Archives for May 2006

Tyler and I went today to a field trip to the beach with his kindergarten class. He ran around finding every innocent sea anemone he could and stuck his finger in them until they closed up on his finger. He hunted for crawling things and we found tons of hermit crabs and the like. He loves picking then all up. When we go to Sea World- it’s Tyler who we can’t keep away from the sting rays in the pool where you can see and touch them. He’ll probably be a marine biologist someday. It was great fun.

My only complaint on the day: Mom thong. Yep, you read that right. Mom thong. The last two events I’ve been on with my children, I’m minding my own business, hangin’ out with my kids when my field of view is interrupted by some mom who is either sitting or bending over and decides something else should be hangin’ out. Namely her butt and and combination of string and triangles. Today, I’m watching Tyler and 5 kids bent over a tidepool. A mom comes over and bends down to look too. Then, my field of view gets interrupted by mom thong. (it took all the restraint in me not to take a photo to post as proof) So please. Please. For the love all things holy… ladies of all ages and sizes and whatever else- buy a belt, bigger pants, bigger underwear, suspenders, or just use good ol fashion duct tape. Your crack is not needed.

In my seminary class last night they talked about ordination. My professor shared part of a statement written by AW Tozer in 1916 upon having his calling as a pastor affirmed by the church. Here’s a few paragraphs I resonated with and wanted to carve in my office wall.

“Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should become a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the face of the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offerings. Help me to remember that I am a prophet-not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from over-eating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ….

If in Thy permissive providence honor should come to me from Thy church, let me not forget in that hour that I am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, and that if men knew me as intimately as I know myself they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them.

And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame. I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven.

Although I am chosen of Thee and honored by a high and holy calling, let me never forget that I am but a man of dust and ashes, a man with all the natural faults and passions that plague the race of men. I pray Thee, therefore, my Lord and Redeemer, save me from myself and from all the injuries I may do myself while trying to be a blessing to others. Fill me with Thy power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in Thy strength and tell of Thy righteousness, even Thine only. I will spread abroad the message of redeeming love while my normal powers endure.

Then, dear Lord, when I am old and weary and too tired to go on, have a place ready for me above, and make me to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting.
Amen”

to which I now add my own name and an AMEN too.

One of the conversations I’ve had of late is in response to this question: “To what degree do I have to serve at the local church to be serving God?”

What if I serve in a bible study with a para-church organization but not one that my local church has any responsibility over?

What if I serve in the nursery at my local school instead of my local church?

What if coach the middle school baseball team with a missional heart and pray for my players and seek opportunities to invite their families to church and even invite them to my home outside of games but don’t lead a student ministries small group or do anything with middle school kids at my church? Am I living in sin and selfishness?

What if I do the dishes at my house every night and take care of my neighbor’s cat and babysit my little brother- all for free and all as an act of worship? Am I serving the cause of the church?

What if I go to work instead of volunteering as a greeter on the weekend and then give the money I make in those hours at work to World Vision to help feed the poor? Am I serving?

These, and questions like them, all represent a common lingering thread in the church today. Perhaps they can all be boiled down to the same basic question: Is it possible to be serving the Lord but not serving the local church? And if so, is that a problem with God or just an issue with a local pastor?

Most responses I’ve heard fall into 3 camps:

I DID MY PART CAMP: This camp expects someone at the local church to provide for their needs of teaching, music, service for children and teens, and other functions often associated with the life of a local church so they can just come and enjoy them on the weekend and then leave. This is justified by those who don’t serve in the local church because they serve elsewhere and therefore don’t need to do so here. That’s someone else’s job. Underlying that is the assumption that the guy serving as an usher is not also coaching a t-ball team- which, for what it’s worth, may or may not be true. I have also run into those (both young and old) in this category of responses who seem to feel as though they are the “retired military” of the church service world. They’ve served their shift and now it’s time for someone else to step up so they can sit down. They’ve earned it.

THE GLOBAL THING CAMP: In this camp there are those who say that the church is not defined by some local congregation and it’s buildings, staff, or small groups. The church is a global body of believers and I’m called to serve God all day in a global framework. Serving God and even the church is not about helping park cars in one piece of property or even about serving in recognized spaces affirmed by one local group, but it is rather about serving God everywhere and in every way. IE: Ephesians 6:7 “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people.” They feel no need to do anything to keep a local congregation alive and may not be a part of one anyway.

IF WE DIDN’T SPONSOR IT, IT DOESN’T COUNT CAMP: This is where the church declares that if you’re not serving on our campus or in our sponsored programs, you’re not serving the Lord as he’s called you to. After all, God gifts each believer with a spiritual gift for the purpose of blessing others in the local body with it. IE: 1 Corinthians 12:7 (written to a local group of Christians) “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” Thus it is inferred, the spiritual gifts God gives us are intended to bless the local church- like the one Paul is writing to. To not do so is to abuse the gift God has given you.

So who’s right? My thoughts are varied. But, I think the answer lies in three things.

#1. The local church has to figure out a way to commission and affirm it’s members as servants of Jesus in lots of contexts both inside and outside of the official fences of the campus property. We need to figure out how to send out the congregation into the community as official representatives of the local church in non-church contexts. The act of serving the Lord is bigger than our “small group catalog” can encompass. We need to give them resources to coach teams, minister to the hurting in local hospitals, and serve in the local community without feeling as though they are denying the call of God on their lives by not doing it on the local church campus on Sundays.

#2. The believer has to affirm that in fact the reason they do not serve on the local campus where they regularly enjoy the benefits of others serving in is not because of anarchy or selfishness, but instead by the call of God. They need to be able to confidently and prayerfully affirm that, “I don’t serve here in some capacity because God specifically has called me to serve elsewhere.”

#3. The church- both globally and locally- is designed to be a collaborative effort of all those who follow Jesus. At no point do I get to say, well, that’s not my problem. I’m called to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. I’m called to be a team player and to encourage and equip others to do their part. We are in this together, and if that were more owned, we could spend less time fighting over what is “legitimate” serving and what is not and more time on getting the job done. If we were unified in our collaborative goal, our individual pieces would form a clearer picture of God.

I spent much of today paying bills at work. I hate bills. It’s not that I hate cutting checks- like I should get stuff for free or something (though that would be awesome) … It is just that I hate this piece of youth ministry and family administration. I hate this part of my job. I hate this part of my life. I hate balancing my checkbook. I even do most of it online so that it is as simple as possible. No stamps. No checks…. but I still HATE it. If I was rich, I’d hire an accountant before a gardener.

Everytime I try to give this job away at work, it comes back to me. I had a volunteer at my last church who did this for me. She asked about it and was on top of when the bills were due. She came in every week to get it done. I handed it to her, she did it, and I just signed the request. That was about it. Since I no longer have her to tally up my bills and I don’t have an admin assistant and I’m not smart enough to figure out how to find a volunteer to OWN this area of my life…. well, now I spend hours doing it myself- and sadly- I also spend money on last minute fees to rush junk cuz I HATE this… but maybe I already said that. AHHH!

I’m going to go to bed now and dream I’m rich enough to hire a big fancy money man.

We went on a harbor cruise today in San Diego Bay with my wife and her parents after church. I ate way too much. I really tested the “all you can eat buffet” idea. I laughed at Jake a lot. He was on a first name basis with the Captain after his 500th question to the poor guy. They have an “open cabin” policy and you can come in and say hi and watch while he drives the boat. That policy surely will be changing now that Jake torchered the guy with 3 1/2 year old questions. But I think the funniest thing was the way he wanted to toast everyone and how he grabbed his sparkling cider with such zeal. He really likes to say CHEERS!

So Cheers to mom and your mom. Jake and I raise our glass to Mom’s everywhere who love kids unconditionally and who give selflessly. You are a rarity. Trust me. I work with some high school students who can tell some stories to prove it. Today I met one whose mom left him when he was 2. You are a rarity. Thanks Mom.

You can see the whole family picture set here