His Name was Rob

It is interesting to spend a day on a labor and delivery wing. Very few places allow you to observe both extreme joy and extreme sorrow at the same moment in time, and in virtually the same place. In one room, someone was delivering a healthy baby girl surrounded by happy and smiling family members. In the next room, a mother and baby struggled through the birth process with complications, surrounded by fearful and tearful family members. As I stood at the end of the hall as people passed by, I asked one gentleman, whose face told nothing but a story of pain, if I could pray for whatever was going on. He explained that his daughter-in-law and grandbaby were going to be fine, but the doctors were about to perform a C-section. He went on to say, that he was the one in need of prayer. His wife, who was only 40 years old died in her sleep last month, he has M.S. which has exacerbated since his wife’s death, and because of his health he is unable to do his job and is consequently unemployed. We stepped to the side of the hall and prayed together. We talked about his challenges and his need for God. A stranger who was in the hall heard us praying and joined us…awesome. I have no doubt God placed that stranger and I there that day to lift up Rob. God worked through me using the gifts he has given me to fulfill his purposes that day. We all have different gifts, and God can use each of us differently for Ministry. How can you use your God-given gifts this week to join God in what he is doing? Your opportunity may just be around the corner.

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Leaving a Legacy

Leaving a legacy is a topic I have been thinking about, studying about, preaching about, and now writing about lately.  Leaving a legacy behind when we are gone, of course, includes our children, but it goes far beyond that. Leaving a legacy touches those who watch us, and learn from us, and look up to us in some way.

This week, this topic of Leaving a Legacy has taken on new shape for me in “real life” examples. I have looked at my beautiful wife who, as you know, has been facing some real and scary health concerns. She has handled them with such grace and beauty and peace. As I have watched her, I think of the legacy that kind of attitude, in the face of a storm, will leave behind to my children and others watching. That doesn’t mean there won’t be hard days full of fear, doubt, and tears…all of that is normal in a crisis, but watching her I see a Christlike Spirit that will influence generations to come…some of which may never know her directly, but will know others who influence them, who were influenced by her. Connected to Jennifer, but separate from her example, Jennifer’s neurologist, after examining her, laid his hands on her and prayed in Jesus’ name for wisdom to know how to treat her, and for healing for Jen. Praying for the healing of your patients is not good fiscally, but what a legacy that kind of attitude and spirit will leave behind to people who in many cases are seeing him at their worst moment in life.

On the other hand, I have seen Christians do and say things this week that will leave the opposite legacy behind. Face book, as an example, is an amazing tool that I have learned to enjoy on many levels, especially for ministry purposes. But, as with any tool that can be used for good, tools can be used for evil as well. I have read comments and messages from Christians who shared examples of filthy, sexually explicit language and examples of overt worldliness that has made my heart hurt. I wonder how those (hopefully) momentary lapses in judgment will affect the lives of those who are impressionable and watching. I pray against those bad examples.

Now this isn’t a soap-box of good Jennifer, bad everyone else. It’s just an example of what has been so obvious as I have lived through this week and been aware of those around me in the context of leaving a legacy. We all will leave a legacy behind. I just can’t stress that enough. At our funerals, people will always say good things – that’s our cultural norm. But what will the real story be in the lives of those we influence? Will they learn more about how Jesus loved, and touched, and interacted or will they learn something else? I am more aware than ever, that how I live among my family and others who are watching means something. I am also more aware than ever that even a momentary indiscretion can have a lasting and dramatic impact. On the other hand, even in our greatest indiscretions, God offers forgiveness when we humbly come before him with a broken heart and desire to change. What a legacy it would leave behind if a Christian, who has said and done terrible things, sought forgiveness from God and owned up to the failure with those it could have impacted. Leaving a legacy of acceptance, not excuses, for failure and then seeking forgiveness would be amazing, and so out of character for our culture.

What legacy are you leaving behind? Is there something you can work on, change, or fix that will ensure a legacy of God’s love will be passed on?

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Fire Breathing Pagans

You will often hear me talk about unchurched (no or little church background) or dechurched (formerly churched, now not affiliated) people as we talk about getting out and engaging with the world. Unless you have lived in one of those worlds or are close to people living in those worlds, you may not realize how much unchurched and dechurched people often look like us…Christian Churchgoers. That statement might be hard to hear…even appalling to some of you since Christians are supposed to be “the light of the world” and “the salt of the earth”. After all, we are supposed to be significantly different from the lost and unchurched world.
Before you give up on reading this blog, let me explain. In our everyday lives, churched people and unchurched or dechurched people walk similar paths. Most all of us are concerned about our families. Certain moral values such as cheating or adultery are usually not dissimilar. They work alongside us and their children play with our children. Some of these unchurched and dechurched people are our children’s teachers and doctors. The unchurched and dechurched live in our neighborhoods and carry on pleasant conversations with us. They often have the same financial burdens or concerns we do, they are just as patriotic, and most of them react with the same sadness when they see a sick child or person in pain.
The problem is, many churches often speak of unchurched and dechurched people as pagans; as if they are fire-breathing aliens from another planet. Many see the unchurched and dechurched as angry or hostile at Christians, doubtful of the existence of God, and bitter toward the church; however, the reality is, that based upon research and personal experience, about 95% of unchurched and dechurched people don’t fit this description.
It is true that there are a fair number of people that hate God and everything we stand for, but the vast majority of people we meet everyday are not actually anti-church or anti-Christian. Many of them need a friend to see that not all Christians are crazy if they have had this experience. Many of them have had bad experiences with church and simply need a loving guide to show them that Brussels sprouts are a terrible way to judge vegetables (talk to me if you don’t understand my analogy). Many of them don’t realize how much of a support system a loving church can be. Many just don’t think church attendance is important or at least they think sleeping in or mowing the grass is more important. Many of them are simply waiting for an invitation to church.
Rather than looking at the unchurched or dechurched as diseased or better yet, fire-breathing pagans, let’s consider getting to know them. Find out what makes them tick. Invest time and energy in them. And then show them, by your own life and words, what a Christian looks like…an image that accurately reflects the one we serve…Jesus!

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Forgiveness as Outreach?

Think about how powerful the simple act of forgiveness is and what impact offering it can have on the people around us. Most of us are wronged daily; the wrong meal at lunch, no wave from the guy you let in or who cut you off in traffic, some other guy takes credit for what you did at work. How do we respond? On the one hand, we can act like everyone else in the world – selfishly: We are the victim wronged yet again. We elevate ourselves and our needs above everyone else. Anything not done quite to our expectation and liking is a tragedy. It’s pretty hard to make a case for being a light in this world when we carry that kind of chip around on our shoulder; not exactly conducive to planting seeds with people for Christ. When we’re wronged, how else can we respond? We can give lip service forgiveness. How many times have you responded to a waitress’ apology for an incorrect meal with, *sigh* “I guess it’s ok” or “it’s fine”. We might even pat ourselves on the back for that one while we tell ourselves or those with us that you could have “let her have it, but you decided to show some mercy”. Oh really? Did that sigh show mercy? Did you forgive from your heart (Matt 18:35)? What did she think about you when she saw your head bow to pray immediately following your lip service? Is this behavior conducive to planting seeds with people for Christ? I’ve committed this lip service forgiveness more times than I care to admit. Lastly, when we’re wronged, we could, just possibly truly forgive. People in our society are so unaccustomed to being truly forgiven for indiscretions that it must seem completely foreign when it does happen. But this is why truly forgiving people around us, especially people we don’t know, is an excellent witnessing tool. Because forgiveness is so foreign, when people experience it, they’ll be confused by it and want to know where it came from. True forgiveness is what we learn from the cross. As with our children, disobedience cannot go unpunished. We correct them because we love them…God does the same for us. But the only correction to satisfy our sins is death (Romans 6:23); yet, our Father, sent His son to die in our place even though the death deserved is our own. His innocent blood was shed as an offering to pay for our sins. From this sacrifice we are forgiven when we believe, and if God can forgive us, we can and should forgive others. You can plant a seed this week by showing someone what forgiveness looks like by truly forgiving. But remember, if someone tries to give credit for the forgiveness you offer, don’t take the credit…all glory belongs to God who taught us what true forgiveness looked like in the shadow of the cross…be sure they know that. It is a wonderful tool for outreach.

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So What’s a Sciolistic?

I love unusual words; however, I hate it when people use them and don’t explain them.  We do this in church all the time…we use “Christianese” that most churchgoers are familiar with (although I would guess many don’t fully understand some words us preachers like to use) but CEO’s (Christmas and Easter Only) and pre-Christan attenders most likely don’t understand what we’re talking about half the time.

So, in the explanation of this blog, I used the word, “Sciolistics”.  A sociolistic is someone who shows a very superficial demonstration of learning or it is someone who never even thinks about matters of faith.  This is different than a skeptic, cynic, or critic.  How would you define skeptic, cynic or critic?

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