Mini-church vision

The church is in a rut because we believe that the world should come to us. We sit back and wait for the lost and hurting to come to our worship services and our programs. Then we get frustrated because we are offering all these great opportunities and no one is coming. There are too many options (distractions) for most people to even realize that they need Jesus, let alone church. That is why it is time to make some changes.

The church must do things differently to reach the world.

• First of all, the church must go to where people are. After all, this was a command of Jesus (Matthew 28.19). If people do not come to us, it does not remove our responsibility. We must reach people, wherever they are.
• We need to get over our traditions and rituals. For the last 30 years there have been arguments about appropriate music in church and worship settings. That dispute is nothing compared to what we need to be discussing. Where can we have worship? What makes spiritual growth? Do we need to sing? Do we need a sermon? How can we be more accountable?
• Our concerns with proper authority, responsibility and offices are probably hindering more than helping us when reaching new people. We need to consider calling, gifts and passion when assigning and accepting leadership rather than education, experience and political affiliation.

At least for my lifetime there will be a church, at least in the traditional understanding of church. However, the church will continue to decrease in attendance, in importance and relevance. The Kingdom of God will not decline. The Kingdom of God will march on. The question for us is will we be marching along.

Reasons People Do Not Pray

One of the greatest problems with Christians- at least in USA- is the lack of prayer and the subsequent spiritual anemia. There is no one that is against prayer. In fact, nearly every person I know, Christian and not, would say that they should pray more than we do. We understand that we should pray and we feel guilty that we do not. So why do Christians not pray?

1. We do not pray because we do not know how. No one ever taught us how to pray. They taught us that we should pray, and helped us to feel guilty when we did not. But for the most part, our churches, pastors, Sunday Schools and Bible studies have failed to teach us how to pray.
2. We do not pray because it is boring. Too often this response is a result of the MTV world. Prayer often requires silence, waiting, stillness, and we get too anxious for that kind of commitment.
3. We do not pray because it does not work. After a life time of prayer 'wish-lists' that have gone unfulfilled, you may have given up. If God didn't answer by now, why would he answer at all.
4. We do not pray because we think that God is too busy for us. Our needs are less significant than those of other people we know. Surely, we shouldn't bother God.
5. We do not pray because we think that we can solve our own problems. We have been taught to do it ourselves, after all. Prayer could be construed as a sign of weakness or dependence.
6. We do not pray because we do not understand it as communication in a relationship with God.
7. We do not pray because we are lazy. Prayer is hard. It takes time. It is sometimes frustrating and disappointing. It is easier if I just don't do it.
8. We do not pray because we do not want to be considered 'religious fanatics.' Other people will look down on me or think that I am weird if I spend too much time praying.
9. We do not pray because we do not have time. There is too much to do and prayer is so 'non-productive.' We can't afford to spend our time on it.
10. We do not pray because we do not know all of the proper religious language. You have to sound spiritual or godly to pray. I just don't have the vocabulary.

Obviously, every one of these reasons is ridiculous. Prayer is the lifeline for every Christian. Get off your seat and start doing what God has called you to do.

Poetry/ Song Ideas

• It's Just a Cross (rap)
• If you're happy with nothing, you can be happy with anything
• Serving life without parole
• Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star/ Jesus Loves Me
• I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up
• Look at the Rising Son
• Psalm 56.3-4, 10-11
• Walk This Way
• Come and Worship, worship Jesus Christ the King
• Rockin' Soul
• Crazy Worship

Notes on a Selfish Scandal

So, I watched the film Notes on a Scandal. It was very interesting. It is the story of two teachers in a London middle school. The new teacher, played by Cate Blanchett, is a young, lively and attractive woman with a semi-happy marriage and home life. The other teacher, Judi Dench's character, is the stereotypical old-maid teacher. She is grouchy, lonely and critical of seemingly everything and everyone.

On one level, this movie is so easy to watch that it is almost boring. Everyone who has ever been in any school knows both of these teachers. My third grade teacher could have been replaced by Judi Dench. The graduate assistant who taught my first English class in college could have been the Cate Blanchett character. And just when I thought that this movie would bore me, the unthinkable happened.

During a school play the older teacher realizes that her only friend, the new teacher, has not arrived yet. So she goes in search of the novice. What she finds is surprising to say the least. For the younger teacher is found in her classroom in the arms of one of her 15 year old students. Apparently an affair has been going on for some time. The story that continues from here is not predictable, and I will not spoil the plot for those have not seen the film yet. But, I would like to draw some comparisons between the movie and real life.

Actually, there are only two comparisons, and they are the same. People are selfish. We all look out for number one. We are more concerned with our own interests than we are with anyone or anything else. Too often, our only concern for anyone else is how to get them out of the way when they are interfering with our own desires.

• Sheba, the younger teacher, is selfish in that she spends the whole movie thinking only of her own desires. To begin with her selfishness is evidenced in her disregard for her family, for morality, for societal conventions, or ethical behavior. Her affair with a teen-aged boy exemplifies what many people believe. 'I deserve whatever I can get.' And then, after her affair is discovered and revealed, Sheba desperately works to preserve her reputation, her dignity, her family. However, I was left with the feeling that she wanted to save herself only to save herself. She had little or no concern for the victim of her sexual abuse, her co-workers or her family.
• Barbara, the other teacher, may be more selfish. In her quest to be rescued from her loneliness, Barbara manipulates those around. This alienates some people and submits others to her. However, no one has true affection for Barbara. Her loneliness has become permanent and almost suffocating as she tries in vain to co-erce others into being her friend. This is completely different than Sheba's, but it is nevertheless selfishness of the highest order.

I believe that selfishness is the one thing that all humans hold in common. In theological terms we talk about original sin. This is that nature that each of us inherits at our birth. Every person is selfish. Each of us thinks more of ourselves than we ought. Notes on a Scandal is a perfect illustration of this principle. Barbara and Sheba are repulsive. They show us what we could be. Let us pray to God that it is not so.

How the Think Like a Christian About Hunger and Poverty

Did you ever notice that you never hear television evangelists preach about what Jesus really said about being poor? It would wreak havoc on their income stream I suppose. They need people to keep sending them money. But Jesus said that we should give our money to the poor. He said that we should feed the hungry, care for the homeless, love the orphans, visit the prisoners and meet the needs of the ill. In fact, Jesus’ life can be summed up by saying that he did those things. Jesus’ teachings can be summarized by saying that he taught those things.

In the west (Europe and North America, and Japan and China to a lesser extent), we have more money than anyone else in the world. I believe that the poorest person you know, would be wealthy in most communities in the rest of the world. We have been entrusted with great wealth, and our biggest problem is that we too often squander it. When we get a little extra cash we buy a bigger, fancier, costlier television, or a new outfit, or an mp3 player, or a video game, or go on a trip. All of these are things that we do not need, but we “have” to have them.

So how can we make a difference? What can I do to help solve the most serious problems in the world (and these are the most significant issues in the world)?
Live more simply. Your parents would have thought that a 25” color television set was extravagant. How could you explain spending more for your flat-panel HDTV plasma number than they did for their first car?

• Be generous. Give away some stuff. Give away some money. Volunteer some time at a shelter, food pantry or soup kitchen.
• Be observant. Notice who there is around you who needs some help. Help others to feel good about themselves and their situation.
• Give. In addition to church, you can find other charities- Christian and otherwise- who are making a difference. Try Heifer Project, Compassion International and Food for the Poor to start with.
• Pray. Pray for those who are hungry, who do not have clean water, who live in poverty. But also, pray for the rest of the world, those of us who have money. Pray that we will learn that we cannot continue to turn our heads, but that we must do something- give something.
• Go somewhere. You do not have to go to Sudan or Haiti to find poor and hungry people. They are here in the USA, in Indiana. Go and make a difference.
  

I do not have this all figured out. I certainly am not perfect in my generosity or my giving to others. But I am working on it. I am committing to making 2007 a year of sharing what I have and helping to meet the needs of others. I hope that you will join me.

Jack Bauer is like Jesus?

Do you remember a couple of years ago when The Passion of the Christ first came to movie theatres? There was all sorts of furor over the violence, the blood, the unnecessarily graphic nature of the film. Even Christians, who agreed with the content, tone and message of Mel Gibson's movie were occasionally moved to shudder, or at least scratch their heads and wonder why. You see, no matter how much we love Jesus, no matter how grateful we are for his suffering and sacrifice, we really do not want to have too much information about the details. It is just too uncomfortable and ugly for us. We want the Christian world to be pretty and pleasant.

So, I was watching my favorite television program the other day. Jack Bauer was once again in the middle of saving the world. That's what he does on 24, after all. I was thinking to myself how grateful I am that Jack is out there protecting me and saving me from all the bad guys. And though I know that the program is a fantasy, I secretly pray that there are some real Jack Bauer's in the world. I hope that there are people- men or women- who put my safety above everything else.

And there was Jack, torturing another suspect/ criminal/ terrorist to get the information that would save the world. There were no other options. Jack had to use extreme measures. He had to use torture so he could get the information before the bomb/ nuclear device/ assassination/ biological weapon went off.

It was then that I realized that as much as I love Jack Bauer, as much as I think that I- and our country- need him, if I knew him in real life, I would not choose him as a friend. What he does is important, crucial in fact. But it is ugly and unpleasant. Jack is, in reality, an unsavory character. He is surrounded by unsavory people. What he does makes me wince and disgusts me, but I need Jack. I need him to save the world.

Isn't that just like Jesus? We do not want to know the details about his suffering, his torture, his death, but we need him. I need him to love and forgive me. I need him to save the world.

Local Church Vision Plan

As our churches consider what it means to have a mission statement, or a vision plan, let me propose these steps.

1. A 'dream team' of leaders from both congregations should be appointed. This team will deal with the rest of this plan and offer proposals to the church councils of both congregations.
2. The 'dream team' will be charged with guiding the congregations (and other interested persons) through an analysis of the local church(es), it's needs, strengths and the desires of it's constituents. The dream team will also assess the needs- social and spiritual- of the churches and the surrounding community. Vision planning will result from these assessments and analyses. Finally, the dream team will set goals that will move us to accomplishment of this new vision.
3. The dream team will set action steps for the church to follow. These will include concerns in the areas of facilities and resources, spiritual life (including discipleship, ministry and fellowship) and programming.
4. The Church Council of each congregation will then receive, discuss and approve the mission/ vision statement, goals and action steps.
5. The Church Council will then become responsible for the implementation of the vision plan.