Sometimes very early in the morning I will wake up and not be able to go back to sleep. When that happens I like to go get my I Pod and sit in my favorite chair and tune in to a Christian radio station that plays a variety of "contemporary" Christian songs.
This morning I heard this worship leader talking about how God ordained the church but then He had to choose broken, imperfect people to do the work of ministry. As it turns out, I have been giving this a whole lot of thought in recent days. I could not help but think about Jesus when he stood on a hill overlooking Jerusalem and wept for the people there because of their rejection of Him and their adherence to the law.
At times in her faith journey the church is much like those stubborn people in Jerusalem in Jesus' day. It is so easy to put our focus on things which are NOT eternal but temporal. The church at times will accidentally think it is doing God's will when it actually doing it's own will in God's name. What's the difference? RESULTS!
Now as a spiritual leader in the church I am still one who stands in the need of God's Grace and love and forgiveness. And I'm not at all comfortable with comparing my leadership abilities with those of Jesus but I believe Jesus has put His heart in me. And because of this I believe I can empathize with Jesus when it comes to the struggles of God's people to do the right thing. In recent months the church where I serve has come to the realization that we need to do something rather drastic to reverse the decline in our membership and attendance. We have made very difficult decisions with regard to worship and tried new things. Very recently we have made yet another radical decision with regard to worship, an unpopular one in the minds of a few. And I see this congregation that I have grown to love very much go through the laboring pains of change-and my heart breaks. My heart breaks because I see the passion that people have in terms of their perception of worship. Most of that passion I believe is genuine and good but some of it is very, very negative. My heart breaks because, in some of the conversations I am having with folks I sense the fear of change. Change is not a bad word!
But here's the thing: If the church is of God, and I believe that it is, and if the "gates of hell" shall not prevail against it why should we (i.e. the church) fear change at all? And if we think for one minute that the church will fail without us I believe we are gravely mistaken! If the church chooses not to fulfill its mission then God will raise up somebody else to do it! For centuries principalities and powers have tried to discredit and destroy the church and guess what-we're STILL HERE! And on the flip side of the negativity that often occurs in a local church with regard to change, particularly in worship, let me say that the very fact that we RECOGNIZE a need for change is a good thing! We might be in trouble if we were lukewarm and didn't even know it!
So we have a choice to make, church. We can choose to get angry over change and become disgruntled, discontented and pick up our spiritual toys and go play somewhere else. OR we can accept change and celebrate the great possibilities that God will provide through it and support it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. What's it gonna be?
The Methmusician
Monday, September 03, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
toughness
I was very fortunate growing up on the farm in Southern Ohio. I was the oldest of four children (consequently when I got to high school I tried to get away with the most stuff!), and my mom and dad were both God-fearing, discipline-minded parents who not only taught me right from wrong but also led by example when it came to Christian witness.
My dad never really preached at me much. He never quoted scripture to me or lectured me about morality. In fact both my parents had very high expectations of us kids to live moral lives. And we did - not because our parents told us we might catch some disease if we did not live morally, but because it is the right thing to do. I'm not saying I was perfect. I have not always been a saint! But I am saying that I learned morality and ethics from parents who practiced both. And just for the record, my mom ALWAYS preached to me and CONTINUES to do so at age 81!
Probably as a result of such good influence I always believed that my parents were pretty tough people. Both of them grew up in the country, on farms and with very large families. My dad NEVER took a proper vacation. You NEVER found us jaunting off to Disney World. The only time I got to go to King's Island (an amusement park in Ohio) was with a school or church group.
But my mom and dad worked really hard to make sure we had everything we needed.
And as I said earlier, I thought they both would be around at least for 80-90 years. So when my dad passed away in 1986 I was devastated. He was only 58 years old. I was not prepared to give him up so early in my life. And my mom certainly was not prepared to be a widow at such a young age. But God in God's wisdom took my dad home to be with Him whether we were prepared or not. And really, let's face it who is ever REALLY prepared for death?
So we learned to face life without daddy. Mom sold the farm and moved into Cincinnati and has lived by herself up until about 4 years ago. Then about a year after my dad died, my youngest
brother was killed in a car accident. Again, we were not prepared for this tragedy that rocked our family. Then about a decade later we lost my other brother. He was only 41. I will not go into detail here about all that surrounded his death except to say that he had an addiction.
Life just isn't fair at times.
Then about four or five years ago my sister and I learned that our mom had early on-set Alzheimer's disease. My sister bravely took on the responsibility of caring for our mother and did so gallantly for the past 4+ years. But recently we had to move mom into a long-term care facility because the disease she is plagued with has affected not only her immediate short term memory but her ability to take care of herself. This was one of the toughest decisions that we have ever had to make. And I must admit that I have been mad at God ever since we learned of mom's disease. But the process of getting her into a facility was so incredibly filled with "God moments" that we believe that we have done the right thing. In fact the day she moved she told my sister and I not to worry because she felt "right at home." She actually has a sister who was already a resident of this facility. We have seen God's hand in this very tough decision.
Now I share this intimate story for a couple of reasons. First, for any of you who have loved ones with this hellish disease know that you are not alone. And by the way there are support groups available to help you!
And secondly, don't feel like you're a bad kid by helping your loved one get the care and treatment they need! There are just some things that we cannot do at home that these medical professionals CAN do in a controlled, caring environment. And by the way it does not hurt to shop around a little for the right facility for your loved one. There are many very fine facilities out there but there are some that are not 5-star and tend to give the rest a bad name.
And finally, say some prayers. Pray for your loved one but also pray for your immediate family members (if any) and pray for those people who work in these facilities. It takes a very special kind of heart to accompany your body to work in these places. We are blessed because we have seen the love of Christ in the folks we met in the facility where our mother has now come to call home. Above all, seek the will and purpose of God in any tough family decision. You will find that God is always with you!
The Methmusician
My dad never really preached at me much. He never quoted scripture to me or lectured me about morality. In fact both my parents had very high expectations of us kids to live moral lives. And we did - not because our parents told us we might catch some disease if we did not live morally, but because it is the right thing to do. I'm not saying I was perfect. I have not always been a saint! But I am saying that I learned morality and ethics from parents who practiced both. And just for the record, my mom ALWAYS preached to me and CONTINUES to do so at age 81!
Probably as a result of such good influence I always believed that my parents were pretty tough people. Both of them grew up in the country, on farms and with very large families. My dad NEVER took a proper vacation. You NEVER found us jaunting off to Disney World. The only time I got to go to King's Island (an amusement park in Ohio) was with a school or church group.
But my mom and dad worked really hard to make sure we had everything we needed.
And as I said earlier, I thought they both would be around at least for 80-90 years. So when my dad passed away in 1986 I was devastated. He was only 58 years old. I was not prepared to give him up so early in my life. And my mom certainly was not prepared to be a widow at such a young age. But God in God's wisdom took my dad home to be with Him whether we were prepared or not. And really, let's face it who is ever REALLY prepared for death?
So we learned to face life without daddy. Mom sold the farm and moved into Cincinnati and has lived by herself up until about 4 years ago. Then about a year after my dad died, my youngest
brother was killed in a car accident. Again, we were not prepared for this tragedy that rocked our family. Then about a decade later we lost my other brother. He was only 41. I will not go into detail here about all that surrounded his death except to say that he had an addiction.
Life just isn't fair at times.
Then about four or five years ago my sister and I learned that our mom had early on-set Alzheimer's disease. My sister bravely took on the responsibility of caring for our mother and did so gallantly for the past 4+ years. But recently we had to move mom into a long-term care facility because the disease she is plagued with has affected not only her immediate short term memory but her ability to take care of herself. This was one of the toughest decisions that we have ever had to make. And I must admit that I have been mad at God ever since we learned of mom's disease. But the process of getting her into a facility was so incredibly filled with "God moments" that we believe that we have done the right thing. In fact the day she moved she told my sister and I not to worry because she felt "right at home." She actually has a sister who was already a resident of this facility. We have seen God's hand in this very tough decision.
Now I share this intimate story for a couple of reasons. First, for any of you who have loved ones with this hellish disease know that you are not alone. And by the way there are support groups available to help you!
And secondly, don't feel like you're a bad kid by helping your loved one get the care and treatment they need! There are just some things that we cannot do at home that these medical professionals CAN do in a controlled, caring environment. And by the way it does not hurt to shop around a little for the right facility for your loved one. There are many very fine facilities out there but there are some that are not 5-star and tend to give the rest a bad name.
And finally, say some prayers. Pray for your loved one but also pray for your immediate family members (if any) and pray for those people who work in these facilities. It takes a very special kind of heart to accompany your body to work in these places. We are blessed because we have seen the love of Christ in the folks we met in the facility where our mother has now come to call home. Above all, seek the will and purpose of God in any tough family decision. You will find that God is always with you!
The Methmusician
Friday, February 10, 2012
what if we miss it?
Recently a close friend of mine told me about a local church here in our community that actually turned away a young man because he was wearing piercings. That same congregation turned away a young woman who wanted to participate in a relatives funeral because she was wearing slacks.
A few years ago I was traveling with a semi-professional Gospel quartet and at one our "gigs" all the members of the group (there were about 8 of us) were asked to remove ALL of our jewelry, including our wedding rings before we could sing. Another time we had a couple of "suits" come to one of our rehearsals to make sure our HAIR wasn't too long. As it turned out me and the bass player had to get a haircut before we could sing in this church.
I really wonder sometimes if people in the church completely forget why we're here. I would be really shocked when, we "we all get to heaven" the Lord looks at you and me and says "sorry you cannot enter Heaven cause you're hair's too long," or "you are not properly dressed." It would be a shame if we Christians lived our entire life being so Heavenly minded that we're no earthly good! What a waste for us and for the Kingdom really if we should come to the end of our life here on earth and suddenly realize that it doesn't really matter that not everybody worships or serves God JUST LIKE ME! Let me tell you what really matters. What really matters now and in the end is our relationship to GOD. I don't really believe that God will meet us in Glory and be concerned about our body piercings or our clothes. What he is going to be concerned about is whether or not we have asked Him to forgive us of our sins. Our relationship with Jesus is what matters!
Mike Warnke tells a story about a church that builds a wonderful new Sanctuary to accommodate their growth. They hire an artist to come in paint murals of key Biblical stories all around the church (which was apparently built in the round). But in the scene depicting the Creation he has Adam with a belly button. And so arose this great theological debate in this church as to whether or not Adam did actually have a belly button. One group said that he did because he was the prototype of all men. Another group said no he did not because he had no earthly mother, therefore no umbilical cord therefore no belly button. Warnke makes a good point when he says "meanwhile people who live within walking distance of that church are dying and going to hell - not because they don't know about belly buttons, but because they don't see the children of the Most high God acting like it!
So please,Christian, for the sake of the Call, let's make sure we keep the main thing the main thing! Let us not get ourselves so wrapped up in legalism that we forget about Grace!
Until Next Time,
The Methmusiciain
A few years ago I was traveling with a semi-professional Gospel quartet and at one our "gigs" all the members of the group (there were about 8 of us) were asked to remove ALL of our jewelry, including our wedding rings before we could sing. Another time we had a couple of "suits" come to one of our rehearsals to make sure our HAIR wasn't too long. As it turned out me and the bass player had to get a haircut before we could sing in this church.
I really wonder sometimes if people in the church completely forget why we're here. I would be really shocked when, we "we all get to heaven" the Lord looks at you and me and says "sorry you cannot enter Heaven cause you're hair's too long," or "you are not properly dressed." It would be a shame if we Christians lived our entire life being so Heavenly minded that we're no earthly good! What a waste for us and for the Kingdom really if we should come to the end of our life here on earth and suddenly realize that it doesn't really matter that not everybody worships or serves God JUST LIKE ME! Let me tell you what really matters. What really matters now and in the end is our relationship to GOD. I don't really believe that God will meet us in Glory and be concerned about our body piercings or our clothes. What he is going to be concerned about is whether or not we have asked Him to forgive us of our sins. Our relationship with Jesus is what matters!
Mike Warnke tells a story about a church that builds a wonderful new Sanctuary to accommodate their growth. They hire an artist to come in paint murals of key Biblical stories all around the church (which was apparently built in the round). But in the scene depicting the Creation he has Adam with a belly button. And so arose this great theological debate in this church as to whether or not Adam did actually have a belly button. One group said that he did because he was the prototype of all men. Another group said no he did not because he had no earthly mother, therefore no umbilical cord therefore no belly button. Warnke makes a good point when he says "meanwhile people who live within walking distance of that church are dying and going to hell - not because they don't know about belly buttons, but because they don't see the children of the Most high God acting like it!
So please,Christian, for the sake of the Call, let's make sure we keep the main thing the main thing! Let us not get ourselves so wrapped up in legalism that we forget about Grace!
Until Next Time,
The Methmusiciain
Monday, January 30, 2012
Love from a pre-schooler
Our pastor and I do what we lovingly call "chapel" time for the preschoolers in our church. We meet each Tuesday and Wednesday morning (surprisingly) in the Chapel for about 10 minutes of singing and then our pastor does a great object lesson.
The other day at chapel, I had just finished leading the song part of Chapel and sat down on the front pew. As our pastor was beginning his devotion a little guy sitting behind (whose name I can never remember) leaned up and pulled on my sleeve. "Hey," he says, "I love you!" I felt my heart "strangely warmed!" I leaned back to him and said "Hey! I love you too!"
Right at that moment I thought about that story in Scripture where some of the people were bringing kids to Jesus to be blessed and His disciples said "get those kids out of here! Jesus is a really important guy and He doesn't have time for this kind of stuff!" But do you remember what Jesus said? He said "leave these kids alone! The Kingdom of God is made up of people like this!" And he proceeded to lay hands those children and blessing them before He moved on to the next ministry op.
Jesus loves kids. And so do I. I was also reminded that day that we parents have a HUGE responsibility to lead our kids to Jesus. In addition, the CHURCH has a responsibility too to help the parents help their kids learn and live the Faith. There is also the reality that there a many children out there who do not experience love, provision or moral guidance because their parents don't know how to parent. Worse yet, there are kids who are verbally, emotionally and even physically abused by parent figures or relatives. And because the divorce rate is so shamefully high in this country, we have been forced to redefine "family" and as a result we have kids with two or three sets of parents, two or three mothers or fathers and some who never know their parents. It's sad ya know. I long for the days when family was defined by a Mom and Dad who genuinely love each other and they and their kids were God-fearing people.
And yet, in that one little moment during Chapel time that day I caught a glimpse of something very real, very healthy and very sweet. And while the little boy whose name I can never remember might not realize it, I caught a glimpse of the simple love of God between us-real, unconditional love! What a blessing!
The other day at chapel, I had just finished leading the song part of Chapel and sat down on the front pew. As our pastor was beginning his devotion a little guy sitting behind (whose name I can never remember) leaned up and pulled on my sleeve. "Hey," he says, "I love you!" I felt my heart "strangely warmed!" I leaned back to him and said "Hey! I love you too!"
Right at that moment I thought about that story in Scripture where some of the people were bringing kids to Jesus to be blessed and His disciples said "get those kids out of here! Jesus is a really important guy and He doesn't have time for this kind of stuff!" But do you remember what Jesus said? He said "leave these kids alone! The Kingdom of God is made up of people like this!" And he proceeded to lay hands those children and blessing them before He moved on to the next ministry op.
Jesus loves kids. And so do I. I was also reminded that day that we parents have a HUGE responsibility to lead our kids to Jesus. In addition, the CHURCH has a responsibility too to help the parents help their kids learn and live the Faith. There is also the reality that there a many children out there who do not experience love, provision or moral guidance because their parents don't know how to parent. Worse yet, there are kids who are verbally, emotionally and even physically abused by parent figures or relatives. And because the divorce rate is so shamefully high in this country, we have been forced to redefine "family" and as a result we have kids with two or three sets of parents, two or three mothers or fathers and some who never know their parents. It's sad ya know. I long for the days when family was defined by a Mom and Dad who genuinely love each other and they and their kids were God-fearing people.
And yet, in that one little moment during Chapel time that day I caught a glimpse of something very real, very healthy and very sweet. And while the little boy whose name I can never remember might not realize it, I caught a glimpse of the simple love of God between us-real, unconditional love! What a blessing!
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