Leadership and the Seven Churches of Revelation

I'm going to talk about various things in more detail through this week but here is some things to ponder in the meantime:

From 1 Peter chapter 5 (The Message Paraphrase), Peter is talking about his concerns regarding leaders:

"Here's my concern:  that you care for God's flock with all the diligence of a shepherd.  Not because you have to, but because you want to please God.  Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously.  Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way."

The Seven Churches in Revelation can be broken down (in my opinion) into three groups:

Group 1:  They "appear" to be churches.  Shells, no real power, gotten comfortable.
Ephesus (Revelation 2:4 NRSV) "...you have abandoned the love you had at first."
Sardis (Revelation 3:1 NRSV) "...you have a name of being alive, but you are dead."
Laodicea (Revelation 3:15,17 NRSV) "...you are neither cold nor hot...For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing."

Group 2:  They believe, um....we're not sure exactly what they believe.  But they have lost sight of the message.
Peragamum (Revelation 2:14-15 NRSV) "...you have some who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel, so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice fornication.  So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans."
Thyatira (Revelation 2:20 NRSV) "...you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols."


Group 3:  Small, afflicted, persecuted but hanging tough.
Smyrna (Revelation 2:9-10 NRSV) "...I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich.  I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.  Do not fear what you are about to suffer..."
Philadelphia (Revelation 3:8 NRSV) "...I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name."


Does any of this sound familiar?  Could we say the same thing about some of our churches today?  Where does leadership (or lack of leadership) show through in these examples?

More thoughts tomorrow!

What Language is That????

So, my family finally talked me in to going to the doctor.  I had been miserable and in pain for so long, that even I started to wonder if this extended beyond being a simple fibro flare.  I came through with a clean bill of health:  no sickness, no high blood pressure, nothing out of whack.  All of my symptoms could be directly linked to a severe fibromyalgia flare.  The doctor on duty, spoke clearly and plainly about what I was experiencing and the fact that lack of good sleep was probably contributing to the extended flare up, which is why she wrote a prescription for muscle relaxants.  She felt that if I could get the muscles to relax, I could get deeper, uninterrupted sleep, which would then break the cycle and allow the flare to subside.  She understood my family's concern but she also understood my need to keep going, in order to care for my family.  I admit, when it comes to seeing a doctor I am a reluctant patient because sometimes their conversations with me end up being more like listening to a person speak a foreign language!  Her clear explanation and candor was utterly refreshing!

Contrast this to the letter that came in the mail over the weekend from our school district.  I have read the letter four or five times and I still do not fully get what they are trying to tell me, as a parent.  From what I can glean, it seems that the district failed to meet certain testing standards in regards to "No Child Left Behind".  This is the fourth year it has happened and that puts the district at level 3.  There is no explanation of what this means or how it impacts my child.  And as far as how they intend to address the problem it mentions evaluating and updating the district plan, and that they "collaboratively establish action plans and implement strategies that improve teaching and learning."  Huh?  I even went to the state website to see if I could find an explanation of what exactly this means.  It was no better than the gibberish letter that the district sent out!  It's like they are speaking their own language, which they fully understand, but leaves the rest of us scratching our heads!

This got me thinking about the church and how we communicate with others.  Do we speak clearly and simply enough so that someone who doesn't attend church understands what we are saying?  Or do we use our church-speak and assume that everybody must know what these terms mean?  How different is Call to Action from No Child Left Behind?  Lots of warm and fuzzy gibberish that makes it sound important bu,t in the scheme of things, means absolutely nothing to someone who is not familiar with the terminology!  Even some individuals who do understand the wording, feel that it is an exercise in futility.

Are we afraid to speak plainly?  Do we prefer not to speak plainly because it gives us an edge of superiority, or, are we unaware that we are speaking in a way that has no meaning to someone else?  My guess is that it is a little bit of all of the above.  That mix is something that we should examine carefully if we want to get our message across clearly.

I was reading this morning about King Josiah in Second Chronicles 34.  In the chapter it tells how Hilkiah the high priest found a copy of the Revelation  of Moses.  He gave the book to the King's assistant, Shaphan, who then read it to King Josiah.  King Josiah was so shocked by what he heard, that he ripped his robes in dismay.  He understood what was contained in the book and he understood that God clearly must be angry with Israel because they had not followed what had been laid out in the book.  The book had been "lost" for generations yet it was laid out clearly enough that even someone who was unfamiliar with it, could understand what it contained and what it meant!

Can we say that our message is so clear that it can be understood by someone who is not familiar with it?  Can we say that we are clearly and effectively communicating with the world at large?  Could our lack of clear communication be our problem?  Do people who hear our message think to themselves "what language is that???"  Are we, in essence, setting up stumbling blocks for people who are "outside" of our circle?

What is that language that we speak?  Can we find ways to communicate our message more clearly?

May God in his wisdom help us all to speak more plainly!

No Gadgets and Gizmos and Yet They Grow

So, the Methodist Church is seeing growth.  It just doesn't happen to be here in the United States.  It's happening on the continent of Africa.  It's happening in Korea.  It's happening in South America, just to give you a few examples.  In many of these areas "doing church" is not an easy task!  There are restrictions, freedom of worship is not a world-wide concept.  They do not have fancy sound systems, or state of the art video screens.  Many do not have access to the Internet and social groups and online Bible resources (let alone an actual Bible).  Many of them do not have running water let alone a bed to sleep in!  And yet, they grow!  They are vibrant and alive!

Why?

Why is it, that in places, where worship can get you killed, where poverty is the norm, where there is every reason to be mad at God for ones lot in life, the church grows?

Maybe it has to do with simple faith?  Or spirit?  Or message?  Maybe it has to do with keeping it simple?

I can picture the PhD Theologians cringing as they read these thoughts!  But has anyone ever considered the possibility that we have over-analyzed ourselves in the United States to our own peril?

Analysis can be good to a certain point.  But anyone who has been in therapy can tell you that too much of a good thing can become a bad thing!  You can analyze yourself to the point of inertia, all because of your quest to fix what you think is wrong.  Analysis overused, can become nothing more than a gadget or gizmo.  Think about this in terms of someone who walks in the door for the first time and decides to join our church.  Do they join because of our in depth analysis of best practices or do they join because of the spirit they sense in the community?   Are they impressed because of a word study about why a certain word was used in the English translation based on the historical Latin or Hebrew usage or do they connect with the message that they are hearing?

What message is being shared so powerfully around the world that they connect with people in such deep and profound ways? The leaders elsewhere seem to have their fingers on the pulse.  And what works elsewhere may not work here in the United States, but can we say, with all honesty, that we have our fingers on the pulse?

Grow, grow, grow, we are told over and over again.  Outreach and mission in the community-that's the prescription.  Make your worship services more vibrant.  Small groups are the solution.  How many of the churches elsewhere around the world consciously do these things?  How many are driven by these choices?  If I had to guess-not many!  I think that they do these things, but they do them naturally, organically-it's not a conscious thought or priority for them.  I think they do naturally celebrate in worship.  I think they do naturally try to help their neighbors and I think they do naturally have small groups that pray for each other and with each other.  I think these things happen, not by plan, but because it is a natural outgrowth of the message!

What is that message?  I'd love to know!  I would love to hear what the leaders from other countries have to say in response to that question!  Again, I'm speculating here, but my guess is, it's pretty simple.  We have all sinned and made mistakes in our lives.  But there is this man, who lived long ago, who was actually the Son of God.  His name is Jesus and God sent him to save us all.  He loves you so much that he gave his life for you.  Accept his gift of forgiveness and new life and then share the story with your family and friends.  Follow his footsteps.  Love others, even those individuals that are hard to love.  Do good every chance you get.  Most importantly, share the story.

I could be completely wrong on this line of thought (as if that would be the first time) but, ya know, it really does make me wonder and think.  No gadgets, no gizmo's, no healthy church prescriptions and yet they grow!  Can we be humble enough to admit that we don't have all of the answers and look at what these churches do and how they do it and perhaps learn something?  Can we stop analyzing long enough to grasp the message that they so eloquently convey?  Perhaps the answer has been staring us in the face all along!  Perhaps the answer is just that simple!

Why do they grow?  This inquiring mind would like to know!

Not Much to Write Home About

Ecclesiastes-the definitive book on pointless striving!  Here's the gem from chapter 2 in The Message paraphrase that inspired the blog post title this morning:

"Call me 'the Quester.'  I've been king over Israel in Jerusalem.  I looked most carefully into everything, searched out all that is done on this earth.  And let me tell you, there's not much to write home about."

And here is another little gem from chapter 1:

"What was will be again, what happened will happen again.  There's nothing new on this earth.  Year after year it's the same old thing...Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow?  Nobody'll remember them either.  Don't count on being remembered." 

In other words.  History can and does repeat itself.  Why?  Because lessons learned by a previous generation are forgotten.  And we have an arrogant blind spot-we think that we are much better than previous generations.  We're brighter, smarter, we won't make the same mistakes that they made!  So, if that is the case, then why do we have Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party movements here in the United States?  If we are so much smarter, and we learned past lessons so well, then why do we have the "great recession?"  (Cause heaven forbid we call it what it is-a national and world wide depression.)

I bring this up because I just finished reading a Teddy Roosevelt biography last week and I was struck by how similar the scenarios were to what is going on now.  There was an interesting comment by the author about Teddy's opposition to monopolies.  He wasn't opposed to the accumulation of wealth, he had a problem with how the power that came along with that wealth was used.  It really comes down to ethics and morals and the principle of loving your neighbor as yourself.  The events in the book took place at the beginning of the 20th century and now, here we are at the beginning of the 21st century and we are grappling with the same issues yet again!  We forgot the lessons learned and here we are again, nothing new or different-repeating the same scenario just at a different time and with different individuals.

Life makes a strong case for the importance of knowing history and for reading your Bible!  The Bible reminds us of how important it is to treat each other well.  For Christians it tells a much greater story than that because it tells us about Jesus and how God sent him to complete a mission that could only be accomplished by the Son of God.  The hope is there contained in the book for a better way, no doubt!  But it also is a very practical book-it is a hands on book.  It contains stories of flawed people who sometimes got it right and sometimes got it wrong.  It reminds us that struggle and pain are part and parcel of living on this side of heaven.  But it also teaches us to have hope, to have faith and to love others and treat them fairly.  It's like a book that screams "read this and learn from our mistakes so you don't make the same mistakes!"

The vast majority look at it either as a collection of myths, or they open it when going through times of crisis but they don't read it on a daily basis as a means to learn how to live a better life.  It really is a wonderful guide if you take the lessons to heart!

I am begging you-if you don't read the Bible on a daily basis-make a decision, today, to start, TODAY!  Start with Psalms, start with Proverbs, start with the Gospels, doesn't matter-just pick a spot and start reading!  Use a translation that you can easily understand-read and absorb and underline and write notes, whatever works for you!  Just start!  You would be amazed at how much information is contained in this one book and how practical it is in your life, now, today!  You will find, my darling readers and friends, that the more you read, the more you will think "that is something worth writing home about!"

What we See-What we Convey

Thoughts from Amos (The Message Paraphrase)-the "what we see" part:
Chapter 5:

"Justice is a lost cause. Evil is epidemic.  Decent people throw up their hands.  Protest and rebuke are useless, a waste of breath.  Seek good and not evil-and live!  You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, being your best friend.  Well, live like it, and maybe it will happen.  Hate evil and love good, then work it out in the public square."

"...I can't stand your religious meetings.  I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions.  I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals.  I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making.  I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.  When was the last time you sang to me?  Do you know what I want?  I want justice-oceans of it.  I want fairness-rivers of it.  That's what I want.  That's all I want." 

Chapter 6:

"Woe to those who live in luxury and expect everyone else to serve them!  Woe to those who live only for today, indifferent to the fate of others!  Woe to the playboys, the playgirls, who think life is a party held just for them!  Woe to those addicted to feeling good-life without pain!  Those obsessed with looking good-life without wrinkles!  They could not care less about their country going to ruin." 

Is it just me or does this sound an awful lot like what we see around us today?  Amos may have brought the message (rather reluctantly) but he was obedient-he said what had to be said.  But he also ended on a hopeful note.  There would be shaking and sifting but a faithful remnant would remain.  And that remnant would rebuild because God would bless them.  

I'm still reading in the Book of Acts and today I read about Paul and Barnabas in Antioch (chapter 13). They were invited to speak twice.  The second time some of the Jews became jealous because of the crowds and they contradicted what Paul was saying.  Long story short, this is the point where Paul told the Jews that they had rejected the message so now they would be going to preach to the Gentiles siting Isaiah 49:6 as the justification for doing so.  It goes on to say that when they Gentiles heard this "they were glad and praised the word of the Lord..."  The message that was conveyed?  There was hope for them too!  They could accept that Jesus was the Savior and they too could be saved.  They could be included as well!  I got thinking about this:  what would it feel like to be an outsider, wanting to be a part of this but being told that you couldn't be included because you didn't have the right qualifications.  What would it feel like to have someone come along and suddenly say "oh that's nonsense, you can be included too!"  Is the church today willing to convey that message-hope.  Or will we stand by and look at what we see and say "this is simply how it is."  What message are we willing to convey?  How far are we willing to go?

If Amos, even in the midst of delivering a very painful message, could still hold out a message of hope, shouldn't we be doing the same?  The message is not pleasant-we all need to repent.  But there is hope!  Jesus is Savior and he is available to all who are willing to believe.  No qualifications necessary other then a believing heart and a willingness to repent our old ways and follow a new way.  That message should be first and foremost today!  Our world needs it desperately!

Something Significant Going on in Acts

This is going to be a short post because I am still trying to get a sense of what needs to be said on this topic.  Take some time today to read Acts, chapters 9-11.  Most of the time any sermon that is preached on these chapters deals either with Paul's conversion or Peter's vision.  As you read, I want you to ignore the rock star Apostles and focus on what is going on around them on the side lines.  Focus specifically on these sections:

Acts 9:10-19  Notice that God did not send an Apostle, God sent a Disciple-Ananias.
Acts 9:26-27  Notice that Barnabas has to intervene for Paul because the Apostles would not even speak to him because they are afraid of him.
Acts 10:1-8  Notice that God speaks to Cornelius first before he speaks to Peter.
Acts 11:19-26  Notice that only a few of them spoke with the Hellenists (meaning those who were not Jewish), they had great success, the Apostles sent Barnabas, Barnabas then went to find Paul and bring him back to Antioch and Antioch is where the Disciples were first called "Christians".

In my mind I am thinking in terms of "spiritual generations".  The Apostles were the first "spiritual generation" and here in Acts we are seeing work being done by the second "spiritual generation" of followers.  They had been trained well enough by the first generation to successfully carry out and carry on the mission.  And even though Cornelius was not necessarily a Disciple at the time, Peter is being sent to train him to become a Disciple leader.  

How exactly this applies to the here and now, I'm not sure.  I just know that I sense in my spirit that there is a significant lesson here to be pondered.  What we glean and how we apply it matters significantly.  All I know is that I am hearing that still small voice saying "pay attention, pay attention because this is big and it matters!"  I've learned to listen and pay attention and right now, I'm in "wait" mode.  I'll get back to you on this.  In the meantime, if you have any thoughts on this feel free to share! Something significant is going on!

Distinctly Methodist?

Methodist minister and blogger, Jeremy Smith, posted in a round about way on a topic near and dear to my heart!  Here's a link to the post Methodist Kudzu so you can read it for yourself.  He was quite specific, I am going to reflect a little more broadly on this topic.  My biggest pet peeve with the United Methodist Church is that it does not clearly stand for, or reflect, the stated beliefs of the United Methodist Church.  When the average member can not tell you what the UMC believes or why we believe this, then you have a problem!

In The Message paraphrase, Proverbs 24 has this little gem:

"It takes wisdom to build a house, and understanding to set it on a firm foundation..."

My dad was a carpenter.  I'm no expert but I absorbed enough wisdom from him over the years to understand some things about buildings.  First, the foundation has to be solid.  It can't wiggle or wobble, it needs to be firm.  Second, the frame needs to be solidly connected to the foundation-the building needs to be unified.  There is a right way to build and there is a wrong way to build.  Some flaws are cosmetic and just need to be covered.  Other flaws though, negatively impact the integrity of the structure and you have to tear them out and fix the problem.  Build correctly and your building will stand firm.  Build it wrong and your building can (and at some point will) collapse.

Here's my point.  We have an amazing foundation thanks to John Wesley and the early founders of United Methodism.  In my opinion, hands down, bar none, we have something worth sharing!  But as a denomination today, we are all over the place in what we teach and how we teach it!  We have lost the unity of the message and our messages are no longer connected to the foundation!  Not only is the average member puzzled by what we believe, it seems some of our ministers have the same problem!  (Yup, here I go stepping on toes again).  Some call this an "identity crisis".  I think it goes deeper than that, we have a unity crisis.  When you stray from your roots or your foundation, then you are no longer connected, and that, my darling friends, is a problem!

Jeremy has pointed to something very specific-we are allowing Bible Studies to be taught in our churches that do not line up with core Methodist beliefs.  I think the problem is even bigger-we do not teach core Methodist beliefs in the first place.  What makes us distinctly Methodist?  What do we believe?  Why do we believe this?  Why do we do things one way instead of another way?  Seriously, why are we not preaching this from the pulpit or teaching it in Sunday School class?  Because we are no longer anchored to the spiritual foundation that is the UMC.  Because our leaders do not feel a necessity to be anchored to our distinctly Methodist foundation.  We have preached "anything goes" for so long that we have become a detriment to our own denomination.  And as members, we stood by and didn't say a word!  Gee, I couldn't possibly imagine why we have a problem!

Not that this is new.  Even Wesley preached on this topic!  Go read sermon 61 They Mystery of Iniquity and you'll see what I mean.  That's why teaching (and preaching) the core beliefs is critical to regaining our unity and connection with our foundation.  That is why the early societies were so "methodical".  They understood how easy it is to get distracted and off course.  It's human nature to follow the shiny bobble!  It's hip, it's cool, it's popular, yeah let's go with the flow!  Going with the flow has never been a "mark" of Methodism.  Methodists are expected to hold to a higher standard.

The solution to this is not an easy fix.  We, as members, can demand a higher standard, but then we become the "problem child" churches in the Methodist hierarchy.  Or, as an individual, you can do what I've done, which is read and study my bible, read and study Wesley's sermons and notes, and read and study about the history of the United Methodist church.  Educate yourself and then share what you have learned with others.  It's an eye opener!  But I can tell you from personal experience, it's well worth the effort!  And pray.  Pray, pray, pray because we have so much to offer, if we would just go back to our solid foundation!  I have faith that we can and will reclaim our heritage, but I understand that I may have to wait...

Reclaiming the Essence of Worship

Worship is a touchy subject in many churches.  What makes it such a painful topic of conversation is "format" or "style of worship".  These disagreements have caused some serious rifts in congregations-worship wars!  I have some very strong opinions on worship and having planned worship, led worship and participated in worship I have just one thing to say.  Get over it!!!  Worship is not about "how" you do it, it is about why!

I like this take on worship in Psalm 100 in The Message paraphrase:

"On your feet now-applaud God!  Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence...Enter with the password: 'Thank you!' Make yourselves at home, talking praise.  Thank him.  Worship him."

Bottom line, it's not about us feeling good.  It is about us praising God and thanking God.  That is the whole point and all roads in regards to worship had better lead to God!  It's just that simple.

I, being a lover of all music, can worship God equally as well with a hymn as I can with a contemporary praise song!  Classical music?  Excellent.  Gregorian chant?  Inspiring.  Gospel music?  Fantastic!  I love it all and I can find a path to worship through any of these styles of music.  This is probably why I find worship wars so utterly ridiculous and pointless!  As far as I am concerned, the arguments miss the point!  A well planned worship service always leads the congregation on to the path of praise, thankfulness and worship in the presence of God!  Who are you focusing on?  What is your focus?  Are you really focusing on worshiping God?  Why did you pick this song or hymn?  Why do you have the service in this order?  If you are planning worship, then details matter!  Let me give you a couple of examples.

When I took over planning the contemporary service at our church there was one change that I insisted on which caught everyone by surprise.  It involved lighting the candles up front.  I wanted a child in our congregation to "bring the light in" and "carry the light out".  I didn't suggest this simply because I liked the idea!  I insisted on it because it was symbolic.  A child, bringing in the light of Christ, that light, prominently displayed up front and at the end of the service, a child carrying the light of Christ out in to the world.  Symbols matter!  They are important and I thought it was important to bring some of that symbolism back in to the service!  If the whole point of worship is about praising God and thanking God, a child is a good reminder about approaching the throne with child like faith!

Another complaint that I have heard is about saying the Lord's prayer.  Everybody does it by rote, it's just a part of the service, it means nothing, blah blah blah.  Well, maybe the reason it is rote is because someone hasn't done a thorough enough job of explaining the meaning behind it.  Or maybe it is because we as individuals haven't stopped long enough to think about what that prayer really says!

Let's stop and think about this for a minute and break it down.  "Our father"-yours, mine and everyone whether they acknowledge God or not.  "Who art in heaven"-the place that we are a part of yet is bigger than anything we can imagine.  "Hallowed be they name"-father totally rocks and we should honor him!  "Thy kingdom come"-I can't wait to see the big picture!  "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"-help me do and act the way that you would, father!  "Give us this day our daily bread"-provide for me what I need to do what you ask of me today.  "And forgive us our trespasses"-forgive my stumbles and ignorance.  "As we forgive those who trespass against us."-remind me that I need to forgive those who have hurt me.  "And lead us not in to temptation"-give me the wisdom to not do the wrong thing!  "But deliver us from evil"-let your holy spirit guide my every move.  "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever!" - your world is more real than this world and you are in control of all of it!   Thank goodness! "Amen"-so be it.

That was long but I think you get my point.  Everything that is a part of worship should have meaning.  The words, the symbols and the order matter.  And if you have to take a minute to explain it then do it-educate your congregation!  Think of worship planning like a river.  A river has rapids and quiet pools but a river always flows forward. The trees, the flowers and the rocks are there for a reason.  The point of worship is to praise God and to thank God and the river of worship should flow forward and bring us closer to that essence of worship.  And if you are a member of the congregation, remember that spirit of thanksgiving as you join with others to worship God with your presence and your praise!

So instead of wasting our time bickering over worship style why don't we instead focus on why we worship?  Let's focus instead on reclaiming the essence and true purpose of worship!  Regardless of what format or style that you use, make sure that what you do leads the congregation towards praising God and thanking God!  If all roads lead to God then you will have an inspiring worship service-regardless of style!  It's time that the people of God reclaim the essence of worship!  Amen and Amen!

I'm getting off my soapbox now...

And You? Go About Your Business Without Fretting or Worrying

The blog post title is part of the concluding line of Daniel chapter 12 in The Message paraphrase.  With everything going on today that word of wisdom from an angel is a good reminder to all of us!

Seriously, there are certain things in life that are beyond our control that we can not do anything about.  I can not stop a stock market crash.  I can not stop a meteor if it chooses to come to close to earth.  I can not cure cancer.  This is not my area of knowledge or expertise.  For some people, this is their area of expertise and God bless them for using their skills to address certain problems!  But in the whole scheme of things there are certain things that are beyond my control and worrying myself sick over them will not help me or anyone else!  Daniel needed this reminder as well!

Prior to these closing lines Daniel had seen some pretty scary visions in vivid detail-sort of like a 3-D bad dream with surround sound!  We know he became physically ill trying to process the information and we know he got distracted from his duties because of the dreams.  Daniel even tells us that he fainted in terror.  It wasn't until an angel came and touched him that he regained some strength and then he was able to listen to the interpretation.  Bottom line, Daniel was seeing future events and they were going to happen and there was nothing that he could do about them.  He was told simply to write them down and then put the vision under lock and key because now was not the time to reveal them to others. 

I know that doesn't sound very hopeful but even in the midst of chaos God always provides hope if we are willing to listen through the ears of faith!  If you go back to chapter 10 when Daniel first encounters the angel he starts off by saying this:

"Daniel' he said, 'man of quality, listen carefully to my message...From the moment you decided to humble yourself to receive understanding, your prayer was heard, and I set out to come to you."

Now understand, at this point in time Daniel had been praying for three weeks.  The angel then goes on to explain that he was delayed because he had to fight against the prince of Persia (keep in mind that battles happen beyond our realm of seeing and understanding) and it wasn't until Michael came to help, that this angel was able to get away in order to speak to Daniel.   Makes you wonder what would have happened if Daniel had stopped praying and waiting for an answer, doesn't it?  

In chapter 12 the angel goes on to tell Daniel that there will be big battles ahead, many will die but those who have chosen to live wisely, those who lead others by their example will be saved.  The angel says this:

"And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like starts forever...In the interim there is going to be a lot of frantic running around, trying to figure out what's going on."

 At the very end the angel tells Daniel to relax and go about his business without worrying.  In other words, keep living the life you have been given to the very best of your ability.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't concern ourselves with things that we should be taking care of ourselves.  What it means is that we can't drive ourselves to distraction and despair over things that are beyond our control.  We can talk a good talk but if we don't lead by example then we can't lead others towards the path they should follow. 

Too often we fall in to one of two camps.  The first camp is the pessimist group-they worry over anything and everything and because they are so obsessed with worrying they get absolutely nothing accomplished.  The world is going to hell in a hand basket and the sky is gonna fall, so what's the point?  Everything is scary, everything is risky and rather than dealing with things right in front of them they just shut down.  The other group is the "the Lord will provide" camp.  I don't have to do anything about this because the Lord will provide.  Again, nothing gets accomplished because they just sit back and wait for the big hand in the sky to drop off what they think they need.  Thing is, what they need may be right smack in front of them but they do nothing with it because it doesn't look like anything they expected! 

There has to be balance.  Don't worry about things you can't change.  Do take care of things that you have control over.  Pray and keep praying for things you need.  Thank God when he shows you how to take care of things in ways that you did not expect.  If you keep on keeping on, regardless of circumstances people will notice.  If you want others to follow lead by example.  Give them something worth following.  And go about your business without fretting or worrying. 

Pretty good advice if you ask me!  It came from an angel.  But if you want even more evidence of what good advice this is, go read what Jesus said because he said the same exact thing!

Those Pesky Stumbling Blocks

Matthew 18:6-7 (NRSV) says this:

"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks!  Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!"

Prior to this Jesus had used children as the example of how one approaches the Kingdom of Heaven.  By parable and example before and after this section Jesus talks about religious leaders being more concerned with outward appearances than inward well being.  Or, about the slave who was forgiven his debt who in turn did not forgive the debt that was owed to him by another slave.  Stumbling blocks, child like faith, leadership, what is the common thread here?

Children today are treated very differently than they were even 200 years ago, let alone 2,000 years ago!  As soon as they could help out with chores that was exactly what they were expected to do!  Or as the notes in the Wesley Study Bible point out, they were treated like servants.  They were not in positions of authority, they were workers.  But I do think that there were some similarities to the children of today.  For small children everything is cool!  Bugs are cool.  Mud puddles are cool.  The weirder it is, the cooler it must be!  They approach everything with a sense of wonder and excitement.  They also have not figured out a sense of right and wrong, which means that they are teachable.  They don't approach others with any preconceived notions of who they are or where they are in the pecking order.  A child doesn't ask why someone is in a wheelchair because they are being cruel.  They ask because they really want to know why is that person in a wheelchair?  Judgements develop with age and life experience cruelty doesn't come in to play until they get a little bit older and base their reactions on the examples that they have seen from others around them. 

There are certain boundaries that we have to set for our children in order to keep them safe, like sticking your hand on a hot stove is bad because you might get burned or look both ways before you cross the street because getting hit by a car would be bad!  These are not stumbling blocks but rather appropriate boundaries that parents traditionally teach.  Jesus went head to head with the Pharisees not because he thought that boundaries or traditions were inappropriate.  He went head to head with the Pharisees because they were putting so many unnecessary rules on people that had nothing to do with God's Word.  They were going out of their way to set up stumbling blocks! 

Pharisees and Scribes were the leaders of the Jewish community.  Their job, their task was to teach and to lead by example.  Their job was to serve the people of the Jewish community.  As time went on they became less concerned with the servant role and more concerned with the status role and that is what they taught to others.  You're wealthy?  Here's where you fall in the pecking order.  You're blind?  You're low down on the list!  It's tradition, that's just the way it is and that's how it has always been done!  It's no wonder that Jesus could not perform many miracles in his hometown because they could not accept who he had become since they knew where he came from!  They were offended because he was stepping out beyond the established hierarchy pecking order.  He was not being what they thought he should be, he was not acting the way they thought he should act.  Nazareth?  Nothing good comes out of that place!  It's the wrong side of the tracks!  Tradition in this sense, became a stumbling block.

It makes me wonder what we have set up as stumbling blocks today in our modern society.  How do we hold others back because of the views we have been taught to hold?  Do we judge older adults as being less worthy to hire because we think they do not have the ability to contribute with the skills they have or have the ability to learn new skills?  Do we judge younger people as being less than trustworthy because they have tattoos and piercings so they must be "from the wrong side of the tracks?"  Do we choose not to hire someone with a past criminal record because we are convinced that they there is no way they could possibly change?  Do we close churches because their numbers don't fit our dashboard?  Do we end up accomplishing nothing because we are so entrenched in my way or the highway?  How many potential leaders and innovators have fallen through the cracks because they don't behave the way we believe they should?  How many have fallen by the wayside because of the stumbling blocks we have placed in front of them?

I don't think tradition is the problem.  I think it is how we use those traditions that lead to problems.  I'll give you a modern day example.  We tell our children that they can do anything they want to do.  That in itself is not a bad statement!  What we changed became the problem.  We started grading on "curves", we told them "everybody wins" and we made sure that competitions reflected that philosophy.  We taught them that success could be easy and failure was impossible.  Everyone and everything would work in their favor.  So when our children went out in to the real world and fell flat on their face they were completely unprepared for dealing with failure!  They couldn't understand that work was hard and sometimes tedious and that persistence was important!  We didn't do our children any favors by sugar coating the truth.  If anything, we prolonged the learning curve of life in the real world because they had to totally change their thinking!  In our quest to better "nurture" we created a whole new set of stumbling blocks!

We've done a similar thing in our churches.  Come as you are is good, but we've chosen to leave off the part about Discipleship and confronting things that we need to change in our lives in order to follow this path.  There are key components of a faith journey that we have chosen to either gloss over or just not mention because it might make someone uncomfortable.  Do we offer a method for daily Bible study?  Do we teach about prayer?  Do we teach about church tradition and why the church believes certain things?  Do we teach about humility and serving others being critical elements to an individual's faith walk?  And accountability?  It's not personal, it's numerical.  And we wonder why we flounder about without any clear purpose or sense  of direction!  We've created our own stumbling blocks.

No wonder Jesus warned us strongly about stumbling blocks!  He understood that we could take something meant for our good and twist it so badly that it becomes a stumbling block!  Jesus never said that following in his footsteps would be easy!  He didn't say that there would not be challenges or that the work would be easy.  He did provide us with a starting point-a child.  Approach the Kingdom with a child like heart of wonder and excitement.  Approach the Kingdom as a servant willing to do the work.  Approach the Kingdom without the customary baggage of judgement, pessimism or superiority.  Approach the kingdom as a child like servant and become the leader that God intended you to be! 

That's a fantastic message of hope!  That message is still alive and well today!  We simply have to choose to grab hold of it! Those pesky stumbling blocks will still be there but that doesn't mean that you have to let them stop you!  Hope remains!  Thank you Jesus for reminding us once again that hope remains! 

See Your Vision and Make it Plain

Why is it that I can understand Wesley's sermons more easily than I can understand some of the sermons delivered by modern ministers?  Wesley uses terms like "thee" and "thou" and words that you don't even hear anymore like concord (who knew it was more than a grape or a plane!  It means harmony.)  How many of us who sit in the pews get asked "well what did your minister talk about?"  How many of us are unable to come up with a good answer?

I think the first problem may be what some would refer to as "churchese" or "religionese"-the words that get used that sound warm and fuzzy but unless you are within a select circle you have no idea what they really mean.  Every profession has their own unique language-teachers, doctors, lawyers, for example, and it is to be expected but when you are trying to communicate an idea to a lay person, you have to speak in plain language.   

I think a second issue is that we try to take something simple and make it sound more sophisticated or complex than it really needs to be!  Some of it may have to do with ego (see my education paid off, I really do know something) but I think actually it has more to do with this desire to come up with the coolest spin for the latest ad campaign.  Somehow what we have is not cool enough or flashy enough or catchy enough so we have to re-invent it in some way.  The result is a failure to communicate. 

Let me give you an example.  Our church had a workshop where a consultant from the conference came in and gave his presentation.  One of the points that he consistently hammered on was the need to bring in more children, youth and young adults.  But every "contemporary" example that he used came from the Boomer generation.  Being a Gen-X'er I understood his points but I couldn't relate to them.  I (like an idiot) mentioned this at the end during the comments time and he looked at me like I had grown three heads!  (Thanks for listening...not!)  Look folks, I understand the assassination of JFK was a big deal but I didn't experience it personally.  It is modern history but for me it is still history!  The Challenger explosion, I can relate to, but the Millennium generation can't because they didn't experience it as it happened.  September 11th, that is a point in time that the older Millennium generation can understand and relate to because they experienced it happening.  I share this because at this workshop there were young adults (those individuals that the church is trying to involve) and what they got out of it amounted to very little that they could relate to or apply.  And we wonder why our message isn't getting through...

I could give you more examples but I hope you get my point!  I have read enough of the Wesley sermons now that I can see a pattern and even though the wording is archaic I still get the point of his messages.  Wesley takes scripture and if it is Old Testament relates it to New Testament and vice versa.  He explains how it has been understood in the historical context, how traditionally it has been interpreted.  He then follows it up with why it is important to the here and now today!  People may not have agreed or embraced his message but dollars to donuts, they understood what he said to them! 

So I am paraphrasing Habakkuk 2:2 here when I say see your vision and make it plain.  What is the scripture that you want to talk about?  Where is the connection between Old Testament and New Testament?  How has it been historically interpreted?  How do I take this and use it in my life today?  Ask some questions so I have something to mull over during the week!  Point me towards figuring out how I can apply this in a practical way! 

Now this doesn't mean that you have to spill some deep dark secret or that you have to use vulgar language for shock value, which seems to be the latest greatest trend.  What it means is that simple is better!  If you are going to use "churchese" then explain what that warm and fuzzy term really means in plain English! 

If you want members to run with the message, if you want them to "go out and make disciples" then put the message out in a way that is concise and clear so they can understand!  Honest to goodness it really is that simple!  Discipleship in its simplest form means apprenticeship or training someone so they can do the job.  Trust me, there are people sitting in your pews starving for that sort of message!  And when you light that fire, look out cause it's gonna burn!   Ah, what a vision!