Back for Now

OK, it's been way too long. And I have had to say that a few too many times. The fact is I'm having a lot of trouble lately. I'm not sure what is going on with my faith. I've always known that God rarely shouts, and often barely whispers. Yet sometimes we all probably need a little more than the whisper we get. It's easy to say "all in God's plan" or "God's time, not our time" and all that, but when you're in the thick of it that is just not too comforting.

One thing I did find comforting is to read over what I have recorded here for you over the last several months. It seems like I had something then. Where has it gone? I'll be doing my best to get here more often and letting you know what is happening. I hope it is not a sad story, but right now, the future is a cloudy one.

Shalom.

A belated post

It has been too long since I have posted. So much has been going on. I have been very busy, but that is no excuse for not stopping in and sharing some thoughts. I did not say so then, but the last post came from a hotel room in Tokyo. I visited a university there, and also spent three days at a company in downtown Tokyo. It was a very productive visit, and part of the reason I have been so busy in the three weeks since. I came away with a lot of work, which is not always easy to accomplish during the 9-5 workday.

At church, the kids' vacations mean that we have had a few weeks with missing band members. This limits some of the music we can perform, but since performing is not really the goal, we get by. I know God hears the full complement of musicians every time we sing His praise.

Now that the update is finished, main reason for this post is to talk about Church. The Church that is. The Body of Christ. We the Believers. A very disturbing statistic was released in a Sunday Message on Easter Sunday no less. Of the 86 people joining our local church in the last four years, there were 82 transfers and 4 new confessions of faith. 4. Four! In four years! That's one per year. Thats pathetic. We are failing at the Prime Directive (No Captain Piccard, not that Prime Directive!) You might already know it:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

If you aren't familiar with this passage, it is often referred to as the Great Commission. This is the last thing Jesus said to the Disciples when He appeared to them after His death and resurrection. It is what most Christians point to as the fundamental mission of the Church. It is (or should be) the fundamental mission of the church too. The local church. My church. The church responsible for a whopping four new believers in the last four years.

Well, I don't have any answers now, except what we are doing now is clearly not getting it done. It is often said that the definition of insanity is to continue the same behavior and expect different results. I do know that the insanity is going to change soon. I don't know how, but I know that I will not experience much Shalom until I know in my heart that I am doing everything I can to fulfill the Mission.

Still, for you I hope for shalom.

Is that all you could find?

The other day before our worship service began, I was having a conversation with an older member. By coincidence I was wearing blue jeans, as were a few other musicians on the worship team. This older member commented that it would never have been like that 20 years ago. His generation does, and always has, worn a white shirt, tie, and coat to church, every week. No exceptions.

So I said, what if I did not have any "nice" clothes (nice by his definition) Am I still welcome? Isn't it about presenting ourselves to God? And coming to the weekly communal worship?

"Oh, you would be welcome," he said, "but you would get more than a few looks."

Wow.

Does this attitude surprise me? Not at all. What really surprises me is that this gentleman, and in general his entire generation at my church, feel that appropriate dress is a reasonable prerequisite to attending worship in our sanctuary.

In the end, all I could do is pity this man and all of those like him. They are in their own little world of Christianity. It's a very private place, but it is all they have. They have no idea what they are missing, and so it is virtually impossible to convince them that there is so much more. Do I think this is unusual? Nope. And more so, it is probably the norm in most of the mainstream churches in the US. It is my sincere hope that church could be all about Jesus, but alas this earthly vale of tears makes it almost impossible.

Shalom.

May I Help You?

OK, this falls into the Soapbox category. I have lots of very helpful friends. Of course, this is a huge blessing to me, my church, and my community. What do I need a soapbox for? Well, it's like this, I have found that often, the most helpful people are also those least likely to ask for help themselves. By now they have all heard my speech. It goes like this:

Me: "Do you enjoy helping your friends?"
My friend: "Of course."
Me: "Does it make you feel good when you help someone out?"
My friend: "Yes, very much so."
Me: "Then why to you refuse to allow your friends to share that feeling?"
My friend: ...silence...

So many people are too proud to ask for help. I understand this feeling, and I have certainly felt and acted this way in the past. But if you truly care about your friends, let them bear some of your burdens, as you have borne for them. Give them the opportunity to share the wonderful feeling you love so much. Our Christian teaching to love others means that sometimes, we can let others help us, even those we may not know. This might be very hard for some. After all, it means letting your guard down. Ouch.

I might be accused of being selfish for this. Of course, sharing the burden means that sometimes we bear it, and sometimes others bear it for us. You can not expect to hide behind this philosophy and never lift a finger. As I said above, this is speech is almost always given to people who are already the most helpful.

If you need any more convincing, how about this: letting your guard down, giving in just a little, admitting you need a little help, these are all just good practice at being Christian. If you can't give in just a little to an earthly friend, how are you going to give it all to your ultimate friend, Jesus, the King of Kings?

Shalom.