One of the greatest victories the devil has accomplished is for us as believers to understand church in the context of a Sunday gathering at a designated time in a designated building. Such a view is a comforting notion, but more than comforting, it is crippling.
This week I missed my morning class of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (pajama wrestling) so I decided to attend the afternoon class instead. In the last four months I have come to appreciate my morning class and all those who have attended it with me. We are all fairly new to the sport and as a result I have been doing quite well, at least in my own mind. As I walked into my club the walls were familiar, but the setting was not. The class was made up primarily of experienced fighters, listening to offensive rap, each one sporting their own quite large version of body art and using moves I had never learned. I had accidentally stumbled out of my comfort zone and entered a world I was not familiar with. My initial thought was that I wished I had not come. Then it dawned on me...these guy's need Jesus too! What a profound, complex and intelligent thought! The only shame was that it wasn't an obvious and immediate thought. So while I trained with my new found comrades I kept in mind that I am a part of the church and as the such, I am here to represent it and represent the one we serve.
Although I do believe a weekly meeting of believers is critical for every Christian, I do not believe church works like a light switch which we simply turn off when we leave the building. We need to exit the comfortable, cozy church we are accustomed to and enter the dark, uncharted waters of the scary church. The church that takes place wherever we are and wherever someone is in need of Jesus Christ. This week take the time to accidentally stumble out of your comfort zone and experience the scary church, the one that happens beyond our walls.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
We have the Means
Have you ever encountered someone who is without and thought to yourself I wish there was something I could do about it. I think this is something that we may have all experienced at sometime or another. I know I have! Keeping with this thought, I would now like to invite you to examine it with me for a minute, remembering that this is my personal conviction and you are only invited to join me in my thinking and not required to agree with it.
I recently sold my house and am now just killing time until the deal closes. My wife and I were praying diligently for the house to sell, for it to sell quickly and for us to receive a certain amount for it. All three prayers were answered, praise God! Without going into our personal financial details, I will tell you that we bought at the right time and are now in the best financial situation in both of our lives. We are now forced to ask a question quite foreign to us, what do we do with the extra money? Although the amount is not huge, it is to us. Sadly enough, the very first thing that came to my mind was to buy a Nintendo Wii. Interesting isn't it, that the first thing that I think of is a thing and not a person. What does this say about my earlier thoughts of wishing I could help? What it tells me is I would love to help as long as I am first completely satisfied materially, which we all know is a chasing after the wind and can never be accomplished.
So when will I help? The day I help is the day I understand that my personal comfort and pleasure comes secondary to the lives of others. We need the right car, the right house and the proper amount of savings for retirement, and if somewhere along the way we are able to give up a cup of coffee a day for the sake of a child we can now sleep at night knowing we have done our part. When will we get it! When will we understand that we have the means to change the world. Some call this line of thinking idealistic and impractical. I call it the very nature of Christian love, but that's just my opinion.
Rob
I recently sold my house and am now just killing time until the deal closes. My wife and I were praying diligently for the house to sell, for it to sell quickly and for us to receive a certain amount for it. All three prayers were answered, praise God! Without going into our personal financial details, I will tell you that we bought at the right time and are now in the best financial situation in both of our lives. We are now forced to ask a question quite foreign to us, what do we do with the extra money? Although the amount is not huge, it is to us. Sadly enough, the very first thing that came to my mind was to buy a Nintendo Wii. Interesting isn't it, that the first thing that I think of is a thing and not a person. What does this say about my earlier thoughts of wishing I could help? What it tells me is I would love to help as long as I am first completely satisfied materially, which we all know is a chasing after the wind and can never be accomplished.
So when will I help? The day I help is the day I understand that my personal comfort and pleasure comes secondary to the lives of others. We need the right car, the right house and the proper amount of savings for retirement, and if somewhere along the way we are able to give up a cup of coffee a day for the sake of a child we can now sleep at night knowing we have done our part. When will we get it! When will we understand that we have the means to change the world. Some call this line of thinking idealistic and impractical. I call it the very nature of Christian love, but that's just my opinion.
Rob
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
My Lowest Point
A few years back my brother-in-law got married. Much to my surprise and delight, he asked me if I would be his best man. I gladly accepted the honour and, as any best man should do, began to plan his stag. Since I am still relatively new here and your opinions of myself have not yet been tainted, I will exclude the details of the stag for this post and instead focus in on an experience I had while running it. Stick around long enough and I may expand on the stag latter.
Mark, my brother-in-law, had a unique group of friends. The "Barrie boy's", as I love to call them, loved a good party and a good brew. We were having a bbq in the park to start off our festivities and each attendee was to bring their own meat to cook. When Mark's friends all arrived, each with a large cooler in hand, I thought that they understood the message and that the party was off to a good start. To my utter amazement there was not a single piece of food in any of the coolers and I soon figured out that this may be a long night. After some Bocci ball and some hamburgers, thanks to a quick Dominion run, the festivities could now begin. Things picked up very quickly after I pulled out the sailors suit two sizes too small that Mark was to wear and I began to lead my newly devoted Barrie boy's on a mission filled with laughter and humiliation.
Along the way, during one of our many stops, we arrived at the water front. The boy's were now fully worked up and anticipating the next stage in the night. As we passed the water a certain scene caught my eye. Sitting on a bench was a young girl, probably sixteen or seventeen years old, crying. Her slow cry soon developed into wailing. The boy's took little notice since they were focused on getting to the next humiliating activity. For myself however, I could not look away. I was faced with a difficult decision. I had an obligation as best man to see this stage through, but I also had an obligation as a follower of Christ to reach out to the hurting. I was at a fork in the road. I looked for a little longer as others passed by this young girl without so much as a glance and then I too walked by without a word.
I can still see this girl sobbing on the bench in my mind. She now lives in my memory as a reminder of what it feels like to see Jesus, and walk away. I wish I could take it back. I desperately wish I could take it back; but I can't. This was by far the lowest point in my Christian life, but also one of the most significant. I have made a promise to myself and to Jesus, that if I ever see that girl again, I will stop and ask such a simple question; "why are you crying?" The second question I will ask is "can I help?"
As believers we walk the streets of this city with our heads down. We are convinced that if we don't see it, it is not there. We are like a child hiding under her blankets believing if she does not see the monster in her closet it can't hurt her. The time to stop pretending is over. James 1:22 Say's "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." The Word of God says that we are to look after those who are hurting, that we are to help the widows and the orphans and that if we do not act, our faith is dead. The time for pew sitting passer bye's is over. The time for a kingdom revolution is now.
Rob
Mark, my brother-in-law, had a unique group of friends. The "Barrie boy's", as I love to call them, loved a good party and a good brew. We were having a bbq in the park to start off our festivities and each attendee was to bring their own meat to cook. When Mark's friends all arrived, each with a large cooler in hand, I thought that they understood the message and that the party was off to a good start. To my utter amazement there was not a single piece of food in any of the coolers and I soon figured out that this may be a long night. After some Bocci ball and some hamburgers, thanks to a quick Dominion run, the festivities could now begin. Things picked up very quickly after I pulled out the sailors suit two sizes too small that Mark was to wear and I began to lead my newly devoted Barrie boy's on a mission filled with laughter and humiliation.
Along the way, during one of our many stops, we arrived at the water front. The boy's were now fully worked up and anticipating the next stage in the night. As we passed the water a certain scene caught my eye. Sitting on a bench was a young girl, probably sixteen or seventeen years old, crying. Her slow cry soon developed into wailing. The boy's took little notice since they were focused on getting to the next humiliating activity. For myself however, I could not look away. I was faced with a difficult decision. I had an obligation as best man to see this stage through, but I also had an obligation as a follower of Christ to reach out to the hurting. I was at a fork in the road. I looked for a little longer as others passed by this young girl without so much as a glance and then I too walked by without a word.
I can still see this girl sobbing on the bench in my mind. She now lives in my memory as a reminder of what it feels like to see Jesus, and walk away. I wish I could take it back. I desperately wish I could take it back; but I can't. This was by far the lowest point in my Christian life, but also one of the most significant. I have made a promise to myself and to Jesus, that if I ever see that girl again, I will stop and ask such a simple question; "why are you crying?" The second question I will ask is "can I help?"
As believers we walk the streets of this city with our heads down. We are convinced that if we don't see it, it is not there. We are like a child hiding under her blankets believing if she does not see the monster in her closet it can't hurt her. The time to stop pretending is over. James 1:22 Say's "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." The Word of God says that we are to look after those who are hurting, that we are to help the widows and the orphans and that if we do not act, our faith is dead. The time for pew sitting passer bye's is over. The time for a kingdom revolution is now.
Rob
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)