SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

Category: Christian Community

  • Have you heard? Did you know? And other phrases to avoid…

    Why is it that people are often more attracted to gossip than to encouragement?  Why is it that someone gossiping seems to bring a whole group together?  It makes people want to know more…it makes them curious about exactly what’s been going on…it makes their imagination go wild with possibilities of what the situation really could have been like.  If someone doesn’t have much going on, they are considered boring…but take someone who is struggling or there is trouble and people swarm like bees.  It seems to be almost addictive.  Have you heard?  Did you know?  Someone told me something the other day…I’m not sure if it is true or not, but… And we are off to the races trying to figure out what might be going on…or at least what the latest is.

    When will we learn that gossip hurts?  When will we figure out that it divides?  When will we discover that what we say…even if it is true has the power to build up or to tear down?  And when will it become evident that we spend way too much time tearing down?! All the way back in the time the Book of James was written, this was addressed.  In the Book of James, Chapter 3, it reads:

    “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (NIV Version)

    So James says the tongue cannot be tamed and is full of deadly poison.  Does that mean that we just give up and keep on gossiping?  Does it mean we wallow in the poison and spread it on?  Does it mean we take great pride in spreading the most poison?

    As Christians, it seems to me that we are called to live differently.  And that doesn’t mean to gossip more than anyone else.  It seems to me that our differences should be based on living by the Holy Spirit.  Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday.  It is the time that the church celebrates and remembers the coming of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit lives in believers, leading and guiding them in obedience to follow Christ.  The Holy Spirit provides comfort and conviction.  And, the Holy Spirit can help us to keep our mouth shut when that is the best thing to do. The problem is that we listen to what is going on around us rather than listening to the leading of the Lord that is within us.

    If we, as Christians, are going to really make a difference…if we are going to show real love…if we are going to come together as the Children of God…we must learn to watch our words.  We have to find out that real love means that we don’t participate in gossip.  We must learn that there is not a place for judgment among believers (that’s God’s place) but a whole lot of room for love.  Love and gossip cannot exist together.  Following Christ means we hop off the gossip train and join those who stand firm in service.  We can never be united when we spend our time talking about our brothers and sisters.  May we learn to keep our mouths shut, our ears open to the leading of the Lord, our hearts full of his love, and our hands open to serve.

    Imagine what might happen if we started praising instead of criticizing.  What might happen if we started encouraging rather than hurting?  What might it be like if our words were filled with love for God and love for one another?  It just might change the world.  May it begin with me.

  • What’s my church?

    Riding with my oldest daughter to school means that I have the opportunity to hear country music.  I can’t say that I am a big fan, but it is okay for the drive.  She really enjoys hearing her favorites so I tolerate it.  Today, though, a song that bothered me came on.  She knew every word to it – but as I listened – I had a hard time wrapping my arms around what the artist was singing.  I expressed my concern – I can only imagine that she was thinking…why can’t I have a normal Dad that just sings along rather than analyzing every song that comes on?  This song has really made me think…

    So the song is by Maren Morris, My Church.  I even watched the YouTube video to get the whole “experience” of the song.  The chorus goes like this:

    “Can I get a hallelujah

    Can I get an amen

    Feels like the Holy Ghost running through ya

    When I play the highway FM

    I find my soul revival

    Singing every single verse

    Yeah I guess that’s my church”

     

    And one of the verses:

    “When Hank brings the sermon

    And Cash leads the choir

    It gets my cold coal heart burning

    Hotter than a ring of fire

    When this wonderful world gets heavy

    And I need to find my escape

    I just keep the wheels rolling, radio scrolling

    Until my sins wash away”

    The video has a choir singing as she drives away from the church, after smoking on the front steps – not actually being in the church.  A choir, a hallelujah, a reference to church and the Holy Ghost…what could be wrong?

    It certainly brings up the idea of the purpose of church.  What is church?  Does listening to the radio playing old country songs constitute church?  The writer of the song certainly uses all the references to a traditional church.  She mentions revival, singing, the sermon, a burning heart, a ring of fire, and sins being washed away…not to mention praises of hallelujah and amen.  It reminds me of when people say they can have “church” while fishing…or doing any other activity that makes them happy.  She brings nostalgic familiar words to something not often associated with the church.

    If church is about us – about the people – about those who are there to feel better and find an escape from the world – then maybe Morris is on to something.  If church is really about us and getting a good feeling and just helping people out along the way…then maybe that is church.

    But, what if church isn’t about us at all?  What if church isn’t about you and me finding a place that makes us happy?  What if church isn’t about what we get out of it?  What if church is about a community of believers coming together to worship a Holy God?  What if the purpose of church is to worship…together…the only ONE who deserves worship?

    I’m not saying riding in a car, singing along to your favorite music, letting the worries of the day go by is a bad thing.  I am saying that this isn’t church.  Church is so much more than you and me…Church is about worship – a group of broken people coming before a Holy God…redeemed, set free, and sent out to be more like HIM.

  • Who’s the best?

    Who’s the best?  That’s a thought that often runs through the minds of so many in our competitive society.  Our culture seems to be one of comparison – who has the best, who does this the best, that person did that better than you.  In some situations, competition is great and necessary.  You want the best players on a basketball team.  You want the best athletes in the Olympics.  You want the best taking care of you medically.  But, sometimes this gets out of control.

    If our world is about competition, then we are constantly in a comparison game.  Why don’t I run better than he does?  Why doesn’t my hair look like hers?  Why is their house bigger than mine?  Why does he play the piano so much better than I do?  This is a no win game.  We will always have someone to compare ourselves to.  Even if we are the best at one thing, there are a ton of other things in our lives that someone else is better at.

    This even spills over into our lives as Christians.  She reads the Bible better than I do.  He sings better than I do.  That church has a better youth program.  There are more people attending that church than mine.  There are more younger people there.  There are less activities here.  And we find ourselves in another no win game of who is best.

    Comparing ourselves to others can lead to envy, to a financial disaster, to anxiety and stress, to difficulties in relationships, and even to a church trying to be something other than what God intended.

    How do we avoid this when it is so engrained in our culture?  I think that we by taking a long difficult look at why we do what we do.  What really is your motives?  What really is driving you?  What or who are you comparing yourself to?  Who are you trying to emulate?

    As a Christian, my focus has to be on following Christ.  If I do that, then my comparison is…am I doing what I have been called to do.  That doesn’t mean that I do it better than someone else.  That means that I look at what God’s calling on my life is, and do that to the best of my ability.  The same goes for the church.  As the church, are we doing what God has called us…our fellowship…to do?  While all churches are called to follow Christ as a community of believers, that looks different in every church.  Worship and activities that are done may be different.  One church may be called particularly to reach out in prison ministry while another may be called to carry out a feeding program.  The point is that if every Christian is doing what he or she is called to do and every church is living out the calling God has for it – then working together – what a beautiful picture of Christ that becomes.

    That leaves out the idea that I am doing something better than you.  I am just doing what God has called me to do to the best of my abilities.  That leaves out the idea that my church is better than yours.  My church and your church are doing what God calls and we are working together towards a common goal.  We serve and follow the same Lord.  We should be working together.  That means we can celebrate the successes of others.  We can truly be excited for a church that is doing what God has called.  We can celebrate with the pianist that has faithful given her life to that calling.  It’s not a competition, it is an opportunity to work together to show the love of Christ to a world starving for it.  That’s when the Body of Christ really makes a difference.

    To conclude, I have one last thought:

    we are all crazy cartoon

    Blessings as you seek to follow Christ in what he has called YOU to do.

  • Accountability and the Christian Community

    I know in my mind that accountability is important.  I understand that someone following up with you and checking in regularly helps to keep focus.  But an even better accountability is someone who is walking along with you through it.  That takes a time, effort and a similar goal.

    This has become even more evident to me recently.  I am a runner.  I really enjoy going for a morning run and even look forward to it most of the time.  There are times when I don’t really want to get out of a warm bed and put on a bunch of layers of clothes to go running in the freezing cold.   There are times when I am tired and another hour of sleep is more than appealing.  But, I love to run.  Eventually, I will make myself get moving and will be so thankful that I did.  Accountability is good with running because it keeps me consistent.  Would I still run without it?  I would…but probably not with regularity.

    That is NOT the case with strength training.  There is not much I enjoy about strength training.  I would choose most anything over it.  I have avoided it as much as I possibly could.  The problem with that is – strength training makes me a better, more fit runner.  There has to be some irony in that.  Right now, I have a stress fracture and I cannot run.  Could that have been caused by not strength training?  There is a really good possibility that my lack of strength training led to this problem.  Now I can’t run…at least for several more weeks.  You would think that not being able to run would motivate me to get with the training so this doesn’t happen again…but that’s incorrect.  And, I need more than someone calling me and checking with me to make sure I did it…because I have no problem saying “NOPE, sure didn’t.”  I need someone to push me and walk the path with me.  I am thankful John took that on – we may want to all pray for him.

    Why do I mention this?  It reminds me of what we as Christians should be doing for one another.  I don’t mean that we should be exercising together…although that’s never a bad idea.  I do mean that we should be traveling this journey together.  There are going to be parts of this journey I will really enjoy and there will be times when I am really struggling.  If I have a Christian community that walks with me on this journey, we can celebrate together and we can help each other up when times are really tough.  I think that we, as Christians, have lost so much of that.  I think that we come together to worship a couple of times a week…we maybe enjoy a meal together occasionally – but that is where it ends.  We don’t journey together…we more vacation together.  If I understand the idea of Christian community, it is more than simply worship and an occasional meal.  It looks like walking arm in arm together, celebrating together, striving together, doing life together, and working through our differences…together.

    Church, for me, is like running.  I will show up to church because I love it.  I love to worship, praise and be with other Christians.  It helps if I am out and someone checks in on me (if I wasn’t the pastor, it might keep me attending a little more regularly).  But, in order to run well, I need strength training…we need to people to walk with us as we serve Christ, to join in on the efforts of more than Sunday mornings.  What I’m trying to say is…Christian Community is so much more than simply once a week meeting.  Maybe we should journey together rather than just vacation.