Praying About Resolutions

I'm praying about my New Year's resolutions. It may sound odd that I 'm praying about my choices of how to improve in 2014, but I believe this is actually a sacred priority. Scripture declares that every believer is a work in progress under divine direction, so why would I not seek His wisdom in what my role will be next year in this holy reconfiguration? In fact, I see this as what separates futile self-improvement effort from full-scale rehabilitation. I want Christ to restore His original intent for my life. Although too often I choose to self-deconstruct, this is my opportunity to set things aright. Why not join me in seeking the Father's plans for 2014?  I know that I'll be doing this again at the end of next year, but in between I plan to be conformed a little more accurately to the image of Christ.

Black Friday

What if it truly is a "Black Friday " for you? In other words, what do you do when it's impossible to see any hope from the core of present circumstances? The following may help:

George Matheson was born to privilege.  At the University of Glasgow he graduated first in classics, logic, and philosophy.  Then, in his twentieth year of life, he became totally blind.  He followed God's call to ministry anyway.  Matheson pastored some of Scotland's finest and largest churches, wrote books of philosophical theology which are still read and cited today, was theologian to Queen Victoria, received numerous honorary doctorates, filled the most prestigious lectureships in the land, and was a fellow of the Royal Society.

This prayer by George Matheson may help you have Thanksgiving this week: My God, I have never thanked thee for my thorn.  I have thanked thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorn.  Teach me the glory of my cross, teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed to thee by the path of my pain.  Show me that my tears have made my rainbows.

Annie Dillard observed, "You do not have to sit outside in the dark.  If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is required."

(Thoughts inspired by the Denison Forum)

The Enormity of God's Grace

A glimpse of God's vastness brings both a discomforting shock of our smallness and a sense of awe in the enormity of God's grace in knowing us.

Remember

It is interesting how our memory works (or doesn't work which is often the case with me). Here's what I mean--I can't remember what I wore or ate or did just yesterday, but I can remember where I was at the age of three when we learned President Kennedy was shot and I remember everything about September 11, 2001--where I was when we heard the news, what I was wearing while we watched twin towers tumble before unblinking shocked eyes, the numbing sensation of that day and the days that followed, and the capacity crowd that showed up for midweek prayer meeting at a small church in Marshall, Texas where I served as bi-vocational pastor. I remember how those terrorist attacks changed everything in America and to be totally honest--I never want to forget.  I refuse to erase those horrific images or the heroic exploits of first responders. God help me to always remember the precarious freedom I enjoy and fill me with resolve to do my part in preventing what I remember from ever happening again.

(Photo from cifwatch.com)

Fresh From God

Recently I've enjoyed seeing photos and hearing news of my former students either starting their families or expanding them. How wonderful to see these new creations so clearly reflect the grace and beauty of the Creator. Filled with joy for each of these families that mean so much to me, I cannot help but think of a line from Dickens: "I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us." Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop (1841)

Think For Yourself

Tough times and a global context of questionable decision-making demands Christ-followers to think for themselves. "What a man can believe depends upon his philosophy, not upon the clock or the century" (G. K. Chesterton)

Correcting Misunderstanding

Many years ago--37 to be exact-- I made a commitment to God and myself with mostly good intentions (I'm unwilling to claim that I'm immune from a selfish motivation here and there). I called that decisive moment "surrendering God's call to the ministry" and received profuse affirmation from my faith community and family. Again I'll say that my motives were mostly pure and that I was thinking concepts and using vocabulary with which I was familiar through the teaching of my church. All these years later I understand the fallacy of much of what I expressed that day and exhibited in the years that followed.

First, the idea of "surrendering" carries with it the twin acts of forsaking and relinquishing. In my 16 year-old mind, I was turning my back on everything I enjoyed and was good at in order to lift and drag through life the horrible burden of serving Christ. Somehow my ministerial penance would merit God's favor. Tragically, no one corrected my thinking and helped me understand that God has created each of us for a high purpose and that our living out that purpose includes using every God-granted gift and ability for his glory and kingdom advance, while enjoying the adventure of doing so. Instead of surrender it was more akin to a grand blip on the EKG of discipleship. The Creator intends fulfillment, not rejection.

Second, my scope of understanding "calling" was much too narrow and sterile. Somehow I had reached that tender age believing that a divine call was hoarded by those who served visibly in churches as pastors or in foreign lands as missionaries. Certainly only church leaders of the highest profile were the ones carrying out the "high calling." No one helped me understand the threefold aspect of call as presented clearly in Scripture: every believer is called to salvation, every believer is called to Christlikeness, and every believer is called to ministry--to live out a vocation--doing whatever they do with a strong sense of divine directive.


Finally, all those years ago I succumbed to what I now call the "heresy of the definite article." I was mistaken in accepting and attempting to practice pastoral ministry as "the" ministry in the church. Such a mentality leads to anemic churches and burned out pastors. Such a superman complex may produce adrenaline highs, but the end result is a low ebb of ministry and even lower trough of longterm spiritual impotence. Rather than relying on what one minister can do, God intends every believer to minister according to their various spiritual gifts. Frank Tillapaugh was correct many years ago when he called this interpretation "unleashing the church."

I am older now and, I hope, not only wiser but better understanding of what God was doing in my life 37 years ago and what he continues to do today. Yes, I was-am-and will be "called" by God to live out a divine purpose. And so are you. So is each of us that follow Christ as Lord.

Airport Waiting

Waiting usually grates on my nerves--I must confess that my temperament leans toward the impatient side. But airport waiting is different. Something about the anticipation of ensuing travel rises an intrepid spirit that overshadows my impatient one. Today I meander through the airport waiting maze en route from Waco to Kenya. I have a pretty good idea of what is waiting for me there, so it overcomes the frustration of waiting while still here. Relieved of the awful burden of 'hurry up', I pass the time more productively--praying, reading, writing, observing, etc.

All of this travel philosophy makes me wonder if my life might be better served by gaining a fresh vision of what ultimately awaits. A heavenly focus might just alleviate unwelcome earthly stress. In turn, I would likely pass the time here more productively--praying, witnessing, reading, writing, listening, etc. Sounds promising, doesn't it? I think I'll give it a try.

Packing Lists and Discipleship

In two days I embark on a journey to Africa and back as I lead a church group to western Kenya for ministry to orphaned children and villagers. This is a homecoming of sorts for me, having spent most of the 90's in east Africa. My role on this trip is primarily logistics & translation--ensure a positive and safe experience for team members and help translate to/from Swahili (my second language). While it is hard to be away from wife, family, and church for ten days, the appeal is strong of traveling back to Kenya and being permitted to see former students, sip the elixir of life called chai, and to generally savor the sights, smells, and sounds of African life in the raw.

My preparations for travel include crafting two lists--a 'to do' list and a 'to pack' list. The packing list includes all the expected items--passport, clothing (albeit in small numbers as I prefer to travel light), flashlight, meds, etc. As I examine my lists this morning I cannot help but reflect on the fact that they do not include the most important items. What I failed to scribble down on paper is really what transforms just another trip into a journey of impact. My list should enumerate the weightier items such as:
- my life purpose statement and how this trip connects to it
- my plans for caring for my family in my absence
- my strategy for ensuring the best care of my church members while I am far removed from them
- my approach to helping my grandchildren see these kinds of events as connected to a life surrendered to Christ and his purposes
- my goals for personal and spiritual growth while on this missional safari

Father, help me look beyond the immediate to the eternal in all that I undertake. Transform my 'packing lists' into preparation for and expressions of discipleship.

(photo by Bert Yates)

What Lies at Hand

Life seems at times like a succession of converging and divergent tragedies, at once interconnected and then again, disparate. Unfortunately, our earthbound perspective is linear and we strain to see ahead and behind without the ability to focus properly on either. We do not realize that this "right now" perspective is actually a grace gift. Jesus expresses it eloquently: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34 ESV). In other words, we have right now, not yesterday or tomorrow. Surrender this moment. Celebrate this day. Create this memory. Love immediately with all your might. Do what lies at hand and you just may find that the dividend is eternal.