Seeing Gray

This is an interesting way for a pastor to get feedback on certain subjects as a part of a sermon series. Watch the video for details.

While I don't know what direction he'll take this, it is an unique approach.

Come! Join The Club!

I recently heard someone commenting that the church has a tendency to list the requirements of its membership but never give its members benefits.

*stop*
*rewind*

What I heard was "the church should be a place where the perks should be highlighted and the requirements should be lessened." What do people like this think the church is, a country club? What in the world is this person thinking?

Maybe the problem is we need to disband membership and start a partnership. Too often membership is treated like "I pay my fines and then I get all the benefits" and sadly in church that frequently means "I walked down an isle and said I believe in Christ so what do I get now" (and they don't even tithe).

This mentality needs to change. I say get rid of membership and move to partnership.

Discipleship: Using Our Resources Wisely, Part 3

Make sure you read part one and part two first.

Why do some choose to be option-#1-minded, desiring to give of their resources all at once rather than careful investments? As a whole, being option-#1-minded is a bad thing. It says, of even the best intending person (usually some and not all of these):

1. I'm impatient. "I'd rather just do it right the first time myself and investments can take too much long-term time and energy."
   
2. I'm unwilling to invest in the lives of others. "I'd rather just give the man a fish than teach him how to fish for himself."
   
3. I'm easily disappointed in others. "Seems like everyone one in twelve, or so, seems to not make the cut and fall away."
4. I'm untrusting of others with my stuff. "Will they really take what I give them and use it well? Will they take care of what I give them? Will they use it like I would use it?"

We have to be cautious to not be the guy who doesn't do anything to multiply his resources (Matthew 25:14-30). We can't be the kind of people who would rather play it safe and think our heavenly Father is going to be happy with how we've used what we've been given. At the end of our life there will be those who will stand alone with a list of their person "works" and there will be those who will stand with an army of people and many lists of "works". Each list might be much shorter than the man that stand alone, but I believe God will delight in them more and there will be many more crowns given to that crowd.

Note: in an attempt to keep my posts shorter I've split this topic into multiple parts. I'll release them one at a time a few days apart.

After Youth Christmas Party Fun

The favorite gift of the night was this nerf-like gun. It was stolen a lot during "Dirty Santa".

Tradition!

"A fiddler on the roof...Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof. Trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask, why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous? Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word! Tradition!"
- Tevye, Fiddler On The Roof

Tradition! It's the act of doing something in repetition, trusting that it's beneficial in some way. I believe that church tradition probably started with trying to devise ways we could draw closer to God, be more like Christ, and serve the church. For example, when someone wanted to know how to "keep the Sabbath holy" someone gave a good answer and it became tradition. I believe most traditions in the church started from the desire to bring people closer to God, to give the masses some direct application of God's Word. The intent of tradition was good.

. . .but some people treat tradition as if it was the very Word of God. . . some go so far as to hold it above God's Word (maybe because of their ignorance of what God's Word really says). . .

If a tradition was created, maybe a hundred years ago (and many people don't realize that their traditions are not as old as the New Testament itself), to help us draw close to God, be more like Christ, and serve the church does it still serve that same purpose today?

Just be sure that the church traditions you're following aren't a dead horse taking you and everyone around you nowhere. Remember, something needs to be pulling the wagon the church is riding and it better be Christ and His Word alone. . .not tradition.

Discipleship: Using Our Resources Wisely, Part 2

Make sure you read part one first.

Would your decision be altered, or become clearer, if you found out that in option #2 many of the people you gave the $50,000 to each year would also end up multiplying their money instead of using it up all at once?

When looking at a ministry of the the church, whether we're talking about youth ministry, the evangelistic efforts of a church, a worship team, or any other part, we should find ourselves asking the same question "should I go with option #1 or should I go with option #2?" The pros and cons change a little and dollars become "our resources" (everything we have at our disposal).

Option #1: Give It All Away
The focus here is to have a string of events that demands a lot of the resources you already have available to you in the church. It sort of takes what the church already has and tries to produce the most it can from those resources. Part of those resources are the people, those who are already willing to volunteer their time and are already fairly capable. Pros: People do get reached and they do get helped, at least temporarily; the first time the church tries something it might look pretty good and impress the rest of the church. Cons: There's a high risk of burning individuals out; the same small handful of people are always doing all the work; no one knows how to pass on what they do (or no one is willing); the work of the individual will die with that individual.

Option #2: Try To Multiply The Resources
The focus here is less on what you have and more on what you hope to have. The hope that more can be achieved drives the person to take necessary risks and challenges. Those that are already volunteers and already fairly capable are not seen as the only resource. The questions is "how can I turn these other people into resources?" Pros: The work seems to increasingly get divided up as the years go by; if an individual steps away from the work someone else is able to pick it up; individuals are far less likely to suffer from burn out; more people are impacted (and the impact on people is longer lasting). Cons: A lot more mistakes are made as you trust unskilled individuals to learn.

Read Matthew 25:14-30 and you'll see a clear case for how God desires for us to take the resources He has given us and multiply it (and He wasn't just talking about money).

In part three I'll talk about why we get stuck being, or choose to be, option-#1-minded in unhealthy ways and the fear of trusting others with our resources (why so many find option #2 to be scary).

Also read part three.

Note: in an attempt to keep my posts shorter I've split this topic into multiple parts. I'll release them one at a time a few days apart.

Also read part three.

Jesus. . .The Good Guy?

Once, I asked my youth, "have you ever seen Jesus in the life of someone else? Who was it and what Christ-like qualities did you see in their life?" As I began to listen to their answers it didn't take long before I noticed a trend forming.

Their answers were things along the lines of "they're really nice", "they treat everyone fairly", and "they are generous with their money". As I heard these answers I began asking myself do they really know what Christ-like qualities are? God isn't nice, He's holy. God isn't fair, He's just. God doesn't just give us what we want, He blesses us with what we need. The problem I saw was that there was a big mix up, some confusion, concerning their understanding of what "Christ-like qualities" were. Let me explain. . .

Most people have some understanding of what is good and what is evil that would be universally agreed upon (another words, no matter who you asked they would agree that it's good or evil). For example, few would argue against the consensus that murder is evil and few would argue against the consensus that rape is evil. But there are tons of things out there that people will never be at a consensus as to whether certain things are good or evil.

So how do we know what's good and what's evil?

Most people use the "what feels right at the moment" method. Some people use the "what's good for me might be bad for you and what's bad for me might be good for you" method. People have all kinds of ways to determine what they think is good and evil.

God's people aren't supposed to look at good and evil like this because there's a difference between what the world calls "good" and "evil" and what God says is good and evil. And the methods of figuring out what is good and evil, between the world's way and God's way, are vastly different. With God's way, it's simply whatever God says. If He says it's good then it is and if He says it's evil then it is.

Going back to my youth group. . .their problem was that when they were asked "what Christ-like qualities do you see in the lives of others" what they really heard was "what 'good' qualities do you see in the lives of others" and so their answers were all about "good" things according to the world's standards. I asked my youth, "Can you find any of the qualities you gave me, as being Christ-like, in the Bible?" I think they began to get my point.

In order for us to be Christ-like we can't just be "good" people. We have to be like Christ. That is what makes us stand out in the world. That is how people will see Jesus living in us.

If a person doesn't truly understand, or know, what Christ-like qualities are then how will they. . .

1. . . .see these qualities in other people?
   
2. . . .be able to exam their own behavior?
3. . . .keep their brothers and sisters in Christ accountable?