Waiting Well

I remember my summertime pregnancy with Greg, our youngest. I especially recall sitting in the July heat at a friend’s birthday party, nursing swollen feet in a kiddie swimming pool… waiting.

Waiting for birth. Waiting for the discomfort to be over. Waiting for the unknown to be to known, the still-out-of-reach to be welcomed with open arms, the hidden and the silent to be visible and touchable and squawking at the top of his lungs.

As Pastor Dave Phillips pointed out Sunday, we’re in a similar position here at FAC. Waiting. Wishing this uncomfortable stage was over. Nursing the aches and pains that come with the territory, counting the months, asking each other and the elders, “Why can’t it happen sooner?” Maybe some are convinced that the process is nearing full-term, and we should talk about scheduling a C-section! We’ll make this thing happen!

But, as Dave pointed out, we don’t want to deliver a preemie. I don’t think any of us want that. So the challenge is to wait, and wait well.

May I confess something? I sat down with my congregational survey and began to fill it out.. . and had the same reaction as some of you. Why so technical? Why so focused on the person and particular preferences rather than on prayer and the leading of the Spirit? I thought about Samuel the prophet who was sent to anoint the new king of Israel… and God bypassed all those who “fit the bill” and ordered Samuel to anoint the least of them – the youngest, called in from the fields as an afterthought. Would this survey help us find a David, I wondered?

But in the middle of my concern, the Lord seemed to respond with this: Haven’t you trusted the elders in the past? Why would you fear now that they are missing the high road? Do you think they will forget to consult Me? Don’t lose confidence in them. Trust them also in this, and let them complete the process they’ve been given to do.

A pregnant woman is a formidable thing. She can get testy and impatient and unreasonably demanding and moody and… well, you get the picture. Let’s not go there. Let’s not make our elders spend all their time placating our fears, indulging our whims, waiting on us hand and foot while we wait impatiently for them to produce the senior pastor. I’m simply saying this: Waiting is hard for everybody. Our elders and staff deserve – need – our support and confidence.

God only knows how many months we must wait, but let’s wait well, and encourage each other as we do it. Nobody stays pregnant forever. In just the right time, our new pastor will emerge, and we’ll welcome him with open arms. And the pain of waiting and laboring and delivering this leader will be eclipsed by the joy of knowing we have a pastor designed by God and designated just for us. The waiting will be over and unknown will be known…

Let’s just hope he’s not squawking at the top of his lungs!

Generators or Reflectors?

We are people of influence, each of us. That means, by definition, that we have an effect on the thoughts and actions and spirit of others. It’s inevitable. We just do.

Although most of us occasionally have a negative effect on others, I think we all sincerely want to have a positive effect, modeling how to live as disciples of Christ, encouraging those around us, spurring them on to fulfill their potential. But influencing others is a tricky thing. Pastor Ben referred to an especially powerful portion of Scripture which gives important guidance to this whole idea of influencing others:

“You are the light of the world – like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father” (Mt. 5:14-16 NLT).

Yes, belt it out: “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” Do, as John Wesley admonished, “all the good you can to all the people you can in all the ways you can as long as ever you can.” But a word of caution is in order as regards the doing and shining. For many of us, it comes oh-so-naturally. We love to do and shine. We wouldn’t think of hiding our works under a basket – they might go unnoticed and unrewarded!

But Jesus’ teaching reminds us that the light which emanates from good deeds and right living and positive influence is not meant to cast a flattering glow on us. It’s not meant to bathe us in a heavenly aura that makes people ooh and aah and put us up on a pedestal. The shining, the influencing, isn’t even about us at all.

We’re to shine in such a way that those who see are moved to praise God. Not us. Not our family. Not our church. God.

Wow. That makes it all a little tricky. It means doing what doesn’t come naturally. It means reaching out to others in Jesus’ power, according to His plan, desiring only His purpose and results, and intentionally guarding against lesser motives. It means refusing the perks and attention that people naturally give to shining lights. It means continually checking our reasons for and methods of shining. It means humbly insisting that our light comes from God; He is our Source, and without Him we are embarrassingly low wattage indeed.

It’s so easy to pursue influence for the wrong reasons, and so easy to justify those reasons. But in the end, we are really only… reflectors.

The apostle Paul said it this way: “Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, then the veil is taken away… And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more” (2 Cor. 3:16-18 NLT).

So let your little light shine… not as a self-generated spotlight, but as a reflector of His glory. Then the glow that’s cast will highlight Him, and your influence will count for eternity.

A Higher Faith

I spent the weekend with a group of FAC women at the Castle, a Christian retreat center outside of Franklin, Pa. On Monday, I listened to Pastor Phillip’s Sunday’s sermon online – and found that it was from the book of Philippians, which we had also focused on at the Castle.

Paul wrote that “Book of Joy” from a prison in Rome. He had endured a chronic “thorn in the flesh,” frequent beatings and persecutions and perilous adventures, and had ended up imprisoned – again – for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. He didn’t know if he was going to live or die. But his attitude shines through:

“For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or die” (Phil. 1:20 NLT).

“Eager expectation and hope”! How many of us actually face the future with that attitude? More often it’s with clenched teeth, with a resolute determination to “soldier on,” with a nagging fear that we’ll make a fool of ourselves and be a disappointment to God in the process. Or we cover our eyes to avoid dealing with the future at all! But to actually expect that our lives will not bring shame to us, but always honor Christ – now that takes faith in more than ourselves. We could never pull that off, and we know it. It takes faith in God, utter reliance on Him, utter trust in His care and provision.

Most of us don’t have that kind of faith just yet. But we need to hear there is such a thing as Rhonda Gunn sings about here . We need to know that a higher faith is possible in this life, that some, like Paul, have gained it, and they really do face the future with eager expectation and hope.

If we want to join them, we need to let God know we’re yearning for that new level of faith. That by His grace we are willing to apply ourselves to the hard lessons and follow the challenging road that will take us there. His path for each of us will be different. The lessons will be tailored to our specific individual needs and learning styles. But He’ll take us higher if we really want to go… if we really want to see the scenery of the high places and breathe the fresh air and look down from His perspective on the hard places in our lives and feel them finally under our feet, instead of looming over us.

Then we will know what Paul meant when he wrote, “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]” (Phil. 4:13 Amp). We’ll know that no matter what comes down the pike, He’s got a firm grip on us. We’ll be sufficient to the challenge - because of Him. Now that’s a higher faith. Do you want to go there?

A Porcupine in Our Pajamas

Psychologists tell us that people tend to view change in terms of loss. That is, when our lives are disrupted we are prone to focus on what’s been taken away rather than what we’ll gain. That fact was perfectly illustrated by Tom Froehlich’s “porcupine in the pajamas” analogy.

Imagine waking up tonight to find, for a change, a porcupine in your pajamas. Now this would be change you did not invite and do not want to entertain for long. And you would definitely view it in terms of loss… loss of sleep, loss of peace and comfort, loss of self-control (hence the bloodcurdling screams), and probably a little loss of blood, too!

But something good might also result from that unwelcome shakeup. I imagine that with a burst of adrenaline you would be up and moving, the cobwebs of sleep instantly obliterated. No more drowsy dreamland, no obnoxious snoring, no mindless slapping the snooze on the alarm. Like it or not, it would be “time to fish or cut bait.”

Something like our situation at FAC. We’re in the midst of change we did not invite, and we’re not exactly urging it to make itself at home. We’ve experienced a loss of peace and comfort and control. Hopefully nobody has lost any blood yet – but maybe some sleep. Yes, change brings loss.

But change brings gains, too. Let’s say, for example, that we had grown just comfortable enough in our former state that it was time for a shakeup. Maybe we’d even begun ignoring the voices that sounded a warning, “It’s time to be up and moving! Seize the day! Make the most of every opportunity!” Maybe we’d begun to like our daydreams better than reality, and gotten used to the sound of our own snoring. Maybe God just has something great up ahead, and He’s getting us ready – through change.

Those sharp prickly pinpoints of change can clear the head pretty quickly. It can make us sit up and take notice of our surroundings. And it says in a voice firm and loud, “This is the new reality. This is where God is leading; don’t miss it. Heads up. Listen carefully. Follow closely. Trust implicitly. Christ means to redeem everything and work everything together for your good. Keep faith in the Lord of the Church…

“And get out of those pajamas, anyway. It’s ‘way past noon and you deserve a companion like that porcupine.” Well, God’s probably not saying that… but maybe something close!

Alan Redpath wrote, “There is nothing, no circumstance, no trouble, no testing that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has come past God and past Christ, right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose.”

No porcupine of change has wriggled into FAC’s pj’s without God’s permission. No quill has dug in without His purpose. May we embrace both the purpose and the benefits as He intends.

Just For a Season

[The following is a fiction article I'd written long ago for a Sunday School take-home paper... Pastor John's excellent sermon brought it back to my mind, and I'm offering it here as an "Amen" to Sunday's message].

Just for a Season

Dear Marjorie,

It was a godsend to receive your letter. I mean that literally. It was inspired by God Himself, I have no doubt.

I was away all day Saturday and didn’t know it had come. Sunday morning as I grabbed my car keys, I noticed your unopened letter. Sarah wasn’t quite ready to leave yet, so I took a quick minute to read it.

Josh’s questions and protests are really getting to you, I can tell. I guess it’s pretty common for teens to go through that sort of thing – part of the process of finding for themselves what is true, of making it their own because they really do believe it, not just because they’ve been told it’s so.

You worry that you “are driving him away by insisting on church.” I had gotten just that far in your letter when Sarah called me; if I didn’t hurry we’d be late for the soccer game. I stuffed your letter in my coat pocket and we jumped into the car. That’s when a thought, a little humorous, a little unsettling, came to me: It was 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning. I was driving my daughter away from church. Literally.

Kind of an unpleasant realization for a Christian parent. You know how deeply involved in church activities we were when you lived here. But when Sarah reached junior high, there were so many opportunities – and she was so talented. I didn’t want those abilities to be wasted. And I suppose it made me feel good to see her so successfully involved. I knew there’d be a few Sunday afternoon practices and an occasional Sunday morning game, but she begged and we allowed it “for just this season.”

We hadn’t anticipated that she would do so well. There were play-offs, then another new sport began, and then a weekend summer job that seemed the only one available. I made it to church about half the time, and consequently dropped out of most of my responsibilities there. It seemed so harmless to spend a few seasons driving my daughter away from church.

I haven’t said anything to you about all this, but it’s been going on for a couple of years now. I can’t say I didn’t know what was happening, or that it was a mistake. It was a deliberate decision that just mushroomed into more than we had intended.

What I began to understand, after I read your letter, was that this "season" with her will soon be over. The play-offs will soon be here. And I have done far worse than allow her to sit it out. When the church and the world went head-to-head, I supported the opposition.

Sarah and I have a lot to talk about; then it’s getting back to basics. Pray that she will understand. Pray that I will, regardless, do as God leads to finish this “season” on a positive note.

Thanks, Marjorie. Pray for me. I’ll pray for you.

Love,
Brenda

The Magnet of the Church

Magnets are attractive, aren't they? They pique our curiosity by exuding a mysterious force and tugging irresistably at nearby objects and defying gravity itself.

“Unity is the magnet of the church.”

That statement from Sunday’s sermon deserves a closer look. Unity means a oneness in heart and purpose among diverse individuals. Among people from different backgrounds and interests and lifestyles. Among people like those who make up FAC. It's the love of Christ expressed in mutual regard for each other and in common commitment to the Father of us all.

Jesus prayed, just before going to Gethsemane, specifically for us – those who would someday believe through the message of the first disciples. “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (Jn. 17:23 NIV).

So how are we doing at FAC with this thing called unity? It seems that, as a whole, we’re doing quite well, by the Spirit’s help. And may this continue by God’s grace. But in a church this size there are many “minichurches” –men’s and women’s ministries, small groups, Bible studies, outreach ministries., and many others. The parts make up the whole, and so the important consideration becomes, how is each individual “part” of FAC doing? Are we unified in each of those subgroups, together in spirit, one in purpose, fellowshipping in love? Or does any group experience division and discord, struggle for power, resistance to authority, animosity between personalities, failure to catch the same vision and pursue a common goal?

We’re each responsible for the answer to those questions. We’d each do well to ask ourselves: How is the group(s) I’m involved with doing? How am I doing as a part of those ministries? Am I in any way divisive? Do I refrain from comments that chip away at unity? Am I careful not to be critical? Do I resist taking my concerns to everyone but the one who has the right to know? Do I make allowances for the faults of others and use an oversized scoop to distribute mercy and encouragement among our group? Do I lay down my rights for the sake of others?

Unity in the church starts with the individual. It starts with the individual following the example of Christ in humility and servanthood, laying down privilege and preference for the sake of the group and the shared cause - and for the sake of those who do not know Him, who are on the outside looking in, and who will never be attracted to the "fellowship of believers" if there is no evident… fellowship. Above all, for the sake of the One who died for them, we must join together to exude the mysterious force of love that tugs at hardened hearts and defies the law of sin and death.

Our witness is at stake here, yes. But more than that, the attractiveness of Christ and his gospel, the tangible evidence of God’s love for sinners, even the future of the lost who pass by close to our doors, is at stake. Minichurches, are we unified?

Family Ties

My dad died shortly before I was married, and a few years later my mom moved out of the area. Although Dave and I intended to start a family, the years passed without children. Dave worked second shift, and as the long, solitary evenings rolled by, a kind of darkness settled into my heart… but I also discovered a wonderful truth during that time.

A new pastor and his wife moved into town and began to take some of us under their wing in rather unconventional ways. Soon Ollie ( an elderly widow in our small church) and I were regularly joining the pastor and his wife on those long evenings for lively games of Uno. What fun we had, forgetting disappointment and old age and church boards and all our various challenges, and just chortling (and cheating a bit!) together. Now, when I look back at those difficult years in my life, the memory is punctuated with the laughter and love we shared around a kitchen table. It perfectly illustrates the Psalmist’s words: “God sets the lonely in families” (PS. 68:6 NIV).

It seems to me that’s the way He intends the church, His body, to work in these days, too. Many of us did not have a mother to celebrate with last weekend, and will not have a father to send a card to in June, or children to cherish on Children’s Day. Yet what an friend once declared is surely true: “There are people in this church who are more like flesh-and-blood to me than some members of my own family.” The bond they shared with their fellow Christians was stronger. The Blood they shared was thicker. The Spirit affirmed that they were children of the Father, and therefore brothers and sisters of the closest order.

Jesus said, in some of His last words from the cross, “Woman, behold thy son,” and “Son, Behold your mother.” He was speaking to His mother, about to lose her precious son, and to His beloved disciple, John. And with those words He created a family bond where none had before existed, and began a healing in Mary and John’s hearts.

That’s what He wants to do in the church today, too. To set the lonely in families. To give spiritual mothers and fathers and children to those with empty arms and aching hearts, to those whose sun is setting each evening on days that were already dark.

What does that mean for you? I don’t know. Maybe you are an older woman and can become a mother to a younger wife and mom who is struggling. Maybe you are a single gal who can take a wriggling class of children into your heart and under your wing. Maybe you are a grandpa whose grandkids aren’t nearby, and there’s a teen or two who’d benefit by hanging out at your house.

But we can’t create family ties on our own. God sets the lonely in families – it is His arrangement and initiative. So let’s tell Him what we long for, and wait expectantly for Him.

And in response may the Lord look down on FAC and say, here and there, “Child, here is your mother in Christ. Young man, here is your father. Single person, here is your child, or your spiritual parents, or your sister in the Lord.” Your special next-of-kin in the family of God.