One step forward, two steps back

The barista leaned out from the drive-through window to tell the awaiting patrons that the car ahead of them that had just left had graciously paid for their order. Three grande coffees suddenly on the house thanks to the mysterious Mazda now pulling away into the night. To which the driver replied, "We will pay for the car behind us then!"

"Their total comes to $21.97" the barista replied.

There was a tense moment of silence as the pair exchanged suddenly unsure looks. Their order as they had placed it was to come to $5 and some change.

"I'll pay" said the passenger as she passed her debit card from her hand to the driver.

"That was a lot" said the driver.

"Yeah" she said meekly. She craned her neck around to look at the sedan full of college-aged students behind them in the line. "But it's Christmas. Tis the season to 'pay it forward' right?"

The light turned red as they pulled into the left hand turn lane heading home. There leaning on the traffic sign post was a woman with a tattered blue hoodie pulled up over her head. Through the fog, the traffic lights cast bright a red and green haze over the intersection; the glow highlighting her shivering body clutching a cardboard sign. With the light timed so as not to change any time soon, everyone in the car pried the lids off of their coffees. Blowing the steam from the tops of their insulated cups, they all found something else to stare at.

The light turned green and off they went. Leaving the woman and her tattered sign now glowing in their red tail lights mixing in with the green hazy night.

_ _

When we use the Christian sacred act of good will towards others by way of purchasing the Starbucks order of the car behind us, we are "paying it forward". But then to intentionally avoid eye contact with the woman standing in the median clutching a cardboard sign, we essentially neuter the previous message of hope within the body of the Gospel we had originally intended to participate in.

To offer a gift of payment for goods that we could already afford is a kind gesture and it should not be examined as anything other than a hospitable act of affection. It is a step in the right direction. Many acts of random kindness have the ability to change a culture in a positive way. To be the recipient of one of these acts changes the daily pattern of individualism one experiences in this world of consumerism and personal accomplishment. It is nice to know that even though someone did not have to, they were selfless enough to look out for another.

But a step in the right direction begs for the other foot to follow it. Like a pitcher who has just released a ninety mile-an-hour fastball towards the plate. His foot planted firmly in the mound and his toes facing the catcher. His arm creates a momentum so aggressive that his foot that was once wedged against the rubber must now be lifted off and away as his hips carry his leg over and into the grass before him. A movement as big as grace cannot stand alone. The body of Christ responds to the motion of its limbs. And when the feet leap to life, the body responds and follows in sequence.

A pastor once gave a sermon where he encouraged his listeners to, "run as fast as you possibly can towards the Cross. And when you cannot run any farther, your lungs cannot hold another breath, your legs cannot step forward once more, look to your left and look to your right. Whoever is standing next to you in that moment, marry that person." In the Christian journey, it is necessary that this all out sprint be littered with acts of kindness and grace to others one experiences along the way. For the Cross is the goal and not the tasks that direct the path to it.

The journey will be difficult, and at times you may be tested as to which way to head. At times your legs may stumble as one foot directs itself to the fork to the left and the other to the right. But the body must go one way and one way only. It does no good to walk one step in one direction only to undo your deed by walking two steps back to the divide. As God as your guide, the way will be lit with true glowing orientation. Once you have a bearing again, let your first leg follow the other into the light.

It says in Luke 2 that there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest...

and on earth peace...

...good will toward men."

Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!" Peace on earth and mercy mild. God and sinners reconcile.

May we the feet find ourselves charging forward in a coordinated and balanced effort into the message of hope this Christmas. The goal is the Cross. The distance is full of opportunities to tend to the flocks in need of shepherding. At times the route will seem dark and foggy but in fixing your gaze upon Christ, may you never find yourself tripping upon the mixed endeavors of dichotomous Christian charity and intentional averting of attention from those who beg for it. May you instead see God in the eyes of otherwise forgotten children straddling our freeway off-ramps clutching the requests of healing of a broken of spirit. In those moments of recognition, may you be the bringer of good news to those who would flock to hear it if only it were extended and spoken.

This Advent season, may joy be brought to sinners who sip coffee from decorative red cups as well as those who are fixing for more than a jolt of caffeine. May our clemency come from God to be poured out in more ways than the gift of discounted lattes served to those who can afford to be patrons. May our patronage be to the Gospel as we pay out the grace of God forward to those truly in need wherever we may encounter them.  And may you continue to run relentlessly into foggy nights heading steadily towards the beautiful Cross.

No shirt, no shoes, no service

What does it mean to be a pastor in the public square as a man with emotions, preferences, and flaws?

What would it take to view the world through the pastoral lens of, "I may some day be asked to conduct your funeral" so I must therefore exist in harmony with my neighbor? That way, when the music fades in one stream, the harmonious tones create reminiscent memories to who the person who once was. Even if the sound is not the same, we would be able to confidently attest to a kind word that was practiced in life rather than a false word practiced moments before stepping forward to the microphone.

As Christians, our goal is harmonize with the message of Christ as an ever living testament to the will of grace and the love of God. Even if we are aware of our inability to be Christ. While, at times, the world feels like it aspires to follow the boundaries of a convenience store clerk, 'No shirt, no shoes, no service.' In the church, if someone is disagreeable, angry, loose of lips, vengeful, morally corrupt, and dissonant against the pastor and the church, then (knowingly or unwittingly) boundaries are formed. 

But what then is the church to do when faced with the shirtless, the shoeless, and still in need of someone to serve them?

Our lawful signs are no longer useful in ministry in this regard. For the one without clothes and footwear is like the parable Jesus spoke as recorded in the book of Matthew, chapter twenty-five in regard to the Judgment of the Nations. The world is full of those who are hungry and in need of a feast, thirsty and in need of a drink, strange and in need of acceptance, shirtless in need of a change, sick and in need of a cure, imprisoned and in need of freedom.

'No shirt, no shoes, no service' can be a thing of the past on the doors of the church if we let it. We can, and have, regrettably tapped the sign angrily with our finger as we gave them a piece of our mind. But given the chance to do it all over again, what's to keep us from giving them more than a harsh word?

Instead, rejoice in the moments where you are given the chance to harmonize with those who sing a song unusual to that of your average passerby. As you remove your own shirt and lift off your shoes, recognize that you are then standing on holy ground as you serve those who are unable to receive service everywhere else. And listen to the righteous sound it makes as you extend help to the off-beat sister and brother. 

For a time may come when you will be asked to speak on their behalf in their passing. So extend a chance to have them walk a mile in your shoes and live a while in your shirt. May you find yourself unable to enter any convenience store due to a lack of appropriate attire. And instead find yourself nearly bare at the pulpit singing of the amazing grace of a well worn pair of shoes and a tattered shirt. 

How sweet the sound to know that the song we would sing is one of kind assistance. Regardless of the signs that say otherwise.

A service with no shirt and no shoes.

                    

#seminarysleepers

#seminarysleepers

#seminarysleepers

The Arrogance of Education

We were blessed with a story of overwhelming evangelistic success today in a special chapel service. Pastor Sibanda is from Zimbabwe where he began serving in a district of 270 members without any formal theological education or training. Armed with the Bible and the book Christian Service written by Ellen White he began praying for and training his members to visit, care for and study with people in their area. Over the last 6 years the district has grown from 270 members to over 21,000. Yes, you read that right.

The story of care for people was compelling and powerful in spite of the awkwardness of the two pastors trying to help tell it. Growth like this in a church is unheard of in nearly EVERY denomination and especially mind-blowing in the Seventh-day Adventist church. Certainly church leaders and planters are eager to know the formula for success in soul-winning and so Pastor Sibanda is brought to enlighten us.

His words were humble and simple. The formula was embarrassing to an institution whose goal is to sell toolboxes full of soul-winning implements. The answer was simply this: 2-3 hours of prayer for the district, it's people and their struggles; and, read/study the Bible to the point that its words are planted in the mind for further meditation and study when the Bible isn't even physically available; and finally, implementing the methods of service from the book Christian Service.

One of the interviewers really showed the true arrogance of this institution when in response to this he said: "Isn't it amazing what God can do with a young person with no formal training? I'm not saying this to tell you to leave the seminary. But imagine what God could do with someone with the right training?"

Say what??? Does anyone else see the arrogance in this statement?

Here is a man who God has used to grow a district at an astronomical rate and the best we can highlight is that his success would have been greater if he had had more training? Wouldn't it make more sense to highlight that his success probably would have been hindered if he had more formal training?

I can envision this same professor standing up next to Jesus and praising Christ's miracles and ministry and salvation on the cross, but OH, what if Jesus had been formally trained...how much more He could have accomplished!!

Hogwash.

Let's stop patting ourselves on the back for building big institutions and thinking that only the "formally educated" can be successful. Let's praise the work of God in those who are not hindered by their intelligence and degrees. Let's exalt a God who works in spite of our intelligence, education and arrogance. Let's follow the power-filled example of Pastor Sibanda and actually pray the 2-3 hours for our church and fill our minds with the Bible so deeply that we have the Scriptures with us even when the physical Bible isn't present. I find that far more useful than many of the useless facts I'm forced to memorize right now.

We Are Giants

A man once set out to see what he could see. After awhile other men too set out seeking sight outside of what they perceived. Soon it became apparent that the ability of one man would produce only so much vision. And so the men assembled, to see what they could see.

Men standing on the shoulders of men to see farther than they could have alone. What began as a collective journey soon became a riot of haves and have nots. Foundational carcasses below the feet of those above them. Now atop the mound of those sacrificed seeking to see further, but with no one else to stand on top of, soon find themselves moaning under the weight of those who have come after they. 

"We were once the giants" they proclaim meekly before they are permanently affixed as little more than the forgotten past. A piece of the landscape no longer beautiful enough to be admired. Trodden under foot and silenced in the past with every new trek to the ever climbing summit.

"We are the giants!" they shout from the mountain tops. Seeing farther than any before them ever could. With their eyes set on the horizon, scanning what can only be described as their own from atop their perched throne. They are amazed at what a spectacle it is to see. All the while, their shouts of power and ability drown out the groans from below of those who helped them get there. 

And still further down the muffled wails of those on the bottom, deaf, blind and clueless to the world they are now secluded from. "We were once the giants." Though the voices tell that the memories of that truth are rapidly fading away.

Further down still. The shout of the single prophet. Standing on the shoulders of no one. Singing the message to nothing or no one in particular. Simply sharing a word with those who may care to hear. 

"We are merely giants," she belts.

"We are merely giants."