Archive May 2009
Embracing Transitions
But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (John 16:5-7)
None of the disciples wants to think of life without Jesus. In this Upper Room Discourse, Jesus prepares his followers for his death and transition to a totally new paradigm of life, reality, ministry, and just about anything else you can imagine. Their sorrow is blinding them to the blessings of passing through difficult transitions such as this one.
Change and parting are hard, but on the other side new and wonderful discoveries await. It is hard for them to imagine life without Jesus, but can you imagine life without the Holy Spirit?
Reflecting on my experiences this past week brought the above passage in John to mind. There are some important transitions taking place in the Christian community here in Kansas City.
Transition #1 – On Tuesday I enjoyed lunch with Pastor Jim West of Colonial Presbyterian. For many years Colonial Pres has been a church of great influence in our city. After a long, prayerful search for just the right pastor to lead Colonial for the years ahead, the church called Jim West last year. I’ve been with Jim in a couple of meetings since he arrived, but this is the first time we have had the chance to sit down and talk one on one.
Many of you know that for years I have been part of a group of pastors of larger churches in our city who share not only the responsibility as pastor of a large church, but also share a kingdom mindset and a desire to encourage one another and learn from each other while setting egos aside. Jim’s predecessor, Doug Rumford, was a part of our group and we now welcome Jim.
Jim is in is 30′s, comes from First Presbyterian of Hilton Head, SC, and is stepping into his first senior pastorate. Being pastor of a church like Colonial is a daunting task, but I am so encouraged by Jim’s heart for God, his spirit, his humility and his vision. I am looking froward to learning from him and with him as we get to know each other better. I was raised a Presbyterian and became a Baptist pastor. Jim was raised a Baptist and become a Presbyterian pastor. Isn’t it great to be part of God’s family!
Transition #2 - Today I was honored to attend the farewell luncheon at Avant Ministries for their President Paul Nyquist. You’ll remember that Paul preached for us the final Sunday morning of The Summit. Next week he reports as the new president of Moody Bible Institute.
In eight years, Paul accomplished an extreme makeover of Avant, a mission that has been around for a long time with a long list of amazing accomplishments. First, there was a name change from Gospel Missionary Union to Avant Ministries. More than a cosmetic change, Paul led Avant to develop what is called a short cycle church plant approach that has redefined the way Avant approaches their church planting ministry among the least-reached.
This is a tremendous opportunity for Paul and his family and Moody is getting one of the outstanding Christian leaders of our day. You can imagine how difficult it is for Avant to see him go, but he has assembled a mature team that sees the hand of God in all this is and is trusting God to lead them to discover the person already prepared to take them to the next level.
Transition #3 – While at Avant today, I ran into an Avant board member who also happens to be the newly-named president of Calvary Bible College, James Clark. Elwood Chipchase has recently retired after ten years, and Dr. Clark has been appointed his successor. Through the years Calvary has turned out some wonderful missionaries, pastors and leaders with an influence that far bigger than its small size. Our church has been blessed to have people study at Calvary including a couple of our pastoral team.
All three transitions involve following an established leader who was loved and respected. Yet I cam convinced that all three transitions will result in even greater blessings for Colonial, Avant and Calvary.
All of us pass through difficult transtions and few of us like change. Let’s be sure we don’t get so bogged down in what we are losing we can’t see the blessings to come.
Hope Is in the Eye of the Beholder
What a great story! President Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee for the next justice on the United States Supreme Court. Sotomayor’s parents were immigrants from Puerto Rico. Her dad, who never learned English, died when she was nine. Her mother worked as an RN and took other jobs to put her children through school while living in a crime-ridden housing project in the south Bronx. Her brother is a prominent physician, and Sotomayor herself graduated from Princeton and Yale Law School on her way to a distinguished judicial career. Her mother and brother were present for this moment along with other friends and family members.
I thought her remarks were gracious, sincere and intelligent. She did a commendable job of honoring her mother and the opportunities that America affords. Our nation is so polarized right now that it can be difficult to see past political positions and sound bytes from the analysts and commentators who want to tell us what to think. Putting aside political views, here’s what I saw.
I saw some interviews with kids in front of the high school Sotomayor attended in the Bronx and by the housing project where she lived. I saw pride and hope in the eyes of these young people. Hope is a powerful motivator. Even Alberto Gonzalez, Attorney General during the Bush administration, spoke about the significance of her appointment as a female Hispanic and how this affords hope and opportunity to many segments of our population. I am positive that Gonzalez would find himself poles apart from Sotomayor on a host of specific issues. Isn’t this what we have always said America is about ? different people with different opinions and ideas freely coming together in a society with freedom and justice for all. Our dirty little family secret, though, has been that for the first couple of hundred years of our republic, freedom and justice were pretty difficult to obtain for some members of our society whose skin color, ethnicity or gender were not mainstream.
Sonia Sotomayor, female and Hispanic, stands beside the President of the United States, the son of a Kenyan and an American white woman. You may disagree radically with their political views, but the truth is that our country is different now, and a whole generation of kids have genuine hope and opportunity that goes beyond words alone. Hope is a powerful motivator, and the lack of hope enslaves.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, my hope is different. Paul wrote to the Colossians (1:27) that Christ in us is the hope of glory. This hope of glory is a powerful motivator. Through the centuries it has motivated countless men and women to be willing to sacrifice their physical lives for the cause of the Gospel. Consider these words of Paul.
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:2
I saw the faces of young people in the Bronx being interviewed and thought of how we as believers have access to something even more powerful.
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:5
I would imagine that few of the young people interviewed in the Bronx yesterday have great understanding of the complexities of American politics. That’s just the point. What gave them hope was not the political positions of either the President or the Supreme Court Justice Nominee, but the simple fact that someone who comes from a background not that different from their own could realistically aspire to such a high and prominent position.
All this causes me to reflect on my life and its influence on others. Putting all my words and teaching aside, can someone see Christ in me enough to inspire hope? What about my life attrracts the attention of others? When our campus expansion is finished months from now and little kids are happily sliding down ramps on their way to Sunday school amid scenes of color and joy, will a kid from a housing project in Kansas City see enough Jesus in my life or yours to provide them with the hope they need not just to survive but to thrive?
Thinking About Memorial Day
When I was young it was still common to hear people talk about Decoration Day, the original name of the holiday we celebrate Monday. No one is really certain of the exact origin of the custom of decorating the graves of those who died in the service of our nation, even though President Lyndon Johnson in May of 1966 declared that the holiday began in Waterloo, New York. What we know for sure is that even during the final days of the Civil War organized groups of women were decorating the graves of war dead. The first official proclamation of Decoration Day was issued by General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic on May 5th, 1868. The day was celebrated on May 30th by decorating graves of both Union and Confederate dead in Arlington Cemetery.
Memorial Day was a fairly big deal in the small Kansas town where I was raised. Everyone went to the cemetery to decorate graves. One of my memories is playing taps on my trumpet during ceremonies at the cemetery.
Over the years Memorial Day has taken on different faces. In 1915 Moina Michael wrote,
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
Michael was also the person who conceived the idea of wearing red poppies in honor of the nation’s fallen and the idea spread around the world in the years following World War I. Sales of artificial poppies were used to benefit veterans in need.
Today, the idea of honoring those who have given their lives in the service of our nation has diminished in the public consciousness. I am not complaining, sounding alarm or even suggesting that we try to recapture the past. Times, customs and traditions change. That’s just the way it is.
What I am suggesting is that no matter how we do it or when, we need to be sensitive to honoring the memory of those who have passed, those who have served our nation and especially those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Memorial Day weekend might be a good time to start, but we certainly don’t have to limit ourselves to this weekend.
Here are some ideas that occur to me about how one might develop a more grateful spirit and honor those who serve, as well as those in our own families who have passed.
- Visit Kansas City’s fabulous and moving National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial. This is truly a national treasure and many here in Kansas City have yet to visit. Pause as you enter the museum and contemplate the thousands of red poppies beneath your feet. Read the description and reflect on the meaning and implications.
- Decorate a grave of a family member or another. A sweet Korean lady in our church has made it a tradition to decorate a different undecorated grave each year on this holiday. She does it as an act of honor and respect, using that grave as representative of countless more forgotten graves and forgotten lives.
- Thank a veteran or someone on active duty for their service to their country.
- Write a letter of thanks and encouragement to someone deployed on active duty.
Thinking back to Moina Michael’s poem, I like the line, that blood of heroes never dies. This reminds me of a statement in Hebrews.
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4)
Abel’s life continues to speak to this day. Why?
- He offered a more excellent sacrifice.
- He had the testimony of a righteous life.
How will you and I be remembered? Will we? We might not be able to change peoples’ perception of Memorial Day, but we can surely change the perception that people have of our lives by our sacrifices and righteous lives.
The Expert Answers
Greetings Jeff!
Please forgive the delay in answering your note, but I have indeed been quite busy. We are right in the middle of developing a theme park here called The Land of Uz based on some of the lessons I learned from my time of trial. I have worried that this is a bit “over the top,” as you might say, but I do have a sincere desire to use whatever means to help people understand the amazing love of God. I’d hate to have gone through all I did and think that it stopped with me. That’s also why I am very responsive when I hear from people like you. It’s a pleasure to share anything I have learned that might prove helpful to others.
To be very honest, I struggle when I think that some hold me up as an example of patience as though I were some sort of spiritual giant. “The patience of Job” is how James, put it. I’m happy to be a source of inspiration, but when I was going through that unbelievable time of trial I certainly did not feel like a hero. My world had come crashing down upon me. Many days my chest was so tight I knew I could not take another breath. I’m telling you the truth that there were moments that I really did not think I would survive, nor did I want to. Talk about being pushed to the limit of what I could handle!
Looking back now, there are things I said that I would like to erase, to say nothing of many things I thought! As you know, even my wife was ready to walk away from God and thought I was crazy for not doing the same. That’s just it. My faith in God was basic, solid, and mature. Even though I had no idea what was happening or why, I simply could not deny him. And, no matter what, I trusted him. He is God and I am not. It’s as simple and complex as that. Remember this, Jeff. This is everything, as I will soon explain.
Yes, I was a victim – a victim of the very Devil. I do know what that feels like. It’s horrible. This is why I was so insistent, in the often heated discussion with my friends, that I had no secret sin that brought on this trial as judgment. I am a member of a fallen race, of course, just like everyone else. I was confident, however, that there was nothing specific in my life that would be cause for such punishment.
Things get a bit more emotionally complicated when we consider children. As long as there have been people on this planet, there have been evil men and women who brutally abuse children (and adults) physically, emotionally and sexually. What could these little ones possibly have done to deserve this? But this is a part of my story I think many overlook. My ten children were killed in the same day in a clear diabolical attack. They had done absolutely nothing to deserve this. So, if we want to talk about innocent victims I can certainly qualify for the discussion.
I know. I had the same question. Why did God allow this? He did, of course. He is God; nothing happens that he does not allow. But there is more. God not only allowed it, he initiated it. He is the one who brought my name up first to the Devil. Either God is good, or he is not God. Here is that foundational issue again – can we trust God to be God, even if we never have all the answers? God always has a purpose in what he does, and the ultimate outcome of that purpose is always good if God is good. Nowhere, though, does God promise to explain everything to us – now or later.
I still do not have all the answers. I suppose I never will. Of all that I learned through this experience, the most liberating lesson was to understand that I do not have to know, figure it out, find the answers, explain it or answer to anyone. When God finally broke his silence to me, he offered no explanations or reasons. Actually, he put me on my face in awe before him. I had all these questions I wanted to ask and a whole list of things I wanted to say. When I finally had a chance to speak, my mouth was frozen in awe of his splendor and majesty. In sum, all I need to do is allow God to be God. As I said earlier, it’s as simple and complex as that
Oh, by the way, in answer to the question about God not giving you more than you can handle, I might point out the words of Psalm 103, written centuries before Paul’s remarks to the Corinthians.
For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. (Psalms 103:14)
I thought I was a pretty strong and faithful individual. I had the righteous routine down as well as anyone. Suddenly, in the space of a single day, I found myself devastated and sitting on the ruins of my life. I was helpless, vulnerable and exposed for all to see. I was powerless to do anything about my condition. Had God pushed me over my limit? Was this more than I could handle? Had he forgotten that I was mere dust?
Obviously he did not push me past my limit, because I survived and what I had lost was later restored. However, I learned that I am always powerless and “over my limit” without God. When I trust him, I can go to the limit in his power alone. Jesus put it this way,
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30)
Take the theme park I mentioned earlier. We will have all types of adventure rides designed to thrill and, hopefully, to teach at the same time. Imagine a ride designed to push people to their perceived limit of endurance. However, each ride has been scientifically calculated to fall far short of any true danger. At any moment, though, the participant can push the “stop button” or pull the release cord.
This is much like life, I learned. God will never push us past our limit, though most of think we are already past. When we trust in God, we have no limit because the power is all his. What we usually do, though, is to push the stop button far short of where we need to be for maximum benefit.
Let me also say, Jeff, that my theme park should not be construed as being flippant about the pain others experience. As I thought about your friends my heart hurt for them. I wish I could talk to them personally and reassure them that God is with them every moment of every day. I know he is with them as he was and is with me. And, I know their trust in Him will let them smile at the idea of The Land of Uz.
I’ve got to get back to my responsibilities, but before I do I want to remind you that in my day we had no scriptures. People sometimes forget that I am not a Jew but an Edomite. And, though my story is told in the Old Testament, I predate Moses and the Torah by centuries. Through my experience I learned what I should have known and remembered all along – the basic issue of life is whether or not we can trust God.
I’ve often thought how nice it would have been to be able to refer to God’s truth all written down in a Bible, or to have the social structure of a church for mutual encouragement when I went through my trials (my friends weren’t much help, were they?). While all that is well and good, as I reflect on all that has happened I think you folks have so many resources and tools that you tend to complicate matters and become so analytical you miss the point. You do not have to have all the answers nor do you have to figure it out; you do have to trust God to be God.
Thank you for your questions and the opportunity to interact. I do pray that what I went through would be an encouragement to you and your friends.
Praise be to the Almighty!
Job
King of Edom
Acts of Kindness – Paying it Forward
The waitress set the take home box of cashew chicken in front of Cheryl – enough for another meal. We were back at the Red Dragon House I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.
“Here’s your fortune cookies, ” she said, “but the gentleman in the next booth is paying your bill.”
“What?”
Cheryl and I looked at each other in surprise. This really doesn’t happen often, but it’s not the first time someone has recognized me and picked up my meal tab. When this happens it is always humbling to think that someone would do this for me. The church pays me a perfectly good salary and I can well afford to pay for my own meal, but that’s not the point, is it? People do this out of appreciation and affection, and I very much appreciate it right back.
Rising to leave, we moved behind our high-back booth to discover who were our mystery sponsors. A family of four had slipped into the booth as we were eating, but we had not paid attention other than to notice movement out of our peripheral vision. As soon as I saw the gentleman’s face, I recognized him but could not come up with his name. They attend our church. It’s sad to say, but in a larger church like ours I simply cannot remember everyone’s name, or even recognize every regular attender.
We expressed our gratitude and they responded with kind words of appreciation for all the church has meant to them. They had seen us when they arrived but did not want to interrupt our private time knowing that we are very busy and don’t get many private moments. They also knew that there was no way I could be expected to even remember there names. Don’t you wish everyone was so sensitive?
We walked away humbled by their act of kindness and filled with gratitude. We talked about people who are kind and generous. I told Cheryl about a friend of ours who was recently in a large supermarket in the city where she lives and spent more money helping people than she did on groceries. She happened to be in a depressed area and saw several people who were obviously hurting – a man who asked to separate a single roll out of a small pack of day-old goods to be able to fit his budget of a few cents. She gave him $20. She saw a little girl ask her non-English-speaking mother for something and needed no linguistic skills to understand the mother’s answer. Another $20. Moving across the floor she encountered an old gentleman in a wheel chair who was obviously in need. You guessed it – another $20.
She was embarrassed when someone recognized her from a speech she had given a few weeks earlier.
“I can’t wait to tell others what a generous person you are!” was the comment of the one who spotted her. “It’s good to know that a great speaker is also a good person.”
We all have images of the “professional” homeless and beggars who stand in the same spot with the same cardboard sign day after day. We also know that it is not hard to spot people around us who are genuinely hurting.
We continued walking down the street to where we had parked the car. I reached down to open the door for Cheryl to deposit her meal for tomorrow in a cold pack to leave in the car while we went to the symphony concert. From behind my back I heard her say, “Would you like something to eat?”
By the time I turned around, a man had the the take home box in hand and headed across the street. Cheryl had spotted him scavenging for cigarette butts.
It’s interesting how single acts of kindness seem to multiply and pay forward. So do acts of spite, bitterness and prejudice. What can we do to start some chain reactions today?