The elections are finally over! Wonderful! I am happy that it is over. As a pastor I get a lot of mail and phone calls from political parties and from special interests. Not only do they want my individual support, but want me to influence my congregation. One particular political party was calling me on the phone every week. Then a representative came to my house to promote their candidate and ask for my support. I said that as I pastor I could not and would not endorse any candidate. Additionally I mentioned that I was getting tired of all of the phone calls and that the calls were probably having a negative affect on me instead of their desired affect. To my surprise, I never received another phone call from that party until the day of the election when I received “get out to vote” calls from both parties.

This little incident shows in a small way the games of power and influence. The political parties wanted my support. They bombard me with information and calls. But when I mention that this is having the opposite affect, they quickly changed strategies.

But this brings up a bigger issue. Christians also have causes and issues that they want as public policy. Christians have had a long history of political activism in issues like abolition of slavery, the prohibition of alcohol sales, civil rights, the Viet Nam War, and abortion. For example this year in Michigan there was Proposal 2 which dealt with stem cell research. Many Christians and churches opposed this and I was frequently contacted regarding this issue. Of course not all Christian agree on issues. For example, some Christians marched in protest of the Viet Nam War while others volunteered for military service. But both sides were living out their Christian convictions.

This brings up the question about how to bring one’s Christian perspective to the American society. A common strategy has been to try and use political power whether through the political process. This brings up an interesting tension: Political parties try to use Christians to support their candidates and one the other hand Christians try to use political parties to further the Christian agenda. What should be the Christian perspective on this use of power?

Yesterday commentator Cal Thomas had an excellent editorial on this very topic. Cal Thomas is a Christian who writes for the newspapers instead of preaching from the pulpit. Due to copy right concerns, I have not reproduced his editorial here, but I highly recommend that you click on this link and read his editorial.

http://www.calthomas.com/index.php?news=2419

[Note: You might need to \"cut-and-paste\" the link.]

By the way, please remember to pray for all of our newly elected officials.

The Path Not Taken.

When I wrote about the financial situation a few weeks ago in my last pastor’s corner, I did not know the additional dramatic events that were about to happen. Bank failures. Emergency government bills. Market chaos. It has been stunning! As this hopefully came to its peak this past week, I thought back on my life and the “road not taken”.

The year was 1969. I had entered college with idealistic thoughts of going into forest management for national or state parks. I always loved – and still love -- the woods and trees. I also love wood -- the texture, the beauty, the patterns. So I thought that spending my life in the woods taking care of forests would be a great thing to do. But soon after entering college that dream slammed into some harsh logjams.

So what to do? I met with my college advisor, Dr. Rynolds, and he suggested that I take some tests: vocational interest tests, skills tests, and aptitude tests to a starting point for discussing possible careers. The tests showed two things. First, that I had a very high aptitude for financial matters – banking, money management, etc. Given my aptitude for math, while this was news to me, the results did not surprise me. But what did surprise me was that the test also showed that my personality – or my inner nature so to speak – was much more geared toward ministry than money. Additionally it apparently indicated that I would be very unhappy if I pursued a career in finances. But I had never even considered a ministry career. Up until this point I had only seriously considered two careers: engineering and forest management; ever ministry. Additionally I had no interest in being a “regular” pastor or in being ordained for ministry. However, Dr. Rynolds suggested that I seriously consider a career in some type of ministry.

About this time I also talked with an older college student that I very much respected about these issues. I still remember his comment: “What is done for the Lord will last.” That comment stayed with me. So I very tentatively started to explore a career in ministry. Yes, I KNEW that I did not want to be ordained as a pastor in a church, but I thought that I might enjoy a ministry in counseling. So I majored in psychology major and also took pre-seminary courses for possible preparation to go Fuller Seminary or Gordon-Conwell Seminary as they both had good counseling departments.

Through a long and winding path, I never did end up in Christian counseling, but do go to seminary and worked in youth ministries, in missions, taught in schools, and served two churches as pastor. But sometimes though the years I wondered, “What would my life have been like if I had taken the other path?” I want to completely clear that I have NO regrets that I took the ministry path. But that question still floated through my mind many times as I have always maintained a life-long interest in finances, economics and markets.

Then this current financial crisis slammed our nation. As I watched the chaos on Wall Street and watched incredible amounts of money just disappear as the markets crashed, I was stunned. Then this week I suddenly thought again about “the path not taken”. I am NOT saying that a Christian cannot be a money manager; they can. But I thought, “What if I had dedicated my life to building financial wealth for people and for myself, and then watched it all disappear in this financial crisis?!!” My life’s work would have vanished like a mist. Finished. Over. Ruined. I could have had all of the best intentions for helping people with their finances and retirements. But all of my good intentions are nothing compared to the power of out of control market forces. (Note: I feel for responsible money managers that are caught up in the middle of this. It must be a terrible position in which to be.)

Then I reflected on my life’s journeys and about all of the wonderful ministry opportunities that I have had all over the world. I cannot put it into nice numbers the way that a CPA can lay out a balance sheet. I don’t know how many people I have taught, let alone effectively impacted. I don’t know how many people I have touched and encouraged. But I do know that I have, but God grace, been privileged make a difference in the lives of a number of wonderful people. And no stock market crash can ever take that away. The events of the past month made me realize again just how thankful I am to God for “The path taken.” Like my friend said to me, “What is done for the Lord will always last.” It can never be taken away. May the Lord bless you as you follow his paths.

News of one financial crisis after another fills the daily news. Stunned Wall Street CEOs struggle to weather the storms. The FED and Treasury leaders hold long emergency weekend meetings trying to keep the financial world together. Add to this powerful Hurricane Ike slamming into Texas’ energy infrastructure last week and the understandable result is many shaken people.

However, crisis is nothing new. History overflows with such stories; one crisis after another – wars, natural disasters, plagues, collapsed governments and nations -- fill the history books. To have times of peace, prosperity, and stability, such as we are accustomed to in the USA, is the exception to the rule. So we should not be surprised that history repeats itself.

Such crises should teach us again that we control nothing. We love to believe that we are in control. To have power over things feels great; however, it is only an illusion. As Jesus said, “You cannot make even one hair white or black” and “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” James adds, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord\'s will, we will live and do this or that.’” So much for the idea that we are in control!

This is a crucial lesson to learn for if we live with the illusion of control, we can never have peace because we never can attain the desired control. However, once the illusion of being in control -- or even the possibility of getting in control -- is rightly shattered, we can embrace one little step at a time the true perspective. Embracing “uncontrol” does not happen overnight. We tenaciously cling to our need for control. But there is no sound alternative.

What is the right perspective? The Psalmist, who lived through many crises, states it susictly. So as the waves of crisis pound Wall Street or if hurricanes hammer our coast, I encourage you to think about these words.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

What is your favorite Bible passage? That’s a difficult question. It is similar to asking what a person’s favorite food is. It depends on one’s mood at the moment. But one of my favorite passages is Matthew 6:25 – 34. For me this is one of the most powerful teachings on practical Christian living that Jesus ever gave.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

What an incredible passage. It puts life into perspective – especially for a person like me that loves to worry about everything. There are always so many things to worry about in life. The economy. Our job. Our health. The children. Aging parents. The strange noise coming from under the hood of the car. The old shingles on the roof of the house. And these cares weigh us down. Additionally, as the cares build up, things often seem like they are out of control. That is a bad feeling. But Jesus tells us not to worry because God cares about us and has things under control. He will take care of things. Of course this is easier said than done. Worrying is so natural. For most of us, it takes a lot of faith to stop worrying about all these things and trust in God.

But as I thought about this passage yesterday, I was struck again by the command of what we are told to do. Jesus said not to worry, but he also said, “Seek first his (God’s) kingdom and his righteousness.”

Two things. First, what would our lives be like if we spent as much energy seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness as we do worrying about thing? What if we “worried” as much about righteousness as we worry about paying the bills?

Second, in practical terms how do we seek and live out God’s righteousness? It is a grand phrase to say “seek first his kingdom and righteousness”, but practically how do we do that? I don’t have any quick or easy answer to that question. I suppose that is because it has to be lived out in every situation all day long. The answer would almost be like keeping a diary of one’s daily activities and seeing how putting God first in everything affects one’s choices. I have been thinking and praying about how to make this real in all areas of my life each day because I am convinced that if I learn this lesson, I have learned the core of the Christian life. Blessings to you all.

Genesis 4:6 - 7
The Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

Wow! Pretty powerful but strange words to our modern western ears. Sin crouching at our "door"?! It wants us?! What is this??!!!

Interestingly when I worked in Papua New Guinea, this language was not strange at all. Often when a person committed a moral sin, they would make an unusual defense -- at least by our standards. They would say, "Marila made me do it." The New Guineans believed in many types of spirits. Marila was a type of tempting spirit that was particularly good at sexual seduction. What they were saying is that a "Marila" spirit attacked them and made them fall. After all, who can resist the power of a spirit?! In answering this way they admitted to the action but did not admit to guilt because they claimed that were powerless to resist Marila.

While I have seldom heard such a clear "The Devil made me do it" defense for sin explicitly stated here in the USA, I also seldom here people talking about actively resisting temptation and Satan. The Western world doesn't take Satan and sin very seriously. Satan is almost a mythical character. Sin is a "mistake" and after all everyone makes "mistakes". It is no big deal. However, those far off people in Papua New Guinea did have it partially correct; evil spirits want us to sin. What they had wrong is that we are powerless to fight it.

God does not buy that excuse. Instead God calls us to fight temptation in whatever form it comes. When sin is calling, seducing, and even demanding us to follow, we must resist and master it. There are only two options -- resist or fall. There is no middle ground. We often think that there is. The typical response is to partially resist and we will partially give in. (We don't want to be radical now, do we??!!!) But when compromise, we give up some control of our lives to evil. The more we give in, the more power evil has over us. Eventually it becomes our master and it is a very cruel master indeed. It might be seductively sweet at the beginning, but in the end evil crushes and destroys. I cannot count the number of people that have poured out to me their life stories full of regret that they did not resist evil and are now suffering the consequences.

When we downplay the reality of Satan and his desire to destroy us through the seduction of sin, we foolishly leave ourselves open to attack. It is like naively walking into a dangerous situation or ignorantly playing with a loaded gun. Sometimes we might seem to "get away with it." But don't kid yourself. Satan is real. Sin is powerful. And the eventual consequences are only too real. We must master sin and Satan. This can only be done by looking to Jesus Christ and his power. As John wrote, "The one (Jesus/Holy Spirit) who is in your is more powerful than he who is in the world (Satan). See I John 4:4

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P.S. Please e-mail me with any questions or comments.

Sometimes when I talk to Christians about reading the Bible, their eyes get kind of a glazed look. They find it difficult or even maybe boring. I always struggle with this response. I an convinced regular Bible reading is one of the fundamental pillars for a mature Christian life. (The other “pillars” are worship, fellowship, and prayer.) However, I admit that also for me sometimes reading the Bible becomes routine and sometimes I find myself just going through the motions. Which brings me to an interesting experience that I have had this year with my Bibles.

I write “my Bibles” because my Bibles are special to me. They even seem to have their own personalities. Some are for “fun” reading, like Peterson’s “The Message”. Some are for serious study like my parallel Greek – English Bible. Some are for regular reading like my compact Bible. Some are particularly special like the little New Testament that was given to my grandfather in 1916 when at the age of 16 he entered the military to serve in WWI. And I especially like the leather Bibles that I have had through the years.

One of my first leather Bibles was given to me by my mother for Christmas in the early 1970s. I took it everywhere. Once I was reading it in a restaurant and a waitress spilled a whole jug of coffee on it (and me). She was mortified and offered to buy me a new Bible, but I refused. Why? I suppose that I am strange, but the longer I have a Bible, the more attached I become to my Bible. They become like old friends who have been with me through thick and thin. I treat them with a lot of respect. For example, when I lived in Papua New Guinea (1980 – 1983), I bought special Tupperware container to protect my leather Bible from damaging humidity of the tropics. That Bible eventually fell apart so in 1992 I replaced it with a new leather study Bible to take with me to the Philippines. Now this Bible is showing its age. But even though its leather is cracked, worn and frayed, I can’t part with it.

A couple of years ago I actually misplaced this Bible. I was saddened to think that it was gone for good, but one must face reality so I went out and bought a new leather study Bible. Imagine my happiness when a couple of months later found my old faithful friend. I put the replacement Bible on the shelf where it sits pristine and unused and put “Old Faithful” back on my desk. However, even after almost 20 years the pages of “Old Faithful” have hardly a mark on them – not even any coffee stained pages. Why? Because I like to keep the pages of my Bible clean and neat.

Paradoxically, this is very different from my practice when I am reading a good book. I underline. I highlight. I circle. I scribble. I put in stars and exclamation points. I put in comments like “What in the world??!!!” or “This is terrible logic!!” or “Great summary!” or “I wish that I had said that!!” in the margins. I like marking up books. It is my way of entering into a dialogue or even an argument with the writer. Sometimes mark up a book so much that I would be embarrassed to lend it out because what someone would think of me as they read the book. However, I don’t want my prized leather Bibles looking like that, especially as I read and reread them.

But in March an interesting thing happened. A friend bought me a chronological “Bible”. It is not a regular Bible. The contents are placed in the likely order that the books were written. Therefore, Job is very early in this “Bible”. The Psalms are mixed through the stories of David and Solomon. The Gospels are all mixed together.

Since this Bible was not leather and since it did not feel like a regular Bible, I decided to read this Bible like I would read any other good book. First, I read longer sections, usually three to eight chapters a day, instead of focusing on just a few verses. Second, I grabbed my pen and started mark it up – underline, circle, stars in the margins, !!!s by exciting things and ???s when I didn’t understand something. I had never done this before. It has been fun! It has made the Bible much more “interactive” for me. In some ways marking up the Bible as well as reading larger sections chronologically has made me see the Bible from a new perspective. I would highly recommend this method to anyone – as long as they are not doing it to their good leather Bible.

Maybe this will not help you. OK, try something else. Try reading new version or try a chronological Bible. Get a Bible reading guide or similar. Doing this can give one a fresh perspective or a renewed interest in this Book of books. In any case, however, you chose to do it, I strongly urge you to make regular Bible reading a core habit in your life.

In my recent trip to Europe, I naturally went through a number of airports. While waiting for a flight, I often peruse the airport bookstores looking at titles of popular books. In doing so I saw the bestseller “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins prominently displayed. Dawkins has written a number of popular books refuting the possibility of the existence of God. Of course, this idea is not new. In the last century or so writers from Nietzsche to Bishop Pike have explored this theme. But the theme of God’s non-existence is getting a lot of attention from current writers and thinkers, to say nothing about the general culture. (Just Google “God is dead” and you get over 3 ½ million “hits”!)

What should Christians think about this? How should we react? Should we be upset? Defensive? Afraid? Is God “in trouble” because of these books and current western thinking?

On the one hand these developments might be distressing, but on the other hand God is perfectly capable of defending himself. I was reminded of this when this morning I read about Israel losing the Ark of the Covenant to the Philistines.

The Ark of the Covenant was the most scared object of ancient Israel. Placed in the most holy area of the tabernacle or temple, it symbolized God’s presence in Israel. Many Israelites believed that it had magical power. In this it is interesting to note that the first movie in the popular movie series “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is based on this very idea. However, the first “Raiders of the Ark” were really the Philistines.

It happened like this. Israel was at war with the Philistines and they had just lost a major battle. Not good. The Philistines were powerful and additionally they had iron technology that Israel did not have. A decided edge to them. So Israel, to improve their odds, got the ark from the tabernacle and brought it with them into battle. With God right there with them in battle, they felt sure that would win.

[However, it is not quite that easy to control God. Just because Israel brought the Ark to the front lines did not mean that God would be with them. Mankind does not control God or his agenda.]

In any case when the ark arrived at camp, the Israelite soldiers went crazy with joy, yelling their heads off. At first the Philistines were afraid of the Ark’s arrive, but instead of pulling back they decided fight an all out battle. Israel’s joy was short lived as the next day Israel was crushed in battle. To make matters worse, the Philistines the Ark! The Philistines were thrilled. They believed that their gods had given them the victory over Israel’s God. So they brought the Ark to Ashdod and put in the temple of Dagon – a major Philistine God – as a symbol of Dagon’s power over the God of Israel. What a coup for the Philistines and Dagon! Then won that battle and “won” an extra god.

However, be careful what you wish for – controlling God is not that easy. Though it would seem that the Ark is now helpless without the support of the Israelite, the real “god” battle now begins. God and the Ark take on the Philistine gods and the Philistine nation all alone.

The next morning when the priests go into Dagon’s temple, they find Dagon lying on the ground in front of the Ark. It is like Dagon is bowing down to the Ark. Ouch! That’s not what the winning “god” is supposed to do! So they stand Dagon back up. The following day they find Dagon again fallen on the ground again in front of the Ark -- and this time broken into pieces. Double ouch! Dagon is not faring very well with the Ark in his house! To make matters worse suddenly many of the people of the town of Ashdod (where Dagon’s temple was) start getting very ill. It doesn’t take too long before the people of Ashdod decide that they have had enough of the “good luck” of capturing the Ark and send it off to Gath.

However, in Gath history repeats itself as there the people also get very ill. Soon the city is in a panic, so they decide to send the Ark off to Ekron. The people of Ekron aren’t happy about this. They don’t need the “honor” of hosting the Ark if it means suffering the same fate as Gath and Ashdod, so they capitulate send the Ark back to Israel.

Amazing! God did not need the armies of Israel to protect his Ark. God was perfectly able to protect his Ark. Against the gods, the armies, and the iron technology of Philistia, one little “box” – the Ark which represented the God of Israel – won. The Lord graphically showed that he did not need Israel’s armies and anyone else. As Zechariah 4:6 says, “’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

What does this mean today? For me it reminds me again that I do not need to defend God. Yes, I have to be ready to share why I believe in God. But I don’t have to worry about defending God against Richard Dawkins or anyone else writing against God’s existence. God is perfectly capable to defending himself.

Additionally, on a more practical level, this helps me as I work as a pastor. As a pastor I am naturally concerned about my local church (in this case Middleville CRC), my denomination (the Christian Reformed Church), the Christian church in the USA, and the Christian church in the world.

Sometimes there are problems in my local church. That can easily get me down and make me fret and worry. I quickly take on the responsibility of all of the problems in the church and make them my own. How will the church survive? How will it grow? How can it reach out more? How can it be more effective with the youth? How can I keep everyone happy even though different members have different views and different agendas?

On the next level, what about the denomination? It is not growing. It has had more than its share of struggles the past few decades. Sometimes to me it seems to be stagnating and lost in details instead of facing the crucial issues of the Kingdom. What is its future?

What about the Christian church in the USA? It hardly seems to be holding its own. Sure, it posts big numbers yet, but it seems to be conforming more and more to our culture and less effective. It seems like the church has accepted most of the values of out culture whether it be materialism, entertainment, or even personal ethics and morals. Statistics on most things show very little difference between people who call themselves Christians and those who do not claim to follow God. So what difference does the Christian church in the USA make?

This can all be quite discouraging. And is God defeated? Has he been captured by the “Philistines”?

Certainly, it would honor God for all those who claim to be Christians to live in a way that reflects this commitment. However, God does not need American Christians, the CRC (denomination) Christians, Middleville Christians – and he certainly does not need me – to prove that he is God and that he in control. He is perfectly able to take care of himself. And that is a wonderful thing. Because if it depends on me / us, God’s Kingdom is in real trouble. It is also a wonderful meditate on God being in control because when I truly remember this, it takes the oppressive burden of responsibility and worry off my shoulders. I just wish that I could truly remember this lesson every day.

Are any of your “perfectionists”? I am in certain areas. When I do something, I want to do it really well. And that is fine. But when it comes to writing in the “Pastor’s Corner”, that is a real hindrance because it keeps me from writing. When I read great things written by such writers and Philip Yancey and Thomas Merton, I face the stark reality that I cannot begin to write like that so I get discouraged. So let me admit up front that I cannot write like that and I don’t have their great insights.

There, that is out of the way. Now I am free to write reflections without having to be profound or perfect. Therefore, I plan to write much more often, either reflections on my daily Bible readings or current issues. You are welcome to write me and ask questions or give input. I certainly don’t mean to write the complete or final word on anything.

Let me start with a current issue that has been bothering me a lot this year: The worldwide food situation. Virtually everyone in the USA has noticed that food is more expensive. And this puts a strain on the budgets of many families. However, what most people in the USA do not realize is just what a huge issue this is for people living in third world countries.

I lived in the Philippines for almost a decade. Many people there not only live paycheck to paycheck; they live day to day. When I would hire a worker to do some work on my house, at the end of the workday he would stand at my door waiting for me to pay him so that he could go to the market to buy food for his family the next day. Food costs consume very large part of the income of most third world people. So when the price of rice doubles in Asia as it has in the past year, this is a huge hardship for the average person.

So what does this have to do with us? We did not make the price of food go up. And we cannot ship food easily to other countries. Additionally the problem is overwhelming in scope. How can we possibly make a difference??!!! And why did the price of food go up in the first place?

Regarding the increase in the cost of food, there are many factors -- and I don’t want to write an economics paper. But one significant factor in higher food costs is the increasing consumption of grains for fuel and for meat. Specifically a lot of corn is used to make ethanol. It is my understanding that takes about as much corn to make enough ethanol to fill up the tank on one good sized SUV as it does to feed one person for a year. That is a lot of corn being used for fuel for vehicles instead of using that corn to make tortillas.

Additionally, the people in wealthier nations and the growing middle class in the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) like to eat a lot of meat. Meat consumption is growing significantly in the BRIC nations. You might ask, “So what?” Well the issue is that it takes several pounds of grains to get a pound of meat from an animal. Therefore, it is less efficient to feed the grains to animals than it is to people. The more grain that is feed to animals, the more the cost of grains increase for everyone.

So what to do? I am not about to tell others how they should drive or eat. But as a personal decision my wife and I have decided to cut almost all meat other than fish out of our grocery buying. Additionally we have cut back on the miles that we drive. Of course this will not solve the problem. But we want to do what we can. And if others do the same, the combined effort might make some difference. In any case I would rather try to be part of the solution than to be part of the problem. As someone used to say to me, “Live simply so that others can simply live.” In today’s world that motto is taking on more significance.

It happened again the other Sunday. A visitor in church. He is moving into the area and came by to check out our church. That is fine. We love to have visitors. Also, if I moved into a new area, I would do the same thing – check out a few churches.

But what am I as the pastor supposed to say? Do I try to do a sales pitch and tell the person what a great church we have? What if I over do it – making our church seem better than it is or come on too strong? So should I act calm and low key? Then maybe he will think that I am not very excited about our church or that I am not interested in him joining our church. It is not an easy situation for me. What made it even more difficult was to learn that this person’s present church is a well known, highly regarded church that is particularly known for its magnificent worship services. Our little rural church cannot begin to compare with that? What could / should I say?

Or to take another example. A while back a couple visited our church. They had a long list of things that they were checking at every church they were visiting. What was the morning service like? What was the evening service like? What ministry programs did the church have? What was the preacher like? How friendly is the church? How much did it reach out to the community? What ministry could they be involved with or lead? What conflicts or issues are in the church? What are its theological positions? Etc. There were visiting all of the churches in the area several times with their check list. By the time got done listening to their list, I almost wanted to suggest that they look for another church. I was afraid if they joined our church that after 6 months they would find something that they did not like and they would be dissatisfied. We have been through that before. Someone joins all excited and then a few months later, a little wart of our church pops up and the people get dissatisfied that we are not a perfect church and they move on. That is discouraging for those who remain. We know that we are not perfect, but it still hurts when someone leaves because of our imperfection. Sometimes, in spite of the old cliché, it seems like it is better to have never loved at all than to have “loved and lost”.

Additionally, it can be discouraging to think of the concept churches as being in “competition”, especially when there are a number of large, successful churches around that dominate the scene. Well maybe competition is too strong of a word. Jesus wanted the church to be unified and that the world would know that we are Christians by our love. So instead of “competition”, let’s call it a beauty contest. But even at that, what hope does the average church have with megachurches and trendy contemporary churches in the area?

While I was thinking about this, I ran across an interesting story in Mark Galli’s recent book Jesus Mean and Wild.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“I had a chance on a recent trip to attend one of the most successful churches in America. It packs in more than 20,000 people at its weekend services. Its pastor is the author if bestselling books and is a world figure. The church is inspiring, effective, and relevant.

“Fortunately, it became impossible to attend there, and instead I was blessed to end up at an irrelevant church. Our family arrived promptly at 10:00 A.M., and we were greeted by a woman who was getting up from pulling a few weeks in front of the church sign. She welcomed us warmly and escorted us into the nearly empty sanctuary. After we were greeted by two other people, as well as the pastor, a handful of people straggled in and worship began.

“We were lead in worship by the weed-puller, who now had a guitar strapped on. She was accomplined by two singers and an overweight man on percussion. They were earnest muscians who, frankly, were sometimes flat or a little stiff, as if they were still trying to learn the music. The service, which included maybe 45 people, bumbled along – that is, by contemporary, professional, “seeker-sensitive” standards. The dress of the congregants suggested that there were some people of substance there, as well as some people on welfare. Some blacks, mostly whites. In front of me sat a woman wearing way too much makeup (at least according to my suburb’s refined standards), pouffy hair, and an all-black outfit.

“Communion was introduced without the words of institution – a bit of a scandal to my Anglican sensibilities. The pastor took prayer requests, and petitions were made of illnesses, depression, and a safe journey for my family.

“It was during the announcements that I began to suspect I was in the midst of the people of God. The pastor sought more donations for the food closet, at which time he noted a new milestone: The church had served 22,000 people with groceries in ten years. Everyone applauded, then settled in to hear a clear and truthful sermon about God’s love for us despite our sin.
Afterwards my family was warmly greeted by another five or six people, one of whom invited us to lunch. It was evident that they really didn’t care that we were not coming back. They just wanted to make sure we felt welcome.

“Nothing slick. No studied attempts to be authentic or relevant or cool. Just a small bunch of sinners, of all classes and races, looking to God for guidance and reaching out to the community in love.

“This little church will never be featured in Time or Newsweek or even in Christianity Today. Its musicians will not go on to record a CD; its pastor will not be invited to national preaching conferences.

“I’m sure that had I attended the megachurch, I would have been inspired by the music, moved by the message, impressed with the professionalism and efficiency of the service, and made to feel comfortable sitting next to people who dressed like me, an upper-middle class suburbanite.

“But it was a more godly experience to go to that little fellowship, because I believe that for all of the good megachurches do, this little fellowship manifested the presence of Jesus in a way that is unique and absolutely necessary in our age. (Galli, Jesus Mean and Wild; p. 121 – 123)

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I agree with Mark Galli that large churches to a tremendous amount of good. I praise the Lord for those churches and for their effective ministries. However, a vast majority of the churches in the USA are much closer to the church that Mark Galli described above than they are to a huge successful megachurch. And that’s OK. Most of us are ordinary people and ordinary churches fit ordinary people just fine.

So what should I say to a visitor? I’d like to say something like, “We are a simple, non-pretentious small town church. We are just ordinary people who love the Lord and each other. We are not flashy, not big, and not even trendy. But we love our community and we love visitors. Therfore we want our community and especially our visitors to join us in the worship of God. While our church might be ordinary, the God who we worship is special. And that makes us what we are, a body of Christ called to be a community of God’s grace.”

As a pastor I continually receive mailings about how to grow a powerful, large, vibrant church. Some of these promotional materials promise amazing results. “If you just follow our program, your attendance will increase and the giving will jump dramatically, etc.” I do not mean to be critical of new programs or ministries. Just the opposite. Many of the programs being promoted are of good quality. In fact in our church this fall I am thrilled by the addition of four new programs – Cadets (for boys), GEMS (for girls), a Men’s study/discussion group (studying The Disciplines of a Godly Man) and a new Woman’s study. Add to that the active and growing Youth Group, Children’s Worship, the After School Bible Club, and KidsHope and we see many tremendous answers to prayer as only a handful of years ago we did not have the children or resources for these ministries.

But we must never fall into the trap that programs are “the answer”. When God wanted to change the world, he did not send a program. He did not even send an angel. He sent a person. He sent a person to change the world. However, that person, Jesus, no longer physically walks on this earth. Instead he lives in his people – ordinary average people – people like you and like me. But when look at ourselves, we often wonder what difference we can make. “Not much,” is often our thought. After all who are we? So we are tempted to look for a powerful charismatic person. Lacking such a person – since there are very few around – the human tendency is to look to programs as the answer – and therefore the success of selling hot new programs. And programs can help, but they are not the answer. In this light I love the short story that follows about “the answer”.

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A once great monastic order had fallen on hard times as a result of waves of anti-monastic persecution in the 17th and 18th centuries and the rise of secularism in the 19th century. All of its branch houses were lost. It became decimated to the extent that there were only five monks left in the decaying motherhouse: the abbot and four others, all over seventy years of age. Clearly it was a dying order.

In the deep woods surrounding the monastery there was a little hut tat a rabbi from a nearby town occasionally used for retreat. Once when he knew the rabbi to be staying in the hut, it occurred to the abbot to visit him and ask for any advice he might offer to save the monastery.

The rabbi welcomed the abbot to his hut, but could only commiserate with him. “I know how it is,” he exclaimed. “The spirit has gone out of the people. It is the same in my town. Almost no one comes to the synagogue anymore.” So the old abbot and the old rabbi wept together. When the time came for the abbot to leave, he asked, “Is there nothing you can tell me, no piece of advice you can give me that would help save my dying order?”

The rabbi responded, “No, I am sorry. I have no advice to give you. The only thing I can tell you is that the ‘messiah’ is one of you.”

When the abbot returned to the monastery he fellow monks gathered around him to ask what the rabbi had said. “He couldn’t help,” the abbot answered. “The only thing he did say, just as I was leaving – it was something cryptic – was that the ‘messiah’ is one of us. I don’t know what he meant.”

In the days and weeks and months that followed, the old monks pondered this and wondered whether there was any possible significance to the rabbi’s words. The “messiah” is one of us? Could he possibly have meant one of us monks here at the monastery? If that is the case, which one? Do you suppose he meant the abbot? Yes, if he meant anyone, he probably meant Father Abbot. He has been our leader for more than a generation. On the other hand, he might have meant Brother Thomas. Certainly Brother Thomas is a holy man. Everyone knows that B. Thomas is a man of light. Certainly he could not have meant Brother Elred! B. Elred gets crotchety at times. But when you come to think of it, even though he is a thorn in peoples’ sides, when you look back on it, Elred is virtually always right. Often very right. Maybe the rabbi did my Brother Elred. But surly not Brother Phillip! Phillip is so passive, a real nobody. But then, almost mysteriously, he has a gift for somehow always being there when you need him. He just magically appears by your side. Maybe Phillip is the “messiah”. Of course the rabbi didn’t mean me. He couldn’t have possibly meant me. I’m just an ordinary person. Yet supposing he did? Suppose I am the “messiah”. O God, not me. I couldn’t be that important for You, could I?

As the contemplated in that manner, the old monks began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the off chance that one of them might be the “messiah”. And on the off, off chance the each monk himself might be the “messiah”, they began to treat themselves with extraordinary respect.

Because the forest in which the monastery was situated was beautiful, it so happened that people still occasionally came to visit the monastery to picnic on its tiny lawn, to wander along some of its paths, and even now and then to go into the dilapidated chapel to meditate. As they did so, without even being conscious of it, they sensed this aura of extraordinary respect that now began to surround the five old monks and seemed to radiate out from them and permeate the atmosphere of the place. There was something strangely attractive, even compelling about it. Hardly knowing why, they began to come back to the monastery more frequently to picnic, to plan, to pray. They began to bring their friends to show them this special place. And their friends brought their friends. Then it happened that some of the younger men who came to visit the monastery start to talk more and more with the old monks. After a while one asked if he could join them. Then another. And then another. So within a few years the monastery had once again become a thriving order and, thanks to the rabbi’s “gift”, a vibrant center of light and spirituality in the realm.

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The bottom line is that programs, as helpful as they might be, will never be the answer. People look at people. How we treat ourselves and how we treat others – even imperfect others – truly makes all of the difference in the world.