Rest In Ministry

I was talking with one of our staff members yesterday. He deals with all the caring needs and crises we face at FCCH. With a Sunday morning attendance of over 650 people, we have quite a few. And the stories are heartbreaking sometimes. His face was down so I asked him about carrying the load - how does he let it go?

It's an interesting question, you see, in ministry, you can find yourself carrying the load of problems. It's a fruitless activity because no human being has the power or resource to change all the problems in the world around us. It exhausts us when we try. We find ourselves depleted, drained, frustrated, angry at God and the people with the problems, depressed, etc. Its not even fair to the people who come to us. When we try to solve everyone's problems, we may actually be interfering with God's work.

You see, sometimes God directs us into difficult times to do a good work in our lives. Difficulties can make us more dependant upon God. Difficulties may even be the natural consequences of bad choices - facing them could cause us to turn from bad choice and habits to godly ones. Difficulties even have a way of building our character (making us more patient, kind, gentle, etc.) and realigning our priorities (showing us what's really important in life).

In the end, we're not called to solve everyone's problems. God calls us to pray for people, to walk alongside them and to help them as we can. We can be a friend on the journey but we need to let God do a good work without interfering.

Reflections on Leadership

I'm in a small group with three guys that I respect, admire and appreciate. We're studying the book of Nehemiah together because we all hold leadership positions. In an interesting twist, my bible reading schedule has me in 1 Samuel where I am reading about Saul as Israel's first king. Some reflections:

• Where Nehemiah is thoughtful and strategic, Saul is rash and foolish. Saul makes a vow to kill anyone who eats anything before the end of his military campaign (not a good policy for keeping your soldiers in top form). Saul's son, Jonathan, unwittingly eats honey and almost gets killed by his father (fellow soldiers stopped Saul).
• Where Nehemiah is confident in God, Saul is weak. Saul is always questioning his call (though it happened in a remarkable way) and God's will (though he has a priest with an Ephod available).
• Where Nehemiah is strong in the face of opposition, Saul caves. Nehemiah had to face an enemy armed with swords. Saul constantly gave in to the pressure of his own troops.
• Where Nehemiah is inspiring, Saul makes a lot of messes. Nehemiah gets the community involved in a building project. Saul can't inspire his troops to face off against Goliath (a shepherd boy had to do that).

All this makes me think about ministry. To lead, a pastor needs to possess confidence in God, a thoughful strategy, strength in the face of oppostion and the ability to inspire people. Sure, good leaders make mistakes and possess weaknesses as well (I'm studying Moses too - he had a rough start). But they learn from those mistakes and they compensate for their weaknesses.

I believe that the church needs leaders like Nehemiah. Bringing the Gospel to 21st century America is a difficult job. People will resist the changes we introduce. They will argue against our message. The resources will always be sparse. The challenge is always great. But then God does His best work in those conditions - especially when He has good leaders at His disposal.

Innovation and Heritage

I was reading Fortune magazine this morning (I like the articles on leadership). In it, the CEO of Disney talked about the importance of balancing innovation with heritage. Heritage represents the reason why Disney was created (their vision, mission, values, etc - namely what makes Disney, well...Disney). Innovation is the drive to keep Disney fresh with new technology, development, application, etc. Heritage was their commitment to quality animation. Innovation is their acquire of Pixar.

I thought about the similarities with leading a church. You see, we're in the middle of redefining the mission statement and discipleship process for our church. The tension is very much the same. We want to preserve the heritage of the church: Jesus Christ as the cornerstone, the teaching of the Apostles and Prophets (as Paul phrases it) as the foundation. We also want the innovation that successfully reaches 21st century Americans: fresh music, new technology, creative ministry opportunities.

It's not easy. We need to keep the foundation of our faith strong. It's why we exist. At the same time, if we don't come up with new innovated approaches, the church will become irrelevant to a world in need. It's hard for us to think that when Christ brought the Gospel it was a new message that challenged the calcified religious structures of His day. At the heart of the new message was ancient message of God's love for His people. It was just wrapped in language that people understood, made accessible to people who were alienated, alive in a way that changed His world.

Pray for us (the staff). We want an approach for today with a message as old as the stars.

Yes, I'm Back

Sorry I've been away but the holiday season is a busy one for pastors. I've been distracted.

I love Christmas. I know that many Christians struggle with it. The world seems to have taken it by storm:

• You can buy holiday ornaments and decorations around Halloween time (kind of ironic that those two holidays would intersect in the commercial world).
• Black Friday is almost a new holiday on the calendar. It has it's own rituals (long, hard core shopping days), adherents (people take pride in bonding together as they stand in long lines) and goals (chasing elusive, highly desired commercial goods).
• There is Christmas music that has nothing to do with Christ, worship or biblical references. As a matter of fact, some of it promotes activities, desires and goals that aren't even consistent with our faith.

Yet, I still love it. Why? Well:

• It's still our holy day. Let the world do what it wants. I don't have to relinquish my passion because of their infiltration.
• Christ's name is everywhere. I know, I know, you hear a lot about the "holiday season" but you still see the word, "Christmas," everywhere.
• It emphasizes that the world around me is still looking for what Christ can provide: people want peace with one another, a love that meets human need, generosity, kindness and goodness. These are all virtues that emanate from God. It's a doorway for the Gospel.

So, I'll keep my faith alive at Christmas. I'll rejoice at the Savior who entered into my world to bring me hope. I'll promote and pursue peace. I'll even smile at the store and say, "Merry CHRISTmas!"