M.P.C.

Meanwhile, the deacons worried about the new brand of coffee. It was more expensive than what they were currently serving. We were serving a “cost effective” brand of coffee. (By cost effective I mean cheap and bad tasting.)  I encouraged them to trust God; to risk spending an extra $30 one month and see what happens. After discussing the coffee they gave it a shot. Oh, did I mention, the discussion lasted for about a year and a half? By the time we served our first cup of LOTH coffee, Catalyst had already met again and was gearing up for the next conference. We served the coffee and the money came in. We asked the members of the church to give to the coffee mission and about $300 came in. Then another gift of $400 came in for a grand total of $700 in coffee money! Still, there was concern that it wouldn’t work. sigh.

These two ministries have in many ways been successful and I continue to encourage. But, I have to admit, it wore me down.

When I go to a place like Catalyst, I have to confess that I’m afraid of feeling motivated. Because I know when I get back my new found inspiration will be challenged. Why do we have to do this? We’ve never done this before. You think we don’t know what we’re doing. We don’t need to do this. Why do you want new people in the church? You want to get rid of us. You don’t like what we’re doing. sigh.

When I go to a place like Catalyst I feel like I’m looking at other people who won the ministry lottery. They’re successful. They have big churches and big ministries. People come from all over to hear them. The more I go to seminars like this, the more I feel disillusioned about my role in the church.

I didn’t go to Catalyst in Atlanta this year because I did not want to come home and place my inspiration on a shelf. I know that is wrong. I know that is sad. I know being “big” does not mean being successful and God has done great things where I’m at. And I would like to go back. But I couldn’t go this year.

When I was a kid I remember a poster in the fellowship hall at my church. It had a number of objects on it, all identical in shape and all the same color. Except one. One object was a different color. The caption on the bottom of the poster read, “I don’t’ want to change the world, I want to change the world for one person.”

Sometimes I think we pastors feel like we are the only ones that are being changed. Then again I am reminded of that couple who said their marriage was better as a result of attending the FPU class that I stood for. I felt as much a pastor in that moment than I do when I perform a baptism or a wedding. And if I am doing my math correctly, that is two people.

And, now that I think about it, I did stumble across FPU at Catalyst. And we are still serving that good coffee. I’ll have to clear my calendar for Catalyst next year.

My city is doing some road construction. In the process, they’ve shut down a busy on ramp to a major street. Their way of redirecting traffic is a bit unusual. They’ve placed a sign on the road about a mile before the detour. That is not so out of the ordinary. What is unique is the message:

Ramp to N 2nd St Closed
Go another way.

Is that second sentence so necessary? It’s not really helpful. It’s pretty much implied in the first sentence anyway isn’t it?

Have you ever come across a “road closed” sign with no direction on how to get around? The advice to “Go another way” isn’t helpful. When the bridge is out, you know you need to go another way. But what way?

Are you on one side of town and need to get the other? Are you living your life on one side of a chasm but need to cross over? What do you do when you’re traveling down the road of life and the bridge is out? You find another way. But how?

Can government show you another way? (I think their road sign gives us the answer.) Can a good job show us the way? It helps but then again, why are so many people with money unhappy? Can drugs show us the way? I think many of us have learned that they can show us a good time but lead to a dead end. The world offers lots of “ways.” But where do they lead?

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

He didn’t say I am “a way.” He said I am “the way.”

Will you be at your destination when you find Jesus? – No. Will all your problems be solved when you discover Jesus? – No.  Will life become happy and blissful when you find Jesus? – No.

Ok Mad Pastor, what are you saying?

Jesus is the way. He is the way to truth. He is the way to life.

Jesus is not the detour. He is the way.

If you find Jesus, you will find the direction you need to go in order to get to the destination he has in store for you.

Or if you like, you can just follow one sign’s advice and “Go another way.”

If you watched the Mets - Rockies game the other day you saw that it was rained out for a while. At one point while the rain was coming down, the grounds crew ran out to cover the field. If you watch close, you’ll see one of the men stumbles. As a result, he himself becomes covered by the tarp. Soon you see a small lump in the tarp working its way toward the light. 

Have you ever stumbled while doing something? Perhaps you’ve missed paying a bill. Maybe you said something you regret to someone. Or you blew a project at work or school. When that happens it seems as if you’ve stumbled and before you can get up, more seems to pile up keeping you down. What do you do?

You crawl.

Life isn’t always about running fast. It’s not always about feeling good. Sometimes the weight of the world bears down on us. There’s nothing wrong with crawling. Crawling covers the distance. Crawling takes integrity, it takes courage. Crawling even gets you to the finish line.

Call me mad, but I would rather crawl across the finish line than stop moving all together and not finish the race. It may not seem glamorous, but it covers the distance.

Click here for the video

Ananias and Sapphira. They are two people in the Bible who refused to bring God their worst and they paid the price.

In the early days of the Church, people would share everything they owned. Many people even sold their homes and land in order to give to others in need. Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of land they owned. But they kept some of the proceeds for themselves even though they claimed they were giving it all to the Church

Ananias gave the money to Peter, one of the disciples. Peter knew Ananias was deceiving him. I don’t know how Peter knew, but he did. He told Ananias that he could have done whatever he wanted with the money he made. The sad part is, he didn’t have to give all his money. But instead he chose to conspire to trick God by claiming to give all the money from selling his property when really he was keeping some for himself. By the time Peter finished telling him this Ananias died. His body was carried away and he was buried.

About three hours later Sapphira came to Peter looking for her husband. I don’t know where she was this whole time. Maybe she was shopping with some of the money they hid from God. Anyway, she shows up searching for Ananias and asked Peter where he was. Peter said, “I’ll let you know but first tell me something. Did your husband bring ALL of the money you made from selling your property?” Sapphira lied and said, “Yes.”  Peter replied, “It’s time for you to join your husband.” And with that, Sapphira dropped dead on the spot and she was buried next to Ananias.

I don’t know why Ananias and his wife Sapphira tried to trick God. Maybe they were greedy. Maybe they were jealous of other people who had the faith to sell what they had and give it away. Maybe they were prideful and just wanted to look good in front of others. Whatever the case, when they stood before God to hand over their money, they misrepresented themselves.
They didn’t realize their fate because they didn’t bring God enough money. They were judged for misrepresenting themselves before God by pretending to be something they were not.

How often do we misrepresent ourselves before God, before anyone for that matter? We try to be something we’re not. We put on masks to look better. We act like we have our lives together. We go before God and we try to present ourselves as if we’re ok without Him.

But God doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want what we pretend to be. He wants all of us, even the ugly parts. God wants the worst of us. Because God takes what we are and he transforms us into something fresh and new.

Are you giving God all of yourself? Or are you giving Him a cheap substitute for who you really are? God wants the warts. He wants the failures. Because God makes all things perfect in Himself.  His love transforms. But He won’t transform you, unless you are willing to give Him all of yourself.

Ananias and Sapphira held back from God and tried to look good at the same time. They were only willing to give God a part of themselves. They held on to the worst part of themselves by lying.

You may think me mad for saying this, but bring your worst to God. He wants your worst so He can transform you into something new.

Are you ready to bring God your worst?

The story of Ananias and Sapphira can be read here

Last week my wife and I flew home to California to visit family. I’m not a big fan of flying. I’ve always believed a boring flight is a good flight. What I fear more than the actual flying is who might sit next to me. Will they talk the entire flight? Will they need to get up a lot? Will the airport food give them gas? Will they raise the arm between our seats blurring the line between their space and mine? Worst of all, will they ask me what I do for a living? If I say I am a pastor a few things are likely to happen; first, they may confess to me all they’ve done wrong (I’m not a priest and these seats are not a confessional),  second, they may challenge my profession with something they’ve heard or third, they may not talk to me at all. It’s really a gamble.

I hate to admit it, but when I’m on vacation I sometimes don’t like telling people I’m a pastor. It’s not because I don’t like being a pastor... I do. It’s because I sometimes feel awkward talking about my faith with strangers. Yes, I said it. What kind of pastor feels awkward talking about his faith…. Maybe a mad pastor? Sunday mornings can be rough! Anyhoo…

So I was deeply humbled when I read about Shahbaz Bahtti today. Mr Bahtti was the only Christian serving in the Islamic state of Pakistan’s government. He knew as a Christian, he would be persecuted for his faith. In fact Bahtti never married because he was convinced he would one day be killed for his commitment to Christ.  Yet he would not allow the threats of his death pressure him into burying his Christian convictions.

On Wednesday morning, Bahtti was shot to death outside his mother’s home. Pakistan's Taliban and al-Qaeda factions claim responsibility for his assassination.

How far are you willing to go for what you believe in? Are you willing to talk to a stranger? Are you willing to give up a peaceful flight? Are you willing to give up some time in your day, to be humbled, even embarrassed? Are you willing to put what you believe in before your very own life? How far are you willing to go? Bahtti, was willing to go all the way.

Too often I settle for dating my Christian faith but I’m not willing to go all the way and marry it. Because when you marry your faith, you stay loyal to it, as the pastor says, “till death do you part.” Call me mad, but faith is not something we should just fool around with. Faith requires a lifetime  commitment of fidelity.

Bhatti went all the way and married his faith. He knew God had already gone the distance for him. So he remained loyal to his relationship with God even when it seemed safer to cheat and run.

Is there something you believe in? How far are you willing to go for it? Do you date your faith, or are you willing to go all the way and marry it?

For more of the story read it here at Christianity Today