A while ago someone posted the question "Why do you go to church" on their status on Facebook. I, like many others, gave my version of an answer. Mine said in essence "I go because we can do more good for others as a group than as individuals" I truly believe this. (I do think it's good to have Christian friends/ group that will challenge you and to discuss the Bible/ideas with. However you can have these relationship outside of a church building.)
So what do you do when opportunities to help those outside the church aren't available to you? What do you do when most of the ministries at the church are inward focused? And is it worth leaving behind relationships that mean a lot to you in order to go somewhere you feel will allow you serve God as part of a body of Christ?
To be honest I've really been struggling with these questions. I love a lot of people in our church. We have some close relationships with those that attend there. However, except for Angel Food Ministries, the Domestic Violence Shelter collections and Food Pantry drives (the first two we started) all the ministries I can think of are about people already in the church. And there doesn't seem to be any initiative to serve those outside the church. We are told to invite others in but not to go out and serve and love those that won't enter our doors. For instance, our teens have lots of fund raisers in order to do lots of things that are all about their entertainment. Personally, I think they would learn a lot more about Jesus by serving the homeless/poor/hungry than going to yet another retreat/camp/whatever. They go rock climbing but never sweep the rocky doorstep of an elderly person. Same with our children's program. I want Dani to grow up learning the body of Christ is there to serve and love others. It's not about us.
And I don't think we need to go to church to "be fed". We are all responsible for our own personal growth. Yes we can learn from others but it is ultimately our own personal walk. I do my own study at home from the Bible, books that challenge me and from several close friendships that also challenge me and allow me to question and grow. This is not a reason to stay in my thoughts.
However, there are people we love here. CJ is mentoring a teenager and that relationship is blossoming into something great. I have a relationship also that kind of has that mentoring quality and both of these relationships would probably suffer if we left. There's also some relationships I could stand to lose. They are unhealthy and would be good to get away from. (I will not explain this, just trust me)
We are not jumping into leaving and we aren't even looking at other churches yet. I think our relationships are holding us right now but it's a struggle. Does anyone else struggle with this? Is our situation so unique?
Showing posts with label service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label service. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
How rich am I?
I hear people say the generation of teens today are called the generation of Entitlement. They say that with such contempt and pride. I've always kind of rolled my eyes at it.
I DO think that most kids don't realize how good they've got it. But not in the way that most of those quoted above think. Have we ever thought about our lives compared to most of the world? I just got a magazine from World Vision. It shows all the different ways we can help those in 3rd World Countries this Christmas. They had so many things! Animals to buy for families, a Clean Water fund to dig wells, money to help women escape the sexual slave trade and so many more. How many of our kids are aware of how many kids live like this. For that matter, how many adults are aware? Is it really only our children and teens that feel "Entitled" to the life we are priviledged to live?
I DO think that most kids don't realize how good they've got it. But not in the way that most of those quoted above think. Have we ever thought about our lives compared to most of the world? I just got a magazine from World Vision. It shows all the different ways we can help those in 3rd World Countries this Christmas. They had so many things! Animals to buy for families, a Clean Water fund to dig wells, money to help women escape the sexual slave trade and so many more. How many of our kids are aware of how many kids live like this. For that matter, how many adults are aware? Is it really only our children and teens that feel "Entitled" to the life we are priviledged to live?
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Angel Food is Launched!
Wow, what a morning! Angel food had it's first distribution day (at our church) today. It's exciting to see it off the ground. We had a good turn out of volunteers. Not everyone who signed up showed up but that's ok. People probably had conflicts. It was fun to see people getting excited about the ministry. A lot of our volunteers couldn't wait to take menus out to their friends, neighbors, and coworkers. And several "customers" (people who bought boxes) were excited to share with those around them too. It is so neat to see God spread this around. One woman who had bought a box, works with a lot of shut ins and people like that and she sees some of them buy precooked meals for $7.50 a pop. Well Angel Food has a "Senior Meals" box that is 10 meals for $28 and she can't wait to tell all those people about it. She said ours even looks better-tasting. Also, we have a volunteer that just can't wait to deliver to the elderly and handicapped so that will work out wonderfully.
We (CJ and I) have been praying since we got here that God would show people a new way of doing things. A new way to be the church, the body of Christ. And people are starting to catch the vision! It is exciting to see. I see so many new ideas flowing out of people and we are just trying to keep up. I told a friend of mine, Kathy, (who has tons of great ideas) that she just needs to write them all down because every time we talk she has 10 more! At least it seems that way.
I know God has been working behind the scenes, so I'm not going to say he's "finally" showing himself or coming through for us now, but it is exciting to see how our prayers really have made a difference over the last 2 or so years. People seem so "ripe", so hungry for this kind of ministry direction. It's exciting to dream about what God has in store.
However, I can tell that we are meeting resistance. Not so much from people in the church but from Satan. He is attacking some new christians that I was starting to talk to and minister to. We were going to start a new small group that would allow them to learn the basics of the Christian faith and help them get to know the person of Jesus and his vision for life. However, Satan is attacking their marriages pretty hard. It is hard to see this happen. I still think God could turn things around but one has to be open to it first and they seem pretty closed. So I'm dealing with this right now. I don't quite know how to proceed. One of the drawbacks to immersing our lives in others without putting on a happy mask, being real and vulnerable is that life gets messy. We don't always know what to do. We don't know how to help those that are making "messy" choices.
It's easy to greet someone in the hall at church with a smile and ask how they are doing. They will answer "Fine" or "Good" or something along those lines. We have this exchange enough times each Sunday and we feel we've connected with people. That we've invested in someone. That we've made someone feel welcome. That is CRAP. C.R.A.P. We need to be willing to go to the needy, the hurting, the outcasts and downtrodden of society. Those that are divorcing, homeless, poor, hungry, oppressed and hurting. But that makes for a messy life.
What happens then too, if we actually reach these people? What if they decide to check out our church. Will someone be welcome if they walk in hand in hand with someone of the same sex? Will someone dressed in a Marilyn Manson t-shirt, and black lipstick be welcomed in (without being stared at). What about a man who smells bad that won't stop talking to you. What will we do then? Will we be Jesus to those people? Jesus hung out with the outcasts. He built relationships with them. They liked him so much, they invited him to their parties! Does it sound like he felt the need to point out their sin right away? To tell them what they were doing wrong and needed to change before they were welcome in his presence? Who would invite someone like that to a big ol' party of all their sinner friends? I wouldn't! The fact that the very people that were shown nothing but contempt and disdain by the religious leaders of that day would want to party with Jesus shows us that he LOVED first. He talked to them like they were more than just the sum of their sin. That they were people that God loved and longed to have a relationship with. Jesus saw them as worthy of respect and compassion. He built a relationship built on love and respect first and then showed them that there was a better way of living. He called it the Kingdom of God. God's way of living. Living by the ways of his kingdom instead of the ways of the world around them. And the greatest attribute in God's kingdom is Love. Period.
So as we launch Angel Food and hopefully more ministries in this direction. I hope we think about how we can be a part of the Kingdom of God. How we can be the hands and feet and mouthpiece of Jesus. Love first. Period.
We (CJ and I) have been praying since we got here that God would show people a new way of doing things. A new way to be the church, the body of Christ. And people are starting to catch the vision! It is exciting to see. I see so many new ideas flowing out of people and we are just trying to keep up. I told a friend of mine, Kathy, (who has tons of great ideas) that she just needs to write them all down because every time we talk she has 10 more! At least it seems that way.
I know God has been working behind the scenes, so I'm not going to say he's "finally" showing himself or coming through for us now, but it is exciting to see how our prayers really have made a difference over the last 2 or so years. People seem so "ripe", so hungry for this kind of ministry direction. It's exciting to dream about what God has in store.
However, I can tell that we are meeting resistance. Not so much from people in the church but from Satan. He is attacking some new christians that I was starting to talk to and minister to. We were going to start a new small group that would allow them to learn the basics of the Christian faith and help them get to know the person of Jesus and his vision for life. However, Satan is attacking their marriages pretty hard. It is hard to see this happen. I still think God could turn things around but one has to be open to it first and they seem pretty closed. So I'm dealing with this right now. I don't quite know how to proceed. One of the drawbacks to immersing our lives in others without putting on a happy mask, being real and vulnerable is that life gets messy. We don't always know what to do. We don't know how to help those that are making "messy" choices.
It's easy to greet someone in the hall at church with a smile and ask how they are doing. They will answer "Fine" or "Good" or something along those lines. We have this exchange enough times each Sunday and we feel we've connected with people. That we've invested in someone. That we've made someone feel welcome. That is CRAP. C.R.A.P. We need to be willing to go to the needy, the hurting, the outcasts and downtrodden of society. Those that are divorcing, homeless, poor, hungry, oppressed and hurting. But that makes for a messy life.
What happens then too, if we actually reach these people? What if they decide to check out our church. Will someone be welcome if they walk in hand in hand with someone of the same sex? Will someone dressed in a Marilyn Manson t-shirt, and black lipstick be welcomed in (without being stared at). What about a man who smells bad that won't stop talking to you. What will we do then? Will we be Jesus to those people? Jesus hung out with the outcasts. He built relationships with them. They liked him so much, they invited him to their parties! Does it sound like he felt the need to point out their sin right away? To tell them what they were doing wrong and needed to change before they were welcome in his presence? Who would invite someone like that to a big ol' party of all their sinner friends? I wouldn't! The fact that the very people that were shown nothing but contempt and disdain by the religious leaders of that day would want to party with Jesus shows us that he LOVED first. He talked to them like they were more than just the sum of their sin. That they were people that God loved and longed to have a relationship with. Jesus saw them as worthy of respect and compassion. He built a relationship built on love and respect first and then showed them that there was a better way of living. He called it the Kingdom of God. God's way of living. Living by the ways of his kingdom instead of the ways of the world around them. And the greatest attribute in God's kingdom is Love. Period.
So as we launch Angel Food and hopefully more ministries in this direction. I hope we think about how we can be a part of the Kingdom of God. How we can be the hands and feet and mouthpiece of Jesus. Love first. Period.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
true thanksgiving
The Holiday season! I love it! I am sitting at my desk, listening to Christmas music, sipping hot chocolate, thinking about the festivities to come in the next month or so. I looking forward to it even more this year for two main reasons. 1) Even though it's not Dani's first Christmas it's the first that she will register what's going on. I'm sure this excitement will continue over the next few years as she learns to anticipate the day in advance. 2) Donnie and Erin will be here twice over the next two months. This is the first Holiday season we've lived far away from them and I miss them. They are going to be here in two weeks for Thanksgiving!
Another reason I'm excited is this year we are going to serve the community on Thanksgiving. What a great way to remember what we have to be thankful for. I guess Burlington High School has a dinner every year on Thanksgiving Day. They serve lots of people there in the cafeteria and also deliver meals to people who are home-bound. Well, on Thanksgiving morning we are going to put meals together that are to be delivered to shut-ins. I am excited about it actually. I think it'll be a great way to celebrate the day together as a family.
It's been interesting to see the little sacrifices that we will make that day in order to serve and the reactions of some of my family members to those sacrifices. One person was really hesitant to devote 3 hrs to something else on Thanksgiving, and one was sad to miss the Macy's Parade, a tradition for them. I don't think badly of them for thinking of those things and being a bit hesitant, service always requires a bit of sacrifice. However, we all know it's worth it and are happy to serve those less fortunate on a day we celebrate how much we actually have. As evident by the amount of food I'm sure we will stuff ourselves with later that day. :)
I hope to continue this new tradition, especially as Dani gets older and can help too. I want her to never take any of our blessings for granted, even to the food we eat.
Another reason I'm excited is this year we are going to serve the community on Thanksgiving. What a great way to remember what we have to be thankful for. I guess Burlington High School has a dinner every year on Thanksgiving Day. They serve lots of people there in the cafeteria and also deliver meals to people who are home-bound. Well, on Thanksgiving morning we are going to put meals together that are to be delivered to shut-ins. I am excited about it actually. I think it'll be a great way to celebrate the day together as a family.
It's been interesting to see the little sacrifices that we will make that day in order to serve and the reactions of some of my family members to those sacrifices. One person was really hesitant to devote 3 hrs to something else on Thanksgiving, and one was sad to miss the Macy's Parade, a tradition for them. I don't think badly of them for thinking of those things and being a bit hesitant, service always requires a bit of sacrifice. However, we all know it's worth it and are happy to serve those less fortunate on a day we celebrate how much we actually have. As evident by the amount of food I'm sure we will stuff ourselves with later that day. :)
I hope to continue this new tradition, especially as Dani gets older and can help too. I want her to never take any of our blessings for granted, even to the food we eat.
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