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’.
When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
When John’s disciples came to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah, Jesus could’ve easily responded with loud rhetoric proving who he is. After all, that’s the style of argument that many use today: the louder you are, the more arguments you’re likely to win.
Or he could’ve come up with a systematic theological statement that we seminary students would dissect and argue over the smallest of words until our face turned a shade of blue mixed with purple and black. (“Well, you’d have to look at the word ‘a’ in its Hebrew and Greek… you know, the original context. Just because the English language uses ‘a’ to describe one thing, that doesn’t mean Jesus would’ve used ‘a’ to describe one thing. Besides, this is 2012 where we use ‘a’ to describe almost everything that is singular. During Jesus’ time, they probably didn’t have an ‘a’ to describe things with.”)
But, Jesus simply told John’s followers to, “Go tell John what you’ve seen and what you’ve heard.” Jesus let his actions do his proving. His work with the blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf, the dead and the poor was his answer to John’s question.
I’ve always been amused by how people (non-church goers and non-believers) describe a church in their community.
(these are actual things I’ve heard people say)
Oh, that’s the real big church with the new fancy building.
Oh, that’s the weird church that meets over there.
Oh, that’s the church that basically hates anyone who’s not a Republican.
Oh, that’s the church that welcomes gay people.
Oh, that’s the church that’s suing the other church that uses the same building.
Oh, that’s the church where all the socialists go to.
Oh, that’s the church where kids go after school to fight, because the parking lot is hidden from the main street.
I’ve heard church members describe their churches in various ways, too (again, actual things people’ve said).
Oh, we’re a family church.
Oh, we’re a Biblically based church.
Oh, we’re a church with the most amazing choir.
Oh, we’re just a small church hoping to stay open for a few more years.
Oh, we’re a church for people who don’t like church.
And let’s not go into how church-going folks describe other churches in their community.
But, I hope that we, as a church, can soon be known for what we do more than our theology or what we issues we stand for or what sins we require people to repent of.
I want churches to be described as, “Oh yea, that’s the church that serves the homeless.”
“That’s the church in our community trying to help the schools in that struggling neighborhood.”
“That’s the church that throws a banquet for the struggling people within their neighborhood.”
“That’s the church that makes our community a better place to live.”
Or something like that. You know, known more for our actions rather than our rhetoric.
I think if more Church’s took Jesus’ tactic of letting our actions (and not just our words) to show people we are a church, then, perhaps, we’d have less people using church as a scapegoat. We’ve all heard people say things like, “I believe in God, but I don’t believe in church” or “I believe in God, but I don’t need to go to church.” If the church really lived by their actions of unconditional love, then as Francis Chan writes, maybe they’ll say, “I can’t deny what the church is doing, but I don’t think I believe in God.”
If people, who never stepped inside your church, were to describe your church by what they’ve seen and heard, what would they say?
I’ve felt the prompting to do so a while ago.
But I kept coming up with excuses. Can’t do it right now, because so and so. Some excuses were legitimate, others were not.
The day before I went to the Gungor concert, I arrived at church 7a, sat in my office ready to do some morning devotionals… I opened my Bible and I couldn’t focus. So I grabbed my guitar and went to our sanctuary, and sat behind the big cross in our sanctuary, where the choir sits in our first service.
I sing a lot of my prayers. It makes no sense to me, still, why singing my prayers seem so natural when I’m alone. I’d be thoroughly embarrassed if someone were to walk in on me. But I begin to sing/pray. Things got more intense. And suddenly, I’m no longer aware of where I am, what I’m saying, what I’m doing or what I’m praying. It was the Korean Church in me that started pouring out. When it was all said and done, I walked away with a clear, distinct message: it’s time, no more excuses.
But… I came up with excuses. Of course.
At the Gungor concert, during one of their songs, I heard it again: No more excuses. It’s time.
Well… now might not be the best time…
Then on Sunday, I was listening to the pastor preach about “Practice, Practice, Practice” as we were going through our Lenten Sermon Series (and all-church small group study), The Power of a Whisper by Bill Hybels. In our youth small groups, we talked about practicing to be in the presence of God, and I shared with the youth the importance of spiritual disciplines. Pastor was basically preaching the same message.
Okay. I get it. I hear you. I knew, it’s time. No more excuses.
I hadn’t done a fast for years. I think the last time I actually fasted was in ’09.
God had placed in my heart to do one a while back, and I kept postponing and delaying it making excuse after excuse. (One of the excuses? Well, there’s a dinner meeting I have to go to, so it’ll put a cramp on that week… maybe a little bit later, God.) But after the week I had, I knew that I couldn’t (or shouldn’t) put if off anymore.
So I decided to do a 3-day fast, because I felt that it would be easy.
I entered the fast with 2 specific prayer request.
First and foremost for a child. I’m sharing that only so that those who read this can also remember us in your prayers.
And as odd this next sentence may sound, the second prayer request is a bit more private and personal. I know, I know, more personal than pregnancy prayers? Yes, and we’ll just leave it at that.
I learned a lot about myself in the past 3 days.
Mainly, how much clutter is in my life. Okay, I use the word “clutter” to not sound so uhm… I guess “fundamental”. But, I learned months ago that though my theology is rather moderate, my methodology and how I view worship and church would fit right in with the “evangelicals.” Anyhoo what I’m trying to say is I learned how much sin was in my life.
The biggest sin? Pride and arrogance.
I picked 3 days of fasting over 5, because I thought that it would be easy because I’ve done 3 days fasts before. I took it way too easy and lightly. And I was paying for it.
I have never felt so tired. Never felt so drained in a fast. By the day’s end, I was exhausted. Perhaps if I approached it with more reverence and humility, it wouldn’t have been as difficult.
Meetings were exhausting. Sitting and listening took so much out of me, I was rather embarrassed. And I know I looked tired and may appeared un-attentive or even disinterested during those meetings. I assure you, I was paying attention and knew what was going on. I apologize for appearing that way. As much as I wanted to, I just couldn’t hide it or fake it.
I also realized my dependance on things not God.
Caffeine was a big one. Before the first day was half over, I started getting a dull headache and realized it was from the lack of caffeine. The headache wouldn’t go away, so I had to compromise and drink a little bit of caffeinated tea that my wife graciously brewed.
I also try to limit my intake of needless and mindless entertainment. It was difficult to cut back on the Internet because of how I’m always connected to it.
I realized why addiction is a sin: it replaces what God can and should provide.
Funnily enough, yesterday’s devotion from My Utmost for His Highest was about yielding. He wrote:
I am the one responsible for having yielded myself to whatever it may be…When you yield to something, you will soon realize the tremendous control it has over you. Even though you say, “Oh, I can give up that habit whenever I like,” you will know you can’t. You will find that the habit absolutely dominates you because you willingly yielded to it. It is easy to sing, “He will break every fetter,” while at the same time living a life of obvious slavery to yourself. But yielding to Jesus will break every kind of slavery in any person’s life.
Ouch. I read that entry over and over. On the last day, and arguably the toughest, this was my devotional reading.
I think the biggest reason why this was one of the longest 3 days of my life was that I was trying to fight for my independence from God, while depending on other things, which weren’t bad, harmful nor malicious in any way, but took more and more space and priority in my heart, where God should be.
I was yielding to all sorts of things, but reluctant to yield to God. The fact that I felt the nudge to fast last October-ish, and I finally did it this week (in mid-March) was a loud, blaring testament to my (whether subconscious or conscious) fighting for independence from God while looking for other things to depend on. And during these 3 days, I realized how much I needed to depend on God in all things life and ministry, like approaching church meetings depending on God for strength and wisdom.
It’s a very uncomfortable, queasy feeling being confronted by God’s Spirit with the truth. My brother constantly uses the word “jacked”, like “my reading today just jacked me up.” Not in an hyped up way, but in a way that let him know of his brokenness. I finally understand what he means by that. I’ve been convicted by readings before… but this time, this fast kicked my physical and spiritual ass up, down and all over the place.
About two hours before my fast was to end, I found myself home alone. The wife went to pick up groceries to make porridge (the official food to break fast in our family). I didn’t expect this time for myself. But, I took it as a prompting, a whisper if you will.
I grabbed my guitar and just sat, played and prayed.
As I was praying for strength and just obedience… all of a sudden, Psalm 51 came to mind. And I begin to pray that. “Create in me a new heart and renew your steadfast spirit in me.”
I need(ed) to yield to God more. Actually, I need to learn how to yield only to God. So much easier said than done.
While I entered the fast with my own agendas (pride/arrogance, again) God had a lesson to teach me.
My eyes are now open. So are my heart and soul.
However, I know how dense, dull and thick-headed I am. Six months from now, it is very, very possible that I may go through this again. And I’m giving myself more credit than deserved by saying “Six months from now.”
But I’m hoping and praying that this lesson stays with me for the rest of my life. I don’t want to re-learn it, at least not this way.
As I was ready to go to sleep without being hungry, I was just overwhelmed with gratitude.
I just saw how blessed I truly am. I mean, I knew and know that we are really blessed, but I don’t know. It just.. was overwhelming to know that I have a home. A job. A staff that I absolutely adore. A wife that I don’t have enough words to describe how awesome she is. Parents and Parents in-law who pray to tears over and for us. A brother who I can learn from, but don’t admit to him that I learn stuff from him here and there. Friends and colleagues. Insurance.
I am truly blessed and in a place and situation where I can, in return, bless God by loving the very people that God loves.
As for the 2 prayer requests I went in with.
A part of me hoped that somehow, someway my fasting can move God to make it happen already. All I kept hearing was, “wait.” How much longer? And why? I have no idea.
But, I should apply the lesson I learned, and just yield to God.
I’m (re-)beginning to see and really understand how much easier life can be if we stop fighting and just yield to God, and God alone. And how easy it is to always fight and think I know better. But, yielding to God and only to God leads to the most fulfilling life we can live.
How fitting, that the last song I hear as I’m finishing this post is Gungor’s Every Breath where the song ends with:
Here I am Lord, All I am Lord
Here I am Lord
I am yours…
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.
We, as churches, need to really find ways not to employ the Warm Bodied Based Ministry. That’s when there’s a need for a position to be filled (whether paid or by a unpaid servant) and we just put whoever’s nearby to take that leadership role. That person might be the most ill-equipped person, but they have the most important qualification- they are present.
Only because my experiences in ministry have been deeply tied to the Korean churches, I know that Korean churches do this more often than not.
Let’s take someone that I know very, very well.
She is a very gifted person. Called into serving God, no one can doubt that. She has been a very faithful and effective youth worker in the previous ministries that we have served.
But here’s the thing. As much as we both love children, her gifts simply do not lie in that area of ministry. And she doesn’t mind me saying that. She doesn’t have the passion (nor the calling) to serve God in that capacity.
But in the previous Korean churches that we have served, it was funny (okay, more frustrating than funny) to see the church leadership try to force her into children’s ministry. Not because of her gifts. Not because of her calling. But mainly because she was there because of who she was married to.
Presence is not the best of qualification for serving the church.
It’s a good quality to have. But if we’re only plugging people into service simply because they’re there, the church is not going to move forward.
Sure, sometimes we’ll get lucky and discover that the person is the perfect fit for that ministry- both the unpaid servant and the ministry thrive in service. But, let’s be honest. That doesn’t happen as often as we hope.
I also think it shines upon our impatience and laziness. Or, actually, our desperation. When looking for a candidate in any job (whether paid or volunteer) and we select someone because of our laziness, impatience and/or desperation, chances are high that things may end badly.
I know how desperate we can get when we need a children’s pastor and it’s been months since we’ve sent out word into communities of our need. I honestly don’t know what I would do if I was in that situation. But, I don’t think putting in a warm body to fill that hole is the best solution. Sure, we can say that it’s a temporary fix. But because we have someone serving in that capacity, our desperation sort of wanes out and we sort of feel that we can go longer without the permanent solution. Chances are, in this scenario, the warm body burns out, the ministry becomes idle or both.
We need to be more proactive in being a gift/talent based leadership, where we try our best, as a church, to plug people into ministry based on their gifts and talents. That takes a lot more work and coordination, but ain’t it worth it?
This is also requires us to be active in recruiting. That means, less relying on announcements from the pulpit – “we need Sunday school teachers, if you’re interested, don’t mind all the stories you hear about how crazy those kids are, go talk to so-and-so, because he will be happy for anyone to be Sunday school teachers”-, less relying on sign-up sheets (if you want to be a Sunday school teacher, there’ll be a sign up sheet next to the coffee and donuts. Just leave your name and number and someone will get back to you), and, instead, be bold and courageous to actually approach someone and invite them to serve in the ministry – “you know, I was praying for a Sunday school teacher, and I feel like you might be a great fit for this ministry because, first and foremost, the kids absolutely respect you and they loved that one time you spoke on Sunday morning about your faith.” The worst thing that could happen is they say no. And often times they do. But also, a lot of times, they come back and say something like, “I don’t know why I can’t shake off our last conversation… I think I’m interested…”
Of course (and as always) this is so much more easier said than done.
But I know that when we incorporate a warm-body based ministry, the potential of our church and ministry becomes vastly limited.
There are people out there that are a perfect fit for ministry.
Sometimes, we just got to go look for them. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
I know this may not be the wisest thing to say at this time, but let me vent. Just a little, please.
The truth is, no matter how objective the BOOM (Board of Ordained Ministry in the United Methodist Church) wants to be, it’s really difficult to take out your personal bias or preference while reading a candidate’s paper or interviewing a candidate. (Just like with anything in life. It’s hard for us to be completely objective). And I’d be completely okay with that, if they admit it. But that’s a different story.
Worship, apparently seems to be a sticking point with me and the BOOM. Both years that I applied for full membership, they had something to say about the worship service I recorded. They had some valid points about the theology of worship, but they seem to have a bigger concern with the kind of worship that was taking place.
2009, my papers did not pass. I was invited to have a “conversation” with a couple of BOOM members about the papers. When we got to the worship paper, the person who read my paper and watch the recorded worship service said, “You know, I think you’re too casual in your worship.”
I asked him to clarify.
“Well, by looking at your tape, I see a lot of white hairs in the congregation. But you’re talking very casual. You’re dressed casual. And it’s not matching up with the your congregation. I think, with the age of your congregation, you should be more formal in your language and your dress. Why not wear a suit? Or a robe?”
What that had to do with worship was beyond me. I explained to him that when I first got to that setting, I did wear a suit and tie every Sunday. It wasn’t until the church members started “complaining” that I was too formal. The congregation, along with the senior pastor, suggested and urged that I dress like everyone else, a bit more casual. (When I moved from that church, they gave me a stole made out of denim so that I can still feel casual when ever I have to robe up).
And I asked him, “Isn’t a bit presumptuous and unfair that you make such a broad judgement without knowing my congregation or me?”
He blinked a couple of times and said, “But still. Be more formal.”
Last year, during the interviews, one of the interviewers said, “You know, what you guys do at your church… it seems so fluffy…”
That statement reflects preference of worship more than theology of worship, doesn’t it? Or is it just me?
But I remember feeling my blood pressure rise. I had to summon everything that was within me to hold my tongue. In fact, I actually bit my tongue so that I wouldn’t say anything stupid or damning. I already knew that I totally screwed up my previous interview section, so I didn’t want to mess up this interview section.
Here’s what I wanted to say: Does it matter how we worship? Can we dictate how someone should respond to God’s presence and blessing in their lives? If the worship is God centered and focus, if the worshippers heart is coming from the right place, is there really a wrong or right way to worship?
The picture in the beginning of this post is of my youth from Hawaii praying and getting prayed over during a winter retreat.
The video following is a clip from a Korean church’s dawn prayer service, where they are engaging in 통성기도 (tongsong kido).
That’s the kind of prayer life I grew up with. My father is a prayer warrior. My dad took everything to prayer. Late at night, he’d go to church to pray by himself. Early in the morning, he would go to church to pray. Sometimes he would be gone hours at a time. But prayer was not enough. He engaged in fasting. He did 4 40 day fasts in his life. His appearance after 40 days will always be engrained in my mind. His calves were as thick as my forearms. He engaged in many 20 day fasts. If you added all the days my father fasted in his lifetime, it’ll add up to more than 365 days.
That kind of fervor and attitude is prevalent in the Korean Christian culture. Well, maybe not the way my dad fasted. But fasting and fervent prayer is part of our culture as Christians (and something that I miss being part of).
So when someone says “prayer warrior”, whether it’s fair or not, there’s a comparison to the “prayer warriors” I’ve been surrounded by all my life.
People (and a few pastors) have often shared that they don’t have time to pray. So they pray at red lights in traffic.
If I were to say, “That’s not prayer!” It wouldn’t be very pastoral of me. But, I feel that’s what the BOOM has basically said to me in the past two years regarding worship.
Of course, there’s always more we can do. That’s a given. We can always pray more. I can encourage someone to try to find another time of the day to pray on top of the red lights, like while washing dishes. And pray a short prayer first thing in the morning. Say a prayer before you go to bed. Say a prayer while you’re commuting. Offer a short prayer while at work. There’s always something more you can do. And the more you seek God, the more of a priority it becomes in your life. So find every opportunity to be in prayer, and eventually your day will revolve around your prayer time, not the other way around.
Not: you call that prayer? It’s so fluffy.
Who am I to judge how someone connects with God?
Who am I to say to a person who has no idea of how Korean Christians pray, s/he is not engaging in the type of prayer that I call “prayer”?
So, then, who is to say that the type of worship that shaped me, the type of worship that I feel most connected to with God, is “fluffy”? Or too casual? Or not enough, even?
Why do we, as churches or pastors, try to monopolize worship?
Worship can take place outside of a church building. And it should!
Worship can happen without a choir or an organ. In fact, worship can occur without any music or musicians or choir directors or church music divas.
Worship can happen without robes and stoles.
In fact, what I really wanted to say to the BOOM member at the time was, “Does God care how we worship? Would God really deem the worship as fluff?”
Parents, do you care how your kids express their love and gratitude for you?
Do they have to come dressed in their best clothes, sit firm, still and proper, sing some songs you sang to them when they were kids, and then finally say, “I love you?”
Or does it make your day when they say, “Mom, Dad, you guys are awesome. I love you guys.” as their dressed in their PJs about to the drift off into sleep?
I mean, do we have to recreate our wedding day every time we express our love to our spouses?
In all honesty, I believe that these “worship wars” is more about me and you than it is about God. The style of worship is our preference, not God’s.
In Amos 5, God says:
21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
your assemblies are a stench to me. 22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them. 23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
What kind of worship do you think God prefers?
Do you think God’s in the presence of a contemporary worship and saying, “No no no no no! NO NO! DRUMS HAVE NO PLACE IN MY SANCTUARY!!!”
When someone’s saying a quick prayer at red light, do you think God is saying, “No, no, no!!! You’re not talking to me right!”
Maybe, it’ll be more like, “I wish you would talk to me more.”
But I can’t say for sure. But it’s how I like to think God reacts.
I do hope that the BOOM will be able to be more objective, and I believe that they can.
Or at least admit that they come in with certain ideas and expectations for clergy and understand clergy comes in all shapes, sizes, theologies, philosophies and beliefs.
For a denomination that values diversity, I have to say that during the ordination process, being too different from BOOM members’ theology, philosophy and belief is a very, very, very uncomfortable place to be. I found it to be much easier to try to figure out what the BOOM expects of a clergy rather than being the pastor God is calling me to be.
But more importantly, I just hope that we won’t try to keep putting God and connecting and responding to God in a box, as we all are accustom to doing.
I absolutely believe that worshiping God as a church is vital.
I think corporate worship is beautiful and a necessity in our faith journey.
But, I also believe that we can’t limit worship to just corporate worship. God is with us every second of our lives, not just during the time we’re sitting in pews. Worship needs to happen corporately. But worship also needs to happen outside of the walls of the church.
And really… is there a wrong way to connect and respond to God…?
Or none of the above, for that matter. I have about 30 minutes before the youth start filing in for our Thursday evening small groups. So, I don’t know where my mind is. (Which is sort of ironic considering what I’m going to say… Or not.)
Anyway, you may or may not have seen this by now:
It’s Rick Perry’s “Strong” ad.
This has spawned many spoofs, some hilarious but too inappropriate to show here. (I’m using restraint. Please be proud.)
But here’s a spoof that I can share:
I just want to say something quick.
I found this funny. It made me laugh.
But, I’m tired of people saying that Christians are not intelligent and don’t use logic or reason. (A lot of the parodies were using that to make fun of Rick Perry and other Christians).
I have met many Christians who love God with ALL of their hearts… but for some reasoning, seemingly choose to check their brains at the door when entering the church.
We’re supposed to love God not just with all of our hearts, but with all of our MINDS as well.
Reason is a gift from God.
In the Wesleyan tradition, we understand that the core of Christian faith is revealed through/in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience and confirmed by reason (¶ 104 in Book of Discipline, emphasis mine).
I don’t think science is the tool of the devil or an evil thing to further separate us from the knowledge of God. I don’t think that God or the Devil or someone planted bones of the dinosaurs to trick us or whatever the thought is. (Please don’t take away dinosaurs. They’re so cool. They have to be real! And on this side tangent, does it really matter if the world is 6000 years old or 6 billion years old? Isn’t the heart of the story that God created the world?)
And it’s tiresome, as a Christian, when atheists “attack” us, they challenge our reasoning skills and belittle our intelligence. And at times, I don’t blame them.
Of course, I realize that I’m only describing a handful of Christians. But they’re the ones non-Christians associate all Christians with. Seemingly.
Anyway, there’s the other side too, where Christians have pretty much reasoned God out of their faith… or explaining miracles to say what really happened… which wouldn’t make it miracles anymore…
It’s all about balance. We need to love God with all of our hearts, minds, soul and strength.
We need to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. Not one or the other.
Reasoning is a gift from God.
We were given brains for a reason.
We shouldn’t check knowledge or common sense at the door just because we’re at church.
And I don’t care if I’m 31. Dinosaurs are awesome.
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.
Do we 21st Centurians really understand the shame that comes with the cross?
I’ve heard so many people say things like,
“Oh, I have a bum shoulder, but I guess that’s my cross to bear.”
“Oh yea, she’s the black sheep of the family. But I guess that’s the cross that we have to bear.”
No. Those aren’t “crosses” to bear.
When Jesus said that in order to be a disciple, we need to take up our cross… it seems to go beyond a physical ailment or a slightly embarrassing family members who may not live up to our standards.
I think the Jews who heard Jesus say this knew the full implication of what Jesus was saying; and knew the horrible implications that came with that statement.
The cross was part of the Roman custom. The Jewish people must’ve seen many of their kind crucified, and knew the message of the cross: don’t mess with the Romans. It was a public display of punishment. And everything about the crucifixion went against the Jewish law.
Deuteronomy 21:23 states “you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse.”
Though Jesus may have been buried the same day, there were many who were left for days to strike terror in the hearts of the people of the empire. (They never really said how long the other criminals who were crucified with Jesus were left on the cross.)
There must’ve been a lot of restlessness, uncomfortable squirming and possibly those who even walked away from the teachings of Jesus when he told them to “take up their cross.”
Yet today, there’s a lot of neatness, comfort, peace, easiness associated with our sermons and the cross.
I once heard a pastor preach, “Jesus loves you, and he doesn’t want you to change at all.”
That seems to actually counter the message of taking up your cross.
The person that was sentenced to crucifixion was ordered to carry his own cross to the place of death.
“Taking up the cross” was not an easy teaching or rational, even. But it was scary. Dangerous.
It is often fear that keeps us from moving forward or participating in God’s kingdom.
“By resisting fear and pursuing kingdom practice even at the cost of death, the disciple contributes to shattering the powers’ reign of death in history.” (Chad Myers)
Taking up the cross is far more than bearing an inconvenience or an annoyance in your life.
It’s something that demands our all.
But yet, I find myself wanting to give less and less.
This summer, our church had an intern through the Transgenerational Ministry.
The intern was a former youth student of mine when I was in Hawaii. And he stayed with us in our tiny apartment for the duration of his internship (a looooong 6 1/2 weeks. Heh.)
It’s been a full week since he’s been gone.
I can’t say that I really miss Dae, but it’s a bit boring without him here.
For Dae’s sake, I was glad that he was able to do his internship in a non-Korean church. He’s been part of a Korean church all his life, and his leadership skills and organizational experience is all rooted in the Korean church culture. For him to see something that’s definitely not Korean, I hope it was every bit helpful, as it may have been frustrating here and there.
It was weird to be his on-site “mentor.” I think I may have damaged his ego and pride and feelings more than helping him. Hey, all the jokes I made at him, he deserved it. And, I only kid because I love…
In all seriousness, being his on-site “mentor” was a bit weird. The other on-site pastors who hosted interns were far more experienced and gifted in ministry than I am and those guys are people I look up to in ministry.
But here was this kid, shadowing mostly me, throughout the summer.
We had real great conversations throughout the internship.
I tried to share with him whatever experiences, insights, knowledge I had gain so far in my short ministerial career. I shared with him the hardships and the joys that come with ministry. I shared with him the amount of frustrations that I faced in both Korean church and anglo-churches.
And in all these, I didn’t scare him away from ministry, yet.
I also realized, how important it was for me to actually follow through and live up to the advices and suggestions that I was sharing with him. They say that the person that receives the most from a sermon is the preacher him/herself.
I felt the most important thing that I could share with him right now in these times of my life was for him to not focus on the results or the lack of, to not get stressed about the results or the lack of, because most of the times, we don’t know the type of impact we may have had on the church until we are long gone. And, especially in a Korean church, where numbers are a primary indicator of good results, when the amount of people who show up don’t meet up to the numbers we envisioned our heads, then we can only walk away feeling like we have failed. Instead of focusing on the end results all the time, it might be beneficial to focus on the journey that God has on right now. To see where we are, where we may be going, not just what the end would hold for us.
I’m learning more and more, it’s about the journey.
I feel that we often put too much emphasis on the results, and not focus on the journey enough.
I also got to share with him how one of my former senior pastors berated me by telling me that there is no joy in ministry. That there is no such thing as a happy pastor. That we’re not in this for joy or happiness.
I wanted to make sure that Dae knew that there is plenty of joy in ministry. There is plenty of love, joy and grace, because we serve a God that is full of love, joy and grace.
While I wish I could take credit for the leader Dae is turning out to be, since I was his pastor and his on-site mentor, I know that’s an asinine thing to think.
What I am, though, is honored and humbled to have been part of his journey, as he continues to search for his purpose and role in God’s kingdom.
I think our staff and the church saw that God was definitely calling him into ministry, and that God has a special plan for Dae.
He and I have talked about/joked about/dreamed about planting a church together or being involved in ministry together in the near future.
I promise to be a bit more nicer and more affirming, if we ever get to work together. But, he has to get that Hawaii Slowness out of his system. Haha. Hopefully spending the entire summer in the mainland helped with that.
Dae,
It was great to have you stay with us throughout the summer. You know that our home is open to you whenever. I hope that, not only did you learn a lot, but that you also had a lot of fun. We all see God’s calling in your life. We can all see that God has a special hold on you and has something planned for you. So go do your thing, brah. Or more like, go do God’s thing in you. Just don’t talk to Pastor John that much, because he might want to replace me with you. Hah.
