Lessons from the Outside: Why the Walls?

The separation between clergy and laity was very clear to me early in my ministry. In these last years, however, that line has become more blurred. I believe it has much to do with the language I use to describe each one and the connotations it contains.

When I entered the ministry I "surrendered to a call" from God. That accurately describes the process I went through. It was not a quick process, nor an easy one. Following God's call on my life required me to surrender my own dreams and desires to His Will.

The problem comes when we do not use the same phrase to describe how someone becomes a banker, or plumber, or stay-at-home mom. The connotation is that everyone who does not enter "the ministry" does not receive a call from God.

It is as if the call on my life was higher, deeper, or more consuming than the call of the average believer. I don't see that idea supported in Scripture.

We can build an argument that supports the reality that some callings place us in roles that carry more authority or require certain qualifying standards. Say we call that a "five talent calling" (even though I am not sure God would). The question then becomes, "Does God view the 'one talent calling' as less important or less demanding?"

Scripture says "No". That means that our calling has less to do with where we draw our paycheck and more to do with the roles God has chosen for us. He expects the same focus and the same results regardless of where He places us.

Consider this example. We believe that a pastor (bishop and elder in the Bible) will be judged by God according to how he takes care of those in his flock. Do we believe a CEO will be judged in the same way by how he cares for the employees in his business? If not then it may be time to re-read Proverbs, the Prophets, and much of the New Testament.

Even though I am no longer working on a church staff I feel no less "called to the ministry". My role may have changed, but God's expectations of me have not. My purpose is the same whether I am coaching a small business owner or a church planter; to see God's glory increase in and through them.

Lessons from the Outside: "My Identity"

God has been speaking to me recently about my identity, where I find my purpose and value. Though his Word clearly says that I should find my value in His glory (Matt. 6:33), too many times I try to identify myself by my plans, abilities, vocation, and my ministry.

It is deceptively easy to define my identity by the ministry I do for God rather than the purpose for which God created me. God created me to reveal His glory through good works. All too often I begin finding my meaning in the good works rather than in His revealed glory.

That became clear when He removed me from ministry life. I was unaware how much of my “self” was tied to my ministry. Ministry was something tangible that I could measure myself by. I could see “lifechange” and measure things like baptisms and group attendance. If the numbers were good then it was not hard to believe that my life had great meaning; especially since all of these numbers had to do with God’s Kingdom, not my own.

I am beginning to see that when I find my identity in anything other than God’s glory revealed through me I am headed toward idolatry (with me as the key idol). That path leads to both delusion and depression. Delusion occurs when I believe I am overly important in God’s Kingdom. Depression occurs when I believe God could never use me.

The truly amazing thing is that when my value and purpose are resting on things other than God I can swing between delusion and depression at an alarming rate.

It makes me wonder if Jesus felt like he was more successful after feeding the 5000 than the day He spoke about His body as the bread of life and watched most of his followers leave. I doubt it. The mission of Jesus’ life was God’s glory revealed, not God’s glory well received and celebrated.

I have found several signs that indicate a life that is grounded in God; whose sole purpose is His revealed glory:

1. Humility and Intensity. There is a strange mix of humility and intensity from those operating under the identity of Christ. He modeled this in His own ministry. Early mornings, late nights, and days full of pouring Himself out at every turn were the norm. Followers seeking His glory have this same drive, not to lift up themselves, but to pour themselves out each day for His glory.
2. Consistent Confidence. Even your most Christ-centered follower will have difficult days or seasons of doubt. Christ himself struggled as He learned obedience (see the garden before his crucifixion). Consistent confidence comes from daily renewal as each day we lay down our life and take up His cross. God refreshes the discouraged spirit, refocuses any misappropriated glory, and removes any misplaced trust. He reminds us that victory is not a question of if, just when.
3. Creativity. God longs to accomplish His work and reveal His glory. When I line up with Him, He reveals methods of ministry that are beyond my own creative ability. When you see extremely creative ministries do not covet their creativity, covet their connectedness to God.
4. Clarity. The life of Christ revealed God’s glory through the redemption of mankind by His death and resurrection. We also reveal God’s glory through the redemption of mankind by _______________. When I am connected daily to God, it is easy for me to fill in that blank.
5. Audacious Goals. Only God would set a goal of “redeeming all of Creation.” Those connected to God have the audacity to set huge goals. Those goals often go unreached because as soon as they might draw near one they pick it up and toss it further away, raising the bar even higher. They have a hunger to see God’s glory revealed that will not be satisfied until all of Creation is reconciled to Him.

Which of these characteristics are revealed in your daily life? Which are missing, and what does that reveal about where you are finding your identity?

His name was James

My grandfather passed away a little over a month ago. That is what led to the events of this weekend. I celebrated my 12th anniversary on Saturday, a day early. Then early in the morning SundayI left town with my parents to get the last load of furniture and other memorabilia from my grandfather's house.

The trip is just under seven hours one-way. Most people don't really understand just how huge Texas is; we were still hours away from the nearest state line. In any case, the fastest we could make the trip was two days. We arrived in the afternoon Sunday, spent four hours packing the car and trailer, then crashed. This morning we were up early and left to come home.

When we got home we were all exhausted. So was my wife. Taking care of two kids, one sick and the other screaming, can take it out of you just as much as a 2-day packing/driving extravaganza.

So, Monday night we decided to treat ourselves to a sweet treat... that means Sonic and ice cream. As we were enjoying our Limeaid (her) and Chocolate shake (me) we decided to go browse movies at Blockbuster; just to see if there might be something that piqued our interest.

As we were walking up to the door we were interrupted by a man asking for money. He asked if we could remember him on the way out, perhaps donate a dollar. We deftly made our way in, walked around the store for a bit, and exited with some other people fifteen minutes later.

Fifteen minutes. It could have ended then, except that God's Spirit seemed to be speaking to my spirit, asking me questions. "What is his story? How did he end up like that? Does he even have anyone to talk to, much less someone who will care for him?"

All of these questions kept pounding into my head. As I got back into the car I said to my wife, "Man, I feel sorry for that guy." That was when my reading from James flooded back into my mind; that passage that says it is rather useless to wish someone warm and well-fed and not to give them a coat or food.

I had done a rather good job to that point rationalizing why I could not help this guy. In general I don't support people asking for money on the highway. And, I really didn't have any cash... just a debit card.

But, I had a hard time convincing myself that I could not spare a few bucks for this guy while I sucked down a three dollar milkshake. Even worse I feared that he could very easily have turned invisible to me, as if he did not even exist. God's Spirit was screaming that this man was not invisible to Him.

So, with my wife's encouragement, I went to the nearest burger place and ordered some food. About five minutes later we were back at Blockbuster, food in hand... only to find the store front empty. It hit me just how quickly opportunities can pass us by.

I figured I should attempt to give the food to someone, so I went into the Blockbuster and asked, "Anyone want a burger?" The employees looked at me a bit askew, so I explained that I had bought it for the "guy standing outside."

"Oh, you mean barefoot guy?", one of the employees said. "Yea, I guess... is that his name? Barefoot guy?", I responded.

"No, he normally wears shoes", she said, "When I saw him tonight I said, 'James where are your shoes?'"

There it was. The man now had a name. James. This was no longer a somewhat scary guy bothering me on the way into Blockbuster. This is James, the guy who apparently lives under the bridge across the street from the Blockbuster no more than 2 miles from my house.

They pointed him out through the window. James was over trying to get a burrito. I thanked them for their help; they thanked me for thinking of James. I took him the burger. He asked God to bless me; and I did the same for him.

My heart changed. Something happened inside of me; and I believe it involves God showing me some of what He feels for James.

Service does that. When I allow my time, my money, and my effort, to be spent on others, something happens. I begin to see them a little more clearly, as God sees them. Now I pray for James; not just some impersonal prayer for "the guy at Blockbuster", but for James, the guy who lives under the bridge. Even now I find myself growing more curious about his story. How did he end up there? Could I give him someone to talk to? Could God use me to pass along a bit of His love to this son of His?

I hope so.

Lessons from the Outside: "Superbowl Sunday"

Inside the ministry, life can often be dominated by Sunday. Every week revolved around Sunday with a new worship experience to create and countless volunteers to schedule, train, equip, and resource.

So much time and energy is spent getting ready for Sunday that when it finally arrives it is often like taking the 100th step in a 100-step journey. That last step is a bit more special than the others because it marks the completion of journey. But, it is not all that different because it often repeats many facets of the steps taken before it. And, there is always the nagging reality that as soon as the journey ends, another similar journey begins.

This last month on the outside has created a large shift in my Sunday experience. I spend all week looking forward to Sunday, not just planning for it. Sunday is a huge day on our calendar, not merely the last step of a week-long journey.

Perhaps it is the newness of "getting" to go to church rather than "having" to go. Say what you will, but when you work on a staff you have to go to your church. You may also get to go, but there is a definite expectation for you to show up regardless of your desires; and that can affect you over time. You can begin to believe that just showing up is your main responsibility.

There are a few things that I want to remember if I ever do end up back on the Inside:

1. The weekend worship service is not the end of a required journey, it is the culmination of a desired destination. I want to be at church now, even multiple churches some weeks. That is something I don't want to lose even if I have to be at church again in the future.
2. New does not equal Fresh. When we were constantly planning Sunday Experiences, one thing that often came up was to "keep things fresh". What we would do is add a new song or perhaps a special media piece. Other times we might change the order of service. I find that those things do not matter as much to me now. The fact is after a week of living out "in the world" I don't really remember the exact order of last week's service, or even all of the songs we sang. I just expect to hear a Fresh Word from God today... I don't care if you take the offering at the same time as you did last week.
3. The experience of being united with dozens (or hundreds) of other believers to celebrate God is unique in my weekly schedule. This is the one time a week where most believers get to celebrate their God in the midst of many other believers... make it special!
4. Take care of my kids! Everyone told me this was a big deal when I worked on a church staff. Now that I drop my kids off at other churches each week I know... this is important!!

I think it would be very healthy for staff members to take a week "off" from their church on a regular basis. There is something very refreshing and revealing about stepping out of our weekly tradition and into a worship service with no other plan than to worship God and hear from His Word.

Lessons from the Outside: "Open Door"

It has been over 15 years since I have been “outside” the church. I don’t mean outside Christianity, I mean outside the workings of a local body. I began leading worship for my youth group when I was about 16, and then in May of this year God called me to step out of my church and into a new calling of coaching and consulting.

During these last two months my wife and I have taken the opportunity to visit many local churches, meeting pastors and staff when we can. It has been a great experience as we worship and learn from so many expressions of God’s body.

It has also revealed a few things that have caused me to look back on my time on staff and ask a couple of questions. The first question I asked is, “Was I as approachable as I thought I was?”

Pastors are busy people. I knew that when I was one, but I see it even more clearly from the outside. One of the things I wanted to do when I arrived in Austin, TX was to meet with local pastors to hear about what God is doing in the city and share the vision He has put on my heart.

I envisioned days filled with meetings. Morning coffee, lunch, perhaps an afternoon frappuccino or two. I have had many of those meetings, and they have been just as meaningful as I hoped.

What struck me was that the people I was attempting to meet often had to look weeks, or even months, out to find a free hour.

That is not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to these pastors meeting with me. As far as they know I could be a complete waste of their time, and time is precious as they focus on the vision God has given them.

What got my attention is that as I spend more time with the laity I am hearing similar comments from them. There is a general feeling among many lay people that “their” staff person is difficult to reach, or does not have the answers and support that they are looking for.

As an associate pastor I was responsible for communicating to the leadership of many of our teams. I needed to communicate on a weekly basis to small group leaders, guest services, and worship leaders. I felt like I had a pretty “open door” policy with my leaders, but I wonder now if they felt the same way.

I wonder because I can remember times when members of those teams were uninformed or misinformed about important details. It was all too easy for me to blame these volunteers for not “hearing correctly”. I would console myself with thoughts like, “It was in the program”, “We announced it in church,” or even worse, “It is on the pre-service announcement scroll.”

I am even more ashamed of my tendency to scold my leaders for not “telling correctly”. I would question their communication methods and frequency. I was as nice as possible on the outside, but on the inside I was often shaking my head as if to say, “this is really not that hard.”

Too seldom did I look at myself and ask the question, “What does Joe-the-greeter’s confusion reveal about my communication with my leaders?” That question led me to consider my leaders more carefully, leading to another set of questions, such as:

1. Am I answering the questions my leaders are asking?
2. Am I talking in a way that they enjoy listening?
3. Do they believe we have conversations, or just mini lectures?
4. Who is the first person they call when they have a struggle in their ministry?

I have a feeling many of their answers would reveal that my door was not quite as open as I believed, or that they needed me to walk through their door more often.

HELP Wanted!! Apply within

I have recently had the wonderful opportunity to join with several other writers to blog on Church Central. I have been in contact with Church Central and the Society for Church Consultants for several months now as I have been walking into this new calling and direction in life.

Most of what I post there will also be posted here, though not everything I post here will be able to carry over. That said, however, I would like to copy over a few of my "best" posts as I get going on this new format.

That is where you, my wonderful readers, come in. Please leave a comment or two with blogs that you have found particularly helpful or though provoking over the months. I am especially looking for those that deal with leadership or church development, but feel free to mention any that you want.

Thank you for the help!

Do you have a Culture of Service?

I was so impressed by the service I received today at Discount Tire here in Austin, TX. Let me begin by saying I hate car repair. It is something I cannot do myself, and moreover I barely even understand what other people are doing when they help me. As a result I often struggle with trusting the people who are helping me fix my car in time of need.

That is one reason today was so refreshing. Last weekend we had the wonderful experience of getting a flat tire while in the "fast lane" on Hwy 183. At first my wife pulled off to the side of the road... the left side.

It only took me a few seconds to realize that attempting to change a tire with my back sticking out into the highway was not a great idea. I do know that much about car repair.

Next we got to go from zero to 60 and cross three lanes of traffic to get to the other median... that was fun! Oh, and my two kids were in the backseat this whole time, thankfully oblivious to the true nature of what was going on and the fact that an unobservant driver could smash into the back of us at any time.

I did manage to get the tire changed without any serious bodily injury. I say serious because there was some minor injury when I attempted to lift the car so that my wife could place the jack onto the prescribed spot on the car's frame... but that is another story.

In light of our recent experience I figured it was not a good idea to leave the tire flat, so I set off to get it fixed. I saw a large hole in the tread and figured that was a good thing; at least it was not in the sidewall. After doing a bit of research I set off for Discount Tire to get a quick tire fix.

As I pulled into the store this morning the first thing I noticed was that they were slammed. The parking lot was packed and there were sales people and customers everywhere, even in the parking lot.

The next thing I noticed was David walking over to me to see if he could help. With a handshake he asked my name and offered to assist. I showed him the tire and he lifted it out of my trunk and said he would fix it if he could... for Free. Sadly that was not to be for this tire. Apparently driving at 60 across three lanes of traffic on a flat tire does bad things to it, and there were many more splits than I had seen; this tire was dead.

You might be thinking, "Of course David was helpful; he wanted to sell you something." I agree that David's vision includes selling tires. But, the fact is he was willing to serve me today for no charge at all, not knowing if I would join in with his vision in the future or not.

During our time together he was able to tell me more about his vision of tires, how he wanted to offer the best tire at the best price with the best service. He told me that if this had been one of his tires that he would have replaced it for $15 instead of the $150 I was about to pay. I won't say I was happy to buy a new tire today, but I did not feel like I was getting robbed and tossed, bleeding, onto the side of the highway either.

I walked out today thinking of how it would be to have guys like David permeating the culture of our church. What would it be like if we freely served the world, and un-apologetically shared God's vision with them during the process; not ashamed to tell them of the cost because we are so convinced that the reward is greater by far.