Five days a week I force myself out of bed before 5:15 AM to torure myself doing exercises and walking. It is torture and no one can make see it as anything else! I eat less than I used to eat. I eat less of the foods I really enjoy than I used to eat. I take fish oil pills everyday. Have you ever thought what led someone to discover that fish oil is supposed to be good for you?
Genetically I am destined to make it to 95 assuming that cancer or a Mack truck doesn't wipe out my genes first. If I am to live that long, I want to be healthy throughout most of the process. Besides I promised my wife that she would not have to bury me. That's my motivation.
My Kentucky Wildcat basketball team is playing in the NCAA tournament. That's motivation for me to look up game times, get into a bracket guessing competition, and hope certain other teams that wear dark blue get beat early. I get excited about college basketball, even more so with my alma mater playing. I get motivated to do something, even silly stuff.
Motivation is from the inside. It's kind of like anger. No one makes you angry. You allow yourself to become angry. No one motivates you. You allow yourself to become motivated. Your value system determines what is worth getting the blood pressure up, the heart rate up, the expenditure of energy up, maybe even the expenditure of material resources. If you are not motivated, you don't make the sacrifice, expend the energy or time. It's all about your value system.
Your value system determines if your material resources take you where you want to go or your time or general abilities or your relationships or perhaps life itself, your own life. What you value the most determines where you will find motivation and so be willing to make the sacrifice.
Sure, it's the same old life lesson. Based on my faith in Jesus Christ, how motivated am I to live out Luke 9:23? I take time to scream for those Wildcats. Am I as willing to act foolish for Christ, live daily for him, carry my cross for him, just follow him wherever he says to go?
Motivation. We want it. Sometimes we are just not as willing to go where it should take us.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Make All the Money You Can!
This past Sunday I was blessed with a wonderful sermon on the Christian responsibility to address the needs of the poor. The text was the classic statement by Jesus in Matthew 25 framed around the brief parable of the shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. We have the task of showing the kind of love God has for us to those around us regardless of how they came to be in their current circumstances or how much they may deserve to be in their current circumstances based on our codes.
I never read that text without asking myself how much can I spare. Then I am reminded of the widow in the temple giving her two small copper coins, her entire bank account. Those two coins joined the bags of silver being donated by the wealthy to go eventually to places unknown. The widow didn't question that. She simply gave what she had.
How much can I spare? I love the passage in Ephesians 4:28, "Let the thief no longer steal, rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so he may be able to give to those in need." (RSV) How much clearer can it be that the question should never be how much can I spare but rather how much do I personally need in light of the needs around me?
The story has come to me of a preacher early in the last century who said, "Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can." In a world that is filled with poverty on anyone's standards, we should be about the business of work, not to raise our own standard of living, but to raise the standard for others, to give all we can. For so many that higher standard would mean simply having one decent meal a day, being able to get a clean drink of water, having a roof over their head, or being spared the brutality of people around them.
Paul's directive was simple. Work so you can help others. No one of us can end world poverty. The process can begin, however, by just one of us helping one other person to be better off than they were. That's reason enough to work and try to make all the money you can, legally of course. Bear one another's burdens. Fulfill the law of love. I am my brother's keeper.
I never read that text without asking myself how much can I spare. Then I am reminded of the widow in the temple giving her two small copper coins, her entire bank account. Those two coins joined the bags of silver being donated by the wealthy to go eventually to places unknown. The widow didn't question that. She simply gave what she had.
How much can I spare? I love the passage in Ephesians 4:28, "Let the thief no longer steal, rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so he may be able to give to those in need." (RSV) How much clearer can it be that the question should never be how much can I spare but rather how much do I personally need in light of the needs around me?
The story has come to me of a preacher early in the last century who said, "Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can." In a world that is filled with poverty on anyone's standards, we should be about the business of work, not to raise our own standard of living, but to raise the standard for others, to give all we can. For so many that higher standard would mean simply having one decent meal a day, being able to get a clean drink of water, having a roof over their head, or being spared the brutality of people around them.
Paul's directive was simple. Work so you can help others. No one of us can end world poverty. The process can begin, however, by just one of us helping one other person to be better off than they were. That's reason enough to work and try to make all the money you can, legally of course. Bear one another's burdens. Fulfill the law of love. I am my brother's keeper.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Seeing the Pastors
Last Sunday I preached in one of my associational churches on the text Luke 7:36-50. The episode involves Jesus accepting an invitation to eat at the home of a Pharisee, Simon by name. During the course of the meal, a woman of the streets, a "sinner", comes into the home and proceeds to show Jesus a lot more honor than his host has done.
Jesus asks Simon one of those rhetorical questions that are so life-shaking, "Do you see this woman?" The ability to see the obvious is not always strong in some of us. We have to be reminded of what is right in front of us. Our perceptions of reality will always be shaped by our priorities, our prejudices, our worries, and our worldview. I am not different from Simon. There are many times when I have a difficult time "seeing".
One of the things I am learning as a DoM is to "see" the church fields served by each of the pastors with whom I work. Every church field just like every congregation is different. Each pastor faces a unique set of circumstances. He may have problems and opportunities that others have faced, but he is not like others. He brings his own unique set of gifts and faults into the mix.
Compassion is born out of seeing the church field as the pastor sees it. Encouragement is born out of the need to stand by the pastor while he also comes to see his field as God sees it. Patience is a fundamental part of seeing the pastor and seeing the field as well as seeing yourself.
Thankfully God is patient with us as we come to have our eyes opened so that we can encourage that pastor in the proper way. We will have compassion as we see him struggle with frustrations and anxieties. We will have patience as we remember it is not all up to us, either one of us, that God expects us to do what we can do, not what we cannot.
There is no helping others or walking with others until we "see" them. That takes the work of the Holy Spirit, and we must be brave enough to open ourselves to that. That can be scary.
Jesus asks Simon one of those rhetorical questions that are so life-shaking, "Do you see this woman?" The ability to see the obvious is not always strong in some of us. We have to be reminded of what is right in front of us. Our perceptions of reality will always be shaped by our priorities, our prejudices, our worries, and our worldview. I am not different from Simon. There are many times when I have a difficult time "seeing".
One of the things I am learning as a DoM is to "see" the church fields served by each of the pastors with whom I work. Every church field just like every congregation is different. Each pastor faces a unique set of circumstances. He may have problems and opportunities that others have faced, but he is not like others. He brings his own unique set of gifts and faults into the mix.
Compassion is born out of seeing the church field as the pastor sees it. Encouragement is born out of the need to stand by the pastor while he also comes to see his field as God sees it. Patience is a fundamental part of seeing the pastor and seeing the field as well as seeing yourself.
Thankfully God is patient with us as we come to have our eyes opened so that we can encourage that pastor in the proper way. We will have compassion as we see him struggle with frustrations and anxieties. We will have patience as we remember it is not all up to us, either one of us, that God expects us to do what we can do, not what we cannot.
There is no helping others or walking with others until we "see" them. That takes the work of the Holy Spirit, and we must be brave enough to open ourselves to that. That can be scary.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Avoid the Waste
Recently I took our household recyclables to the county site and made the customary visit to each of the big dumpsters, aluminum, plastic, newspapers, etc. When I came to the steel bins, I was shocked to see that someone had thrown away what appeared to be a nearly new set of weights and dumbells. Most were sitting on top of other cast-offs in the middle of the big box. Others had already fallen the eight feet to the bottom. Legally I could not climb in and retrieve the parts that I wanted. I could only grieve that someone had felt this was the only way they could rid themselves of unwanted materials.
My family recycles everything our local government will allow. Other useful objects, at least to others if not to us, are offered to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or a local thrift store. I see no reason to throw anything away that can be used again for the same or different purpose. I am not a great fan of landfills!
Yet in hungering for that set of weights, I began to think of all the other thngs I do waste. Sure, I work hard at the material stuff. What about the non material stuff? That led to a big moment of self-evaluation that said I came up short.
I waste time. Is there anything more important in our society these days than time? People turn down raises to get more vacation time from work. We argue about the value of quality time as opposed to quantity of time (Give Both!). We look for ways to fill time between other activities. Did you know there is a web site entitled "I Am Bored" chock full of silly games to help you use your time when you are at a loss as to what to do next, or at last struggling to avoid what you know you need to be doing?
I waste relationships. We have family members and friends that could enrich our lives far more than they do if only we would let them. I know some absolutely fascinating people and seem to be meeting more everyday, but I don't allow myself the opportunity to gain much from them. I don't invest myself in them so that they can invest themselves in me. Maybe that is related to the wasting of time again.
I waste opportunities to be more Christlike. That one judges me everyday! Do I have some idea of how Christ would act in a given situation? Sure, I have some reasonable notion. Do I always follow through? Unfortunately not all that often. I judge myself on that, but not in time to take advantage of the opportunity. It is almost always an after thought and the chance is long gone.
Waste is a terrible thing, a waste of anything. It is particularly bad when we waste life. God has given us life as a gift. We should never waste a gift from God. They don't come any more precious.
My family recycles everything our local government will allow. Other useful objects, at least to others if not to us, are offered to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or a local thrift store. I see no reason to throw anything away that can be used again for the same or different purpose. I am not a great fan of landfills!
Yet in hungering for that set of weights, I began to think of all the other thngs I do waste. Sure, I work hard at the material stuff. What about the non material stuff? That led to a big moment of self-evaluation that said I came up short.
I waste time. Is there anything more important in our society these days than time? People turn down raises to get more vacation time from work. We argue about the value of quality time as opposed to quantity of time (Give Both!). We look for ways to fill time between other activities. Did you know there is a web site entitled "I Am Bored" chock full of silly games to help you use your time when you are at a loss as to what to do next, or at last struggling to avoid what you know you need to be doing?
I waste relationships. We have family members and friends that could enrich our lives far more than they do if only we would let them. I know some absolutely fascinating people and seem to be meeting more everyday, but I don't allow myself the opportunity to gain much from them. I don't invest myself in them so that they can invest themselves in me. Maybe that is related to the wasting of time again.
I waste opportunities to be more Christlike. That one judges me everyday! Do I have some idea of how Christ would act in a given situation? Sure, I have some reasonable notion. Do I always follow through? Unfortunately not all that often. I judge myself on that, but not in time to take advantage of the opportunity. It is almost always an after thought and the chance is long gone.
Waste is a terrible thing, a waste of anything. It is particularly bad when we waste life. God has given us life as a gift. We should never waste a gift from God. They don't come any more precious.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Trials of Training
You can do the work of ten people or you can train ten people to do the work. How does that translate into the work of an associational missionary?
Do I train ten people to do association-wide work such as in music or Sunday School? Do I give my time to working with individual churches where I can train leaders to work in their own congregations?
Obviously my skills are multiplied if they are invested in passionate individuals who will accept additional training and will then work in separate churches or church clusters in specific areas. Leadership is multiplied, more people are helped, and the cause of the Kingdom is furthered by having more people involved.
What do you do if there are no passionate people who will go outside of their own church to invest in association-wide training? They are more than happy to throw themselves into their own church context. They will give everything they've got. They just want to focus on their own church field, their own church family.
In a large association there is no way for the ADOM to get around to every church. He must rely on someone else helping to cover all the bases. You have two options: train your own in house team or bring in outside facilitators who will train the folks in the local churches one at a time or in cluster groups. Do you choose an option based upon your own personal skills and the size of the association? Do you focus on just how much time you want to spend running to individual churches versus trying to pump up someone to do their job when they obviously do not have the passion to do what they agreed to do?
The fewer the churches that want to move into the future accepting the changes that will be necessary, the easier it is to work with the churches individually, celebrate with them their victories, and move onward. The greater the number of churches of any kind, the easier it is simply to say, "We'll pay someone to come in and do the training for whoever decides to show up." Then you hope enough people show up to cover your expenses!
Tis a frustrating puzzlement.
Do I train ten people to do association-wide work such as in music or Sunday School? Do I give my time to working with individual churches where I can train leaders to work in their own congregations?
Obviously my skills are multiplied if they are invested in passionate individuals who will accept additional training and will then work in separate churches or church clusters in specific areas. Leadership is multiplied, more people are helped, and the cause of the Kingdom is furthered by having more people involved.
What do you do if there are no passionate people who will go outside of their own church to invest in association-wide training? They are more than happy to throw themselves into their own church context. They will give everything they've got. They just want to focus on their own church field, their own church family.
In a large association there is no way for the ADOM to get around to every church. He must rely on someone else helping to cover all the bases. You have two options: train your own in house team or bring in outside facilitators who will train the folks in the local churches one at a time or in cluster groups. Do you choose an option based upon your own personal skills and the size of the association? Do you focus on just how much time you want to spend running to individual churches versus trying to pump up someone to do their job when they obviously do not have the passion to do what they agreed to do?
The fewer the churches that want to move into the future accepting the changes that will be necessary, the easier it is to work with the churches individually, celebrate with them their victories, and move onward. The greater the number of churches of any kind, the easier it is simply to say, "We'll pay someone to come in and do the training for whoever decides to show up." Then you hope enough people show up to cover your expenses!
Tis a frustrating puzzlement.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Thinking Directionally
Do we think in ways that are dominated by our past or by the future? There are books written on this subject, and several are probably on my shelves, but I still have to ask myself that question on a regular basis. Our actions each day will be guided predominantly by a reaction to what has already occurred or by an anticipation of what will occur. One does not exclude the other, only that one will determine the priority of our thinking.
What should we as churches and associations have as our focus? The answer to that question will determine whether we react or initiate, whether we put out fires or cultivate fields. It will also determine if we are prepared for a future we cannot see.
Too many of our churches, and perhaps some of our associations, spend most of their resources on reacting to the past instead of preparing for the future as hazy as it may often appear. The results are all too often a repetition of old efforts with the same dead end conclusions. Lessons that should have been learned from past experiences are ignored or misinterpreted. Resources disappear down a black hole, and we try to soothe our frazzled souls with the assurance that we did our best with what we had.
What if we focused upon future-focused questions? What will the future be like? Do our goals include adjusting to a future we cannot see? What tools do we need to face an undefined future? Do we have those tools? Are we willing to invest whatever it takes to get those tools?
What are the critcal resources that we will need to move into the future faithfully serving the Kingdom of God? Are we seeking to accumulate those resources? Are we investing in materials and/or relationships? Which one must have the priority? What plans do we have in place in the present that reflect our future focus?
The power of the past can destroy all hope of a faithful future. Facing the future in a healthy and God-honoring way will never happen by chance or luck. It is an intentional decision that involves intentional action. And it must begin today!
What should we as churches and associations have as our focus? The answer to that question will determine whether we react or initiate, whether we put out fires or cultivate fields. It will also determine if we are prepared for a future we cannot see.
Too many of our churches, and perhaps some of our associations, spend most of their resources on reacting to the past instead of preparing for the future as hazy as it may often appear. The results are all too often a repetition of old efforts with the same dead end conclusions. Lessons that should have been learned from past experiences are ignored or misinterpreted. Resources disappear down a black hole, and we try to soothe our frazzled souls with the assurance that we did our best with what we had.
What if we focused upon future-focused questions? What will the future be like? Do our goals include adjusting to a future we cannot see? What tools do we need to face an undefined future? Do we have those tools? Are we willing to invest whatever it takes to get those tools?
What are the critcal resources that we will need to move into the future faithfully serving the Kingdom of God? Are we seeking to accumulate those resources? Are we investing in materials and/or relationships? Which one must have the priority? What plans do we have in place in the present that reflect our future focus?
The power of the past can destroy all hope of a faithful future. Facing the future in a healthy and God-honoring way will never happen by chance or luck. It is an intentional decision that involves intentional action. And it must begin today!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Sins of the Associational Director of Missions
I have done my best to keep all the Ten Commandments. I am sure, however, I have probably slipped up in a few cases. I don't intend to blatantly lie, but sometimes half truths or partial truths or deceitful innuendoes can come very easily. I try to honor my parents from a three-state distance. I have sought to honor my wife in all ways. Yet I would imagine that God might take issue with how I have honored the Sabbath and his Name at times. There was nothing intentionally blasphemous! But after all I am a grace-saved sinner.
So what are my sins as an associational director of missions? How much space do I have for this blog? How about just a few highlights?
1. Oh, ye of little faith! Lack of faith is a good place to start.
2. Gossip. The little plaque above my desk says, "Dear God, Please keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth." His hand isn't always tight enough.
3. Unacceptable criticism. If it is not intended to edify, then don't say it.
4. Coveting. I never have enough of what I want.
5. Lust. Focused upon possessions and positions more than things of the flesh. Twenty years ago that was different.
6. Wasting time. At my age I have got to stop that!
7. Selfishness. Holding back the encouraging word when someone else needs it. Also refer to Number 1.
8. Spirit of unforgiveness. We are supposed to be worshiping a God of second chances. I need to offer more.
9. Weakly allowing the minors to become majors. Too much of the world gets into my thoughts.
10. Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Confession smacks of honesty. Repentance speaks of conscience. Determination to change points to God being allowed to do what we sinful mortals always find impossible. May God continue to be patient with his servants.
So what are my sins as an associational director of missions? How much space do I have for this blog? How about just a few highlights?
1. Oh, ye of little faith! Lack of faith is a good place to start.
2. Gossip. The little plaque above my desk says, "Dear God, Please keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth." His hand isn't always tight enough.
3. Unacceptable criticism. If it is not intended to edify, then don't say it.
4. Coveting. I never have enough of what I want.
5. Lust. Focused upon possessions and positions more than things of the flesh. Twenty years ago that was different.
6. Wasting time. At my age I have got to stop that!
7. Selfishness. Holding back the encouraging word when someone else needs it. Also refer to Number 1.
8. Spirit of unforgiveness. We are supposed to be worshiping a God of second chances. I need to offer more.
9. Weakly allowing the minors to become majors. Too much of the world gets into my thoughts.
10. Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Confession smacks of honesty. Repentance speaks of conscience. Determination to change points to God being allowed to do what we sinful mortals always find impossible. May God continue to be patient with his servants.
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