Double-Sided Coin

Here's what we'll talk about this Sunday, September 4

From the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10 (The Message):

²⁵Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. "Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?"

 ²⁶He answered, "What's written in God's Law? How do you interpret it?"

 ²⁷He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."

 ²⁸"Good answer!" said Jesus. "Do it and you'll live." 

 Do it and you'll live.

What was the "it" Jesus was referring to again? Oh ya, Love God... and love your neighbor. Let me ask you a question... How well do you think we're living and practicing both sides of that all-important coin?

I mean... I don't know about you, but I find the first part easier than the second part. Worship is easier than mission, right? Do you find it easier to go to church on Sunday... or serve a homeless shelter on Wednesday? Don't get me wrong, it's incredibly difficult to truly love God with any level of consistency. My passion (and obedience) goes up and down like a roller-coaster out of control. Like the Apostle Paul in Romans 7, I don't understand my own motivations sometimes:

I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. 

But Jesus says if I want to live, it's not about focusing on better behavior. It's not about my determination to be a better person. It's not about digging deep down inside myself to find the strength to do good. Nope. It's about (a) looking upward (worship), AND (b) looking outward (mission). Both/and, together... an organic link between the two. We don't get points for doing one really well, and completely neglecting the other. And we certainly don't get points for making it about me, me, me. My piety, my churchiness, my holier-than-thou attitude, my "sacrifice" to read or pray, etc. Hmmm... I think part of what Jesus is saying here is that when we try to earn God points, we don't get the real point of God!

But getting back to the main point (sorry, I can't help using that word)... Somehow, some way... by some supernatural act of the Spirit in and among us... I believe we lazy bums have to wake up and smell the roses. We have to start taking Jesus' words more seriously. We have to get off our collective Christian butts and start participating on the other side of the coin with more consistency. You know... Love your neighbor as yourself. (What would that really look like?)

Let me ask you a question: When is the last time you served God's kingdom? Now, we could justify ourselves and say we are nice to people (gasp, even to sinners!)... or that we already have a role in the church (board member, musician, coffee server, etc.), which counts as "service" to others. But is that really what Jesus meant when He commanded us to love our neighbor? In a world gone completely amuck, is being nice to someone really a profound fulfillment of what Jesus requests (requires?) of us? Or does serving...or giving at a church - important as that may be - really get us off the hook mission-wise? Are we not called to get our hands dirty? Are we not called to "go" into the world? Are we not commanded to be light in the darkness? Are we not called to lift up the oppressed, and feed the hungry, and heal the sick? Are we not called to make a positive difference in our community? In the world in which we live and breathe and work and communicate and interact with broken people?

By all means, we should worship together... as the Church.

By all means, we should serve together... as the Church.

Which is it... heads or tails? Assembly is necessary... but so too is mission, right?

Let's face it: double-sided coins make for good magic tricks. But they aren't real currency.

I don't want to live an empty, meaningless life - too busy or too selfish to serve others. I want to live a full life. A meaningful life.  Eternal life. Don't you?

The Body of Christ

Text related to this week's sermon/discussion at The River: 1 Corinthians 12:4-27

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 

So... if you've ever read Paul's epistles (letters to the churches) in the New Testament, it soon becomes apparent that he really believes that everyone in the body of Christ has a role in serving God's kingdom. No one is a spectator in church... if they have been baptized into the family, then God pours out His Spirit to empower them for service. And it's not an option to hesitate or contemplate... all believers are expected to participate in building up the church.


After 17+ years as a Christian, and a decade in pastoral ministry, I can say without hesitation that it simply don't work that way in good ole' America. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave... and quite frankly, the place of arm-folding unwillingness to get involved or become overextended. I don't think Paul would be able to relate to our time-honored rule of 80/20... do you?


Anyway, I don't know how many churches existed in the city of Corinth when Paul wrote this letter - probably just the one - but in our world churches are pretty numerous to say the least. With so many choices I suppose, combined with a society that is radically-individualistic and consumeristic... churches don't really tend toward diversity in our country. Oh sure, there is some level of diversity in church congregations... but for the most part, we've kind of divided ourselves into various groups of people with shared interests, beliefs, and socioeconomic lifestyles. Me, in all my idealistic beliefs... hmmm,  I just think that's a sad commentary on God's people. I think Paul might agree.


In a somewhat related manner... I guess because of the more-or-less market driven economics of churches today, many if not most people do quite a lot of "shopping around" (in a Goldilocks kind of way) for the church that seems "just right". And, when they find that perfect church that doesn't seem to small, or too big, or too political, or too liberal, or too charismatic, or too doctrinal, or too whatever... they also tend to dip their toes in the water for a very, very long time before they decide to dive in to the community - and therefore find a place to serve God within His body. Unfortunately though, some folks never really come to that place of trust (and obedience)... so instead of getting involved and finding a place to serve... in all practical terms they function as nothing more than permanent visitors over the weeks, months, and years. I don't think they intend to come across with a "serve me" attitude, but that's exactly what they convey when they habitually come late, listen, nod (or shake their head), enjoy a bit of fellowship, throw a few bucks into the offering... and then leave as soon as the service is over... without another thought about church (or kingdom work) until the following Sunday.


That's not participation - especially over time - it's mere observation.... and it's not what Christ wants for His children. Everywhere you go in the New Testament, you hear the same message over and over: When you give your heart to God through Jesus Christ, He transforms your mind and - if you're willing to receive it - gives you an unyielding passion for participation in His glorious kingdom. In fact... in order to demonstrate that He sets our soul on fire and equips us to jump in to this awesome (if not wholly dangerous) new adventure, God generously pours out His Spirit on us and gives us a whole new meaning and purpose - one freed from this world and made fit for His kingdom. And He does not just do this for the beautiful people either... or the rich people... or the popular people... or the brilliant people. Nope, God freely gives His Spirit to anyone and everyone who cries out to Jesus and proclaims Him to be Lord and Savior... to anyone and everyone who has the faith of even a mustard seed!


So imagine how God feels when He gives this precious, heavenly gift to His new creation... only to see them waste it by never even attempting to unwrap it. Instead, it just gets placed in a religious closet and never taken seriously.

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Hmmmm... so here are my questions, Christian believer: What gift has God given you? What is your role in building up the body of Christ? Are you using it for His glory?

A Mighty Wind

Text for this Sunday's sermon/conversation: Acts 1-2 (NLT)

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Wow, if there's anything that someone from Ellensburg, Washington should understand... it would be the power, frustration and sheer unpredictability of the wind. Sure, there are things we can observe about the wind that can help us plan our day... for example: this week a long-term hardcore local resident told me that if it's not very windy in the morning, you can be assured a strong wind won't start up late in the afternoon in our valley. I believed him, because frankly, I'm not a terribly observant person. I've lived here a great portion of my life, and I still couldn't tell you if the wind generally blows in from the North, South, East or West. 


But even for the most observant person in the world... wind is - and will always be - a mystery that cannot be completely contained, described, or understood. Even the gazillion dollar turbines at the Wild Horse wind farm (Northeast of town) can't begin to harness the immense power of the Ellensburg wind. When it's all said and done, all they can really do is take in a small amount of energy at a time. It's kind of like a child trying to pick up his or her newly build sand castle... inefficient at best!


It's that way with the awesome revelation of God too, don't you think? I mean, He's given us resources in which to capture a glimpse of His eternal power and presence... things like Scripture (the story), prayer (the communication), and the Church (the community). However, none of these ordained resources makes much sense in and of themselves. Stories, prayers, and groups of people are a dime a dozen - but the thing that gives them life is the Wind of God... the breath of God... the Spirit of God. However, let me be clear... the Spirit of God is not a what, but a Who. He is the living, breathing Person of God Who makes something from nothing (creation), Who opens our eyes and reveals the love of God to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (salvation) and Who breathes new life into death (resurrection). He is powerful, He is willing, He is able, He is Awesome... and He is good. But nevertheless, we can observe Him... but the Holy Spirit transcends our ability to wrap God up in a neat little package and domesticate Him. 


In Exodus 3:14, God had this to say:  "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"


He is who he is... He gets to make the rules. He determines what is right and wrong. He alone is able to give and take away life. He is the LORD... and He - through the ministry of Christ - died for you. The Wind of God is willing to give you the gift of eternal life... are you willing to accept it?

Smart... yet dumb!

Text: John 10


"I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me."


Well, I finally did it. After carrying around a certified antique for several years now, I stepped into the 21st century. My trusty Motorola that did nothing but make and receive calls (and text at ridiculously slow speeds) has given way to a shiny new smart phone. No, it's not an iPhone, the true techie geek tool of choice... but it is nevertheless a nice phone. So far so good... but geez, what a long learning curve! Anyway... as I'm reading this passage in John's gospel account, I thought about how many ways there are to contact someone these days. Email used to be the "cool" way to communicate, but not so much anymore. Texting isn't bad, but it certainly has space limitations (and thumb keyboards aren't that easy to navigate for us rookies!). These days, many of my friends are Facebookers... now THAT seems to be a popular communication device... cause it networks us together and helps us live life together in a cyber sort of way. Nevertheless, to us old-fashioned types... by far the best way to be comforted than by a friend is - not by reading what they've typed, but - by hearing their actual voice.


As he was apparently talking with his good friends, Jesus told them something strange, and yet something wonderful. He called himself a shepherd... the GOOD shepherd... and referred to them as sheep. Now he was a great rabbi at this point, but I'm sure they wondered why their friend was calling them stupid animals (at least I would have been). But we know the rest of the story. We know that Jesus' voice would be a vitally important thing to the eleven men whose lives were turned upside down after Jesus ascended back to the Father. Now, they may never have "heard" the voice of the good shepherd with their ears, but you can bet they heard him loud and clear with their spiritual ears. Why else would they have subjected themselves to poverty, starvation, and numerous forms of persecution as followers of "The Way" - that ragtag cult of Jesus followers who refused to hail Caesar as Lord. Jesus left them in physical form, but nevertheless, he continued to breathe his grace upon them by his Spirit. One of the names for the Holy Spirit is "Spirit of Revelation..." as in, the very voice of God... the very presence of God... the very power of God, being revealed to His followers, and through them.


Oh, God... reveal Yourself to us as we struggle through this life....


And, oh, God... reveal Yourself to the world THROUGH us, so that your name would be glorified, and lost sheep would find their way home and experience your resurrection. Amen.