It Sounds Good But...

I just got back from Nicaragua. It was a great trip... once we got there. Discount fare airlines suck.

We helped build a wall at a church there. It was hard, fun, inspiring, tiring, and uplifting all at the same time. I used to worry about not being able to speak Spanish but the truth is there is some good that comes out of that. I kind of like trying to communicate without knowing the language. I imagine it is very similar to what most people feel when trying to communicate to a Christian.

Anyway, the one thing that I am always mindful of is the issue of dependency. Having grown up in a developing country I have seen first hand how much damage it can cause. I have also read a lot about how bad it is and how missionaries have been guilty of it for far too long, especially in Africa.

But here is the kicker. If you ask a missiologist where missionaries have done the most dependency creating they will probably tell you Africa followed by South America. But then if you ask the same person where the center of Christianity is today and they will almost jump out of their shoes to tell you that it isn't the western world but the global south. In other words, Africa and South America. Some how Christianity has grown like mad in spite of our flawed tactics.

I still think that creating dependency is a bad thing. But sometimes I think we have worried so much about it we have developed a paralysis. We're afraid to do anything at all because it might create dependency. So I think we need to chill a bit. Yes, we need to be concerned about dependency but we also need to remember that God can get around our messes.

Competition

P.G. Wodehouse wrote a great short story about a sermon handicapping syndicate in his Wooster series. Bertie and Jeeves go to the country in the summer and find themselves in a quiet rural county with not much else to do. Then they discover that some of Bertie's fellow trust-funders, finding themselves in the same predicament, have set up a betting syndicate to see which of the county's clergy would preach the longest sermon on a particular Sunday. Of course, there are twists and turns with Jeeves ending up the only one coming out on top.

I haven't noticed cash being slipped between shady characters in the back of the sanctuary as I close my sermons but in today's highly competitive world I should probably keep a look out. Our society seems to feel it is obligated to rank and rate just about anything anyone does. We've gotten to the point where we simply can't enjoy something without turning it into a competition.

I feel especially sorry for musicians when it comes to rankings and ratings. I suppose some of them are trying to be the best guitarist, vocalist, etc. but I think the truly great ones are simply trying to express their art. Unfortunately, we can't just enjoy their art. We feel compelled to immediately compare it to every other artist.

I know youtube is a lousy source for research but just look at the comments sometime.(Yes, I know that most of the comments are from idiots.) You can watch Santana playing Samba Pa Ti and in the comments you will inevitably find comparisons to other guitarists. Watch a video of Bocelli and there will be someone pointing out why they think he is so much more inferior to Pavarotti or a host of other tenors. Did he really sing just to prove how good he is compared to others?

I think I would be frustrated if I were a musician like that. If people where constantly comparing me to others they would be missing the point of my music. I think that is sad. Competition has pushed us to accomplish a lot of great things. But, like with most things, there is a dark side.

Learning To Count

I would imagine that a high percentage of pastors have read Reggie McNeal's book The Present Future as well as some of his other leadership books. I recently saw a video of McNeal speaking and was stuck by a couple of his thoughts.

"God counts who is missing." In church we count who is there. God counts the missing boy, son, coin, sheep. Do we count who is missing? Can we name them? If not are we engaged in the right places?

"Our churches have become desalinization plants." He is saying we take salt out of the world.

"The church is not the destination." He uses the example of an airport. When an airport thinks it is the destination and gets all the planes on the ground close to the terminal it messes everyone up in a negative way. The airport is supposed to be a connector. It connects people to the Kingdom.

Some good thoughts to chew on there.