Monday, September 17, 2012

Remember the Past, But Move Forward

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

-- Philippians 3:10-16

We’ve recently added a new worship service at our church. We now have two contemporary services to go along with the two traditional services. And, oh my, what a round of criticism we all have endured.

Those who attend traditional services are appalled that yet another contemporary service has joined the church. They are certain that it will cause believers to fall away from the traditional service. They are certain we are killing attendance at the service they enjoy. They are certain this is only being done to harm what they love so much.

None of it is true, of course. The new contemporary service likely won’t draw anyone away from the traditional service because those attending that service probably don’t like contemporary worship. Those who enjoy contemporary worship are already in the earlier service.

What we’re trying to do is draw those people who have fallen away from church attendance back in the fold. And we’re trying to draw those who don’t have a church toward Jesus. We’re also trying to spread out a little because many Sundays we had become a standing-room-only kind of place. Which is a wonderful challeng, just so you know.

None of that has silenced the naysayers, who want things to remain exactly like they’ve always been. Pastor Danny recently compared this to the championship football team we have in our state. The team can’t rest on what it did last year. The players are different and it’s a new season with new games to win. While it’s wonderful to celebrate past accomplishments, we have to look forward toward all that is left to accomplish.

That’s really what Paul was saying. We need to remember where we’ve been and what Jesus has done for us, even as we move forward toward eternity with Him. In the meantime, though, we must continue to work today on what is before us right now. We can’t rest on what was. And we can’t wait until the end to consider where we should have gone.

Instead, today, we press on toward the goal of telling everyone about Jesus. We celebrate the traditions of our church, embracing our heritage and continuing on that path, while renewing our joyous faith and opening wide the doors for new ways of worshipping and new believers to worship with. Change can be difficult. It also can be cause for celebration as we all gather to worship the Jesus whom we all love.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Change Can Be Scary and Rewarding

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I Have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

-- Acts 18:9-11

Change is hard for most people. We sometimes say we want it but we feel far more comfortable in our own little cocoon we call a routine. The problem with sticking to our routine is that we may miss all the wondrous blessings God has planned just for us.

Our church is in the planning stages of a new contemporary service. It should be simple. We already have one contemporary service and two traditional services. But as with anything, there is resistance from those who fear that adding another service will have a negative impact on the church.

It’s difficult for me to understand that view. We are reaching out and growing, spreading the Good News and drawing new people into our midst every week. I suspect that some of these same folks had those exact concerns when the first contemporary service began more than five years ago.

A committee member told a wonderful story that really illustrates this point. I don’t know if you like to fish. I don’t. But the story just rings so true.

One day two fishermen were out fishing on different sides of a lake. One man noticed that the other fisherman was catching some pretty large fish, then taking them off the hook and throwing them back in the water. Then the man would catch a smaller fish and keep it.

This went on for several hours. Toward the end of the day, the man walked around to where the other fisherman was and asked him why he’d thrown back the large fish and kept the smaller ones. The man explained that he only had a 10-inch frying pan so he was throwing back all the fish that wouldn’t fit in the pan.

Isn’t that how we are sometimes? We reject everything that might cause us to shift our way of doing things. We get upset if our routine might get disrupted. We refuse to try new things because we’re fearful they might have a negative impact -- when just the opposite could be true as well.

We’re so caught up in our ways, that we miss the blessings God has for us if we’d just walk a little ways out of our comfort zone. Because change never comes while we’re standing still. It comes when we’re moving forward and toward the voice of our Savior.

I don’t know how this new service will turn out. I suspect we’ll have a few kinks to work out, as is the way of most new ventures. But I also believe that God has blessed this new addition to our church and that we will see many new faces in the weeks and months to come. There’s a lost world out there searching desperately for a Savior to carry them home. Open the doors and let them in.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

God Wants Our Love

And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. And their worship of me amounts to nothing more than human laws learned by rote.” -- Isaiah 29:13

They go through the motions. They follow the rules. They know the rules well. They interpret them as they see fit, frequently looking down on those who either don’t know the rules or don’t follow them. They’ve got religion figured out. It’s the faith that alludes them.

We are all hypocrites of one kind or another. We want to be better than we are. We pretend we’re happy when we’re not. Part of life is always fake, whether we intend it or not. We are taught to be nice, to tell people what they want to hear, to be tender with the feelings of others.

Some of that is good. Taming the tongue, James says, is impossible. But we must try because our tongue sends forth evil whether we intend it or not. That is a different kind of hypocrisy than that of those who believe they are better people, better Christians, than those around them.

I once attended the same Sunday school class as a woman who did just that. She was so filled with the rules -- some of which were just simply not part of the Bible. For example, she insisted that the Bible tells us not to drink alcohol. It doesn’t. It warns us against drunkenness, which is not the same thing. She insisted that we aren’t suppose to do anything to lead someone else to sin. True. So what about banning desserts from the potluck? Our nation has an obesity problem and that’s just too much temptation. She didn’t find it funny.

I suppose it isn’t. Because telling people something is in the Bible when it isn’t is wrong. And misrepresenting something is wrong as well. It’s why I encourage people to read or listen to the Bible for themselves. Ask questions. Study. Pray.

But I digress. One topic that really upsets the rules folks is the traditional vs. contemporary church serves. They can get quite vocal when it comes to the “proper” way to worship God. From their point of view, it’s about the proper songs and the proper liturgy, the proper dress code and the established length of time. I always thought it was about the heart.

God wants us to love Him for who He is. God wants us to worship Him for who He is. God wants us to desire a relationship with Him for who He is. It’s not about rules and tradition and style of music. It’s about love and trust and faith.

There’s that word again: Faith. It’s dancing before the throne of God because He is who He says He is. It’s about singing words with hands lifted up toward the Almighty who has joined us in His place. It’s about standing beneath the light of His love and knowing, really knowing, who we are in Him. It is loving God and giving Him all we have because of all He has already given us.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Open Your Mind And Your Heart

But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew what people were really like. No one needed to tell him about human nature. -- John 2:24-25

Young adults pull away from the church. It’s something we’ve all know for a while now. Part of that is just the natural progression of trying new things and moving away from the parental norms. Part of that is the old-school church members who are too set in their ways to see that things are changing.

Please understand that I’m not suggesting we ignore key points of the Bible. I’m not saying that we look the other way when obvious sin is involved. I’m merely stating what should be obvious: We are all sinners. We need to stop looking down our noses at young people who are finding their own way.

I remain shocked at the people who still don’t think of contemporary church services as “real” church. They put down those services, and the people who attend them, as somehow being less committed to Jesus. I’ve always believed God judges us by our hearts and not by the type of music we listen to. That’s what the Bible says.

These same people get offended when young adults, or teenagers for that matter, don’t want to attend church because it’s “boring.” These are the same people who snooze during the sermon. In this age of instant gratification, hearing a speaker repeat himself several times -- the old style of preaching -- is boring. Admit it. Everyone will pay more attention to a short, to the point, talk than to an hour-long marathon that says the same thing over and over again.

Researchers also found that young people feel “judged” by church members when they make mistakes. Well, they are. While some Christians acknowledge that all of us make mistakes, others like to see themselves as better than others. I could name quite a few without hesitation. Nobody wants someone to rub their noses into their mistakes. And nobody wants someone to keep bringing those mistakes up again and again. God puts our sins behind His back when we repent and change our ways. Why can’t everyone else?

The saddest thing about all this is that this age group desperately needs the guiding hand and instruction that comes from a church family. They need to feel loved and accepted no matter what else is going on in their lives. They need to know that God loves them, that He’s holding on to them, that He’s there for them no matter what. How can we show them that when we are pushing them away with our outdated and condescending attitudes?

Jesus welcomed everyone to Him. He called the tax collectors and fishermen, the prostitutes and the poor. He loved and forgave. He healed and offered wisdom to those seeking a different way. He never turned anyone away. So why do we think it’s okay to push away young people with our self-righteous attitudes?

So check your attitude at the door. Talk to a young adult and listen, really listen, to what they have to say. Consider something new. Try doing things a different way. You might actually enjoy yourself and learn a little bit not only about yourself but about Jesus too.

Monday, July 5, 2010

One Flock, One Shepherd

"I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." -- John 10:16

Transition is always difficult. We tend to be a people who are set in ours ways. Yes, I mean you too! We may not think of ourselves as being in a rut but sometimes we are. We like our world to be settled, at least when it comes to the big stuff.

The Jews didn't want the Gentiles to know God. They wanted to keep Him all to themselves. It was just how things were. But that wasn't what God planned. Jesus included everyone, for which this Gentile is extremely grateful.

We are all part of the same flock. We all belong to Jesus. Yesterday was the first Sunday with two new pastors. They seem wonderful. They'll bring their own special insights into a church family set in its ways. I believe that God has a plan. We'll all be able to learn and grow in the coming weeks and months. We are, after all, part of the same family.

I looked around the special Unity Service held in the New Fellowship Hall. It was quite a sight. The contemporary praise band Narrow Road took the stage -- as they do most Sunday mornings -- but this time the music minister and his wife joined them. Their were lots of jokes about Billy and his tie as he sang next to the two female vocalists. It was wonderful.

Some of the congregation probably had never attended a contemporary worship service. Some may even hope they never do again. But most seemed totally amazed. It was a unique experience for them. When the hand signals started with one song -- you know those movements taught to children -- I saw a few older folks just shaking their heads. At least they were smiling!

We all were. We were singing songs of praise to God -- together. We were welcoming our new pastors -- together. We were worshipping our Lord and Saviour -- together. We were united. One flock. One Shepherd. Amen.