the last batch I lined up in September dissipated like so much campfire smoke. I have six people signed up to be trained. Since we have only one computer, I'm training people one-on-one, real-time. It seems to be working, albeit slow. The next phase is to train people to actually build the slideshows. I confess that will be harder for me to let go, since it offers me a creative outlet But I need to free the time for more important things.
After that, there's a constitution revision project, and an employee handbook to draft. We actually have five paid employees on staff! So it's time to formalize our employment practices.
I've also been slowly adding content to the church's new website: www.nhfaith.com. Check it out sometime.
But I've taken on a new project: training people to run PowerPoint slides during services. I've been doing it since August 2007, not for lack of recruiting. But the last batch I lined up in September dissipated like so much campfire smoke. I have six people signed up to be trained. Since we have only one computer, I'm training people one-on-one, real-time. It seems to be working, albeit slow. The next phase is to train people to actually build the slideshows. I confess that will be harder for me to let go, since it offers me a creative outlet But I need to free the time for more important things.
After that, there's a constitution revision project, and an employee handbook to draft. We actually have five paid employees on staff! So it's time to formalize our employment practices.
I've also been slowly adding content to the church's new website: www.nhfaith.com. Check it out sometime.
04 March 2008
The new face of youth ministry
Our church hasn't had a thriving youth, er student ministry since before I arrived. Yes, we've made several stabs of resuscitating it, and we've tried a couple of different models, but the reality we face here is no one comes.
Many factors play into this, so one can't poke a finger at any one thing and claim to identify the cause. But there are several factors that keep recurring.
Besides a very bad choice of evening, the model of youth meeting where you schedule games, make the kids sit and listen to a short talk, then split up to discuss stuff, then pray, then eat, apparently doesn't attract kids anymore.
What we're seeing work starts with building relationships with the kids--and this next part is important--on their turf, be it school, the soccer field, whatever. Once the kids know you care for them as a person, where they are, and not as a conquest or target, they may let you care for them in other, more important ways. As one leader recently observed, "We have to earn the right to listen. When a kids comes up to you and initiates the conversation, then and only then do you have that right." And it's working!
Disclaimer: the leader I mentioned runs a faith-based ministry that works with kids--ready for this--in the public high school!
This turns a lot of my own youth ministry experience on its head.
Many factors play into this, so one can't poke a finger at any one thing and claim to identify the cause. But there are several factors that keep recurring.
- God hasn't yet resourced us with someone (couple) with a true passion for teen. By passion, I don't mean the desire to start something "for the kids" because there isn't anything. I mean a gut-driven , can't-avoid-it-even-when-I-sleep desire to get to know kids at a deep level, and let them into one's pathetically imperfect life so they can see the adventure we call following Jesus Christ. That kind of passion.
- Senior high kids are so over scheduled. One can blame the schools and organizations for scheduling all those practices and games, but parents too share some of the blame for not making their kids select one or two activities. Instead, they've allowed their kids to run the show. I confess I'm tired of hearing "It's their time now."
- Junior high kids must rely on parents--or older siblings--for transportation. If the car doesn't go to church, the kids don't either.
Besides a very bad choice of evening, the model of youth meeting where you schedule games, make the kids sit and listen to a short talk, then split up to discuss stuff, then pray, then eat, apparently doesn't attract kids anymore.
What we're seeing work starts with building relationships with the kids--and this next part is important--on their turf, be it school, the soccer field, whatever. Once the kids know you care for them as a person, where they are, and not as a conquest or target, they may let you care for them in other, more important ways. As one leader recently observed, "We have to earn the right to listen. When a kids comes up to you and initiates the conversation, then and only then do you have that right." And it's working!
Disclaimer: the leader I mentioned runs a faith-based ministry that works with kids--ready for this--in the public high school!
This turns a lot of my own youth ministry experience on its head.
28 February 2008
Faith and works...the debate
I mentioned in my last post that our small group (a bunch of people who get together regularly to encourage one another in our journey with Jesus) is working through James ( short letter nestled almost at the end of the New Testament). Chapter two deals with the faith-works debate. [I find it weird to refer to a letter with "chapters." If I sent my Dad a letter long enough to be broken into chapters, he'd probably think I'd overdosed on Charles Dickens!] Back to the topic at hand.
Why is this termed a "debate"? And who started it?
Our group is trying something new: we're all working through the letter a chapter at a time, but we're using whatever study aids we wish. So... My study guide, written by John MacArthur, talks about the apparent contradiction between what James writes and Paul's writings. Paul clearly teaches in his writings that there is nothing I can do to earn my way into heaven. Even my faith is a gift from God! So far, so good.
James seems to imply (according to the debate) that we must generate works to prove our faith means something to us. By itself, that makes sense too. After all, Jesus' described a holy person in this life (we will never reach perfection until we die) in His famed sermon on the Mount of Olives (called "The Beatitudes," a term I confess I find sounds silly. I mean, who came up with that term? Sounds like a British rock band or something...) Anyway, the qualities of life Jesus prescribed make no sense in isolation. They only make sense in relationships with others.
Jesus said, for example, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matthew 5:7). How can I show mercy if I stay in the isolation of my Christian subculture? I can only show mercy, thereby proving I'm merciful, if I relate to someone I need to extend mercy to! See what I mean? Jesus words about us being "salt" and "light" (Matthew 5:13-14) tell me that His expectation of me as His follower is to enter into the lives of other people who need Jesus, not as a evangelistic conquests (a la Evangelism Explosion), but as people who need to a genuine follower of Christ to come along to live with them through their mess.
So my faith, which derives from my belief, evidences itself by how I live, specifically as I relate to others. I don't see how that contradicts Paul's teaching at all.
Why is this termed a "debate"? And who started it?
Our group is trying something new: we're all working through the letter a chapter at a time, but we're using whatever study aids we wish. So... My study guide, written by John MacArthur, talks about the apparent contradiction between what James writes and Paul's writings. Paul clearly teaches in his writings that there is nothing I can do to earn my way into heaven. Even my faith is a gift from God! So far, so good.
James seems to imply (according to the debate) that we must generate works to prove our faith means something to us. By itself, that makes sense too. After all, Jesus' described a holy person in this life (we will never reach perfection until we die) in His famed sermon on the Mount of Olives (called "The Beatitudes," a term I confess I find sounds silly. I mean, who came up with that term? Sounds like a British rock band or something...) Anyway, the qualities of life Jesus prescribed make no sense in isolation. They only make sense in relationships with others.
Jesus said, for example, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matthew 5:7). How can I show mercy if I stay in the isolation of my Christian subculture? I can only show mercy, thereby proving I'm merciful, if I relate to someone I need to extend mercy to! See what I mean? Jesus words about us being "salt" and "light" (Matthew 5:13-14) tell me that His expectation of me as His follower is to enter into the lives of other people who need Jesus, not as a evangelistic conquests (a la Evangelism Explosion), but as people who need to a genuine follower of Christ to come along to live with them through their mess.
So my faith, which derives from my belief, evidences itself by how I live, specifically as I relate to others. I don't see how that contradicts Paul's teaching at all.
27 February 2008
Real Christianity?
I finally finished wading through Dave Kinnamon's book "unChristian." For those unfamiliar with it, the book describes the results of three years' research among "outsiders"; those "outside" the Christian faith, and how they perceive Christians in today's culture.
This research was sparked by the fact that in ten years, Christianity has slipped from a highly favorable perception in society to a highly unfavorable one. These days, we Christ followers bear little resemblance to Jesus Christ and His teachings or lifestyle, according to the Mosaics and Busters interviewed. If perception is reality, this book represents a wake-up call. Sobering stuff to noodle through. [I confess I started this book before Christmas!]
Our small group is working through James. Guess which chapter we focused on this week--the same week I finished Kinnamon's book? Chapter 2: the one where James deals with favoritism (judgmentalism?) and the faith without works question. Together, these two writings present some serious, though-provoking challenges to the Christian "sub-culture" I was indoctrinated into over the last 44 years.
How much of my "faith" is biblical, and how much is cultural? Where do my presuppositions and judgments come from? What thoughts do I kick around when I see a 20-something hanging out in front of the town library, smoking a cigarette? If I meet a gal with a young child, and learn she isn't married, how do I react?
How would Jesus have reacted?
If I follow Jesus Christ in everything He taught and lived, where do I find disconnects between my lifestyle and interactions with others, and what I claim I believe?
Jesus calls us to engage in the same ministry He came to earth to inaugurate. He initiated a ministry to free captives--not just in the spiritual sense--but those who were captive in the results of poor choices, or were victims of unfavorable circumstances.
Our small group kicked these kinds of questions around for two hours tonight. And I realized that if I met a homosexual this morning, I would have assumed he or she was not a follower of Christ. But how do I know that? Could not that person--loved and cherished by God, yet fallen--have just agreed to let Jesus take over last Sunday? Maybe God put me into his path to accompany him on this newly embarked journey...the same journey I'm on. Just a little further down the the road.
At least, I hope so. Or is that comparing myself to this new friend? Doe that thought betray a prejudice I need to shed?
Here lies my struggle: God calls me to enter into and extend grace to those I come in contact with. Too often, I have done just the opposite.
UnChristian? If that means not really Christ-like, then yep.
This research was sparked by the fact that in ten years, Christianity has slipped from a highly favorable perception in society to a highly unfavorable one. These days, we Christ followers bear little resemblance to Jesus Christ and His teachings or lifestyle, according to the Mosaics and Busters interviewed. If perception is reality, this book represents a wake-up call. Sobering stuff to noodle through. [I confess I started this book before Christmas!]
Our small group is working through James. Guess which chapter we focused on this week--the same week I finished Kinnamon's book? Chapter 2: the one where James deals with favoritism (judgmentalism?) and the faith without works question. Together, these two writings present some serious, though-provoking challenges to the Christian "sub-culture" I was indoctrinated into over the last 44 years.
How much of my "faith" is biblical, and how much is cultural? Where do my presuppositions and judgments come from? What thoughts do I kick around when I see a 20-something hanging out in front of the town library, smoking a cigarette? If I meet a gal with a young child, and learn she isn't married, how do I react?
How would Jesus have reacted?
If I follow Jesus Christ in everything He taught and lived, where do I find disconnects between my lifestyle and interactions with others, and what I claim I believe?
Jesus calls us to engage in the same ministry He came to earth to inaugurate. He initiated a ministry to free captives--not just in the spiritual sense--but those who were captive in the results of poor choices, or were victims of unfavorable circumstances.
Our small group kicked these kinds of questions around for two hours tonight. And I realized that if I met a homosexual this morning, I would have assumed he or she was not a follower of Christ. But how do I know that? Could not that person--loved and cherished by God, yet fallen--have just agreed to let Jesus take over last Sunday? Maybe God put me into his path to accompany him on this newly embarked journey...the same journey I'm on. Just a little further down the the road.
At least, I hope so. Or is that comparing myself to this new friend? Doe that thought betray a prejudice I need to shed?
Here lies my struggle: God calls me to enter into and extend grace to those I come in contact with. Too often, I have done just the opposite.
UnChristian? If that means not really Christ-like, then yep.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)