Black Forest

In the Black Forest near Calw. Had a long overnight flight so we are taking it easy today. It is kind of rainy here today but much cooler than Indiana.

Follower - Leader

I sometimes get frustrated with the emphasis on leadership in the church. Apparently that is the problem with the church today. I had someone kind of laugh the other day when they saw all the leadership books I own. We got to talking and he said that all the books, seminars, etc. are almost exactly what he goes through in the business world.

I have always thought that what the church needs is more people head-over-heels in love with Jesus. Not just "fully devoted" but compelled to be "fully devoted" because of their love.

Maybe that is the problem with the church. Maybe we need to focus on getting all of us pastors to be great followers of Jesus and not worry so much about the leadership aspect of it. Is it possible that great followers of Jesus would be led by the Spirit to empower those within their churches who have real leadership ability?

Fulltime or Bi-vocational

I have a son who is in a Bible Study in his dorm at IU. One day the leader told the group he would give a dollar to the first one who could name the Apostle Paul's trade. My son was shocked that he was the only one who knew. That might say something about biblical literacy today but I actually want to write about bi-vocational ministry so I thought I would start out by bringing up Paul.

Bi-vocational ministry is getting a lot of talk lately and most of it is positive. It allows for more access for ministry because it removes a major barrier, finances, which is especially important if you want to minister anywhere other than upper-middle class suburbs. It also gets people in ministry out of their cocoon and into the "real" world where they come face to face with the problems, struggles, and pain that most people face. And since everyone is supposed to be a minister anyway what's the use in having paid full-timers? Many times I've thought about becoming bi-vocational myself because I sometimes feel a disconnect between those I minister to/with and me. Several people have suggested that bi-vocational ministry will continue to be, not just a significant avenue for ministry, but should actually be THE preferred route considering the more hostile society seems to be toward Christianity.

Big mistake. Certainly there is room for bi-vocational ministry and that will continue to be the case. There are definite advantages to it and that makes it the only feasible means in many instances. But to hold it up as the ultimate way to minister is mis-guided. I have intentionally avoided going into biblical basis for each side because I believe both are supported and encouraged. But full-time ministers are important too.

In one of his books, Eugene Peterson talks about the "poised harpooner." His metaphor is a chase boat from the whaling days where he describes the frantic rowing of the crew as they chase down a whale. The frantic rowing is contrasted by the lone harpooner who calmly waits for the moment to strike. Peterson points out that to do his job of guiding the skiff as it follows a whale and then throwing the harpoon effectively the harpooner cannot be frantically rowing too. If he was, they wouldn't know which direction to row, and if they did happen to run into a whale no one would be in condition to make an accurate throw.

I think in the rush to support bi-vocational ministry we forget this crucial aspect of the full-timers. This is especially sad when the decision is based on, not really a lack of finances, but, simply the fact that the congregation begrudges paying the pastor. That speaks more about a spiritual condition than a financial one.

Let me make clear that I hold many bi-vocational pastors in high regard. I think they are doing the right think for their context and I think that will be the case in the future. If I felt God wanted me to do it too I wouldn't hesitate for a minute. But I am perfectly at peace with being a full-time minister and I think we need to be sure that it maintains it's standing has a legitimate form of ministry too.

Evaluating Church

It is that time of year again, to fill out annual reports on my church and send them in to the denomination. Every year I wonder what all those numbers really mean. Sometimes I think whoever reads my reports (Ha Ha) will get the absolute opposite impression than I have of my church. Sometimes the numbers will look good but because I know the story behind them I know they really aren't. And sometimes the numbers will look not so good and I will be excited about how things are going.

At any rate, evaluating church is always a big topic for discussion. I don't remember who the quote is originally attributed to but it states, "What gets measured, gets done." I could rewrite the last half a number of ways, ("What gets measured, gets fudged.") but the point is that there seems to be a consensus that we must have a way of measuring our effectiveness. I think there is truth in that but I seriously question what exactly we should measure.

Reggie McNeal talks about changing the scorecard, meaning that we need to start measuring the right things. I agree but I have a tendency to not stop until I have reached the ultimate end of the means. That leaves me with the question of how we have impacted the world around us. So really we should be measuring things like crime statistics, education levels, divorce rates, and the like. Seems like that would tell us something about how we are doing as a church. Can you imagine if those were the numbers every church had to supply in their annual reports? I bet there would be a lot more collaboration.

But then I thought I should look at the Bible and see what it has to say about evaluating churches. Novel idea, huh? There are a few times when numbers are used. The 2nd chapter of Acts is a prime example. We also read quite a bit about producing fruit and the fruit of the Spirit. Of course some of that is personal and may not necessarily refer to a church. However, there is one passage where God evaluates churches so that is where I camped out.

In the book of Revelation the 2nd and 3rd chapters give us God's evaluation of 7 churches. I listed all the positive things God had to say, all the negative things he had to say, all the admonitions, and all the words of encouragement. I came up with 4 areas that God seems to really care about when evaluating a church. The first one that comes through loud and clear is love. He comes down very hard on the Ephesian church for having lost it's first love. In the book of Ephesians Paul tells us that this church had a great love for God and a great love for others (1:15,16), so it seems that must be the first love that they lost. God cares if a church has a true love for God and others.

The second is faithful perseverance. Some of the churches seem to be going through very difficult times. They were probably churches that we would be quick to write off today. God even calls one of them weak. But they are praised for their faithful perseverance. Faithfulness gets a bad rap today because it can easily be used as an excuse for laziness or ineffectiveness. But my guess is faithful perseverance will become even more difficult in the days ahead.

The third is purity/spiritual vitality. Maybe I shouldn't lump these two together but I wanted to keep the list short. Purity isn't highly regarded today as it used to be but God seems to take it very seriously. Robert Bork used the phrase "slouching towards Gomorrah" and I think that pretty accurately describes a lot of what goes on in churches today. It is incredible how much the Bible is interpreted based on what we humans want it to say. I give a lot of latitude with various interpretations of events described in the Scripture but not when there is a direct moral command regarding faith and practice. Sorry but that is too risky. God wants purity.

He also condemns churches for being dead or luke-warm. I put this one under purity but maybe it should stand on its own. It seems to go along with love. God wants people who are passionate about their love for him and for others. Passionate people seem much more likely to remain faithful and to persevere. So is our church alive?

The fourth area that God evaluates is service and hard work. Again, I threw these two together but they could easily be separated. In this day and age this seems to address the social gospel issue. There is a long history behind the social gospel story but it is really both. God cares about our purity, faithfulness, and love for him, but he also cares about our compassion and service to others. We need to work hard at our service rather than just jump in when it is convenient. We have an obligation to do so as good citizens of the Kingdom.

So there you have it. If you a really want to evaluate your church ask yourself these 4 (or 5 or 6) questions and see how you do. Now if I can just think of a way to quantify it so I can send in the numbers. Do you think my denomination will be amused if I send in Likert scores for each of these areas?

And Another Thing

I usually try to keep an open mind about things but sometimes I just get tired of it all. I just don't care what people think and some things just need to be said. So here are a few things I would like to get off my chest before the end of the year.

Tattoos are ridiculous. Really, what is the purpose? Are we so desperate to express our individuality that we need to permanently mark ourselves? I have yet to see a tattoo that I thought really had staying power. I have never seen a painting that I would want permanently attached to my living room wall. How can people suddenly decide that they want something permanently tattooed to their bodies?

This leads me to piercings. Whoever thought that was a good idea? What purpose does a stud in the side of your face serve? How strong is peer pressure that people will mutilate themselves like that just to fit in.

And finally, coffee. Why can't there be a coffee shop where there are no flavors other than coffee and the only options are in terms of size and strength? The should have strengths from 1 to 10 with 1 being slightly tan and 10 being burned black. You could just walk in and say, "Give me a 6 large," and be done with it.

Well, that's about it. I am ready for 2012. I think I'm getting grouchy in my old age.

The Good Citizen

The point has been made repeatedly that our emphasis needs to be on the Kingdom of God. Jesus constantly talks about the Kingdom and when he uses the word "Church" he is still talking about the Kingdom. Of course, scripture also says a lot about the local church but it is always in support of the Kingdom. But what does that mean for the local church and individual followers of Jesus?

In the "Lord's Prayer" Jesus lays out the Kingdom mission when he prays, "They Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." We understand then that we are to live in light of this mission. But what does that mean? I think we have a tendency to make it a lot more difficult to understand than it is.

One thing that we understand quite well is good citizenship. Not they we necessarily see a lot of good citizenship but we understand the concept and we talk a lot about it. though there are some significant differences I think we can apply our understanding of citizenship with being a citizen of the Kingdom.

A good citizen does his part for his country. He wants what his best for his country and understands that he has a responsibility to his country to do his best to make his country the best it can be. A good citizen is required to use his gifts and abilities for the good of his country. He has a part to play on a national level as well as regional and local level though most of the focus for most citizens will be at the local level where he wants what is best for his community and fellow citizens. He is obligated to represent his country well where ever he goes and what ever circumstances he finds himself in.

A bad citizen doesn't feel this responsibility and obligation. He lives with a sense of entitlement and has an adversarial relationship with a good percentage of his fellow citizens. He feels no compulsion to serve his fellow citizens or his country because he believes it is the responsibility of his state to serve him. He wants all the benefits of the state without having to make a contribution of his own.

The same holds true for the Kingdom of God. 1 Peter 4:10 says, "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, administering God's grace in its various forms." As a citizen of the Kingdom I have a responsibility to use my gifts and abilities to serve others. I need an "ends of the earth" perspective but I spend most of my time and effort locally. I am not simply a receptacle of God's grace, I also do my part in administering God's grace. I need to be a close observer of my local community and do my part to help it reflect the Kingdom positively.

It is easy for citizens of the Kingdom of God to simply sit back and expect the King to take care of all the problems in our location. It is easy to ignore our responsibility and obligation in that process. It is easy to blame our fellow citizens for the problems. It is easy to care little about the well being of our fellow citizens and proclaim they deserve what they get. But that is being a bad citizen of the Kingdom.

With the high level of patriotism we have in the USA you would think we would understand what it means to be a good citizen. How much more should be good citizens of the Kingdom of God.