Leaving the Safety of Church

On Sunday, I will be delivering a message about Christians being perceived as hypocritical. Whether you like it or not, there is a perception that Christians are hypocritical. Specifically, folks in their 20s and 30s who are not Christians feel as though Christians do not live out the very things that they say the believe. Eighty percent of these folks know someone who is a committed Christian, but only 15% believe that those Christians live a lifestyle different from anyone else.

Our bible reading for this Sunday focus on right living. Our reading from James asks us to be doers of the word, not just hearers. In our reading from Mark, Jesus tells us that is from the heart that bad deeds come forth. Church can be a safe environment. Are we ready to take our faith out from the church and bring it into the community?

What Do We Value?

I am working my way through Too Small to Ignore, and I came upon a quote that addresses something that has bothered me for a long time. Wess Stafford writes:

"In our [modern] society, when a guy flips a basketball through a ten-foot-high hoop can make as much money in three hours as a school teacher, who is shaping the lives of the next generation, does in a year, something is horribly wrong with our values."

I could not agree more. And it's tough to agree with that statement, especially being the fan of sports that I am. I have seen the breakdowns for athletes who make over $20 million a year. The amount they make per game is just sickening. These athletes have talents and gifts that few of us have. So many of us enjoy seeing those gifts in action that we allow them to get paid an incredible amount of money to do it. And I suppose those chosen few with the right skills deserve to be paid for those skills.

There is no National Football League or Major League Baseball for teachers. Our most talented and gifted teachers don't necessarily get paid much more than other teachers and certainly don't get the same recognition. Yet teachers do some critical work in the formation of our children. How does this happen? I suppose athletes are the business of entertainment. People want to pay (and pay they do) to see them in action. Watching a teacher could be exciting, but most likely not to the same degree.

This may read funny coming from someone who appreciates what a capitalistic system does for us. Even with its flaws, it's a system that I believe works...and works well. I applaud any athlete that I read about that is willing to take some of their money and give it back to the community. Hey...live a good life, and put some money away for the part of your life when you can't be an athlete anymore. Not enough athletes are sound financial planners. But, with what's left...what do you need with it? What are you going to do with your $250 million contract?

Imagine all of the good that could be done with that money if they made some serious donations. I am not calling for socialism. Not at all. I am also not asking for them to be taxed more. What I am asking is that those who make way more money than they really need should share of their own accord.

When athletes are interviewed after a great performance in a game, they often thank God for giving them the abilities that they have. Well, that's good...and I applaud that. It was God that gave them that talent that they developed. How about you take on God's call to love your neighbor and take some of the million dollar salary and give it back to those in need. I know many athletes give to charities and many give quite a bit of money. But, you can't tell me there isn't a little more to give.

Please understand, we all could probably stand to give more to charity...I am no exception. But, it is my wish and my prayer that athletes, entertainers and others could see it in their hearts to take their blessings and be a blessing to others.

Edward Kennedy

Regardless of where you stand politically, I encourage you to remember the family and friends of Edward Kennedy, who has passed away. He had been battling cancer for over 15 months, and while the death was not necessarily a surprise, it is still significant.

He was involved in politics for over 40 years and was a true figurehead for the Democratic Party. I can't say I agreed with a lot of his stances, but I recognize his influence and his strong desire to mentor those in his chosen field.

Too Small to Ignore

After attending the teleconference put on by the Willow Creek Church, their pastor talked about spiritual disciplines. Among his recommendations, he said that we should set aside 30 minutes a day for reading. That's a great idea! But, I tended to set that time aside right before I go to bed. Bad idea. I usually fall asleep after about four pages, because I'm just ready to sleep.

With my evening strategy, it took me forever to get through unChristian. I have decided now to take the advice of the pastor and read in the morning for 30 minutes. I am much more awake and I will make more progress through the book. I am currently reading Too Small to Ignore by Wess Stafford.

The books talks about the importance of children in our lives. It also talks about his traumatic upbringing in a missionary school in Africa. There are already some great messages that I look forward to sharing with you when I am done.

Prayer Note: Please pray for the community of Fond du Lac and they struggle with the future of the Mercury Marine corporation. From what I have read, it is likely that the factory will be closing in the next 2-3 years. This will greatly affect the Fond du Lac community, and not for the better. They need our prayers!

unChristian

I just finished reading the book unChristian. I found it to be a fascinating book, and I found it a book that really got me thinking about the role that I play in: (1) helping to make disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world and (2) how do I help the perception of Christians.

This book interviewed non-Christians to get a sense of what their perceptions were of Christianity. They took the major themes and wrote about them. The major perceptions are:

1. Hypocritical - Christians say one thing but live something entirely different.
2. Get Saved! - Christians are insincere and concerned only with converting others.
3. Antihomosexual - Christians show contempt for gays and lesbians.
4. Sheltered - Christians are boding, unintelligent, old-fashioned, and out of touch with reality.
5. Too Political - Christians are primarily motivated by a political agenda and promote right-wing politics.
6. Judgmental - Christians are prideful and quick to find fault in others.

Although painful to admit, many of these perceptions are dead on. And any Christian should read this so they get a sense of where we are right now as a religion. We have lost our way and need to figure out how to change. If we want to reach out to a younger generation, this is a must read.

Rick Warren, when asked where he'd like to see Christianity in 30 years says, "My dream is that thirty years from now, the church will be known more by what it is for than what it is against For some time now now, the hands and feet of the body of Christ have been amputated, and we've been pretty much reduced to a big mouth. We talk far more than we do. It's time to reattach the limbs and let the church be the church in the twenty-first century.".

Amen.

Sunday's Service: Peace

This Sunday, I will be preaching on Ephesians 6:10-20 which talks about the "Armor of God." The writer wants folks to be prepared for the influences of the world. He warns us not about individuals, but large powers and forces at work in the world. Among the items to worn, are the shoes of peace.

I hope to talk with folks about the role of peace in the message of Jesus Christ. Yes, we do arm for a battle for the world, and we battle against evil forces in the world. However, we battle with a message of peace. I know it sounds weird. It is my hope that by coming to church, you may learn more about this message.

See you in church!

New Clregy Orientation

As you may have read in the bulletin from the last few weeks, I was out of the office on Monday and Tuesday so that I could attend the New Clergy Orientation at the Byron Center. This was focused on folks who were in their first appointment in the Wisconsin Annual Conference. So, there was quite a sample of individuals.

In those two days, I was given a lot of information about resources available in the conference. I hope to use many of those tools. I also learned a lot about my benefits and other financial information. Wow...it's confusing and overwhelming, but helpful.

I will be getting back into the swing of things this week and look forward to more regular posting.