Let Them Eat Cheesecake

“I gave you milk to drink, NOT solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it.” I Corinthians 3:2, NAS

My wife and I took some date time when both of us had to be in Columbus recently. Got lunch, but then later in the afternoon, I thought we needed some dessert. So, what do you do? Type “cheesecake” in your GPS and you will find a “sure-as-shooting” good match. It turned out to be a pretty interesting experience. If it wasn’t for the GPS we would have never found it!

Tucked away in the back of an out-of-the-place strip mall, the proprietor explained how he specialized in “original, NY-style, pure, unadulterated cheesecake,” not any one of those “candy-bar” kinds (Snickers cheesecake, Oreo, etc.). Well, I’m quite a food lover on ANY given day of the week. And I like the refined things as much as I like my Doritos and even worse sometimes. His cheesecake was awesome, “original, NY-style” cheesecake, but it just wasn’t selling. He said he had a great business plan and everything, but he had been there for two years and business was still slow. Well in my mind, even if you think you have a great business plan and you’re still not selling, it means you need to get a new business plan.

What kind of cheesecake are you selling? Even if we have the best product on the planet, if people aren’t buying it, we need to get a new plan. A little candy-bar cheesecake might not be that bad after all, meeting people where they are instead of where we expect them to be, no matter how noble the cause.

What style of worship are you offering? Is it more for those fine connoisseurs who have developed their taste buds over the years or is it as much for the average Joe off the street too, even more? Adding a little candy isn’t a disgrace if it means we can get them in the door and over time, develop their taste buds for the really good stuff.

Insanity

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein

What has the Haiti Tragedy been teaching you? At the same time I’ve been living through it all myself, I’ve been remembering another tragedy not too long ago too, i.e. Katrina, and how we all responded when it hit. I’m seeing a lot of similarities, you? Have we learned anything since then? To make systemic change to the world sometimes we need to change up our own system first, i.e. the way we’ve always done things. Some of the questions I have been asking myself include…

Have you been scrambling to respond or was your church organized already? Maybe we need to ready ourselves because with ever increasing frequency, these types of tragedies will not stop? [Just a note: these types of events allow the church to really shine. When the world sees the church step up, they see Christ.]

Are you expecting someone to come along and make it easy, or are you willing to go out of your way and truly sacrifice? [We cannot send the Schwann man to pick up every healthy kit. Could our clusters of churches work together at a higher level and get them to our pick up sites?]

Who else do I need to get involved? [As much as the health kits will bless and provide, they are worthless without contacts in the trucking and transportation system to get them there.]

What is the best way to spend my time, donating my spare change or trying to influence the principalities and powers to stabilize Third World Governments and build much-needed infrastructure and industry? Donating a canned good or leveraging our economic power?

What is the most effective thing I can do the next time I go on a mission’s trip? Hand out some food or find a partner to start a micro-loan program?

What other systems do we uphold unnecessarily that we need to look at much differently? E.g. our church’s disciple-making system, the way we handle indigent requests…what things are we doing that aren’t accomplishing as much as we really think?

As much as we want and feel compelled to do something, let’s make sure we are doing big enough things.

Planning for the Parade

A Lesson in Radical Hospitality

If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them." Luke 9:5, NIV

I went to our community’s Holiday Parade last week to kick off the season and its many festivities, the one in which Santa arrives giving great hope to all little girls and boys. Stood next to two sweet ladies who got stuck in the traffic passing through town and instead of fighting it, chose to stay and watch. I was though embarrassed.

I don’t know about your local parades, but for ours, you have to be a local to really enjoy it. We have floats and entries “only a mother could love.” The many entries included at least five different tow truck companies (Don’t know why really. All I can think of is their lights were pretty.); eight different scout troops simply marching behind handmade, poster board signs; a motorcycle gang (Their bikes weren’t even decorated this year.); and the local pet groomers with a brood of their clients (Dogs from every color and tribe.).

Looking out of the corner of my eye, I would periodically check to see if my new-found friends were still there. They were so polite, though it was obvious, they weren’t too impressed.

The Scriptures are unequivocal: our welcome of others measures our welcome of God.

How then are you preparing for the parade of people that will come through your church’s doors this Holiday Season?

What if the above admonition from Luke wasn’t originally written for the disciples when they would visit a new town, share their faith and get rejected, but a rule for all in Middle Eastern hospitality who showed up at someone’s door and got treated anything less than kings and queens?

Are we giving people a reason to come back and join us?

How can we go out of our way to extend the welcome of God this holiday season?

I have a feeling, when my two, sweet, little-old-lady friends got back in their car, they didn’t think twice nor look back. Will our guests and visitors in worship?

Some things I tried to do over the years especially at this time of year: Preached my butt off…Sought to make worship as inviting and inspiring as it could be…Formed extra hospitality teams to add another layer of welcome other than just our tried and true ushers…Gave out gifts, often just symbolic, that brought home the message…Planned the worship series to kick-off the New Year early and started promoting it. You see…

Dust doesn’t stick. Give them something that does.

Ichabod's Remains

She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel." I Samuel 4:21, NIV

How would you like to be named “Ichabod?” In Hebrew it means “the glory (of God) has departed Israel.” No thanks. Not me, please.

Eli’s sons were priests, but corrupt. They took all the fat portions of the temple meat offerings for themselves. Eli didn’t hold them accountable. He never called them out on it. So, God did. God’s glory departed. It just up and left. Ouch.

I was sitting in my office a week or so ago and much to my amazement looked up to see the tree right outside my window. It freaked me out. The leaves had long turned their color and were now totally brown. Yet they hadn’t fallen off. The whole tree looked an eerie, droopy dead. Oh, please God, not on my watch. I don’t ever want to be an Ichabod.

Can you tell if you have an anointing?

I don’t want to serve unless I have an anointing. In other words, I don’t want to do this thing for God unless God is in it and all the way. I can try to do it in my own strength, but I will fail miserably. If I accomplish anything it will only be temporary. I need to know that God is with me.

Did you know you can be appointed but not anointed? Saul was. And it was why he had so much trouble.

I notice someone’s anointing when I see…

*Their heart for their people, that despite the challenges they still have a genuine love.

*A special ability to provide the kind of leadership for the right kind of situation.

*A synergy in worship, when a pastor has a gift of connecting God with the needs of God’s people.

*Preaching that isn’t a rambling theological diatribe, but a spiritual dart round straight to the heart.

Eli’s sons felt entitled…to a certain level of benefits. Our appointive system has its own equivalents and comparisons. “Forgive us, God, if we as spiritual leaders care more about what’s in it for us than we do for You, God, getting into the lives of your people.”

Don’t give up on us quite yet.

Go Deep Today

¹⁵For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" Romans 8, NAS

A number of years ago, some really, good friends were sharing about their experience meeting a semi-famous evangelist that was gaining quite a following in our region. Extraordinarily gifted, he could speak like no other, absolutely captivating. One of their remarks I will never forget. “His giftedness, however, seemed to overshadow his spiritual depth.”

That’s an easy spot to fall into. We get so busy taking care of business we forget to take care of self. Ever since then, it’s always been my fear that my competency would outshine my Christ.

The early church was known for its intimacy with God. Known as El Shaddai, Elohim, and Yahweh in the Old Testament, Jesus taught His disciples to address God as Abba. The prayer that He taught, while we called it “The Lord’s Prayer,” and the Catholics “The Our Father,” could best be referred to as “The Abba Prayer.” It was to be a special prayer of intimacy, highlighting a new governing reality.

Is it yours?

Unexpected Consequences

This last spring we built what’s called a “water feature” for a flower bed right by the front door of our home, a “bubbling rock.”  Have you seen one of those?  It’s a large rock from the quarry with a hole drilled through it.  A pump, water, and a little hard work turn it into a fun and pretty nice fountain.  What once was our very normal front door is now an eye catching, extra-hospitable-looking front door. 

 

My dog loves it.  He thinks we built it just for him.  Instead of using his regular old, water dish, now he does his prance to go out just so he can drink out of the fountain, an “unexpected consequence.”

 

Have you built a bubbling rock lately?

 

At our church one year we pulled together what we called Big House, a huge carnival for all ages out on the street.  We had a few thoughts as to what it could do, but God had a few more….

 

We used it as an opportunity to invite the neighborhood.  And some of them actually came.  God had me sit down and visit with them while they were here.  I earned even more… about their perceptions of the church, of why they didn’t come, etc.  It spawned a whole new worship service to reach a whole new group of people.

 

We used it to turn a drab Sunday into a “happening” Sunday.  Wow, was it fun it.  It caused us then to start looking at every Sunday a little bit differently.

 

We used it to reach out to our friends.  We quickly realized just how far we had to go to really turn our church inside out and reach our region.

 

We used it as an opportunity to enjoy the fellowship of the church, the “one-anothering” of the body.  God used it to show us how much more deeply we had to go in truly living a life of authentic, Christian community.

 

Built a bubbling rock?  One event helped changed the entire posture of our church, making us want to drink up more of God and the mission to which we have been called.  What’s the next step from some of the things that you have already done that God wants to build on?

 

 

 

 

Blaze a Trail

“The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter until the full (of) day.”  Proverbs 4:18, NAS

 

Heading out of my little neighborhood this last week off to one of our district’s far corners, I drove right into the morning sun.  It was beautiful, one of those early fall, paint-the-entire-sky-orange sunrises.  I then made my turn and headed west.  It followed me the whole way, coming up more and more as I drove along.  The above verse from Proverbs that I had memorized years ago blessed me.

 

“Lead me in your righteousness, Lord.”

 

The sun was so bright I had to tilt my rearview mirror though.  It shone through the back window, bounced off the rearview mirror straight into the retinas of my eyes (OK, that was a little dramatic).  And then the verse from the 23^rd Psalm, “surely goodness and mercy will follow you,” pierced my heart.

 

What do I really want?  Do I want goodness and mercy to pave my way, keeping life and ministry more easy than hard, or do I want to leave goodness and mercy in my wake for the benefit of others?  The Psalmist realized it couldn’t get any better than for “goodness and mercy to follow” you and me.

 

I guess if push came to shove, I would choose blazing a trail over using one already paved.

 

When we put in the 12 by 12 foot video screen right in front of the monster-sized stained glass window of Jesus and the children for our new contemporary service, I said to myself, “If for no other reason, the new pastor will love me.”  As hard as life might ever get in ministry, God is using us to set up fruitful ministry for years to come.

 

Blaze some trail today.

 

Moldy Bread

"This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is."  Joshua 9:12, NIV

Dear Colleagues and Friends, 
 
Ever accidentally found yourself eating some moldy bread?  Not too long ago I made a sandwich, bit into it, and thought, "I didn't know we had sour dough bread in the house."  When I looked at the bag that the bread came out of I realized it wasn't sour dough bread.  It was MOLDY bread.

 

In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites deceive the Israelites and get them to make a treaty with them instead of risking going to battle.  They pretend that they are from a far off land, that Joshua and the Israelites have nothing to worry about.  "They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy (Joshua 9:4-5), just to make it look like they came from far, far away.  They, however, hadn't come from far away at all.  They came from right next door.

 

Anyone try to feed you a moldy-bread-sandwich lately?  Are you carrying any moldy bread in your knap-sack, albeit unwittingly?

 

Sometimes we ministry leaders end up carrying bags and bags of it.

 

Ministry can be the hardest job in the world.  We work with the best of humanity as well as sometimes the worst.  We can get hurt, frustrated, disappointed, discouraged, forgotten, overwhelmed and otherwise just plain bent.

 

Will you pray for God to show you your moldy bread?

• Bad feelings and frustrations for your church.
• Wounds and hurts from just trying to be like Jesus.
• Anger at the conference, the system, or our colleagues.
• The pain from broken relationships.
• A desire for justice that doesn't come from Christ but from a desire for just plain vengeance.
• A yearning for success, not for the pure joy of making disciples, but so we can look good in front of our colleagues and thus feel better about ourselves.
• Etc., etc., etc.

When all we carry is moldy bread we can't taste Christ's Living Bread.  The Bread of Life wants to replace what you are carrying in your bag.

 

I am truly praying for you: that your soul may taste God's goodness even in the most hurtful place, so you can better meet the true hurt of the world.  Every now and then I wake up and realize I haven't really come that far at all and have so much farther to go. 

 

Trip Tips

"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward-to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back."  (Philippians 3:12-14, The Message) 

Just got back from a few days off with my son, taking advantage of an opportunity we had to go to Washington, D.C. and see all that we wanted to see.  I like to travel, especially with my family.  I always learn a little more about the Christian journey when I spend some quality time on the road.

Things like...

1. It's Always God's Time.  Somehow, someway, it's always God's time for something.  If we didn't go on our trip, I would have missed a life-long, memory-maker.  My son and I had a great time sight-seeing and truth-speaking.  Wherever we are, God has something for us too.  Our churches and people are meant to grow and thrive.  We can trust Christ for that.

2. Look for a Better Way.  Visiting D.C. during Health Care Reform Debate Week will do that to you as well as traveling through West Virginia.  An eight hour trip turned into twelve.  There has got to be a better way to organize highway projects!  There has got to be a better way for us to do government.  And sometimes, or often, there is a better way we can do church.  Don't wait for someone else to fix it.  Go ahead and try it. 

3. Establish Your Principles.  The thing though that most stuck with me was seeing the memorials and reflecting on what each of them stood for.  Watching my African-American sisters and brothers at the Lincoln Memorial was more moving than the monument itself.  What will be said of me?  As much as D.C. memorializes all that makes our country great, I want to make sure I establish what has made Christianity great: the power of the resurrection, God's prevenient grace, a passion for the world, etc.  How will I help lock those ideas in to the collective conscience of the world around me?

As you know, "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."  (II Corinthians 5:20, NIV)   

 

Bless Them Anyway

Reading through my Bible reading program I came upon the transition of power between Moses and Joshua at the end of Deuteronomy. It was therapeutic for me as I am still working my way through this new season in my life.

Several things struck me…

1. He blessed them anyway. As difficult as the Israelites ever were, as the end approached, Moses took all the tribes aside, and blessed each and every one of them anyway. If anyone ever had an excuse to go negative, I would think it would have been him. They were so contrary: planning revolts, complaining, wanting to go back, etc. Evidently, Moses felt that in the end, it wasn’t worth going negative. I think it is safer for our souls that way. No matter how bad it ever gets, I’m going to refuse to surrender my joy.

2. He knew it was all temporary. When God was going to transfer power, God had Moses and Joshua meet in the Tabernacle. Moses had to have been going through all the typical emotions involved in letting go. God wasn’t letting him enter the Promised Land for a previous discretion. I’m sure that was heavy on his mind as well. And then Shaddai showed up at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting…in the form of a vapor, the pillar of cloud. Even God disclosed Godself in a temporary form. That realization blew me away.

What would our ministry look like if we realized we were just God’s temp? Would we take bigger risks? Would we hold on to things a little less tightly? Would we not take offense so much knowing there is nothing for people to take a stab at when we’re just a cloud anyway? Would we delegate more? Would we let go of some things so we could, for the sake of our long term integrity, give ourselves to some others?

We’re the ones that, in the end, God still blesses…amazing.

Managing the Flood

The emergency broadcast system started going off in our home and this time, it wasn't a test. It had been raining for days. A call for volunteers came through to help sandbag a neighborhood in danger of going under from the nearby river.

I hurriedly put on my rain suit and boots. Grabbed a shovel, ball cap and took off. I arrived only to find about 500 people, standing around, not knowing what to do. Those in charge were somewhere in the know, but they weren't letting anyone else in on the project. I ended up helping about eight people fill and stack another row of sandbags. We soon went home.

As I find myself trying to manage the flood of information and opportunities that I have been receiving just getting on board in the district, God has brought that image back several times to me now.

What I have learned about managing a flood...

1. You can only control what you can control--the river was going to rise no matter what. All we could do was work to channel it when it did. How are you channeling the flood when it comes upon you?

2. Other people are our greatest asset--how are you utilizing those whom God has placed around you? Unless we use them we lose them.

3. Reset the foundations--the water was rising and flooding the banks. We had to add more resources to the banks. What do you need to add to the foundation of the work that God has called you to?

4. Don't drown in it. Channel it--What if the flood is the River of Life overflowing with opportunity? Building better systems in our church (discipleship, assimilation, lay mobilization) is more productive than trying to work harder and faster.

5. Rescue work is sometimes dirty work--sandbags aren't filled with pretty Caribbean sand. They are rather made out of muddy, Ohio pond sand. Dirty work though can still be fun.

How will you manage your flood? Noah built an ark and rode it out. Jesus would often slip away into the wilderness and just pray.

Instead of drowning in it, maybe it's God's way of calling us to be better spiritual leaders.