I have been thinking about connection this week as I was made aware of a family that has decided to leave our church because they didn't feel connected. It is almost always sad to see a family leave and when they do, I almost always wonder what we could have done differently or what we can do differently going forward.
When it comes to feeling or being connected, how much is up the church and how much is up to the individual or family? That's the question that I have been thinking about this week and I am not sure there really is an answer, at least not a good one. The church can provide all sorts of programs or opportunities for people to connect with others (small groups, softball teams, potlucks, service opportunities, church-wide events, etc.) but we can't force people to actually take part in those things or force connections when the do. Perhaps you have some insight into this, if so, please let me know.
As I continue to ponder the conundrum of church vs individual responsibility for connection, God reminded me that our most important connection is with Him. I was reading in 1 John 2 this morning which says (verse 28) "And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming." The Greek word for "continue" here is the word meno which means; to stay, remain, live, dwell, abide. In other words, stay connected with Him. Life is busy and I don't do as good of a job as I should or even as good as I want to in staying connected with God. As you try to connect (or perhaps you try to avoid connecting) with family, friends, neighbors, etc., don't forget the most important connection of all, God!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Life Giving
I am fortunate as a pastor to be part of a network of other pastors that meet regularly to discuss different topics and ideas as well as to encourage each other and pray for one another. Honestly though, when the third Thursday comes around each month, I usually am not so excited about going to our monthly network gathering except for the free lunch that I will get if I go. Today wasn't really any different but I agreed to go, mostly because it was in Monroe and at a restaurant that I hadn't been to but wanted to try. Although I wasn't super excited to go, by the time I left the meeting, I was glad I had been there (and not just because I liked my lunch).
A couple of things at this meeting got me thinking. The first was the question, "what are you involved in (outside of church) that is life giving?" This question was asked of each of us and we went around the room sharing our answers (never a favorite of mine). I shared about coaching baseball (and now softball) in the local Little League and how much I enjoyed pouring into the kids, getting to know families and developing those relationships. While there is certainly a lot about coaching that is draining and hard, I really do enjoy teaching these kids how to play a game that I love and trying to shape them and mold them into young men that work hard, persevere, respect others and have fun. I try to model to them what it looks like to be a man of integrity and humility and show them who Jesus is by the way I live my life.
This resonated with me for a couple of reasons. First, I was reminded how important it is to do things that are life giving, to be filled up so you can pour back out. Coaching does both for me. Second, as I heard others talk about the life giving things in their lives, I thought of how often churches come up with programs and events trying to get people to come to us rather than going out and being the church. Now don't get me wrong, I think that we should have programs and events, I just think that we need to be careful not to rely on programs and events at the expense of living out our faith in our daily lives.
Jesus is the ultimate life giver (literally) and it is through Him that we have true life. Look for ways that you can be filled up (given life) AND for places where you can pour out (giving life). GO AND BE THE CHURCH.
A couple of things at this meeting got me thinking. The first was the question, "what are you involved in (outside of church) that is life giving?" This question was asked of each of us and we went around the room sharing our answers (never a favorite of mine). I shared about coaching baseball (and now softball) in the local Little League and how much I enjoyed pouring into the kids, getting to know families and developing those relationships. While there is certainly a lot about coaching that is draining and hard, I really do enjoy teaching these kids how to play a game that I love and trying to shape them and mold them into young men that work hard, persevere, respect others and have fun. I try to model to them what it looks like to be a man of integrity and humility and show them who Jesus is by the way I live my life.
This resonated with me for a couple of reasons. First, I was reminded how important it is to do things that are life giving, to be filled up so you can pour back out. Coaching does both for me. Second, as I heard others talk about the life giving things in their lives, I thought of how often churches come up with programs and events trying to get people to come to us rather than going out and being the church. Now don't get me wrong, I think that we should have programs and events, I just think that we need to be careful not to rely on programs and events at the expense of living out our faith in our daily lives.
Jesus is the ultimate life giver (literally) and it is through Him that we have true life. Look for ways that you can be filled up (given life) AND for places where you can pour out (giving life). GO AND BE THE CHURCH.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
"We'll Leave the Light on for You"
Do you recognize the slogan, "We'll leave the light on for you"? This is the slogan used by Motel 6 in their advertisements. I know, most people when they think of Motel 6 think YUK, so why am I talking about the Motel 6 advertising campaign? Because I think Jesus had this same idea in mind for his followers when he talked about light in Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven."
Jesus is THE light and as His followers we are supposed to reflect His light so others will see Him and praise Him. Lately as I have been spending time in the word, I have recognized many areas of my life where my light is at best hidden and at worst completely out. For instance, I was reading James 3 a couple of weeks ago which talks about "Taming the Tongue" and I was deeply convicted by how frequently my tongue is not tame. Reading that passage forced me to stop and think about how often my tongue is used inappropriately; to express anger or frustration, sarcasm, verbal jabs or shots in an attempt to be funny (most always at someone's expense). These things are not a reflection of Jesus' light.
A similar thing happened last week as I was spending time in 1 Peter 4 which tells us to; be clear minded and self-controlled, love each other deeply, offer hospitality to one another without grumbling, use whatever gift I have received to serve others..."so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ." Once again I was convicted about the times when I am not like this and therefore not reflecting the light of Jesus to others.
The slogan "We'll leave the light on for you" is intended to make people feel welcome at Motel 6, like they are part of the family, to show that Motel 6 is waiting for us to come. If you are travelling and it is dark and you see a "light on for you", you will be attracted to that light. Being the "light of the world" works the same way. As Christ followers, we are intended to attract people to Jesus, to make them part of the family, to show people that THE light loves them and wants them to come to Him.
Is your light off or hidden, or do you leave the light on for others?
Jesus is THE light and as His followers we are supposed to reflect His light so others will see Him and praise Him. Lately as I have been spending time in the word, I have recognized many areas of my life where my light is at best hidden and at worst completely out. For instance, I was reading James 3 a couple of weeks ago which talks about "Taming the Tongue" and I was deeply convicted by how frequently my tongue is not tame. Reading that passage forced me to stop and think about how often my tongue is used inappropriately; to express anger or frustration, sarcasm, verbal jabs or shots in an attempt to be funny (most always at someone's expense). These things are not a reflection of Jesus' light.
A similar thing happened last week as I was spending time in 1 Peter 4 which tells us to; be clear minded and self-controlled, love each other deeply, offer hospitality to one another without grumbling, use whatever gift I have received to serve others..."so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ." Once again I was convicted about the times when I am not like this and therefore not reflecting the light of Jesus to others.
The slogan "We'll leave the light on for you" is intended to make people feel welcome at Motel 6, like they are part of the family, to show that Motel 6 is waiting for us to come. If you are travelling and it is dark and you see a "light on for you", you will be attracted to that light. Being the "light of the world" works the same way. As Christ followers, we are intended to attract people to Jesus, to make them part of the family, to show people that THE light loves them and wants them to come to Him.
Is your light off or hidden, or do you leave the light on for others?
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Finish the Race
My wife recently completed what I feel is an amazing accomplishment. Just over a week ago she ran a 1/2 marathon. That's 13.1 MILES! I am very proud of her while at the same time feeling like a bit of a wimp myself. I have always been fairly athletic and have participated in some sort of sport and/or physical activity on a pretty regular basis most of my life, but running has never been my thing. I am much more of a sprinter (not a fast sprinter mind you) than a long distance guy. After all, baseball, football and basketball (the sports I primarily play) require relatively short bursts of running and not long distances.
I thought about my wife's accomplishment versus my lack of long distance running as I reviewed some notes that I had written on Hebrews chapter 12. If you are unfamiliar with that chapter here is verse 1 from the NIV; "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE the race marked out for us." (emphasis added) The ESV uses the word endurance instead of perseverance and both are required to run a long race but are not as important in a sprint. As I read this passage a couple of weeks ago and reviewed my notes on it last week, I saw how my spiritual life and physical life are pretty similar. In fact, I think many of us fail to see our relationship with Jesus as a marathon. I think intellectually we understand that it is, but, as we live our lives we want it to be much more like a sprint. We want answers NOW. We want the fruit (the benefit) of our hard work NOW. We want the change or transformation in our lives or in the world around us to happen NOW.
The reality is that it often takes many lessons or walking through something for awhile before we are changed or transformed by it. We often times have to seek God and wait patiently for His answers in His timing. If you are a Christ follower, you are in a process of becoming more and more like Him. Sometimes progress happens quickly and sometimes it happens more gradually. Either way, we need to remember that we are not in a sprint, we need to strengthen ourselves spiritually by spending time in the Word, by spending time talking to our Father, by allowing Him to work in us and through us so we can build up our endurance and complete the race that He has marked out for us.
When training for her 1/2 marathon, if my wife had only worked on her sprinting, she would not have been able to finish the race, she wouldn't have been able to get up the hill that was at the end of the course. Similarly, if we only get little bits of God (i.e. attend church Sunday but that's it) we will not be able to withstand the trials, the "hills" that we come across. Where are you at with God right now? Are you watching others run the race? Are you running sprints but are unable to run the distance? Or, are you enduring, persevering and working to finish the race?
I thought about my wife's accomplishment versus my lack of long distance running as I reviewed some notes that I had written on Hebrews chapter 12. If you are unfamiliar with that chapter here is verse 1 from the NIV; "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE the race marked out for us." (emphasis added) The ESV uses the word endurance instead of perseverance and both are required to run a long race but are not as important in a sprint. As I read this passage a couple of weeks ago and reviewed my notes on it last week, I saw how my spiritual life and physical life are pretty similar. In fact, I think many of us fail to see our relationship with Jesus as a marathon. I think intellectually we understand that it is, but, as we live our lives we want it to be much more like a sprint. We want answers NOW. We want the fruit (the benefit) of our hard work NOW. We want the change or transformation in our lives or in the world around us to happen NOW.
The reality is that it often takes many lessons or walking through something for awhile before we are changed or transformed by it. We often times have to seek God and wait patiently for His answers in His timing. If you are a Christ follower, you are in a process of becoming more and more like Him. Sometimes progress happens quickly and sometimes it happens more gradually. Either way, we need to remember that we are not in a sprint, we need to strengthen ourselves spiritually by spending time in the Word, by spending time talking to our Father, by allowing Him to work in us and through us so we can build up our endurance and complete the race that He has marked out for us.
When training for her 1/2 marathon, if my wife had only worked on her sprinting, she would not have been able to finish the race, she wouldn't have been able to get up the hill that was at the end of the course. Similarly, if we only get little bits of God (i.e. attend church Sunday but that's it) we will not be able to withstand the trials, the "hills" that we come across. Where are you at with God right now? Are you watching others run the race? Are you running sprints but are unable to run the distance? Or, are you enduring, persevering and working to finish the race?
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