Thoughts on Outreach 2009-08-05

Lately we’ve heard a lot of discussion about reaching out to our community. Pastor Chip has talked about the Church being the only organization that exists for the benefit of its non-members on more than one occasion.

Last week I ran across a devotional blog on the Building Church Leaders website that summed up this concept in a beautiful word picture. In it, Mary C. Miller talked about playing in her grandparents’ barn as a child and discovering the seed oats stored in the loft. She went on to write about how sometimes we as Christians “would rather stay in the coziness of the seed barn than go out into the field. There is no risk that our seed will be eaten by birds, scorched by hot wind, or strangled by thistles. But the seeds of the kingdom of heaven, the gospel of our Lord, the gifts of grace gathered inside the walls of the church are not meant to stay inside those walls. They are meant for planting.”

The article  was quite thought provoking – and even more prayer provoking for me. You can read Mary’s blog here.

At the end of the blog is a quote that I’ve heard referenced a lot recently:

“There is a subtle false teaching that says we can be evangelical without being evangelistic. It has us believe we ‘go’ to church rather than we ‘are’ the church.” —Chris A. Lyons, pastor

I find I’m spending a lot of time in my conversations with God asking how he wants me to “be the church” in the field he’s planted me in.  How about you?

Swimming With The Crocodiles 2009-07-16

As I write this, I’m in the midst of preparing for our fourth night of this week’s Vacation Bible School, “Crocodile Dock”.  What an adventure this has been!  Already, we’ve had the opportunity to get to know more than sixty kids (more than half of whom don’t attend OBCC!), and share the love of Christ with them.  I’ve been blessed to see our team of volunteers work hard at preparing new lessons and activities each day this week.  Many of our dedicated kids workers have gotten involved, but I’ve been pleased to see a few new faces as well!  We’ve become a great team.

To be honest, organizing the “Crocodile Dock” had me more than just a little nervous over the past few weeks.  It’s been more than ten years since I was involved with a Vacation Bible School – and at that one, I only had to plan the music!  I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough supplies, then I was worried that we’d have too many.  I fretted about the slow sign-up, but then felt overwhelmed when more and more calls started coming in.  At first, I complained that there wasn’t enough material to keep the kids interested, but as time went on I began to wonder how I was going to fit everything in!  I’ll admit that I stressed over the “how to’s” of this event more than I’ve stressed over anything else in a long time!  Does that sound familiar?

You know what?  All my stress and worry was for naught.  It usually is!  On Monday night, when the kids began to arrive, our dedicated staff gathered them in small groups and began to get to know them better.  I watched as the music played for our first songs, and kids faces began to light up as they tried to learn all the words and motions.  I marveled at how they responded to the Bible stories, created wonderful crafts, competed in games, and ran to serve one another during the snack time.  Best of all was the closing of the first night, when I watched kids that we had only just met seek out a particular leader for a quick “goodbye” hug, and a promise to return tomorrow.

Since then, several parents have shared with me (sometimes through tears) about how thrilled they are to hear their kids sing our songs and recite their Bible verses throughout the day.  Many kids have returned for day two or three with their friends from the neighborhood.  Kids with no other exposure to the gospel message are learning the love of Christ.

I’m proud of the many workers who have taken a risk in dedicating their time and talent this week to invest in the next generation.  I’m especially proud of the ones who have never worked with kids before, but responded to the Holy Spirit’s call and joined our team.  I’m glad that I took the risk to get involved at a “hands-on” level, rather than just filling out the paperwork and approving the budget.  I look forward to our next opportunity to extend the Kingdom of God.

Pray for us tonight . . . we’ll be sharing the message of the cross.  God is doing a great thing in the lives of children in this generation!

Heal Our Land 2009-07-10

I’ve spent quite a bit of time over the past several weeks meditating on 2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” It’s one of the more memorable and quotable passages from the Old Testament, and one that rings true with many believers today.

Pastor Robert referred to this verse several weeks ago when his congregation from Chicago visited us on a Sunday morning. The worship team discussed it together one night after one of our rehearsals. Pastor Chip helped us pray through this passage just last Sunday in our worship service. It’s become a recurring theme for me lately.

As Christians, it seems to me that we are eager to latch on to God’s promise to heal our land. We are grateful for our nation, but ever mindful of the way sin has cast its shadow over our world.

I’ve been challenged anew to understand and remember how God promises to bring healing to our land. Too often, I think, we’re inclined to think, “if we could just elect more Christians to public office”, or “if more people in our communities would turn to Christ”, or “if the courts would protect prayer in public schools” . . . then everything would be better.

Certainly, each of those scenarios would be wonderful realities. I think we should work toward those ends, and others, to shine the gospel’s light in the dark places of this world.

But God doesn’t equate any of those issues with His promise to heal our land. According to the Bible, the missing ingredient to God’s forgiveness and healing touch lies solely in the hands of His Church. We are His people; we are called by His name. If we really desire God’s forgiveness and healing in our land, then we should be challenged afresh to humble ourselves, pray, and seek His face. His promise isn’t contingent on public policies, political parties, or the makeup of the Supreme Court. It’s up to us.

I like to remember the evening news when I pray. But these days, I’m praying differently. I’m praying for my nation, the land in which I live. When I see bad news in foreign lands, I pray about the issues, but I also pray that the believers in those places (however many or few they may be) would be impassioned to pray for their land. I believe that God’s promise is for all His people, for all times. What a privilege to be counted in that number!

Hungry for Change 2009-01-17

There’s a lot of talk about change these days. President-Elect Obama road the “Change We Need” mantra all the way to the White House.

When I was a teenager, my father made a statement that I have never forgotten. It’s simply this: “People never change after 40.” The comment came as he was mentally reviewing a church board meeting that he was a part of. That says something about church life. When he made the comment I didn’t care much because I was passionate about being a learner and I still had 23 years until 40. Then as I approached 40 I reconsidered and used this statement to push me to break the mold. Now I’m pushing 50. I’m almost 10 years past the change gauge. I keep asking myself: Am I a statistic that supports my father’s statement or one that rebuffs it?

How about you on a personal basis? Are you willing to change? Are you open to change? Do you embrace change?

What about us as the church? Are we unwilling to change or are we agents of change?

I want to be one that lives a life that is ever learning and always willing to initiate, embrace, and commit to change that will make a difference for the glory of God.

Tracks… 2009-01-27

I have this thing about shoveling snow. I like it! I actually enjoy getting to a new fallen snow as quickly as possible. I’m not quite sure why but maybe it has something to do with the fact that I didn’t get to do it for all the years we lived in Kenya. Or, maybe it’s just the chance to do some physical work that is different than the relational work of ministry. It may even be that I am just following the example of my father. He can’t be kept from a new fallen snow at 80!

Recently I was reminded of another reason. When our last snow hit several days ago we (in addition to me there are two qualified teenage snow shovelers and Cyndi, who is a stubborn shoveler, as well) didn’t get right to it for several reasons. By the time I was able to get to it the tracks were many. My first attempt at shoveling proved the tracks were set and I wasn’t in the mood to fight that. But, a few days ago I went to work on those well worn tracks. What a chore! Digging up worn snow tracks is work.

You know what? Life is like that. We get so accustomed to making tracks and we forget the work it is to clean them up. Sin, bad habits, and sometimes just routine are terrible tracks that get packed down.

It takes hard work to clean up those kind of tracks. I’ve found that this 21 day church fast is a good “track breaker.” It’s work, but it works. God is revealing tracks in my life that need to be dug up and shoveled away.

What about you? Don’t wait until the tracks are set. Keep the sin, bad habits or lazy routine removal current. Then you won’t have to do the hard work of shoveling the ingrained tracks.

Just a few thoughts from one who loves to shovel snow…