Awaiting Approval

Rev’s Reflections

Awaiting Approval

1-27-12

I was at the grocery store check out line and I swiped my debit card through the machine. While the machine was processing my card these words flashed on the screen: Awaiting Approval. It certainly wasn’t the first time I had seen that message. Some form of that message comes on every screen I use with my cards, but for whatever reason this time it was like a neon sign. Sometimes I feel myself getting anxious when the machine is slow, “What if I am not approved?” It is irrational. I wouldn’t use the card if I didn’t think there was enough money in my checking account to cover the charge. I mean, who wants to pay an overdraft fee?

AWAITING APPROVAL!

How much of my life have I spent awaiting approval? I have a love/hate relationship with approval. Like many, I crave approval. I want to be accepted, liked, and approved of, but I usually deflect compliments and affirmation because I find it embarrassing…it makes me uncomfortable. As an athlete I craved the approval and affirmation of my coaches, which motivated me to be the best I could be. As a student, I worked hard and exceeded requirements to receive the approval of my professors. I want my wife to approve of me as a husband and my kids to approve of me as a father and our congregation to approve of me as a Lead Pastor.

Seeking approval leads to a performance mentality. If I am only seeking to receive approval, then I may adjust to simply meet people’s expectations rather than living out of an authentic sense of who God has created me to be.

When Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin to justify their ministry in Acts chapter 4, they declared that they were to please God and not man. I believe that philosophically. It is just hard to live out practically.

God has approved of us. He thinks very highly of us. He doesn’t approve of everything we think, do or say. But He approves of us. We are His children whom He loves so much, He sent His Son to die on our behalf. We are the people about whom He says:

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God…” (I Peter 2:9)

I may be awaiting approval for my debit card. I may be seeking your approval. But I/we Have already received God’s approval, and we really don’t need anything else!

Oh, by the way, the screen at the grocery store eventually said: APPROVED!

It Makes me Sad

Recently a video entitled “Why I hate religion, but love Jesus” has gone viral. It is frequently posted on Facebook with people indicating that they “like” the video. The video is a four minute poetic rap by a 20-something male who highlights all the negative aspects of “religion” and expounds on how and why Jesus would feel the same.

I have noticed that on my Facebook page most of those who post the video and respond to it are also 20-somethings, and it makes me sad.

Not because I think they shouldn’t like the video, or because some of what he says is wrong, but because there is much more to the church than the way this young man defines as “religion.” I am acutely aware that 20-somethings are not filling our churches and are not interested in faith issues because of their negative experiences with the church and religion. As an “insider,” I understand why they may feel the way they do and agree with some of what is being said. However, there is a bigger picture that I wish would be considered and go viral.

I did some research on Jefferson Bethke, the video’s author and performer, to get perspective. “You have to get back to my definition of religion”, Bethke said in an interview, “(Jesus) was coming to abolish self righteousness, justification and hypocrisy.”

That is one definition. Webster defines religion this way: “service and worship of God or the supernatural; commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance.”

I agree that Jesus had a distaste for self righteousness, justification and hypocrisy, but Jesus wasn’t against religion or the church. In fact, God created the church, the body of Christ. The church is to reflect Christ in attitude and action, which is hard to do perfectly because as Jesus noted the church is filled with imperfect people.

Yet, God created the church, the body of Christ, to be His presence in the world. We haven’t done it perfectly, and in fact, there are many things that the church has distorted with our self interest and our bent toward personal preferences. At the same time, the church, the body of Christ, is the hope of the world. History shows that the church is the foundation of many of our hospitals, higher educational institutions and the first responders when there is a crisis in the world. As you look at local communities, it is the church that sponsors most food pantries, homeless shelters and other assistance programs.

The church is not perfect, but the church is the hope of the world. It makes me sad that a generation of people may believe that the church doesn’t represent Jesus. It makes me sad that they may turn their back on the church. Rather than turning their back on the church I would encourage them to get involved in local churches, voice an opinion, make a difference.

One of the great ironies in Jefferson Bethke’s life is that he is a member of a local church in his hometown of Seattle. It is a church that has brought many people who have been far from God to know Him personally. It is a church that is filled with young adults. However, his pastor is thought to by some to be authoritarian and narrow minded. He is very vocal about what he calls the “feminization” of the church, and does not endorse women in leadership positions in the church. I am not sure if Jesus would see things the same way.

          Jesus said His purpose in coming was to

          “...seek and save the lost...”; (Luke 19:10). 

          In his coming out sermon he affirmed the words of Isaiah:

          The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me

          to preach good news to the poor.

          He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

          and recovery of sight for the blind,

          to release the oppressed,

          to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18,19)

         

Jesus’ purpose was not “...to abolish self righteousness, justification and hypocrisy.” Although in the process of fulfilling His mission he did speak out against those issues.

         

I want the church, the body of Christ, to reflect Jesus in word and deed; to be a place of mercy, grace and acceptance. I want us to pay attention to the attitudes and behaviors that the church reflects that may not be in keeping with those values. I want people of all ages to join us in helping the church fulfill that mission. When that doesn’t happen, it makes me sad. But it doesn’t make me want to quit the church and only “hang out” with Jesus on my own, because Jesus said the two are inseparable. The church is the body of Christ. We just have to keep working at being a better body.

Being Visionary

When Apple founder Steve Jobs passed away in early October the word that was used to describe him most often was “visionary.” Steve Jobs was a visionary. He saw things that others couldn’t and encouraged people to pursue that vision. His vision for things changed the world in which we live. The curious thing about Steve Jobs is that we tend to think about him as a technology genius which was not the case. His real genius was in the area of design and what people would find desirable from a stylistic point of view. He had a tremendous gift for designing products that had the “it” factor. Apple products are just plain cool!

Vision is important. I define vision as a picture of our preferred future. We can see what it will look like and want to embrace and achieve it.

• The Wright brothers had a vision for people to fly.
• John F. Kennedy envisioned a man walking on the moon.
• Martin Luther King envisioned a society where all human beings had equal rights.       

If you want to achieve something, you need a vision.

God used visions to inspire people to accomplish God’s preferred future.

• God gave Abraham and Sarah, a childless couple, the vision of being the parents of a nation.
• God gave Moses a vision of leading slaves out of captivity and into a promised land. 
• God gave Peter a vision of a more inclusive church. 

There are many other examples in the bible, but you get my point. God inspired people to great accomplishments with vision.

         

Churches are no different than individuals. We need a picture of our preferred future to inspire us to make a difference in the world and to accomplish what God is calling us to do. In my mind each church that exists has the same mission, “to make disciples of all nations.” I believe that each church has their own unique vision for how we embrace that mission. That vision is based on the history of the congregation, the setting, demographics, a sense of calling and the overall gifts and abilities of a congregation.

Once a congregation has a vision, they align all of their resources (time, talent and treasure) to realize that vision. Everything that a congregation does or considers doing should begin with the question: How will this move us closer to realizing our vision?

Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church is embarking on a “vision process.” It will begin in January with the goal of communicating and embracing the vision in September. There will be lots of different ways for people in our congregation and in our community to participate in that process. As the year progresses you will hear more and more about the vision God is revealing to us.

Let us be in prayer as we seek God’s will and God’s way!

This week in worship we will continue to see how Jesus’ Upside Down Thinking from the Sermon on the Mount directs us to be part of The Next Christians. See you in worship.      

Hang in There

Last week I wrote about SMART goals for the New Year. Today we are six days into the new year. Are you still on track with your resolutions? I have already failed at one!

I set a goal of reading two or more “church related” books a month this year. One of the strategies I listed for doing so was to read those books one or two hours a night when I wasn’t at church for a meeting or out for some other reason.

This week I was home three nights and only followed my strategy on one of the nights. I was distracted by many things; a night of travel in a hotel room, bowl games, and some other reading I chose to do.

Those are not excuses. Those are choices I made. Because of choices I made, I failed to execute my strategy to achieve my goal. For those of you who know me, I am relatively competitive (O.K., that’s an understatement), which means that I will find a way to meet my goal by January 31.

I failed this week, but that doesn’t make me a failure. That’s an important distinction to keep in mind. Failing is something we all do. In fact, we need to be failing at things, because if we aren’t failing, we aren’t pushing ourselves to grow and learn.

I have played golf for many years and for a long time I had never broken 80. I set a goal one summer to break 80. I went several summer months where I failed to achieve that goal, but it didn’t make me a failure. I kept trying. There were setbacks, circumstances, and near misses. At times it seemed as if the golf gods were against me. But I kept trying. It gave me an excuse to play more!

Finally one day, unexpectedly, I shot a 78! Then Becky and I took a planned two-week vacation which included no golf. The day after I returned I played with a friend and after a two week hiatus I shot a 77!  Finally, after failing on numerous occasions, I succeeded. I had failed, but I wasn’t a failure. (Breaking 80 regularly is still an illusive goal.)

Failing at something doesn’t make us a failure. It makes us human.

Being a faithful follower of Jesus is a lot harder than breaking 80 for me. I have good intentions, goals, plans, strategies and systems; but often I fail. But God doesn’t think I’m a failure. In fact, God knows we stumble, miss, and struggle. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He knows we can’t be perfect. He only wants us to persevere. In fact when we persevere God boasts about us to others! (2 Thess. 1:4).

So, if you made New Year’s resolutions and have already failed, start again; persevere. If one of your New Year’s resolutions had to do with becoming more like Jesus (and I hope it did), don’t expect to be perfect, but when you fail, remember you are not a failure. Persevere.

I would write more, but I have to go read!

Rev.