I'm preaching on Luke 14 tomorrow. This chapter has been haunting me for the past several weeks. What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? When Jesus says hate my father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sister, even my own life, what exactly is he saying? When he says I need to give up everything does he really mean everything? More on this after I preach.
I've called a members meeting tomorrow to discuss our building. The economy is killing us and things have to change. We need to get our expenses in order soon or else bad things will happen (church by candle light anyone? A cappella or unplugged worship anyone? Anyone?). I wonder if this what is meant by counting the cost? I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little frightened about what might happen tomorrow. It could go well and good things could come out of it, or it could go bad - real bad. If you get a chance, please pray for us tomorrow.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Distance...
I have so many friends right now struggling with huge decisions. It's really odd. Most of them would not notice that they are dealing with the same thing, but from a distance....from the place where I stand it all seems very similar.
What do we do when we think we are not hearing from God? That seems to be the million dollar question right now. What if I want to follow God, but I'm not sure that I am? We all seem to be looking for concrete answers - solid, unquestionable words. But I'm not sure that God works that way. Think about it. When Jesus told Peter to get out of the boat and come to Him, He didn't really tell him how to do it, He just said come. Consider this: there is the storm going on all around the disciples and they are freaking out, so they look into the distance and they think they see Jesus. They are not overly positive about it(they really think they are seeing a ghost or something.) Jesus calls out to Peter and says come here. Remember, there is this big storm going on. Wind, waves, lots of noise. I wonder what Peter thought when he heard this. Is that really Jesus, or is that my imagination? What did he say? Was that the wind?
It really doesn't matter what Peter thought, because we know what he did. He got out of the boat. Now, here is the part for us. Peter got out, so we too need to get out. No matter where we are there are always storms going on around us. Problems, stress, disagreements, injustice...you name it, they are always there. Those storms make it difficult for us to see and hear Jesus. But you know what, He is out there and he is calling us. All we need to do is respond. To get out of the boat and trust Him...trust that he knows what He is doing and that He will always be there next to us. Even when we mess up, even when we take our eyes off of Him, He is there to grab our hand and pull us out.
So this is to all my friends out there trying to figure out what to do. Trust that Jesus is speaking to you. Follow the passions that He has placed in your heart. Go where He leads you and know that He will always be there, even when friends and family are not.
Thomas Merton once wrote a prayer that has always affected me. I think there is a lot of truth in it and at times I have found a lot of peace in it:
What do we do when we think we are not hearing from God? That seems to be the million dollar question right now. What if I want to follow God, but I'm not sure that I am? We all seem to be looking for concrete answers - solid, unquestionable words. But I'm not sure that God works that way. Think about it. When Jesus told Peter to get out of the boat and come to Him, He didn't really tell him how to do it, He just said come. Consider this: there is the storm going on all around the disciples and they are freaking out, so they look into the distance and they think they see Jesus. They are not overly positive about it(they really think they are seeing a ghost or something.) Jesus calls out to Peter and says come here. Remember, there is this big storm going on. Wind, waves, lots of noise. I wonder what Peter thought when he heard this. Is that really Jesus, or is that my imagination? What did he say? Was that the wind?
It really doesn't matter what Peter thought, because we know what he did. He got out of the boat. Now, here is the part for us. Peter got out, so we too need to get out. No matter where we are there are always storms going on around us. Problems, stress, disagreements, injustice...you name it, they are always there. Those storms make it difficult for us to see and hear Jesus. But you know what, He is out there and he is calling us. All we need to do is respond. To get out of the boat and trust Him...trust that he knows what He is doing and that He will always be there next to us. Even when we mess up, even when we take our eyes off of Him, He is there to grab our hand and pull us out.
So this is to all my friends out there trying to figure out what to do. Trust that Jesus is speaking to you. Follow the passions that He has placed in your heart. Go where He leads you and know that He will always be there, even when friends and family are not.
Thomas Merton once wrote a prayer that has always affected me. I think there is a lot of truth in it and at times I have found a lot of peace in it:
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
And the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
And you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Thought's before I preach.
Worship is going on right now. I'm in the sound booth...some thoughts....
It was never about the temple....if it was Jesus would have spent more time there. He would have brought reform instead of tearing it down.
It was never about the tabernacle....if it was Jesus would have taught us how to reconstruct it.
It was never about the service....if it was Jesus would have given us a liturgy.
It was never about the songs....if it was Jesus would have given us a book of Psalms.
It was about LOVE....that is what Jesus gave us. And that is what we are supposed to do. It is not about the ceremony, it is not about what we do, how we act, if we dance, clap, raise our hands or even sing...all that is more about us and less about God...instead, it's about how we relate...to God and to each other. Isn't that what Jesus did. Isn't that true worship? True worship is not what we do in the church, it is what we do outside of the church.
Just some thoughts...
It was never about the temple....if it was Jesus would have spent more time there. He would have brought reform instead of tearing it down.
It was never about the tabernacle....if it was Jesus would have taught us how to reconstruct it.
It was never about the service....if it was Jesus would have given us a liturgy.
It was never about the songs....if it was Jesus would have given us a book of Psalms.
It was about LOVE....that is what Jesus gave us. And that is what we are supposed to do. It is not about the ceremony, it is not about what we do, how we act, if we dance, clap, raise our hands or even sing...all that is more about us and less about God...instead, it's about how we relate...to God and to each other. Isn't that what Jesus did. Isn't that true worship? True worship is not what we do in the church, it is what we do outside of the church.
Just some thoughts...
Friday, May 15, 2009
Gettin' going
A friend of mine from the "other side of the pond" has been prodding me to start writing again. I guess my last post about resurrecting this blog was a little premature. I meant well and I really want to start writing again...I just never seem to have the time to do it. I think it has a lot to do with self discipline, meaning that I need to be more disciplined in writing. (duh!)
I really enjoy writing and it is something that I would love to do. I have had several "words" spoken over me about writing books. I have tried to write books, stories, blogs, journals, etc, but keep running into the same problem...I run out of ideas to write about. I am always amazed and awed by those people who can keep up with their blogs on a daily basis. I currently subscribe to a lot of different blogs (about 130). About half deal with soccer and half deal with theology or church stuff. I also subscribe to a handful of "friends" blogs....blogs by people I know or go to the church that deal with their lives. Of those church and football blogs, about 15 are what I would consider news feeds - almost like a wire service. The other 115 are actually written by people and about a third of them are updated at least once a day (some numerous times a day). A handful of these blogs actually make money...their blogs have become so successful that they can sell ad space on them and actually make some money off of it. (Unlike like the rest of us who have had Google ads on our sites for years but have yet to make a dime off of them!)
I don't have any grand vision of making a living off my blog, but I always thought it would be nice to be able to develop my writing through this medium. There was a time where I was doing it more regularly, a time when I had a small following, a time when publishing houses would ask me to review books. But that time is long gone and I doubt it will return. The age of the blog has come and gone...replaced by facebook, which is now being replaced by twitter. I have accounts on both services but I still don't find the enjoyment of them like I had when this blog was really up and running. I go on facebook to keep track of my congregation. I still have no clue on why I would want to twitter. But there was always something more about blogging.
A friend of mine asked me the other day why in the world would someone want to blog. Why would you want to be that transparent...why would you want to share all of your life on the internet? He gave the impression that those of us who blog are exhibitionists. I can see that (and I have seen that in the blogsphere). I think that is what myspace, facebook and twitter have become. But for me, blogging is different. I was somewhat of a geek in high school. I was not very athletic and I was in the computer club. I dressed exactly like Matthew Broderick in “War Games”. My room at home looked a lot like his (computer stuff everywhere). I was somewhat shy. I never went to dances, missed my prom and never went on my first date until I was a senior in High School (it was a disaster, I was too polite and she went home with a different guy). I was a geek and I hung out with geeks (picture John Cusack in “Sixteen Candles”. Once, for fun, we took a T.V. remote control and snuck up to people’s houses and changed the stations that they were watching to freak them out. If that is not the ultimate in geekness, then I don’t know what is!). But there was one thing that I did do in High School that got me out of my shell. I wrote for the school newspaper. I did stories my freshman year, had a column my sophomore and junior year and was Editor in Chief my senior year. It was what I loved and what I wanted to do with my life. I was going to be a journalist.
Only time will tell….
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Resurection
I think it's time to resurrect this blog. I'm taking it back to it's original purpose...general thoughts on theology and life. For my thoughts on things soccer, check out my new blog.
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter!
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Thoughts on the election
I did not vote for Obama yesterday. My main reason may surprise some of you. It was not because of his position on abortion, gay marriage or his liberal economic policies. I don't agree with any of those, but my primary reason was that he is from Illinois, specifically Chicago. Chicago politicians are corrupt. Period. Kick backs, bribes, nepotism...you name it, we do it. It's the "Chicago Way." Vote early and often (even if you are dead) is not just a funny line, it is a way of life around here. Don't believe me? Our last Governor is in jail, our current Governor is about to follow him, and Da Mayor has federal prosecutors on his tail. The old saying is that the people of Chicago ask three things from their mayor: that the pot holes are fixed, the garbage is picked up and the snow is plowed. If he does those three things we are willing to look the other way on corruption. That works great for the leader of the "greatest city on earth", but not so great for the leader of the free world. I'm not saying that Obama is corrupt, I'm just saying that all of his friends and mentors are. I don't trust that.
With that said, I'm not surprised that Obama won. He represents a change in direction and the people of our country want that (isn't that why Nixon and Carter won?) The question is do we want change for change sake or do we want things to get better? Our economy is in shambles. We have a small window of time to make this better or else things can get really bad. The way I look at it, there are more ways to mess this up then there are ways to make it better. My concern right now is that there is an unbalance of power in our country. All in the desire of change we now have a strongly left leaning President, House and Senate. There is no longer room for debate. Tradition tells us that when one of the two parties takes full control, ideology over-rides common sense. It is like putting a bowl of Halloween Candy on your step with a sign "Please take one". If you are lucky, the first kid will leave one!
Normally, these times of unbalance don't last long. Our country gets fed up pretty quickly and the pendulum swings back to equilibrium. It happened in 1994, it happened in 2006, it will probably happen again in 2010. During those times in the past the economy was stable and we could survive radical ideas (both from the right and the left). Unfortunately, we are not in the same position today. Our economy is unstable. Five-hundred point moves of the stock market are common place. There are talks of bail outs and major lay offs. Imagine what the drag on our economy would be if GM went out of business - it would have a domino effect across the nation. We would see other companies going out of business across GM supply chain and unemployment would skyrocket. This is not a doom scenario, this is a real possibility over the next nine months. How should we react?
I fear that the spirit of "finally getting our turn" will override common sense. That in the mad dash to make history we will not take the time to see what is best for our country and instead focus on what is the best for my party. When I was in college, I read John F Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage." There was one part of the book that really affected me. Kennedy describes true courage as voting for what will be best for your country, even if it goes against the people who sent you into office. Being willing to vote your conscious, even if it costs you your job. For example: voting against segregation in the south during the 1960's.
As I look across the political spectrum today, I do not see a lot of courage. Instead I see politicians tied into special interest groups, donors and parties. No one thinks for him or herself. Instead they are more concerned with what will it take to keep the money coming in to get me re-elected. A true lack of courage.
It is my prayer that our new President and Congress will stop and take some time to see what is best for our country, not just what everyone wants to hear. Big business is not the enemy. The rich are not the enemy. There are not two classes of citizens in this county, those who agree with us and those who are evil. We are all in this together. What happens to the rich will effect the poor and vice-versa...for both good and bad. We are Americans...all of us. It is time to remember that. It is time for courage.
With that said, I'm not surprised that Obama won. He represents a change in direction and the people of our country want that (isn't that why Nixon and Carter won?) The question is do we want change for change sake or do we want things to get better? Our economy is in shambles. We have a small window of time to make this better or else things can get really bad. The way I look at it, there are more ways to mess this up then there are ways to make it better. My concern right now is that there is an unbalance of power in our country. All in the desire of change we now have a strongly left leaning President, House and Senate. There is no longer room for debate. Tradition tells us that when one of the two parties takes full control, ideology over-rides common sense. It is like putting a bowl of Halloween Candy on your step with a sign "Please take one". If you are lucky, the first kid will leave one!
Normally, these times of unbalance don't last long. Our country gets fed up pretty quickly and the pendulum swings back to equilibrium. It happened in 1994, it happened in 2006, it will probably happen again in 2010. During those times in the past the economy was stable and we could survive radical ideas (both from the right and the left). Unfortunately, we are not in the same position today. Our economy is unstable. Five-hundred point moves of the stock market are common place. There are talks of bail outs and major lay offs. Imagine what the drag on our economy would be if GM went out of business - it would have a domino effect across the nation. We would see other companies going out of business across GM supply chain and unemployment would skyrocket. This is not a doom scenario, this is a real possibility over the next nine months. How should we react?
I fear that the spirit of "finally getting our turn" will override common sense. That in the mad dash to make history we will not take the time to see what is best for our country and instead focus on what is the best for my party. When I was in college, I read John F Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage." There was one part of the book that really affected me. Kennedy describes true courage as voting for what will be best for your country, even if it goes against the people who sent you into office. Being willing to vote your conscious, even if it costs you your job. For example: voting against segregation in the south during the 1960's.
As I look across the political spectrum today, I do not see a lot of courage. Instead I see politicians tied into special interest groups, donors and parties. No one thinks for him or herself. Instead they are more concerned with what will it take to keep the money coming in to get me re-elected. A true lack of courage.
It is my prayer that our new President and Congress will stop and take some time to see what is best for our country, not just what everyone wants to hear. Big business is not the enemy. The rich are not the enemy. There are not two classes of citizens in this county, those who agree with us and those who are evil. We are all in this together. What happens to the rich will effect the poor and vice-versa...for both good and bad. We are Americans...all of us. It is time to remember that. It is time for courage.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Motivation
I'm supposed to be working on my sermon right now....but I'm blogging instead. I just can't seem to get motivated. I've checked my e-mails, read my blogs, talked to people, power washed the house, fixed a drain...everything but write a sermon. And it's not like I don't know what I'm going to be preaching on! I have my text and I have a rough idea of what I want to say. I just can't get it on paper. It's just one of those days.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Just sick....
That's what I said when I saw this live...and we were on the opposite side of the field with the sun in our eyes! It's even more incredible from this Tribune picture. Can you imagine what the two crew players are saying? "Hey, this is the MLS, we're not supposed to have that kind of skill!"
Luis seems to have some concerns in his blog if Blanco is going to return. He does seem to be slowing down a bit, but he was a big part of the first goal...."goal by McBride, assisted by Blanco." Although he is slowing down, he probably is the only one who can effectively serve McBride (Mapp certainly can't...unless McBride is sitting with Section 8!) From what I understand, we may be in a salary crunch next year when McBride starts to get fully paid. I figure we are going to loose Marmel and Frankowski. I really would love to see them resign Conde (doubtful though - Conde wants to be in Europe). The question really is can we afford to have McBride,Blanco and Conde without turing into the Galaxy?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Pastor's Appreciation Month
It's 12:20 on Sunday morning. Like many nights, I am awake. Lately I find that I do not sleep very well. My mind tends to race. There are so many things that have my concern; that cause me anxiety. Personal issues, family issues, church issues, money issues...the list never seems to end. I went to bed early tonight and starred at my clock for close to an hour. During that time I tried to play the games that cause you to fall asleep. I counted up; I counted down; I thought of peaceful scenes; I thought of theology. None of it worked. I prayed for a bit. Perhaps the Lord wanted me to pray for something, for someone...no one came to mind. I prayed for my family, I prayed for the church, I prayed for my sick wife. Still, no sleep. So I got up and went downstairs.
I poured myself a glass of water. I checked my e-mails. I changed a burnt out light bulb in the living room. I contemplated reading N.T. Wright but the thought of reading some soccer stuff on the internet seemed more interesting. I looked for food but found nothing appetizing so I drank my water instead. I finally gave up and headed back for bed. But first, a stop in the bathroom.
I was looking through a Christian Bookstore flier that was sent to us this week. I am not a fan of most Christian Bookstores. First, they hardly sell books anymore and secondly, what they do sell tends to be junk (in my humble opinion). But it's late and it is either this or a scrapbooking magazine. It is here that I had an epiphany. All my anxieties are found right here in this flier.
Pastoring is one of the most difficult jobs that anyone could ever do. There are pressures coming at you from every direction. Everyone has some expectations of you. The problem is that those expectations are rarely ever defined and they tend to be constantly changing. You pour your life into people only to discover that whatever you've done for them in the past counts for nothing. Friends turn their backs on you. At times it feels like your completely isolated. You share with someone how you feel only to have your words used against you. After awhile you start talking to no one. It is not surprising that many pastors suffer from depression.
The funny part is that the majority of the pastors I know really care about their people. They want to see them grow in their relationship with Jesus. They want to see them walk in all of the things that God has for them. They want to see them set free of their junk. But it feels at times that some of their congregations don't trust their pastors. They are certain that their pastors are holding them back, are judgemental, legalistic, and abusive. I have heard these accusations spoken to me of many of the pastors in this town and I am certain that they have been spoken of me as well. What keeps me going is that fact that I am not here for the congregation...it is not their approval that I am looking for. I am here because of a calling from God. I work for Jesus first and foremost. It is his approval that I am striving for. I realise that I am called to love people, especially the people that Jesus has brought me. But loving them does not mean giving in to their every whim. Do we not rebuke parents for spoiling their children? The same is true for the pastor / congregation relationship.
This is where the flier comes into play. In the past, people were taught by their pastors. They had their bibles and some additional books, but for the most part the local church was their primary source for direction. Today it is a different story. We can download sermons from preachers from around the world. We can watch them on T.V. or on YouTube. We can buy books, go to conferences, or listen to the radio. You name it, we can get direction from a million different sources. I am not against people trying to grow and I don't want to hinder anyone...I'm not looking for a monopoly on teaching. However it seems like the more voices that are speaking out there, the less people have discernment...the less people actually know what they believe.
Here is what I mean. I open the flier, and there are books by a group of teachers that I admire. Most of these individuals are better preachers then I am, they have more degrees than I do, they have been doing this longer then I and they are probably smarter than I am. On the same page are a group of teacher that are better speakers than I am. They are more charismatic, they can gather a large crowd. They speak into what people want to hear. At times I wonder if they are actually teaching the faith. My own charisma, speaking abilities or personality can not compete with either of these two groups. Yet at times that is what I am doing, competing for the hearts of the people in my church. I turn the page.
Now there are a group of books explaining everything that is wrong with the church. How we have sold out and have overly adapted to the culture around us. Or how we are not misional enough and have closed ourselves to the culture around us. How we need additional programs or facilities or a better Sunday experience or whatever. Or how we have completely blown it because we have added the additional programs, facilities or better Sunday experience. Or how we have sold out to the world and become pagans because we meet in a building (instead of a house).
The modern pastor is attempting to balance these conflicting and competing forces that are all around him and are affecting his people. Unfortunately, he has no control over them. There is absolutely nothing that he can do to insulate himself or his church from them. So a typical Sunday looks like this: The pastor comes to church. Someone comes to him and demands that we do something about these unruly children, how he needs to speak to their parents and get things changed. Then someone else comes to him and complains that Children's Church is just to structured, it is constricting the children's ability to grow and truly discover their gifting. Next, someone comes and states that we need to change something in the building because it does not look like a real church, people must think we are a cult (this is a true comment that someone once had. They did not like the stage...real churches don't have stages!). Then another person comes and tells you that we are in sin by the way we do church. We need to sell everything, live with a common purse and meet in our homes. We need to do something about the homeless people, we should open a shelter. We need to keep the homeless people away from here, they smell and I am afraid for my children. Worship is too short....worship is too long. We need to dim the lights, we need more light. Your sermon really touched me but I really hated this part. And, oh yeah, are you pre, mid or post.
Balance on that the stresses of trying to balance the church's finances without appearing greedy. The sense of guilt for taking a salary, for taking a day off, for taking a Sabbath day, for having a life outside of the church. Now add your family to the equation. How do you minister to your wife and your children when you know that if your not careful, the church can become your mistress. The try to remember that your kids need a life outside of the church and ministry or else you risk saving the world and losing your kids.
This is where most pastors live. I am not writing this to vent, but the Lord really put this on my heart. The local pastor is one of the most highly regarded persons in the church but at the same time, the most forgotten. As this being pastors appreciation month, I felt like I need to write something.
Hebrews 13 tells us to remember our leaders, to look at their lives as an example. Most pastors that I know willingly pour out their lives for the church. We don't do it for the pay or the power. We do it because we love Jesus and feel that he called us to do this. Likewise, as we see the local pastors pour their lives out for the church we should pour our lives out for one another. When we begin to do this we tend to take our eyes off ourselves and begin to look at others. We loose the "What's in it for me?" mentality and take on the "What can I do for you?" mentality. Hebrews 13 goes on and says that we should obey our leaders so that things go well for us. This is not about a power trip. This is about the well being of the entire church. James 3 tells us that not many of us should want to be teachers because teachers are held to a higher accountability before the Lord. It is in that spirit that the author of Hebrews is speaking to us. The Lord has called some to lead, and it is not blind obedience that we should give our leaders, but perhaps the benefit of the doubt. We should pray for our leaders. We should bring our concerns directly to them in private. Sometimes it is difficult to see the big picture of what is going on and sometimes we need to realise that there is more to a story then even the pastor can tell us about. But most of the pastors I know would rather talk to you in private, answering your questions to the best of their abilities instead of trying to put out gossip.
Give your pastor a break. He may not preach like the guy on T.V. and the worship band may not be a tight as the group on the record but they are giving all they have for God's glory. You want your pastor to be a better preacher, your worship leader to sing better? Pray for them that God gives them the ability to do it. You will see more fruit from that then by complaining or changing churches. Love the place that God has planted you in. Pray for it. Become a healthy member of it. Bear fruit in itand for it. Do that, and you will find the fulfillment that you have been searching the bookstores for.
This month is pastor's appreciation month. Last week I received a check from a group within my church. It was an answer to prayer for Cindy and I. But it wasn't just the check that made us feel appreciated. It was the attitude of the people who gave it. Remember you pastor this month. Pray for him. Come along side of him. Bless him. Give him a day off. And as Hebrews says: "Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow." And the Lord will bless you for it.
Well, it's after 2:00 in the morning. I guess it's time to get some sleep.
I poured myself a glass of water. I checked my e-mails. I changed a burnt out light bulb in the living room. I contemplated reading N.T. Wright but the thought of reading some soccer stuff on the internet seemed more interesting. I looked for food but found nothing appetizing so I drank my water instead. I finally gave up and headed back for bed. But first, a stop in the bathroom.
I was looking through a Christian Bookstore flier that was sent to us this week. I am not a fan of most Christian Bookstores. First, they hardly sell books anymore and secondly, what they do sell tends to be junk (in my humble opinion). But it's late and it is either this or a scrapbooking magazine. It is here that I had an epiphany. All my anxieties are found right here in this flier.
Pastoring is one of the most difficult jobs that anyone could ever do. There are pressures coming at you from every direction. Everyone has some expectations of you. The problem is that those expectations are rarely ever defined and they tend to be constantly changing. You pour your life into people only to discover that whatever you've done for them in the past counts for nothing. Friends turn their backs on you. At times it feels like your completely isolated. You share with someone how you feel only to have your words used against you. After awhile you start talking to no one. It is not surprising that many pastors suffer from depression.
The funny part is that the majority of the pastors I know really care about their people. They want to see them grow in their relationship with Jesus. They want to see them walk in all of the things that God has for them. They want to see them set free of their junk. But it feels at times that some of their congregations don't trust their pastors. They are certain that their pastors are holding them back, are judgemental, legalistic, and abusive. I have heard these accusations spoken to me of many of the pastors in this town and I am certain that they have been spoken of me as well. What keeps me going is that fact that I am not here for the congregation...it is not their approval that I am looking for. I am here because of a calling from God. I work for Jesus first and foremost. It is his approval that I am striving for. I realise that I am called to love people, especially the people that Jesus has brought me. But loving them does not mean giving in to their every whim. Do we not rebuke parents for spoiling their children? The same is true for the pastor / congregation relationship.
This is where the flier comes into play. In the past, people were taught by their pastors. They had their bibles and some additional books, but for the most part the local church was their primary source for direction. Today it is a different story. We can download sermons from preachers from around the world. We can watch them on T.V. or on YouTube. We can buy books, go to conferences, or listen to the radio. You name it, we can get direction from a million different sources. I am not against people trying to grow and I don't want to hinder anyone...I'm not looking for a monopoly on teaching. However it seems like the more voices that are speaking out there, the less people have discernment...the less people actually know what they believe.
Here is what I mean. I open the flier, and there are books by a group of teachers that I admire. Most of these individuals are better preachers then I am, they have more degrees than I do, they have been doing this longer then I and they are probably smarter than I am. On the same page are a group of teacher that are better speakers than I am. They are more charismatic, they can gather a large crowd. They speak into what people want to hear. At times I wonder if they are actually teaching the faith. My own charisma, speaking abilities or personality can not compete with either of these two groups. Yet at times that is what I am doing, competing for the hearts of the people in my church. I turn the page.
Now there are a group of books explaining everything that is wrong with the church. How we have sold out and have overly adapted to the culture around us. Or how we are not misional enough and have closed ourselves to the culture around us. How we need additional programs or facilities or a better Sunday experience or whatever. Or how we have completely blown it because we have added the additional programs, facilities or better Sunday experience. Or how we have sold out to the world and become pagans because we meet in a building (instead of a house).
The modern pastor is attempting to balance these conflicting and competing forces that are all around him and are affecting his people. Unfortunately, he has no control over them. There is absolutely nothing that he can do to insulate himself or his church from them. So a typical Sunday looks like this: The pastor comes to church. Someone comes to him and demands that we do something about these unruly children, how he needs to speak to their parents and get things changed. Then someone else comes to him and complains that Children's Church is just to structured, it is constricting the children's ability to grow and truly discover their gifting. Next, someone comes and states that we need to change something in the building because it does not look like a real church, people must think we are a cult (this is a true comment that someone once had. They did not like the stage...real churches don't have stages!). Then another person comes and tells you that we are in sin by the way we do church. We need to sell everything, live with a common purse and meet in our homes. We need to do something about the homeless people, we should open a shelter. We need to keep the homeless people away from here, they smell and I am afraid for my children. Worship is too short....worship is too long. We need to dim the lights, we need more light. Your sermon really touched me but I really hated this part. And, oh yeah, are you pre, mid or post.
Balance on that the stresses of trying to balance the church's finances without appearing greedy. The sense of guilt for taking a salary, for taking a day off, for taking a Sabbath day, for having a life outside of the church. Now add your family to the equation. How do you minister to your wife and your children when you know that if your not careful, the church can become your mistress. The try to remember that your kids need a life outside of the church and ministry or else you risk saving the world and losing your kids.
This is where most pastors live. I am not writing this to vent, but the Lord really put this on my heart. The local pastor is one of the most highly regarded persons in the church but at the same time, the most forgotten. As this being pastors appreciation month, I felt like I need to write something.
Hebrews 13 tells us to remember our leaders, to look at their lives as an example. Most pastors that I know willingly pour out their lives for the church. We don't do it for the pay or the power. We do it because we love Jesus and feel that he called us to do this. Likewise, as we see the local pastors pour their lives out for the church we should pour our lives out for one another. When we begin to do this we tend to take our eyes off ourselves and begin to look at others. We loose the "What's in it for me?" mentality and take on the "What can I do for you?" mentality. Hebrews 13 goes on and says that we should obey our leaders so that things go well for us. This is not about a power trip. This is about the well being of the entire church. James 3 tells us that not many of us should want to be teachers because teachers are held to a higher accountability before the Lord. It is in that spirit that the author of Hebrews is speaking to us. The Lord has called some to lead, and it is not blind obedience that we should give our leaders, but perhaps the benefit of the doubt. We should pray for our leaders. We should bring our concerns directly to them in private. Sometimes it is difficult to see the big picture of what is going on and sometimes we need to realise that there is more to a story then even the pastor can tell us about. But most of the pastors I know would rather talk to you in private, answering your questions to the best of their abilities instead of trying to put out gossip.
Give your pastor a break. He may not preach like the guy on T.V. and the worship band may not be a tight as the group on the record but they are giving all they have for God's glory. You want your pastor to be a better preacher, your worship leader to sing better? Pray for them that God gives them the ability to do it. You will see more fruit from that then by complaining or changing churches. Love the place that God has planted you in. Pray for it. Become a healthy member of it. Bear fruit in itand for it. Do that, and you will find the fulfillment that you have been searching the bookstores for.
This month is pastor's appreciation month. Last week I received a check from a group within my church. It was an answer to prayer for Cindy and I. But it wasn't just the check that made us feel appreciated. It was the attitude of the people who gave it. Remember you pastor this month. Pray for him. Come along side of him. Bless him. Give him a day off. And as Hebrews says: "Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow." And the Lord will bless you for it.
Well, it's after 2:00 in the morning. I guess it's time to get some sleep.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Disinterest....
I was driving with Emily late last night and we were talking about the baseball playoffs. Both the Cubs and the Sox won their divisions this year. Both are in the playoffs at the same time for the first time in over 100 years. Chicagoland is buzzing about this. Emily and I came to the conclusion that neither of us really cared what happened. Yes, it would be cool if either team won, but it wasn't an important thing. Baseball was no longer a focus for us. We got home and told Cindy and she agreed with us. Wow, it's amazing what the beautiful game can do to you.
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