City on a Hill

City on a Hill

 Matthew 5:13-16

 You’ve heard about the new lumberjack who on his first day out performed all the veteran loggers in camp?  On the second day, he kept up with most of the loggers.  And on the third day, his production was the poorest of the group.

 When his supervisor asked him when he had sharpened his saw, he complained he was too busy to sharpen his saw. 

 Steven Covey then uses the expression of “sharpening the saw” to describe our need to continually refresh and reshape who we are.  Life rarely proceeds in straight lines.  Most of us going through continuous cycles of growth and decline.  For most of us, our personal and spiritual growth looks like a giant slinky stretched out.  We continually grow through repeated cycles as we circle closer and closer to our destination.

 This seems true with Biblical history, too.  Israel seemed to respond well to God’s leading, and then they wander off.  The judges, kings, and prophets of the Old Testament are constantly calling Israel back to faithfulness.

 Effective spiritual leaders go through those cycles, too.  Where would you rate your own spiritual vitality today?  If 12 o’clock is at peak performance and 6 o’clock is in the doldrums, what time is it for you?

 The good news is that we continually spin around the clock.  With attentiveness, no stage will last long.  Often God uses our unfulfilled yearnings of 5 and 6 o’clock to point us upward towards a new cycle of growth at 9 and 10 o’clock. 

 What does this mean for the church?  Do churches go through periods of increased and decreased mission and ministry?  What would be the signs of it for you?

 Cathy and I enjoy a certain spot on the interstate when we are coming home after dark.  From that spot we know we are almost home.  We can see the lights of our hometown in the distance.

 Jesus likened the lights of a city on a hill to be like the witness of the Church.  People should be able to see the signs of our presence from a distance, and know they are near safety.  Is your church like that for you?

 The story goes of a business office that had difficulties with a copier.  No matter what they did, it always produced a thin line down the right side of the paper.  For an internal memo, it was a nuisance, but still usable.  But for external presentations, it was a poor reflection on the quality of work of the business.  They had several repairmen come to service the machine, and they tried every technique in the book; but nothing repaired the thin line.

 They finally solved their problem.  What did they do?  They bought a new copier and gave the old one to a church.  “It was good enough for a church!”

 Some churches have dim lights on top of those hills, because we assume that the standard of accomplishment is much lower in churches.  It’s good enough for the church. 

 Churches that are growing and engaged in ministry realize that it has nothing to do with the church.  It has everything to do with one’s personal relationship with God.  Would we say, “It’s good enough for God?”

 A bright light on a hill is a sign of excellence given as a personal gift to God.  What are the ways you give excellence to God through your church?

 A second bright light on a hill is a sign of relevance.  Some churches struggle to make the gospel relevant to the prevailing culture.  That is not necessary.  The Gospel is clearly relevant.  What is often not relevant is life in the church.

 Sometimes the church is more engaged with personal politics and self-absorbed agenda instead of a mission of self-sacrifice.  Consequently, control of the kitchen or the pace of the music is more important than feeding the hungry or visiting the sick.  In some parts of our country, churches engage in worship wars.  These are the inevitable conflicts over what styles of music will be acceptable in our worship. 

 What is often lost is that it generally does not matter which style of music is used.  If the church is not passionately interested and engaged with people outside their doors, the best music in the world will be meaningless.  How would you measure the relevance of your church?

 Thirdly, a light placed on a lampstand is intentionally done so to provide light for the entire room or area.  The purpose of the church is to express God’s love for the world.  Consequently, the church’s mission is external to the organization.  The purpose of the church is to serve the needs of folks who have not yet come. 

 This is a Copernican revolution for many churches.  It turns their whole perspective upside down.  Do you recall this phrase from last blog?

            It is not about me.

            It is about us.

            It is not about us.

            It is all about what God wants to do in the world

                                   through us in Jesus’ name.

 What would be the signs of a church that is excellent, relevant, and externally focused?  What would you expect to see and experience if  you visited such a church?  How does your church measure up?  And the critical question, how do you help your church become a lighted city on a hilltop?

 For some additional reading on these questions, check out these passages:

Acts 2:42-47

Ephesians 4:1-16

Titus 3:9-11

 

 

 

Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus was not only concerned about helping people find abundant life, he was also concerned about the social, political, economical, and religious forces that stole abundant living away from people.  He knew he had come to lay down his life to change individual lives and to change complex cultures.

In the same way we as disciples are not just about helping individuals find abundant life in Jesus Christ.  We know many people will struggle to find freedom until the enslaving forces of our culture are attacked and defeated.

For example, as long as our American culture feeds people’s addiction to consumerism, some people will struggle to find freedom.  By consumerism I mean the need to buy more and more and more in order to find fulfillment in my life.  But like every other addiction, it requires more and more and more in order to enjoy it less and less and less.  We are caught in a spiral of materialistic addiction.

And that is not the only addiction in which people become trapped.  Alcohol, illicit drugs, porn, and gambling are just a few more examples.  There are people so addicted or needy for public attention they will do strange and dangerous stunts to get media attention.  Any recent examples come to your mind?

So Jesus uses the analogy of salt and light.  In Jesus’ day salt was used for two purposes.   Salt preserved and prevented decay, and salt flavored food.  Today we may use refrigeration for the first, but we still use salt to flavor food. 

Light was used two ways in Jesus’ time.  Light provided illumination, but often the source of light also provided heat and warmth.

Then he turned to the disciples, surrounded by the crowds, and said, “You are the salt and light of the earth.”

That must have seemed pretty preposterous at first.  Who were these disciples?  Some fishermen, a tax collector, an underground terrorist, maybe a carpenter?  Certainly not Nobel Prize candidates.  They were not educated.  They were not wealthy.  They did not have powerful connections. 

But Jesus predicted that they would change the culture of the world.  They would infect – like a seasoning affects the whole dish – the whole culture of what the world is about.  And you and I are the products of their saltiness.

Jesus is speaking to us, “You are the salt and light of the earth.”  It is through us that God wants to infect and change the culture of the world today.  How do we do this?

First, and I would hope obvious, is that we stay connected to our Source.  Salt that loses is saltiness is useless.  A candle that will not burn is useless.  So, obviously, we need to maintain our salt and light strength by staying close to God, our Source.  This calls for the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, worship – both individual and corporate; and works of mercy to the poor and disadvantaged.

Second, it is to get involved.  This disciple thing is not about me feeling good about myself.  It is about God working through us to redeem the world.  Or to put it another way that I find myself repeating often: 

            It is not about me.

            It is about us.

            It is not about us.

            It is all about what God wants to do in the world through us in Jesus’ name.

We cannot change culture by ourselves.  Only God can do that.  And we cannot spread influence very far, unless we are connected with others who have a similar mission.  So we find others who are drawn to a similar call, and we get involved.  This multiplies the potential of our impact.

Third, use the tools available and capable of cultural change.  One of those tools that often is criticized, if not blamed, today is the institution.  Institutions can create their own self-serving culture to block the movement of God’s Spirit.  But rarely have I observed any movement that survived the first generation of visionary leadership without the sustenance of some kind of organization among people. 

When maintenance of the institution becomes the mission primary over God changing the world, then it is a real problem.  But without some kind of institutional infrastructure, the ministry will ebb and flow according to the charisma of the current leader.  This only works for the short term.  In some cases it accomplishes the failure people wanted to avoid.

A few weeks ago Cathy and I visited our daughter and her husband in the Washington DC area.  We took a bike ride up to Harper’s Ferry.  In Harper’s Ferry is an old Catholic Church named St. Peter’s.  Typical of churches and other buildings built in those days, it was anchored on the side of the hill overlooking the Potomac River.  On the outside, there was sign indicating the church was now a mission outpost of St. James.  I’m not sure what that means, but it implied to me that the St. James congregation kept the facility open for tourists and sightseers. 

On the inside there was plaque explaining that during the Civil War, the leaders of the St. Peter’s parish decided to fly the Union Jack Flag to indicate to the commanders of both armies who were skirmishing in the area – that eventually led to the Battle of Gettysburg – that St. Peter’s was neutral in the great conflict.  They were hoping they would preserve their precious building from any danger or damage.  And it succeeded – if preservation was all they desired.  You can still see the building today.  It is a nice museum and memory of the past.

But sadly, there is no church.  In the midst of one of our country’s greatest struggles, the church leaders did not want to take a stand.  They did not want to get involved in the issues.  They did not want to navigate the changes.  They only wanted to preserve their monument…and they did.

Effective leaders learn to use – and even create institutional change – in organizations in order to partner with others and enlarge the range of their influence.  If you want your life to make a difference, align yourself with others with a similar calling; and watch what God will do.

You are the salt and light of the earth!

Changing Lives.3

I Peter 3:15-16

 I just met with a young couple who are getting married soon.  We spent a lot of our time in this session talking about the importance of communication.  I ask couples who want to get married to take the Taylor Johnson Temperament Analysis.  It is a helpful tool to initiate conversation about a couple’s relationship. 

 Even couples who are passionately in love and have cultivated an intentional relationship discover there are many things they have not communicated with each other.  And sometimes, they are the simplest things.

 How much more that is true among friends, coworkers, and acquaintances.  We may be good teammates with the other parents on our kids’ soccer teams and we may be caring neighbors when the electricity goes off, but when do we share our faith in Jesus Christ?

 The last couple of blogs talked about some do’s and don’ts for sharing our faith without offending our friends.  If you have not read them, you might want to scroll through them before going any further.

 This blog is about what we do share when it is the right time to speak about our faith in God. 

 Several years ago I was subpoenaed to testify in a child custody hearing.  When I met with the attorney, she advised me to only tell what I know.  Even though I had worked as a counselor for a psychologist, I did not have the credentials the court would consider needed to be considered an expert.  As the pastor of the family involved, I had some perspectives the attorney wanted included in the judge’s consideration.

 That is good advice for sharing our faith, too.  Tell what we know.  Don’t worry about what you do not know. 

 Here are several ways to organize your sharing of what you do know.  First, take one minute to share what your life was like before God changed you.  The purpose of this “before” picture is to acknowledge to your friend that you are a real person with real problems.  Keep it brief and to the point.  The goal is not to make the person pity you, but to illustrate the change God has worked in your life.  All of us have heard dramatic conversions, but most of us do not have such high intensity stories.  That is okay.  That is the real world.  Be honest, truthful, and authentic.

 Second, take one minute to briefly describe how you encountered God’s grace and chose to accept Jesus Christ.  Everyone’s story and experience is different.  The important point is not that we have the same details, but that we make the same choice.  Share your story, without implying that your friend must have the same experience.

 Third, take one minute to share how your life is different now from what it was before.  Be concise and focused.  Your life is not the prescription, but merely an illustration.

 Then be patient.  It is not our job to convict, convert, or change someone.  It is merely our call to share what we know to be true for us.

 There are some other tools that can be used in the right situations.  Let me briefly describe them.  If you would like to know more, send me an email and we’ll talk further.

 ROMAN ROAD

Use three passages in the book of Romans to reveal the path to experience God’s grace. 

            Romans 3:23 – everyone has sinned

            Romans 6:23 – the consequence of sin is death, but the possibility of grace is eternal life in Jesus Christ

            Romans 10:13 – Everyone who asks for grace will receive it.

 ABC’s

Admit that one is not living the kind of life God wants and that we are responsible for our sins.  Romans 3:23 reminds us that this is true for all of us.

 Believe that Jesus is the way to experience grace and life.  John 14:6

 Confess that one has done wrong and that one has chosen to follow God.  Romans 10:9

 DO vs DONE

Bill Hybels and Mark Mittelberg in their book, Becoming a Contagious Christian, claim that religion is spelled “DO.”  Religion is the list of things we need to do to win God’s attention and therefore become blessed.  On the other hand, the Christian faith is about “DONE.”  God has already done all that needed to be done in Jesus Christ.  Do we trust in that?  Do we trust in Jesus?  If so, we are saved!

 There are many more tools and methods that may be helpful.  Find the ones that work well for you.  Some people are very logical.  Others are much more relational.  Some will merely share their own story while others establish a relationship by performing some acts of service.  One needs to find the style and method that is most comfortable and natural for them.

 Most of all, to share begins with prayer.  One needs to pray in order to fasten one’s focus on what God may choose to do in the experience of sharing.  Some of that is with your friend, and some of that is what God may want to do in your heart. 

 I believe that if we pray for our family, friends, and neighbors; God will provide opportunities for us to share our faith.  God will bless those opportunities and will do wondrous things – perhaps even beyond our ability to see.

 Neighbor called to see if he could park in my driveway to pack up his car.  He was moving out of the apartment next door.  When I met him the driveway to inform him I was fine with that, he asked the question, “Why are you a preacher?”

 It was a clear opportunity to share a little of my spiritual journey.  I used the three one-minute segments as my approach to keep it simple and personal.  We talked for 15-20 minutes about my journey and his journey.  I never saw him again, but I trust God has planted some seeds in his life that have blessed him, and perhaps blessed many others through him.

 Pray and prepare.  God will use your story in wondrous ways!

Changing Lives.2

Acts 8:26-40

 Last blog featured four “C’s” leaders do not do.  Leaders do not convince, convict, corner, or convert.  These are not effective means of leadership.  They are manipulative and coercive.  Generally, they do not create impact and influence, but resentment and resistance.

 There is a fascinating story in Acts 8 where Philip is whisked away from a lively revival in Samaria to an isolated spot in Gaza.  Remember Jesus’ instructions in Acts 1:6-8?  How are these instructions being lived out in Acts 8?

 In Acts 8 Philip encounters an Ethiopian government official.  Quite possibly, it is through this connection that Ethiopia develops its unique Christian heritage in northern Africa.

 What does Philip do in this encounter that makes the incident so remarkable?  What is the role of the Holy Spirit in this encounter?  Who initiates what actions in this story?  Could something like this happen today in the 21^st century?

 Philip practices the four “I’s” of leadership influence.  See if you can identify these “I’s” with examples in his story.

 First I is invite.  No one can make anyone do anything.  Even if life is threatened, people still make choices.  Threatening someone in order to gain a desired response is not God’s way, nor is it likely to produce any meaningful growth or change.  It is done to avoid the threat.

 Philip does not threaten the Ethiopian official.  He could not.  The official likely had weapons and body guards with him that would overpower Philip.  It would have been counterproductive anyway.

 Philip’s approach is to wait for an invitation.  Philip positioned himself to receive an invitation.  He matched the direction and pace of this official, but still he waited for an invitation. 

 Perhaps this happens to you, too.  You sit down in a nice restaurant, maybe one that has your favorite dish.  You have been planning this event all week with special loved ones to create precious memories.

 The wait staff approaches your table and asks, “Can I interest you in …. (something that is not what you want and costs a lot of money)?”  Now I realize the staff is only doing what they have been instructed to do.  It is called “up-selling.”  It is a technique of suggesting products and services to initiate increased sales.

 Personally, I find it annoying.  It suggests that I am incapable of making my own choices, and I need to be manipulated by others who may not have my best interests in mind.

 If something as simple as a salad or a burger is that annoying, how much more we can annoy people by presuming what they need or want.  Philip waited for the invitation.

 On the average people go through a crisis about every 18 months.  A crisis can be a positive event such as the birth of a child, marriage, job promotion; or it can be a negative event such as loss of a loved one, change in health, traumatic change in status, etc.  If we are patient enough, inevitably everyone comes to a point of looking for support, encouragement, wisdom, and direction.  Philip waited and received the invitation.

 Second “I” is interpret.  At the official’s request, Philip interpreted the meaning of the scripture to him. 

 In the end that is all any of us have.  It is not about our deep theological insights or our indescribably mystical experiences.  We offer our interpretation of truth as we have experienced it.  Others will quite likely experience God differently than us.  Others will quite likely understand God differently than us.  Our interpretation is not to dictate how others encounter God, but to open the door for others to experience their own encounter.

 Philip respectfully shared his interpretation and allowed the official to ponder his message at his own pace and in his own manner.

 The third “I” is interpolation.  This is a math term.  A more popular expression would be “filling in the blanks.”  In geometry a graph may depict several points on a grid.  The points are only points until someone connects the points with a line to indicate direction and trend.  Extrapolation is extending the line beyond the dots in a consistent direction.  Interpolation is extending a line within the dots.

 Philip filled in the dots for the government official.  What does this passage mean?  About whom is the writer speaking?  Philip was ready to share his message, when he waited for the Eunuch. 

 The fourth “I” is engage.  (I know engage is spelled with an “e.”)  The point of encountering other persons is not the accomplishment of some impersonal goal such as:  “I manipulated someone else into a decision they did not want to make.”  The point of encounter is to build a relationship with another person.  It is to respect them and honor them by listening to their quest.

 It is within this context of respect and honor that others will listen carefully to what you say.  If respect and honor were not necessary, we could influence people by merely sending out a post card.

 Philip so engaged the government official that it was the official who asked to be baptized.  Philip was available as he was needed, and then he was whisked away into another adventure.  And the official went on his way full of joy!

 In this experience Philip offered significant influence and leadership on the official who then passed it on to his own country.  Can you think of any other examples; either in the Bible or elsewhere?

 All of us influence others.  The question is whether or not it is helpful, supportive, and grace-filled?  These four “I’s” can help us test whether our encounters with others are also helpful, supportive, and grace-filled.

 When we do have the opportunity to interpret, interpolate, and ingage; what do we say?  Next time we’ll look at some examples in scripture of how different  people responded to that question differently.

Changing Lives

Matthew 28:19-20

All of us are leaders in some capacity or another.  We may not command troops of followers or have a corner office with a staff, but we do influence others such as family, friends, and peers.

The best leaders are less interested in their legacy – the record of their impact on others – and more interested in how they can help others.  One of those key aspects of leadership is helping others make the changes they want to make in order to become the people they want to become.

Leaders believe in positive, healthy change.  Sometimes we call it transformation.  That is why Jesus’ gave these last words to his followers.  Read Matthew 28:19-20.  In Matthew’s timeline, these were Jesus’ last words.  They are key reminders.  They are important instructions.  They are for us as well as the first century followers.

How far have you travelled in your lifetime?  Have you been to a foreign country?  Have you been overseas?  Have you travelled around the globe?

Jesus’ instructions to go into all the world were given to disciples who basically uneducated fishermen who had never travelled more than 50 miles from home.  These instructions must have seemed pretty overwhelming.  It would seem as daunting as Jesus telling us to take the gospel to the outermost reaches of our solar system. 

And yet, they did so.  How?  It was not about them.  In fact, at first what did they do?  Check out Acts 1.  What were they doing?  What had to happen first?  Check out Acts 2.

It is never about us.  It is usually about what God wants to do through us.  So these overwhelmed uneducated unsophisticated fishermen transformed the world because they relied on a spiritual force that was greater than anything they could imagine.  It was the transforming power of the Holy Spirit working through them.

That same transforming power of the Holy Spirit works through leaders today.  Those leaders may command troops of followers or have a corner office with staff or maybe is the key influence for family, friends, and peers.  Effective leaders align themselves with this mysterious and wondrous power God offers to each of us.

Let me take it one step further.  In this study we’ve read the end of Matthew and the first couple of chapters in Acts – the stories of the early church as they started the journey to transform the world in Jesus’ name.  See what these stories have in common:  Acts 2:14-42, Acts 7, Acts 8:26-40, Acts 10, Acts 13. 

There are many more that could have been included.  In each of these stories, somebody told someone else about how Jesus had changed the world.

This is the “e-word (evangelism).”  Many people are reluctant to talk about their faith because they think they have to comb their hair in a poofy way and wear white shoes.  Others are afraid of failure.  No one will listen.  Still others fear ridicule and laughter, and others do not feel qualified or prepared.

There is a curious verse (Acts 4:13) that describes public perception of the disciples.  What is noteworthy about these disciples according to this verse?  Why is that more important than academic degrees or professional status?

Here are four “C’s” of what not to do when sharing our faith with people we want to keep as friends.  Next issue I will share four “I’s” of what we should do when sharing our faith with people we want to keep as friends.

One, we are not called to convince people.  Very, very few people embrace faith in Jesus Christ because they lose an argument.  In fact, I can’t think of anyone who was argued into the Kingdom.  C.S. Lewis likes to say that his entry into the Kingdom was like a captured renegade whose every though was seeking escape, but it was not because someone else argued with him.  It was his own reason in sorting through truth that led him to embrace the faith as revealed in Jesus Christ.

If arguments are futile in winning people to Christ, why try to convince people with all of the “correct” answers to every question.  People are attracted into the Kingdom because they are respected, accepted, and loved. 

Two, we are not called to convict people.  Some people think we have to feel bad in order to enter the Kingdom, but I find no example of that in scriptures.  Jesus talks about people experiencing a weeping and gnashing of teeth because they have opted out of the Kingdom, but I see no example of someone having to feel bad to get into the Kingdom.  Jesus’ teaching began with, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near.”  (Matthew 4:17)  Repent does not mean feel bad.  Repent means to change one’s direction.  Make different decisions.  Live differently.  Feelings are not the test of faith.  In fact, often our deepest faith comes when our feelings are of no help.

Real faith is when we hope even though we feel desperate.  Real faith is celebrating when we feel sorrow.  Real faith is choosing to love when we feel angry and vengeful.

People may often experience a wide range of feelings when they enter the Kingdom, but they are simply that – feelings.  We do not need to manipulate other people’s feelings to share our faith with them.

Three, we are not called to corner people.  I suspect all of us have had experiences with fast-talking sales people who attempt to manipulate or control by overwhelming us with talk.  My intuitive tummy immediately goes into passive-aggressive “no” mode when I encounter one of these.  And they harder they try, the more obstinate my “no” becomes.  (It is one of my spiritual gifts – stubbornness.  My mother called it being bullheaded.)  Cornering people into saying whatever they need to say to get us off their backs does not invite people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  It does far more harm than good.  It disrespects the other person.  It is not love.  (As the Klingons would say, “It is without honor.”)

Four, we are not called to convert people.  Only God’s Holy Spirit can work the change of transformation in another person’s life.  What does Jesus say when we view it as our responsibility to help others with their “needed” changes?  Check out Matthew 7:1-5.

We are not called to convince, convict, corner, or convert.  Yet, Jesus calls us to proclaim the good news of God’s love to the ends of the earth.  How do effective leaders and disciples do that?

Next time we’ll talk about the four I’s of sharing our faith without offending our friends.

The Will of God

Colossians 1:15-23

The Bible is full of stories about people who discovered God’s dreams for their lives and God’s hope for the world through their witness and service.  Remember Moses hiding in far off Sinai because he had killed a man in Egypt.  God calls him to go back to Egypt, not only to face his past but to create a new future for the people of God. Remember that young teen, Mary, who willingly accepted the shame and homelessness of that first Christmas in order to give birth to a baby who would “save his people from their sins.” 

 Do these kinds of stories only happen to special people?  How do ordinary people like you and me discover God’s will for our lives?  Does God have hopes and dreams for people like me?

 After 30 plus years of pastoral experience and a couple of theological degrees, let me answer that question this way:  “You betcha!”  God has hopes and dreams for all of us.  Each of us is that important to God and God’s desire to reconcile the world in peace and harmony through Jesus Christ.

 How do we discern God’s will for our lives?  What is God’s will?

 Part of that answer is in our scripture.  Paul writes to the church in Colossae that God’s ultimate purpose is to reconcile the cosmos in Jesus Christ (vs 20).  God created all things through Christ (vs 16).  Christ is the central nervous network that holds all of reality together – “and in union with him all things have their proper place.” (vs 17).  Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice in order to win the opportunity of union with God for each of us.  (vs 22). 

 Leslie Weatherhead was a renowned author and preacher of City Temple, London, in the early parts of the 20^th century.  He wrote several books, but one of the best known is a little one, barely 59 pages long, simply entitled, The Will of God.

 Weatherhead describes three dimensions to the will of God.  The first is God’s intentional will.  It is God’s intent for all of us to live in peace and harmony.  It is God’s intent for all of us to “live long and prosper.” 

 Weatherhead’s own example is of a doctor in London who had been fighting for his wife’s life.  When she died, he commented, “Well, I must just accept it.  It is the will of God.”

 Weatherhead poses the question:  if her death is the will of God, was the doctor working against the will of God when he was doing everything possible to preserve her life?  Weatherhead notes that we cannot have it both ways.  Either it is God’s will for us to live or for us to die.  Which is it?

 For Weatherhead it is God’s first intention that all of us live well.  It is God’s intention for all of us to live in harmony with each other and all of creation.  God’s intention was pictured in the Garden Eden where creation was in perfect harmony and the human species cared for the earth.

 How would your life be different if we still lived in the Garden of Eden?  (I confess my first thoughts are that I would not likely have a cell phone and I’d save a lot of money on clothes.)

 But that is not the real world you and I experience, is it?  Something happened a long time ago to set some different forces loose in our experience of reality.  The Genesis story tells us about Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit.  From that time forward, circumstances changed.  We live in a fallen world.  By that I mean the world is not like God originally intended.  There is this thing called sin.

 I don’t believe it is a mistake in the sense that God was surprised that Adam and Eve made an independent decision.  I believe God knew that was a possibility.  In fact, I believe God intentionally allowed that possibility because God valued so highly the privilege of free-will.  Did God know the heart ache and tragedy that opening the door to human free-will would bring? 

 I suspect so.  God is not an idiot, but God in unlimited grace and eternal patience said, “I’m willing to go down that road.  Human free-will opens the door to human love and devotion.”

 So, Weatherhead talks about God’s circumstantial will.  Given the circumstances, this is God’s hopes and dreams for us.  I prefer to talk about hopes and dreams instead of God’s plan.  For many people, God’s plan sounds like something that has been etched in stone as opposed to something designed on an Etch-a-Sketch.

 God’s plan – circumstantial will – is not nearly so tight and final.  Remember human free-will?  We are continually making our own decisions.  Sometimes these decisions are not what God first intended.  Have we screwed up God’s plan for the rest of the world?

 God is bigger than that.  God is able to hold the infinite possibilities of human decision within the realm of God’s possibilities.

 For example, in John 9 Jesus and his disciples encounter a man born blind.  In the culture of Jesus’ day, the disciples assumed that such a tragic circumstance is the direct result of sin.  But since the man was born this way, does that mean that he sinned or that his parents sinned?

 Jesus points out that they are asking the wrong question.  This is an opportunity to see God at work in his life.  Translation:  life happens.  In God’s first intention, none of us would experience tragedy or disappointment or disability or even death.

 But since we live in a fallen world, God’s circumstantial will is that we will discover the presence and power of a redemptive God in our broken world.  Here is a man born blind.  Life happens.  But watch what God will do.

 Does God heal every occurrence of blindness?  That has not been my experience.  Does God reveal God’s power and presence in every situation we seek it?  After 30 plus years of pastoral experience and two theological degrees, let me answer:  “You betcha!”

 Because what matters in a temporary, broken, fallen world is not that we somehow recover the good old days of Eden.  What matters is that we discover God in our midst.  That is why the Bible is full of stories in which the message is:  “Fear not.  God is with you!”

 Can you think of some stories where that is the message?  Here are a few:

Genesis 28, Exodus 3, Joshua 1, Judges 6, 1 Samuel 17, Jeremiah 1, Luke 1.  Who are some of the characters who discovered God in the midst of unusual circumstances?

 I believe that in every moment of existence there are multiple possibilities of choices available to us.  It is a rainbow spectrum of options.  Because many of us have made significant choices of priorities and promises, we establish a momentum through those spectrums of possibilities.  Many mornings I make a choice to go to work.  Because I have established a habit of doing so, I do so now without giving it much thought.  It is a habit.  It is a direction of momentum through those spectrums of decision.

 Sometimes I am confronted with different circumstances and I have to contemplate additional options.  I am feeling sick, or my wife is sick.  These new options change the range of possibilities I might consider.

 I believe that in every spectrum of circumstances, God is in several of the options.  God is in several options, because God’s circumstantial will is not so fragile and rigid that one mistake will shatter the whole framework of reality.

 God is hovering in those spectrums of possibility inviting us to choose life, choose hope, choose harmony, and choose shalom.  If we take the time to prayerfully consider our options, we will see God’s invitation every time. 

 God wants to reveal God’s options to us.  They will become evident to us at the right time.  Someone once said, “God is rarely early, but never late.”  Usually, I realize that God is waiting on me.  God has to wait for me to be in the right place at the right time with the right attitude.  And often, it is my attitude that prevents me from seeing God’s possibilities in those circumstances.

 Most of us spend our lives in seeking God’s circumstantial will.  What are the circumstances in which you find yourself?  Does God have hopes and dreams for you?  “You betcha!”  In the spectrums of possibilities facing you, where do you see God beckoning to you, “Come this way, my child.  Follow me, my child.  Take my hand, my child.”

 Weatherhead’s third dimension is God’s ultimate will.  Ultimately, God will accomplish what Paul promised in our scripture.  Ultimately, God will bring reconciliation to the cosmos in Jesus Christ.  God waits because God is gracious.  In grace, God continually gives us more opportunities to choose God’s options in the circumstances of our lives.

 But ultimately, it will all come together despite what we choose.  That does not make our human decisions meaningless.  Our decisions have eternal consequences for us, but we cannot derail God’s ultimate plan.

 For example, Cathy and I load our four grandchildren into the van for a trip to the Beach Waterpark across the interstate from King’s Island.  My ultimate goal?  It is to have fun and build some wonderful memories with our grandchildren.  Since they live in another state, whenever we are together I want to get to know them and help them to know us.  I want them to know they are loved beyond imagination.  And I want them to know how important they are to us, just as they are.

 On the way to the Beach Waterpark, all kinds of circumstances may change our plans.  There may be construction on I-75.  (There is always construction on I-75.)  There may be traffic that will change our planned route.  (We will give the gps unit another headache.)  We may get to the Beach Waterpark to discover a thunderstorm is coming in and the park is closed.  We may have car failure and have to call a tow truck.  We may end up spending most of our time eating ice cream at the Dairy Queen.

 There are all kinds of possibilities that may change our plans – our intentional will.  We will navigate those options and choose what seems best in the midst of those possibilities – our circumstantial will.  But we will accomplish my ultimate goal.  We will have fun together.  We will love these four kids and express unlimited grace and favor without hesitation – as only grandparents can do.

 How do we discover God’s will for us?  We begin with God’s intentional will – Genesis 1 & 2.  We end with God’s ultimate will – Colossians 1 and Revelation 21 & 22.  We anchor our boats on those two foundations.  In between we navigate the whitewater rivers of changing circumstances using spiritual disciplines such as Bible study, prayer, Christian conferencing – meeting with others who are also seeking God’s hopes and dreams, and intuitively walking by faith.

 And one more confirmation of God’s will, but please understand this.  In the Myers-Briggs personality profile I am a thinker, not a feeler.  I am learning over time to trust my intuition, but I’d rather see the research report first.  But I believe God will confirm our attempts of seeking God’s will.  Some of this comes with a mysterious and wonderful gift of peace in the midst of circumstantial shipwrecks.  Have you experience that?  Everything else is topsy-turvy, but you sense something that suggests it will all work out.  That is God’s gift to you when you are following God’s will.

 Read Isaiah 55:6-9.  Yes, God’s will is often mysterious to us, but God is eager to reveal God’s thoughts and hopes and dreams to the one who turns to the Lord.  My prayer is that you will discover God’s hopes and dreams for your life with new clarity today.

Discovering God’s Call

1 Corinthians 12:1-12

Ephesians 4:1-16

Jeremiah 29:11-13

If you are familiar with Myers-Briggs, a personality profile used by behavioral scientists to help us talk about the wide diversity of personalities in God’s creation; you will understand when I say I am a “J.”  I like everything in order.  I plan my work and work my plan.  I make a “to do” list on my day off.  It is part of the way God wired me.

 So I resist the sense that God has made a wonderful plan for each of our lives.  I realize that there is nothing set in stone.  I may make a plan for working on this blog ahead of time, but life happens.  How much more does God allow life to happen in our world!  God grants us immense freedom in choosing to live our lives.

 So, I prefer to think that God has hopes and dreams for our lives.  Not every detail is anticipated, because, God knows fully well, we are often unpredictable in our choices.  God is big enough and powerful enough to allow this and even encourage this.  God values the privilege of free will.

 At the same time, God does invite, woo, encourage, entice, attract, request, and call us into specific decisions and directions.  How do we discover God’s directions for our life?  I’ll talk more about discerning God’s will next time.  This week let’s focus on this simple formula:  g + p + c = God’s ministry.

 G is for gifts.  The passages above are just a few of the passages discussing spiritual gifts in the Bible.  And nowhere do any of the lists imply or state that this list is the exhaustive and complete list.  Most of them have minor differences. 

 The point is that God has already planted within us the potential ability to do in a wonderfully effective way whatever God dreams for us to do.  Not all of us have the same gifts.  In fact, there are a plethora of gifts.  (I looked that up in my word book.)  Discovering our spiritual gifts will be a significant clues to discovering God’s hopes and dreams for our lives.

 Let me share a couple more teachings about spiritual gifts.  No spiritual gifts are more important than other spiritual gifts.  Check out the rest of 1 Corinthians 12.  Every gift is important and needed.  No gift gives any believer a special status distinct from the rest.  The characterization of the believer is servant.  There is only one Lord and Master.

 The purpose of spiritual gifts is to build up the body of Christ.  Check out 1 Corinthians 14.  Paul believes that a gift that only benefits one person is fairly useless. 

 Spiritual gifts are different from talents in that they always point us towards not the individual believer, but Jesus Christ.  The spirit of the believer resembles that of Jesus.  Check out Philippians 2:1-11.

 How do you discover your gifts?  It is a longer journey than this, but here are a couple of clues.  One, talk with people who understand God’s spiritual gifts and know you well.  Two, read the scriptures where these gifts are demonstrated.  When does your heart race a little faster?  What stories or characters inspire you?  Why?  Three, there are some diagnostic inventories that can help point the way, but we cannot reduce God’s ways of working to computer generated graph.  It is merely a tool that might help us in our search.  Four, experiment.  Try some ministries that put you in a place to use those gifts. How does it go?  Is it effective ministry?  How does the Spirit witness within you and others?

 P is for passion.  What do you care about?  What is it that makes you weep?  What is it that makes you leap out of bed in the morning? 

 It took me awhile to discover that what I enjoyed about being a pastor is not the preaching.  (I really am uncomfortable being in front of people.)  It is not the pastoral care and counseling.  (After all these years of experience and training, I still just want to tell people to “Get over it!”)  It is seeing God take something that is unfinished and underdeveloped and growing it to the next level.  For example, I get excited seeing a teen discover their niche in life or seeing a church create a new ministry or seeing a disciple learn a new skill to use to help others.  That fires my boiler!

 Gifts plus passion plus community equals ministry.  There may be some examples of this, but I cannot think of any in my personal experience.  Ministry does not happen with lone rangers.  It always connects with a spiritual community somewhere.  Even missionaries going to isolated parts of the world depend upon a spiritual community somewhere for prayer support and accountability.

 Spiritual community encourages me when I grow frustrated.  Spiritual community gives me energy when I run out fuel.  Spiritual community holds me accountable for the use of the gifts God has entrusted to me.

 So here are the questions for your pondering this week:

1. What are the spiritual gifts God has planted within you?  Where are you using them?  How is God blessing you through them; and blessing others through you?
2. How are you living out the passion God has planted in your heart?  Are you finding the opportunities for your passion to fuel the use of your gifts?
3. Who is on your team?  Who is your support and accountability system?

 Real spiritual leadership comes not from position, title, or status.  It comes from God’s Spirit working through real people who are simply, but passionately using their gifts for Jesus’ sake. 

Are you the leader God dreams and hopes you will become?

Spiritual Growth

John 15:1-10

 According to John, Jesus spoke these words on the night before his death.  People get around to saying important stuff when they know there are not many opportunities left.  I am not suggesting that Jesus goofed off up until this moment, but these are significant teachings for the disciple – both of that day and today.

 Real discipleship – life-changing, life-sustaining discipleship – comes through a relationship with Jesus.  His analogy is a common one of his day, maybe less so for us who do not raise gardens or did not grow up on a farm. 

 God is the gardener who cares for the vineyard and makes the ultimate decisions about the fruitfulness of each branch.  Jesus is the vine.  It is he that connects us to God.  It is through him that we as branches receive our nourishment for life.  Apart from him, we are not only fruitless; we are dead.

 As we live out this personal relationship with God through Jesus, our lives can change and mature.  The Bible is full of people who changed and matured; many of them desperately needed it.  Most people talked about in the Bible had issues.  Some of them were downright dysfunctional.  Yet, each of them were touched by God and responded in some way to the invitation to enter the Kingdom.

 No two did it exactly alike.  No two became exactly the same.  Likewise, God invites us to enter the Kingdom and grow into a likeness of Jesus in the wondrous and mysterious way God wired us to grow.

 It is like children.  Every parent who has had more than one child discovers that each child will choose to be different.  They may share many common characteristics, but each will choose a slightly different path.  Do you love any of them any less for being different?  No.

 Cathy and I have four grandchildren.  All of them belong to Cliff and Rachel.  Each of them is different in strengths, in personality, in preferences, in style.  But we love them all and would feel great loss if one of them were not with us.

 In the same way God loves each of us and treasures the uniqueness of each of us as we grow into a likeness of Jesus.  It is Jesus’ Spirit shining through the uniqueness God created in each of us individually.

 What are some of the signs and characteristics of Jesus’ Spirit that you see in others?

 This discipleship journey requires living out of a relationship with Jesus.  A branch cannot thrive if it is not connected to the vine.  It draws its strength and nutrition from the vine.

 How do you connect to Jesus?  The last couple of blogs discussed spiritual disciplines as means through which we can nurture a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  Which ones are most helpful to you?  Which ones have you not tried?

 The purpose is not to fulfill commandments or to become spiritual thrill seekers.  The purpose is to find and cultivate those habits that encourage your journey with Jesus. 

 The journey takes time.  There is no magic potion or formula that can help us bypass painful and difficult moments to mature in our relationship with Jesus.  And often, the most productive periods of our lives in terms of spiritual maturity are times of challenge and difficulty.

 Do you remember that old toy called the slinky?  It was a circle of wire that resembled a bed spring, but not nearly as stiff or heavy.  It became a great toy for playing while I was a kid.

 When you stretch out that slinky so that it is a spiral from point A to point B, you have a good image of the journey towards spiritual growth.  There are high moments and there are low moments.  There are many moments that simply seem to be running in circles, but all of these moments move us towards that Christ likeness God dreams for all of us.

 The high moments give us encouragement and celebration.  The low moments feed our yearning for something deeper, something more than we currently have.  The circling moments keep us moving.  No one grows spiritually in a direct line progression.  All of us go through the highs and lows of real life discipleship.

 All of this takes time, but that is okay. God has all the time God needs to grow us into a likeness of Jesus. 

 Becoming like Jesus is not a fairy tale.  It is not for the faint of heart or the lazy of mind.  Usually it is painful.  It calls for facing challenge and difficulty.  Some of those challenges come from the outside world as simply life happens.  Others come from within as God prunes away needless runners and sprouts. 

 Read James 1:1-4.  What examples of testings and trials have you faced?  How have these experiences helped you grow spiritually?

 Becoming like Jesus is never for our own personal benefit.  It always points us toward others.  There are others who are mentors and teachers, encouragers and cheerleaders.  There are others who need our ministry for them.  Each of us must walk our own journey, but it was never meant to be walked alone.  Along the way, we encounter others on their journey.  We learn from them.  We share with them. 

 All of us need mentors, partners, and students.  Who are the people whose example and relationship with you guides your path?  Who are the spiritual peers who are not too impressed with your accomplishments, but love you anyway?  Who are the people who are watching how you walk your journey?  We do not walk alone.

 The most important characteristic of spiritual leadership is not their official position, the degrees they have earned, or the titles before their name.  It is their journey with Jesus.  Acts 4:13:  “The members of the Council were amazed to see how bold Peter and John were and to learn that they were ordinary men of no education.  They realized then that they had been companions of Jesus.”

 Jesus is the vine and we are the branches.  It is in relationship with Jesus that we grow and mature into his likeness.

 Talk with a peer about characteristics of a mature Christian leader.  Which ones of these do you see in your life?  What characteristics does God wish to grow in your life?

Service

Galatians 5

 Living a life in Christ – filled with grace and forgiveness – is an extraordinary freeing experience.  But this is not the kind of freedom that an immature person seeks.

 In my immature moments I seek a freedom from responsibility, a freedom from challenge, a freedom from restriction.  I want to do whatever I want and be whatever I feel.  But that is not what Paul is talking about in our scripture.

 Paul is not talking about freedom from but freedom to.  In Christ we are set free from the limitations of fear, of doubt, of a slavery to destructive habits so that we would serve others in Jesus’ name.

 The key verse in this passage is Galatians 5:13:  “As for you, my friends, you were called to be free.  But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you.  Instead, let love make you serve one another.”

 That is why service of others is a spiritual discipline that coaches us towards spiritual maturity.  Over the last several weeks we have noted how effective spiritual leadership is built on faithfulness to daily disciplines of prayer, Bible study, worship – both corporate and private, and service.    We are set free to serve one another.

 When asked what the most important thing to remember was; Jesus said the most important commandment was to love God with everything you have and everything you are.  Then he quickly continued by noting that the second most important commandment was like the first.  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  In this way we demonstrate our love for God in the way that we care for our neighbor.

 John Wesley would have considered personal holiness – love for God – and social holiness – love for neighbor – to be two sides of the same coin.  Which side is most important?  Well, frankly a coin minus one side is fairly worthless.  Both sides are needed.  Our relationship with God fuels our compassion for neighbor and our love for neighbor drives us closer to God.

 However, beware!  Some who claim to practice service may have a different motive in mind.  Check out Philippians 2:1-18.  What are the characteristics of Jesus’ service in this passage?  What is the motivation of true service?

 Let me suggest two forms of service.  First, service becomes a lifestyle.  It begins to form and reform the ways we live.  For example, if we are seeking to live a servant lifestyle such as we see described in Philippians 2:1-18, we will complain less.  We will be less attentive to insisting on what we want or think we deserve.  If we seek to care for others as Jesus describes in Matthew 25:31-46; then we will be more sensitive to persons who are in need.  We will recognize more quickly those who lack resources, or access, or understanding on how to cope with life’s difficult issues.  Servanthood changes the way we live on a daily basis.

 Secondly, practicing the spiritual discipline of service means intentionally creating opportunities to do things for others in Jesus’ name.  There is no limit on how creative these possibilities can be.  What are the spiritual gifts God has planted within you?  (We’ll talk more about this in a few weeks.)  What are the passions you have for others’ needs?

 If I have the skills and gifts of music, and a passion for people with disabilities; I would look for opportunities to use music with people who face disability.  If I have the skills to fix things and a passion for older people, there are lots of programs that try to match volunteers with the needs of seniors.  Where do your gifts intersect with what you care about and the opportunities available to you?

 Several in our church have recently started a new ministry called Grub at the Grove.  Once a month they feed a good hot meal to anyone who walks in the door.  After the last event, a couple of them told me that they found themselves asking the question, “Who is supposed to get the most out of this?  Them or us?” 

 The answer?  Both!  In God’s economy there is great joy in serving others and sharing God’s love.  Others are blessed because they are reassured that God will provide for their needs.  We are blessed because God’s Spirit of grace has flowed through us to another. 

 It is not about us.  It is all about what God wants to do through us!

 Have you had some experiences where you sensed God was using you to answer someone else’s need or prayer?  What did that feel like?  How did that opportunity tap into your gifts and graces as well as your passion and caring?

Spiritual Disciplines: Worship

Spiritual Disciplines:  Worship

 Read John 4: 1-42, especially note vss 21-24

 Read Matthew 22:34-40

 What is the most important task for us as Christians to do?  It is to love God.  And there are many ways to do this.  One of those ways is to participate in worship.

Actually, we practice worship all the time.  We may not use the word “worship,” but we practice it.

For example, how many of us have spent money on clothing such as shirts, hats, sweaters, etc. with a certain sports team logo on it?  How many of us have endured inclement weather to participate in our favorite activity – whether it is playing golf, shopping, or eating out?

I am not advocating becoming doomy and gloomy.  God wants us to enjoy life, abundantly and freely.  However, whatever is most important to us is what we worship; whether we call it that or not.

Read Romans 1:20-25.  What do you think is Paul’s definition of worship?  Do we experience idol worship in the 21^st century?  What are the consequences of not worshiping God?

There are two forms of worship:  public and private.  Public worship or corporate worship is when we gather with others to participate in activities that express our devotion and loyalty to God.  Worship is acknowledging that God is God and we are not.  Check out Psalm 100:3.

In corporate worship there are general several kinds of activities that help us express our devotion to God.  What ones can you think of?  Which ones are most meaningful and helpful to you?  How does the presence of others around you enhance your corporate worship of God?

In private worship we express our devotion and commitment to God in personal and perhaps even confidential ways.  Some enjoy listening to music or reading inspirational material or pondering a wondrous scene or moments of quiet prayer and meditation.

Healthy worship incorporates both the private and public.  Without the public our encounters with God can become very narrowly limited to what we think, feel, or sense.  We may miss things others could help us see and experience.  Without the private encounter of worship, our expression of devotion could become shallow and fake.  It is an appearance we maintain without any depth or texture to it.

Before coming to Sulphur Grove, I served in an administrative position that did not require me to preach or lead public worship every Sunday.  I quickly discovered that my own experience of public worship began Saturday night and continued through Sunday morning.  How I encountered God’s presence in the worship service was directly proportional to my preparation to meet God. 

If I did not prepare, it was easy to fall into the trap of criticizing how worship was conducted.  It was part of my job to critique and evaluate pastors.  On the other hand, worship is not about performance.  It is about encounter; specifically encountering God’s Spirit.  When I intentionally went to bed on Saturday night at a time so I would be refreshed and awake for worship, I encountered God’s Spirit in ways I would not have noticed if I was groggy and sleepy.  That was especially true if I had to awaken at a very early hour to travel a long distance to attend a particular church.

I also noticed how important it was for me to begin praying first thing Sunday morning as I awakened.  My prayers often went like this:  “Lord, where will I see your face this morning?  Where will I see your hand at work?  When will you speak to me?  Help me to hear the Word you have for me today.”

To be honest, some churches have perfectly awful corporate worship.  Sometimes it is because it was not well-prepared.  Sometimes I felt that way because it featured activities that I did not enjoy.  But even then, God moved in wondrous ways because my prayer tuned me not into the performance of worship, but into the encounter with God’s Spirit.

What are some ways you prepare for corporate worship?

Would preparation for private worship be any less important?  Is there a space or posture or time you devote to worship?  Is there particular music you use or other resources most helpful to you? 

I mentioned this in my sermon last Sunday.  Current trend spotters are reporting that our lifestyles in the 21^st century are lived in bursts of incredible pace and change.  It may be stuff at work, or in the family, or in the neighborhood, or at school or wherever your life takes you.  Likely, it is several of them happening all at once.

Consequently, moments of slow time – time to think, to feel, to ponder, to dream – are regarded as luxurious as a leisurely bubble bath.  We do not often allow ourselves the privilege to sit and worship because there is too much that needs to be done.  However, worship is not just to humor God because God is bored.  Worship are moments of reconnecting ourselves with God and with reality.  The luxury of a few moments daily to put everything in its proper place will help us stay healthier spiritually, mentally, physically, and socially.  It will also likely help us sort out the important from the simply urgent.

Why do you think Jesus snuck away so frequently to pray alone?  Sometimes he snuck away when there were many waiting to see him and receive the blessings of his healing.  But Jesus knew he had a larger mission to fulfill.  The solitude of private worship helped him stay focused on his ultimate mission.

What are some of the habits of worship – private and public –  that work well for you?  Do you have some ideas that may help someone else?  Take a moment to share your thoughts by clicking on “Leave a Comment.”