What I thought would take a couple hours turned into a full day. And I loved it.

There is something really rewarding about being an agent of change.  It’s remarkable to watch layers of crud blast away with the power of the spray, revealing what “ought to be.”  Swipe after swipe I was discovering the results of hard work, and enjoying the fruit of my labors as the steps, sidewalks, patio and curbing were given another chance to shine.

Oh, and lest you think it was all ‘whistling dixie,’ I have to mention that my back and neck hurt like a bugger today, and getting out of bed was a significant challenge!  But all this pales in comparison to the power of the pressure washer and the product of a fresh new look.

And this is why I love pastoring.

I’ve been a Christian pastor for about 18 years and it has been full of ‘back-breaking’ work and ‘pain in the neck’ challenges. In surveys, year after year, pastoring ranks right up there as one of the hardest professions. I can concur. It’s a lot of work. Long hours, crisis-management, fundraising, people-pleasing, preaching, staffing, facilities, and not to mention, the profound spiritual dimensions. A number of times, I’ve contemplated other work (say, a barista at an espresso stand or selling Slurpies at 7-Eleven). But I always come back to the joy-filled results of pastoring.

I have the wonderful privilege of  a bird-eye view to change. I’m talking about real, significant change.  I get to be a part of something huge and life-changing. The Body of Christ is alive and making a considerable impact throughout the world, and I, by God’s grace, have been given the opportunity to watch it up close and personal. God has allowed me to operate one of His Kingdom Pressure Washers and assist in cleaning people up.

Messy marriages have been miraculously restored. Painful addictions have been shattered. Lost people are found. The shameful pasts that darken and dirty the souls of people have been cleaned by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is so humbling. This is so amazing. I get to be a part of the greatest agency upon the planet:  The Church. Together, with all God’s people, we focus the nozzle of the Water through the Word (Eph. 5:26) to wash away the grime of sin and shame.

This is hard work and I love it.

“And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually. In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.”  Exodus 27:20-21

Here we discover God’s command to the priests that there should always be a light left on in the temple. The inner court must alway have illumination. The lamps were to be filled with pure beaten olive oil.  The process by which olive oil is harvested and refined is amazing. There are various grades of oil (ie: extra virgin) and the command was such that only the purest form be brought to the inner court to keep the light burning day and night.

Throughout Biblical history, we discover that oil is often used as a typology of the Holy Spirit and His anointing presence. From this passage, one can surmise that the Lord God desired that there be a visual reminder of His Presence always burning brightly within the temple and before the people.  God’s desire for His manifold Presence to be expressed, enjoyed and exalted remains today. He wants His Presence to be evident in our modern churches.

How often have we been a part of or at least aware of congregations in which God’s Presence has not dwelt for some time?  These are empty shells, white-washed tombs, and shadows of their former selves.

The lights are barely on, and God is certainly not at home.

How can we, in our postmodern culture, insure that the Presence of the Holy Spirit still burns brightly within our midst?  I believe there are two components that are found in the Exodus 27 passage.

1.  The People Bring It

The people of Israel were commanded to bring the pure oil to the temple for the lamp to remain lit. There is a responsibility on their part that is often overlooked today.  Our contemporary churches have largely become spectator based in which folks rate the service like that of an episode of American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance? In large part the leaders of the local church have a heavy expectation to “bring it,” and if there seems to be a lack of God’s Presence then the service is rated accordingly. In this passage we discover the opposite expectation.  The people were to “bring it.”

Imagine, Spirit-filled believers coming together and collectively bringing the indwelling Presence of God with them. Our church gatherings would be lit up! That’s where the pastors role begins.

2.  The Pastor Tends It

Aaron and his sons were the priests of the temple. They were commanded to tend to the lamp from evening to morning. What is notably absent from this passage?  Bringing oil was not their responsibility. Their role involved tending. Today in our churches, we have pastors that are given the same role: to keep the lamp burning with the oil that the people bring.

I have known good and Godly leaders that are struggling in their place of service. There are a number of reasons why this could be the case. But it occurs to me that perhaps they are trying to keep a lamp burning without oil. Another image would be: making bricks without straw.  These well-meaning pastors have too great an expectation upon them to be both bringer and tender. That is an undue expectation.

Welcome to the Kingdom of God partnership:  people and pastor. Together we can keep the light on for God.

You can read it and other articles & papers I’ve written here.

You can read it and other articles & papers I’ve written here.

These insanities are not why I think Christmas is crazy however. My thoughts are of the theological nature. The Word of God is full of absurdities.

The first and foremost one is that God would become a baby. Please don’t miss the magnitude of this: God and Baby. Big and Little. Powerful and Weak. Go figure. How is it possible to have the fullness of the Godhead reduced down into an 8 pound 10 ounce bundle of energy? It’s similar to the task of putting a nuclear power plant into a thimble!

In the end we are grasping the ungraspable and that might be just how God wants it.

In Ephesians 3:19 the reader can find two tension-filled concepts that emphasize the absurdity of the Gospel. In Paul’s prayer he asks that Christ might dwell in our hearts and that we might be able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. This prayer seems simple enough. It’s the desire of earnest, growing believers to have Jesus be at home within our hearts. And we most certainly want to have the love of Christ flowing in and through us.

But then it gets weird. Paul goes postal and the Bible gets bizarre. It’s says, catch this: “and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

How does one know what can’t be known? The love of God surpasses knowledge according to this passage. So how can we know it then? It’s like roping the wind or catching a sunbeam or defying gravity. Doesn’t this sound absurd? But wait, there’s more…

Try comprehending how we as humans can be filled with all the fullness of God. Finite simply cannot contain the infinite. Right? That goes back to the whole nuclear power plant/thimble scenario! I can understand how we could have a part or portion of God fill us up. In Exodus 33, Moses was allowed to see only God’s back side because if he saw the magnitude of God’s being then he would not live. The fullness of God’s presence is simply more than we can handle. And yet Paul has the audacity to pray for us to be filled with the full measure of God! Can we really handle it?

I’m convinced that God thrives on this craziness. He loves the tension and the absurdity because it fuels the mystery and feeds our faith (or lack thereof). Just when we think we’ve got God all figured out we unwrap another layer of his complexity. That’s what makes Christmas so ‘wonder full’ – the knowing what can’t be known – the being filled with someone so much bigger than ourselves.

This is grasping the ungraspable and that might be just how God wants it to be.

Merry Christmas you and yours.

John

I’m a preacher and teacher. So, it always intrigues me when I see Jesus doing the things that I have dedicated the better part of my life to doing. I’d be a fool to not take note of how Jesus ministered, the context, the topics, the passion, the creativity and the outcomes.

I noticed again today in my devotions that Jesus was a traveling preacher that gave a great portion of his messages in the marketplace. Jesus’ primary pulpit was the street corner. He would “go through all the TOWNS and VILLAGES” (vs. 35), “see the CROWDS” (vs. 36), and “send OUT workers into his harvest FIELD” (vs. 38).

Sometimes he would teach in the synagogues, but his preaching, healing and ministering happened almost exclusively in the public square. I wonder if we’ve tried to get our evangelism so firmly located within our church services and congregational gatherings that we’ve missed key opportunities. Have we made it more about providing a great program or about releasing a great people? Could our attractional style of ministry (build it and they will come) perhaps be getting in the way (or a replacement for) the equipping and sending of missionaries into their personal “harvest fields?”

Years ago, Jerry Cook gave us the concept of “field / force.” He believes (and I wholeheartedly agree) that the church is a force that is to be equipped and released into the field to minister in the name of Jesus. It’s common and natural to mistakenly think that the church is the field and if we could just get them into our wonderful buildings they will immediately surrender their hearts and lives to the Lord. This can indeed happen (occasionally), however, the sheer statistics are stacked against us.

Consider your city. How many people are there? Now consider your church. How many people attend regularly? Is there a huge difference between those numbers? More than likely, the answer is YES. Even if your church filled every seat for dozens of services, it probably wouldn’t come close to reaching a large percentage of pre-Christians in your community.

Jesus saw the “crowds” in the “towns and villages” and he preached the good news to them and healed them. These are folks that may or may not follow him or step foot into one of his services at the local synagogue.

Jesus’ primary pulpit was in the street. What is your primary pulpit?

You can read it and other articles & papers I’ve written here.

You can read it and other articles & papers I’ve written here.

You can read it and other articles & papers I’ve written here.

However, I was most excited to watch a new comedy called “Community“. It‘s based at a community college with a strange yet stereotypical cast that forms a study group (think The Breakfast Club of the 80‘s). I loved the quick wit and cheesy dialogue and it always warms my heart when Chevy Chase surfaces. But more than anything I was intrigued at how a group of disconnected individuals could find commonality and friendship.

I was particularly gripped by the crowning observation made by the makeshift leader of the study group: “You just stopped being a study group. You‘ve become something unstoppable. I hearby pronounce you a community.”

What brought about this shift from study group to community? How does this happen in the life of a church and in its small groups? Does it happen with some groups and not with others? Is there a formula? Well, the answer to the last question is a resounding “NO” – there is no formula, but there are some consistent factors that contribute to the nurturing of real, authentic community in people‘s lives. In all my years of being in small groups, I have found the following three elements to be present.

1. Care: The Bible says over and over that we should “love one another” and “prefer one another”. These challenges don‘t come easy. Many of us have enough to care for with our immediate families and our personal well-being. It‘s tough to then extend ourselves beyond that. Yet, the life of Jesus shows us how to be people that care for each other. Community is developed when its members intentionally and authentically care for one another.

2. Conflict: Oddly, one key element to community life is conflict. Every good story has conflict and so does every good relationship. Nothing bonds hearts together like a good brewing of tension and turmoil. Granted, it‘s those very elements that can ruin community as well, and yet, when it can also serve to unite a group of people more than anything else. Conflict, and it‘s hopeful resolution, is what sucks us into a good novel or television program, and it is what forges depth of community in churches and families.

3. Chemistry: Finally, one can‘t overlook the aspect of pure chemistry. Simple put, you gotta enjoy being together. Yes, there may be times of conflict (that‘s normal and often helpful), but overall, there must be a sense of “man, I like hanging out with you.” It‘s that chemistry that Denise and I have enjoyed when it comes to the small groups we have been a part of. Currently, we are meeting with a group of people for our LEGENDS small group at WSFC and frankly: we dig these people. They‘re just fun to hang with. It‘s that kind of chemistry that makes community enjoyable.

We are all called to be in community (see Acts 2 & 4). God designed us to go beyond just a “study group” or “acquaintances”. He lives in community (the Trinity) and desires the same for our lives!