Lukewarm

There's not a market for luke-warm coffee.

 

Gas stations, coffee shops, and fast food restaurants heat their coffee to 1.38 degrees below lava and people seem to be ok with that.  They also have iced coffee.  Coffee with ice cubes on purpose!

 

It's interesting that we're o.k. with the extremes but the in-between (for most people) is... yucky.  I sit at my desk this morning with a mongo-sized-multi-bathroom-trip  thermal coffee cup that is now effectively holding my coffee at that swampy fuel oil temperature.  I thought about warming it up but that would involve a walk.  Drinking it like it is only involves a scrunched up face to swallow the sludge taste.

The words of the Angel of the Lord to the church Laodicea in Revelation 3:15&16 come to mind, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish that you were either one of the other! So, because you are luke warm... I am about to spit your out of my mouth."

 

Nearby Laodicea was Hierapolis, known for its hot springs that were medicinal and healing.  Also near by were the pure mountain cold waters of Colossea providing refreshing nourishment for the weary.  Laodica is being called to task for its works ("deeds") not its spiritual temperature.  I don't think God would want anyone to be "cold" in their spirit.  The believers are being warned about being indifferent and ineffective in their actions.

 

Not being a place for healing and refreshing is a dangerous place for a church to be.  Christianity needs to be about bringing wholeness and nourishment into the lives of the people who come in contact with us.  It's that stinky mediocricy that is of no value.  What mocks God is an attitude of, "I don't care" that shows up in actions of, "I don't care" even if our mouths say, "I'm a Christian."

 

What engages a Supernatural gag reflex is providing grace and power that remain unused while they're talked about as if they are being used.

 

"Lord, this Sunday may an exhausted traveler find the pure springs of your strength.  Lord, this Sunday may a wounded soul bathe in the healing springs of your love."

 

Walking My Coffee to the Microwave,

Pastor Dave

The Arena

I went to my cousin's memorial service this week.  You would've loved Ed, he was a great pastor and a fun guy.  I find myself sitting next to some of you in the stadium of questions.  You know the place - it's the crowded arena that holds all of us who have had an experience that doesn't seem to fit in the game of life.

 

I hugged Ed's wife, who now is without a husband, a father for their kids, a pastor, and even a church.  I stood in the stadium next to her and felt a fraction of her pain.  We cried.  I walked and talked with my other cousin who is now without his younger brother and himself racked with pain from cancer - we talked about God, about questions, about hanging on.

 

The stadium is often quite full.

 

As I work my way out of the stadium I'm looking back making some observations.

1.  The stadium of questions rarely has answers.
I went in with a list of things that didn't make sense to me.  I went in with a bunch of suggestions for God on how he could have handled this one differently.  I went in thinking I should be exempt from having to be there again.  I went in knowing I wasn't alone - but feeling like I was.  Being answerless makes what I "feel" bigger than what I "know."

 

2. The stadium is often the birth place of anger.
It is amazing to me how close we are to an angry response.  Please know that God can handle our anger, but in most cases it's a huge waste of our energy.  We get angry over what we can't change and don't like.  The danger is that anger not given to God grows into a poison that infects all of our life and is usually expressed on innocent bystanders.

 

3. The stadium of questions is where I am most selfish.
I couldn't count how many people were there.  When I'm in the arena I'm not usually aware of anyone else.  I see people, but I don't notice souls if I'm not careful.  My questions become my identity and the absence of answers is my evil twin.  We're not good for each other.

 

4. The stadium of questions some how grows me.
After I sit in my chair for a while and search for illusive answers I eventually notice that Someone is sitting close to me. 

At some point He asks if I am ready to leave.
"But I don't have an answer yet," I reply refusing to get up.
"You know, you can leave without one don't you?" He kindly asks.
"But if I have questions doesn't that mean I am weak and have no faith?"
"No," He didn't hesitate to answer.
"Are you willing to keep walking without an answer?  Are you bold enough to let my Father have the answers and not share them with you?  Are you able to have faith and questions at the same time?"  He asked the series of rapid fire questions not waiting for my response.
"Yah, I think I am." I finally said.
"I'd love to have a person like that walk with me," He smiled.

We stood together.  I don't have answers - I have a Friend.

 

Leaving the Arena Again,

Pastor Dave 

Rescuing the Church!

Rescuing the Church!  I have watched with interest as the 33 miners from Chile have been rescued from their extended overtime (technically they were on the job the whole time, over 1600 hours - what's overtime pay in Chile?).

It was fascinating the story that the media is feeding us with a front end loader right now.  Already the event itself is not news enough, now we hear all the scandal about individuals.

So far one line captivated me.  As the rescue was happening someone was sharing that the key to survival for them was that everyone of them had a job.  Everyone was involved in helping everyone live through the ordeal.

Petty opinions are of little value when you might die.  Pride is revealed as shallow when it's about survival.  Selfishness must evaporate when 32 people are counting on you to live.

I wonder about the church.  We have become so program guided and oriented that we wait for a program to be implemented to do what is right to do.  In light of that I have to be invited and sold on the program before I chip in.

So, I'm thinking about the church being a place where I belong and where I am active.  Do people know you love them?  Have you meet someone new?  Have you asked how you could pray for a new friend this week?  Have you taken someone out for a coffee?  Have you made sure that person doesn't have to sit alone in church?  Have you risked?

Everyone had a job.  Everyone did the job.  Everyone was rescued.

Thinking about all of us being rescued from ineffectiveness.

Praying for you,

Pastor Dave

In Awe

Last night I went to the hospital and held a newborn.

 

Beauty finds new meaning when it is wrapped tightly in a warm blanket.  Innocence is more obvious when life hasn't hardened a soul.  Dependance seems more healthy when an infant sleeps in your arms.

 

I found myself looking again to the eyes of a proud (albeit exhausted) mom and dad.  They had waited for this moment.  Holding their newborn daughter and standing next to my not-newborn daughter made me think of all the "moments" that are in front of them.

 

Perhaps it's not theological enough, maybe I'm not in the mood for depth right now, it's possible I'm more sentimental than I am dignified - but have a picture in my mind that won't go away.  My Father God finds beauty in his creation.  He looks close as the Creator - "they have my soul in them.  Sometimes it hard to see, but I can see Myself in them.  Man, I'm proud!"

 

If your view of God doesn't include a God that loves you enough to wrap you in a blanket of grace and dote on you, you don't know God's heart.  My heavenly Father provides innocence.  Through the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus,  God is able to look at me and hold me tightly enough so that I can't mistake His affection.  He is able focus on the innocence his grace provides, while I demand to look at what He has had to forgive.  He sees me as He made me, too often I see me as what I made me.

 

My provider God knows how dependent I am on Him even when I don't.  He knows when it's time for solid food or the milk of His Spirit to grow me to solid food.  He knows when I can walk and when I need to be carried.  He knows how to teach me to talk and how I will fall short if others fill the role of my provider.

 

He's my Father God.

 

The scene in heaven may have played out like this -

God: "Hey, look at that!  See that baby in David's arms.  I created them both, they are my creations and I can see myself in them.  Look closer.  Do you see the innocence of the souls?  Look at what grace does!  Can you smell the fragrance of dependance from that room - both of them are completely helpless without a provider.  That's me!  I'm their provider.  Quick!  Take a picture!  Two of mine.  I made them both.  I did a great job."

 

Angel: "Wow."

 

Last night I held God's creation in my arms.  God held two.

 

In Awe,
Pastor Dave

 

Summer Reflections

I suppose summer's over, it's time to start "thinking" again.  As I start this day I have some things on my mind that I've learned this summer.  What have you learned?

 

1. Some stuff is out of my control.
It's much easier and safer to not "beat your head" with a bat over things you can't control.  The Lord helped me to set aside my agenda and be ok with the fact that not everything runs the way I would like it to.

 

Too often life doesn't run in the grooves I've made for it.

 

2. Birthdays happen.
I'm not fond of getting a greater distance from thirty, yet the distance keeps growing.  The hair on my head is thinner and the hair on my chin is grayer.  While the world struggles to add years that have little meaning I'm learning to be sure that each one I have matters.

 

Too often I don't live on purpose.

 

3. The soul matters more.
My relationship with God is more important than my relationship with my doctor.  The end of the summer season included physical challenges that I would rather have skipped.  But I know what matters most.

 

Too often I care most about what isn't the most important.

 

4. I love my church.
I just like being here.  I like seeing people grow.  I like meeting new people.  I like hearing people sing.  I like hearing the pages turn when I say, "turn with me in your Bibles to...." I like being a MFMCer.

 

Too often I forget to thank God for the church I attend.

 

5. The call is crucial.
I heard from the Lord this summer about my call - what it is and what it isn't.  The Leadership Team and the Pastoral Staff are making adjustments so that we spend most of our time swimming in the ocean of God's call for us.

 

Too often I wade streams of business.

 

6. Relationships happen on purpose.
I've had some of the greatest times having dinner, playing games, drinking coffee - being with people.  It's our error when we are too busy to be with people and risk building relationships.

 

Too often I don't make time for fun.

 

7. God's good at making new starting lines.
Hint - Sunday we're looking at starting lines for individuals and our church.  Come ready to be blessed by God's grace.  Bring a friend who needs to start over.

I'm getting in position for a new season of the soul and a new season for our church.  I'm listening for the starting pistol to fire.  I'm ready to run the race.  It's been a good summer.  It's time to move on!

 

Pastor Dave