another year of what are we here for?

The new year tends to be a good time to ask this question? I know its fashionable and almost obligatory to look back and ponder this concept of meaning and what we do as we look forward, but it always seems to come back to this same question. Ironically, no matter how many books or talks (or blogs) we read, we never actually answer this question, at least we never remember the answer. As I have started in my new full time position at Riverbend Community Church, part of what I get to do is help people walk the path of answering this question and it starts with asking that same question of us as a collective church. I believe the answer to this question is two words: Proclaim, Respond.

Most evangelical Christian's know the Westminster Catechism says the chief end of man is to Glorify God and enjoy Him forever. But I don't think most know what that actually means in real life. When we try to put that answer into our daily lives of work, family, hobbies, etc. we tend to do those things absent of where God is in those areas. At least, God quickly exits my mind when I am focusing on things of daily living. But what does it mean when we use this two word definition of our purpose? First, proclaim means that we are announcing the Good News of Jesus rescuing us from sin and death. Responding is everything we do BECAUSE Jesus saved us. This is the model we see throughout the Bible. New Testament letters constantly have the format of because Jesus save us, we there for do such and such. It normally then leads back to proclaiming the reason for our actions. As 1 Peter 3:15 says, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

In proclaiming that good news and responding to it, we fulfill the purpose seen in the Westminster Catechism. But it is still hard to really understand what this looks like in our daily lives. Each of us this will probably look different, but the question to ask is not "what are we here for" but rather, "because Jesus saved me, how do I do ___________ differently?" What do you do differently because of what Jesus has done for you?

faith and failure.

When I was in middle school, there was one event that scared me more than any other event to that date. I was sitting in my middle school science class and the teacher was giving us a list of our grades for the semester and informing us how we could calculate our grade. I followed the directions and the number that came out indicated I was failing the class. A cold sweat broke out and tunnel vision started to set in- I felt as if I was going into shock as I walked up to the teachers desk to ask how this could be. It turns out, I missed a grade and was actually doing quite well, but the experience highlighted something about me. I was deathly afraid of failing.

Now I didn't grow up in a family that was militant about grades. My parents were very good at instilling a love for learning and a give it your best effort type of approach to learning. But one thing that I have put on myself over my life has been a bit of a perfectionist quality, or at least a "don't screw it up" mentality. I think this has kept me from doing a lot. I was thinking about it the other night as I pondered what God has for my life. I have been really blessed with all God has provided for me to this point, and I would say that I have taken a fair share of risks in those endeavors. But I started to question whether I would put everything on the line if there was a possibility of failure.

Growing up in the middle class and now as an adult seeing the importance of being wise with our money, saving for retirement, or other forms of good stewardship of our finances is important. Our culture (at times) promotes these type of biblical principals. But then, I look at the examples of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament and I start to wonder. Jesus told his disciples to take nothing with them when he sent them out, take up their crosses (death-the risk of everything) and to not worry about tomorrow. If Jesus sends me some place am I willing to take that approach? But it goes more than just financial. Am I like Jonah in not wanting to take the risk of doing something because I think I might fail? Paul writes a quote from Jesus saying, "My grace is sufficient for you... my power is made perfect in weakness." In essence, we never really experience all God has to offer us until we do risk everything.

If I fail, while our culture may view this as a deficiency on my part, God operates on the opposite. If I fail, even when he calls me to it, He gains. The paradox of the Gospel does not go unnoticed. I cannot have true faith, unless I am willing to truly fail. Maybe we need to start living this way in our churches and in our lives.

in death reflects life.

The circumstances surrounding the shooting in Pittsburgh at an LA Fitness are incredibly sad. The scary part is that I don't think the scenario leading up to the shooting is all that uncommon. I took some time to read the shooters online diary. I don't know what made me do that, perhaps it is my psych/counseling background but it can be found here: http://georgesodini.com/20090804.htm

A couple things stood out to me in his writings. Psychologists would say he had major depression (which is probably true) and that he had an obsession with women (also true). However, the aspects that are more common than we like to admit in this scenario are a wounding (by family and church) and a lack of authentic community/friendships. These build off each other in most cases. I know too many people who have been hurt/wounded by family members (especially fathers) and by churches they have been a part of. The saddest part is, they still need and seek community, but refuse to find it because of how they have been hurt.

We, as a church, need to be a part of the restoration process God is doing on this Earth. "We need to be conduits of God's Grace" I once heard someone say. Our culture wants nothing more than to be connected, to be a part of something; but they have the wrong idea of God and the Church (many for good reasons) so they do not seek either. We need to enter into their world, enter into the messiness that is the unredeemed life, and expose the Truth of the Gospel for what it is. We all need it. Forgiveness. Grace. Passion. Life. Seeking God.

The Gospel is hard to accept. It's a life change that causes us to recognize our inefficiencies, and rely on One we cannot see. But people are looking for that truth to be told to them. They are not looking for us to dance around the subject and make it sound as nice as we can make it. We need to present the Gospel as it is, allow people to decide, and love them no matter what. I am not sure if this is what that shooter was looking for, but I hear that in his diary. I see that in those around me.

i still haven't found what i'm looking for.

In honor of the new U2 album that came out this week, I plagiarized their famous song for my title. But truthfully, it's an interesting concept. Being involved in a new church start up (http://www.riverbendonline.org/), I have had the great opportunity to be a part of God's desire to see his people come together and live out his passions. It is a humbling experience. But one of the things that we always seek to guard against is transplanting Christians vs. building a new community of believers.

Our generation is one where everything is customizable. I think about all the things I have customized to me. Myspace, Facebook, Playlists, my Google Homepage, and a whole bunch of other things. This isn't necessarily bad, being that we are all individuals and we each have strengths, passions, desires and preferences. The problem comes with our societies/generation's drive for focusing on ourselves. When that is our focus, we can have a tough time coming to any decision on choices we have in life.

I was reading a really good article on this concept as it relates to the church (http://www.relevantmagazine.com/columns/church-today/16112-church-shopping) and our ideas about our "perfect" church. There isn't one that is going to match each person exactly. But the point that this article makes is that our choices of churches should not necessarily be "what can this church do for me," but rather, "what ways can I connect into this community." There are times when it is right to leave a church community (lack of scriptural teaching, immorality, etc.) but more so, churches were designed for groups of people to serve and worship God together as a community. This is the basics of this concept, but we can't go deeper until we understand that basic premise.

As we continue to move forward with Riverbend, we pray that God will bring those he desires to be a part of this community. We may do things that are different than other churches, but this is not because we want to attract a niche market of Christians, its because sometimes the lost don't or won't understand the gospel in any other way. May we never be a church that is just "another option," may we be a church that God uses to reach those who still haven't found what they are (truly) looking for.