The Divine Crash

Often time I wonder what Jesus was thinking just before he did a miracle. What was going through his head the moments before the waiter tasted the water turned wine? What was he thinking in those moments after he raised from the dead before he left the tomb? I mean these were major shifts in theology and in the average person’s understanding of God.

I sit here writing this with two days left before we launch a brand-new worship service in the church I serve. We’ve been planning this service for nearly ten months and I find myself wondering what is going through the mind of God. Is God smiling? Is God as nervous as I am? Or is God just sitting up there shaking His head at how stupid the idea is?

The fact that in two days my church is going to go through a major shift is not lost on me. I can’t believe that I am sitting here on the edge of this huge event and my only thought is whether or not Jesus approves of it.  I mean, what if no one shows up? what if everyone shows up? But those aren’t the right questions, as far as I can tell, the only correct question to ask is whether or not this is what Jesus has called me and this church to do? If it isn’t we shouldn’t be doing it, but if it is then we should run to it with everything we have.

I find myself incredibly nervous and humbled at the same time. Humbled that God would call me to this but nervous because I know how many things can go wrong. We will see what happens and all that is left to do is pray and wait for God to pull it all together.

So I have been in pastoral ministry for almost six years and as a result I have had my fair share of conflict. I have learned a few things about handling conflict and I thought I would share them here.

1. Conflict is not always bad. Our responses are the problem.  Conflict happens because someone wants something they don’t have and they are passionate about it. The problem becomes how we respond to it.

2. We can choose to respond any way we want but there is a right way and a wrong way. As free will human-beings we can respond any way we want. We can throw a fist, run away, yell, lie, gather friends, cry, whatever…. but there is a right way and that right way is dependent on the situation. While I don’t think Church conflict ever calls for violence there are times where running away is better than yelling and the other way around. Unfortunately the only way to know which option is best is through trial-and-error, and getting it wrong causes pain. So choose carefully and follow through.

3. What we do after the conflict matters.  I have heard people say that those moments immediately following conflict are the most dangerous. I would agree with those nameless others. With the adrenaline coursing through our veins and the hurt boiling just under the surface is when we can say the things we regret, and not even to the person who hurt us but to the innocent bystanders who just happen to be there. It is in those moments that we need to be ever vigilant to our emotions and our surroundings  Sometimes this is the time to escape and be alone so we don’t do anything stupid. Other times this is the time to cry, scream, and yell.  I find this depends on the person and what they need the most at that time.

Conflict is a difficult beast but is always present in ministry. It isn’t always bad but must always be managed appropriately, otherwise the beat will destroy us.

Ever heard this before? Slow down, you are going to fast and  changing to many thing. Recently I have heard it and maybe it is my natural energy level but I can’t slow down. There is too much that needs done. Here  I am in my ministry appointment and I have one year. That’s all. And I have to get done everything God has called me to do, which means I do not have to waste.

I pace myself. I take time for my family and for God but I when it is time to work it is not time to slow down. I never know when it will be time for me to move to a new appointment and so I don’t have time to kill or wait around for the “perfect timing.”

but the question becomes, if I go to fast I may burn out/crash. So how do I manage the pace and not burn myself out?

Recently I gave a sermon outlining what the Bible says about Church. This sparked some good questions and discussion.  However, I did have one person ask me “What kind of Church do you want?”  I am not sure if this person was actually asking or trying to make a disparaging remark about the current state of The Church.  My simple response was that I wanted a church that God wanted us to have. Now that I have had some time to process the question, I guess my response is that I want a church full of misfits.

You know the misfits, the outcasts, the ones society forgets and hates.

The ones that think differently, look differently, or even act differently. They are not the best at everything and sometimes they can’t give an offering.

The church I want is filled with those who don’t fit in anywhere else in society and are simply looking for a place to belong.

But the question becomes, what if they show up? What happens when the misfits arrive in church? What do I do with them? How do I love them like Jesus?  If this is what I want, how do I get it? What happens if I do get it?

What is Faith?

Faith is not sitting in a pew on Sunday waiting for the world to change.

Faith is getting out and making the world better in the name of Jesus.

Faith is dirty hands, worn-out joints, and exhaustion.

Faith is painted faces, balloon animals, and stuffed lambs to the hurting.

Faith is brake pads, new chains, and free helmets to anyone who needs a bike.

Faith is about getting dirty and showing the love of Jesus to those around us.

Faith is about loving those no one else loves.

Faith is about reaching out to those no one else notices.

Faith is not about chastising the darkness for being dark it is about lighting a flame thrower and spreading as much light as possible.

Faith that sits around and wonders when things will get better is not faith.

Real faith is about getting hands dirty, loving others, and meeting them where they are and showing them the love of Jesus.

Ask your average church attender what their church is against and you will find a huge list of things.

Gambling, Drinking, Dancing, Homosexuality, Fun, Eating, Breathing, etc… the list goes on for hundreds of pages of things that they are against.

But if you ask an average church attender what is their church “for” what is the answer? If you have a well educated church attender you might get “The church is for Jesus.”

Really? That seems somewhat limited. Shouldn’t the church be for Grace, Second-Chances, Redemption, Holiness, and even salvation?

When the organization turns into being against things it can’t survive.  Instead, what if church was no longer about what we are against and became what we are for?

Yes, we are for Jesus, we are in the business of giving grace to those who eat in the sanctuary and we are even in the business of giving second chances to those who gamble for clothes.

For churches, there are some things it is good to be against. I would suggest the only thing we should be against is Sin in all forms. That is what we should hate.  However, just as much as we hate sin we should always be on the side of people. Love all people and do whatever it takes to bring people closer to God, even if that means we have to be “For” things we wouldn’t normally agree with.

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe hating people is better? I mean the last guy who loved everyone got hung on a cross, so maybe it is better to hate people different from us? To be against all actions we don’t like.

Last week, my family went to the Carnegie Museum of Natural history.  We went to celebrate my son’s 4th birthday.  He wanted to see the dinosaurs.

Have you ever been to a museum? There are so many rules. No cell phone, no flash, no touching, no stealing, no smoking, etc… it is easy to know what not to do.

However, one thing most people miss is how to see everything.  There is an unwritten rule of etiquette for a museum.

The best way to see all the displays is to always turn right.

If you enter the front door the ticket booth is either directly in front of you or on your right. And once you enter the exhibit hall always turn right. Fall the wall and when you have an option you turn to your right.  Eventually, you will end up back at the start and you go to the next floor and do the same thing and when you are done you will have seen everything. Make sense?

but the question for me has always been, how do you know this rule?  If you don’t know it you become one of those n00bs that run around the museum like a squirrel, and it means you might miss something.

The only way to know this rule is to have someone teach it to you. If no one teaches you, you won’t know.

You can see everything without always turning right but you end up walking more, disrupting more, and just showing off how much you don’t know about museums.

I think this is what it is about church.  The big rules are put out there for all to see, but the small ones. The small unspoken rules that show a person how to fit in are often not taught to outsiders and so people don’t get to fit in and they are left to figure it out on their own which means they will leave the church.

Matthew 28 Jesus says to make disciples and teach them.  How many unreal expectations do we have for people who are not in our local church? Do you say the Lord’s Prayer on Sunday mornings? What if I don’t know the Lord’s Prayer? Suddenly, I don’t fit in, I might get to be a part of it or I might not, because no one taught me yet I am expected to know.

So then, if we are going to treat church like a museum someone needs to teach everyone else the proper etiquette.

Let me set the scene.

We get this great vision from God.

We get the plan in place.

It starts to work, maybe a little slowly at first but it starts to work.

It starts to gain momentum.

Then there is a hiccup. Something goes wrong. Usually a small glitch.

In the room walks doubt.

Doubt that it would ever work.

Doubt that it was from God.

Doubt that you can do it.

Doubt….the demon of all good ideas.  If doubt gets enough room to roam it will eat everything and leave you striving for mediocre and hoping that as long as we “don’t make any waves” then everything will be fine.

I SAY NO! DEATH TO DOUBT! DEATH TO MEDIOCRITY!! 

When doubt creeps in and tells you that it can’t be done, remind that doubt who is really in charge. Who really owns the show and who is big enough to overcome the hiccups. The God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the God who formed the universe is the one who gives visions and