Monday, April 8, 2013
Call it Bozing
He was known as “The Boz”. His was one of the stories, that for whatever reason, grabbed my attention at the time. I’m not a sports junkie but on occasion I become intrigued with a particular athlete. I did the same with LeBron James when he was drafted into the NBA out of High School. Brian Bosworth had played under Barry Switzer at Oklahoma before being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks. He was the rare athlete to not enlist an agent to represent him in negotiating a contract for $10 million. As a linebacker he was ferocious with only two play settings: off and full throttle. The coach in Seattle would have to reprimand him for playing too aggressively in practice, as though it were game day in a Super Bowl. Apparently, he didn’t learn. He lasted only two years, having surgery on both dislocated shoulders, the product of his aggressive playing style.
I recently had lunch with a friend and church planting protégé, Stan. He has not only done well as a planter but has been part of an assessing process for other planters. Unaware to most church people, those who are actually called to plant are a rare breed. Many dream, some pursue, a few attempt, most fail. Millions of Kingdom dollars every year are invested in misguided dreamers who are smitten with romantic notions of church planting. Assessing planters is an attempt at “weeding out” the ‘wannabe’ from the ‘should be’. Stan observed that his approach to assessing had produced positive results; everyone he had approved was still “in the hunt”. Those kinds of statistical results are impressive. When I inquired as to what the key was, he responded, “I look for the most pigheaded, because if you’re not, you will not survive.”
I confess, I’m pigheaded! That isn’t my preferred terminology. Tenacious. Determined. Committed. Resolute. All synonyms for ‘pigheaded’. While I fully understand the implications and agree with the theory, I am also painfully aware of the dark side. There are certain attributes that are shared by all high profile Bible characters, be it Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel or even Jesus. They accomplished much of what they did because of a unswerving determination. But except for Jesus, that same attribute could be an Achilles’ heel. In our own time two of the most successful church planters on planet Earth learned the hard way: Bill Hybels and Rick Warren. They both planted, drove hard, experienced success and landed in the hospital! It was at the point that they understood a critical issue for enduring success.
Let’s just call it “Bozing”. I so get it! After twenty years of leading a church plant through all of the ups and downs of growth, betrayal, challenges and frustrations; when those around me would shrug their shoulders in resignation, I would “Boz” it. The portrait is simple: lowered head, shoulder engaged, legs driving. My mantra has been “push, pull or get out of the way!” While I am aware that our success has been admired, I am more painfully aware of the need for balance. There is a time to “slay all of the prophets of Baal” and a time to “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord”.
I am now convinced that church planting should be less like Ultimate Fighting and more like Brain Surgery. Might does not make right. Work smarter not harder isn’t just good advice for manual labor. The Armor of God doesn’t include a Battering Ram. Slam dunks don’t win basketball games, precision shooting does. When Elijah was beaten down, depressed and dejected, he discovered that God was to be found in a subtle voice, not fireworks. Like the difference between courage and insanity is the difference between success and survival.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
A Few Good Licks
“What do you do when you’re preaching and forget what you’re saying?” Admit it, unless you operate from a manuscript where nothing is left to chance, you’ve been there, done that! Easy. “You keep talking until you remember.” Thank you Dr. Puckett for the pithy retort.
Proclamation is at the heart of our calling if we are “called” to preach. I, for one, didn’t volunteer for the job, I was drafted. Of course, I was a little biased against it because I couldn’t separate preaching from pastoring. My Dad was a pastor of the garden variety, not to be confused with the “TV pastor”. For all of his shortcomings he could be sharp as a tack. I recall his response to the belittling comparison between the two: “When you end up in the hospital, call your TV pastor to come and pray for you.” Dad would show up anyway. As hard as he worked at preaching, he was a pastor at heart and he paid for it. Because we paid along with him, I wanted no part of preaching as a vocation. Like a notice from the Selective Service Board, there were only two options: show up for duty or flee to Nineveh. Not liking the idea of submarine duty with seaweed for a blanket, I showed up.
Now it’s called a disorder: obsessive. When I yielded to the “call” I thought it was a passion for excellence. If I’m going to do it I want to be the best be it softball, racquetball, golf or preaching. How? Study the best. Learn from the best. That was 1974. If you do the math, next year will make it 40 years ago. If you’ve been paying attention for the last 40 years you will have recognized that what was called great preaching then no longer is. Among the books that I acquired from Dr. Puckett were several entitled, “The History of Preaching”. Why a history? Obviously someone has done their homework and realized that public proclamation has been an ever changing process not to be confused with fashion trending.
What has evokes these reflections are those ever-endearing words, “Pastor, I’m looking for someone who is deeper in their preaching.” After 40 years, I confess, my grace is wearing thin in places. I have to remind myself to not argue with a fool, lest I be thought foolish. Historically speaking, the most successful evangelical churches 40 years ago were built around expository preaching. W. A. Criswell, while at FBC Dallas, spent 17 years preaching verse-by-verse through the Bible. Worship services were for believers. Evangelism took place at other times and places. The largest evangelical churches today have been born since then with decidedly different preaching styles. This is not an assessment or critique of either, merely a summary of fact.
I spend a lot of time in sermon preparation. I want to know what the historical context is and the meaning of the ancient languages because I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture and the historical/critical method of interpretation. That is not my biggest challenge. Contextualizing the truth of Scripture for the purpose of effective communication is. Because my church exists to reach the unchurched and has effectively been doing so for 20 years, over half of those in attendance may not be in a committed relationship with Christ. How do you feed sheep and goats at the same time? Creatively! Who has the obligation to adapt for the purpose of the Kingdom? Believers. Paul became “all things to all men that by all possible means he might save some”. His preaching was contextually relevant and theologically sound. Please don’t get me started on the preaching of Jesus....
Suffice it to say that we can’t please all of the people all of the time or some of the people any of the time. Given the cultural challenge of how much time anyone gives us to speak the truth in love and the fact that those without Christ don’t owe us the time of the day, what sort of preachers ought we to be? Those who are hyper-critical because they are so spiritually advanced need to get off of the bench and into the game. A few good licks to the head might give them a greater appreciation for the veterans in the game.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Summer of the Soul
Having played a video clip from Sir Lawrence Olivier’s portrayal of King Richard III this past Sunday has it is fresh on my mind. “Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this son of York; and all the clouds that lour’d upon our house.” Made in 1955 by one of the greatest actors didn’t keep this particular supposed historical depiction from being rather overplayed and cheesy. “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!” We can thank Bill Shakespeare for the lines.
Unless you’re a history buff and/or an ecclectic reader, you are probably not aware of the recent news regarding Richard Plantagenet, a.k.a. King Richard III of the House of York. His remains were discovered under a parking lot last September providing us with the only proof of his physical appearance. Polidoro Virgili said he had “the one shoulder higher than the right”; Thomas More described him as “little of stature, ill-featured of limbs, crook-backed.” It has only taken 528 years from the time of his death to set the record straight. He suffered from severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine), not kyphosis (humped back) as he historically has been portrayed. I don’t know about you, but 528 years is a long time to me.
Whether we are reading about the results of archeological or Biblical history, few things are revealed quickly. When I teach the historical sections of Scripture, I attempt to point out the absence of detail regarding time. To the casual reader, events transpire within brief, reasonable time frames. “And it came to pass” sounds like “the next day”. But when you analyze the known facts, you discover that “and it came to pass” can translate into decades. We don’t even have to engage the debate over the meaning of the Hebrew word commonly translated “day” in Genesis to discover that “next” can be a long way down the road.
I suppose that it can be looked at in the same way in which we view the horizon. I have read that when we stand on level ground, the horizon is ten miles away. To us it appears flat. We are literally incapable of discerning the earth’s curvature. Unless we know what lies beyond that line that separates earth (or sea) from sky, we are left to our imaginations. “Flat Earthers” are a product. 24,901 miles: that’s the circumference of the earth. The relationship of distance to time is what creates the illusions of what “next” means.
It may be a product of increased knowledge or it may simply be the result of getting older. Without launching into philosophical ramblings regard how much faster “time flies” as we age, suffice it to say, “It does.” Ground covered, measure either by distance or a clock, gives us a perspective on what is behind and by extrapolation, what may be ahead.
Such is one of the challenges of church planting, church growth and God’s answering when we pray. If you haven’t figured it out yet, save yourself some anxious moments. God is never in a hurry. The preponderance of evidence in Scripture is that waiting is a part of the equation. Whether the scenario is of Elijah waiting for God’s judgement on Ahab and Jezebel, or the disciples asking Jesus about the advent of the Kingdom, it doesn’t matter. The current Charismaniac “name it, claim it” gospel reduces God to a cosmic bellhop. When we invoke the story of Elijah on Mt Carmel as proof of a rapid response, we overestimate our spiritual importance. Only when we can bring someone back from the dead should we embrace such an analogy. My advice to the aspiring spiritual leader is to plan on faith requiring time to bear its fruit. There is a summer of the soul between sowing and harvesting that doesn’t involve watching the clock. There is more work to be done while we wait on God to produce a harvest in His good time.
Unless you’re a history buff and/or an ecclectic reader, you are probably not aware of the recent news regarding Richard Plantagenet, a.k.a. King Richard III of the House of York. His remains were discovered under a parking lot last September providing us with the only proof of his physical appearance. Polidoro Virgili said he had “the one shoulder higher than the right”; Thomas More described him as “little of stature, ill-featured of limbs, crook-backed.” It has only taken 528 years from the time of his death to set the record straight. He suffered from severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine), not kyphosis (humped back) as he historically has been portrayed. I don’t know about you, but 528 years is a long time to me.
Whether we are reading about the results of archeological or Biblical history, few things are revealed quickly. When I teach the historical sections of Scripture, I attempt to point out the absence of detail regarding time. To the casual reader, events transpire within brief, reasonable time frames. “And it came to pass” sounds like “the next day”. But when you analyze the known facts, you discover that “and it came to pass” can translate into decades. We don’t even have to engage the debate over the meaning of the Hebrew word commonly translated “day” in Genesis to discover that “next” can be a long way down the road.
I suppose that it can be looked at in the same way in which we view the horizon. I have read that when we stand on level ground, the horizon is ten miles away. To us it appears flat. We are literally incapable of discerning the earth’s curvature. Unless we know what lies beyond that line that separates earth (or sea) from sky, we are left to our imaginations. “Flat Earthers” are a product. 24,901 miles: that’s the circumference of the earth. The relationship of distance to time is what creates the illusions of what “next” means.
It may be a product of increased knowledge or it may simply be the result of getting older. Without launching into philosophical ramblings regard how much faster “time flies” as we age, suffice it to say, “It does.” Ground covered, measure either by distance or a clock, gives us a perspective on what is behind and by extrapolation, what may be ahead.
Such is one of the challenges of church planting, church growth and God’s answering when we pray. If you haven’t figured it out yet, save yourself some anxious moments. God is never in a hurry. The preponderance of evidence in Scripture is that waiting is a part of the equation. Whether the scenario is of Elijah waiting for God’s judgement on Ahab and Jezebel, or the disciples asking Jesus about the advent of the Kingdom, it doesn’t matter. The current Charismaniac “name it, claim it” gospel reduces God to a cosmic bellhop. When we invoke the story of Elijah on Mt Carmel as proof of a rapid response, we overestimate our spiritual importance. Only when we can bring someone back from the dead should we embrace such an analogy. My advice to the aspiring spiritual leader is to plan on faith requiring time to bear its fruit. There is a summer of the soul between sowing and harvesting that doesn’t involve watching the clock. There is more work to be done while we wait on God to produce a harvest in His good time.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
On Principle
I love governing principles. They beat rules anytime. “Love the Lord your God with all your....” is a great governing principles. “Love your neighbor as yourself” really goes well with the first. As a matter of fact, a close reading of the Gospels would lead you to believe that Jesus was a huge fan of governing principles as is indicated by His, “but I say unto you” comments of Matthew 5. The more that I think about it, even the parables were about governing principles. The beauty of principles is that they are true anytime and anywhere.
One of the things that I love about principles is that you don’t have to know all of the details of a particular discipline to benefit. If I understand the basics of physics, I don’t have to know what an ‘m’ or a ‘v’ or a ‘c’ stands for in a particular equation to know that “what goes up must come down”. If I understand the basics of geometry, I don’t have to be able to recite all of the theorems proving that the square of a hypotenuse is equal to the sums of the square of the other two sides to know that the ladder I’m using has to be longer than the wall its against. I only wished that my physics and geometry professors had appreciated my appreciation for the principles of their disciplines! I never got an ‘A’ on principles although I was acquainted with the principals.
What’s really cool is that principles apply to everything, including reaching unchurched people and planting churches. Since Bill Hybels and Rick Warren planted Willow Creek and Saddleback, there have been thousands of wanna be church planters who have tried to copy them. There have now been thousands of failures with only one Willow Creek and Saddleback. Why? Replicating practices does not equal to replicating principles, therefore will not replicate success. Having attended their conferences way-back-when, I remember them learning to say, “Do not try this at home.” More churches were blown up than thrown up or grown up by attempted replication. The mega successes that do exist are because others understand the principles behind their effectiveness.
“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” is a great church planting principle. It also happens to be a great principle for dealing with pagans or hard core atheists. We are enduring another advent-holiday-merry-whatever season and another round of victim-minded-believer rants. We can’t pray in school. We can’t post the Ten Commandments. We can’t call them “Christmas Trees”. We can’t wa, wa, wa... A neutral observer could easily reach the conclusion that the Jesus solution to every issue is forced conformity to our way of thinking, especially on non-believers. Geneva revisited. Compulsion does not equal to conversion. Simply getting all of the horses to line up at the same watering hole doesn’t prove anything other than their rear ends are all pointing in the same direction.
It was in an attempt to answer my brother-in-laws question, “What’s this about you and Christmas?” that I realized a principle of reaching people with the Good News. Most everyone I know was exposed to some form of Jesus-based-teaching growing up, but walk away from it. The well-intentioned efforts of family, friends and God-fearing people attempting to compel them to at least practice faith even if they didn’t believe it, didn’t do anything positive to attract them to it. Rubbing someone’s nose in creamed spinach isn’t going to alter their gag reflex if they don’t like it. If we really believe that “no one comes except the Spirit draws”, we can go about our business of praying, celebrating and preaching without sounding like victims of a cultural war. Winners attract admirers while whiners attract scorn. Sounds like a great principle!
One of the things that I love about principles is that you don’t have to know all of the details of a particular discipline to benefit. If I understand the basics of physics, I don’t have to know what an ‘m’ or a ‘v’ or a ‘c’ stands for in a particular equation to know that “what goes up must come down”. If I understand the basics of geometry, I don’t have to be able to recite all of the theorems proving that the square of a hypotenuse is equal to the sums of the square of the other two sides to know that the ladder I’m using has to be longer than the wall its against. I only wished that my physics and geometry professors had appreciated my appreciation for the principles of their disciplines! I never got an ‘A’ on principles although I was acquainted with the principals.
What’s really cool is that principles apply to everything, including reaching unchurched people and planting churches. Since Bill Hybels and Rick Warren planted Willow Creek and Saddleback, there have been thousands of wanna be church planters who have tried to copy them. There have now been thousands of failures with only one Willow Creek and Saddleback. Why? Replicating practices does not equal to replicating principles, therefore will not replicate success. Having attended their conferences way-back-when, I remember them learning to say, “Do not try this at home.” More churches were blown up than thrown up or grown up by attempted replication. The mega successes that do exist are because others understand the principles behind their effectiveness.
“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” is a great church planting principle. It also happens to be a great principle for dealing with pagans or hard core atheists. We are enduring another advent-holiday-merry-whatever season and another round of victim-minded-believer rants. We can’t pray in school. We can’t post the Ten Commandments. We can’t call them “Christmas Trees”. We can’t wa, wa, wa... A neutral observer could easily reach the conclusion that the Jesus solution to every issue is forced conformity to our way of thinking, especially on non-believers. Geneva revisited. Compulsion does not equal to conversion. Simply getting all of the horses to line up at the same watering hole doesn’t prove anything other than their rear ends are all pointing in the same direction.
It was in an attempt to answer my brother-in-laws question, “What’s this about you and Christmas?” that I realized a principle of reaching people with the Good News. Most everyone I know was exposed to some form of Jesus-based-teaching growing up, but walk away from it. The well-intentioned efforts of family, friends and God-fearing people attempting to compel them to at least practice faith even if they didn’t believe it, didn’t do anything positive to attract them to it. Rubbing someone’s nose in creamed spinach isn’t going to alter their gag reflex if they don’t like it. If we really believe that “no one comes except the Spirit draws”, we can go about our business of praying, celebrating and preaching without sounding like victims of a cultural war. Winners attract admirers while whiners attract scorn. Sounds like a great principle!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Even though I’m a Reformed Theologian, I’m still amazed at the providential happenstances of God’s provision. Add to that my interest in Physics and processing the quantum possibilities necessary in arranging the exponential details to bring about His desired results and you simply can’t be a “what luck” kind of thinker. The laws of probability require intentionality. If you didn’t understand what I just said, make no mistake. I’m not as smart as that made me sound!
Kingdom work is either good/bad fortune or a divinely guided journey. If I’m playing golf and the ball one hops into the cup on the fly, I have no illusion regarding my ability. I’m okay calling it “dumb luck” as opposed to “astounding giftedness”. I understand fully the physics involved in potential/kinetic energy coupled with the geometry of angles of flight and descent that lead to a dimpled ball landing in a small cup. And no, I don’t think that God gives a rip about my golf game, unless it effects my spiritual walk and witness.
Recently, I was responsible for assisting two out-of-town church staffers in a “get acquainted” tour of our area as they prayerfully consider partnering with prospective church planters. Two day, lots of miles, several meetings, good food and better fellowship. On their second and last day we took a walking tour of the Unites States Naval Academy in Annapolis. Since the Baptist Student Ministry Director was out-of-town for a conference, we were on our own. If you’ve never been, there’s a lot to see and ground to cover. We entered several of the historic buildings including the chapel and its basement where the remains of John Paul Jones are enshrined in an ornate coffin. Before completing the tour, our guests wanted to visit the souvenir shop for family gifts. It would certainly be more impressive than making a run to the local Walmart. That’s where need and opportunity converged in the improbable of divine providence.
We really didn’t know where we were going. We were simply told that it was “way over there” and given some simple instructions. We hoofed it to “way over there” until we were at risk of running out of campus. The visiting Lead Pastor did the normal, “You ask around. I’m looking over there” routine. His associate and I did what men are accused of never doing: we began asking those we saw for directions. The first couple, obviously not military, said, “Don’t ask us, we’re lost too!” From a nearby building emerge a man in uniform. He courteously stopped at our approach and we discovered that he was a chaplain and a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; my alma mater. He pointed us in the right direction and then moved on as I took note on his name tag: Chaplain Carey Cash.
You need to understand. I had been attempting to connect with Evangelical Academics in our area to accompany me to a banquet with our Turkish American Muslim friends, by special invitation. We simply don’t have those kinds of people in our church! I’m in full scramble mode. Following the encounter, I thought to myself, “Self, it doesn’t get any better than this. You just met the Chaplain at the Naval Academy who knows EVERYBODY.” I did what every red-blooded American does to make that connection: I Googled, “Chaplain Carey Cash.” Consequently, I was able to speak with him about this great ministry opportunity to reach out in-the-name-of-Jesus to our Muslim friends. Even though I went unaccompanied to the banquet, the groundwork has been laid for future opportunities.
Kingdom work can’t proceed without God’s special intervention. It’s way too cool to be in the middle of His stream of influence. By-the-way, Chaplain Carey Cash is the great nephew of Johnny Cash and the brother of Kelley Cash: Miss America, 1987. How cool is that?
Kingdom work is either good/bad fortune or a divinely guided journey. If I’m playing golf and the ball one hops into the cup on the fly, I have no illusion regarding my ability. I’m okay calling it “dumb luck” as opposed to “astounding giftedness”. I understand fully the physics involved in potential/kinetic energy coupled with the geometry of angles of flight and descent that lead to a dimpled ball landing in a small cup. And no, I don’t think that God gives a rip about my golf game, unless it effects my spiritual walk and witness.
Recently, I was responsible for assisting two out-of-town church staffers in a “get acquainted” tour of our area as they prayerfully consider partnering with prospective church planters. Two day, lots of miles, several meetings, good food and better fellowship. On their second and last day we took a walking tour of the Unites States Naval Academy in Annapolis. Since the Baptist Student Ministry Director was out-of-town for a conference, we were on our own. If you’ve never been, there’s a lot to see and ground to cover. We entered several of the historic buildings including the chapel and its basement where the remains of John Paul Jones are enshrined in an ornate coffin. Before completing the tour, our guests wanted to visit the souvenir shop for family gifts. It would certainly be more impressive than making a run to the local Walmart. That’s where need and opportunity converged in the improbable of divine providence.
We really didn’t know where we were going. We were simply told that it was “way over there” and given some simple instructions. We hoofed it to “way over there” until we were at risk of running out of campus. The visiting Lead Pastor did the normal, “You ask around. I’m looking over there” routine. His associate and I did what men are accused of never doing: we began asking those we saw for directions. The first couple, obviously not military, said, “Don’t ask us, we’re lost too!” From a nearby building emerge a man in uniform. He courteously stopped at our approach and we discovered that he was a chaplain and a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; my alma mater. He pointed us in the right direction and then moved on as I took note on his name tag: Chaplain Carey Cash.
You need to understand. I had been attempting to connect with Evangelical Academics in our area to accompany me to a banquet with our Turkish American Muslim friends, by special invitation. We simply don’t have those kinds of people in our church! I’m in full scramble mode. Following the encounter, I thought to myself, “Self, it doesn’t get any better than this. You just met the Chaplain at the Naval Academy who knows EVERYBODY.” I did what every red-blooded American does to make that connection: I Googled, “Chaplain Carey Cash.” Consequently, I was able to speak with him about this great ministry opportunity to reach out in-the-name-of-Jesus to our Muslim friends. Even though I went unaccompanied to the banquet, the groundwork has been laid for future opportunities.
Kingdom work can’t proceed without God’s special intervention. It’s way too cool to be in the middle of His stream of influence. By-the-way, Chaplain Carey Cash is the great nephew of Johnny Cash and the brother of Kelley Cash: Miss America, 1987. How cool is that?
Thursday, November 8, 2012
What an adventure!
Never are differing personality types more conspicuous than when it comes to risk taking and adventure. It doesn’t matter which inventory you use to assess the types, the result is the same when it comes to which ones will bungee jump and which will not. I think that it’s safe to say that the average person prefers to play it safe. I have never been mistaken for that type.
I’ll be 59 my next birthday. My Dad’s Dad died at 59! He was a farmer for whom life was about plowing, planting, harvesting, feeding the chickens and seeing after his family. A whole lot of work but not much adventure. It suited him well. While I understand the appeal of the agrarian lifestyle (and I have spent more than a few hours on a tractor), there is a sort of wanderlust in my soul that seeks satisfaction at the edge. Life is for living, not spectating. No doubt, that has contributed to my success in ministry and particularly as a church planter.
For most, the fact that I ride a motorcycle is adventurous. When I say “ride”, I really mean RIDE. I am not one of the “I own a motorcycle” crowd whose great adventure is showing up at the local coffee shop. I don’t see much adventure in, “Latte or Frapacino?” I began riding in 1973. I have ridden all over Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma in the southwest and from Bangor, Maine to Niagara Falls to Key West, Florida in the east. My wife, who doesn’t particularly love to ride and who is NOT a risk taker/adventurous type, has only logged about 50,000 miles with me. We do at least one trip a year of 2,000 miles in a week. My dream is to ride to Alaska, and back!
Two years ago I experienced a different kind of adventure. I had read and watched with awe and admiration the tales of people who have hiked the Appalachian Trial, all 2250 miles of it. I decided that it was time to do more than read and watch. While I had no illusions of being able to give the six months necessary for doing the whole trail, I could, at the very least, do 50 miles of it. Having shared with my brother-in-law (age 66) and my college roommate (age 58) my dream and the invitation to join me, we planned the adventure. In September of 2010, we converged in the Great Smokies of western North Carolina. What we discovered was that we had chosen the most difficult section of the trail for our virgin hike! Sweat, mountains, gorgeous scenery, blisters and bear warnings marked our journey. What an adventure! I’m planning on another stretch next year.
My most recent adventure has been the decision to move from terra firma to a boat. While it has been no secret, neither has it been common knowledge. In November 2011, Sarah and I bought a boat and in December moved aboard. We are now approaching a year of life afloat. For most people, that’s adventure over-the-top! There have been two things that we’ve discovered about everyone who has visited our new home: how many are subject to sea sickness and how many have harbored dreams of doing what we’re doing! Then came Sandy, the never-before-convergence of a hurricane with a “nor’easter” on the mid-Atlantic coast. I remained aboard our home from beginning to end. What an adventure!
I now have a new appreciation for the words of Isaiah: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God...” Until we put ourselves at risk, we are not living by faith and will never discover the fulfillment of these words. By-the-way, I’m looking for my next adventure.
I’ll be 59 my next birthday. My Dad’s Dad died at 59! He was a farmer for whom life was about plowing, planting, harvesting, feeding the chickens and seeing after his family. A whole lot of work but not much adventure. It suited him well. While I understand the appeal of the agrarian lifestyle (and I have spent more than a few hours on a tractor), there is a sort of wanderlust in my soul that seeks satisfaction at the edge. Life is for living, not spectating. No doubt, that has contributed to my success in ministry and particularly as a church planter.
For most, the fact that I ride a motorcycle is adventurous. When I say “ride”, I really mean RIDE. I am not one of the “I own a motorcycle” crowd whose great adventure is showing up at the local coffee shop. I don’t see much adventure in, “Latte or Frapacino?” I began riding in 1973. I have ridden all over Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma in the southwest and from Bangor, Maine to Niagara Falls to Key West, Florida in the east. My wife, who doesn’t particularly love to ride and who is NOT a risk taker/adventurous type, has only logged about 50,000 miles with me. We do at least one trip a year of 2,000 miles in a week. My dream is to ride to Alaska, and back!
Two years ago I experienced a different kind of adventure. I had read and watched with awe and admiration the tales of people who have hiked the Appalachian Trial, all 2250 miles of it. I decided that it was time to do more than read and watch. While I had no illusions of being able to give the six months necessary for doing the whole trail, I could, at the very least, do 50 miles of it. Having shared with my brother-in-law (age 66) and my college roommate (age 58) my dream and the invitation to join me, we planned the adventure. In September of 2010, we converged in the Great Smokies of western North Carolina. What we discovered was that we had chosen the most difficult section of the trail for our virgin hike! Sweat, mountains, gorgeous scenery, blisters and bear warnings marked our journey. What an adventure! I’m planning on another stretch next year.
My most recent adventure has been the decision to move from terra firma to a boat. While it has been no secret, neither has it been common knowledge. In November 2011, Sarah and I bought a boat and in December moved aboard. We are now approaching a year of life afloat. For most people, that’s adventure over-the-top! There have been two things that we’ve discovered about everyone who has visited our new home: how many are subject to sea sickness and how many have harbored dreams of doing what we’re doing! Then came Sandy, the never-before-convergence of a hurricane with a “nor’easter” on the mid-Atlantic coast. I remained aboard our home from beginning to end. What an adventure!
I now have a new appreciation for the words of Isaiah: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God...” Until we put ourselves at risk, we are not living by faith and will never discover the fulfillment of these words. By-the-way, I’m looking for my next adventure.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Against The Tide Revisited
Against the Tide. I repeat: Against the Tide. I find myself, on occasion, asking, “Why did I entitle this blog, “Against the Tide”? When I face the daily challenges of church leadership, it doesn’t take long to remember. When I confer with other pastors and the challenges they have faced, it doesn’t take long. When I mentor church planters and the challenges they will face, it doesn’t take long.I have recently been blessed with the privilege of sharing a trip to Turkey with six other pastors. We were the guests of the Maryland American Turkish Inhabitants organization, a local expression of the Gulen Movement in which cultural and interfaith dialogue is being encouraged between moderate Muslims and Americans in order to engender international peace. Without becoming the boring vacationer with lots of slides that no one really want to see, indulge me a moment to write about Ephesus.
For a week we met with groups of educated, professional Muslims for food, fellowship and conversation. We ate outdoors, indoors, in restaurants, business cafeterias, school cafeterias, school meeting rooms and in homes. At times we felt like the fatted calf, we were so well fed. As a further expression of their desire for a peaceful coexistence, we were treated to sites important to Muslims, historians, educators, journalists, Christians and tourists, among which was Ephesus.
While I could, and probably eventually will, write about Cappadocia, Istanbul and Haran (where we were just ten miles from Syria), Ephesus serves the greater purpose today. In archeological terms the site is relatively recent. That explains the extent of preservation. In fact, they were digging while we were there and will be doing so for the balance of our lifetimes. Having wandered from the top through the ancient streets and columns we wound our way to the bottom and a great amphitheater that faced a wide street leading to nowhere. That’s what it looked like. While it could be assumed that the “end of the road” was merely the “beginning of the road” leading into town, it was not. In the days of Paul the road ended at a harbor, the kind with ships and water. Now, the Aegean Sea is more than three miles removed.
An unrelenting and, at times, imperceptible march of resistance. A combination of erosion from the top and sedimentary deposits from the tides at the bottom resulted in a road to nowhere. A scourge of Christian history is the failure of spiritual leaders to recognize and respond to the seemingly imperceptible cause of decline and demise. Success has always been the result of resistance to the unrelenting tides which do not stop and can carry you away into nonexistence. Not a single church that was planted in Asia Minor (Turkey) remains. Kingdom work will always be against the tide.
If you’re a fighter by nature, you may be church planting and/or church leadership material. All of the accolades, admiring glances, pats on the back and invitations to heady events are often offered as though you are a genius who somehow figured it all out. No one rarely recognized the hard fought inches and ounces of progress that were required to get there. As blessed as our journey of church planting and growth has been because of the miracles accomplished by the Spirit, it has been as roses among thorns. Paul’s “we wrestle not” is not a summary statement about Easy Street. It is about spiritual tides that never cease, powered by the dark forces of the enemies of God. My advice? Don’t enter the water unless you are prepared to swim against the tide until Jesus returns.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)