Choked Up

It wasn’t on my radar screen, but some friends mentioned that an acquaintance had invested some money in the movie. It hadn’t done very well commercially and was available not long after release on DVD. They thought I might like it. So, last Friday night I watched Seven Days in Utopia.

Some would say it is a movie about golf. It is not a movie about golf. It is a movie about the personal journey of a young man who is a professional golfer. Golf is secondary to the story. It is a vehicle, not a centerpiece.

It is a movie with a Christian message and contains all the things I hate about movies that are “Christian.” The movie is cheesy. The acting is bad, even though one of the main characters is played by Robert Duvall. The story line is obvious and is not filled with any surprises. Golfer implodes, meets wise old guru, spends seven days with him, resolves issues with his father, wrestles with major life questions and accepts Jesus, showing up in church with his Bible in his hand.

Movie reviewer Roger Ebert wrote this about the movie:

“I would rather eat a golf ball than see this movie again. It tells the dreadful parable of a pro golfer who was abused by his dad, melts down in the Texas Open and stumbles into the clutches of an insufferable geezer in the town of Utopia, who promises him that after seven days in Utopia, he will be playing great golf. He will also find Jesus, but for that you don’t have to play golf, although it might help.”

I can’t really be against any of that. It is just so trite and simplistic. Real life isn’t that clean and easy.

And yet, when the movie came to the point where the main character went through some gut wrenching (cue the predictable melodramatic music) soul searching and moved to embrace Christ, I began to tear up. That caught me off guard. Up until that point, the movie was making me more angry than engaged. I almost turned it off (except I had paid to watch it), but it touched me.

         

That happens to me most of the time when someone, either on television, in a movie, or in real life embraces Jesus. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances might be, how corny or predictable the story, how poorly written, or pitifully acted, when people meet Jesus, it touches me.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost, people who do not know the way, and He described Himself as “the way.” When people find “the way,” somehow it touches my heart. There is nothing more important we can be doing that pointing people to “the way.” I hope to get choked up more often.

Kindergarten

One thing people notice when they come to my office is the walls of bookshelves jam packed with books. I have some similar shelves at home. I like to read and the number of books I own is not so much a measure of intellectual curiosity, but personal longevity (age)! If you are around long enough and you like books, they accumulate.

         

Safely tucked away next to Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Louis Berkhof’s, Systematic Theology, Sydney Ahlstrom’s, A Religious History of the American People, and volumes upon volumes of Old and New Testament commentaries is Robert Fulghum’s, All I Really Needed to know I Learned in Kindergarten. Fulghum’s premise is that if we master the lessons we learn in kindergarten, Share everything, Play fair, Don’t hit people, Clean up your own mess, Flush, Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you, we have everything we need for the rest of our lives.

I thought of that the other day when I was talking with a man who is in the process of writing a book on leadership. He told me that his four pillars for leadership are:   

          Be Nice

          Listen

          Don’t get caught up in minutiae

          Always, Always, Always...tell the truth

         

Really, those are leadership principles worthy of being published in a book? Then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized as a person who studies and reads about leadership, I realized that as simple as those four things seem to be, they are rarely practiced by leaders.

Are we nice to people, genuinely nice to everyone? We set up parameters, resonate with certain personality types, decide who is worthy of our time and interest and are often abrupt and rude to people. Then there is the other side of being nice. Some people don’t think you are nice if you don’t agree with them, or give them what they want, or if you don’t handle something the way they think it should have been handled.

Do we listen to other people? Listening, real listening is a rare trait. “When you listen to the conversations of the world, most often they are conversations of the deaf.” It is a way of saying, we aren’t very good listeners. Too often we have our own agenda, are planning our response, and only heard words that are spoken, and therefore we are not very good listeners.

Getting caught up in minutiae is easy. Every day is filled with minutiae. And one person’s minutiae is another person’s “this is of ultimate importance”. Sometimes when I refuse to get caught up in minutiae, people don’t think I am very nice.

Always, always, always...tell the truth. It is amazing how few times we really tell the truth to people. We hesitate because it may hurt someone’s feelings, or might cause tension in the relationship. I have found that by not telling the truth about why a decision is being made if often leads to misunderstanding which drags on and raises a lot more questions in the end which is more painful that telling the truth up front.

These leadership principles seem like we should have learned them in kindergarten, which we may have, but somehow we have lost them along the way. Certainly they are principles that Jesus practiced in His ministry and that He passed on to us.

Maybe we should follow Jesus back to kindergarten.

Super Sunday

This week they will play the Super Bowl. Super Bowl 46 I believe (I never was very good with Roman numerals.) I probably have seen them all, but maybe not in their entirety. Some I have quit watching because they were boring. Some I didn’t get to see much of because we were at a Super Bowl Party and there was much more socializing going on than game watching. There was a period of my life where I missed the Super Bowl because I was leading an evening worship service. I remember those services well because it was usually me, the organist or other musicians, and four other people who didn’t care about football! During that phase of my life, I recorded the game on my VCR (remember those?)

         

The Super Bowl has become an all-consuming phenomenon. Media coverage is continuous for the two weeks leading up to the game. Everyone gets in on the act of predicting results and choosing their favorite teams. The Super Bowl is the most watched television program of the year. Becky doesn’t like football, but she does watch the Super Bowl because of the commercials. She finds something else to do while the game is being played and rushes back to watch during the commercials! This year I may record the game so we can watch the commercials again, not the game.

         

Some people deride all the attention given to the Super Bowl. It is just a game. There are much more important issues for us to spend time and money on. People in the world are still hungry, at war, dying of disease, and being ill treated. I read an article this week about increased sex trafficking of minors being brought into the host Super Bowl City for the weekend. Millions of dollars are bet on the Super Bowl.

         

I don’t disagree that there are more important issues in the world than a football game, but that doesn’t change the fact there will be a Super Bowl, and all the hoopla that goes with it will continue.

         

There will be a segment of Christians who will lead an outcry that a football game gets too much attention and that they would hope that God would garner as much attention. Certainly God’s rule and reign and the salvation of mankind merits more attention than a football game. Whenever I see Christians protesting the Super Bowl I cringe because those protests are the very kind of thing that leads to a segment of the population viewing Christians as judgmental and critical.

         

I could complain about the Super Bowl; all the attention it gets; all the money that is spent; all the things that deserve a fraction of the focus. But that wouldn’t change anything. The culture isn’t changed by lobbing grenades at cultural icons from a distance.

         

I think God uses me to change the world differently. God wants me to love the people that I encounter every day; to show an interest in the activities of children and adults; to listen to the stories people try to share; to simply be nice to everyone....everyone!; to speak the truth in love.

         

The world is changed by each of us reflecting the image of Jesus every day, in every situation, with every person we meet.

         

So, I will join the rest of America and enjoy the Super Bowl, both the game and the commercials.

         

Oh, by the way....Go Patriots!

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.