Don’t Give Yourself a Ministry Hernia

When I was 16, I worked on the maintenance staff at a summer youth camp in upstate New York called Word of Life Island.  One of my assignments was as a team member of the setup/tear down team for a twice-weekly concert the Word of Life Bible Institute put on.  Through the week of July 4, the concerts highlighted a patriotic theme.  So, one of the elements we had to set up was a pair of large mock “statues of liberty” which were 10-12 feet tall.  Each weighed a few hundred pounds.

They were an element of the program that everyone on maintenance hated because it was the epitome of a “long run for a short slide.” The statues were on a swivel base. Throughout the 45 minute concert, the audience saw only a flat decorated background. On the very last song of the concert, the statues then swiveled 180 degrees as a patriotic anthem soared. This was capped by a small fireworks display. Yee Ha!!

The point of this blog surrounds the transportation of the statues.  In transit they reclined on their back.  They were so big and bulky that we had to surround each statue with about 10 young men and pick it up and walk with it.  It was no fun….at all.  One of the other young men on the team was named Colby.  Colby was a very funny fella. Nothing seemed to faze him, and he was particularly strong for a 16 year old; a real farmer type.

One of the first times we moved the mockup of Frederic Bartholdi’s masterpiece, I noticed ol’ Colby was straining like an Olympic powerlifter in the Clean and Jerk competition.  His face was red like tomatoes, and the tendons in his neck were so pronounced, if I had a bow, I could have fiddled The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Keep in mind, we were all straining to move this leviathan of a stage piece, but Colby was the only guy who seemed to be testing the limits of his abdominal cavity. Someone said, “Colby, you’re gonna give yourself a hernia. Relax.”

What Colby hadn’t figured out was that the statue was so heavy, and so bulky, that it was impossible for him to singlehandedly control its outcome. Although he was lifting with all of his might, it really made little difference to the distributed weight the other 9 of us had to carry.  Had he stopped lifting, we would probably not have sensed it.  As I reflected on this funny little event in our staff meeting this week, it struck me how many folk treat ministry activities like Colby.

I do it all of the time.  I am part of a great church with a wide array of ministries.  I am responsible to ensure they are moving along properly.  It takes an organized staff, and a small army of volunteers to operate smoothly.  We often use the phrase “help shoulder the load of ministry” to emphasize that to work effectively in the church, we each have to manage certain levels of responsibility.

Yet too often I think I can grab the 800lb gorilla of ministry and lift it all by myself. I strain, grunt, pull, push, get red in the face, and for what?  The work of the Lord is wide and heavy and bulky. It was not designed to be manhandled by a select few.  This grit-your-teeth mentality only leads to frustration, anger and bitterness.  I begin to think I am the only one out on a limb. I am the only one “really dedicated” to the cause. I am the only person who cares. No one else pushes themselves like me. No one sees all that I’m doing. I’m indispensable.  And boom, pride and egocentricity suddenly dominate the landscape Jesus created for love, selflessness and a servant’s heart.  Don’t get me wrong, we all need to work hard and shoulder the load, but serving the Lord is a tremendous team effort. Relax, or you’ll give yourself a ministry hernia.

Politically Correct Christmas Greeting

A Politically Correct Christmas Wish

We wanted to send out some sort of holiday greeting, but it is so difficult in today’s world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. So we met with our attorney, and on his advice we want to say to all of you:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only “AMERICA” in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.

This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Cool Stories Bringing God Glory (sweet rhyme)

Wanted to pass along a few stories from Salem Chapel’s new Orphan Care Ministry…

For one, we have sponsored more than 80 young boys and girls in Mpholi through Children’s HopeChest. That is more than $32,000 pledged to orphans in our first week.  I am fired up because this is more than young children who need help, it is about people reaching out of their comfort zone and committing to praying for and communicating with their adopted kid.

The second part of the CHC Carepoint Commitment is that our church will take a team to Mpholi at least once per year to do work at the Carepoint.  Day one we had folk committing to going.  This is a big deal. This means real people with real jobs and real lives are going to raise money, get shots, take  two weeks off from work and travel to southern Africa to care for the weak and poor. One of the neatest conversations I had was with a local businessman.  He said that he really wanted to go with his wife, but he was scared.  Not scared to travel, not scared to raise money, not scared to be in Africa. No, he said he knew God really wanted him to go, but was scared that his heart would be so burdened for the needs of Mpholi people that he would need to quit his job and serve the Lord vocationally. That scared him.

That kind of fear is refreshing.  The moment you realize God is at work in a dynamic way in your heart for something specific, it is not always sunshine and rainbows…sometimes it is gut wrenching fear.  When God speaks, it should make us tremble.

Another great story…a young couple in our church who had been struggling with infertility came to a strong belief that they should adopt knowing that Salem Chapel will surround them during the process.  After HopeChest’s presentation, they really felt burdened for foreign adoption.  They soon got a call informing them of a pair of sisters from Uganda that needed immediate adoption. They jumped with both feet.  This couple made the move without the funds of $1400 to start the process, which is a home study.  This past Sunday, they received funds from two different sources for more than the cost of the home study.  Now they are on to stage two.  God gets things done.

Want more? A guy called me this past Friday, 5 days removed from CHC’s presentation.  He said that he and his wife really wanted to sponsor a child from Mpholi, but they had two other children sponsored through a different organization. They had been supporting the two kids for quite awhile and didn’t want to bail out. On Thursday they received an email that one of their sponsored children had been adopted freeing them up to add a Mpholi child. WOW!!  Great news for the newly adopted child, and great news for the newly sponsored Mpholi child.  This guy was so excited because God answered two prayers with one action. He’s God. He can do that.

You probably can’t handle any more cool stories, but I have one more.  This actually came from my sister, Cherith.  She and her husband also sponsor a couple of children through another organization.  However, in faith they took a third child, one from Mpholi. This is a big deal for a young newlywed couple.  The cost to sponsor a child through CHC is $408 annually.  On Monday, Cherith received her Christmas bonus at work. Can you guess the amount? Give up?  Yup, after taxes it was $408.75.  Not only did God provide, but they committed to giving the much needed money away to those in greater need. This is God at work.

I don’t share these stories to brag about HopeChest or Salem Chapel. I share these to bring God the great glory He deserves. He is at work in individual lives and through organizations to minister to those in need and in affliction.  Again, through his great power He does more than one thing in the same act. By serving, we grow in grace and mercy. And by serving, we become his hands and feet to others. The simple but not easy conclusion: How great is our God!

The Profound Simplicity of a Seven Year Old

My son Lincoln is 7. He attends a local public school. Recently he did something that taught me that simplicity can be profound.  Linc is required to read for 20 minutes each day for homework.  There is no specific literary work assigned, just that he needs to be reading actively.  He also has to write a summary sentence for his reading time.  We have a library of books that he has devoured.  He loves it.

This morning Jude showed me his reading page from last week. We take turns signing his homework, so I hadn’t seen it.  It was a little sentence written in sloppy, little boy’s ever-rushing chicken scratch.  “Jesus loves me and you.”  I learned that on that particular day, Lincoln had chosen to read his bible for reading time.  This wasn’t suggested, he just did it.  What I really like was that he came up with one of the most important theological truths in Scripture and upon which God built a bridge to mankind.  Jesus loves me and you.

In his childlike simplicity he wrote what he had learned and turned it in to his teacher.  Curiously, she wrote a note back in red ink that said simply, “Tell me more.”  We have now challenged our son to talk to his teacher about the Lord. I hope that he follows through on this conversation he has started. The simple but not easy lesson he taught me: read the bible, understand the main truths, and be unashamed to share those truths with anyone who will listen.

HopeChest and Swaziland

Prior to this week, I had only heard of Swaziland a few times in my life. I knew it was somewhere in Africa. After spending some time this past weekend with new friends from Children’s HopeChest, www.hopechest.org, I have been struck by the deep needs of the children there. I have been overwhelmed by the profuse amount of cash I burn through on random and needless waste that could be helping children eat, obtain fresh water and be cared for. I know that guilting people into action is not the way of the Lord, but occasionally we need to be rocked from our cushy lifestyles and see what is happening in places not on this hemisphere.

Here are some stats about Swazi:
45% HIV rate
An average life span of 28 years
Over 10% of the population are orphans
60% + unemployment rate
40% have the opportunity to go to school
The population has declined from 1.3 million in 2005 to 900,000 in 2009

Did you catch number two? Life span – 28 years!! A 16 year old in Swaziland has a 10% chance to make it to age 30. This is beyond mind boggling for Americans. We have a greater chance of understanding String Theory than absorbing a worldview in which making it to age 30 is a victory.

There were a host of lessons I learned this weekend. One key practical lesson to take away from an introduction to HopeChest: avoid paralysis by analysis. Looking at the massive problems of orphan care from a macro level can be overwhelming and can inhibit activity instead of initializing it. There are 147 million orphans worldwide. That’s a challenge. What I learned is that we have to isolate needs within a context we can understand and respond to. That’s why our church, Salem Chapel, will take responsibility for the community of Mpholi, Swaziland. We can’t tackle all communities in all countries, but we can focus on this one. We can’t help every kid, but we can help the kids in Mpholi. We will try to help the people of this community develop sustainability and by doing so share the true hope of a living Savior through love.

The problem is simple but not easy: We need to care for others like we care for ourselves. I plan to be involved with the kids of Mpholi. I hope you will consider getting involved.

Swaziland – Children’s Hope Chest

This video is a teaser for Salem Chapel’s launch of phase two for our Orphan Care ministry. We hope you will be there Sunday. We have services at 9am and 11am. If you haven’t visited with us before, contact me and I will be glad to connect you with the best seat in the house.

Eating Your Bicep – The Christian Cannibal

No, I haven’t wigged out. I am not in support of cannibalism.  I was struck by a statement the prophet Isaiah made in his book in chapter 9, verse 20. “…each devours the flesh of his own arm.” This comment is in a passage where Isaiah explains that the wrath of God is going to be poured out on God’s chosen people, Israel.  Part of this prophecy was a prediction of civil war among Israel, and Isaiah described civil war as devouring one’s own body.

What he is getting at is that when we attack family, we are devouring our own body. The church is not Israel, but the church is now integrated into the chosen people that God has redeemed. And God consistently calls the church the body of Christ.  When we go after others in the body, we are in effect, attacking ourselves.  Obviously this is a warning against gossip, backstabbing, conspiring, etc.  The next time you are tempted to slice someone behind their back, think of it as eating your bicep. Nasty.

Civil war among family is terrible, but what I wanted to know is why?  Why the civil war? Why was God bringing judgment on those he loved so deeply?  Why were people devouring one another? Verses 13-16 explain that there was a deep problem in the people of God.  They would not seek Him. They would not follow. The story of the Bible is that although we are fallen creatures, God continues to pursue us.  However, God also reaches a point of no return with some generations. This particular generation refused to hear the word of the Lord, or seek Him. And He brought judgment. You will find in the passage that God held both the leaders and those who are led accountable.

Organizationally, the effectiveness of a church rises and falls on its leadership. Yet in the relationship man has with God, we are individually accountable for our actions.  In other words, you can’t blame sin, reckless behavior, lack of dedication to Christ on someone else.  Yes, your leaders are important. God was very angry that Israel’s leaders had taught lies and led in error.  Yet God’s word was given to all of the people.  Not only did the people fail to personally seek God, they failed to hold their leaders to a high standard of truth and godliness.  There was a balance of responsibility. There was a group effort in turning away from God’s love and truth.

And with that turning away, God brought judgment on his beloved nation. He allowed attacks from other countries, and more painfully, civil war among his own people. God has not changed, and I fear that he allows churches to experience judgment when their leadership and the body as a whole fail to seek him, and do what is right before him.  He allows them to experience internal battles and civil war, not as a test, but as a judgment.

The simple but not easy conclusion: If you wake up one day hungry and find yourself reheating a bicep, don’t just run away from the gossip, run to the presence of God. Seek his face, heed His word, follow His will, strive to promote his glory. For as we read in Isaiah, when judgment comes, it is too late. Let us commit to holding one another accountable to living the faith we claim we believe. No matter whether we are elders or volunteers, pastors or worship leaders, we are in this together.

At The End Of The Day

Something that God has been re-emphasizing to me is that while Christianity is in many respects a group effort, at the end of the day, I am responsible for me.  You are responsible for you.  We will each give an account of our lives and actions before Jesus Christ.  To that end, we are encouraged to join together with other believers and strengthen our faith through the unity of the church.  We are to serve and love one another.  You can’t go it alone.  We were designed for companionship and interpersonal relationships.

Yet there is a unique individual calling in our spirit that draws us into deep connection with our Creator.  At that level, we must engage the Lord individually and privately.  No one else can do it for you.  This is the place where we strip away the religious facade and ask the Lord to shine his light into our soul.  It is here He can speak into our lives, our hearts, our minds.  He is very humble. He won’t compete with the television, the Xbox, the iphone or Netflix.  He deeply cares for us and begs us to cast our concerns onto his broad shoulders. But He won’t force you to seek His face.

At the end of the day I want to know that I have spent my time connected to Christ and engaged in activities that please Him and give Him glory.  I can be prayed for, encouraged, held accountable, challenged, pushed, reproved, and admonished. But if I don’t personally take the initiative to submit my selfish pride to His plan, then it won’t happen.  You can’t have a spiritual relationship for me, and I can’t have one for you. This is so simple, but not easy.

The Faithful Prayers of a Teacher

Salem Chapel Life Groups are a key part of our church body.  We focus on Bible application and personal growth.  One of the questions that we answered tonight was what God is doing in our lives this fall.

One of our ladies, Meri, a schoolteacher told us a great story of how God has been working in a special way.  I refer to special b/c she teaches children with special needs.  She told us that part of her personal ministry is praying for her children.  In the public school system she can’t officially “minister” to them. But she can pray.

This week, one of her 9 year old emotionally challenged chidren came into class and said, “Ms. Meri I need to tell you something.”  Meri said that with this kid, she didn’t know if he was going to hit her, or tear up something in the room.  Anything was possible.  So she cautiously approached the little guy.

He said, “My gramma took me to church this weekend and I got saved.” It was a very emotional story as Meri explained how often she prayed for these kids but in some ways never expected anything to happen.  So her lesson, what God is teaching her is that He is always listening. He is always working. He cares deeply for the young and helpless.  She said that the little boy’s behavior  has completely changed.  He listens. He does his work. He doesn’t act out.

Jesus rescued this child. Jesus taught Meri a lesson in faith.  The faithful prayers of a teacher mattered.

Great Quote – EM Bounds

Here’s a great quote from a great guy, EM Bounds.  Keep in  mind he wrote this many years ago as he lived from 1835-1913. I will not annotate his words, but i would suggest that “men” be taken in the general sense of mankind because God uses ladies powerfully as well.

Men are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men…. What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use—-men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.  The Holy Spirit does not come on machinery, but on men.  He does not anoint plans, but men—-men of prayer….

The training of the Twelve was the great, difficult and enduring work of Christ…. It is not great talents or great learning or great preachers that God needs, but men great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity, great for God–men always preaching by holy sermons in the pulpit, by holy lives out of it.  These can mould a generation for God.