Tag Archives: Christ

Being Without Doing

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It saddens me to see so many UM local churches that are declining and ineffective, because we don’t have to be. I’m not saying that all UM churches should be flourishing with members, growing each year, and have lots of money in the bank. Not at all. But I know that every single UM church has the power to be a transforming presence within their neighborhood and community. I strongly believe in our message and theology. And I strongly believe our capacity to bring transformation into our community and the ability to make healthy and effective disciples of Christ.

In case you’re wondering, this has nothing to do with any outcome of the General Conference 2012. I tried to get excited for it, but I couldn’t. I even tried following along with the live feeds. But when people were presenting amendments to the amendments, I couldn’t endure it. I’m waiting for someone to post cliff notes of all things General Conference 2012 soon.

But from local churches to the General Conference, I feel like many of us are sitting around and talking until we see eye to eye on everything before we do anything (from John Perkins). That’s never going to result to anything. There’s not a single community (secular or religious) that exists where everyone sees eye to eye on everything 

I think what bothers me the most, from my limited view and experience, is that many of our struggling local churches make the mistake of trying to be without doing (also from John Perkins). We put all the energy and breath into what we think we should be. But when it comes to doing something about it, well, it never happens. A lot of times, a subcommittee is created to do more talking about the ideal being. Then disagreements happen. Someone hijacks the committee’s vision and brings his or her own agenda. Sometimes another task force needs be created to deal with the disagreements. We have amendments to the amendments and a task force or a sub committee for every new amendment and eventually, everyone’s confused and/or there’s too much to clarify and organize. Either way, the end result is that nothing really happens.

And because of all this talking about how we should be, we’ve slowly lost track of what year it really is and the reality of the culture and community we are surrounded by. The culture is decades ahead of our church, so much so, that walking into some of our local churches is like experiencing time traveling. And it frustrates me to no end that churches do not use media technology, especially in SoCal, arguably the mecca of media technology. I mean, Hollywood is our backyard. (A quick side note, projecting the lyrics to the hymn on a screen helps everyone. First, people look up and can see everyone else’s face. Second, it’s easier for many to read (the bigger) words projected on the screen than strain to look at the small type in the hymnal. Third, it never hurts to incorporate media like pictures, video clips to enhance your sermon, once in a while.)

Every year in our ordination exams in the Cal-Pac Annual Conference, this question is asked:
You are seeking to join an annual conference that has experienced more than three decades of decline and has scores of struggling churches? How will you address this reality in your ministry as a Deacon or Elder?

I answered that I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to change anything within the Annual Conference. Simply, it’s big and vast and too much to think about bringing any chance to the Annual Conference. I told them that my goal is to do the best that I can by and through God’s grace for the local church and the community that I am appointed to.
They pushed back asking about our connectionalism and that we’re called to serve the Annual Conference and not just our local church.
I responded with, How’s that working out for us? We’re still declining. How long are we going to wait for change to come from the top down? There are too many differing opinions and thoughts within our Annual Conference. While the diversity is beautiful and necessary, we’re going to spend so much energy and time arguing about how things should be that change doesn’t really happen. In the history of the church, it’s always been a small group of people that made drastic changes for the entire body of Christ. The 12 Disciples. The Apostles. The Desert Fathers. Martin Luther. I strongly believe that some of our local churches will start hitting a grace-filled stride that results in effectiveness, healthiness and growth and other local churches will notice. And because we tend to be a copycat church, when one UMC does something that is effective, other churches will start trying to translate the methods of the effective church into their own setting. And maybe they’ll be enough of a ripple effect that makes the entire conference notice.

I didn’t pass that year my ordination exams that year. I could tell from their response that many of them didn’t like my answer. And I’m not saying that it was a good answer or that I was right. I mean, still today, I don’t even know if I answered the question correctly.

But I still believe in what I said though, that effective change always seem to have come from the down up. To wait for the General Conference and the Annual Conference to make the necessary changes is not productive use of time, gifts and energy. By the time we get this massive ship that we call UMC to make important shifts and changes in direction, we’ll already be years too late.

I believe that our local churches have no excuse to be dying. Check that. I believe that we have no excuses of dying without putting up a fight. I say, if we’re expecting to close our doors in the next two years, let’s go out with a bang. Let’s throw a banquet and invite the poor and the sick and the migrant workers and have a taste of what heaven would be like. Let’s make our presence felt and known in our community. Let’s be like Jonathan and his young armor bearer in 1 Samuel 14 and, well, “just do it.”

Perhaps I am still too young and naive to understand how everything works. A clergy at a district gathering once said to me, “Just wait until you get to my age, and you’ll see.” What I’ll see, I have no idea. But I’m sure he was talking about how young and naive I appeared to be and how out of touch with “reality” I was. I don’t know.

But what I do know is that we can’t afford to spend too much more energy and breath talking about how we should be and how things should be. As John Perkins writes, “Being is not complete until doing.”

We need to start putting our faith into work.
All of our local churches has the potential to bear fruit.
All of God’s churches has potential to make some sort of difference in our community.

We just need to stop talking about it and start putting our money where our mouth is.

 

 

 

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No Worries

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Sunrise 3 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Without Easter, our faith-our lives- would be a bit pointless.

Easter- Christ’s resurrection- is the engine that drives Christianity, our faith and our lives. Because of Easter, we have hope. As the song says, “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. “

Tony Campolo famously preaches about his pastor’s Easter sermon: It’s Friday, but Sunday’s a-comin’. It’s such a great sermon, if you get a chance, here’s an excerpt from the sermon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCQSsUKDYCU.

It often feels like we’re always in the midst of Friday – when Jesus is hanging dead on a cross; when everything that can go wrong, does go wrong and then some…

If we let it, we can let our lives drown in Fridays. We can let our lives be swallowed by the darkness of worries that Friday brings.

Worries of…
…financial security and stability
…job security
…the future
…family life

… and much, much more. Some more serious, some a bit more trivial. But worries, nevertheless.
But here’s the good news of the Gospel: we don’t have to be stuck in Fridays, because Sunday’s a comin’!

Even in the darkest hours of our lives; even in the stormiest of weather, murkiest of waters, and even if we’re lost in the middle of nowhere, Sunday’s a coming.
And with Sunday, with Easter, with the resurrection, Christ brings hope. He brings light to guide us out of the darkness; shelter to protect us from the storms; a raft to help us navigate out of the waters; he gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us back home.

With Easter, comes hope.
With Sunday, we have a risen Savior.
With Sunday, we have a love that conquered death.
With Sunday, we have a love never ending and a hope everlasting.

That is why we can say to one another, “Hey, no worries.” Because for those of us who are lost in Fridays, no worries— Sunday’s a comin’.

Who Is Jesus Christ To You?

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That was the last question that was asked in my last interview of the day for ordination.

I thought we were done, because everyone put their notes down and the time keeper said something like, “2 minutes.”

I’m thinking, “Okay. Day’s over. Let’s go home. I’m exhausted.”
And one of the BOOM (Board of Ordained Ministry) members of the Theology section says, “I have one more and final question: Who is Jesus Christ to you?”

Needless to say, this is how it felt: (from 2:35-2:43)

It’s not the funnest of feelings trying to get back into interview mode after dropping your guard (even for a second).
I stammered, and repeated the question, hoping time would run out and when it didn’t, I blasted through.
The following is a more thought out answer from the day of the interviews.

I believe Jesus Christ to be my Savior. But I believe that is not enough. Don’t get me wrong, it’s absolutely important and vital to have Jesus Christ as our Savior. But, I can’t let my relationship with Christ begin and end there.

It’s part of human nature to take things for granted.
People who have a near death experience, they come out the other side with a whole new appreciation and perspective of life. They talk about how they love to hear the birds sing in the morning, the smell of nature, the way the sun feels on their skin etc. Because they could’ve lost everything, every small moment is now precious, and they soak life in. But after a period of time, that sentiment sort of fades. Sure, they still hold onto appreciating life’s every moment, but it’s not as enthusiastic and pure as before.
Simply put, the novelty fades away.

When someone is rescued by another person, they are grateful for the life saver.
The rescuee may go out of his/her way to show gratitude and appreciation for her savior. Not a single day may go by without thinking about the bravery of her rescuer. She may go as far as taking her savior’s entire family out for dinner, sending birthday gifts, whatever to show her appreciation. But 5 years down the road, while she may still have gratitude and appreciation for the person that saved her life… it’s very possible and realistic that the feeling of gratitude and appreciation may not be as intense.
It’s not bad, it’s just seems to be part of our nature.

That can happen with our relationship with Jesus if we let Christ be our Savior and nothing more. That’s why some people are “saved” many times over. I remember hearing a teen from the documentary The Lost Children of Rockdale County say something like, “I was just tired of getting saved every week.”

Yes, Jesus Christ is my Savior, but he is also my Lord and Master. Because Jesus saved me, my life is indebted to him; my life now belongs to him.
As Wesley’s prayer says, “I am no longer my own, but thine.”
So, as Christ as my Lord, I now live my life for him. So, ideally, where Christ goes, I follow. Where Christ decides to send me, I go. What Christ wants me to do, I do. But, I fight. I can’t lie, I fight and resist. But in the end, Jesus love wins me over. Because Jesus is a Master full of love and full of grace. That’s who Jesus Christ is to me.

He is the one who looks me into my eyes and says, “Child, where are they? Has no one condemned you?… Then neither do I condemn you.”
But he is also the one who gently adds, “Go now, and leave your life of sin.”

That is why when we accept Jesus as our Savior, Lord and Master, we are no longer the same. Because, we are handing our lives over to him, and his grace and love is so overwhelming, that it begins to change us from the inside out. We can’t remain the same when we start living for Jesus’ purpose and no longer our own.

And living for Jesus’ purpose, cause and mission – living with Christ as my Master – is where I know I’ll find true freedom.

 

Preaching the Gospel

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Sermon Mount Jesus Mormon (Photo credit: More Good Foundation)

Professionally and occupationally, preaching is the biggest part of our job description. It’s the one thing where everyone gets to see what we do. Sometimes, people think it’s the only thing we do. We’ve all been asked this question in one form or another: “Soooo… what do you do rest of the week?”

For that reason alone, I get annoyed when pastors don’t put effort into their sermon. A sermon requires more planning and deserves more thought than putting it together 3 hours before services starts on Sunday morning.
Not that this should ever be our motivation, but because it’s the one thing people expect us to do week in and week out, I would hope to do my best in preaching on Sunday morning. That’s a slippery slope – to think about meeting people’s expectation – but, it’s also a reminder that the people (and God) deserve more than the preacher winging it on Sunday mornings.

And it’s obvious when we haven’t put thought and effort into our sermon.
It’s obvious when you show up at a corporate meeting and know that the person leading the meeting didn’t prepare adequately.
It’s obvious when your teacher shows up and didn’t prepare for the day’s lesson.
We walk away from these scenarios thinking, “man, what a waste of time.”

And I know that when we don’t put effort into our sermons, people will walk away thinking, “Man, what a waste of time.”
Or worse, if we do it enough, we will have conditioned people to check out during the time we stand in front of the pulpit, if they continue to come.

I’m not saying that we need to hit homeruns with every sermon. As bad as this may sound, it’s rather hard to hit a homerun every time you step up to the plate (pulpit) on Sunday morning. There are hundred of factors that can “hinder” the sermon, despite all the prayer and effort and study we have put into it.
Sometimes…
-the vibe of the congregation is just weird on Sunday morning.
-the week was too damn long and your mind is still trying to catch up.
-you woke up sick.
-the opening story didn’t connect the way you wanted it to.
-someone dropped a bombshell of a news right before service starts. (why do people do that…?)
-nerves hit you.
-you just realized that your zipper is down.
-your joke, which you thought was hilarious, barely got a chuckle.

Sometimes, the church wasn’t ready to hear that message or you weren’t ready to preach that kind of message.
And sometimes, despite all that we put in, for us, we simply walk away feeling, “Man… I could’ve done so much better…” without any outside factors going wrong.

But, for me, it’s different when I walk away hearing a sermon and thinking, “man, that had some potential. I wonder what happened” versus, “what the hell was that?” It becomes blatantly obvious, at least for me, when the preacher is struggling because s/he did not put thought, effort, prayer, study, time into the sermon.

And we’re given such an opportunity with preaching. We can be prophets. We can be poets. We can be both. We’re story tellers. We can weave God’s narrative with the heartbeat of the church. We can be dialogue starters. Question askers. We can gracefully point out how we may be missing the point and offer ways to make things right. We’re truth tellers. We can hold up mirrors in front of our listeners to show them how everything about them is so perfect and God-intended and to lovingly show them how God desire more from us and what we may need to change…
The sermon is a powerful, powerful form of communication. It’s more than a job description. And it deserves time, effort, study and prayer before it gets crafted and while it gets written and prepared for delivery.

So, it’s a huge pet peeve of mine when some preachers choose to treat it lightly and make me feel like the sermon was an afterthought of the entire worship service.

But outside professionally and occupationally, the sermon turns out to be a small part of our calling, as disciples of Christ.
This is something I wrestle with all the time:
What point is it to preach about a certain aspect of Christian life, but yet not willing to do what I preach?
Because if we continue to not practice what we preach, how can we start expecting others to follow through on our preaching? And what’s worse is that we often get upset at people for being dense and not doing what we said from the pulpit.
We can’t take the responsibility of preaching lightly, but we can’t think that our preaching is big (and good) enough to be our only contribution to the Kingdom of God.

Our calling as a pastor goes beyond just preaching. Our calling involves living out the messages that God has placed in our hearts. (Thank God that we don’t have to do some crazy stuff Ezekiel had to do to “illustrate” God’s message…)
The words that we preach needs to be followed by actions, not just from the listeners, but (more importantly) from ourselves.
I’ve heard many preachers say that they’re really preaching to themselves the sermon speaks to them most. I’ve said that statement and also believe it too.
So, since that’s the case, we should be the first in line to live out the very things we preach.

I love the quote (and love to quote) St. Francis of Assisi’s “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words when necessary.” But, it’s time that I stop reciting that quote, and start living that quote.

So here’s to us preachers being living, walking and talking sermons.

The Salty and the Chameleon Christian (pt. 2)

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And remember the signs of the Christian Church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish…but never the chameleon.” – Kay Munk

The other day’s post was about the Christian who is in fact so Christian that they can only talk to other Christians who lead a similar life. While I admire their faith, I think it is unbiblical when we just start hanging around those who look like us, who think like us, who are like us all the time. My biggest problem is that it can lead to a life where we become more and more judgmental and start carrying around a holier-than-thou attitude; where we lord our knowledge of the Lord over others.

But for me, worse than that, is the Chameleon Christians.
I think one of the biggest sin I can commit as a Christian is to believe that God exists, but live my life completely devoid of God’s presence.

Francis Chan once wrote, “Something is wrong when our lives make sense to non-believers.”
At least with the Too Salty Christians, we know something is different about them.
With the Chameleon Christian, I feel like it’s a “I believe in you God, but I’m going to live my life for me” and Jesus is a condiment sprinkled here and there.

It’s like, we try so hard to be relevant to the world that we end up becoming like the world, and no one knows the difference between the agnostic, the atheist and the Christian.
We want to be the “cool” Christian, but we end up becoming neither.

Sure, you get hammered at bars on a weekly basis, because that’s where the people you want to reach hang out at.
You fight for the legalization of marijuana and get high because you believe that you connect with God and your peers more intimately and because you believe that, since it should be legal, there’s nothing wrong with it; in fact, it’s part of God’s creation!
But really, who’s changing who?
Who’s leading who? Are they becoming closer to Christ because your involvement? Or are you becoming more comfortable in leading an easier, more peer-friendly life, where justification and rationalization occupy most of your thoughts and beliefs?

My biggest complaint for me is that my life looks too similar to everyone else’s. And maybe that’s my issue.
I remember complaining to my coach in high school about making me work extra hard compared to the other players in my position. And he simply said to me, “Well, if you want to be like everyone else, we can stop right here, right now.” That struck a weird chord within me. I didn’t want to be like everyone else. And I remember working my ass off.

In my bucket of sermon ideas, I have this index card where I wrote “What were you saved for?”

It’s a question that has been on my heart for a while… I mean, what were we saved for?

I don’t think it’s to live a life so bland that it’s blends in with everyone else.
I don’t think I was saved to be the same Joe as I was before I knew who God was.
I don’t think I was saved so that my life’s motto could be “Do whatever feels good, bro.”
I was saved for much more…
And because I was saved, my life is indebted to the one who saved… right?

May we remember that God’s grace is a transforming agent.
Paul writes that when we are in Christ, we are a new creation.
If our pre-Christian life looks exactly the same as our life after we became Christian, then I’m afraid that something along the way got lost.
If we receive grace and nothing changes within us, then we may have cheapened the grace of God.

We’re not meant to be like everyone else.
But that doesn’t mean that we get too full of ourselves or think too highly of ourselves.

It’s to live a life in such a way where we make people aware of who it is that we belong to.
But also, to live a life in such a way where people are drawn to the irresistible grace and God’s presence and where they also want to be part of God’s dream for creation.

And of course, it’s easier said than done. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

The Salty and the Chameleon Christian (pt.1)

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…you are the salt of the earth…

We all know that too much salt in our diet is not good for your body.
A high density of salt can lead to death or the absence of life (i.e. the Dead Sea).

Likewise, I think a Christian can be so salty that their belief can come off as more exclusive and end up being more detrimental in being a Christian. Detrimental, in the sense, that instead of bringing people closer to Christ, it pushes more and more people away.

There are some people who are so Christian that they no longer can carry regular conversations with people who are not as deep into their faith as they are (those who are not on their level when it comes to faith and biblical knowledge). While I admire their faith and their piety, I don’t think the point of being salt of the earth is to hang out (solely) with other salt of the earth.

They surround themselves with Christianese stuff. Their car has bumper stickers ranging from NOTW to Covered in His Blood to Bible verses or the fish swallowing a Dawrin fish with feet… They listen to nothing but CCM. They only watch a movie if Kirk Cameron is involved, or if the media outlet is “spiritual.” Their Bible is color coordinated with highlights. Like I said, I admire their piety and their devotion to all things faith. But after a while, it becomes crystal clear: In their world, there are insiders and outsiders; you are with them, or you’re not; to be a good Christian, your life should start looking like theirs.

“You listen to Eminem? And you’re a pastor? You don’t let your kids know that you listen to that kinda of music, do you?”
“Should you even watch ungodly things like the Hangover?”
“Well, we’ll pray over your liking of Harry Potter.”

These are things people have actually shared with me.
Whether these people know it or not, at some point, to be fully welcomed in their circle, I have to forsake everything and step into their bubble. Let’s be clear. For me, it’s not forsaking everything and following Christ, but forsake everything and follow their culture and idea of a Christ-like life. Big difference.

I understand the whole we are from this world but not of this world.
I get that the world is broken and that evil runs rampant in this world.
I understand the call to not conform with the world.
But is there a way to do that without so blatantly drawing a invisible line of what is holy and what is not? And truthfully, the line isn’t between holy and unholy but what the culture of a particular church finds acceptable and unacceptable.
And yes! I think there is a way to not conform to the world without being so different that you push people away.

The fact that we’re labeling one thing as “spiritual” (or more “acceptable” in some cases), as Rob Bell says, we automatically labeled something else as not being “spiritual.” But as Bell continued, the Hebrew language doesn’t have the word “spiritual” because to early Hebrews, everything was spiritual.

I had a conversation with my brother and he was talking about how he and his friends at his church are “done” with this world and can’t wait to go “home” (home = heaven).
I know many other fellow Christians who think like that.

But, God isn’t done with this world. So how can they be?
As much as some Christians try to label this world as broken, evil and that we should abstain from the things this world offer, I just wish I could remind them that God created everything in this world and saw that it was good.
If God was done with this world, then why keep it around? And John 3:16 states that God so loved this world. Yes, the same world that we try to condemn, leave, be set apart from… God didn’t see it that way.

The people who proudly display WWJD should really think about what exactly Jesus would do, in regards of this world.
He didn’t separate himself from it.
He didn’t stay within the walls of the temple and only talk to others who were as learned in the Scriptures as he was.

In fact, that’s what this Advent season is about.
God, the Holiest of Holy, instead of making Himself more holier and separated from the world, he became part of this world.
God immersed Himself in creation. He became like us so that we can be more like Him.
And did Jesus limit himself to just other religious folks? No.
His anger was reserved for those religious.
But his compassion, mercy and love were reserved for everyone, especially those who were the “least of these.”
He spent his ministry with very people who the Church looked down upon, who the Church thought was unworthy and unholy, and perhaps, those who the religious thought were “secular.”

If we keep ourselves so salty that we are no longer part of this world, who, then, will give people hope, love, grace and peace that is only be given by God?
Who will be God’s presence in this world?
Who will be the hands and feet of Christ to those who are in need?
On whose beautiful feet will the Good News arrive from?

I’d like to think that Jesus wanted us to be the salt and light of the world, while being in the world. Jesus wanted us to bring “flavor” to the people of this world. To show them glimpses of God’s kingdom. To bring them good news, hope, love, grace, joy and peace. To gracefully and lovingly guide others into a life of faith and sacrificial living.

I’d like to think that Jesus didn’t want the salt of the world to be collected and remain clustered in one place, isolated from the world and waiting for the world to come to them.
I don’t think when Jesus said “you are the salt of the earth” that Jesus viewed us like salt shakers, where all the salt is kept in one structure, away from everything else, and where salt is sprinkled only when needed or desired.

To be salt of the earth, I have to believe that a very big part of us has to be invested in this world. We can’t be the salt Christ calls us to be if we are so salty that we are no longer part of this world. Salt don’t need more salt…

(Later this week: Part 2: the Chameleon)

Did You Know That Your Pastor Has ESP?

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Oh. You didn’t?
Well that’s good, because we don’t.

I’ve noticed something curious as I mature in my vocation.
There are some people out there who just expect the pastor to know.
Know what?
I don’t know. But we, as pastors, should just know.

And when we don’t know, people get upset with us.
Do you know what I’m talking about? You don’t? Well, you should know.

I think the most silly (frustrating) thing is, when someone is sick, and they don’t let anyone know they’re sick, and yet still complain that the pastor has not called them once.

Now. If you called the pastor or left a message at the office, you have every right to complain and be upset that the pastor never called or visit.
But if you never called the pastor or the church office, chances are, we pastors may never find out.
Sure, you might have let everyone else in the congregation know, but there’s still a chance that no one tells the pastor.

I think there may be two reasons for this. One, people don’t know what exactly a pastor does. Maybe they think that pastors just sit around their office and wait for the phone to ring. For their Sunday sermons, pastors just make it up as they go along, because it may often feel like that. So, since the pastor has all the time in their hands, they should know when a parishioner stubs their big toe against a coffee table.

Or.
They just don’t want to bother the pastor because they think the pastor’s too busy, they’re too embarrassed, etc.
But here’s the thing, at least for me, I’m always honored that you called and want me to stop by the hospital. I want to visit you. I want to make sure you’re okay. I call as soon as I can, when I find out you’re sick. I try to make it to the hospital as soon as I can, when you let me know you’re there. At best, I want to be there to talk story and see how you’re doing. At worst, I go, because it’s part of my job. But it’s part of my job I like.

Just because we’re pastors, we don’t have a direct line to God. God doesn’t often work that way. Sometimes God does, but not all the time.
And we don’t know what people don’t tell us. We’re not mind readers. Believe it or not, we’re human beings. Yes, even those pastors who think they’re the ultimate gift from God… they’re still a human being. No super powers. A super ego, maybe.
So please, let us know how to serve you better. We can be more efficient if we find out from the source than through the grapevines.

Besides.
You wouldn’t want the pastor to have ESP. We’ll know so much about you. Like how much you really can give in offering. ;)

Things That Happen At Starbucks

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“So, with all those books and that bible, you a pastor somewhere?”
“Yea, I’m one of the pastors at Valencia United Methodist Church on McBean, right across the street from Henry Mayo Hospital.”
“Methodist, huh?”
Crap. I started to think that this conversation wasn’t going to go well. Never mind that I was deeply into my reading. But the conversation continued.
He asked, “How long you’ve been a pastor?”
“I’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now.”
“10 years? Wow. How old are you?”
“30.”
“You’re kidding! You look like you’re barely a teenager.”
*Groan. Yes, I have boyish charms. Get over it. But I was polite. “Yea, I get that a lot.”
“Well, I’m fixing to be a pastor too.”
“Oh really?”
“Yea, I’ve felt the call to go into ministry and help people.”
“What were you doing before that?”
“I was an accountant. Been doing that for 20 odd years, but I just felt the call to go into ministry. Heading out to seminary in a couple of months.”

“That’s a drastic change of profession. What made you decide to pursue the call into ministry?”
“Well, you know, I feel like we need to teach the world salvation! And how much of a sinner we all are! I’m sure you agree with me, but you know, the love of Christ is the only thing that can save us. And I feel like I can reach more people as a pastor serving the church. Work with people in the church and get to them to bring more people to the church!”

I should’ve just left it alone, but something in me spoke on my behalf. It wasn’t me…
“But, I’m assuming that you didn’t work at a Christian accounting firm or bank, right?”
“No, it was secular. A few believers here and there, but mostly non-believers.”
“So… then… if I may, why would you leave such… a great opportunity to really share the message of God’s love to people who really need it, who you see everyday, who you work with… and go to work with the already churched, those who know God? Wouldn’t you as the accountant Christian have more of a chance to reach people who need to hear the Word of God, rather than you the pastor Christian?”

*Silence*
*Silence turns into awkwardness*

…I think I offended him.
“Can’t shake the call.”
“I hear you.”

Then he wished me well, and I him, and he left. It was a real awkward way to end a conversation. You’d think I’d be used to awkward situations, considering how many times my awkward-self gets into them… but it was awkward.

This conversation happened almost a month ago.
If the roles were reversed, and after hearing the question of why leave to be a professional pastor, I would’ve responded with, “Then why are you a pastor? Why are you working at a church?”

To which, I wouldn’t know how to respond, either.
But I have been thinking about that question that was never asked.
And I can’t really come up with a satisfactory answer.

Is a “professional” pastor necessary in our times today?

The best I can come up with is, yes.
But, I am strongly inclined to believe that a pastor that only engages her congregation…
A pastor who only stays in his study in the office…
A pastor who does not know or understand the heartbeat of the community the church is in the midst of…

Those kinds of pastors are now outdated. And, yes… irrelevant, even.
I think, those of us who chose the path of clergy, must always remember that we are appointed to not just the church family, but the community that our church family resides in.

I didn’t mean to belittle or question the man’s calling into ministry.
I should’ve prefaced that question by telling him it’s something that I’m struggling with.

But in a time where church attendance is dropping, where people are finding church less and less important, the questions poised by Adam Hamilton this weekend, has been ringing in my heart for a while,
“Why do people need Jesus?”
“Why do people need Church?”
“Why do people need the church that I am serving at?”

Where the Grass is Greener

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Grass

Image by kh1234567890 via Flickr

Ministry envy can reach to a point where it can be dangerous and have negative affects on our ministry.

I think it’s natural to visit a multi-million dollar campus and be like,  “Man, I’d love to do ministry here.”
Or experience a very moving worship service and think, “I’d love to be part of something like this every week.”
Maybe not healthy, but normal.

But if we’re not careful, ministry envy can become nothing but excuses and a derailment to the situation God has called us into.

We start thinking, “why can’t my people be like that?”
“Why can’t my church give money for us to build a new campus?”

Or, “If I had their resources…”
“If my church members were more like that…”
“If I did ministry there…”
“If I lived there…”

And we start wondering and dreaming about how much greener the grass is over yonder. And when we snap back to reality, we see how brown the grass is where we are standing. For some, that starts making us feel resentful and we start looking for the first way out.

We have to constantly remind ourselves, the grass is not greener on the other side. The grass is simply greener where you water it.
If you’re staring at brown grass in your current setting, could it be that, instead of watering the ministry and working to grow it, you’ve been working really hard complaining about your church and comparing your ministry to others to see how far yours is behind?

And we have to face the reality that we have romanticized the other ministry.
Truth is, when we go to a different setting, we’re just exchanging one set of problems for another.
From megachurches like Saddleback to a small congregation United Methodist Church, each church has their own set of problems. One’s not particularly easier to deal with than the other. Headaches and heartaches are going to exist, wherever we go, whatever ministry we are a part of.
There’s always going to be toxic people. There are always going to be haters. There are always going to be problems, struggles, criticisms and so forth. To think that the thriving church down the street is without problems, well that’s just silly.

I honestly believe, in whatever ministry we are part of right now, whether we are struggling or thriving, God has sent us there for a reason.
God has placed us in our situation, because maybe God believed we were the best fit for it.
God never said it was going to be easy, nor did God say we will always get our way.

But, I think that’s the perspective we should start taking.
We should stop comparing ourselves with the mega churches down the street or around the country. That’s them. You’re you.
We should stop thinking about how much greener the grass is on the other side and work really hard at making the grass around us much greener.

In the end, we should fix our eyes and our hearts on Christ and do ministry that way.
Remembering that wherever we go, God is always with us.

And this God… no matter how brown the grass may be, or how many dead bones fill your valley… this God has the power to bring forth life. Even with dem dry bones.

Jesus, Is You Crazy?

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“Jesus, is you crazy?” is what I like to think Peter said to Jesus when he was pulled aside by Peter and rebuked (Mark 8:32).
I always felt the most affinity with Peter, because we both have become very familiar with the taste of our feet.

But rebuking Jesus? That’s a whole new level.

Peter had a break through.
Jesus was asking the disciples, “Who do the people say I am?”
After fielding some answers, Jesus then asks, “Who do you say I am?”
Peter spoke up. “You’re the Messiah.” And then, the very next section of Mark, Peter is rebuking the one he claimed to be Messiah.
Why?

For me, it’s because, like many of us, Peter had different expectations of Jesus and Jesus’ purpose and mission.
It took Mark 8 chapters before he introduced the word “Messiah” to his gospel.
Perhaps some of us forget how powerful and politically charged of a word “messiah” was at that time.

The messiah was to come and bring freedom to the Jews. Release them from the oppression from the Powers-That-Be. Freedom to be themselves, govern themselves, and so forth.
By proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah, Peter is saying that Jesus is not merely a great teacher or a great prophet but “a royal figure who will restore the political fortunes of Israel. The revolution, Peter is saying, is at hand” (Chad Myers).

And the very next story that follows Peter’s confession, is Jesus’ prediction of his death.
So here’s Peter, fully believing that Jesus is the Messiah, and fully believing that the revolution is beginning; he hears Jesus predicting his death.

A dead leader is no leader.
The revolution that  Peter had in mind could not achieved by a dead Messiah.
Jesus must be mistaken.
He can’t die.
He’s talking nonsense.
Doesn’t he know what he’s going to do? He’s going to restore our nation!
You can’t do that being dead. The revolution will not last if he’s dead.
Jesus, is you crazy?

But of course, Peter’s expectation of Christ was far different from Christ himself.
And at that moment, Peter couldn’t see that.
Perhaps, he still couldn’t see it while Jesus was being taken into custody.
Maybe he still thought that Jesus was the warrior type Messiah. To see him chained, whipped, spat on, dragged, punched… it must have been quite embarrassing to have once believed this man was going to politically restore Israel. He had to deny his association with Jesus, because, perhaps, this broken man wasn’t the Jesus he thought he was associated with.

Peter’s not that much different from us.
He believed that Jesus was to be a certain type of Messiah.
We often want Jesus to be a certain type of God, than the God Jesus really is.
How often have we wanted Christ to be who we wanted him to be, instead of who Christ really is?
How many times have we wanted Christ to act, talk, think the way we act, talk and think?
How many times have we wanted Christ to hate the very same people we hate?
How many times have we, instead of seeking Jesus’ will, we just ask Jesus to bless ours?

We have to remember that Jesus is bigger than our expectations and who we think Jesus should be.

And, it’s probably safe to be reminded that we’re nothing but followers of Christ, never Christ himself.