Don't Waste a Perfectly Good Summer

You would never have believed that the program you are watching on this hot summer evening is a rerun you have already seen at least seven times (to use a good biblical number!). Stop for just a moment. Look around you. Is the scene in which your life has been momentarily captured also a rerun? Is this summer becoming a repeat of last summer, and the summer before that? My advice is not to waste a perfectly good summer by turning it into a rerun.

Near the end I'll get to a few sage words for the pastors in my association, so be warned you non-pastoral readers. Before then I intend to point my finger at myself and tell me what I had better do to keep my own summer from being a boring repeat. Some reruns are both entertaining and enlightening which explains why I like to rewatch The Lord of the Rings (all twelve hours!) ever so often. Likewise it never hurts me to read the same passage from the Bible over and over. However, as time grows short for me to experience every item on my bucket list, I cannot afford a rerun summer.

1. Learn something new. No, I don't mean how to keep from getting lost while driving in Raleigh or Charlotte though that is helpful. I do mean taking advantage of the internet, the local community college, or visiting one of the many fine local museums to gain knowledge on a subject in which you have an interest but have never taken the time to study.

2. Read a book, and not just one book, but at least one each month, and at least one of which will have nothing to do with my ministerial vocational career. History and archaeology, biography, writing and literary classics, and politics are all subjects that grab my interest.

3. Meet a community leader. Living in a community as I do, there are lots of them around. Every one of them knows something I don't. Every one of them has a perspective on this community different from my own. Every one of them can enrich my life by spending even a little time with them.

4. Grow something. Sure my garden is already well under way, but there is plenty of time to grow something else and experience the wonder of life increasing. This need not be a plant. If blessed, I can find the opportunity to help an individual grow by investing some time in that person's life.

5. Invest quality and quantity time in those people most important to you. Do it during the summer and every other season!

Each of these ideas is as applicable to a minister as it is to anyone sitting in the pews on a Sunday morning. The first step is always the hardest. Change is not always intentional, but it can be a lot more productive if it is. Deciding to make this summer different is that important first step. As for you pastors,

1. Meet your church members. I mean meet them somewhere other than at church or at a church function. Meet them on their terms on their turf. Let them show you how they live when not in Sunday best, either clothing or attitude.

2. Meet the administration at the public school closest to your church. They are a part of your community. You should know each other on a first name basis.

3. Celebrate a community group. Begin planning this summer to have a special recognition service this fall in your church for one of those public servant groups: police, firefighters, social services, emergency medical team, military units, local school administration and faculty.

4. Volunteer for a community project. Habitat for Humanity, a local thrift store, or a free medical clinic always needs volunteers in the summer when so many of their regular helpers are taking vacations. Such an experience sets an example for your church members.

5. Innovate. Give yourself some time to consider completing the question: "What if..." Dream beyond the normal, the average, the expected, or last year's events. Don't limit yourself to material resources as you dream. Let reality spoil the fun after you have dreamed, written those dreams down, outlined their purpose and the good they could do, and then think about how they could still be brought into reality with the resources you have in hand. Perhaps God will show you that you have more resources at your disposal than you had considered. God can do that with dreams.

Summers only come once a year. Don't waste it when it does.

The Value of Your Investment

Every month some money goes to an account in the far off land of retirement plans that is supposed to be waiting for me when it is time for me to quit working full time. I wish it was more. I wish my investments for my future could have been greater. I'm glad I've got as much as I do. It could be far worse. My retirement account has a value based upon what I felt I could afford to invest through the years.

My relational account also has a value. Its value is based upon the effort I have placed in maintaining the relationships that have kept my life from being a solitary existence. Some relationships I have valued over others and my investment in them is a reflection of that, my relationship with my wife for example. Other relationships I consider of great value but have not made the investment that they deserve. I am the loser in those.

Relationships have received the investment that I felt I could afford or they deserved at the time. We all do this based upon interest and time. Family members, friends, acquaintances, business associates, the person who needs to pull in front of me to get into another lane on the highway all reflect various relationships that we categorize by the investments we are willing to make. We give them time, attention, and material support if we believe it is justified for whatever reason. All of these reflect our level of investment in the relationship.

We invest in personal relationships through the way we give of ourselves. Perhaps time is the biggest factor. Gary Chapman, author of The Five Love Languages, considers this one of the primary ways we show our love for another person, particularly our spouse. We use time as an investment by being with the person, talking on the telephone or some other method of communication, or using our time to do something we know will please them. The amount of time we are willing to spend indicates the level of investment we feel we can afford to place in the relationship. Are there relationships in which we wish we could invest more? Generally there is, but I have no answer for adding hours to a day.

We invest in personal relationships by the type of gifts we want to give another. We invest through the words of encouragement we might use. We invest through the acts of kindness we perform. We invest through the ways we are willing to allow another to impose their needs upon us. All of these speak volumes about the importance of the relationship to us.

The investment we are willing to put into our relationship with God reveals his priority in our lives. We talk to God. That's good. It indicates we believe he exists. Sometimes we even listen to God. That indicates we believe he has something to say we ought to hear. We serve others in the name of God. That reveals that we consider important what he considers important. That's letting his priorities shape ours.

A church is no different. A church is a group of relationships focused upon that one most important relationship, the one we have with God through Jesus Christ. A church shows the value of its investments in its members and those outside its membership by how it uses its resources to meet the needs of both those on the inside and those on the outside. The levels of these investments reveal the priorities of the church.

If a church puts the highest priority on the relationships of its members, then peace at all costs while minimizing any possibility of disruption will be the focus of resource investment. Budgets and calendars, committee work and decision making will all point to the importance of keeping members in their comfort zones.

If reaching people on the outside of the church walls is the priority, then time and resources will be invested in cultivating relationships outside the church walls, inviting people to participate in the life of the church both at the facilities and out in the community, and encouraging the nonmembers to get a feel for life within the church family. All of these can be very uncomfortable for many members, but it keeps the investment focused on the priority of the church.

The greater the value one places upon a relationship the greater the investment one is willing to make. We see it in our relationships with family members and friends. We see it in the priorities we set in our churches. The people who are watching our churches from the outside are seeing it as well. I hope they are seeing that our churches are willing to invest well in developing a relationship with them.

Did You Get a C? How about 4 C's?

I knew some students in college who signed up in those contract classes to get a C because of the level of work they were willing to do. I couldn't understand that. A C was barely average. I also know for a fact that in a couple of classes I was glad to get a C. It could have been a lot worse.

There are four C's, however, that I have come to see as critical that we need to seek in such a way as to incorporate them into our lives. They will make all the difference in the world for our personal lives and the lives of our churches. With them we have a chance of glorifying our Lord. Without them at best we are average humanists seeking to get by on our strength alone. That won't get us far in terms of eternity.

These four C's are found in a series of scripture texts, easily read, easily memorized, but not so easily lived out. I would even dare to call them the Four Great C's due to their importance in showing the priorities of a Christian's life. They are familiar to all of us, but they remain a difficult standard by which to live.

The first I term the Great Calling of Matthew 6:33, "Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness..." We are called as followers of Christ to have the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, his nature, as our ultimate goals. We cannot be torn between earth and heaven, or materialism and God. We are servants given the freedom to choose whom we will serve, but we will serve someone. Christ calls us to serve God and seek all that he represents.

The second Great C is the Great Commitment of Luke 9:23, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross each day, and follow me." I appreciate the emphasis that Luke adds for daily cross-bearing not mentioned in the other synoptic Gospels. Christ does not accept followers who see a commitment to him like a magazine subscription, to be cancelled or renewed based upon a matter of convenience. It is a life-long commitment. It is a self-sacrificing commitment. It is a commitment that involves personal identification with Jesus.

Matthew 22:34-40 gives us a statement of the third Great C, the Great Commandments. Love is the heart and soul of our relationships first with God and then secondarily with others. We love God with all our being and that must involve a complete surrender of our beings to him. Only then can we know how to love ourselves and others. In surrendering to God he teaches us what love is, how it reveals our value to him, and how it is to be revealed to others through our lives.

The final C is the familiar passage that concludes the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew 28:18-20, the Great Commission. Christ tells his disciples and us that he is commanding us to take the news of the Kingdom of God to all peoples and language groups. He can do this because the Creator has given all authority to him. We are to lead others to be followers of Christ. We are to lead them to identify in overt manner with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We are to teach these new disciples to obey everything we ourselves have learned of Christ and seek to obey.

When we focus our lives on the priorities that Jesus laid before us, there is little room for confusion. Our churches must likewise not become distracted by secondary matters and ideas and issues that matter little to God and his Kingdom. As we allow the nature of the Kingdom and the righteousness of God to shape our church family relations, we will find that all are welcome in our fellowship to confront the Living Lord and be transformed by his love into what the Father wants us to be.

Churches as well as individuals must see that it is the Kingdom that is important, not themselves, and so must live out the crucified lifestyle in following their Master. Churches must examine budgets and calendars and see if the Great Commission really does dominate their resources. Only then can we say we have prioritized living out the C's.

A Recommitment to Life

This week I turned 62. The AARP has been sending me greetings for about twelve years. Golden Corral has been giving me senior discounts based upon hair color and lack of hair for about five years. Uncle Sam says that I am now old enough to collect social security checks. My financial advisor says I need to keep my retirement portfolio in more conservative investments. My doctor reminds me, needlessly, that I cannot do what I once could do.

It is not time to die, however. I figure that in the will of the Lord I could have at least 30 years of living to fill with meaning and purpose. My "bucket list" is long enough to keep me busy for at least another fifty years. I'll probably add more to the list as time goes by. Rather than ever retiring in the traditional sense of the word and sitting back all lazy like, I intend to retread and begin another part of the journey. I intend to recommit myself to life.

Life offers opportunities. We may have to look for them, create them, or sacrifice to participate in them. They are there waiting nonetheless. I want to see every outdoor drama that North Carolina has to offer. I want to read the complete Shakespearean plays. I want to learn how to play the recorder (that's about as complex as I can get with a musical instrument) and how to speak Spanish. I want to raise and sell 35 varieties of violets. I want to work in adult literacy classes and teach English as a Second Language. I want to write four fantasy novels, a trilogy of historical novels, and a pair of semi-autobiographical books. I want to write a collection of poetry and compile a selection of my favorite quotes. I want to be active in my church as long as mind and body will allow me, and when they won't, I'll commit my time to being a prayer warrior to support those who can still get about. I may have to retread several times.

A congregation must make the same re-commitment to life. The Church in its pilgrimage to be the people of God face a new set of hurdles every day. If the congregation doesn't recognize that, then they need to get out of bed occasionally and see that the world around them is changing on a regular basis. A new setting demands a renewed commitment to service in the name of the King of Kings. The reason the Church exists has never changed. We exist to glorify God. We have a multitude of methods to do that, but all methods should still result in glorifying God.

The renewed commitment demands a reevaluation of priorities and the actions related to those priorities. The commitment should always be to keep God on the throne and his Church in faithful service. Generations move into new roles and their previous roles are assumed by the next generation. The design of tasks change, the resources needed for those tasks change, and sometimes the cost of those tasks change, but they all lead to one great goal: God is glorified.

The Church must make a renewed commitment to the life purchased for it through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ every day. The temptation to compromise, grow complacent, or change priorities is always waiting. Our society demands that we allow it to set our agenda, determine our methods, and define our goals. The God of Jesus Christ usually gets modified, transformed, or left out completely when this happens.

Without a new commitment to life on a regular basis, an individual will lose purpose for life as changes within and without take place. Helplessness, despair, and a withering of the soul can be the result. Much that could be offered is wasted because change could not be accepted. The goal was so tied to the methods that the goal died with the old vision. Life need not be like that.

Likewise for the Church. As we face the changes in our world, we must make a renewed commitment to the purpose undergirding our existence. We must stay focused upon our Lord and his commission to us. We must bring glory to God. We must seek to make him proud of our efforts. We must stay faithful to our high calling.

A Minor Suggestion

In less than a week North Carolina voters will have determined if they want a state constitutional amendment saying the only legal union recognized by the state and defined as marriage will be between one man and one woman. Often called an anti-gay amendment, this amendment is far broader than that. Such unions as polygamy and communal marriages would also be declared unconstitutional, not to mention unions involving one partner with two legs and the other partner having four.

If the amendment does not pass, legal action is already pending in North Carolina that if found in favor of the plaintiffs would declare unconstitutional current state statutes defining marriage as between one man and one woman. This would open the door to court cases seeking state approval for a diversity of relationships such as polygamy. This scenario, combined with a broadening definition of hate crimes, would leave individuals in numerous difficult situations while trying to fulfill what they deem as their Christian responsibilities.

Will a minister be able to say that he will perform only a wedding ceremony in which the participants are one man and one woman? Will a congregation be able to say its facilities can be used only for services or ceremonies that are in line with its religious convictions? Will a minister be able to expound upon biblical texts in a way that says sexual behavior that deviates from the one man-one woman traditional relationship are antithetical to the will of God? This of course does not begin to address the issues of age restrictions and the definitions of adulthood which may also be seen by some as arbitrary and discriminatory.

I suggest for consideration a proposal that the twenty-first century Church return to an understanding of its role similar to that of the first and second century Church. Proclaim the gospel as the written word of God. Forget all those twenty-seven adjectives that some feel they have to attach to the phrase. It is the written word of God. Proclaim it as God-breathed (II Tim. 3). Take the lumps that come with preaching the truth. If you get fined or sent to jail, count yourself blessed (Matthew 5).

Agree to presiding in wedding ceremonies that God will recognize and bless according to the standards he has set (Matthew 19). To do this with integrity involves insisting on the participants themselves understand God’s expectations for a marriage he will bless. This will be made easier if ministers refuse to perform a wedding as a representative with state granted authority (“By the power invested in me by God and the state of…). If a couple wants secular recognition, let them go to a magistrate, get the marriage license signed, and say the proper “I do’s”. With the announcement by the magistrate, they will be recognized as married by the state. Then they can come to the church facilities and receive the blessings of God upon a marriage that should last until death ends it.

Is this an unforgiveable separation of church and state? I don't think so. Rather is this not the Church standing up and saying we are not the state? Is this not the Church standing up and saying we are different from the state, we operate under a different set of standards from the state, and we answer to no one but our God (Acts 4)? We fight compromise, yet demanding that the secular state recognize our divine commission may be the worst compromise of all.