Tag Archives: Church

What worship is

27 Monday Aug 2018

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What is worship?  Is it just something we go to once a week, or possibly less?  Is it something that you watch, as a spectator would?  Is it something that you go to like a sporting event or a concert, looking to see how your emotions are changed, your needs are met?

My answer to that is that for some people, the answer is yes.

But I have to ask – is it worth it if that’s all worship is for you?

Why do you worship?  What impact does it have on your life?  How does it change you?  Does it create an opportunity to encounter Jesus and have your life changed?

During the conference I was at last week, I heard the following statement:

Worship is a way of life, not something you go to and leave at the door on Sunday.

I love that statement.  It sums up a theology of worship.  Worship isn’t something you go to.  It is a way of living.

St. Francis of Assisi was quoted as saying:

Pray without ceasing.  And if you have to, use words.

Francis understood that worship goes far beyond just being in a church building.

Christianity isn’t a spectator sport.  It’s a way of living.  There is no off time for it.  You don’t get to silo it or compartmentalized it to an hour-long time once a week and then go and do whatever you want to do.

Jesus wanted disciples, not spectators.  I think the church does a disservice to itself if it focuses on just getting people to worship and not doing what Jesus called us to do – make disciples.

The sooner our churches move away from spectator worship and towards discipleship, the better we will be.  Jesus wanted followers, not spectators.  Jesus wanted people’s whole lives, not just a little time here and there when the schedule worked out.

Worship is an extension of discipleship and ministry.  It also drives us out to do more ministry and discipleship.

This is what worship is to me.

The Psalm of John

03 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by in Humanity, Theology

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The doorbell of the church rang while I was on the phone with a colleague.  I was told that a man came in and needed prayers.  When I finished the call, I went out to the man.  His name is John.  John proceeded to tell me that his mother was dying and is at the local hospital.  He was trying to get there.  He had traveled down from Scranton, a couple of hours away.  His car broke down in Harrisburg and so he started walking his way towards the hospital.

Along the way, he stopped and asked directions, had enough money to get something to drink, and rest his feet for a few minutes.

When he came to New Kingstown, something nudged him to stop at the church for prayers.  And he listened to that nudge.

We were able to get him some food and I spent time with him, listening to his story, and praying with him.  He wanted directions to the hospital.  He said that the prayer was all he really wanted.

I know that the hospital is a good 20 minutes drive, which includes highway.  There was no way that I was letting him walk.  So I offered him a ride, which he gladly accepted and reassured me that he wasn’t looking for a handout.

As we drove along, I heard more of John’s story.  I heard about the loss of many family members over the last 10 years.  I heard about challenges in the family with health issues.  I heard about his own blessings with health.

I asked John how long he had walked.  He thought for a moment and then told me that his car broke down in Harrisburg, he got a tow truck, gave the mechanic $1400 to fix his car – all his money – and then he started walking.  It was 5 am when he started.  He had been walking five hours by the time he had gotten to us at the church. I’ve run marathons, a couple of which have taken five hours before.  I know what being on your feet for five hours is like.  It’s not fun.  It’s painful.  But John said that he just kept going.  He didn’t know if his mother would survive the day and he had to go see her.

He didn’t know where he was going to stay that night.  He would have more money in 24-48 hours, so he was hoping that some motel or hotel would be compassionate enough to work with him.

On the way to the hospital we stopped at a hotel, about a mile from the hospital.  I went in with him.  The hotel requires payment upfront.  So the church helped him out with a room for a couple of days until his car was repaired.

John was about ready to break down, I could see it in his face.  He told me that he wanted to repay the church for the rooms and the gas.  I told him that all he needed to do was to say thank you and that he needed his money more than we did.  I told him that if he really wanted to repay us, then to do something good for someone else.

He didn’t know what to say.  I told him – this is what grace is.  I can’t preach grace if I don’t live it.

The woman behind the counter heard this exchange and said “God is so good, isn’t he?”  Yes God is.

After getting the room taken care of, I drove John down the road the hospital.  We said our goodbyes and I gave him well wishes for him and his mother.  And off he went into the hospital to be with his mother for what is probably the last time.

I don’t know why God nudged him to our door.  But I’m glad John came to us.  And I’m glad we were able to give him just a little help.  More importantly, we were able to share Good News with him and with others.  Good News isn’t all about words.  Good News is how we live.  Our entire lives are an expression of Good News – or they should be for those of us to claim to follow Jesus.

Hang in there John.  You are not alone.

As I think about this encounter, I’m drawn to Psalm 23.  In one sense because the Psalm is used for so many funerals, and here was an instance in which death was right on the horizon.  But this was a bit different.  It’s not about the person who was dying.  It’s about the person who is seeing death of another.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.


Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.


You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.

When I think about this passage of Scripture, I see John.  He’s walking through the darkest valley.  And God is the one who provides for him.  God makes sure John is not in want.  God restores his soul and leads him along right paths.  It is God who is with John in the darkest valley and comforts him.  It is God who prepares a table and blesses John.  It is God who gives a future.

Psalm 23 is the Psalm for John – and all Johns out there.

The Sheltered Homeless

01 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Humanity, Society, Theology

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I met Lynn by accident.  She is a housekeeper at a motel just off the interstate about 20 minutes from the church I serve.  I was there to assist a homeless person get emergency housing for a couple of days for herself and her dogs as she made plans to move in with her sister in Maryland.  She told me her sister couldn’t come to get her for a couple of days and she had no money and nowhere to stay.  Lynn overheard this and as I was leaving, she approached me to seek assistance for herself.

Lynn shared with me that she lives in the motel.  She is paid just enough to cover the weekly cost of living there, with a little left over for her other expenses.  Not a great life for her and her two children.  But it’s what she had to do after her husband walked out on her.  She was trying to save up some money to move out to an apartment, but just couldn’t get any savings going.  And she isn’t alone.  Somewhere between 50-75% of the rooms of this particular motel are occupied by people who live there and pay their bill weekly.

Jeff lives in a motel just a few miles from the church I serve, along the Miracle Mile, just outside of Carlisle, PA.  Jeff’s been there for several months, along with his two cats, which keeps him company.  During his time, he’s racked up a debt and owes the motel owner enough that eviction proceedings have gone forward.  Jeff will be evicted by the eighth of the month – becoming homeless in the more traditional sense of the word.

But really, Lynn and Jeff are homeless.  They are what I call sheltered homeless – living in a motel, but not secure in their housing.  They have shelter, but it’s hardly home.

In recent months I have spoken with several motel managers and front desk employees about people who live in these motels and pay weekly.  Depending on the motel, anywhere from 25%-75% of the occupants of these motels are weekly residents, meaning that they pay an ongoing weekly rate to stay in a motel room.  And that doesn’t count the more traditional homeless who will “splurge” for a night or two by getting a room at one of these motels in order to get out from the heat or cold, get a shower, and a free continental breakfast.

Along the Miracle Mile there are well over a dozen hotels and motels.  At least half a dozen of these have weekly paying residents.  Add this up and it’s easy to estimate that there are hundreds who live like this in just this area alone.  At one motel, of the 64 rooms available, 16 had weekly residents.  Other motels had higher percentages of weekly residents.

Homelessness is a growing challenge in the US, especially in the region of the country I live in – South Central PA.  Our congregation comes in contact with the homeless regularly: doing ministry twice a month at the local Flying J truck stop where we make sure the homeless who live in their vehicles in the parking lot there are able to get their laundry done, can take showers, and get a meal.  We also come in contact with the homeless and poor through our monthly Dinner with Friends community meal held in our fellowship hall and we do what we can to help these folks with emergency food and connecting them to other agencies that can help them.  Sometimes the homeless will call or stop by the church during the week, seeking food, shelter, or references to agencies that can help.

Homelessness is on the radar for many people.  But it’s also something that remains an abstract issue for many, especially if a person doesn’t know a homeless person by name or know their story.  If you don’t know someone personally who is homeless, you probably never think about homelessness at the end of the day when you go to your own comfortable home that is warm in the winter or cool in the summer.  It’s just another issue that can be debated by politicians, or it’s something that we can be against generally, as long as it doesn’t directly impact us, make us uncomfortable or inconvenienced.  But when you know the homeless by name and know their stories, going home at the end of the day becomes another day in which you see how broken our world is.

People like Lynn and Jeff are a different variation of homeless – the sheltered homeless.  Or rather, the trapped.  They are caught in a vicious cycle that keeps them on the edge.  While they are paying anywhere from $250-$300 a week for their small motel room, they are often going without other necessities like food, upkeep for vehicles, medication, and more – things they need to survive.

Often times, these sheltered homeless are working, but are not being paid enough to meet their living expenses.  These are not lazy people.  And they aren’t blowing money on frivolous things, unlike the false stereotypes that persist around homeless people.  Those exist because someone, somewhere, worked the system and so the popular thought is that this must be true of all poor or homeless people.  Except it isn’t.

They are spending anywhere from $1000 a month for their housing up to $1200 a month.  That’s almost a mortgage payment for most Americans.  All for a motel room.  Not a house or an apartment.

The challenge arises because many of these people don’t have enough savings to pay for a security deposit and first month’s rent for an apartment that would in the long run make more financial sense, costing almost half as much as they are paying for a motel room.  But they make enough money to pay for the weekly expense of a motel room.  They end up getting trapped in this cycle – not enough for a long-term solution, but enough to stay off the streets or their vehicles.  And the government assistance offices don’t help pay for motel and hotel rooms, considering these as not a long-term housing solution.  Considering how much a motel room costs over the course of the month, I agree.

And then the trap really takes hold – an unexpected expense comes.  Maybe it’s their vehicle that needs a repair.  Maybe it’s a medication.  Maybe it’s a death in the family.  Maybe it’s all of those things.  A bill comes due for several hundred dollars.  Where does the money come from? And that’s how people get behind so easily.  When there is no room for error or accident, errors or accidents are bound to happen and suck a person down.

Often a challenge in talking about homelessness is getting an understanding of a different sense of time.  For many middle-class people, their focus is on the future.  They have a bright future ahead of them.  Middle class people are concerned about things in the future too – saving for a vacation, education for their children, retirement, etc.  But they are always looking ahead.

But someone who is in poverty, either poor or homeless, doesn’t have that luxury.  The only time that really exists for them is the present.  There are immediate needs that need to be met and met now.  And when someone is poor or homeless, there isn’t a lot of hope for the future.  The future becomes daunting and unbearable.  When you don’t really have a future to look forward to, why would you plan for it?  No wonder Jesus kept saying that he was bringing Good News to the poor.  He was bringing hope for a future for people who lacked any sense of future.

Crossing this bridge of understanding difference in time is important.  It’s what allows us to connect with the poor and homeless.  It’s what allows us to be where they are and also hopefully assist them in getting out of their situation if they so desire.  Often that starts with a simple question – what are your goals?  Not our goals – your goals.  This isn’t a silver bullet, it’s only a start – a baby step.

When I asked Jeff what it was like to live in a motel, he said that there are benefits – you get everything you need: a bed and TV and Linen and towels.  You don’t have to worry about utilities.  Most places give coffee and juice and bread in the morning (his breakfast).  And the most striking statement of all – You can move fast to a cheaper place if needed.  People who live in what they consider home don’t try to move fast to a cheaper place.

Jeff, Lynn, and many others are the sheltered homeless among us.  When we think that homelessness is just about making sure someone has a roof over their head, we are missing several things.  Homelessness goes beyond just material needs.  It involves people, relationships, and being trapped in an endless cycle that feels like a black hole.  Just when you think you get a step away from it, it sucks you back in and keeps you down.

If we are ever going to eradicate homelessness in our midst, then we need to acknowledge the extent to which it exists in its many forms.  From there, we learn people’s stories, we walk alongside them as best we can, and we celebrate with them when they finally do get a step away from the black hole that grips them.  Overcoming homelessness, whether sheltered or not, is about relationships and community.  It’s about value and worth of each person.

When we minister to and with a homeless person or family, we make a great deal of effort to ensure that they are reminded of their humanity, we hear their stories and get to know them, we invest ourselves and our time into their lives, we remind them that they are loved and that someone cares about them and their wellbeing.  We empower them and tap into their value.  We tell them that they are not alone – and we try to live that out.  We proclaim Good News to them.  We pray with them.  We do what we can with them.  We be with them.

And a big part of this ministry is about not being satisfied – not being satisfied that people have shelter even though it is keeping them poor and trapped.  There is a different way – a much better way.  We can do better.  We are called to be better.  Let’s eradicate homelessness here.

A model for church?

27 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in Church, Theology

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I’ve been thinking a good deal about models for church – how church runs, if you want to think about it that way.  For many decades here in the US, we’ve been using a pretty standard model.  There’s a building, a pastor, limited other staff, programs, committees, and worship is the big thing that we try to get everyone to on Sunday morning each week.  There’s other stuff in that model too – education, ministry, budgets, and service projects.  I’m sure I’m missing a few things, but that’s not the point.  You know what I’m talking about.

But here’s the thing – this hasn’t been the only model for church.  In Europe, the model has been different – mostly because of the relationship between church and state is far different from the US traditionally.  When the church is an official state religion, you end up with a very different model.  The state collects taxes for the church, staff is usually greater, with larger and older buildings, worship happens, but has few attendees, and the church provides some services to the general public – weddings, funerals, baptisms.  The churches in these countries are usually more bureaucratic.

There are other models – African churches are different from American and European churches.  Some countries have more evangelists than pastors – a role that doesn’t exist in American Christianity.  The services are joyful expressions that last hours and are the heart of Sunday, with multiple offerings.  The church is more central to the life of the community, and the church hierarchy has more influence on government in many instances.

In all of these examples, the models have worked…until the don’t.  There were other models before these.  And when they didn’t work anymore, the church changed.  There are a variety of reason why a model doesn’t work any longer.  The current model for the church in the US is not working any longer.  The numbers show this.  Attendance has been in decline for decades.  Membership has too.  Offerings to church has gone down as well over all.  Although, the people who remain are actually giving more.  There is a focus on seeing results for what is given.  The numbers don’t lie.

Recently I made the argument that the church needs to be open to different models. There isn’t going to be a one-size-fits-all silver bullet.  I do think there is something fundamental though – a shift in focus.

In the current model, there is usually great focus given to getting more people into worship first.  There are reasons for this – worship is the center of Christian life.  And so churches have spent a great deal of time, energy, and effort at figuring out ways to get people to worship.  Some of this makes sense.  It is during worship that an offering is made – the revenue for the running of the church. Churches adjust worship, add new things, have the latest technology, go old school with the liturgy, using social media – all with an effort to get people into the pews for worship.

Let me say this – I have nothing against worship.  I’m a pastor and worship is a big part of what I do.  I enjoy worship very much. But I wonder if there are other models that draw people in outside of worship.  That’s not to say that worship should be excluded – it’s still a central part of Christian life.  I’m saying there are other models that draw people in that will lead to worship.  But worship isn’t the end all, be all either.

If you are like me, maybe you need a visual.  Here’s a rough draft of the concept.

Photo on 7-26-18 at 4.06 PM.jpg

Throughout the Gospels Jesus is inviting people into relationship with him.  He’s telling them to come and follow him.  He’s inviting them into the work of the kingdom.  He’s got a mission that he is sending them on.

But he isn’t inviting people to worship, in the sense that we think about it today.  He invited people into ministry and mission, and he invited people into discipleship.

As you can see from the drawing, I put those two areas at each end of the church “pipe” as I’m calling it.  They are entry points into relationship.  And each of those moves towards and through worship and drives us out to do the other end.  Think of worship as a pump that moves us through to the other side.  In other words, if someone is invited to mission and ministry, they will be drawn towards worship and be sent out towards discipleship.  Worship still has a central place in the life of the church – but a different role maybe.  Ministry and mission, as well as discipleship are ways that Jesus brought people in and I think Jesus calls on us to begin relationships with people.

People want to be a part of ministry – especially hands-on ministry.  People want to take part in mission.  They are drawn to it.  As a result, they will want to grow deeper in relationship with the people they are doing ministry and mission with.  Worship is an opportunity for that.  Worship is a communal activity in the church.  At least in the Lutheran tradition, it involves gathering people in, hearing the Word, being in meal together, and being sent out.

Sent out where – for more ministry and for discipleship.  Discipleship is going deeper in living the way of Jesus.  It involves learning, listening, thinking, questioning, relationship, and more.  While ministry and mission are hands-on, discipleship is heart and head on.

Some people may be invited into discipleship and be drawn to that as well.  In growing deeper in discipleship, there will be a desire for relationship with other disciples where people can gather, hear the Word, be in meal together, and be sent out.  Sent out for more discipleship and ministry and mission.

A new model for church isn’t a total scrapping of everything the church is about.  It’s really more a change of what already exists.  Instead of focusing on getting people to worship first, the change is on reaching people through mission, ministry, and discipleship.  Those relationships will drive engaged people towards worship and send them out for more ministry, mission, and discipleship.

The practical question becomes, how do you pay for the running of the organization?  Good question.  Maybe offering in worship is just one aspect.  Maybe our idea of offering needs to expand because isn’t ministry, mission, and discipleship exactly what the church is called to? Is that not participating in the unfolding of the kingdom?  Are there opportunities to support these efforts directly?  I have no idea.  But I’m willing to guess that there are.

This also raises other questions – what does the structure of the church look like?  What is the role of the pastor?  What does church look like as an organization?

These are really big questions, which I don’t have the answer to.  But I think it’s important to ask the question, to explore, to test, to try things.  It’s important to recognize the reality that what worked in the past isn’t working any more.  It’s important to look at the reality of the numbers and face them, rather than kick the can down the road.  There is no more road for many churches.  And even though many church should have been tackling this challenge years ago, it’s never to late to start.  But the longer we wait, the worse the options will be.

But the good news is that this is a great time to be the church.  Yes, the numbers look bad.  But all that means is that we are given an amazing opportunity to do something that happens once every 500 years or so – rethink church and discern how God is calling the church to carry out the mission.  We have an amazing opportunity set before us.  We can approach it with fear, clutching onto a model that doesn’t work, saying things like “we’ve never done it this way before,” or we can respond in trust to the faith that God gives us, opening our arms to new models that haven’t been tried, and saying things like “We haven’t tried that before, I wonder what would happen…”

God is giving us an amazing opportunity.  How will we respond?

What business is the church in?

24 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in Church, Theology

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What business is the church in?  Maybe you prefer a less business oriented question.  How about this – why does the church exist?  It’s the same question, just asked a little differently.

Does the church exist to run a church?  To maintain an institution?  Make disciples?  Redemption?  Resurrection?  Forgiveness?  The Great Commission?  Serving the Poor?  Proclaiming Good News?  Something else?  What?

The answer to the question posed is really important.  And it makes a big difference.  But it goes beyond the stated question.  The real answer lies in the non-verbals of a church – How the money is used, the culture, the expectations, the attitudes of the people, etc.  Those don’t always match up with the stated answer.  Sometimes they do.

The non-verbals tell the story of the real answer to the question of why people believe the church exists.  These tell the story of how resources are used to support the true answer to the question – resources of time, money, energy.  These determine what the staffing looks like, and how the organization is structured.  These determine how the building and its land are used.  These determine what ministry and mission takes place.  These determine what discipleship happens and how.

Take a look at organizations that are dying or have died.  You can look at churches if you want.  The common thread that runs through those churches is that they don’t know why they exist beyond the fact that they have existed for some time.

Sometimes though, there is ministry that is taking place, where people are being drawn in, where resources are flowing in.  Even in dying organizations.  Sometimes in spite of the organization.  Where this life is taking root, there is passion, impact, hope, and a future.  I’ve seen this in organizations and churches.  And what usually happens is that the dying host organization tries to grab hold the thriving element in order to get a shot of life.  The only problem is that it usually kills off the life and the organization.  Remember, it was an organization that didn’t know why it existed.  The movement within the organization does though.

I’m stating this broadly, church – to no one in particular.  We can’t kick the can down the road any more.  There is no more road.  The question remains – what is the church about?  What is the institutional church about?  Why does it exist?  What is Jesus calling it to?

I believe this much – the church will exist in some form.  Jesus has pretty much stated as such.  But there’s a good chance that it won’t continue to look like it has in recent human history.  And I don’t think it will be what it was in the early church either – times have changed, so has culture, context, and humanity.  But this opens the door to huge opportunities and possibilities.  I don’t see this as a bad thing at all.  It will be something new, different.  Maybe a variation of what exists right now.  Maybe a combination of the two.  It depends on the context of the people gathered – what is Jesus calling them to in their context?

Are we willing to set aside our attachment to what we’ve always known about church in our lifetimes and how church has been?  Or is this attachment too important to our identities?

Regardless, God will persist.  New life comes out of ashes and death.  There will be resurrection.  The question is if we participate in it, or do we try to stop it?  The kingdom is unfolding regardless of us.

What does faith cause you to do?

12 Thursday Jul 2018

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What does the faith that God gives each one of us cause us to do?  How do we respond to it?

How has faith changed your life?

Is church just something that you’ve always done, so you’ll just keep on doing it?  Or does it impact your life, cause a change?

Is church just a social club where you get together with people who you like and look forward to seeing them each week or however often you go?  Or is church a training ground and refueling station from which you are sent back out into the world to participate in the unfolding of the kingdom of God?

Is it your faith, or is it the faith that God gives you?

Does this faith ever make you uncomfortable or inconvenienced?  If not, why not?  Do you believe that faith should never make you uncomfortable?  What about those that are afflicted or suffer injustice?  Does that affect you at all?  Or are they just a bunch of whiners?

Does it ever afflict you in your comfortableness?  Does it comfort you in your affliction?  Does this faith demand that you take steps without knowing where you are going, what you will be doing, where things will be coming from, and will not have all the information that you desire?

Does this faith cause you to seek out people who Jesus spent time with?  Does this faith make your hands dirty?

Does this faith question and poke you in ways you would rather not?  Does it question your loyalty and allegiances?  Is this faith costly?  Does this faith guide you in the midst of trial and trouble?  Can this faith be there when it is most needed?  Or does it only work when times are good?

Does this faith cause you conflict with the ways of the world?  Ways of anger, fear, violence, blaming, scapegoating, desiring safety above all else, having enemies, coveting other people’s stuff, believing that buying more stuff will give you meaning, and more.

Does this faith cause you to weep when you see the world – does it break your heart?  Over and over again?  Does it grab hold of you and not let go?  Does it present a way forward and show you that there really isn’t another option – everything else doesn’t make any sense?  That the ways of the world fail us over and over again and yet we have this sick addiction to keep trying them?  How many wars do we need to go through, how many times do we need to use violence, how many foreigners do we need to blame and dehumanize, how many enemies do we need to create and blame, how many people do we need to curse and damn, how many people do we need to take pleasure in their suffering?  How many until we see that these ways don’t work?  That’s why we have to keep doing them over and over and over again.  They don’t work.  When will be see the stupidity and insanity of the ways of the world instead of embracing these ways?  When will be follow the way of Jesus instead?

Does this faith make you understand the prophets and their desire to run far away from God – yet you follow anyway because where else are you going to go?  There is no hope outside of God and God’s way.

Does this faith wrestle with you and leave you with so many uncertainties, yet you know the most important thing there is – that God will not abandon you and God keeps God’s promises?

Does this faith give you life, especially when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death?

Does this faith demand you die daily so that the real you can be released and flourish?

Does this faith remain unsatisfied with just surviving, but pushes you forward, cajoles you into thriving life?

Does this faith see beyond you as an individual and show you how you are connected to so many others and their well-being?  That to turn a blind eye on those suffering around us isn’t just ignoring them and keeping you safe, but keeps us trapped in a cage with a thick wall around us.  We become prisoners of our own desire for safety that can never be fulfilled.

Does this faith that you have been given have impact on your life?  Does it call to your deepest self and invite you to participate in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God?

Is this faith worth devoting your life to and ultimately dying for?  If not, then why not?  What are you afraid of?

How do you respond to that?

By sitting and waiting?  By being scared?  By delaying?  By running?  Or do you take a risk and take a step in faith?  A risk that could lead to utter desolation.  Or a risk that leads to unbelievable life.  I know this much, the alternative – the way forward without faith – without responding to this gift that has been given to us – leads to certain death.  Always.  No exceptions.  It’s just a matter of time.  And when we consider that, which is really riskier – not responding to faith or taking a step in faith knowing that God walks with us?

The invitation remains to all.  The gift has been given.  Will you unwrap it and respond, or will you put it on the shelf for a more convenient time?

I am grateful that God doesn’t consider the same question for each one of us – will I encounter you or just put you on the shelf for a more convenient time?  God invites us to participate in the most amazing thing ever.  What are we waiting for?  Now is the time.  You aren’t alone.  Let’s take a risk together. Jesus is with us and risks it all for us.

The church model

09 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in Church, Society, Travel

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For as long as anyone can remember, the model the church has used is to have a building, a pastor, a musician, and to make worship the primary function.  There has been other support involved – education, fellowship, and special gatherings like funerals and weddings, celebrations, etc.  The church grew because people in the denomination moved and found similar churches, or had babies to help replace members who had died.  The culture assisted the churches too – ensuring that “blue laws” existed, telling the story of Christianity, etc.  In other words, the church held a privileged position in American culture.  It was expected that this would continue.

Except that’s not happening.

“The model we have used — a church, a pastor and a commitment by people to support the enterprise — is getting harder and harder to maintain.”

(Source – click here)

That’s a quote from an article about churches closed in Minnesota.  But it’s not only about churches in Minnesota.  It’s nationwide.

The church needs to face the reality that the times have changed.  The church no longer has a privileged place in society.  But the church still acts like it does in many cases.  The church no longer can count on members of the denomination moving into the area to fill the pews.  There are more and more “nones,” people who don’t believe.  The church can’t use the same model it did before because the circumstances have changed.  But that’s exactly what many churches are doing – holding onto a model that doesn’t meet the current challenges.

Fashion changes, sports teams change, businesses change, politics changes – but somehow many in the church don’t think that change applies to the church.  The problem with this is that there are fatal consequences for this.  If the church doesn’t change its model, it will die.

What would a new model for the church be?  I don’t think there is just one model that will work.  I think it depends on the people gathered together in community.  One church may thrive by turning to ministry in the community, another by a focus on worship, another by selling it’s building and the expenses that go with it.  The point is, we’re in a new era where a new model is needed – or rather, new models are needed.

A good set of questions might be, if we were gathering together as believers in Jesus for the first time, what would this look like?  What would we be doing?  Where do we see the Spirit at work?  What is drawing in people?  What allows us to best carry out the mission God has for us?

Numbers don’t lie – even in the age of fake news.  Trends tell us important information.  We can either ignore the trends or learn from them.  This much I know – continuing with an old model, because it’s what we know, will lead to many more churches closing their doors.  Adopting a new model is a risk – a big risk.  It could be a complete and utter failure.  Or it could mean new life.  The first option isn’t a good option.  The second option is a risk.  This is where the church has to ask itself this question – are we all in?  Do we trust Jesus and where he is sending us? If so, there really is only one option.

Comfortable Christianity

26 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by in Church, Theology

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What is Comfortable Christianity?  It is Christianity that loves the name, but refuses to live out following Jesus.  Comfortable Christianity believes that making people comfortable and avoiding any discomfort at all is the highest value – in other words ignoring the realities that exist around us because they are uncomfortable.  Comfortable Christianity isn’t really in need of a Savior – someone who can save us.  We’re doing alright on our own.  Don’t tell us that we are broken and sinful thank you very much.  Comfortable Christianity believes that God has no say in politics or political issues or challenging subjects – that the only thing that should be preached are words that require no self-examination or radical reorientation of our lives – only ambiguous and lofty words and ideas that have no practical application.  Comfortable Christianity makes excuses for injustices that occur in the world – excuses so that the comfortable Christian doesn’t feel guilty and have to speak out or take action.

Comfortable Christianity can be spotted pretty easily.  It shows up in complaints about things that seem odd – Being upset with something minor about worship, all the while having no issue and not being upset with domestic violence, addiction, homelessness, poverty, trafficking, or other injustices that happen right outside the doors of the church (and sometimes inside).  Sometimes it can be heard in threats to leave or withhold offerings.  Sometimes it justifies itself with the misquoting of Scripture.

Comfortable Christianity too often holds a privileged place within some of our churches and demands compliance or else it will use what it can to ensure that it’s theology is enforced.  Woe to the pastor or disciple who confronts this theology.

Martin Luther probably would have used another name for it – theology of glory.

Here’s what Martin Luther wrote about such theology:

16. The person who believes that he can obtain grace by doing what is in him adds sin to sin so that he becomes doubly guilty.
17. Nor does speaking in this manner give cause for despair, but for arousing the desire to humble oneself and seek the grace of Christ.
18. It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ.
19. That person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looks upon the invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things which have actually happened [Rom. 1.20].
20. He deserves to be called a theologian, however, who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross.
21. A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the things what it actually is.

(Heidelberg Disputation, Theses 16-21, Martin Luther, 1518)

Following Jesus is not comfortable, but brings comfort.  Following Jesus brings comfort because any other option is literally insane.  What comfort does the world bring?  The way of the world is division, separation, fear, might makes right, only the strong survive, and leads ultimately to death.  Sound like I’m exaggerating?  Show me how the world brings comfort to the poor.  Show me how the world bring a roof over the homeless.  Show me how the world offers healing for the addict.  Show me how the world offers safety for the victim of domestic violence or trafficking.  Show me how the world offers peace.  Show me how the world feeds the hungry?  Show me.  Right now.  Name it.  Show me how the world doesn’t ignore the immaterial needs of people.

I’ll grant that on occasion these things do happen.  I’ll grant that on occasion the world gets it right.  But not consistently.  The church messes up plenty of times too – don’t get me wrong.  But sometimes the church isn’t following Christ – hence we end up with Comfortable Christianity.

I’m done accommodating Comfortable Christianity and its privileged place in the world and the church.  Comfortable Christianity will be the death of organized Christianity if it continues to be accommodated and given preference.

This is what I know – there are many disciples in the church that are yearning to be set free from Comfortable Christianity.  To be unleashed from its grasp.  I have seen this.  And when they are set free, amazing things happen.  Salvation comes.  Life comes out of death.  Joy flourishes.  People become on fire for Jesus.  Community becomes family.  Forgiveness is freely given.  Mercy abound.  Love is the way that we follow.  This is the kingdom of God in our midst!

I see these disciples take off and go.  I see it in a meal at Denny’s with homeless families and men and women living out community and caring for each other.  I see it when an son asks his mother for a bible and she is able to get one from her church to give away to him – and he thanks her for it.  I see in the Dinner with Friends meal that gathers so many people each month to share a meal and laughter together, knowing each others names and learning their stories.  I see it in ministries like making blankets and prayer shawls for those that need them.  I see it in the Harvest Festival where a congregation opens its doors to the community it serves, offers joy, a meal, entertainment, and more – sharing Good News.  I see it in a Sunday School class going and serving a meal at Christmas time.  I see it in a group of people who gather, walk through town singing Christmas Carols to those who will listen – hearing about the wonders of God and the Good News that people are invited to receive.  I see it in the sharing of the Holy Meal each week in worship.  I see it in so many places, beyond what I could possibly list here.  It happens in our communities, in our families, in our regions, in our nation, and internationally.  When Christians are unleashed from the hold of Comfortable Christianity, Jesus takes over, miracles happen, and the kingdom unfolds before us.  And we get to participate in that.

It’s time for Comfortable Christianity to end.  It’s time for Comfortable Christianity to die.  To die so that resurrection and new life can take root and amazing things can be unleashed – the world can be transformed.

Are we willing to be uncomfortable?  Are we willing to be in utter despair of our own ability as Luther stated, to acknowledge the thing for what it is?  Are we willing to follow Jesus?

Are we willing to set aside old models of church that no longer serve the needs of the church and the community in this day and age?  To embrace new models to better carry out God’s mission in the world and in our community?  Are we willing to be disciples and do ministry together?  Are we willing to walk hand in hand into the unknown of what this might look like?

Do we really believe Jesus, or deep down, do we think he’s just a nice man that’s full of it and doesn’t really understand how things need to happen?  That’s the real question.  Jesus tells us that he loves us and that love is the only way.  Do we believe it?

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a miracle.  I’m ready for Jesus to be unleashed and to unleash each one of us.  We’ve gotten a glimpse of it in what we see around us.  I can’t wait to see more.  Who’s ready?  Then let’s go!  Lead on Jesus.

You Brood of Vipers…

04 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Church, Humanity, Politics, Theology

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Here’s your fair warning – this is going to be political – painfully political.  And no, I’m not going to apologize.  I can’t just sit by and be silent.  My focus isn’t even on the politicians.  If you know me at all, you’ll know that I don’t put much faith in politicians, political parties, or ideology.  I find most of them to be worthless and primarily interested in power.  All of them are seriously flawed and frankly, I expect them to worship their idols of power, influence, money, and their other gods that they create in their own image.  I hope this post is extremely uncomfortable.  I hope it is inconvenient.  I hope this because it sucked writing this.  The focus of this post is on the Christians who read this.

Jesus said:

‘Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.’

(Matthew 12:33-37)

I can think of no better passage of Scripture that applies to the filthy state of partisan politics today than this passage spoken by Jesus.

Yesterday I received an e-mail with a link to an article by Jeff Roe on why Republicans would be mistaken to abandon Trump in the mid-term elections.  Persona and policy can get mixed up.  The GOP should celebrate the policies and not the distraction of the persona – that’s the argument anyway.  The essential argument is this – the ends justify the means.

Yesterday as I was driving around I flipped through radio stations.  Occasionally I flip over to talk radio to hear what the chattering is about.  I can usually handle about five minutes worth before having to turn the station.  Yesterday I heard the host in his usual blind allegiance of the president and the actions to cover up his affair with a porn star.  The ends justified the means apparently.  Don’t you know, it was the porn star in the wrong.

Today I saw Rudy Giuliani’s interview on Sean Hannity’s show.  During this interview, Giuliani contradicts statements Trump made about knowing there was a payoff and where the money for the payoff came from.  When the ends justify the means, who cares what was said before.

Yesterday was the so-called National Day of Prayer.  People gathered and there was an official prayer stated.  The prayer is eloquent and hits on some very good points – turning from sin, unity of the body of Christ, turning from evil, forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, etc.  All things that I can get behind, but the problem is that I’m not sure if all Christians agree with the definitions of these terms.

I’m not sure that I have the same definition of unity as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their policies that do more harm than good, that uphold Social Darwinism (where only the strong survive), and where the end justifies the means is the foundation of life.

I’m not sure I have the same definition of turning from evil as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their actions by making excuses for behaviors that are unacceptable for you or I, but seem to be just fine because it was two consenting adults, don’t you know.  Yet these same people threw a hissy fit when another president screwed around with someone in the White House – which was just as terrible. But hey, when you believe that it’s a Christian virtue to lay the foundation of your life at the altar of the ends justify the means, then anything goes, right?

Does turning from evil mean that it’s ok to knowingly lie and defend those lies because the truth is inconvenient and is costly?  Does turning from evil mean that you pay hush money for an affair or that you defend someone who does this?  Does turning from evil mean that you use your Christian label as a pastor to make excuses for a worldly powerful person.  I thought we were called to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus if we claimed the label of Christian.

I’m not sure I have the same understanding of the following line of prayer as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their rhetoric:

We pray for all people of all ethnicities and races in America to come together as one, living in peace and unity together.

I’m not sure how anyone can claim to be a Christian and make excuses for a “Christian” politician who offers support to neo-nazis, labels all Mexicans as rapists and murders, who disparages numerous other groups of people.  I’m not twisting words here, go back and see what was actually said.  If you feel the need to defend these words that he said, why?  Why would you defend such vile language from anyone?  Would you defend the same exact words, spoken in the same exact tone if they came from a politician that you didn’t like?  Or do the ends justify the means?

I’m not sure I have the same understanding of the following line of prayer as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their policy actions:

We pray for God’s power to unify families, workplaces, communities, and cities in America. By Your Spirit, lead us to forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and unity.

I find it hard to say we are all seeking to unify families and communities when we put up more roadblocks to the homeless and poor.  We have families who are living in their vehicles at truck stops.  And they are working, but don’t make enough to find adequate housing.  Men, women, and children living in their vehicles.  And the typical response is something along these lines – well, they should work harder.  Well, they should have not made so many bad decisions.  Well, they get what they deserve.  Well, if they only did this or that.  Well, the churches can take care of them.

BS.

As a pastor who does ministry with the homeless, I can tell you that churches are not equipped to do this.  We don’t have the resources, the training, or the people to do this.  We can do small things, but we don’t have unlimited resources.  We aren’t trained in how to deal with mental illness.  We aren’t taught what to do when we run out of money trying to help someone and they end up back on the street again because all the shelters are full and they have nowhere to turn.

If your response is “well, you should open your own doors then,” or some other snide remark, then you are missing the whole point here.

Jesus never said the ends justify the means.  That’s about as far away from what it means to be a Christian as you can get.  If that is your belief of what it means to be a Christian – then you and I can’t be unified because we don’t have the same foundation.

Is the defense of something and someone who is indefensible worth it?

Or as Jesus said:

Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

(Matthew 16:24-26)

You want to get mad at me – go for it.  I’ve got thick skin.  Frankly, I’m not too happy with you either.  And I refuse to shut up because I’m pointing out something uncomfortable and inconvenient.  Your comfort is not my concern.  Especially when we have people who are homeless, people who haven’t had a meal on a plate since August, people who have families that are living in vehicles, people who are being trafficked on our interstates, people who are treated as second class citizens because of their skin color or orientation.  If that’s uncomfortable, then it should be.  Being a Christian is not comfortable or convenient.  It’s not suppose to be.  It’s supposed to smack us in the face and make us so uncomfortable and inconvenienced that we respond to the injustice we see around us.

Frankly, I’m tired of Christians who want the label, but refuse to live out the calling.  I’m tired of Christians who value their loyalty to a politician or party (any politician in either party – yes, this applies to Democrats just as much as Republicans) above Jesus.  I’m tired of Christians making excuses for “bad trees,” as Jesus called them, all because they believe that the ends justify the means when it comes to policies.

We are called to live out what Jesus commands us to do, not to have blind loyalty to some politician who is temporarily in power.

Pick up your cross and follow Jesus.  Jesus didn’t say, pick up your tweet and follow Trump.  Jesus didn’t say, pick up your sign and follow some other candidate.  Jesus didn’t say send in a check and blindly follow your party.

These are difficult times in our nation.  The call for unity is something that is needed.  However, it is not possible to have unity where there is a strongly held belief that not everyone is equal in value and worth.  How can there be unity when there are some who create us vs. them situations, where the poor are seen as an expense, where we have leaders who firmly believe that only the strong should survive, where we value things over people, etc.

But not all is hopeless or lost.  Last night I heard something that hit me.  I don’t remember the exact words, but here’s what I heard – when everything has been exhausted, there is grace.

Even in this situation, there is grace.  It’s the only thing that can carry us forward.  We humans can’t fix this ourselves – we are too devoted to our divisions and separations.  We have blind worship of our leaders and ideologies.  We cling to our sin and brokenness.

Only God can fix this.  And it may require something else – something that is deeply associated with being a follower of Christ.  It will require death.  Death of our egos.  Death of our loyalties.  Death of our certainties and answers.  Death of our attitudes towards one another.  Death of excuses.  Death of our sin and brokenness.

Only then will we experience the fullness of being a Christ follower – resurrection.  New life, renewed life, restored life, transformed life.

This is my hope.  This is my prayer.  It’s time to start acting out what we claim to believe.  It’s time to start actually being Christians, not just taking on the label.  If we don’t, we’re no better than the people who Jesus called out as a brood of vipers.

Can the church really change?

04 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Church, Theology

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Yesterday I wrote about what I called inevitable decline. It’s a belief that some, even within the church, have that goes along the lines that the church has to decline.

As I mentioned, I don’t agree with this line of thinking.

I’m wondering though if I’m using the same definitions of terms as those who carry these beliefs.  Definitions of terms are important.  They can make all the difference.  For me the “church” goes beyond the organization or the building.  The church is the body of Christ.  Jesus promised us that he would be with us until the end of the age, so how could the church, in this sense, ever really decline.

I don’t like the idea of decline, especially in relation to the church.  But this goes beyond not liking something. Yes, the numbers for many church denominations are in decline.  So be it.  We can gaze at those numbers all day long.  The question becomes, so what?  Are we looking at the numbers in order to feel bad for ourselves and have some kind of pity party?  I hope not.

I didn’t change denominations, go to seminary for five years, take on a ton of debt to do that, change career and calling, so that I could go through the motions and watch over a declining church.  If that’s your thing, can we just speed up the death, let me go to the funeral, and then set me loose to do what I was called to do – go and proclaim the Good News.

When are we, church, going to be so fed up with the idea of inevitable decline that it causes us to start acting differently?  When are we going to actually embrace what it is we claim to belief that it causes us to start carrying out the call?  I’m not interested in just going through the motions, or mouthing the words.  If that’s your thing – then get out-of-the-way.  I don’t have time for that.

The church is in the midst of change.  But I don’t think this is any different from any other time in history.  The church is always in the midst of change.  Are we so arrogant as to think that we are somehow more special than those who came before us that we are overseeing the death of the church?  Really?  History didn’t start when we were born, nor will it end when we die.

Will the church change?  Absolutely.  Living things change.  They excrete stuff that is harmful.  The church will do this too.  There are things in the church that need to die.  And the beautiful thing about what we believe is that there is resurrection – new life, renewed life, transformed life.  The church will look different in the future than it does now, just as what it looks like right now is far different from what it looked like in the past.

Inevitable decline?  Where’s the hope in that?  Jesus command was to follow him, not gaze at the numbers and throw a pity party.  So get up and start living out the Gospel, proclaiming it.  The world need to hear it.  The world needs encounters with Jesus.  Get out there and do it.  Or don’t you really believe it?