Distractions

Tornadoes in Atlanta.

NCAA Brackets.

Vitriolic words from a pulpit in Chicago.

Super Delegates.

A falling crane in NYC.

It would be easy to be distracted during these days. Today is Palm Sunday. It is the beginning of Holy Week.

Distractions are all around us. They keep us occupied with the mundane when we are called to celebrate the holy.

Here are some great words from the writer of Proverbs.

Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust. 4:23 The Message

I am going to let these words guide my Holy Week journey.

What's guiding your journey these days? Are you distracted?

Just a thought....

Questions

Here are some questions that I have been asking the Leadership Team that I have the privilege of serving with in our local church. They usually arise in the late moments of our monthly meeting and have been fodder for great conversation.

* When was the last time that you invited someone to attend worship with you?
* When was the last time that you invited someone to join you in Sunday School or to accompany you to your Life Group?
* How are you doing on getting acquainted with those sitting next to you who you do not yet know?
* When was the last time your shared the story of what God has done in your life with someone?
* When was the last time that you helped a person find a place of ministry in the life of the church?

We have been wrestling to answer these personally and corporately.

Discovery Channel had a special on Air Traffic Controllers on the other night. I watched with interest when the camera panned over and stopped on the illuminated "radar screen." Airplanes are indicated by a pale green "blip" on the radar screen.

Then it hit me.

Who is on my "radar screen?" I mean who am I aware of that needs to hear His Story?

Is your "radar screen" on and are there people on it?

Just a thought.

Paths

One author recently said, “the road to the future runs through the past.” Reading those words startled me and caused me to stop and think about what that means for me as a pastor and for the church that I serve.

One of my favorite theologians Karl Barth, often said to his classes, “no one dare do contemporary theology until they have mastered classical Christian thought.”

In an age when everything seems to “up for grabs,” there are some anchors that will keep the church steady. Youth For Christ’s slogan seems to capture the spirit well, “Anchored to the Rock, Geared to the Times.”

Today’s church seems to stand in an “in-between” time, a time between what “was” and what “will be.” These are challenging times in which we are called to minister. There are forces that want to take the church back to the “good-ole days,” and there are forces that suggest that our recent heritage should be jettisoned away.

There is an increasing sense that another way needs to be examined. It is the way of exploring the “Ancient-Future” dimensions of the faith.

By way of definition, “Ancient-Future” is an orientation that seeks to allow the rich history of Christian tradition to inform the future shape and character of the church. It asks questions of the “faith of the fathers” and seeks to build a credible faith expression in a world that is largely devoid of absolutes and anchors.

Here is a “crash course” in church history that will help explain the “Ancient-Future” concept.

The 1st century church celebrated Mystery, Community and the Power of Symbol. During the Medieval period the church became institutionalized and structured. At the time of the Reformation, Martin Luther attempted to re-assert the authority of the Word God in a time when the culture slept. Recent history in the Modern period highlighted the importance of Reason, Organizational Structures, and Individualism. We have moved into the Post-Modern Period in which Mystery, Community and the Power of Symbol has resurfaced.

Researchers tell us that the day in which we live is “more like the 1st century than any other period in our culture’s history.” They further suggest that if the church is to make a lasting and favorable impact upon the culture, we must possess an “Ancient-Future” orientation.

I wonder if we are "heading back to the future?"

What do you think?

Signs

There it was...the sign was in a prominent place so that all of the patrons could see.

"No outside beverages allowed."

Borders is a friendly place, but they have rules. They are simple...."if you are going to read here, you have to buy our beverages." Seems simple to me.

Panera Bread doesn't have any signs like that, but they do have free wi-fi.

Their free wi-fi signal makes it possible for me to post today.

Here's the story.

I am sitting in one of my favorite writing spots and I saw it. I couldn't believe my eyes.

She walked into Panera Bread carrying a Starbucks coffee cup. She tried to defend herself to her colleague by saying, "I thought we were meeting at Starbucks this morning."

Think of it...a Starbucks coffee cup in a Panera Bread world.

Then it hit me. Hey, its coffee. Why do we get so worked up about the cup that it is in. It does seem strange to me that Borders has a sign that says, "no outside beverages allowed" and Panera doesn't.

I wonder if Borders has an "outside beverages" police? I wonder if Panera Bread cares?

It made me stop and think. Now I am not comparing Borders and Panera Bread. Don't get me wrong. If they were to shut down I would be lost. Well....not really, but I would experience an existential "lostness" without books and coffee.

Here's the thought.

I was thinking about the church I attend. Are we more concerned about "coffee" or "cups?" Do we have signs that say, "no outside (fill in the blank) allowed?"

Or do we just make people feel a sense of belonging.

There are times when I have felt like a "Starbucks Cup" in a "Panera Bread World." And there have been occasions when I have experienced the type of community that I experience when I walk into Panera Bread or Borders.

Here's one last sign that hangs behind the counter at Panera Bread. "Free wi-fi....and a comfortable, welcoming place to take advantage of it."

I want to hang a sign in the church that I attend that says, "free grace....and a comfortable, welcoming place to take advantage of it."

Pass the coffee...

Submit

Submit.

It is an interesting word.

I see it often when I am working on line. When I pay my car insurance on-line, there is a screen that says "submit" payment. Yesterday I completed my annual reports and was finalizing all of the details, and there was that button, "submit."

I will complete my taxes shortly. There's that word, "submit." I don't mind pushing the button to send the forms, but I don't like the idea of "submit" and the IRS in the same sentence.

What if there was a button that we pushed that indicated our willingness to "submit?"

Here's how it would work.

You are living life and a situation confronts you that makes you have to choose your way or His way. All of a sudden the button pops up. "Submit." Stymied by the option, your mind races. "Should I submit, or is this something that I can handle on my own?"

To often I am willing to try it "my way" and see how far I can get. If I get in over my head, then I am more inclined to push the button and submit.

What would happen if I took off the filter that says, "let me do it my way first," and just decided to "do it His way first."

Matter of fact, that's my new definition of "submit."

I am going to "do it His way first."

Eugene Peterson translates James 4:10 in words that I understand, "Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet."

Submit....how are you doing in this area?

Status

The place where you worship is in “Incline…Decline…Recline.”

The conference presenter moved on quickly. But I was mesmerized by that thought. I couldn’t believe that he said it. But I think he is right.

What about your church? What about the place where you worship? Where is your church along the continuum?

“Well,” you say, “if this or that were different, then our church would be (fill in the blank)”

Here’s the question. It’s an age old question. “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?”

Do healthy people make healthy churches? Or, do healthy churches create healthy people?

Studies tell us that North American churches are experiencing unprecedented decline. Oh, sure there are some striking exceptions to this, but if you look around it seems that churches are experiencing what some observers identify as “flat-line” growth. An oxymoron.

There are a lot of churches that are in “recline.” The reasons are legion.

Then there are churches that are on the “incline.”

At the risk of being over-simplistic, could it be that our churches reflect us, they mirror our spiritual condition?

Just a thought…

Truth

I love this story...

It was a smoke filled room and six guys were sitting around the poker table swapping lies and playing cards.

Everything was fine until the old man McKinley lost $1200 in a single hand. The sheer panic of the loss caused him to clutch his chest and drop dead at the table.

His "card playin'" buddies stood up in a momentary show of respect for their fallen friend.

"Now, who is going to tell his wife?"They draw straws.

Finch who is always a loser, picks the short one.

They tell him to be discreet, be gentle, don't make a bad situation any worse than it is.

Offended he said,"Gentlemen! Discreet? I'm the most discreet man you will ever meet. Discretion is my middle name, leave it to me."

Finch leaves the poker game, walks over to the McKinley's house, knocks on the door, the wife answers, asks what he wants.

Finch says, "Your husband just lost $1200 playing cards."

She screams through the open door, "TELL HIM TO DROP DEAD!"

Finch replies, "I'll tell him."

What a fun story to start the week. Here's a thought.

You can tell the truth and then you can "tell" the truth. Both are important.

Be a "truth-teller" in a world that "trades in lies."

....and that's the truth!