It was bound to happen sooner or later because I travel so much for work. I got stuck in New York City due to a major winter storm at the end of February. Hundreds of flights were cancelled coming into and going out of the New York area airports. Thousands of people were stranded for two days. I was just one of them.
On day two of the storm, I was just one of hundreds in Terminal A, waiting 12 or so hours for a flight out with one airline. The experience was being repeated all over the New York area airports in every terminal.
We fought the weather and the weather won. We just had to wait it out.
You know the saying “misery loves company?” It is a mean kind of comment, implying that if you are miserable, you want others to suffer too. It can, unfortunately, be true of we faulted humans.
But sometimes it applies only because you already are suffering together and you want to acknowledge it – here is something we are sharing, a story we have in common. That is how it felt at La Guardia on that weather-bound day. All of us were tired. All of us were looking for electrical outlets so we can call, text and e-mail the outside world. We were trying to nap in uncomfortable chairs or standing in line for coffee to wake us up.
In the end, we went our separate ways, but for that day we were comrades in the fight to have a meaningful day in spite of it all. We talked to each other when under normal circumstances we would not. We gathered news of flights coming in or getting out and shared the hope and joy it brought.
Jesus came to the earth and took on the experience of being human – of getting hungry and tired, of sweating, bleeding, laughing and crying, of living in a body that decays and of being hurt by the ones you love. While here on earth, He prayed to the Father in solitude and worshipped with brethren. He worked with His hands six days and ceased His physical labor on the Sabbath. And He faced His own mortal death, as we all will, and experienced resurrection to eternal life, as we have to potential to do as well.
Because of that, He knows what we are going through. He has been through it. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the felling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
Although he now resides at the right hand of the Father, when life trials and troubles come – things like lost jobs, betrayal, terrible illness and the death of loved ones – we know that He is still with us, sharing our suffering, dwelling in us and helping us work through it, if we are Christians.
Misery needs company if we are to bear it, handle it properly, survive it and thrive in spite of it. God provided Jesus for that – our High Priest who shares in our sufferings.
He isn’t just sharing it theory. He has been there. He doesn’t just see our suffering. He shares it with us. If you are miserable and need company through it, you can find that in Jesus. What a fantastic plan. Jesus is our comrade in our daily fight -- even if we are just losing a battle with the weather.
Love,
Nancy
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
IDENTITY CRISIS
In the musical “Jesus Christ, Superstar” the character of Mary Magdalene asks Jesus, “Do you think you’re who they say you are?” You can’t find that anywhere in the scriptures. However, Jesus actually asked His disciples who the people said He was and who they thought He was. Although there were several theories out in the community, those closest to Jesus were able to identify Him as the Messiah, the Son of God.
Do you look the same up close as you do from a distance? Who are you, really?
With the 2010 Winter Olympics just beginning in Vancouver, I was reminded of an article I’d read in the New York Times several months ago that had me thinking about identity. The article was about a recent case of the South African runner, Caster Semenya, who competes as a woman but whose gender identity is somewhat blurred. The article explained that once drugs were ruled out (steroid-driven performance enhancements are often the culprit in these cases) the discovery process is very thorough and intimately invasive. It involves checking everything from organs to chromosomes.
How easy is it to tell who YOU really are? Is your Christian conviction apparent in everything you do and say?
In the movie “Alice in Wonderland,” the Cheshire Cat asks Alice repeatedly, “who are you?” I always assumed the cat was not getting the answer he expected, which is why he kept asking, “WHO are you?” “Who ARE you?” “Who are YOU?”
Although you might be many things and play many roles in this life - a parent to your child and a child to your parents, a sibling, an employee, an athlete or a couch potato, and more - the answer to who you are across all those roles should always be “a Christian.”
In every aspect of your life, all indicators should point to the fact that you are an ardent follower of Jesus. If there is any nook or cranny of your life or behavior not in sync with that, then people are going to wonder “is she/he really a Christian? Are you really who you say you are?”
The people whose lives you interact with on a daily basis should not have to undertake a difficult and thorough search to figure that out. It should be what enters the room before you and exits after you – like the Cheshire Cat’s smile.
Do you, does your life, reflect who you say you are?
Do you look the same up close as you do from a distance? Who are you, really?
With the 2010 Winter Olympics just beginning in Vancouver, I was reminded of an article I’d read in the New York Times several months ago that had me thinking about identity. The article was about a recent case of the South African runner, Caster Semenya, who competes as a woman but whose gender identity is somewhat blurred. The article explained that once drugs were ruled out (steroid-driven performance enhancements are often the culprit in these cases) the discovery process is very thorough and intimately invasive. It involves checking everything from organs to chromosomes.
How easy is it to tell who YOU really are? Is your Christian conviction apparent in everything you do and say?
In the movie “Alice in Wonderland,” the Cheshire Cat asks Alice repeatedly, “who are you?” I always assumed the cat was not getting the answer he expected, which is why he kept asking, “WHO are you?” “Who ARE you?” “Who are YOU?”
Although you might be many things and play many roles in this life - a parent to your child and a child to your parents, a sibling, an employee, an athlete or a couch potato, and more - the answer to who you are across all those roles should always be “a Christian.”
In every aspect of your life, all indicators should point to the fact that you are an ardent follower of Jesus. If there is any nook or cranny of your life or behavior not in sync with that, then people are going to wonder “is she/he really a Christian? Are you really who you say you are?”
The people whose lives you interact with on a daily basis should not have to undertake a difficult and thorough search to figure that out. It should be what enters the room before you and exits after you – like the Cheshire Cat’s smile.
Do you, does your life, reflect who you say you are?
Friday, January 1, 2010
HAPPY NEW YOU!
It’s a brand new year and a brand new decade. Doesn’t seem that long ago that we began a brand new century, nervously watching lest our world fall apart due to short-sighted programming code for dates. In the last 10 years we survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a major recession, presidential campaigns, war, Bird Flu, Swine Flu, and scores of personal tragedies, like broken marriages, the death of a loved one, loss of a job, that plague the human race every day.
It is a time when many who celebrate the calendar change make resolutions to be thinner or smarter, to get more organized, to be less stressed, to save money, to drink less, to give more, and so on. New Year’s resolutions fail more than they succeed. But people will try again next year. On 12/31/10 at 11:59 p.m., they’ll be firmly committed to fresh start with a brand new year.
Luckily, as a Christian, I know that I can have a fresh start every single day. Each morning when I wake up, it is a new chance to be better than I was the day before. I can be a bigger person today. I can reunite with a lost friend. I can reconcile with a brother. I can give more. I can worry less. And if at the end of the day I find that today has not turned out to be my best day yet -- if I have fallen on my face again – if I have broken my resolutions before my morning coffee got cold -- I can start again tomorrow.
If I sin today, forgiveness awaits. If I accept it, I start with a fresh slate. I don’t even have to wait for tomorrow. Because God’ forgiveness is always there for me, I can confess my sin, repent, and start fresh with God at any moment, completely untainted by the failure of the moment before.
Psalm 51, especially verses 7-13, show the path of a sinner, through repentance to restoration – renewed to snow white purity by the forgiveness of God and reconciliation by the blood of Jesus – right then and there. Because God renews us, WE are new every day. Praise God that each day is a new opportunity in Him.
With His forgiveness and the support of the Holy Spirit within us, let’s start each day with new resolve and celebrate it as a fresh, new start to a better tomorrow. Nah, don’t wait for the new day, start each moment new in Him.
With that thought in mind, I say, Happy New Minute AND Happy New You!
Love, Nancy
It is a time when many who celebrate the calendar change make resolutions to be thinner or smarter, to get more organized, to be less stressed, to save money, to drink less, to give more, and so on. New Year’s resolutions fail more than they succeed. But people will try again next year. On 12/31/10 at 11:59 p.m., they’ll be firmly committed to fresh start with a brand new year.
Luckily, as a Christian, I know that I can have a fresh start every single day. Each morning when I wake up, it is a new chance to be better than I was the day before. I can be a bigger person today. I can reunite with a lost friend. I can reconcile with a brother. I can give more. I can worry less. And if at the end of the day I find that today has not turned out to be my best day yet -- if I have fallen on my face again – if I have broken my resolutions before my morning coffee got cold -- I can start again tomorrow.
If I sin today, forgiveness awaits. If I accept it, I start with a fresh slate. I don’t even have to wait for tomorrow. Because God’ forgiveness is always there for me, I can confess my sin, repent, and start fresh with God at any moment, completely untainted by the failure of the moment before.
Psalm 51, especially verses 7-13, show the path of a sinner, through repentance to restoration – renewed to snow white purity by the forgiveness of God and reconciliation by the blood of Jesus – right then and there. Because God renews us, WE are new every day. Praise God that each day is a new opportunity in Him.
With His forgiveness and the support of the Holy Spirit within us, let’s start each day with new resolve and celebrate it as a fresh, new start to a better tomorrow. Nah, don’t wait for the new day, start each moment new in Him.
With that thought in mind, I say, Happy New Minute AND Happy New You!
Love, Nancy
Monday, June 29, 2009
THE KING IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE KING!
Michael Jackson, the king of pop, is dead at 50. Whatever the autopsy finds, Jackson died a victim of his own insecurities, obsessions and phobias. Mutilated by surgeries of choice gone wrong, Jackson lived his last decade or more in constant pain created by his desire to end some internal pain on the inside by recreating the arrangement of his outside.
Jackson died in debt to the tune of $400,000,000. The good news is that sales of Michael’s records and Michael Jackson memorabilia skyrocketed the minute his death was confirmed. With every radio station playing Jackson tunes and many TV channels running videos, retrospectives, interviews with friends and movies about the family, money is pouring into the Michael Jackson Corporation.
Without Jackson around to spend the money that debt could be cleared in days. Ironic, but good news for Jackson’s three children, who won’t be saddled with debt – in addition to the strange legacy of their father. Of course, the custody battle could be epic.
Michael Jackson made and spent billions when he was alive. But Jackson left something lasting behind – both in his work and in the contributions he made to pop culture for at least four decades.
Maybe because I am the same age as Michael Jackson – maybe because I listened to his music for the last 40 years – maybe because I wish I still had that Off The Wall LP record I gave to good will 10 or so years ago – the death of Michael Jackson – icon, father, train wreck – has me thinking about living beyond the three score and ten years God give us.
The best news of all at a time like this isn’t that Jackson’s work will live on, but that this is not the end for Michael or you or me. There is a future, after death. This temporary life is just that – temporary – but it is only the beginning. God promises to give His children eternal life in His everlasting kingdom.
Even better news is that this eternal life promised to us is one without pain or sorrow, without abusive parents and low self-esteem, without money woes and misguided body image. Eternal life in God’s kingdom begins with this phrase record in advance for us in Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Yeah!
Of course, the process to that eternal reward starts now for the body of believers. Right now, we are learning, training, growing toward that incredible, eternal future. For those who hear and obey now, life as a spirit being will start just that much earlier. It will start with helping others to understand what they lived this physical life without comprehending. You see, knowing God exists, believing that Jesus died for our sins – these things represent only the start of all God has to teach us – just like THIS life is only the start of what awaits us.
Jackson will live on for decades, much like Elvis, in the music he created and the children he fathered.
Jesus Christ – the true King – lived a life as a human being and died for our sins centuries ago. He was resurrected and sits on the right hand of the Father right now. He is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to return to the earth and set up the Father’s kingdom. He is our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The (real) King WAS dead. Long live the King! (He does and we can too.)
Love, Nancy.
Jackson died in debt to the tune of $400,000,000. The good news is that sales of Michael’s records and Michael Jackson memorabilia skyrocketed the minute his death was confirmed. With every radio station playing Jackson tunes and many TV channels running videos, retrospectives, interviews with friends and movies about the family, money is pouring into the Michael Jackson Corporation.
Without Jackson around to spend the money that debt could be cleared in days. Ironic, but good news for Jackson’s three children, who won’t be saddled with debt – in addition to the strange legacy of their father. Of course, the custody battle could be epic.
Michael Jackson made and spent billions when he was alive. But Jackson left something lasting behind – both in his work and in the contributions he made to pop culture for at least four decades.
Maybe because I am the same age as Michael Jackson – maybe because I listened to his music for the last 40 years – maybe because I wish I still had that Off The Wall LP record I gave to good will 10 or so years ago – the death of Michael Jackson – icon, father, train wreck – has me thinking about living beyond the three score and ten years God give us.
The best news of all at a time like this isn’t that Jackson’s work will live on, but that this is not the end for Michael or you or me. There is a future, after death. This temporary life is just that – temporary – but it is only the beginning. God promises to give His children eternal life in His everlasting kingdom.
Even better news is that this eternal life promised to us is one without pain or sorrow, without abusive parents and low self-esteem, without money woes and misguided body image. Eternal life in God’s kingdom begins with this phrase record in advance for us in Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Yeah!
Of course, the process to that eternal reward starts now for the body of believers. Right now, we are learning, training, growing toward that incredible, eternal future. For those who hear and obey now, life as a spirit being will start just that much earlier. It will start with helping others to understand what they lived this physical life without comprehending. You see, knowing God exists, believing that Jesus died for our sins – these things represent only the start of all God has to teach us – just like THIS life is only the start of what awaits us.
Jackson will live on for decades, much like Elvis, in the music he created and the children he fathered.
Jesus Christ – the true King – lived a life as a human being and died for our sins centuries ago. He was resurrected and sits on the right hand of the Father right now. He is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to return to the earth and set up the Father’s kingdom. He is our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The (real) King WAS dead. Long live the King! (He does and we can too.)
Love, Nancy.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND
Early in his career, Will Smith, the actor/father/singer, was just Will Smith, rapper, and he had a song called “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” It was a comic look at the decisions that parents make (mild things like discount, un-cool clothes) that cause teenagers to groan. No, parents don’t always understand what is important to our children (especially when it comes to fashion); but the reverse is even more true – children do not understand the decisions parents make. How can they? Until you’ve had children of your own, you just cannot understand the concern, responsibility and love that go into parenting.
Is it any wonder that we (the children of God) cannot understand God and the decisions He makes?
I’m reading The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. Seems like on every trip I take these days, I’ll see one or two people reading it. It is Young’s attempt, through a fantasy encounter between God and Mack (the father of a murdered child), to explain the nature of God’s love for us and the decisions He makes. I’m not finished the book; but, while I completely disagree with Young’s Trinitarian view of the nature of God, I’m finding quite a few thought-provoking nuggets.
The fact of the matter is that we are not going to understand God while we are still human. We can’t. Our minds just don’t stretch that far. But the joy, the peace and the life come in trying, and in gaining ground through the effort.
If you read about George Washington, you learn about him. If President Washington could appear in your home and be interviewed by you, you would gain insights that just reading about him could not provide. If you could go back into Washington’s time, experience what his life was like – the culture and climate of his time, you’d be able to understand him even better. But, if, somehow, you could get into Washington’s head, hear the thoughts, work through the issues and decisions, feel the exhilaration and the pain -- if you could actually somehow live through a portion of Washington’s life in the person of the man himself – think of the kinds of insights you’d get! Did his wooden teeth cause blisters on his gums? Did he really love Martha? How did he feel about his role in the birth of this nation? Did he ever despair of it coming together? What was going through his head as he snuck across the Potomac River? You get the point.
The process is the similar in our efforts to get to know God. We read about God in His word –The Bible. We talk to (interview) others about God’s interaction in their lives through fellowship and it expands our understanding. We interview God in prayer. But if we could live as God…
We can’t, of course, get inside God’s head exactly. He tells us that our thoughts are not His thoughts. BUT, He can get inside us through the Holy Spirit. To the extent that the Holy Spirit lives in us we can begin to better understand God and the decisions He makes. We can expand our comprehension of His eternal, all-encompassing, unfathomable love.
The Bible explains that we “see through a glass darkly” now. We will see more clearly at Christ’s return, when the Kingdom of God inhabits the earth. It inhabits us now by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Little by little, more and more each day as we get and stay connected to God and Christ through the Holy Spirit, we can grow in understanding. For now, God must sometimes look at us, shake His head and say, “my children just don’t understand.” We don’t. However, we should keep trying.
Pentecost is less than a week away. It pictures the giving of the Holy Spirit to the New Testament church. Let’s all spend the week asking for more of God in us, so that we can better understand our incomprehensible Father.
Love, Nancy.
Is it any wonder that we (the children of God) cannot understand God and the decisions He makes?
I’m reading The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. Seems like on every trip I take these days, I’ll see one or two people reading it. It is Young’s attempt, through a fantasy encounter between God and Mack (the father of a murdered child), to explain the nature of God’s love for us and the decisions He makes. I’m not finished the book; but, while I completely disagree with Young’s Trinitarian view of the nature of God, I’m finding quite a few thought-provoking nuggets.
The fact of the matter is that we are not going to understand God while we are still human. We can’t. Our minds just don’t stretch that far. But the joy, the peace and the life come in trying, and in gaining ground through the effort.
If you read about George Washington, you learn about him. If President Washington could appear in your home and be interviewed by you, you would gain insights that just reading about him could not provide. If you could go back into Washington’s time, experience what his life was like – the culture and climate of his time, you’d be able to understand him even better. But, if, somehow, you could get into Washington’s head, hear the thoughts, work through the issues and decisions, feel the exhilaration and the pain -- if you could actually somehow live through a portion of Washington’s life in the person of the man himself – think of the kinds of insights you’d get! Did his wooden teeth cause blisters on his gums? Did he really love Martha? How did he feel about his role in the birth of this nation? Did he ever despair of it coming together? What was going through his head as he snuck across the Potomac River? You get the point.
The process is the similar in our efforts to get to know God. We read about God in His word –The Bible. We talk to (interview) others about God’s interaction in their lives through fellowship and it expands our understanding. We interview God in prayer. But if we could live as God…
We can’t, of course, get inside God’s head exactly. He tells us that our thoughts are not His thoughts. BUT, He can get inside us through the Holy Spirit. To the extent that the Holy Spirit lives in us we can begin to better understand God and the decisions He makes. We can expand our comprehension of His eternal, all-encompassing, unfathomable love.
The Bible explains that we “see through a glass darkly” now. We will see more clearly at Christ’s return, when the Kingdom of God inhabits the earth. It inhabits us now by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Little by little, more and more each day as we get and stay connected to God and Christ through the Holy Spirit, we can grow in understanding. For now, God must sometimes look at us, shake His head and say, “my children just don’t understand.” We don’t. However, we should keep trying.
Pentecost is less than a week away. It pictures the giving of the Holy Spirit to the New Testament church. Let’s all spend the week asking for more of God in us, so that we can better understand our incomprehensible Father.
Love, Nancy.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
GRANDE, NO WHIP, TRIPLE SHOT, SKINNY, NO FOAM, EXTRA HOT, SOY…
Yep, I’m THAT person – the one who takes ten words to describe my drink choice at Starbucks. The franchise is struggling and the lines do seem shorter in the airport cafes, but that means I don’t have to wait so long for my venti, triple shot, skinny, cinnamon dolce latte or sugar-free, skinny, venti, London Fog. But, hey, at Starbucks it is all about ME – my particular cravings, likes, wants. I have my own, personal coffee niche.
But what I wonder is: has the independent church of God movement turned into a niche market church culture? Is church the way I want it, when I want it, with only the music I like and the types of sermons that interest me, really the right next step in church evolution? (Or is it church creation?)
When did church cease to be about fellowship with like-minded people (not exact same minded people) and worshipping God together and become just another thing we special order? How can this happen?
My personal opinion, which, if you couple with $4.50 will get you a latte at Starbucks, is that this occurs because we don’t drink enough coffee together – figuratively speaking.
When was the last time you got an invitation to the HOME of a fellow believer? Potlucks at church do not count. Going out to dinner does not count. Talking on the phone does not count.
Nothing, I mean, nothing at all, compares with getting together in your home (or theirs) with brethren. Don’t even try to tell me you keep in touch with blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc…
When you have people over to your home (or go to their home) for coffee, dessert, breakfast, lunch or dinner, it creates an entirely different atmosphere for conversation. In a setting where you don’t have to leave until you are so sleepy you are afraid to drive home and no waiter will be pestering you about the check or a refill on tea when you are making an impassioned point, true connection occurs. You can cry openly, laugh without being shushed, kick off your shoes, and toss aside your reservations.
Maybe it is because having people over to your home, were you stuffed things under the bed and into closets at the last minute in preparation for the visit – where a guest could open the medicine cabinet and find out that you have athlete’s foot or toe fungus treatments – where someone could notice (gasp) that you haven’t dusted the mini-blinds lately – is already a act of trust.
I’ve gotten away from that. I’m busy. I travel a lot for work. My house is small, cramped. I don’t dust as often as I should. The yard needs mowing because it has been raining so much. I could go on. You probably have reasons of your own.
I believe that the connections forged by gathering in the privacy, the intimacy, of home, will help us get back to the focus of worshipping, studying, learning, in a spirit of togetherness at church. I believe it will help us pray more intimately for each other. You might actually pray right then and there, in your home, at the moment your guest brings up a need. I bet you wouldn’t do that at a restaurant. I believe it allows us to open up and confess our sins to one-another.
So, I encourage us all to lay aside any excuses and take the plunge – invite someone over to your home this week. Leave all the bedrooms messy and just close the doors. Shove stuff under the kitchen sink. Clean only one bathroom (so the guests can us it). It is okay to start small. Just serve coffee or water.
After all, unlike a custom Starbucks drink, it is about you. It isn’t about the food, the dust bunnies or the state of the yard. It’s about getting back to a sense of “us.”
Love, Nancy
But what I wonder is: has the independent church of God movement turned into a niche market church culture? Is church the way I want it, when I want it, with only the music I like and the types of sermons that interest me, really the right next step in church evolution? (Or is it church creation?)
When did church cease to be about fellowship with like-minded people (not exact same minded people) and worshipping God together and become just another thing we special order? How can this happen?
My personal opinion, which, if you couple with $4.50 will get you a latte at Starbucks, is that this occurs because we don’t drink enough coffee together – figuratively speaking.
When was the last time you got an invitation to the HOME of a fellow believer? Potlucks at church do not count. Going out to dinner does not count. Talking on the phone does not count.
Nothing, I mean, nothing at all, compares with getting together in your home (or theirs) with brethren. Don’t even try to tell me you keep in touch with blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc…
When you have people over to your home (or go to their home) for coffee, dessert, breakfast, lunch or dinner, it creates an entirely different atmosphere for conversation. In a setting where you don’t have to leave until you are so sleepy you are afraid to drive home and no waiter will be pestering you about the check or a refill on tea when you are making an impassioned point, true connection occurs. You can cry openly, laugh without being shushed, kick off your shoes, and toss aside your reservations.
Maybe it is because having people over to your home, were you stuffed things under the bed and into closets at the last minute in preparation for the visit – where a guest could open the medicine cabinet and find out that you have athlete’s foot or toe fungus treatments – where someone could notice (gasp) that you haven’t dusted the mini-blinds lately – is already a act of trust.
I’ve gotten away from that. I’m busy. I travel a lot for work. My house is small, cramped. I don’t dust as often as I should. The yard needs mowing because it has been raining so much. I could go on. You probably have reasons of your own.
I believe that the connections forged by gathering in the privacy, the intimacy, of home, will help us get back to the focus of worshipping, studying, learning, in a spirit of togetherness at church. I believe it will help us pray more intimately for each other. You might actually pray right then and there, in your home, at the moment your guest brings up a need. I bet you wouldn’t do that at a restaurant. I believe it allows us to open up and confess our sins to one-another.
So, I encourage us all to lay aside any excuses and take the plunge – invite someone over to your home this week. Leave all the bedrooms messy and just close the doors. Shove stuff under the kitchen sink. Clean only one bathroom (so the guests can us it). It is okay to start small. Just serve coffee or water.
After all, unlike a custom Starbucks drink, it is about you. It isn’t about the food, the dust bunnies or the state of the yard. It’s about getting back to a sense of “us.”
Love, Nancy
Monday, May 4, 2009
POT LUCK CHURCH OF GOD
I’ve mentioned many times in my blogs that I work in an industry that supports magazine publishers and that publishers are in trouble. This week, in a publishing-industry e-newsletter, I found a quote about why magazines are failing that I think applies to the current struggles of many churches.
In explaining why a particular magazine failed, an industry leader said that the title “never had a chance” to succeed, because of where it started – New York City. (Most magazine publishers have their home offices in New York City.)
He explained, "Somehow, for all sorts of reasons, there has grown up in Manhattan, in media, finance and culture--and in what passes for "society"--a narrow establishment so ingrown, so inward-looking, so self-congratulatory, so self-regarding, so gossip-fixated and so all-in-all provincial that it would take the imagination of a Balzac or Flaubert to get it right.” (Emphasis mine.)
It strikes me that this is a very real problem with many church groups today. Look around you next Sabbath. What is the average tenure of your group? Are there any new people? When was the last time a new person walked in your doors – not a visitor from another Sabbath-keeping church, not someone who’d moved back into the area, not a former believer who shows up at Passover time – but a really, truly NEW convert?
You know what the answer should be. Welcoming new people should be a routine fact. And if it is not, then ask yourself if any or (gasp) all of the points above apply to your group. Some of the purpose of the church is to feed the flock, no doubt about it. You can’t maintain a healthy congregation and you certainly can’t grow one if you are only looking outward for new converts. But I can’t say that I know of a single group that has that problem.
When asked what New York publishing is all about, this same industry leader replied: "Lunch.” Is your church guilty of being more about pot luck meals than anything else? Do you attend one of the many “Pot Luck Churches of God?” Now, I love a good potluck meal, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with pot luck meals. So, please bear with me while I explain further.
Is your church more focused on internal programs – more focused on getting together and visiting among yourselves – than it is focused on outreach? Is attending your group too much about lunch – too ingrown and inward-looking? Is your group so self-regarding that it can’t move beyond licking its wounds to salving the wounds of the sick and hurting society around us?
What exactly is the risk of this “all-in-all provincial” behavior?
The industry leader’s final shot is this: “At the risk of being called a bad guy, let me just say that I have long thought that a shoulder-fired missile dispatched into any or all of those (lunch) establishments of a weekday lunchtime would do as much to advance the quality and decency of Western civilization as any other act I can imagine."
God is patient beyond what we as humans can even understand. But He will not continue to “beat a dead horse” forever. He won’t sit by forever while we “do lunch” – while we pot luck ourselves to stagnation. He has been known to wipe the slate clean and start over.
Any group can be tempted to spend too much time internally focused. It feels warm and fuzzy to hug the same people every Sabbath – like a family reunion. But that is not the entire purpose of Christian congregations.
But we can’t allow ourselves to get so stuck in that rut that we make it look good to God to wipe out the (church, fellowship, Bible Study, meeting) group and start over – the way He did with the Noachian flood – the way He offered to do with Israel, beginning again with Moses. Get outside yourself. If your group won’t do it, then YOU do it by whatever means you can.
If you put forth the effort, God will bless it. Then, maybe at the next pot luck you will at least have some new dishes on the menu – brought by the new members of your group.
Love,
Nancy
In explaining why a particular magazine failed, an industry leader said that the title “never had a chance” to succeed, because of where it started – New York City. (Most magazine publishers have their home offices in New York City.)
He explained, "Somehow, for all sorts of reasons, there has grown up in Manhattan, in media, finance and culture--and in what passes for "society"--a narrow establishment so ingrown, so inward-looking, so self-congratulatory, so self-regarding, so gossip-fixated and so all-in-all provincial that it would take the imagination of a Balzac or Flaubert to get it right.” (Emphasis mine.)
It strikes me that this is a very real problem with many church groups today. Look around you next Sabbath. What is the average tenure of your group? Are there any new people? When was the last time a new person walked in your doors – not a visitor from another Sabbath-keeping church, not someone who’d moved back into the area, not a former believer who shows up at Passover time – but a really, truly NEW convert?
You know what the answer should be. Welcoming new people should be a routine fact. And if it is not, then ask yourself if any or (gasp) all of the points above apply to your group. Some of the purpose of the church is to feed the flock, no doubt about it. You can’t maintain a healthy congregation and you certainly can’t grow one if you are only looking outward for new converts. But I can’t say that I know of a single group that has that problem.
When asked what New York publishing is all about, this same industry leader replied: "Lunch.” Is your church guilty of being more about pot luck meals than anything else? Do you attend one of the many “Pot Luck Churches of God?” Now, I love a good potluck meal, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with pot luck meals. So, please bear with me while I explain further.
Is your church more focused on internal programs – more focused on getting together and visiting among yourselves – than it is focused on outreach? Is attending your group too much about lunch – too ingrown and inward-looking? Is your group so self-regarding that it can’t move beyond licking its wounds to salving the wounds of the sick and hurting society around us?
What exactly is the risk of this “all-in-all provincial” behavior?
The industry leader’s final shot is this: “At the risk of being called a bad guy, let me just say that I have long thought that a shoulder-fired missile dispatched into any or all of those (lunch) establishments of a weekday lunchtime would do as much to advance the quality and decency of Western civilization as any other act I can imagine."
God is patient beyond what we as humans can even understand. But He will not continue to “beat a dead horse” forever. He won’t sit by forever while we “do lunch” – while we pot luck ourselves to stagnation. He has been known to wipe the slate clean and start over.
Any group can be tempted to spend too much time internally focused. It feels warm and fuzzy to hug the same people every Sabbath – like a family reunion. But that is not the entire purpose of Christian congregations.
But we can’t allow ourselves to get so stuck in that rut that we make it look good to God to wipe out the (church, fellowship, Bible Study, meeting) group and start over – the way He did with the Noachian flood – the way He offered to do with Israel, beginning again with Moses. Get outside yourself. If your group won’t do it, then YOU do it by whatever means you can.
If you put forth the effort, God will bless it. Then, maybe at the next pot luck you will at least have some new dishes on the menu – brought by the new members of your group.
Love,
Nancy
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