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Easy Victories and Long Journeys

April 14, 2016

WORDS FROM W.W.                                                 April 13, 2016

                    

My friend, Steve Wamberg, and I are sharing the Sunday speaking duties at a very small church in a small community on the Eastern Plains of Colorado. Wonderful people, simply incredible! Steve and I have come to realize that this small congregation is, for lack of a better term, stuck. They don’t have a pastor, and they are an aging congregation in the midst of a community that is declining in population.

What’s a church to do?

This Sunday they’ve asked us to help them “talk”, to brainstorm, and create a little bit of congregational movement. One of the first things we’re going to help them figure out is what might be a couple of easy victories. For instance, one of the church signs has been leaned up against the building for several months. Perhaps an easy victory for this congregation would be to put the sign back up, make sure it’s in good shape, and even plant some flowers around it.

That might be an easy victory that the whole congregation can get behind. One easy victory can be the primer for another victory.

Most congregations need easy victories that can be applauded by all. Let me emphasize the “by all” part! There is a danger in many churches of a “victorious superiority” to surface as a result of one ministry/program having success. However, when a whole congregation agrees on an initiative the whole congregation can applaud itself.

Easy victories are within reach of any church. It just needs to be willing to see them. Here’s a few examples of what could be easy victories:

-Children are encouraged to be involved in the ushering duties of Sunday worship. A mentor usher trains, demonstrates, and encourages them.

-The church sponsors a “Thank You Breakfast” for teachers and administrators from the local school sometime during the school year.

-The congregation adopts a flower bed somewhere in the community and cares for it.

-A monthly gathering of senior citizens is begun for fellowship and presentations from different professionals in the community who have resource information relevant to the lives of the elderly.

– One Saturday morning paint the hand railings outside the building.

 

At some time, however, a church needs to identify a direction for the long journey. If an easy victory is like a trip to the local supermarket to purchase items for dinner tonight, the long journey is comparable to a trip across country that needs to incorporate lodging, meals, road maps, and reliable transportation. Whereas one can be accomplished with little effort, the latter takes more thought and discussion.

If a church experiences a few easy victories it prepares itself…motivates itself…to take on a long journey. For example, in Denver there is a large population of Karen people from Myanmar. A couple of churches have committed to the long journey of helping the Karen get settled, find employment, and establish a Karen church and/or worship service where their native language is spoken. It is a very long journey and the churches that have been traveling it are very committed to international missions and ministries.

Long journeys require congregations that are willing to stay the course, and staying the course is not something that our culture has a tendency to be willing to do. The hunger for success too often derails the journey.

Easy victories encourage and motivate churches, but the long journey shows the depth of a congregation’s commitment. Recently I was the starter for a middle school track meet. The participants in the girls’ 100 meter hurdles race were lining up. One young lady was looking down the track at the rows and rows of hurdles. With a concerned facial expression she asked me, “Do we have to run the whole way?”

Seems like a silly question, but that’s the question that many churches have to ask themselves as they look at the long journey. Do we have to go the whole way? Does a church that says it is committed to helping struggling families in a changing community that is experiencing more violence stay the course, or go halfway and then flee the scene?

The question for any congregation is “what is that long journey for us?”

I would tell you that is varies from church to church, but always involves three things: relationships, sacrifice, and transformation. The long journey will always involve all three, never just two out of three!

Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Community, Pastor, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized
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The Warts, Pimples, and Beauty Marks of a Church

April 10, 2016

WORDS FROM W.W.                                                           April 10, 2016

                            

There is free photo editor available for computers called “Picmonkey.” It allows a person to touch up a photograph and make blemishes disappear. In effect, it brings the picture of a person’s face to perfection. It hides the imperfect.

If there was a “Picmonkey” that churches could use to cover up its imperfections it would be used as much as, or more than,  the communion wine! A primitive form of it appears in the newspaper one day each week on the religious services advertisement page. Church slogans and pictures of smiling faces and praying people appear there to convince the reader that spiritual awesomeness is ready to be had at that location.

But the truth of the matter is that every church has at least three things: warts, pimples, and beauty marks. Forms of “Picmonkey” are often used to hide the warts and pimples and accentuate the beauty marks, but, believe me, the blemishes are still there under the make-up.

“Warts” are those things that just are! I’m speaking two Sundays a month at a very small congregation in a small community about forty-five minutes away from the city. Their pastor resigned in a bit of a church dust storm last fall. The congregation is a great group of people in a dated building trying to move forward. One of their warts is the placement of the women’s rest room. It is halfway down the stairway to the basement. Halfway! It is a wart that just is. There aren’t many women’s rest rooms that are halfway down a stairway, but, in this building, it would not easily be relocated, so…it just is!

A lot of church warts are related to the structure the congregation meets in. The church I pastored for many years had a leaky baptistry! Not a good thing for a Baptist church! Whenever we had a baptism we would have to bring in the fans for a few days afterwards to dry out the carpet. For $125 we bought a livestock watering trough that was smaller than the baptistry so it could fit right in the midst of that space. The leaky baptistry is still leaking, but the trough takes care of the problem. It was one of our warts that was humorous in some ways, and frustrating in others.

Every church has its warts. Some are more visible than others. Some warts are the result of gifts given to the congregation years before that have now become part of the congregational facial imprint. Some warts are even people- the person who talks non-stop in a small group, the man who falls asleep every Sunday during the sermon and starts snoring. The warts of a church aren’t necessarily good or bad. They just are! They are like Cindy Crawford’s facial mole. It just is, and now we wouldn’t recognize her without it.

“Pimples” are those tensions in a church that are often under the skin and not readily visible. They aren’t pleasant, and have a tendency to rise to the surface after a while and, forgive me, spew on others. A number of years ago there was a situation where a young unmarried woman in the congregation I was pastoring became pregnant. There was an evident tension between those who did not want to help put on a baby shower for her, and those who wanted to express their love and caring to her as she went through this. Those on one side thought that putting on a baby shower would be condoning pre-marital sex, while those on the other side felt that the young woman needed extra support and encouragement during this time and, after all, the baby was coming! Those who visited our congregation probably weren’t aware of the tensions, but the stakeholders were! Every church has its pimples!

Pimples exist in areas of a church where there are territorial battles, like the organ doesn’t get used any more, but those “cotton-pickin” drums do! Or a pastoral search committee is divided in its support of a potential candidate. Some of the committee see the candidate as a visionary for the future, while others are afraid he/she will change “their” church too much.

Pastors and congregations often become a festering pimple that is in danger of becoming a cluster of blemishes. Like adolescent faces it takes time and effort to slowly let the zits run their course and be healed.

And pimples can arise in the most unexpected places, like what is served at the coffee fellowship time each Sunday? Folger’s (which was good enough for my parents and also for me) or Starbucks (Quality matters!)?

And then there are the beauty marks…the equivalent of cute dimples and stunning eyes! A church’s beauty marks are present regardless of what the board and committee structure is. In fact, the beauty marks usually are present outside of a committee’s decisions. For example, every church has certain people that are the embodiment of Christ. The church is enriched by their presence, not because of the things they do and the ministry positions they fill, but simply because of who they are. They are the unofficial spiritual mentors.

Sometimes a beauty marks is something distinctive about the building. One church I was Associate Pastor of had an incredible stained glass window in the sanctuary that was wondrous to gaze at. The way the light hit it seemed to make it come alive. For me it still is the most awesome stained glass window I’ve ever seen, and people from the city knew about that church’s “beauty mark.”

Every church has its beauty marks!

Warts just are, pimples need attention, and beauty marks cause gratitude.

A church with too many pimples needs to invite in a spiritual dermatologist. A church with a lot of beauty marks should bring attention to them and not take them for granted.

And the warts? Live with them and avoid the temptation to cover them up with “Picmonkey” touch ups!

Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Grace, Humor, Jesus, love, Parenting, Pastor, Prayer, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
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Finding My Place: When a Pastor Retires To…”

April 9, 2016

WORDS FROM W.W.                                                        April 9, 2016

                         

Today marks the one hundredth day of retirement for me after thirty-six and a half years of church pastoral ministry. One hundred days! In my later years of ministry I was feeling the loss of energy and finding it hard to get recharged on Monday for another week of ministry and activity. I’ll be honest! I looked forward to retirement. When I announced my retirement date about one hundred days beforehand I began the countdown.

In many ways beginning this new phase of my life has been enjoyable. I enjoy the freedom of deciding whether I will or will not do a certain task. For example, in recent weeks I’ve started substitute teaching and if I don’t feel like taking a position on a certain day I don’t. The freedom is a breath of fresh air.

But the greener grass on the other side of the pasture has some challenges hidden in it! In my backyard there is a certain soft spot in the grass that I frequently step in when I’m mowing the lawn. It is well hidden and not deep enough to cause me to turn an ankle, but enough of a depth to sometimes make me lose my balance.

That’s a picture of how it is for a pastor who retires. There is the expected steps as he/she walks through the challenges of ministry, the fulfilling of the roles of being a pastor…and then there is the slipping step of retiring. Who am I in that moment of surprising imbalance and uncertainty?

Ministerial ethics has made me keep some distance from the church I pastored for sixteen years. It’s the right thing to do as the congregation searches for the next pastor, and has some time to figure out who it is. Interim periods are great times for churches to regroup, evaluate, talk, and move ahead. Having the former pastor hovering inhibits that process, kind of like having the dad of a teenager sitting in at a gathering of adolescents! It affects the conversation and is not cool!

So where does that leave me? Truthfully…wandering! A retired pastor enters the woods, but has a hard time finding the path. It is one of those journeys that Google Maps can’t give directions for.

Who is my church? What do I do on Sunday morning? For that matter, what do I do on Saturday night? How do people from my former congregation greet me now…Bill?…Pastor Bill?… Mr. Bill? Is my purpose still the same? What congregation do I become a part of?

Retirement is a time of questions and confusion, and, like a first semester college freshman trying to find his classroom location, I’m trying to find my way.

Scripture doesn’t help that much in this part of the journey. Aaron got taken up to Mount Hor and everybody said “See ya!”, and he died there. I really don’t want to be taken to the top of Pike’s Peak and left for dead!

So I wander to something that is not yet clear and comfortable. It is a redefining travel. It is the soft spot in the lawn that I sink into before finding solid ground again. And it may end up being the most important part of my life journey, because through it I’ll discover who I really am and who I’m not!

Categories: Bible, Christianity, Death, Faith, Jesus, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
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Helicopter Church Members

April 8, 2016

WORDS FROM W.W.                                                           April 8, 2016

                                 

The term, “helicopter parents”, was first used in 1969 By Dr. Haim Ginott in his book Parents and Teenagers. Since that time the skies have been overpopulated with parents who hover over their children for a variety of reasons.

The interesting thing is that churches have helicopter members. These are folk who hover over programs, look for mistakes in the Sunday bulletin, pounce on perceived errors, and question the intelligence of the pastor and/or church leaders.

They think the Kingdom would not be able to operate without them, and even then believe the Kingdom could function more efficiently if God would just let them do it their way.

Helicopter church people come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and genders. Some contribute to a church by sitting in the same seat each week, and they also…sit in the same seat each week. They are the ones who simply critique. That’s it! They aren’t involved in ministry other then that. They see it as their calling…the ministry of correction! They time the sermon, check the scripture references for accuracy, and ration out their smiles.

Others hover over the pastor. They check his schedule, call him in the late evening and get annoyed when he doesn’t answer. Bottom line: They don’t trust him, just because that’s their right! They grab him every Sunday after the worship service and monopolize his time, even though they know there are visitors present that he would like to meet. They ask him why he isn’t doing certain trivial ministry details, and could care less about community outreach, the homeless, and world hunger. They are concerned that two of the rubber stoppers in the pew communion cup holders are missing, and indifferent about missing members who have been dealing with difficulties.

Then there are the helicopters who are loving and caring, but also smothering. They have good intentions, but don’t understand the boundaries. They look you in the eye with sincerity and ask you how you are doing, and after a response of “Fine”, they question it until the person begins to think that maybe she isn’t doing okay. They mean well, and would give you the shirt off their back, but often take it to an uncomfortable level. However, of the helicopter church members they are the ones who most resemble the people of the first century church.

Just as the term “helicopter parents” came into existence to define those who hover, the church also has those members who hover over any activity, program, function, or detail of the ministries involving their kids and youth. Mind you, there are some parents who “drop and shop”…dropping the kids off and going shopping for a while. But most parents are engaged in their children’s church activities in some way. The helicopter parents micro-manage. They are the “Dance Moms” of the church, sometimes seeing the teacher…the “Abby” of the classroom…as their adversary.

And finally there is the “helicopter pastor” who has his hand in everything and knows everything. He’s been called and ordained, and takes that as God’s authorization for him to dominate and dictate. The Sunday sermon is just one of the various ways he sermonizes each week. When helicopter church members fly in the same zone as helicopter pastors there is bound to be a mid-air collision.

Thus, a new skill set for the church is appearing. One that could be labeled “air traffic controllers”. Controllers guide the helicopters in moving in a safe direction. They discern possible crashes long before they happen, and chart new paths for those who are flying around. It is a special kind of ministry that almost all pastors have no clue about. Seminary education focused on homiletics, Greek, systematic theology, and pastoral counseling. It did not offer a class in “positive movement in ministry”, or “the guidance of agenda-dominated church members.”

In fact, the air traffic controller can rarely be the pastor. The pastor is more like the pilot of one of those helicopters with multiple propellers. He’s usually carrying a heavy load. The air traffic controller has to be trusted by those he/she is guiding. He must establish principles for people to fly by that will not be questioned, for, without a doubt, the hovering members will try to balk when they are told to keep moving.

The thing is…the church needs passionate people who are invested in the ministry. Those saints are to be encouraged, but there comes a point where being invested in needs to be differentiated from owned, and that is sometimes a messy separation.

Categories: Bible, children, Christianity, Community, Faith, Humor, love, Parenting, Pastor, Prayer, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized, Youth
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Being Salty People

April 3, 2016

WORDS FROM W.W.                                                      April 3, 2016

                                        

“You are the salt of the earth…” (Matthew 5:13)

I find it interesting that Jesus used the present tense in teaching a large crowd of people gathered on a hillside about what it means to be a person of God’s kingdom. In the church we are more prone to talk about “becoming a disciple.” Our language indicates that it is like a destination that we haven’t reached, like driving to Alaska. In the church’s approach it’s as if Jesus said “You will some day be the salt of the earth.”

But, intentionally…without a stutter or mixing up words…Jesus said this is who you are right now. The crowd, most assuredly, would have been almost all Jewish, if not all Jewish. They knew what it meant to be Covenant-followers. They knew the Mosaic Law and the emphasis on being the holy people of God. Being the salt of the earth, however, was a new spin for them. Salt added taste, and their religion had lost its flavor. Salt preserved the essence of what had been packed in it, but the passion for and love for God had been stifled.

When Jesus tells the crowd that they are salt he’s taking them with him on a new journey. As soon as he finishes speaking to the people the scriptures tell us that he encountered a man with leprosy…one of the unclean people to avoid…and Jesus touched him. He tells him “Be clean!” And the scripture continues with these words: “Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, ‘See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’” (Matthew 8:3b-4)

Jesus didn’t discredit the Covenant of Moses. He simply dusted off the rigidness, the tastelessness, that had caused it to be mis-used.

“You are…”

Jesus was bringing the Covenant-followers to a new journey of being Christ-followers. It’s kind of like coming to Colorado and seeing the mountains, but then having someone invite you to come up with him into the mountains. Either scenario has the mountains as a part of it, but being in the mountains gives you a new perspective, a new level of intimacy and understanding.

As Christ-followers we are to be salty. Not “assaulting!” There are some Christ-followers, who although passionate, have a way of peppering their proclamation in ways that drive the herds away…like dumping the whole bottle of hot sauce on your taco! People run screaming to the water fountain!

Being salt is more about flavor, bringing flavor to a bland existence. It is a question that any church needs to be asking itself: How do we, as the salt of the earth, add flavor to this community and to the lives of people who live here?”

In my cupboard is a container of Morton Salt. Last week we feasted one night on steaks that were grilled. The salt came out and got sprinkled on the sirloin to add that little extra taste to it. To often the church is the salt in the container spending time with the rest of the salt in order to…what, make it saltier?

Being the salt of Christ means we’re touching the lives of those who need the flavor of hope and the taste of being valued.

“You are salt!”

Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Faith, Grace, Jesus, love, Pastor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
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Power Priorities

April 2, 2016

WORDS FROM W.W.                                                         April 2, 2016

                                        

One of my favorite authors is a deep bass-voiced man named Steve Brown. I know he has a deep voice because I heard him speak several years ago, and that’s when I started buying his books. In his book entitled What Was I Thinking? (Things I’ve Learned Since I Knew It All), he writes these words that I underlined, starred, and highlighted.

“My mentor, Fred Smith, told me once that Christians, if given the choice between spiritual power and political power, will almost always choose political power. I agree with that and would even expand on it. Given the choice between the supernatural power described in the Bible and the power of money, fame, and status, for most Christians it’s a no-brainer. Money, fame, and status win every time.” (page 80; Howard Books, 2008)

When given the choice…

Most of the first followers of Christ didn’t have power, fame, or money. In many ways, they didn’t have the personal struggles with power.

Exception: Judas!

Okay, second exception: Ananias and Sapphira!

What they did have was spiritual power. The lack of other power sources seems to have intensified their attention on what God was up to and doing.

For us today…let me put it this way. Whatever power source we focus on the most is the power that will dominant our decisions, behavior, and belief system.

If we seldom look for the supernatural hand of God in our life…seldom consider the closeness of his awesome power, we will seldom rely on him.

If we get so wrapped up in the current political campaigns and focus our efforts on the gaining of political power…in whatever form that takes for you, your party is triumphant…your dislike for a certain candidate takes over your thoughts…you take on a mission “to convert” as many people as possible to vote for your political candidate. Political power becomes your heart cry. In recent months political power has become the heart cry for many Americans. And what has happened, and will increasingly happen, is that the thirst that people have to see their political agenda win will filter into a large number of churches. There will be pastors who will tell their congregations that a vote for a certain candidate is a vote against Christ. The lust for November victory will try to chummy up with the ways of God. Believe me! Knowing how polarized our nation is politically right now, and having a daily dose of verbal jabs between candidates being fed to us, the potential for churches to lose their way and their purpose will be great!

Another power priority is money. I’ve known, and know, a lot of Christ-followers who have dollar signs tattooed on their brains. Their money is their security blanket. It’s their method of impressing others, and reminding people that the church would be in a pile of hurt if they took their money and went and played somewhere else. If someone was handing out twenty dollar bills for those in one line, while the opportunity to meet Jesus was the focus of a different line there would be a lot of people lifting up “Jackson’s!”

That takes me back to the spiritual power that has been offered to us through our journey with Jesus, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit. This week my wife and I had something happen that we both identify as a God-story. We decided to take the blessing we received in that God-story, the impact it had on our lives, and, for lack of a better term, pay it forward. I won’t give you the details of that, although they are incredibly humbling. I’ll just say this! It has made us more acutely aware of the supernatural power of God and the presence of God.

If we had dismissed the situation as a coincidence we would have missed it! In like manner, if our eyes are so focused on the natural powers of the world, and blind to the moving of the Spirit we will become increasingly sight-impaired to the presence of God. If we seldom rely on the power of God we will seldom see him.

Categories: Bible, Christianity, Community, Faith, Freedom, Holy Spirit, Jesus, love, Nation, Pastor, Prayer, Story, Teamwork, The Church, Uncategorized
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