"I Stand Amazed in the Presence..."

Happy Saturday, dear readers! I am old enough that I have spent more of my life singing from hymnals than from video screens. I have been in many more church services with organ music than I have with praise bands. Needless to say, there are many of the great old hymns of the church that are near and dear to my heart. One of the ones I find myself humming most often begins with the words, "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. And wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean." In fact,  I found myself humming it again this morning. And I started to wonder. How often do we really grasp the amazing love that Jesus came to bring us? Do we really understand that it is only because of the grace given to us through the love of God whose name is Jesus that we do not remain "a sinner, condemned and unclean?" How often do we really stand in His presence it total awe of what He has done for us? For me, the answer is clearly "not often enough."

So today I ask you this question- when was a time that you stood "amazed in the presence?" Was there a time when you were overwhelmed with awe and wonder at the majesty of our loving God? Remember- and then share your experience in the comment section if you would like. Then join me and sing along with the amazing chorus to this great hymn:

How marvelous! How wonderful!

And my song shall ever be

How marvelous!  How Wonderful!

Is my Savior's love for me?

We cannot #SaveThanksgiving without be thankful to and amazed by the One who came to save us. Give thanks with a grateful heart today!

                                                          

Because of Jesus,

Understanding Worship

I came to an uncomfortable conclusion very early this morning when my dog woke me up. My dog worships me. Just look at the evidence. When I am sitting at the computer he lies my my feet, making sure I don't go anywhere without him knowing. He follows me everywhere I go. I go the kitchen and he is on my heels. I go to the bathroom and he comes in looking for me. I grab his leash and he heads for the door, ready to follow wherever I will lead him. The neighbors have told me that when I am gone they hear him howling in distress, uncertain what to do without me.  Sometimes when I leave he pouts the entire time I am gone, howling and laying on the bed starring out the window, waiting for my return. I just have to face the facts. Conner the Dog worships me, unworthy as I am. 

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized what a great example of true worship it is! I want to feel that way about Jesus every single day. I want to long to know where he will take me next. I want to follow him everywhere he wants to lead me. I want to feel the need to be in his presence so strongly that when I feel like I have wandered away (because if we feel separated from God, it is us who moved) I howl with grief, hoping he will hear my cries and come rescue me yet again. I want to be constantly vigilant, following him in the here and now and waiting for the glory of his return. This is what true worship is- giving ourselves completely to the One we worship. I want to be like that.  Jesus invites us all, with all of our faults and failures and blemishes, to come follow him. It is a come just as we are invitation, but it comes with a price- that we take up our cross and follow him no matter what. I realize now that Conner is not only a faithful dog, he is a walking object lesson. I want to need Jesus so bad that is hurts. LORD, I want to howl for you. That is my prayer today. And as long as I'm praying, I wouldn't mind if Conner wanted to sleep all night tonight. It's the little things...

Because of Jesus,

Throwback Thursday: Student Ministry Warning Signs

Tuesday's encounter with a youth pastor with no passion for youth took me back to this vintage post, first published in 2012 and shared here with updates. I still really like this one...

I have been out of student ministry for nearly 8 years now. In youth ministry, 8 years is often a lifetime. The large, big-budget church my family attends has completely reorganized its student ministry 4 times in those 8 years. Some of my youth pastor friends have changed jobs 5 times in those 8 years. So I have missed a lot of changes. I have always been suspicious of people who try to teach youth ministry when they are not doing it- and that is me now, so you should probably take this rand with a grain of salt. But lately, I have been aware of some scary stuff. I read lots of blogs written by youth pastors, and I tweet with a couple of hundred youth workers each week. And I can't help but notice that there are some things they seem to be quite proud of that my 28 years of service in youth ministry cause me to see as red flags- warning signs that a storm is coming! My purpose today is not to say anyone is wrong. I do not know other the inside workings of other student ministries or ministry situations. My purpose is to ask everyone involved in youth ministry to step back and make sure your ministry is doing all it can to build relationships between the students you serve and the Jesus you worship. Here are 8 questions I hope you will consider...

1. Has your ministry become lopsided?  Ministry to students should cover many areas. We need to teach them to be disciples. We need to show them what it means to have the heart of a servant and how to share the gospel with others. We need to give them opportunities to worship. We need to offer them a place where they feel loved and included, and where they experience true fellowship. Has your ministry become a place that focuses almost exclusively on one or two of those things? Lopsided ministries often begin to exclude those on the fringe, or to become social clubs that have no heart for Jesus. Neither of those is acceptable...
2. Do you preach to your students each week?  We have known for years that lectures and sermons are the least effective ways to communicate with young people, yet I read each week of all the time youth pastors are spending on sermon preparation. We think our words inspire and convict them, but often they are rolling off teenagers like rain off of a freshly waxed car. There are so many better, more creative ways to teach and engage students with the Word of God- but they require much more planning, work and risk. We ask better of school teachers. We in the church should demand better of ourselves.
3. Do parents like you too much?  If parents are on board with everything you do, you may have a problem. Yes, we should work with parents (the ones who care and love their teenagers, never forgetting that we also serve students who get zero parental support), partner with them and be supportive of them, never seeking to undercut them as the primary models for the students we serve. But who is it we have been called to serve? If you never have to explain yourself to parents, then chances are you are not challenging your students. The radical Jesus of the gospels makes adults uncomfortable; your ministry should too. You know teenagers. If adults are approving of all of your exotic lessons, weird games, strange meeting times and loud music, then perhaps they are not exotic, weird, strange or loud enough! Occasionally it is a good and holy thing to scare some parents...  :)
4. When you start planning a new year of ministry, do you begin with last year's calendar?  If you know what you will be doing January 22 of 2015 because you know what you did January 21 of this year, then get help. You are in a rut, and your creativity is dying- or at least in pain! Start from scratch. Brainstorm brand new ideas! You may wind up doing similar things, but don't make what you HAVE done the starting point for what you NEED to do!  Lameness alert!!!
5. Are all of the adults who work with your student ministry from the same age group?  It is so easy to fall into the trap of thinking all adult volunteers (and paid youth staff, for that matter) need to be young and hip. The truth is, teenagers come in all shapes, sizes, personalities and needs. Seek variety in your team. If every youth ministry team meeting takes place at Starbucks or via Facetime on your iPhones, you may have an issue. It is not the church's job to raise a new generation of hipsters...
6. When was the last time you tried something that failed miserably?  If it has been a while, then you may be playing it too safe. Challenging and engaging students requires a little craziness and a lot of outside-the-box thinking. Those things lead to ideas whose times have not yet come- and abject failure. God will use those failures to make a difference. And on occasion what we see as failure becomes a glorious success in the hands of God. I once lost $8000 on a concert where nearly 100 people gave their lives to Christ. Failure...or not? If you aren't failing a couple of times a year, then you aren't risking enough in the name of Jesus.  
7. Is your group too homogeneous?  I am not talking about ethnic or racial diversity; those are important issues that deserve more space than I can give them here. I am talking about the caste system that exists in our schools. I am talking about cliques.  Are you actively seeking to help break down barriers? Do you seek to reach all types of students, or just those who fit some predetermined profile set forth by your church? Are you only accepting of teenagers who have already cleaned up their act? You know- clean language, proper attire, no tattoos or piercings? Too many youth pastors are drawn only to students who are like them. Beware of this. Paul wrote we should be all things to all people so that they might know Jesus. As a youth pastor, I would have loved to have been described with the same words Grace the school secretary used to describe Ferris Bueller: "The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, ****heads - they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude." Jesus is for everyone... 
8. Is spontaneous a dirty word in your ministry?   Some of the very best lessons, worship times and fellowship events I was ever a part of were NOT the things I had planned for that day. I heard from a youth pastor a while back who almost had a stroke when his guest speaker didn't show up. Come on, people! We are supposed to be the "Masters of Disaster," the queens and kings of improvisation! Sometimes I think in our desire to appear "professional" we have cut out a big part of the heart of youth ministry- spontaneity. Be willing to go with the flow. Be willing to endure a little holy chaos. In fact, be willing to CREATE a little holy chaos! And above all, be willing to let the Holy Spirit take you places you didn't plan to go. Tameness, sameness and lameness will always be the enemy when it comes to reaching the hearts of students, because none of those words describe Jesus.

I could go on, but I will stop now. This feels like a sermon, and I am sure most of you quit reading back around #3! It is my prayer that these words may rattle a few cages. I gave much of my life to doing student ministry, and I believe with all of my heart that it still has a huge role to play in the future of the church- if we go about it with passion and creativity. Let me know what you think!

Because of Jesus,

You Have GOT To Be Kidding Me...

Yesterday I was in our local Publix grocery store and was standing in line to check out. A young man behind me in line commented on the t-shirt I was wearing, which has the following writing on the back:

He asked me if I was in youth ministry, and I told him not any more but that I had been a youth pastor for many years. He mentioned that he was serving as a youth pastor at a local non-denominational church. We began to chat about ministry, and he confessed that that his goal was to be a worship leader in a contemporary church and that this was just a step along that path, a way to pay the bills while he was searching. My response was to encourage him and talk about how there is much to learn from youth ministry that applies to all ministries and how he could still use his gift of worship leading with the kids. His comeback floored me. He said, "Yes, I find ways to do the things I like to do. It's not a bad job. I'm just not crazy about teenagers. If it was a different age group I'd love what I'm doing now."

His words left me dumbfounded, and I didn't really respond- because in my mind a plan was forming to run over him in the parking lot! My thought has always been that there are only two real prerequisites to being in youth ministry. One, you need to love Jesus. And two, you need to love the weird, wild. crazy, messy, amazingly wonderful people we call teenagers. One out of two does not cut it. I left the store hurting for him, his church and especially the students who are getting short-changed by a youth pastor whose heart is somewhere else. 

Maybe I am overreacting, but for me, youth ministry was a calling and a blessing- a lifestyle, not a job. Sharing life and God's love with teenagers gave me some of the great moments of my life and of the lives of so many of my friends. This guy didn't understand how blessed he was to have the opportunity. That makes me want to grab him, shake him, and just say "C'MON, MAN!" 

And just for the record, I did not run him over in the parking lot. This time...

Because of Jesus,

Brevity: Preaching Like Jesus

This past Sunday was one of those times when I had trouble focusing on worship while attending a worship service. There were several reasons, most all of which were my own fault. I was distracted by the fact that every song we sang was written between 2012 and the present day, and I didn't know know 2 of them. The fact that there was a Veteran's Day celebration in worship (I respect and love those who serve and served, and wish them a Happy Veteran's Day today! But as you may know it makes me crazy to see the flag take center stage in worship instead of the cross) distracted me even more. And finally, not only was the sermon (despite a new title and and slightly new angle) a rerun, it was all about finances and tithing. And as with most tithing sermons, in my opinion there was a whole lotta' proof-texting going on! So my mind began to wander...

What would my sermon topic be if my life were ever find me in the pulpit once again? On this Sunday, with my head in a very snarky place, I was struck by the word Brevity. One of my mentors in ministry once told me that "you can never go wrong by finishing a sermon early, as long as you say all you need to say." And as the thought twisted it's way through my mind, it occurred to me that Jesus was quite often very brief with his teachings. Jesus always fed his audience well, but he seldom gave them the entire buffet all at once. He also often left them with questions and things they needed to figure out on their own. It was quite a revelation, coming as it did in the middle of someone else's sermon, but I realized I was on to something good. There could be a series of very short sermons that would simply quote Jesus each week and then close with another saying from the master teacher- either "Now go thou and do likewise" or "Let those with ears to hear, hear." The rest of sermon would come from the congregation by means of questions or comments. It would be a message series that would truly be all about Jesus!

The sermons would look something like...no, EXACTLY  like...these:

John 14:6-  "I am the way , the truth and life. No one comes to the Father by by me." Let those with ears to hear, hear. You could then ask the basic question the disciples were constantly asking- "But what does it mean?"
Luke 11:9 - "Ask it it shall be given. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door shall be opened." Now go thou and do likewise. Does this mean God is a cosmic genie who will give us everything we ask for if we are faithful? Discuss...
Matthew 5:42-44 - "You have it heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven." Now go thou and do likewise. We all want to be loved, but what is Jesus saying about who we need to love? Love our enemies- all of them? Are you kidding me?

It could be done with everything Jesus taught, with every command and every parable. It could be done verse by verse with The Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount and the Lord's Prayer. We could give the pulpit back to the greatest preacher who ever lived! Preachers (including myself in the days when I filled pulpits) tend to think their explanations of what Jesus said are more important to the congregation's spiritual growth than what he actually said. NO! His words and stories changed the world. His words did not need commentary when he spoke them, and they don't need it today. We need to be like the first followers, soaking in those words, discussing them, being blown away by the power with which he spoke them. There could be periods of quiet meditation to seek guidance from the Holy Spirit or to seek new revelations from these ancient teachings. Worshippers could learn from each other, hearing insights and life experiences that are not usually shared in the modern church.  Just think about it- what would happen if we turned our worship services over to Jesus? 

Sharing this with you today probably wipes out any small chance I still had of ever being invited to preach again. It's just too radical, too far away from the comfortable patterns of the established church. But you know what? So was Jesus. And that's really the point. The older I get the more I want to see what could happen if we quit giving people church and started giving them Jesus. And that, my friends, will PREACH!!!

Because of Jesus,

The Ragman

Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Please pray for Christians all around the world who today gather to worship under the shadow of arrest and even death.

I have posted this here before and most likely will do so again, but lately grace- or more to the point, our unwillingness to give it to others in our daily lives- has been heavy on my mind. We have all been told that "God is love." This is true. But if God is love, then Jesus the Christ is GRACE! In the world we live in, grace is so much harder to come by than love. Sounds radical I know, but I believe it to be true. To find people willing to care, forgive and take on the burdens and sorrows of those around them is rare indeed. So today I will shut up and let Walter Wangerin tell you a parable about what it really means to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. It is a bit long, but so worth it. Enjoy- but beware! You may just wind up not only wanting to love your neighbor, but to become the grace that is Jesus and invade their lives. We must not be satisfied with being the recipients of God's grace. We must be dispensers as well. We must, if our own limited ways, become like the Ragman. The one who gave all so that we might be set free...

I saw a strange sight. I stumbled upon a story most strange like nothing my life,my street sense, my sly tongue had even prepared me for. Hush, child. Hush now and I will tell it to you.

Even before the dawn one Friday morning I noticed a young man, handsome and strong, walking the alleys of our city. He was pulling an old cart filled with clothes both bright and new,and he was calling in a clear, tenor voice: "Rags!" Ah, the air was foul and the first light filthy to be crossed by such sweet music."Rags! New rags for old! I take your tired rags! Rags!" "Now, this is a wonder," I thought to myself,for the man stood six- feet-four, and his arms were like tree limbs, hard and muscular,and his eyes flashed intelligence. Could he find no better job than this, to be a ragman in the inner city? So I followed him. My curiosity drove me. And I wasn't disappointed.

Soon the Ragman saw a woman sitting on her back porch. She was sobbing into a handkerchief, sighing, and shedding a thousand tears. Her knees and elbows made a sad X. Her shoulders shook. Her heart was breaking. The Ragman stopped his cart. Quietly, he walked to the woman, stepping round tin cans, dead toys and Pampers. "Give me your rag," he said so gently,"and I'll give you another." He slipped the handkerchief from her eyes. She looked up and he laid across her palm a linen cloth so clean and new that it shined. She blinked from the gift to the giver. Then, as he began to pull his cart again, the Ragman did a strange thing: he put her stained handkerchief to his own face; and then he began to weep, to sob as grievously as she had done, his shoulders shaking. Yet she was left without a tear. "This is a wonder," I breathed to myself, and I followed the sobbing Ragman like a child who cannot turn away a mystery.

"Rag! Rag! New rags for old!" In a little while, when the sky showed grey behind the rooftops and I could see the shredded curtains hanging out black windows, the Ragman came upon a girl whose head was wrapped in a bandage. Her eyes were empty. Blood soaked her bandage. A single line of blood ran down her cheek. Now the tall Ragman looked upon this child with pity,and he drew a lovely yellow bonnet from his cart. "Give me your rag," he said,tracing his own line on her cheek, "and I'll give you mine." The child could only gaze at him while he loosened the bandage, removed it, and tied it to his own head. The bonnet he set on hers. And I gasped at what I saw: for with bandage went the wound! Against his brow it ran a darker, more substantial blood-his own!

"Rag! Rags! I take old rags!" cried the sobbing, bleeding, strong, intelligent Ragman. The sun hurt both the sky, now, and my eyes; the Ragman seemed more and more to hurry. "Are you going to work?" he asked a man leaned against a telephone pole. The man shook his head. The Ragman pressed him: "Do you have a job?" "Are you crazy?" sneered the other. He pulled away from the pole, revealing the right sleeve of his jacket - flat, the cuff stuffed into the pocket. He had no arm. "So," said the Ragman. "Give me your jacket, and I'll give you mine." Such quiet authority in his voice! The one-armed man took off his jacket. So did the Ragman - and I trembled at what I saw: for the Ragman's arm stayed in its sleeve, and when the other put it on he had two good arms, thick as tree limbs: but the Ragman had only one. "Go to work," he said.

After that he found a drunk, lying unconscious beneath an army blanket, an old man hunched, wizened, and sick. He took that blanket and wrapped it round himself, but for the drunk he left new clothes.

And now I had to run to keep up with the Ragman. Though he was weeping uncontrollably, and bleeding freely at the forehead, pulling his cart with one arm, stumbling for drunkenness, falling again and again, exhausted, old, old, and sick, yet he went with terrible speed. On spider's legs he skittered through the alleys of the City, this mile and the next, until he came to its limits, and then he rushed beyond.
I wept to see the changes in this man. I hurt to see his sorrow. And yet I needed to see where he was going in such haste, perhaps to know what drove him so. The little old Ragman - he came to a landfill. He came to the garbage pits. And then I wanted to help him in what he did, but I hung back, hiding. He climbed a hill. With tormented labour he cleared a little space on that hill. Then he sighed. He lay down. He pillowed his head on a handkerchief and a jacket. He covered his bones with an army blanket. And he died. Oh, how I cried to witness that death! I slumped in a junked car and wailed and mourned as one who has no hope -because I had come to love the Ragman. Every other face had faded in the wonder of this man, and I cherished him; but he died. I sobbed myself to sleep. I did not know - how could I know? -- that I slept through Friday night and Saturday and its night, too.

But then, on Sunday morning, I was awakened by a violence. Light - pure, hard, demanding light -slammed against my sour face, and I blinked, and I looked, and I saw the last and the first wonder of all. There was the Ragman, folding the blanket most carefully, a scar on his forehead, but alive! And, beside that, healthy! There was no sign of sorrow nor of age, and all the rags that he had gathered shined for cleanliness. Well, then I lowered my head and, trembling for all that I had seen, I myself walked up to the Ragman. I told him my name with shame, for I was a sorry figure next to him. Then I took off all my clothes in that place, and I said to him with dear yearning in my voice: "Dress me.." He dressed me. My Lord, he put new rags on me, and I am a wonder beside him. The Ragman, the Ragman, the Christ! 

(from Walter Wangerin's book The Ragman & Other Cries of Faith, 2004, Harper & Collins)

We are called to be a Resurrection people. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me. Amen.

My New iPod Playlist: Really?

Yesterday I was doing laundry and listening to music. As you may know, my iPod has over 1400 songs and is full of oldies, weird stuff and obscure music. Much of it is organized into playlists so I can find it more easily. I recently created a playlist called Really? It is a group of 50 songs that even I am a little suprised to find on my iPod. So while piddling around the house yesterday I set the device to shuffle- and here were the first 10 songs that played from my Really? playlist. Really...

1. Miss Atomic Bomb - The Killers
2. Superstition - Stevie Wonder
3. What You Do To Me - Carl Wilson
4. Massachusetts - Bee Gees
5. Creeque Alley - The Mamas & the Papas
6. So What? - P!nk
7. Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan
8. Crow On the Cradle - Jackson Browne
9. I've Got the Music In Me - The Kiki Dee Band
10. Losing My Religion - R.E.M.

Anything strike you as particularly odd, or do they all seem pretty normal coming from me? Yeah...that's what I thought! Have a wonderful Saturday- and go wherever the music takes you!

Oh...one more song from the list...if you don't know the 2012 song Bruises by Train (featuring Ashley Monroe) you should check it out. It has so much to say about life...