Half-time Worship

At our Monday staff meeting at GCF we were looking at some responses to a survey about what people were experiencing during worship this past Sunday.  One member of the staff asked, “what do we expect to happen in worship?”

This lead to a lengthy discussion in the meeting that became a long train of thought for me throughout the next 24 hours.  For fear of using too much theological jargon, I began to search for an analogy or metaphor that would help ground my expectations for worship.  When pressed too far, all analogies or metaphors fall apart, so don’t press this one too far.  Just let it be what it is.

I like to think of GCF as a team of people who go out into the world every week to do ministry in the name of Jesus.  Since we are a team representing the Kingdom of God in the world, perhaps we could think of our Sunday worship gatherings as the half-time locker room meeting.

What goes on in a half-time locker room meeting?  Four things . . .

First, the team gets refocused or increases its focus on the main thing.  The main thing for the team is winning.  The main thing for GCF is putting our focus on the grace, glory and power of God.  Singing, scripture reading, times for reflection, times for prayer, teaching, the offering and even announcements all call us to set aside whatever else is going on in life so that we can focus on who God is, what he has done, what he is doing, and what he is calling us to do.

Second, the team focuses on what it is doing well.  If there have been some great play calls or some excellent rushing then those things are highlighted.  The good work that the team is doing is accentuated.  Worship gatherings on Sundays give us a chance to look at what God is doing so well right in our own lives.  We saw this so clearly on Sunday as one GCF’er shared how God had been at work in her life during her two month stay at a Chinese orphanage last summer.  It was also very evident this past Sunday as another GCF’er shared about what God was doing to keep her hope alive during some difficult times.

Third, the team will make some readjustments.  It is unlikely that all things have been perfect in the first half, so the coach will point out some areas where some things need to be adjusted a bit.  One of our surveys from Sunday noted that the lyrics of the song Inside Out had been particularly meaningful, causing him/her to ask some questions about the shape of his/her own interior life.  Worship helps us make the adjustments that prepare us to better embody God’s kingdom in the world when we leave.  Teachings also help us do this.  The second of two application questions in Sunday’s teaching asked us to consider whether or not we are more familiar with the language of complaining or the language of hope?  Making an adjustment to speaking the language of hope in Christ rather than complaining is another way to “adjust” to better embodying God’s kingdom in the world.

Fourth, the half-time meeting is about energizing the team for the next round.  Having focused on readjustments, positives and the main thing, the team is energized to head back to the field for the second half.  Of course, the whole worship experience contributes to this, but our closing song(s) at GCF come to mind because they are intended to get our blood pumping to go back into the world to carry the victorious, life-giving, freedom-creating good news of Jesus to a lot of people who need to know it, touch it and claim it as their own.

One last thought . . . what goes in the half-time gathering has a lot to do with what went on in the first half.  Everything, and I mean absolutely everything, that happened is fair game for discussion at half time.  And this means that there is some preparation that each of us have to do – as individuals – when we come into our half-time worship gathering.  We’ve got to be prepared to lay everything on the table so that nothing is standing in the way of focusing on the main thing so that God can give us some guidance about what we are doing well, where need to make some minor or major adjustments, and get us energized to go back into the world in his name.

As you think about our worship gathering this Sunday, will you be ready to lay everything on the table?

The Friday E-Letter

Here’s this week’s copy of the e-letter that will go out to all GCF’ers on Friday morning . . .

Goodmorning GCF’ers,

My parents are arriving today for a quick visit before heading back to West Virginia late tomorrow.  My Dad is going to work with me tomorrow on cleaning out about five Japanese Honey Suckle shrubs (not to be confused with the Honey Suckle vine that smells so sweet) that have taken over the fence between our house and the adjacent farm.  The stuff grows with a vengeance.

Japanese Honey Suckle is so dangerous to other species of trees and shrubs and yet so resilient that the Raven’s Run Nature Preserve in Fayette County is spending a $1,000 per shot for a chemical that can be injected into the stump of a Japanese Honey Suckle shrub to destroy the root system.

 Sin, injustice and unrighteousness run deep in this world.  So deep, in fact, that we can even see it at work in the nature around us (see Romans 8.22):  Japanese Honey Suckle overcoming native species, various types of moss feasting upon trees until the trees have no nutrients of their own, and Dutch Elm disease (a fungus) killing some 20 million Elm trees in the United States since 1960.

 Like nature around us, we are also faced daily with the wages of sin and injustice in our world.  Anger drives us to contempt.  Lust drives us to relational brokenness.  Greed drives us to injustice.  And so it goes.

 But, just as a $1000 shot can destroy the root system of the Japanese Honey Suckle, there is also a “cure” for the wages of sin in our lives.

 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of Life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. – Romans 8.1-2

 Here are a few things I want to cover in this e-letter:

 (1)     Bonfire – April 4 @ 7pm

(2)     1-1-1

(3)     The Final Anchor

(4)     comMISSION ‘09

 Bonfire – April 4 @ 7pm:  Max started playing t-ball on Monday of this week.  While I was talking to Max through the fence at Sim’s Field here in Wilmore, Kyra called for me.  She asked me if I had a GCF business card in my wallet.  She had just met a family that was new to the area and had attended a couple of churches, but were having trouble finding one they liked.  Kyra used the opportunity to invite this family to come to our GCF bonfire on Saturday, April 4.  As you think about the bonfire on April 4, you might also think about inviting a friend or family member who does not have a church home to come with you.  We’ll roast wieners, marshmallows, play flag football, volleyball and close the evening with some worship around the bonfire.

 1-1-1:  Are you praying?  I have kept my 1-1-1 card on my desk this week and have been praying at least ONE time a day for the family that we are going to invite to join us at GCF for the bonfire on April 4 and for worship on Easter Sunday.  Deep in my gut, I cannot escape the feeling that as we pray Biblical prayers for the people that we want to invite to GCF, that the Father – as we invite them – will lead many people to GCF and to Jesus!

 The Final Anchor:  I am excited about worship this Sunday (9am and 10.45am).  Bekah Witzer, an AC student who was in China this past summer working at an orphanage will be sharing some about her time there.  We’ll also wrap up our five part-series on hope, called The Anchor.  This series on hope has been pretty life-changing for me and I hope that it has been the same for you.

 comMISSION ‘09:  I really enjoyed having the Rapach family with us in worship on Sunday.  I asked Matt if he wanted to do the announcements during worship, for old-time sake, but he turned me down on the offer.  The video clip of the work that the Rapaches did with the YWAM team in Brazil and Peru gave a terrific snapshot of what the team going to Mexico Missions (in Cancun) will be doing this summer.  There will be VBS in the mornings and evangelism events at night.  We need at least 8 people (and preferably 10) for the work we’ll do in Cancun.  So far, we have only 3 people signed up to go.  It may be that you are one of the five (or seven) other folks that God is calling to Mexico.  If you are one of the ones, then let me know ASAP.

 See you Sunday morning,

Pastor Jason

The Collaborative Art

The great myth of church leadership is that there are great leaders who operate quite independently; dictating to a mass following what new and exciting trends the community of faith will be pursuing or living out together.

Yes there are great leaders, but truly great leaders never operate in genuine independence.  Those who do are usually not remembered as great leaders, but as great fanatics whose leadership skills are likely classified by the terms such as “zealot” or “dictator”.  Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler, and no shortage of religious leaders – like Jim Jones or David Koresh, come to mind.

Instead, great leadership, is refined in the the community of a team.  From these teams, great leaders often emerge who – unfortunately - receive much of the kudos and accolades for any significant accomplishments.  This is due, in large part, to our cultures incessant need to search for Messiahs and Saviors amongst the hoards of rank amateurs who seek to lead us in better directions . . . current political trends in the United States come to mind . . .

Nonetheless, whenever we look closely behind a leader who is being given credit for accomplishing great things, we are certain to find a team of hardworking individuals who, like the leader, are striving for solutions that will help others achieve excellence in their pursuits.

I was reminded of this at our worship planning meeting this week.  Three of us sat down together to flesh out ideas, make decisions as we prepare to lead GCF in worship this Sunday.  The meeting was invigorating.  Some ideas were tossed out.  Others were kept to work on throughout the week.

It was another reminder for me that good leadership is a collaborative art; not the dictatorial whims of a single person.

Straight to the Hips (actually the waist)

A few years ago there was a relatively well-known commercial for Special-K cereal.  The add featured blue-collar, middle class men saying things like, “Do these jeans make my hips look big?”  The idea behind the add was that men don’t talk about things like that.  Consequently, if women would only buy and eat Special K for breakfast they wouldn’t have to worry about it either.

Well, I’m going to break the pattern of men not talking about weight.  I have struggled with my weight since I was in the third grade.  About five years ago – for several reasons – Iwas motivated to do something about it.  I started eating really healthy and started running.  How well I remember those first runs.  At 287 pounds (I had weighed 320 at my biggest – I lost 30 pounds over a year or two by simply switching to Diet Soda), it was all I could do to make it a third of the way around a 1 mile track.  In fact, I had to teach myself that it was a real accomplishment for me to get up every morning at 6am and go run 1/3 of a mile.  Within about a year, I had lost 120 pounds and weighed 167 pounds.  I was running about 4 miles a day, four to five days a week.  I felt great.  That summer I took part in my first-ever sporting event and ran a 10K.

Several transitions then took place.  We bought a house and I changed jobs.  Through that change of routine and stress, I slowly began to slack up on my healthy eating and exercise habits.

As of last Thursday – nearly 3 years after changing jobs and 4 years after the purchase of our home, I had officially gained back 77 pounds – more than half of what I had lost.  I weighed 244.4 pounds.

Thanks to a good friend at church, I have been coaxed and prodded into getting healthy again.  Since last Thursday morning, I have not consumed more than 1500 calories a day (all healthy stuff) and I have been running again.  It has been great despite the fact that I have had to get over the disappointment of being taxed after running only a mile or so.  At any rate, as of yesterday morning I weighed 241.2 pounds.

And I am going to keep going.  Weight loss is one thing, but my bigger motivation at this time is to feel good again.  I simply  do not feel as good or have as much energy at 241 pounds as I did at 167 pounds and running 16 to 20 miles a week.

Posting this here is sort of like my public accountability mechanism.  At least once a week, I am going to post my progress and hope that it will not only keep me accountable but also encourage others who may need to start (or re-start) this same journey with me.

A Disgusting Chain Reaction

Well, I was supposed to leave for West Virginia in about 45 minutes with Max to go and pick up an LCD-TV that my parents bought for us.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!  Unforunately, I got a call at about 9am that Max had thrown up at school.

I picked him up, got him some Motrin and some Gatorade.  Got him home, put him in bed with a movie in the laptop and a few minutes later he rushed to the bathroom for another go-round.  Poor kid.

Stomach illnesses are my weakness as a Dad.  I don’t do well with cleaning up the end-results.

I was reminded of a very disgusting story that I’ll tell in short form – only because I have nothing of any real seriousness laying on my chest to write about today.  A kid in my first grade class threw up on the way back from lunch.  Within in about 30 minutes, more than half of the others kids in the class (including me) had also thrown up.  One nasty chain reaction.

So, here’s hoping that Max’s stomach illness (which hit Sydney earlier in the week) is the last link in the chain.

President Obama and the National Relational System

Reminder:  the posts at this blog do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the church where I serve as Pastor.

On Inauguration Day, I sat with my 5 year old son at home watching Barak Obama become the first African-American President of the United States.  While many of the President’s political policies do not reflect my own sentiments or principles, I was hopeful on that day for two reasons:  (1) we had taken a step closer to what the pundits and pop-culture sociologists refer to as a “post-racial” society and (2) I genuinely want President Obama to be a successful President.

After hearing President Obama speak so eloquently about hope, I listened to the inaugural address wondering who had absconded with his hope.  I then took a glance at his op/ed piece today in the Washington Post and found the President of “hope and change” beating the same “doom and gloom” drum.  I believe the phrase from the op/ed piece was that without this stimulus bill, the American economy might be irrecovably damaged; meaning that without this particular stimulus bill and this particular effort by the federal government, America will fall a part.

This kind of rhetoric annoys me.  It is not the federal government that has made America an exceptional nation.  It is the blood and sweat of hardworking, dedicated, honest Americans that have made this an exceptional nation.  Our rescue from the jaws of economic disaster will have little to do with President Obama, our elected officials and the trillions of dollars worth of useless bills they seem more than ready to print at the drop of a hat. 

Rescue from the jaws of the so-called impending economic disaster will come from the hearts and hands of the everyday bread makers and bread winners who will double down and roll with the financial punches so that the American (and subsequently the global) economy will again flourish.

President Obama would do well to encourage us to double down, roll with the punches and do what Americans have always done:  slap some old-fashioned Yankee ingenuity and elbow grease to the problems that ail our national economy.  Instead, the new President has successfully convinced us that we are a weak and misguided people who have no real capacity to make it through times like these.   He continues to convince us – if not by his words, by the substance of his policies, that the federal government, and an increase of its powers and influence, are the only things that can pull the weak, poor, misguided American masses into a new age of enlightenment.

I was trained as a counselor and it seems to me that a quick glance at some time-tested principles of family systems therapy highlight one of the gross flaws in the President’s philosophy and the policies he is basing on that philosophy.

Without a doubt, humans are shaped by the communal networks (systems) in which they are involved.  We are all a product – to some greater or lesser degree – of the relational systems in which we are involved. 

A government of the people, by the people and for the people that forsakes those who are in trouble is a system that will fall apart. 

At the same time, we know that one of the key ingredients of a healthy relational system is the ability of the individual members in that system to self-differentiate.  Self-differentiation is the process by which members of a relational system develop an individual identity that is strong, confident and secure a part from the relational system. 

Self-differentiation of an individual member within a relational system usually happens when others in that system cease to “carry” that individual and instead behave and act in such a way  that the individual is forced to build his or her own identity with a healthy deference to the relational system. 

This process is what happens when a 16 year old gets a driver’s lisence.  Because he can now drive himself around – and no longer has to rely on his parents to do so, the 16 year old builds an identity apart from his parents.  It is the development of this identity that helps create a strong and confident individual who will then benefit the relational systems in which he or she is involved rather than draining those systems.

President Obama’s policies go well beyond the kind of steps that will create confident individuals who will benefit our national relational system.  Instead, these policies will create codependent individuals that will erode the national relational system.

President Obama, with his oratorical skills and the current goodwill of the American people, has a “once-in-a-couple-of-generations” opportunity to signficantly move America away from an increasingly dysfunctional way of being a national community toward the very kind of national community that founded, built and has sustained America for more than 2 centuries.

Sermons that Change the Congregation or Sermons that Change the Preacher?

I have two upcoming sermon series that are teaching me something simple and yet somehow very new (at least new to  me).

Some time ago I decided that I would do a two part series called Busting the Money Myth and then a series during Lent that focused on hope.  This series will be called The Anchor, based out of Hebrews 6.16-18.

A lot of times I develop a sermon or a series of sermons thinking about the spiritual needs within the church or because a particular passage of scripture is really intriguing to me.

I always have a key passage of the Bible that each message is focused on and I usually begin my study by asking lots of questions.  But as I have looked at the passages for these two  upcoming series, I am finding that the questions go beyong the typical exegetical, preacher kinds  of questions.  The questions this time are personal.  It is not the first time that I have brought personal questions to the study of a passage for a sermon, but the personal questions this time are far more intense.

Busting the Money Myth, for example, has me thinking about how much my security rests in my financial self-sufficiency . . . I keep asking myself if enough (which would be absolutely all) of my security is really tied up with God and his promise of provision and care?  I keep wondering how faithful I would really be if I lost everything that I had?

The Anchor has also lead me to some similar questions.  When the fading of the things that bring supposed security (like money, jobs, etc.) create stress, why isn’t the hope that I have in the promise of the coming of God’s new creation or the promise of the guiding presence of Jesus Christ enough to keep me from going into freak-out zone?  Why does my hope fade and grow depending on the relative security of my circumstances?

As I think about these series, I can make no guarantee of how they will turn out as “sermons”, but I know that the personal depth of my questions will not leave me untransformed by the time all I have to say is said and done.

Come On, Hope!

We are about three weeks away from starting a new series of messages at GCF.  Called, The Anchor, this series will be based on Hebrews 6.16-18 and will take us through 6 weeks of talking about hope.

As I was sitting in Panera this morning with my Bible open, a blank legal pad and some notes I had taken earlier in the week from some resources in the seminary library in front of me, I was caught by a statement from theologian/scholar Colin Brown:  “Hope is not theological knowledge.  Hope is a lived attitude.”

I had written the quote down earlier in the week because it sounded kind of “pithy” (as my grandparents would say), but this morning the idea stopped me cold in my tracks.  What about hope?  Hope is not theological knowledge.  As a follower of Christ, hope is the basic attitude of life.

Surely, hope is not always smiles, presents and handshakes.  The New Testament uses many other words to describe a hope-filled attitude.  Words like perseverance and endurance.  These are “raw” words.  They describe something undying inside of us that does not allow us to give up precisely when it seems like everything around us, including ourselves, as well, are doing exactly that:  dying.

I’ll have a lot to say about hope through the six weeks of The Anchor series.  I think some of it is going to be formed and shaped by my own wrestling with just how much hope is a lived attitude for me.

Having made a joint decision for Kyra, my wife,to step down from one of her two jobs due to the constraints of her rheumatoid athritis, we are now on the countdown to finding out how that income will be made up.  Some of the options are exciting to think about.  Some of the options bring to mind words like perseverance and endurance.  What does it look like for me to live hope as an attitude right now?

Surely, it goes beyond the trappings of a nice, little, middle class life.  If hope is as fading and fainting as the money and possessions that so often define our identity, then there is no such thing as real hope.  If hope, on the other hand, is the certainty that a new creation is coming – one that I, as of yet, have not been able to lay my eyes upon AND, if hope is the certainty that the presence of Jesus Christ (The Holy Spirit) – someone I cannot physically grasp - is with me, transforming and healing my wayward and hurting heart, then certainly hope is a real anchor for me when the life-sea is casting me about.

Sometimes, you preach sermons.  Other times, you desperately want to live them!  Come on, Hope!

Cabin Fever

If you’re from somewhere further north than Lexington, Kentucky feel free to ridicule and laugh as you read on . . .

Seldom do we have a serious snow fall here in central Kentucky.  I’ve lived here for 10 years and have seen nothing like the snowfalls I can remember growing up in West Virginia.  We got at least a good 6 to 10 inches a couple of times during the winter.

But here in central Kentucky, we get something I don’t remember having quite so much of while growing up in West Virginia:  ICE, ICE and more ICE.

So I think there are about 2 to 3 inches of ice on the ground.  Nothing like the huge lake-effect snow storms that folks near Eerie, PA or western New York get, but its enough to bring down the power lines, start snapping the trees and otherwise bringing this region to a near standstill.

And of course, school has been closed for three days.  And it will go to four days tomorrow.

My kids (and their parents) had cabin fever today.  After clearing off the sidewalk and a path down the driveway, (NOTE TO SELF:  consider NOT buying a house on a hillside the next time), I got the family in the car and we went out for lunch and to explore what damage the ice had done in other neighborhoods.

Following lunch, we came home and I tried to teach the kids how to use a snow shovel to sled down the front yard.  Too bad – no matter how hard I tried to show them, they couldn’t get the hang of it.  With numb fingers, red noses and wet clothes, they came inside and, well, it was back to cabin fever again.  Maybe we’ll try again tomorrow.

As I write the snow is falling again.  I have a lot to do this week and a lot of it has not gotten done yesterday or today.  I’ve created some projects that can be done from home; some of which were long overdue in getting to, but nonetheless, I don’t like cabin fever. 

I think we get cabin fever in our relationship with God.  Two days of being locked up in my house and I can’t wait to get my hands on something and get it done.  I face the same thing in my relationship with God.  It’s hard to set still and just let him pour over me and start digging around inside of my heart.  I think I’ll take some time to be locked up in the cabin with God tomorrow!

I

FACE DOWN: Dealing with the Fire of His Presence

“The prayers of the righteous accomplish wonderful results,” or so says Timothy.  We see an incredible example of this in II Chronicles 6.  Solomon stands before the entire assembly of the people to offer a prayer of dedication over the Temple.  When the prayer was concluded, II Chronicles 7.1-3 tells us that fire came down from heaven, consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple.

Seeing all of these things happen, the assembled people “knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”

Two simple thoughts flowing from this passage to help us prepare for our FACE DOWN time on Sunday night at GCF . . .

First, never doubt the possibility that your prayers can move mountains.  As Solomon poured himself out to God during the prayer of dedication, he was igniting amongst the assembly an awareness of God’s glorious and powerful presence with his people.  Because of Solomon’s prayer, the people find themselves FACE DOWN; worshiping before the glorious presence of God.

What will happen during FACE DOWN on Sunday night and living into God’s vision for GCF to become a diverse body of believers, leading many into spirit-filled relationships with Jesus Christ and sending people into the world to fulfill the Great Commission has as much to do with the prayers that you will pray today as it does with the prayers we will pray in worship on Sunday morning or the prayers that will be prayed on Sunday night.

Second, when the people see the power of God displayed in their midst as an all-consuming fire; devouring their offerings and sacrifices, they do not run away from the Temple in fear.  They respond by giving God thanks.  They say, “He is good; his love endures forever.”

During the week before Thanksgiving, I watched the news and saw homes in Southern California being eaten up by wild fires.  In the wake of the destruction, I didn’t see or hear any families on the news who responded to the devouring flames by saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”  Fires that destroy quite naturally provoke fear and anger.  They do not arouse a sense of thanksgiving and joy.  Sometimes, we respond to the all-consuming Spirit of God in much the same way as a family whose home is about to be destroyed by wildfire.  There is a fear that arises within us when we think about God having complete and total control of all that we are.

This sense of fear must not keep us from opening our eyes to God’s presence and pressing into that presence.  God is not a wildfire that destroys all that is in its path.  God’s Spirit is a consuming fire that burns away all of the stuff that would keep us from knowing his.  The “fires” of his presence refine us and purify us make us into the image of Jesus Christ.  Would you join me in praying that our ability to sense the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit with us today – and on Sunday night – would be so strong that any fears we have about being consumed by his presence would become songs of gratitude and assurance?  When we leave GCF on Sunday night, may our hearts be filled with the words of those who experienced the fires of God’s presence at the dedication of the Temple:  “He is good; his love endures forever.”