Radical Faith

Another Sunday, the Lord's Day, our Christian day of worship. I sit watching the crowded auditorim when my focus and attention really should be on God. I sense there are a lot of carbon-copy Christians entering the room. We went through the motions of another week, and now we are about to go through the motions of worship. Maybe I am projecting my own bias, but I see a lot of people who are sitting, completely disengaged from what is going on around them (myself included).

The last few years I have had a dramatic shift in my spiritual paradigms. I haven't drifted far from my core beliefs. I am not ready to run headlong towards spiritual Bablyon, but I do long for the New Jerusalem, the shining city on a hill, a place of refuge where all can come for repentance and restoration.

I remember the day over a decade ago when a man walked into our assembly intent on intimidating those present. The years of drugs and addiction made him a hard, callous man who would just as soon cut your throat as carry on a conversation. He wasn't welcomed, greeted or offered a seat of honor (or any seat at all for that matter). Most people made a conscious effort to walk the long way around the auditorium.

A few months later that man was my brother in Christ. His hair neatly cropped, his heart completely changed. He continued to struggle with the challenges of his past. Members struggled with how to help him, but he was trying, searching and longing for something better than he had known.

For years I longed for a church without problems, now I shudder to think what that mindset means to the salvation of men. The troubled, the heartsick, addicts and outcasts need a safe harbor, a place of refuge from the storms of life. If they are not welcome in our churches, ministered to by the saints, and taught by the faithful - where will they go?

So answer that question for me - WHERE WILL THEY GO?

Bridging the Gap

I will always recall one of my Bible teachers telling us, "boys you have to learn to preach across the gap." Of course we struggled to understand what Brother Carr was talking about. His response has stayed with me all these years, "Boys, you are going to have to learn early on that you can't live perfect lives, but you have to preach a perfect gospel. Sometimes that means you have to preach lessons that are mighty close to home.

There are places in our lives where we all have to preach across the gap. It is hard to train and correct our children when they throw our own failures and inadequecies up in our face. In teaching a Bible class we sometimes have to deal with topics that haven't quite mastered in our own lives. Some people may call this hypocrisy, but the truth is that we are called to "preach the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).

Recently I have been facilitating a men's study/prayer group on Monday mornings. It is a thrill to have a such a great group of men who are committed to starting their week with Christ. Our current topic of discussion is Patrick Morley's book, "The Man in the Mirror." The title alone illustrates how hard it is to facilitate this discussion. Reading each chapter and trying to evaluate my own life is painful at times. I know the lessons we share on Monday are helping me, challenging me, but sometimes it is like a doctor probing around for an abcess. When he finds the troubled area - it doesn't feel very good.

Preachers aren't the only ones who have to cross that chasm. We all have the difficult challenge of living what we believe and teach. That should also remind us of the importance of showing some grace and understanding to those who walk in leadership positions. They don't live perfect lives, but like the rest of us, they pursue that perfect pattern.

Faith, Family & the Holidays

I will open this blog by confessing that I went to see the movie, "Four Christmases" this past week. While most of the audience found the movie funny, I found it somewhat disturbing. The general thrust of the movie is that a young couple have to visit four families (because of broken home issues) all on Christmas day.

The families in the movie were all dysfunctional in some significant way. I sat through the movie with a number of troubling thoughts:

• Is this really the state of affairs in America?
• How do the issues of divorce and blended families affect my own children?
• What can we all do to help our children navigate through the holidays and provide a positive experience for them.

Whether your family is "traditional" or otherwise, you have issues that you face during the holidays. It may be struggles over where to spend Christmas and New Years, or simply the battles between siblings once school is out for three weeks.

I have always believed that holidays are a time for faith and family. A time to reflect on the blessings that God has given us and a time to share with one another. It is tragic to think that we often worry about how to navigate through family politics rather than accept the blessings we recieve from God. This year in my quiet time and prayer time I will be praying for the families in our community.

"Father, bless the homes and families in our community. There are parents who are struggling, children who are hurting and so very many in want and need. Be with me as a father and husband to put the needs of my wife and children first. Help me to have an understanding heart and an open mind. Give my children and those around us a deeper understanding of your love and will in their lives. Father as I think of the gifts I can give, I pray that my emphasis is on my example. Help me to give my children a foundation of faith, to my community an example of a godly life and to my wife the love and respect she deserves. Father open my eyes to the needs that are around me. Allow me an opportunity each day to touch the lives of others in some small way."

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Intangibles

This week I have been in a series of meetings discussing trends in ministry. Throughout the discussions I kept coming back to matters that I believe are critical and important, but often overlooked. I am afraid that all too often churches can get caught up in the latest trends and best practices and miss the heart of our work.

I entitled this blog intangibles, not because these matters are unimportant, but because they are often overlooked. Here are a few of the issues that I believe are critical to effective local work.

Put an emphasis on prayer. While I was in Africa I got in deep discussion of small groups. I often felt alone in defending congregations who have not yet moved to small groups. I found it interesting that the entire time we were in Nigeria I did not see one small group meet (some churches were small groups, but that was another matter). What I did see was a commitment to prayer. Every morning the church doors opened between 5:00 - 6:00 am for the congregation to come together to pray. It was moving and powerful to see the people of God joined in this act of faith and fellowship.

Restore a passion for Bible study. Like most people in ministry I love books. It is not uncommon to read a couple of new books a week, but a few years ago a group of men encouraged me to study my Bible daily. I am reminded of what V.P. Black told me years ago. He said, "Son, you preach what you are full of." The things you read and study will come out in your preaching and teaching. If that is the case, and I believe it is, then the Bible needs to be the first and most important book in my library.

Get engaged in the lives of others. We change our environment and the world around us - one person at a time. We were created to fellowship and interact with others. Allow your life to touch someone elses. Open your heart to the needs of others. Share your tragedies and triumphs with a world traveling blindly through the night.

Projects, programs and proceedures are all good and necessary to effective and efficient work, but lets not forget the important matters that add depth and substance to our faith.

Ministry & Money

This is probably one of the more delicate topics related to faith-based institutions. Every good work needs money to operate, but it often creates a moral dilemma for those seeking financial support. I have been involved in fundraising efforts since entering the mission field in 1988. During that time, I have seen all of the good and bad that comes from with dealing with money. Let’s look at a few important facts surrounding Ministry & Money.

Giving, Tithing, and Stewardship are all important Biblical topics. Some authors have indicated that money is talked about more than any other topic. I don’t know if that is true, but the Word has a lot to say about it. I don’t want to use this column to preach a sermon, so here are my observations.

Faith or Works: I have sat in board meetings where Executive Directors have emphasized the importance of trusting God and the money will come to the exclusion of getting out and asking. I have seen board members so concerned about the bottom line that they forget to include God in their calculations. What is the balance between stepping out in faith and being a responsible steward? I don’t know that there is a clear-cut answer, but the simplest way I know to explain it, is to pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you. Make sure it is God’s voice you hear calling you to step out in faith and not your own arrogance or Messiah complex.

Money & Power Corrupts. This is the greatest challenge I have seen on the mission field. We are so eager to help we place large sums of money in the hands of those inexperienced in handling it. They will see more money in a week than they have seen in a lifetime and it can corrupt local workers who were at one time good men. American diplomacy has failed because we have created an international welfare program. In too many cases, the church has done the same thing.

Finally, never sacrifice your mission to chase dollars. I have seen too many organizations change their vision, mission and values because they believed that the money they would receive justified the move. A well-meaning individual may promise $500, 000 if you will build a clinic in Honduras, or sponsor students in Ukraine. If those works fall under the umbrella of your mission great, if not help steer them to the organization that can fulfill their mission. I have seen dozens of faith-based organizations who lost their vision, then lost their zeal. They chased dollars, rather than pursuing souls and sought financial increases rather than striving to expand the kingdom.

I believe that God requires us to manage money in our personal lives and in our ministries for a series of reasons: 1) It requires us to exercise stewardship; 2) It demonstrates our ability to walk with integrity; 3) and it reminds us that “every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights…”