I'm Not Sure That Word Means What You Think It Means

I wonder the same thing about us church leaders when we talk about team work. Team work is a staple of our country. In our sports we like flair and sizzle but the bottom line is how well the group works together as a team. We believe that team work can overcome any one's individual talent. But I'm beginning to think we are simply giving lip service to the idea and I'm not sure we really believe it.

The Bible talks about team work, especially Paul. He talks about being one body made up of many parts and he does an outstanding job of showing how each individual part is important and how each part should stick to its role.

I think Paul brings it up because his audience is Greek and their understanding of team work is a little different than that of the Hebrews. Western teachers who work in eastern countries have long known that there is a difference in world view about this and it affects how they teach. To eastern and primitive minds the highest cause is the whole. The whole takes precedence over the individual. They put things together while we tear them apart. Give them an atom and they'll want to know how it fits together with other atoms to make a whole. Give us western minds an atom and we'll want to know how to split it.

To the western mind the highest value lies within the individual. Individual rights are most important. The trick for government is to some how maintain order without impinging on individual rights. We seek to find the most basic element.

So Paul explains how this team work stuff is supposed to work because the Greeks, like us, have a harder time thinking in terms of the whole. It is a familiar passage of Scripture and we know it well. We nod accent to it because we like the idea of being part of a team. Sort of. We just can't bring ourselves to accept it.

Instead we come up with slogans like "Each One Reach One" and when some one asks about team work we respond that we agree with it but then add that it is still the obligation of everyone to lead people to Jesus. Apparently we really don't do that as a team. Instead we all get to be the "mouth" for that. But what else is this body for?

I heard someone say once that we should pray for the evangelist among us to rise up and do their job. It wasn't so much as a condemnation of the evangelists but, rather, the rest of us who keep getting in the way. When I see a lot of embarrassing things done in the name of Jesus I tend to agree. We would be better off if everyone would stop trying to "win one" and get out of the way of those gifted to do it. We should go back to our support roles, those things we are gifted to do. Or don't we really believe in spiritual gifts either?

Team work? I don't think it means what we think it means.

Sunday Morning Small Groups

One of the struggles I have is getting our congregation to focus on God for a time of worship. The problem is that the barriers to this are good things. We have traditionally given time to people to share their prayer requests and praises. We have avoided the "too much information" problems usually associated with this, though it was beginning to become a problem recently. The thing is, this time can be emotional, pull on the heart strings, pull us together kind of moments, so no one wants to give them up.

But here is the problem, this stuff is important but it should be done in a small group and not during the Sunday Worship Service. We have around 90 people show up for worship so we know it is already way beyond a small group. Nevertheless, there are always several people willing to share their prayer requests. However, the majority sit quietly, probably shocked at how personal some people are willing to be.

There is also a logical limit to how much time can be spent on listening to praises and prayer requests so growth is limited. No matter what size we become as a church it will only be practical to give the same amount of time to it. That means we will probably have the same people involved while an even greater number will be spectators. It will also be a greater number who are less interested because they won't be as close to those people sharing and they will most likely be bored and find there way somewhere else.

This is a major problem in small churches. Because of the intimacy they don't feel a need to join a small group because they get their needs taken care of in the worship service. That's why it is hard to start small groups in small churches. But that's the very thing that keeps those churches from growing. (My cynical side would suggest that some people fight for things precisely to keep things small.)

I suppose this is a good advertisement for a house church but there is a real danger there too. No matter what size church you have you aren't exempted from the Great Commission. That means a house church should be multiplying itself like crazy and I think a lot of people struggle with that kind of instability. Either way people are going to feel uncomfortable.

Convertibles

I went to the Ritz Lecture at Winebrenner Theological Seminary (or is it Wineberry) last week to hear Scott McNight's lectures on conversion. It was worth the trip but I have to say some of the usual conference irritations cropped up.

The number one annoyance was the Q & A session. The questioner would start to ask a question and then stop and continue on for 5 minutes about what they thought. With all due respect, I really don't care what they think in that situation. I just wish they would ask a question and let the man answer. It was way too big of a group for the kind of dialogue they were looking for. Go home and blog about it if you have more to say.

As far as conversion, I came away with a couple of thoughts. At one point he talked about why some people move to apostasy. If my summary is correct, one of the reasons for this is that the Christians such a person is in fellowship with are too dogmatic. He also talked about the move from protestant evangelicalism to catholicism. Ironically, it seems that one of the reasons for this move is that the former isn't dogmatic enough.

I also came away thinking that a lot of leaders and fellow pastors I know are bothered by a topic like conversion if it suggests anything other than what they believe. A couple of churches I know present themselves as "safe places to explore Christianity." I think a lot of pastors would like a safe place to do the same.

My Daughter's First Hair Cut

My daughter is 9 years old and had her first hair cut yesterday. She has actually had it trimmed about three times but that's it. She loved her long hair. Have you ever noticed that in all those children's movies the princess usually has long blond hair? That's what she wanted to be so she would never hear of getting it cut.

About a year or so ago my wife mentioned to her that some people cut their hair and give it to organizations who use it to make wigs for cancer patients. Apparently that stuck in her head and a few days ago she said she wanted to do that. So off she went yesterday and had about 16 inches cut off.

I kept staring at her last night. She just looks so different. So far she is thrilled because one of the Fort Wayne newspapers came to take her picture and she was on the front page this morning. I hope Locks of Love can put the hair to good use. And I hope Gabby continues to develop a heart willing to sacrifice things she cares about to help other people.

All In The Words

Each Sunday morning our church has a worship service. My friend Dan calls what they do at his church a worship "gathering" instead. It ticks me off because "gathering" sounds so much cooler than a service. I'm sure I have been told why he calls it that but I don't remember off hand.

I would probably call our service a gathering too but it just doesn't seem to fit. I remember a creepy short story I had to read in school called "The Lottery" where the towns people gathered together to choose which member of the community they were going to stone to death to appease the gods, or was it to break a curse, I can't remember. It was heartless and cruel, as well as idiotic, and whenever I've heard the word gathering since then that's what I think of. But that's just my own weird psychological problem.

I guess I'll stick with "service" and I guess it is as good a word as any. If I remember right the word for worship in the New Testament (Greek) is the same word we get the word liturgy from which is to do the work or service of praising God. I never thought of worship as service or work but maybe I should. It sounds like I'm giving it a bad connotation but maybe that is how disciplined and serious we should be about worship. I just wish it sounded cooler.

Whether I like it or not I think I'm stuck with a worship service.

Supernatural

Yeah, I have the album but that's not what I'm talking about. I recall a comment I read somewhere that I think came from G. Boyd. "If it has flesh and blood then it is not my enemy." The point he was making was that his battles weren't with people, they were with the powers of darkness. That sounds so basic but I would bet that most Christians don't even think about that.

Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (TNIV)

In spite of this I think most Christians are at war precisely with flesh and blood. We don't differentiate between flesh and blood and the supernatural. We tend to see them as one and the same. Did you catch the last line of that verse? "...spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Wow!

I think the problem is we don't like to think about the supernatural. If any one knew we talked about "ghosts" they would think we were crazy. It even freaks us out. We'd rather deal with what we can see, and touch, and hear.

So we pick on people who are made in the image of God instead. People who God loves and cares about. Granted, they are in bondage to some spiritual force of evil, but so are/were we. I think Boyd's credo is pretty good. "If it's made of flesh and blood then it's not my enemy."