Today’s Readings: Psalm 60; Hosea 8:1-10; Matthew 11:11-19; Acts 17:24-31; Psalm 79
These are challenging days to be in ministry. Many folks would hear that and I assume I’m making that statement for reasons other than the one I would give for that statement. They might assume, for instance, that I’m saying these are challenging days to be in ministry because of the economic difficulties of the day. Or they might think the days are challenging due to the political polarization that reigned supreme during the recent election cycle. They might even think I’m saying that because of the challenges of living in a post-Christian age where people’s faith went from being their top priority to being just another one of the many, many things in their life. True, each of those things makes doing ministry a challenge; but none of them account for the primarily reason for why I feel ministry these days is so challenging. Let me explain my primary reason to you. You see for several decades, people have built our churches using one principle: give people what they want and they’ll come back/keep coming. Now that statement – on its surface – sounds harmless enough, right? Well, think of the dangerous places that statement will take you if you follow it through to its logical conclusion. It starts out simple enough with the “I love the pastor’s sermons” or “My kids have fun in the youth program” or “I like songs we sing”. If you dig below the surface of those statements, however, what’s at the base: personal preference. Over time, the quality and depth of our spiritual lives become increasingly driven by one thing: those personal preferences. As a result, we start creating and worshiping a God who fits the narrow parameters of our likes and dislikes. Then we attack those who have personal preferences different than ours. This dynamic makes living together in spiritual community nearly impossible. Jesus points out the fickle nature of such a “give them what they want” approach when he said, “How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, ‘We want to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always to busy.’” He concluded, “Opinion polls don’t count for much, do they?” (Matthew 16-19 from The Message). So how can we 21st Century pioneers move past spiritual communities based primarily upon personal preferences? Well, I don’t have all the answers to that question, but I do have one. We start getting rid of the question “What do you like?” when speaking with one another in spiritual community and replace it with the question “What spiritually feeds you?” For some, the difference in wording between the questions might seem minimal; for me, the difference is monumental. You see when you pursue only those things that you like, you develop a spirituality that is comfortable. Consequently, your growth is stunted because you never encounter a God that pushes or challenges you. If the spiritual community is driven by what spiritually feeds its members, things begin to change dramatically. Today, I would ask you: “What approach do you take toward your spiritual life?” Do you participate only/primarily in those things that you enjoy or like; or do you participate in those things that spiritually feed you? Til next time…
These are challenging days to be in ministry. Many folks would hear that and I assume I’m making that statement for reasons other than the one I would give for that statement. They might assume, for instance, that I’m saying these are challenging days to be in ministry because of the economic difficulties of the day. Or they might think the days are challenging due to the political polarization that reigned supreme during the recent election cycle. They might even think I’m saying that because of the challenges of living in a post-Christian age where people’s faith went from being their top priority to being just another one of the many, many things in their life. True, each of those things makes doing ministry a challenge; but none of them account for the primarily reason for why I feel ministry these days is so challenging. Let me explain my primary reason to you. You see for several decades, people have built our churches using one principle: give people what they want and they’ll come back/keep coming. Now that statement – on its surface – sounds harmless enough, right? Well, think of the dangerous places that statement will take you if you follow it through to its logical conclusion. It starts out simple enough with the “I love the pastor’s sermons” or “My kids have fun in the youth program” or “I like songs we sing”. If you dig below the surface of those statements, however, what’s at the base: personal preference. Over time, the quality and depth of our spiritual lives become increasingly driven by one thing: those personal preferences. As a result, we start creating and worshiping a God who fits the narrow parameters of our likes and dislikes. Then we attack those who have personal preferences different than ours. This dynamic makes living together in spiritual community nearly impossible. Jesus points out the fickle nature of such a “give them what they want” approach when he said, “How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, ‘We want to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always to busy.’” He concluded, “Opinion polls don’t count for much, do they?” (Matthew 16-19 from The Message). So how can we 21st Century pioneers move past spiritual communities based primarily upon personal preferences? Well, I don’t have all the answers to that question, but I do have one. We start getting rid of the question “What do you like?” when speaking with one another in spiritual community and replace it with the question “What spiritually feeds you?” For some, the difference in wording between the questions might seem minimal; for me, the difference is monumental. You see when you pursue only those things that you like, you develop a spirituality that is comfortable. Consequently, your growth is stunted because you never encounter a God that pushes or challenges you. If the spiritual community is driven by what spiritually feeds its members, things begin to change dramatically. Today, I would ask you: “What approach do you take toward your spiritual life?” Do you participate only/primarily in those things that you enjoy or like; or do you participate in those things that spiritually feed you? Til next time…
No comments:
Post a Comment