Well, I’ve been gone awhile. I’ll be posting regularly. Check back.
Categorised in Random Thoughts
Some of you may know what I’m writing about just from the title. Some of you may not. Here it is. The “System” is the religious/political side of the church. This is when people bring their own personal agendas to ministry. This is when programs and numbers are more important than people coming to know Christ. I have several friends who are in church ministry and have been burned by the System. Some of them have emerged from the battle scarred but healed. It’s all behind them. They don’t forget about their experience, but, because they are free from it, there is no need to rage against it. There are other, though, who can’t seem to get free from it. They never let it go. They never get free. They can ‘t escape it. For the sake of this blog, let’s just call them Prisoners. Here is the danger in being out of the System, but, not being free from it. According to the Prisoner, everything anyone in the church does is considered “System”. If someone in the church disagrees with the Prisoner - its System. If the Prisoner disagrees with someone else in the church, the Prisoner labels them as “System”. If the agenda of the Prisoner is not regarded as Holy Doctrine, then it’s because of System. There are enough problems in the church today. The last thing the church needs is ministers blasting other ministers. I’m trying to remember where the Bible talks about pastors and lay people being the judge of the people. As pastors, we are called to be shepherds and not judges. There is certainly nothing wrong with correction and accountability, but, the rules change when we turn accountability into judgement. We are called to love everyone and to serve everyone even if the people we are serving don’t have the same theology or agenda or political thought.
Categorised in Other thoughts on religion and worldview.
It’s such a taboo in society to be irrelevant. To not be counted. To not be noticed. To not be heard or seen. To be irrelevant. I’m reading a new book. It’s not a “hot off the press” book, but, it’s new to me and my library. “In the Name of Jesus” by Henri Nouwen. I’ve never read any of his work. I’m discovering that it’s because of my Southern Baptist background. (Aside: I can say that and anything else about the Southern Baptists because I spent roughly 20 years in the denomination. I’ve earned it.) Anyway, I look around at the world of church and I see how every “expert” in the ministry is telling ministers and pastors to be caught up with what is hot. “You’ve got to be relevant to reach people.”
What if “relevant” is not what people want? How do we define this in the church? Don’t get me wrong - as a worship pastor I understand the importance of having various mediums such as video, presentation software, screens and a band pumping through a hot sound system. I understand the importance of the newest office of the church - the coffee shop. I am not against integrating these things into ministry. What I don’t get is the mindset that says - “without this stuff, your church will sink. No one will come.” It’s almost as if we’ve taken the “Field of Dreams” approach. “If you build it, they will come”. I don’t have a problem with building “it”. What I do question is the attitude that without “it”, people won’t come and the church will become irrelevant to society. I wonder what Jesus would say to ministers and pastors that put programs above people. I wonder what He thinks about the church.tv movement. Was Jesus emergent or was He content to stay behind the scenes? Based upon the miracle at the wedding at Cana, I would say He is content to stay behind the scenes. He certainly didn’t make a show about it. He didn’t produce a tv spot on the miracle. I doubt He would show up on Daystar, INSP, or TBN to brag about His miracle. I just don’t see Him being interviewed by Paul Crouch. Mike Murdock might ask Him to sow a $58 seed for 12 months to see His miracles increase. I think that being irrelevant is a concept I’m really going to need to ponder. I’m a performer. I LOVE to be seen and heard. My inner-performer wants to be relevant. As I enter back into full time church ministry, my new prayer is that I become irrelevant in order to make Christ relevant. I think that’s the message Paul was trying to convey when he said “for to me, living is Christ and to die is gain”.
Categorised in Other thoughts on religion and worldview.
This week has been devastating for our country. I don’t need to spend anytime commenting on the Virginia Tech massacre. My heart breaks for parents who are going to outlive their children. My heart breaks for the educational community of VT. My heart breaks for people who now have no roommate. My heart breaks for the parents of Cho Seung-Hui. This is the gunman. The 23 year old kid who brutally murdered 32 people and then killed himself. My heart breaks for Cho Seung-Hui. I know many people will live to HATE this name. At some level, I can’t blame those people. But, at another level I hurt. Cho Seung-Hui was a hurting young adult. This kid was lonely. This kid had no friends. This kid had no one to talk to that he felt he could trust. “You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my conscience,” he said into the camera, looking down occasionally to read from his manifesto. “You thought it was one pathetic boy’s life you were extinguishing. Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people.” This was his life. These were his daily thoughts. He woke up with this mess and went to bed with this mess. I have determined that this young man could be the poster child for Young Life. Why? Because he is why I volunteer with such a ministry. I volunteer so I can have a chance to reach kids that need to hear the Gospel and aren’t going to go to church to hear it. For those of you out there in ANY type of student ministry, don’t miss out on an opportunity to reach the kid that sits by his or herself at lunch. Be looking for the “Question Mark Kid”, as Cho was called at VT. Make them your mission. Make them the goal of your day. Who knows where we would be today if someone had taken the time to reach out to him. Everyone is blaming everyone. Democrats blaming Republicans on gun control, Rosie O’Donnell blames the NRA and George Bush, the press blames the VT security system, people are blaming VT’s president. I’m not trying to cast blame, but, what about the local church, the on-campus ministries, Christian students on campus? Where were they? Maybe they tried and they just couldn’t get through. Maybe they didn’t try because they thought there was no way he would listen. WHO KNOWS!!!!!!!!! DID ANYONE TRY????????? All I know is that the Great Commission is more than a great way to end a book. It is a message that will literally SAVE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE. Let him who has ears let him hear.
Categorised in Other thoughts on religion and worldview.
I have taught at a private Christian school for 8 years. It’s a great school. I just got word that one of the students I have close contact with has been sent to some type of boarding school because he struggles at home and at school. My heart is hurting. I love this kid. Funny guy. He always has something to say. I love his parents. Great people. For those of you who do ANY type of work with students, invest your time. Invest your knowledge of the Word. Let them know that they are valued. Let them know that they are important and that we really do care about their well-being. Let the parents know that we are walking with them - partnering with them in raising kids. Let the students know that God’s love for them is NOT BASED UPON PERFORMANCE. I know that comes as a shock to many denominations, but, it’s true. Let the kids know there is nothing they can do to earn the love of God. Let them know that God doesn’t base His love on income brackets, church rules and bylaws, or any other standard made by man. God loves them because THAT IS WHAT HE DOES. HE LOVES. HE IS LOVE. For God not to love is totally against His entire character. Let them know that God loves them simply because they exist. Let them know.
Categorised in Other thoughts on religion and worldview.
This new photo is from the last season at Ray Winder Field - one of the oldest minor league ballparks to be retired. It was the home of the Arkansas Travelers AA Baseball Club from 1932 until May of 2006. I love baseball. I can’t wait until opening day. April 12 for the hometown team. Play ball!
Categorised in Random Thoughts
I had a conversation with my sister today. She is wanting to buy an iPod, but, her dilema was to get the 2gb Nano or the 4gb Nano. I’m a gadget junkie so she calls me with this problem. I asked her how much each one cost and she told me the 2gb was $150 and the 4gb was $200. She was content on staying with the 2gb Nano. It holds something like 3 songs. I asked her about getting the 30gb iPod video. She said it’s $50 more than the 4gb Nano. I advised her to spring 50 more bucks for the 30gb. She still wasn’t sure. I got to thinking that there is a blog somewhere in this conversation. Here it is…I think that sometimes we as believers settle for 2gb worship when 30gb is there. Yes, it takes a little more sacrifice. We ask ourselves can we afford it? Can I go to something better? What is the cost? The cost for better personal worship lies in making the following sacrifices: surrendering a grudge we’ve enjoyed hanging on to, admitting to our spouse “I was wrong”, getting up a few minutes earlier to meet with God (that’s my tough one). I’m sure there are other areas. The point is we have to ask ourselves this: “Is it worth the extra sacrifice to enhance our personal worship?” To use the iPod upgrade analogy once more - is the 30gb better than the 2 or 4gb? Definitely.
Categorised in Thoughts on Worship
I’m sitting in my office at Grace Church. I’m the only one here. The quiet is broken only by the sound of my fingers tapping on a computer keyboard. Outside - it’s still. Only a few cars moving down Highway 10. The next few minutes of quiet are precious. My mind is clear. My heart is ready. I’ll soon be in sound check getting ready for Sunday worship. Wait…here comes a thought. What if….what if we had a worship service built completely on silence? What if the entire time of musical, singing worship was silent? No sounds. No guitars. No drums. No keyboards. No vocals. Nothing. What would that be like? What would that look like? What would that sound like. Coughs and shuffles of intimidation from the congregation? How would we react? Where would our minds go? Lunch? The fight with our spouse last night trying to justify our words? Our job? The yardwork that waits on us after lunch because football is sadly done for the year? Would we think about the movie we saw this weekend or a song we heard? Or, would we sit and rest? Rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Would we sit in application of Psalm 46:10? “Be still and know that I am God.”
Categorised in Thoughts on Worship
