Stop and Think

Parents often caution their children to think before they act. When doing woodworking projects that requires cutting angles, my husband mutters to himself, ‘OK stupid - now stop and think’. Jesus dipped a piece of bread in a dish and handing it to Judas said, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” (John 13:27b NIV) Quickly? Knowing what Judas was contemplating, I would’ve been saying, “Whoa Judas, stop for a minute…let’s think this thing through.” Apparently the time for thinking had already passed.

Advice to God

A life long Christian, my great-aunt normally offers sound Biblical advice. Recently when I called her to vent a frustration she listened patiently and then said, “I try not to get angry with God, but I do offer Him advice once in awhile.” Even though I chuckled at her matter-of-fact statement, I couldn’t help but wonder if God lets her get away with giving Him advice because she’s 87 years-old. I finally concluded that auntie’s advice giving is probably no different than the disciples trying to tell Jesus what he should do. Personally I relate better to those disciples who dared not ask Jesus any more questions, but secretly I’m jealous of people who can talk to the Lord about whatever crosses their mind.

Priceless

Freedom is priceless. We are blessed to have freedom in Christ while living in the land of the free.

Tattoo

I watched a TV news segment on tattoos and was surprised at some of the reasons people gave for getting tattooed. For some, tattoos are a reminder of their children, their faith and loved ones. One person spoke of the permanency of a tattoo, “It’s a life long commitment, its forever.” Although I’m not a candidate for a tattoo, I think it makes a good illustration for those of us who accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Even though we don’t wear a visible image, our being sealed to Jesus is permanent, life long and forever.

Cost Cutters

There was a time when our church newsletter was considered an evangelistic tool and was sent to active, in-active and prospective members. The last several years however, it seems to be dying a slow death. In cost cutting maneuvers the mailing list was purged to reflect mostly active members. Then we went from a weekly to a monthly publication. The most recent change eliminates mailings all together. According to the staff, “… we have decided that since those of you who get the newsletter are actually attending on Sundays that it makes sense to hand out the newsletter rather than mailing it.” While the newsletter may still have a slight pulse, I’ve prepared for its funeral. Look at the money we’re saving.

End of Discussion

I read an online reprinted article in Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal written by Andy Stanley, Pastor of North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The article was written July 1, 2003 and titled ‘The Uncertain Leader’. The theme is leadership and it addresses the decision of the church leadership group to build adult education around small groups and discard the traditional adult Sunday school model. After a year of trying to implement the small group strategy, questions from membership continued. Commenting on one woman’s concern Mr. Stanley answered the woman’s question and then said, “After tonight we are not going to discuss ‘if’ anymore.” He continued, “Feel free to question our implementation, but not our direction.” Excuse me? I’d like to know the chapter and verse that says we can’t question our leaders on the direction they are taking the church.

Unapproachable

We often see public service commercials encouraging teens to talk to their parents about sex and drugs. I can think of a few reasons teens won’t talk to their parents - fear, intimidation, or maybe a history of not being heard. I’ve known authority figures in the church that are unapproachable for the same reasons. When Jesus healed a man who was born blind, the Pharisees demanded some answers. Not satisfied with the man’s response they turned to his parents. The parents dodged the questions, “…because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.” (John 9:22 NIV) Sadly, similar situations still exist. I can identify with these parents. I hate feeling someone is lording their authority over me – it makes me feel like I’m back in high school.

Shards of Sin

The other night my husband shattered a drinking glass when he dropped it on the kitchen floor. The large pieces were easily swept up. However in cleaning up the small pieces I vacuumed, dust mopped, wet mopped and even used a sticky lint roller. The floor is clean enough to eat off of, but occasionally when the light is just right I’ll still find a shard of glass. I’m wondering if sin, like the water glass, can shatter. That would certainly help explain the slivers of sin I chew on when I put my foot in my mouth.

That's Entertainment

When I read a book for entertainment, I read it only once. Actually I don’t understand people who read their favorite authors and stories over and over again. Reading for information is another matter and I often revisit the same text many times. In our adult Sunday school class last week a woman told us of a conversation she’d had with one of her friends in the mid-west. The friend received a telephone call from her pastor and in the course of the conversation she revealed she’d been reading her Bible when he called. The pastor asked, “Haven’t you already read that once?” This came from an older gentleman, who was quite serious. The woman was dumbfounded. Who knows, maybe he reads his Bible just for entertainment.

No Time Like the Present

In Christian circles it’s not uncommon to seek prayer from one another. We often cloak our request in terms of ‘When you think of it…, Could you add this to your list…, and even, If you run out of anything to pray about, you can pray for…’ It’s as though we’re asking someone to put a prayer need on their To-Do list because we don’t want to inconvenience them in the moment. Recently my friend Charlie called to share some good news and he took time to ask for an update on a situation I’d been dealing with. As we prepared to say our good-bys Charlie caught me off guard when he said, “Gail, how would it be if I prayed for you right now?” After his ‘amen’ and my ‘thank you’, I hung up thinking, ‘Why can’t I ever remember to do that?’ I’d like it if Charlie’s attitude of ‘there’s no time like the present’ would rub off on me.

Guardianship

My family and another family at church find ourselves in a similar crisis where we are trying to care for an elderly at-risk relative. However, our efforts are being thwarted and undermined by acquaintances outside the family. In my case these intruders convinced my aunt to appoint them as guardian and conservator. We are now in the process of going through the court system in order to protect my aunt from her meddling ‘friends’. Since the courts move at a snails pace I have plenty of time to look for Biblical insights, but I’m coming up with more questions than answers. As Jesus hung on the cross, he “… saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” John 19:26-27 NIV. It sounds to me like Jesus just gave guardianship of his mother Mary to his disciple John. If Mary were being neglected, abused or had no other living relatives I could readily understand Jesus making provisions for her care. I wonder if James and the other siblings were as frustrated as I am when their mother’s guardianship was given to someone outside the family?

Bless This Snack...

On my kitchen counter was one big piece of leftover cake. I thought it was too large for one serving, but to small for two servings if it were cut it in half. I was home alone so it was easy to justify eating the whole thing by calling it lunch. It’s not my practice to pray before eating snacks, but I do pray before meals. Bowing my head over the mega-sized piece of cake my prayer was interrupted by a conversation going off in my head, “You’re not really going to ask God to bless this to the nourishment of you body, are you?” I stumbled and fumbled trying to come up with words of thanksgiving for the bounty God had provided. While I enjoyed every bite of my cake-lunch, it did cause me to stop and think about how often I ask God to bless things I know aren’t always the best for me.

Nothing to Report

My church no longer subscribes to its weekly denominational magazine, but I remember at one time there was a column for reporting baptisms and transfers of membership. Individual churches submitted their statistics to the publisher, who then, along with the church name and her pastor, reported the stats. Personally, I always enjoyed reading the number of additions made in churches across the country. I felt it was a good indicator of where the Spirit was working in healthy, successful ministries. Recently an older pastor startled me by saying, “The reporting of baptisms and transfers is nothing but fuel for a preacher’s ego. It’s a way to tell others in the brotherhood, ‘Look at me and what a good job I’m doing’.” That thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but from a preacher’s perspective I see what he’s saying.

Is Your Name Written There?

For many years I’ve served as an election judge for the local electric co-op. The association uses a mail-in ballot, but members can also vote in person on the day of the annual meeting. In an election, only the person registered or on an account has a vote. Every year a few women who’d like to vote are turned away because their name is not included with their husband’s on the membership account. I feel terrible telling people who’ve made an effort to go to the polls that their name isn’t listed. I wouldn’t want to be an election judge overseeing the Book of Life. I can’t imagine scrolling down the alphabetized list of names and having to tell a soul that their name isn’t there.

Judge Not

I think society has so stifled our ‘judgment skills’ that we’ll all need a refresher course when it comes time to judge the world and angels (1 Cor 6). While I can formulate in my mind scenarios for judging the world, I’m at a loss, and at the same time intrigued, at the thought of judging angels. The NIV study Bible cross reference points toward men judging fallen angels, however it seems to me fallen angels have already been judged by God. In any case, whether fallen or not, how would you judge an angel? Without specific criteria, I feel ill equipped for the task. Right now I could do no better than vouching for the attentiveness of my guardian angel.

Labor Force

Immigration is a hot topic today. One of the talking points for various aspects of immigration is the labor force. We’re told that immigrants, whether legal or illegal, are doing jobs that the average American won’t do. I think I see a similar attitude in the church. People want to be part of the body without serving one another. We salve our conscious by hiring additional staff to do the ‘spiritual’ work that we don’t want to do. The staff then determines their job is to educate and train us to do the work we didn’t want to do in the first place. It’s not that we’re uneducated about serving, teaching, evangelism, etc., it’s that we don’t want to do it – that’s why we hired someone else in the first place.

Zoned

A while back I watched a broadcast of TV evangelist Ed Young, Senior Pastor of Fellowship Church in Dallas. The sermon contained excerpts taken from his book ‘In The Zone’. Mr. Young said people who are mature get out of their comfort zone. They ‘get it’ and understand it’s time to grow up when they realize generosity is over and above a tithe. Conjuring up enthusiasm Young said to his audience, “If you smile when I talk about giving, you’re getting it. You’re in the zone.” About that time in the presentation I zoned out. Apparently in Mr. Young’s world smiling is an affirmation that you agree with his message. Wouldn’t you just love to see someone in the audience turn around in their seat to see how many people are really smiling?

Born Again Church

Over the years I’ve seen at least three churches in our community transformed. They became a business office, a bar/tavern and a junk store. From an article in Scottish Life, author Keith Aitken says that many historic churches in Scotland are falling into disrepair. “The Scottish Civic Trust lists at least 300 churches in Scotland as being ‘at risk’ and the Executive’s heritage agency, Historic Scotland, has served grim notice that it alone cannot be expected to save the nation’s stock of unwanted houses of worship.” It’s a sad commentary that churches built as a labor of love are now ‘unwanted houses of worship’. In America when a house of worship closes its doors it’s often because the congregants have moved to new facilities or they are combining their membership with another church. That’s not the picture seen in Scotland. Aitken states, “Attendances are falling annually by 2-3 percent. The Church of Scotland alone reckons that its congregations are declining by 17,000 a year.” Scottish communities are running out of churchgoers. We in the US are naive if we think the same thing can’t, or won’t happen to us.

Quotable Quote

I recently watched the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. The pirate ship is headed into the drink and both ship and crew will be lost. Captain Barbosa is at the helm and in true pirate form says, “The best day to die is a day worth living for!” What a great Christian eulogy. I think I’ll write this one in my Bible.

Out of Character

There are some things that just aren’t in a person’s character or make up. Maybe they can’t sing, they’re too shy to pray out loud or too nervous to speak at a microphone. During the worship service I’ve seen many who are uncomfortable with clapping, raising holy hands and being moved by the spirit of the worship leader. Actually, I find it a form of bullying when a worship leader stands at the pulpit and “encourages” the congregation to become more charismatic. Now that’s what I’d call a bully pulpit.