A Fresh Look at the Church

I am fascinated by the church. It is a beehive of activity, mostly because it is the intersection of people's lives. Lives are being lived out from birth to death in the midst of this weekly gathering of folks. Cancer, births, deaths, successes, minor concerns, major debacles - all come together in one place. They include the young and the old, the graceful and the ham-handed, the mature and the young in the faith, the hopeful and the downtrodden - all coming together to share the commonality of life in Jesus Christ. This week I have talked to cancer patients, young and old; I have shared with those serving in Iraq and getting ready to return to the War; I spoke to those going through the devastation of Katrina and those getting ready to go and help with the cleanup; I spoke with some who are struggling with personal and family problems and with those looking forward to having a family or a family addition; I listened to laughter and sadness; hope and confusion; prayers and dreams. All that in one week.
Ever since I got back from Sabbatical it has been a whirlwind of activity. Meetings to attend, decisions to be made, people to recruit, training to be done. If you don't like people, you won't like ministry in any form. But if people energize you and fascinate you - then you will love ministry. Tomorrow I will be attending a meeting of ministers from around the Valley to talk about Hispanic Ministry and starting Hispanic Churches. With the addition to our staff of a Hispanic Pastor and his vision to start a new church using our facilities, we are really hyped to take an in-depth look at Hispanic Ministry. We have such a diverse area that we live in and such a diverse ethnic city in Fresno, that having a Hispanic Ministry is almost vital to our ability to reach out to the whole community. It is creating a fresh new look at the church and at Kingdom building.
How do you view the church? Is it colored by the struggles you have been through? (I've been there) Or can you see the church with a new view, a new insight, a new perspective? The church is new every morning. Each generation adds to and changes the dynamic of the ministry it shares in that moment. Take a fresh look at the church. You may find it is more amazing than you first thought.

Life's Escalators

Life is peppered with big dreams. When I was approaching 40 years of age I took stock of my life's goals. I was married to a special woman and had 3 wonderful sons. My ministry seemed to be going well and I was about to graduate with a M.Div degree (one of my goals when I turned 30 was to get a seminary degree). What was I going to do with the next decade of my life? Two of my goals were to get a Ph.D. and to be published. Well, the Ph.D. is still on hold (two sons and their college tuitions took care of that as did a year out of ministry and a distinct lack of funds). Who knows, though, maybe someday I will be able to accomplish that one. However, on Sunday night I started down a road that will lead to the fulfillment of one of those big dreams of my 30's. During a Sunday night Fellowship Dinner at the church, I took time to tell the congregation a few of the details about my Sabbatical. At the conclusion of the report I told them about giving to Church of God Ministries a book proposal and that I was going to be given the chance to become a published author. I then took out an envelope and produced a contract from Chog Ministries for me to sign. I signed on the line over the word, "Author". What a rush. I am actually going to be published!
I don't know where you are in life. Some people stop dreaming when they hit middle age. Some young people never dream and some old folks seem to have an amazing capacity to see more ahead than they have behind. All I know is that you should never give up on your dreams. Dreams are the escalators that take you to higher places. Dreams are the colors that liven up the black and white plans of our lives. Dreams are as necessary as air and as important as water to the body. They are the stuff of life. Dream on. I still have a few more dreams to dream and goals to achieve. How about you?