Here’s a quote that has really made me think about how I am to people who haven't embraced Jesus...
Behind the prescriptions and prognostications, behind the doubts and defeatism, beyond the debates about emerging churches and postmodern contexts is something that I think pleases Jesus: hunger. Hunger for deeper, wider and higher community that genuinely and organically transforms the communities we belong to and the ones that surround us. I see hunger for something beyond the individualized, self-absorbed, bloated faith that is common fair for most churches.
I have come to realize, especially as I lie down to sleep at night under warm blankets on a cold night and pray a prayer of thanks to God, that I am part of a church that is often part of the problem for why people feel less than compelled to embrace a relationship with Jesus. Please don’t get me wrong. I love the Church and believe that it is loved by Jesus with all its failings and shortcomings. And I believe that the church exists as a sign of Jesus’ kingdom (don’t have time to explain that one completely right now – even if I could). But sometimes I think – and I understand this to be truth for me – that we are a little too comfortable and settled. And let me put that back in the first person – I’m too comfortable and settled. And that’s why I think I am part of the problem.
If you want to know what is growing inside of me, as a person and a follower of Jesus, let me say it this way: Hunger. For me the growing hunger that is growing inside of me is for the shape of my life to take on more the same shape of the life of Jesus. Now that scares the “be-Jesus” out of me more than a little bit. It actually freaks me out! Because that means some things have to change in me – and some of that I can see and some of that, I’m sure, I cannot yet see. But if I were to put it into a humongous nutshell, I’d say that the large thing that needs to change in me is to become a person who can take on what Jesus did – a cross. (The fatalism that suddenly creeps in for me right now as I write that statement is that I fail miserably trying to take on the shape of the cross for my closest relationships.)
If I were to put the growing hunger growing inside of me more specifically, then I would say that it is a hunger to let nothing of my present life stand in the way of connecting more people to the Jesus I am learning more about. If you are a non-believer reading this piece, I want you to hear that I’m really striving to create a space for genuine searching. Part of the reason for that is, even though I have chosen to be a follower of Jesus and signed on the proverbial dotted line, I’m still genuinely searching, too.
I think what that quote has gotten me to thinking about is that I hear a kindred spirit. I, too, am hungering for “deeper, wider and higher community that genuinely and organically transforms the communities we belong to and the ones that surround us.” I'm blessed to be a part of a church, that may not get it all right all the time, but has a growing hunger for the same thing. I'm blessed.
And so, I’m willing – and praying as I lie down to sleep at night under warm blankets on a cold night and pray a prayer of thanks, to take some risks to make that happen. If you’re hungry, I invite you to join me.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Hey, I Like Me
I’ve been learning a lot about myself recently. It comes with the territory when you are a pastor leading congregational transformation in a church made up of leaders who are successfully reversing nearly 50 years of decline. Engaging such work and ministry, I learn things that I like about myself and also things that make me cringe. Lately, if you don’t mind me saying, mostly what I am learning has been more on the side of what I like. It’s been a nice feeling. (Think Dell Griffith: “I like me.”)
As I noted in my previous post, I have been reading a most helpful book called Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times, by Peter Steinke. The book has come at an interesting time, since our leadership is dialoguing about transitions (read: changes) in worship to reach, frankly, a different demographic (read: people who are not already coming to church). As you can imagine, given a generation of the church’s wars around worship, such a dialogue runs the potential of being highly charged with emotion (read: it can easily get ugly).
And here is where Steinke’s book has helped. Given that the “field” we are entering into in this dialogue on worship is a hugely emotional one, Steinke has reminded me that my presence as a leader can detract or enhance the process. Maybe another way of saying this is: How I lead has the potential to give life to the process – or not.
Three things are really important for me to keep in mind as I engage leaders in this dialogue and help move us toward our congregation’s shared vision of bringing more people into a vital relationship with Jesus. Moving closer to the shared vision is – I believe this is true – the positive outcome that we are all hoping for. And so, the first thing for me to keep in mind is to function in my role as a leader from “principled” ground. Steinke says it this way, “A positive outcome will emerge if the leader’s presence and functioning are centered in principle.” The question I need to be asking myself regularly is this: Am I making choices based on principle or am I choosing based on expediency?
The second thing is to manage myself well in the midst of a “field” that is charged with intensity and the expressions of strong opinions. How I respond to the anxiety directly impacts the nature of the outcome. That doesn’t mean that everything is dependent on me, but it does mean that I can foster a spirit of creativity in others or shut that down real quickly, leaving a field characterized by chaos.
The third thing for me to keep in mind is about making sure I am taking a thoughtful position in the matter. Or maybe another way to put it is to take a stand. Not that I have a corner on the market for what God is doing, but taking a stand does allow for us all to have a place to start, a point of orientation for dialogue. Ultimately, the stand we take on any number of things in the church is best done looking into an eternal mission and a clear vision. The decisions we make are best made when they are a reflection of our best thinking about accomplishing the vision and mission of Jesus.
What I am learning about myself in leading out in this process of transitioning worship is that my instincts have been good. And I’ll have to admit, that’s been a nice thing to learn.
As I noted in my previous post, I have been reading a most helpful book called Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times, by Peter Steinke. The book has come at an interesting time, since our leadership is dialoguing about transitions (read: changes) in worship to reach, frankly, a different demographic (read: people who are not already coming to church). As you can imagine, given a generation of the church’s wars around worship, such a dialogue runs the potential of being highly charged with emotion (read: it can easily get ugly).
And here is where Steinke’s book has helped. Given that the “field” we are entering into in this dialogue on worship is a hugely emotional one, Steinke has reminded me that my presence as a leader can detract or enhance the process. Maybe another way of saying this is: How I lead has the potential to give life to the process – or not.
Three things are really important for me to keep in mind as I engage leaders in this dialogue and help move us toward our congregation’s shared vision of bringing more people into a vital relationship with Jesus. Moving closer to the shared vision is – I believe this is true – the positive outcome that we are all hoping for. And so, the first thing for me to keep in mind is to function in my role as a leader from “principled” ground. Steinke says it this way, “A positive outcome will emerge if the leader’s presence and functioning are centered in principle.” The question I need to be asking myself regularly is this: Am I making choices based on principle or am I choosing based on expediency?
The second thing is to manage myself well in the midst of a “field” that is charged with intensity and the expressions of strong opinions. How I respond to the anxiety directly impacts the nature of the outcome. That doesn’t mean that everything is dependent on me, but it does mean that I can foster a spirit of creativity in others or shut that down real quickly, leaving a field characterized by chaos.
The third thing for me to keep in mind is about making sure I am taking a thoughtful position in the matter. Or maybe another way to put it is to take a stand. Not that I have a corner on the market for what God is doing, but taking a stand does allow for us all to have a place to start, a point of orientation for dialogue. Ultimately, the stand we take on any number of things in the church is best done looking into an eternal mission and a clear vision. The decisions we make are best made when they are a reflection of our best thinking about accomplishing the vision and mission of Jesus.
What I am learning about myself in leading out in this process of transitioning worship is that my instincts have been good. And I’ll have to admit, that’s been a nice thing to learn.
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