Great Things for the Kingdom

I'm both jazzed and worn-out by a really powerful and challenging weekend in our church. We're going to spend from now until Palm Sunday (April 5) praying, fasting, and talking about very specific prescriptions we've been given, designed to make us as healthy and strong as possible in order to make new disciples.

Feeling really excited and hopeful, but without a lot of energy for the moment, I don't have much to post right now. I'll have more later in the week as I process all this. For this moment, I submit this thought. (Not originally from me...) Great things for the Kingdom of God happen when it doesn't matter who sees the result and it doesn't matter who gets the credit.

Nice stretch of the river right now. Rough rapids may be ahead, but the mainstream is headed in the right direction. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Diagnosis

This weekend our church is involved in a diagnostic process with some of the denominational leaders in our state. The process is designed to help congregations become as healthy as they can be in order to best fulfill the mission of making new disciples for Jesus in our particular area. I'm excited about the potential outcome of this weekend's work, though there is some anxiety associated with it. That's always the case when we're asked to yield our control and trust God fully.

Part of the process is hard, as each of us are asked to face the ways we have not been faithful to the great commission of Matthew 28:19. No one likes to see where we've fallen short. We'd all rather hear how well we've done in certain areas as opposed to how we've failed in other areas. I suspect this is what keeps a lot of churches from self-examination and from steps toward health.

I guess it's kind of like experiencing a certain set of physical symptoms, and finally going to a physician. If diagnostic work reveals heart disease, it's not particularly helpful for the doctor to go on and on, saying, "My goodness your lungs are in good shape. Your eyesight is wonderful for a person you're age. And your skin; sure sure take care of your skin well." The heart disease needs to be named, and a treatment plan needs to be formed.

It's hard. I imagine that people diagnosed with heart disease or cancer are frustrated by being defined by the disease, regardless of how well they are doing or have done in other health areas. But, until the debilitating or potentially fatal condition is identified and addressed, all other health is in jeopardy.

Ultimately, it is the health of the Body of Christ and the fulfillment of Jesus' missional command that matters. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

What a "Win" Looks Like

The business world has the concept of "clarifying the win." Make sure the team knows what success looks like, so they'll know that for which to aim. God's ambassador Paul referred to this as hitting the mark, using an archery-related metaphor. Sometimes churches act confused about the "win" or hitting the mark. Is it worship attendance increase? Is it more money in the offering plate? Is it getting more church members? Is it keeping everyone happy?

About a year ago a man made his way to our congregation with no invitation. He was the exception rather than the rule. He came sight unseen to a place in which he knew no one. With a nominal church background at best, and no faith life for years, his life circumstance made him a bold seeker. He came to worship in hope; he did not know for what he hoped. He began to inquire about what a relationship with Christ would mean. He was invited into groups in which he slowly began to experiment with a daily walk with Christ, beginning the process of becoming anchored in the word and experiencing discipleship growth.

In our recent recovery from a devastating ice storm, this man offered his services to help with the clean up, thus demonstrating a servant's heart. In a few weeks, with some fear but with a great deal of faith, he will record his testimony of his faith journey, so it can be seen by all our worship services, and he can begin the process of sharing faith with others. Recently, with tears of joy, he shared with me how the Lord led he and his wife together to take a leap of faith and to tithe.

This man is a "win" for the mission of the Body of Christ. He is hitting the mark. That's the goal; to make people who are committed to Christ, who have a daily walk with Christ, who are anchored in the Word, who experience discipleship growth, who have a servant's heart, who worship, who tithe, and who share faith with others.

May his tribe increase. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Are You In the Right Place?

Well, again I'm struggling to keep up with trying to post at least three times a week. Storm recovery and clean-up is like having a second job for many people in our area. And so, so many folks are working at it way harder and longer than I am. Law enforcement personnel, utility company workers, shelter volunteers and so many more are working around the clock. They are the real heroes.

I'm ashamed to say that one good selfish thing has come out of all of this. I have a new toy - a 16 inch cut chain saw. (I may have mentioned this in an earlier post.) A chain saw is a guy thing, producing the same rush of however much testosterone there is left for a 50+ year old as a power drill, a four wheel drive, and picking the winner of the NCAA Tournament. Most people who know me are pretty worried about it, but, so far, I still have all ten fingers and toes.

In our ice storm recovery, I've gravitated to small limb cutting and removal, trying to help older people and poor people get their yards cleared. I learned quickly that I can only do the small stuff. I don't have the tool or the skill to manage large limb or tree trunks, or especially any broken branches that are still lodged up in trees. If I was to try to do that kind of thing, I would be in the wrong place. The thing we've all been trying to sort out in our town is where each of us fit in for the goal of overall recovery. No one of us can do it all, but we all have a place where we can contribute.

For those of you who are Jesus followers, how are you contributing to the goal of introducing people to Jesus and molding them as disciples? What is your specific contribution? Are you doing too many things, and getting worn down? Are you not doing anything, and thus not using whatever gifts God has given you to contribute to the mission? Do you know your gifts of the Holy Spirit and how God has equipped you? (Google "Equipped for Every Good Work" to find out.)

Today I met with a faith searcher who discovered that God may have prepared him for a role in evangelism ministry. He was inspired by a meeting on Saturday in which a state leader in our denomination spoke about the Church's disciple-making mission. The blend of his gifts of the Holy Spirit and his personality lean him toward witnessing type mission. It's a joy to see the excitement in a relatively new Jesus follower who is discovering the right place for him to contribute to the overall goal.

Are you in the right place? If so, serve the Lord with gladness! If not, what would it take to get you there? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Ice Storm Postscript

I'm going to break from my usual content and use this post as a way to disseminate information about our post-ice storm situation here.

Sikeston is slowly digging out from the storm of the century. As of today (Friday, February 6) we're down to about 35% without power. Our law enforcement personnel, utility personnel, and city leaders have been stellar through all this; working long hours and sacrificing a lot. As with every other place affected by the storm last week, damage is extensive. We've lost the bulk of our tree cover, and downed trees and limbs have wreaked havoc for many houses and commercial structures.

As is always the case, the poor and elderly are suffering the most. Followers of Jesus need to answer the call to risk-taking mission and service in a profound way. I'm grateful for how the Christ-followers at First United Methodist of Sikeston have seen this event as God speaking to us about having a servant's heart. Our facility will now be a staging center for Volunteers in Mission work in our area. For the last week church folks have been preparing, delivering, and serving food daily to our local utility workers and the many out-of-town crews that are here. In addition, another group from our church has been preparing and serving a meal a day to our law enforcement personnel. Last Sunday many of our people gathered at the Sikeston High School Field House, a Red Cross warming center, to provide a worship service there. Through the storm we worked to locate and check on home bound persons, delivering them to warming centers, if needs be. This week church folks distributed emergency and help information in neighborhoods still without power. Now we're creating chain-saw and clean up crews to begin to work on the properties of the people who need it most. And many, many other congregations in our area are stepping up similar ways and in other ways as well. Followers of Jesus all over our region have chosen to see this as a call from God.

As bad as it has been here, it is infinitely worse in other places. In Kennett, Missouri, for example, 80% of the people are still without power. Western Kentucky counties have been particularly hard hit. Please pray for these people, and, where you can, help out with gifts and/or hands-on involvement. For those of you who are in United Methodist connections, our district disaster response coordinator is Jim Mills. (573-380-6699)

The river's been icy and scary lately, but it's still flowing with resolute determination. I'll see you around the next bend.