Is the gap too wide?
There’s something that has been on my mind lately about church. I’ve been a part of many churches and it seems that they fall into two categories. One is filled with young people and is exciting and thriving. They’re trying to do church in a way that doesn’t feel like church. The other is mature and traditional. It’s filled with an older congregation that doesn’t want media screens in the sanctuary. On one side there’s rock music and at least 2 guitars. On the other there’s a huge organ that exclusively plays hymns. Now the common question is asked from the mature church, what can we do to get more young people? They don’t however want a base guitar and drums and to have to radically change their services. I haven’t expereinced a young church asking for more older saints, though I think they probably should. At my last church I thought long and hard about how to combine the two sides. Mentoring seemed a good place to start. The older women in the church could teach the younger ones how to make a pie or how to sew. They could fellowship together, look for some common ground. At my new church, they want more young people. I’m pushing for us to throw out our old curriculum, start a service for young couples with a great band that plays alternative christian music, bring in all kinds of media to reach the kids and so forth. Am I just trying to recreate what I’ve seen at the younger churches? Each church is different and ours is currently hymn driven, quilting club, commitee focused. None of these things will attract young people or young families. I wonder if there’s a middle ground or if the gap is maybe too wide. Will the children’s and youth ministries turn into a seperate piece of the church? Is anyone really interested in compromising and thinking about what it would look like to combine the best of these two very different very valid churches? I wonder….
Filed under Ministry | Comments (2)Giving, Fasting, Praying
I always considered myself a giver and I am definetely married to a giver, so I thought the best thing to do would be to keep tithing and concentrate on prayer and fasting. These of course are my plans and I was about to be introduced to God’s. On Christmas eve we went and visited our old church with some friends and it was time for the offering. They told us 100% of their offering was going to a new project a doctor was starting in the community and we watched a video of a pediatrician who felt an aching in his heart to leave his successful practice and start a clinic for those who had no insurance. As we watched the video I knew we would put money in the basket as it went by us. Mike looked at me and asked how much. This was one of the few occasions we had cash because we had just sold his ipod. I thought in my head about 10 dollars then raised it to 20. Mike asked if that was my first thought about what to give. I looked at him and suddenly felt … I felt, well honestly, I felt God. Mike had $40 in his hand and I shook my head. “twenty?” he asked incredulously. I shook my head and there must have been something in the way I looked at him. I don’t know what you look like when you look at God but it must be different then any other expression. The music was loud, the lights were dim and the basket was coming closer and he asked one last time, “all of it?” I couldn’t speak at this point so I nodded and immediately began crying. Now we are in the middle of an affluent church on Christmas eve during the offering and I am the only one crying. I’ve thought about why I cried. I’m sure I was scared, I sure part of me thought I was out of my mind, I had already decided what bills we were going to pay with that money. I also think the bigger part of me knew that if you say you will give with all your heart then you must give everything you have in your hands. I kept searching for this profound reason for my tears and I think it is simply a sign of sacrifice. God helped me give on a level that meant something to me. There’s a song they sang in church yesterday and the first verse says How sweet the tears to trust in Jesus. The hardest part of giving isn’t knowing, it’s trusting. And it will prepare your heart to receive miracles; give your money, give your tears, give your food, give your hunger, give your prayers. For God so loved the world, he gave. I know God loves a cheerful giver and it is my prayer to one day smile with empty hands. I am so grateful to Him that now my hands are finally as open as my heart.
Filed under Fasting, Ministry | Comment (0)A fresh coat of paint in heaven
We are in the process of painting the church and we have been blessed with an incrediblly talented artist who came here to sow into our ministry. We got to talking and something he said has stuck in the back of my mind ever since I heard it. His dream is to paint murals for churches all over the world and then when he gets to heaven he wants to paint on the walls there too. The Lord’s prayer says Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I sat and thought about having a vocation or a calling in heaven, what would you do if you knew, wow this is heaven. What would your day look like? What would I be in heaven and then mirror that reflection on earth. I think of my husband, who handles computers and electronics with deft skill, and I don’t know if he would be the go to computer guy in heaven but I do know he would be helping someone. And when we sit and dream together about starting a company and how he would treat everyone there with an immense amount of respect and gratitude. Even give them an extra week vacation to go on a service or mission trip. I could see him doing that in heaven, running the company you always wanted to work for but could never find. Working in heaven seems like a strange combination at first but it is in work that all the gifts God has bestowed on us come to fruition. And then I turn inward; does heaven need preachers? I think if I was surrounded by God’s glory in His Kingdom, you probably couldn’t stop me from talking about it. Every moment would be another glimpse of inspiration about how we are so fearfully and wonderfully made and deeply and unconditionally loved. When I struggle with my calling here I can remember that this is a journey on earth to rain down the Kingdom of heaven.
Filed under Ministry | Comment (0)Bringing a calling to Life
I thought long and hard (kinda) about what I wanted to name my blog. As I was writing my latest seminary paper, one of the quotes that jumped out at me from one of the seven books I was reading simultaneously was “all you are is a hearing and a response.” The simplicity of those words defined a call I struggle to capture in 12 pages. I have heard God. I can either choose whether or not to listen and if I do respond then that response will be in the way I live my life, the way my heart beats or breaks, and the way I can stretch out my hands to others. Everything is rendered a response to the call… So there you have it. Called and Response. I want this to be an authentic rendering of my life right now, as a young married woman who is struggling to define a call to ministry that I have heard loud and clear for a while now. I also believe that this will affect every part of my life and nothing is off limits in terms of inspiration. This is a journal of my life and all it’s beautiful tangents. Here marks the first sign post in a journey towards a calling that I am equal parts thrilled and scared about.
Filed under Ministry | Tags: Calling, Ministry | Comment (0)