Thoughts from the Weekend (pace yourself :)

1. On Life Together
Here on the blog I often quote the speakers that I listen to most but don't know if I've ever quoted my own pastor. Maybe that's because he mostly speaks in German. :) Tonight, as he explained our church's mission/structure, he said in a single sentence something that, if we truly grasped it, I believe would change the way we think about life, church, and evangelism. He said (translated), "Jesus never invited anyone to church; he invited people to community."

Mother Teresa said that the worst kind of poverty is loneliness. While "church" as an event has a place in our lives, the Church, community - living Christ, should be our lives.

My pastor recently made the observation that there was a time in which the Church had authority - to speak truth into peoples live. As it became institutionalized, it lost its influence but had power. (Might we say oppression?) Today it seems that the Church, too often, lacks a lot more than just authority or power and some even question if it has anything at all. I can only echo the dream of my pastor, a dream for which we pray and labor, that once again the Church will have authority.

People aren't looking for more rules to govern their lives (and even if they are, that's probably not what they need). People aren't looking for something that can bring them down, life provides plenty of that on its own. People are looking for friendship, meaningful conversation, and the opportunity to really share life together and to come alive (to be truly human). And, based on the book of Acts that is part of being the Church.

As Louie Giglio says, "Christ didn't come to make bad people good; he came to make dead people alive." We are looking for life; Christ brought it; we can embrace and share it.

2. On Failure
As I continue to prepare (and gear up) for the Catalyst conference in October (Whoo!), I'm listening to old (but new to me) Catalyst podcasts. Most recently I heard an interview with Mike Huckabee. The former governor of Arkansas (a State I called "home" for awhile. :) What an interesting life story he has! His thoughts on failure were particularly challenging:

...I think if a person has not experienced failure, they've set goals that are embarrassingly low. If everything you've ever touch is successful than you haven't touched very many things above yourself. Part of the experience of being a human being is the experience of reaching far beyond your capacity and knowing that you may fail the first 100 times you attempt it....To achieve something significant, one has to be willing to have many disappointments, many moments of feeling utterly frustrated, but the greatest joys that come from being on top of a mountain are only appreciated when you've been in the lowest of the valleys.

...Life is filled with disappointments...I never want to go back through them, but I learned more from defeat than I ever did from victory. Victory is the easiest thing that one experiences. It's when you can dust yourself off from defeat that you know that you're on the right course. When you can play the game as well as you know to play it, as hard as you can, and you still lose but your willing to get up and say, "I'll go again tomorrow. Next time I'm going to do it better. Next time I'm going to win." Then you know that what you're doing is for the right reason. If you get defeated and the first reaction is, "hey, I'm never going to do that again,"then you probably shouldn't have done it in the first place.

3. On Living in the Tension (Living a Life of Faith)
Now there's something I don't enjoy: tension. And yet we are called to live in it daily. This weekend I talked with a pastor-friend of mine about some of questions and frustrations I have with my life. I think about God's charge to us to care for the widows, orphans, aliens, marginalized, and I look at how I spend my life; it causes tension.

Maybe that's all part of the trampoline of life. We must have springs that anchor us but those springs are the very thing that enable us to bounce, and fly. You don't jump around the edges of the trampoline; you jump in the middle. It is when you are in the middle - balanced between the tensions that you can soar the highest; it's the most fun. Admittedly it is the most scary too.

My friend gave a different example. He talked about the idea of 3 concentric circles. The innermost would be labeled "comfort zone", the middle "faith zone", and outer-most "lunatic" or something to that effect. He talked about our propensity toward living in the comfort zone. Even if we do step out, we are very naturally drawn back there. We must fight against it; we must live in the tension.

As I thought about his example, I was able to better express my feelings and situation. As we step into (and stay) in the faith zone, our comfort zone expands to those places. We take steps of faith; God (once again) proves his faithfulness. Our questions (ability, resources, finances, etc) are answered and it's comfortable.

I stepped out of the comfort zone to participate in a particular area of ministry nearly a year ago and somewhere along the way it became comfortable. Now, when other people come alongside to help, I am able to related to them but also show them that it's not so scary. When we delve further into God's story (and our own humanity) we not only show others how to do the same but we can actually invite people to something bigger than themselves. We come more alive. Did I mention that Christ came to make dead people alive?

...and the final thought I'll share with you (in this post) from this weekend is:

4. Celebrate the Small Things
When children are small we celebrate and encourage them (and rightly so :) even in the smallest things. It helps build their confidence. When they say "please" and "thank you" we express our praise for and appreciation of them using their manners. When they color a picture of who-knows-what we praise their creativity and proudly display their artwork. And when they go "pooh-pooh" or "pee-pee on the potty" we give them a sticker or a skittle and brag about them to other people. I go on the potty, all by myself, and wash my hands without being told, every day, no one congratulates me!

Now, please don't misunderstand me or congratulate me on those "accomplishments". All I'm saying is, maybe it's time we help build the confidence of those around us. When we see people trying, when they make improvements or do a good job, let's tell them. We should let them know we appreciate them or are proud of them. Whether it be a perfect stranger (remember that waitress you tipped extra just to extend some grace?), a co-worker, or a friend. Let's encourage and support the step we see them taking. And, let's even take time to praise God and celebrate the improvements in our own lives. ...Those skittles sound pretty good, I think I'll go have one...