Unimpeded!

Isn't it great when you go through life unimpeded?  You are with the tide!  You are downhill!  The river is flowing in your direction and there are no obstacles in your way!  Maybe not!  Here is a story and a passage to consider.

When I played AAU basketball as a 14 year old, I was pretty tall for my age.  I was already 6'2" and weighed a massive 147 lbs.  Yes, a mountain of a man!  Anyway, because I was tall I got the task of jumping center at the start of the game.  The referee threw up the ball to start the game and I tipped the ball (I was 3" taller than the little guy I was jumping against) and actually got the ball.  I remember looking up and having an unimpeded path to the basket.  I took that ball and (reveling in applause and teammates) I headed straight for the basket, easily getting the layup.  I then learned why I was unopposed and why (and what) people were yelling.  The people and my teammates were saying, "wrong way!"  What I thought were screams of encouragement were actually howls of laughter.  But I DID get that basket ... 2 points for the other team.

I write this blog for two groups of people.  The first group are those people who want life unopposed ... unrestricted ... unimpeded.  I think of Jesus' words ...  "Go in through the narrow door!  The door is wide and the road is easy that leads to hell.  Many people are going through that door (Matthew 7:13)."  It is popular and our human nature to seek the path of least resistance.  But, like a teen on a basketball court, sometimes there is no opposition because the path is the wrong way.  Our standard for judging our path should not be the degree of opposition ... it should be the degree of consistency with God's Word.  There are many popular paths that we can choose, and no one will oppose us.  Jesus said, choose the narrow door ... it is worth the tight squeeze and the resistance!

The second group of people I am addressing are those facing difficulty and opposition.  John 16:33 says, "I have told you this so you will have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world."  The world has rainbows and ice cream, but the world (in the natural state of life) also has troubles, opposition, and obstacles.  I have found the latter to be most true for the people of God.  Find Biblical leaders, proclaiming truth to the world, and I will show you trouble, strife and resistance.  Show me a God-led journey, and I will show you evil-led opposition.  In John 15/16, Jesus reminds us that worldly people don't like truth, and they don't like the work of Jesus.  Jesus said they would hate His disciples ... put them out of the synagogue ... and they would even  kill some of them.  My friend Karl Stegall shares (in an address to his church in Montgomery) talks about being shunned and persecuted for having orthodox/traditional views.  I have personally heard him demeaned by conference leadership and insulted by people he thought were friends.  So goes life for those who tell the truth and follow Scripture.

If you are unopposed and unimpeded, be careful.  You might watch where you are going.  You might be going in the wrong direction!  Randy

Barking Dogs and Wagons

While I am admittedly a cat person, I do like dogs and lots of dog people.  I am not a great fan of the dogs that live up the hill from the parsonage (they bark a lot) and not having dogs relates more to the fact that they are a bit high maintenance.  But I think that the "living creatures" that are around the throne in The Revelation might just be some of our cats and dogs that have (as a friend put it) "crossed the rainbow bridge."

The reason barking dogs came to mind today is that one of my friends (who was ordained Elder the year I was born, he is 91) has a saying I like for lots of reasons.  Walter says, "the dogs bark but the wagons move on."  In these words, I envision a wagon train in an old western, breaking camp with lots of activity, motion and barking dogs.

Last Sunday I reminded us that the Easter story should call us to action to be the Church Jesus authored.  "Go to Galilee," He told the disciples.  "Make disciples" (i.e., 'multiply and grow MY Church') he told all of those who had come to hear the marching orders of their Lord and Savior!  I am sure there was a lot of discussion among those gathered.  Some probably tried to interpret what Jesus said in the context of their desires.  Some might have walked away, realizing that making disciples is hard, and sometimes thankless, work.  Some did what the 11 apostles resolved to do ... they "acted" (that's what Acts is about).

Barking dogs constitute those 1st two groups of folks (and a lot of people in the Church today).  Not to retrace the ground we have travelled, but there are a lot of people who reframe Jesus into their mindset and convenience.  And some have walked away from teachings that Paul called "sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:3)."  We disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church over the issue of the cultural relevance, applicability and authority of what Jesus said.  Let's take a bit of Matthew 28 and unpack this (Matthew 28:18b-20) ... "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And, surely, I am with you always, even to the very end of the age."  1) Jesus (not us, denominations, governments, schools, media, etc.) has all authority ... 2) Go and make disciples of all nations (we are moving, missional and mobilized by our leader) ... 3) baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (people are called into the church and into relationship with God [the Trinity] and one another) ... 4) and teaching them to obey everything I commanded you (we teach people to obey Jesus in their love for Him) ... 5) I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Jesus is permanent ... as long as we don't choose to expel Him from our lives).  Barking dogs like to listen to their own voices, but they are not happy when the wagons move on toward their ultimate destination.

Other people (you can read about their story in Acts) believed, followed, worked and moved on with the wagons.  Remember these few things ... the "wagon train," in my little parable, is the Church.  The Church will always have barking dogs, upset when things start moving again.  That's ok ... we can love them and hope that they choose to "come on along."  But often we can't stay where we are and follow God to our destination with Him at the "end of the age."  Love, Church, Follow and Life are all things that move forward.  My feet (those dogs bark too often) and my faith must move with Jesus, who has laid out the race for me, for us and for the whole Church.  I look forward to the journey with each and every one of you!  Randy

Stranded in The Moment

We often hear secular advice about living life from some pretty unreliable sources.  These include Facebook and other social media, news media, social discussions and agenda-driven political/social sources.  We hear phrases like "live for today," "follow your heart,"  and "live in the moment."  Each of these has a morsel of truth, just enough to get us hooked into the emotion of our response.  But as we leave Easter and Holy Week, I am counting on you/us to desire more than just a few cliché phrases to guide us along.  We learned, from the Resurrection Story, that there is more to life than just following popular societal trends.  We SERVE a Risen Savior.  We FOLLOW Jesus, "the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)."  We "STRIVE toward a goal (Philippians 3:14)."  This is not "living in the moment" in which we are "tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14)."  Let's unpack these.

Easter morning taught 11 disciples and others (especially the women that went to the tomb [Luke 24]) that they cannot stay in the moment ... they SERVE a Risen Savior. Jesus, and the angels at the tomb, called people to action.  Jesus sent the women to tell the disciples what had happened.  The angels and Jesus told the disciples to go to Galilee for further instructions.  It would have been easy to revel in the resurrection moment, for this moment is the pinnacle of history.  Mary holds on to Jesus in John 20:17, but Jesus says, "do not hold on to me."  Jesus has things to do, places to be, and work to accomplish.  We serve a Risen Savior, He's in the world today!  Relish the moment, and move with Jesus as He writes the story!

Easter morning reminds all that encounter Jesus that God's plan is moving toward a planned and prophesied conclusion.  Jesus wants to perfect our faith (Hebrews 12:2), but this is not possible when we insist on staying where we are.  Last week I had the honor to be at the practice rounds and par 3 contest at the Masters.  It was a high moment, and I will never forget being part of history as 3 hole-in-ones were made in a 20 minute span (2 consecutively by the same player).  It was a once in a lifetime experience, and it was wonderful and very appreciated.  But in the beauty of that moment, my mental picture of it all is something I will carry ... but they (the Augusta National management) won't let me hang out there.  We had Maundy Thursday, Tenebrae and Easter Morning!  There was work, preparation, prayer, cooperation with fellow workers (thank you all!) and there was the reality that my wonderful moment was not a place I could be stranded.  Mary, the disciples and the story needed to move on, because there is a reality out there we must never forget ... Jesus will return!  When that happens, I want to be serving and following!

Easter morning reminds us of something ingrained in the people called Methodists ... process.  Process involves effort and striving! As I rode by the Henry County Fair (really??? on Holy Week???) I saw the whirling rides.  They are fun for a moment, but then people move on for the next thing that gives them a rush of excitement.  Nothing against fairs, rides and fun, but did you ever notice how much a fair ride is like our living of life?  We want to move from one emotional, recreational and spiritual high to the next.  Some of these experiences are exciting.  Some are destroyers.  Some are less than the dream.  But life happens between those high ... most of life in fact!  Paul (Philippians 3:14) reminds us to focus on the goal ... the prize defined by God.  Hebrews 12:2 reminds us to focus on the savior, the one who draws us forward to life and that "great cloud of witnesses" at the end of our race.

Michael Card calls Jesus "eternity stranded in time."  Maybe we forget that we too are created for eternity and that we get a little too comfortable (or hopelessly stuck) in the moment.  We forget the goal, the race and the Risen Savior at the end of the journey.  Paul and Jesus knew that the army of the Lord cannot stay in one place, making it easy for the enemy to locate us and pick us off one by one.  The "process" and the "movement" is our calling, our goal, our anointing and our mental health.  Because when you are focused on Jesus, it is hard to be focused on self.  Get off the tilt-a-whirl and get into life.  We were made to serve, follow and strive!  Randy

Stop, Reflect and Follow

We want everything to happen fast.  Baseball rules are changing to shorten games that have gotten tediously long.  We move at rapid pace from one thing to another, and we stress ourselves out as we try to do a task in 10 minutes that would be better done in 30.

This past Sunday it was Palm Sunday and I got to church at my normal time.  I usually get things ready for 9am worship and do a good "walkabout" of the church to make sure nothing is wrong.  So I came at normal time, and (since there was no 9am service) I found myself at 7am with nothing left to do and 2 and 1/2 hours before the 10:30am service started.  It was an interesting time of stopping and waiting.  I had a chance to reflect on a few things.

First, I reflected on my dislike of waiting.  If you read the Easter story, Jesus prayed in Gethsemane and the disciples fell asleep while waiting for Him.  The Bible says they were "exhausted from grief."  Our society shares this spirit of exhaustion.  And what are we exhausted from?  My perception is we are tired from our addiction to motion, activity and business.  Corrie Ten Boom said, "If the devil cannot make us bad, he will make us busy."  

Second, I reflected on my patterns ... the things I get all caught up in.  I learned something while listening to a message by John Mark Comer.  He said that the same endorphins that give a runner "runner's high" and the addict the desire to pursue their high at any cost, are the same endorphins that addict us to our motion and activity.  One writer was asked what Satan looked like.  The writer responded, "business."  We (I am included) have personalities that are addicted to the motion, activity and franticness of life.  We have difficulty stopping long enough to lift a prayer to God and then listen for God's answer.  Our patters and constant motion make it hard to stop, hard to reflect and hard to follow anything but urgency.  And, we are exhausted! 

Finally, on this Easter week, let's think of the Easter story.  It is a long and tedious journey that calls us to stop and reflect on each day.  Palm Sunday's triumphal entry.  "Hosanna" they shouted!  Thursday's new covenant of love, sacrifice, perfect Passover lamb and arrested criminal.  Twelve disciples stop with the Savior.  There is a late trial and the crowd shouts, "crucify Him!" Friday, Jesus is crucified.  All of this points to the high point of history as Jesus defeats death and the grave.  At each of these events we should stop, reflect and choose.  I pray you will choose to follow the Christ, the Son of the Living God ... the one who was, and is, and is to come.  Let's come Sunday and praise the name of the Lord our God!