theology

Why don’t people get it?

Posted on December 10, 2010 by jon in church, leadership, theology | 2 Comments

People who have been chosen by God to make ministry a career often adopt a skewed perception of things. Ok, don’t stop reading. Let me clarify that.

I’m one of those people. A lot of times, people who are immersed in church work every day find ourselves asking, “Why don’t people get it? Why can’t they just see what I’m talking about when I preach to them? Why don’t they go out and change their lives?” It can be very troubling, and in fact, many pastors leave the ministry because of this very reason. I mean, what’s a pastor to think when we feel as though we’ve preached an amazing, Spirit-led sermon, we’ve got great, genuine programs, we see people give their lives to Christ, yet those same people subsequently go out into the world and live in a way that completely contradicts what they’ve experienced in church?

There are two problems here. First off, human nature sways toward the hypocritical. But the second problem is a lot harder to digest. It’s a brutally honest problem. Many times, pastors (and other ministry professionals) live with a “holier than thou” attitude. We focus so hard on being channels by which God may change the lives of our congregations and the people to whom we minister that we forget about our own spiritual flaws. Again, let me reiterate that I’m guilty of this. Paul wrote about this several times, but one time that sticks out to me is when he wrote to the church in Rome:

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. – Romans 12:3 (NIV)

When I heard Eugene Peterson (The Message) speak not long ago, one of the things he said that resonated with me was “So often pastors see Christ everywhere in their congregations. They just don’t see Him in the mirror.” I think this verse is very easy to relate to this idea.

I love how this translation of this verse uses the word “distributed.” The Greek term here, “merizo,” literally means to bestow, apportion, or share. God has “shared” an amazing opportunity with “each of [us],” not just those in our congregations.

One particular commentary by Douglas Moo on this verse says it beautifully: “Paul is talking here about community. Central to our community life is a fair and sober estimate of ourselves in line with the Christian faith and the gifts God has given to us.” In other words, a humble look within ourselves as leaders is central to the community that is needed in a thriving church. So many times, ministry leaders get too caught up in leading communities and not enough in being a part of the community. It’s very important to minister to the church, but it’s equally as important to allow the church to minister to you. Remember – there is one leader in the broad community of faith: Jesus Christ – the One who started the local church. Without His leadership, the Church as we know it will completely fall apart.

My Time With Eugene Peterson

Posted on October 27, 2010 by jon in church, culture, theology | Leave a comment

A couple of weeks ago, I had the amazing privilege to listen to Eugene Peterson, author of several books including the wildly popular translation of the Bible called The Message. Peterson is an amazingly brilliant man, and listening to him speak, I felt as though I was drinking from a fire hydrant. However, perhaps the most powerful part of what he said was actually what he didn’t say. See, the things he said provoked some intense thought within me and I’m sure the others in attendance. Rather than add my own thoughts to his, I thought I’d list a few of the quotes I scribbled down during his lecture – things that hit me like a ton of bricks. Hopefully they’ll do the same for you.

Quotes from Eugene Peterson

You can’t run a church on adrenaline.

In life, there is nothing more perverted and messed up than love.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” However, only when we do the Jesus truth and the Jesus way do we get the Jesus life.”

People are fed up with leaders who talk about God, but show little evidence of living in God.

Christian spirituality is not a life project for becoming a better person.

Too often we make it about us. But when we hear “God with us,” “Christ in me,” and “God for us,” we are not the subject. We are the tail-end of a prepositional phrase.

The more there is of us, the less there is of God.

We cannot seek to do God’s work but use our own way. If we do, we miss the Truth.

How does it happen that we know so much, and can do so much, but live so badly?

We need to become present to the God who is present to us.

We have become churches that cater to consumers. A church that teaches consumerism is an anti-Christ church.

While we are included in Scripture, it is not about us. It’s about God revealing God. Today, Scripture has been depersonalized into information, rather than transformation.

So often we forget that the resurrection happened behind [the disciples'] backs, when they weren’t looking.

Pastors don’t trust what they can’t control.

The resurrection was a mystery. What will we do with the mystery? Enter the mystery, honor the mystery, and embrace the mystery.

At a Christian life center is God, not us. At an American cultural life center is us, not God.

The work of the pastor is unique in that it is slow and cannot be hurried, yet rapid and can not be procrastinated.

Patience is the prerequisite of the way of Jesus.

The problem with most pastors is that they start to see Jesus everywhere in the church, they just don’t see Him in the mirror.

That last one rocked my world big time. I could use each of these as a separate Twitter post. Overall, Peterson is a man I admire not only for his brilliance, but for his willingness to say the things that make people shift in their seats. What are your favorite quotes from those above?

Living the “Taco Bell” Way

Posted on September 30, 2010 by jon in church, culture, mission, theology | 1 Comment

Today while searching for some lunch I decided to make a quick trip through the Taco Bell drive-thru. The past few times I’ve been there, I’ve noticed that everyone who works there ends every conversation with “We love serving you.” The person takes your order, confirms your order, and then it’s “Thank you. Please drive around. We love serving you.” Then you proceed to the payment window. You get your change and another “We love serving you.” Finally, after the chicken quesadilla, double-decker taco, cinnamon twists and large Pepsi come through the last window, the employee bids farewell with yet another “We love serving you.”

I’m not naive. At least not about this. I know that they had a big meeting of all the Taco Bell employees, and someone in management said, “We’re going to start saying this to every customer no matter what.” This is obvious, because it’s been fairly obvious on several occasions that the person saying it – well, to be blunt – didn’t mean it.

I am, however, intrigued by the concept of this. Those who consider themselves “god-fearing” people, especially Christians, know the necessity of servanthood. But do we ever consider the motive? Even non-believers know for the most part that serving others is a good thing to do. But again – what is the motive? Why serve?

Many times, I think we feel as though we should serve because, well, we just should. It seems like a simple task or duty. The motivation seems to be “the Bible tells me so.” But if we take a closer look, we can begin to uncover that there is much more to serving than we think.

Paul wrote to the Galatians these powerful words:

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” -Galatians 5:13 (NIV)

Think about this in a modern context. We live in a free country in the United States. We have the freedom to do as we wish within legal boundaries. What we do with that freedom is up to us. Many choose to abuse that freedom. Many choose to exploit it. But Paul’s words called the church in Galatia to leverage their freedom for the sake of those who need a loving servant.

Just think about what this world would be like if the Church today truly served with love as their motivation. That’s the difference between who serves when asked and someone who asks to serve. If you’ve ever taken part in a service project, do you think you could honestly look the people whom you were serving in the eye and say, “I love serving you?” The challenge for us all is to live out those words and realize that servanthood shouldn’t be a chore or a menial task to fulfill some hypothetical checklist of Christianity. It should be something that is emblazoned upon the heart of the believer. Remember – even “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20:28 (NIV)

Where are you headed?

Posted on August 17, 2010 by jon in church, culture, theology, youth ministry | Leave a comment

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” – Jeremiah 1:4-10

This has always been one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament. I think I like it because I can really identify with Jeremiah’s hesitance. This year, the theme for our youth ministry is “Destinations,” and it’s based on this text. Jeremiah was a youth, and felt as though he wasn’t ready to do God’s work in the world. Perhaps he felt as though his work wouldn’t really make a difference.

God, however, knew Jeremiah. He had a plan for Jeremiah’s life even before Jeremiah was in the womb. God knew Jeremiah’s destination. I’ve found that so often the youth of the Church feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things – but the promise of God is sure through Jeremiah: God knows us now, God has always known us, and God knows where we’re headed.

Think of it like this: if bought a GPS that would only take you to one location, and the voice giving you the turn-by-turn directions was God’s voice, what do you think would be your destination? Where would you be going? Even if you knew, what paths would you take to get there? Would you take the roads less traveled, or a super-highway? Would you take the road that conforms to culture, or the road that’s so radical that few will brave it? This year, I pray that God will use me to challenge our youth to seek out God’s plan for their lives, the plan that’s been around since before they were around.