Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
I shared Sunday that one of the core values of actionchurch is to be a place that doesn’t “lecture you , bore you, or waste your time” I think of those three values every week as I prepare to speak.
The difficult thing is that all three values are in constant (and I think healthy) tension.
No Lectures: As a society we are over-run with information. Very few of us would willingly choose to attend a lecture on Sunday morning about the history of some long-dead “Bible charactor”. Besides, Bible information without application is just Bible Trivia. However, it’s impossible to share the life-changing principles and stories of Scripture without sharing information.
Don’t Be Boring: I’m pretty sure that making the Bible boring is a sin. It’s filled with the most amazing stories ever written. However, it’s also filled with mind-numbing lists, geneologies, and detailed policies. Because it is set in cultures from thousands of years ago it’s easy to miss it’s relevance for our lives today. On Sunday mornings we attempt every week to tie ancient scripture to things in our lives today. We use music, movies, news events, television clips, and the occasional awkward story from my life.
Don’t waste anyone’s time: No one HAS TO come to church. We don’t live in a society that enforces church attendance (either by legislation or culturally shaming non-attenders). The last thing I want to do on a Sunday morning is to waste the time of someone who has voluntarily chosen to get up and come to church. Here’s where the tension comes in: since we never want to lecture anyone, it would be tempting to not talk about the difficult areas and ideas of Scripture. Since we don’t want to bore anyone it’s tempting to just play an episode of the office and laugh together when we’re not listening to the band. That would be entertaining. However, since I never want to waste anyone’s time I know the most important thing I can do is to share the Good News that God gifts us with in scripture. The biggest “waste of time” I can think of on Sunday morning would be to simply try to entertain everyone without engaging and challenging them to consider the eternally important consequences of missing God’s plan for their life. (Besides, let’s be honest…at it’s most “entertaining”…Church is not exactly going to “compete” with the entertainment options most of us have available to us at home on Sunday morning).
“What if there was a place that would never lecture you, bore you, or waste your time? What if that place turned out to be a Church?”
Those words will always bring “tension” as we plan and prepare for Sunday morning each week…and I think that’s a very healthy thing.
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Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
There’s an epic story of in 1 Kings Chapter 18 about the prophet Elijah challenging 450 priests of Baal to a contest. Elijah starts the smackdown with an obvious but controversial statement; “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” The priests of baal agree to a contest pitting their “god” against the ONE TRUE GOD in a contest. The rules are simple, the first deity to send down fire from heaven to light their sacrificial alter gets the title and a brand new Maytag washer and dryer. (Ok, I’m pretty sure the washer and dryer wasn’t included…maybe you should go read the story.)
Being a preachers kid, I’ve heard the story so many times. It’s amazing. I love the fact that sometime during the afternoon Elijah begins to taunt the prophets of baal with sarcastic suggestions that maybe the reason that their “god” isn’t answering their prayers is because he is having a particularly long session on the toilet. Seriously.
In the end, God wins. I hate to spoil it for you…but that’s pretty much the plot of the entire Bible. God wins. Fire comes down from heaven and burns up Elijah’s sacrifice and the prophets of baal get slaughtered as their consolation prize.
Here’s the part of the story that I’d never thought much about before…
33 He (Elijah) arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. ”Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. 1 Kings 18:33-35
Sometimes in the middle of asking for God to perform an amazing miracle God allows water to get poured on the wood. Sometimes he even tells us to do it. I’m not an expert, but I’m pretty sure that makes an impossible situation even more difficult. If your life depends on a spark coming down the sky to light your fire, I’m pretty sure I would prefer dry wood. Maybe a little kindling, too. Perhaps a nice splash of gasoline. Elijah poured on the water.
Have you ever felt like water just got poured on your wood…like your “impossible” situation that you are praying about just got more “impossible-er”? (Ok, that’s gonna drive spell check crazy…but I think it sums the situation pretty well.) Have you ever wondered why God would allow it to happen?
Here’s what I’ve been thinking. What if “pouring water” is just the prelude to God “showing up and saving the day”? What if God still prefers to show himself in “wet-wood-high-stakes” situations?
Don’t give up on your prayers for God to “show up” just because things seem to be getting more difficult. “Impossible-er” situations just happen to be God’s specialty!
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Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
This flyer is-
Clever.
Amusing.
Useless.
…but not pointless.
It frustrates me. It motivates me. It makes me want to find better ways to communicate the Good News of Jesus. I’m not even sure I can fully explain why…
Thank you, Mr. Sarcastic Flyer Guy
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