Welcome to Different

This morning another poem came to me as I was deep in thought and preparation for the upcoming academic year. My mind went to trying to describe the Kats for Christ ministry to a new student for the first time. We certainly approach the beginning of the year differently than many other ministries on campus...at least it seems that way.

To briefly explain, we refuse to act like a ministry we will never be. In my mind, that would be a form bait and switch where a new student comes in getting the impression that we do this all the time and at some point realizing our (even innocent) ruse!

Therefore, we intentionally try to reflect in the first week, the kind of ministry we are. We do have fun! We do talk about Jesus in normal conversation! We do serve! We do dig in God's word! We do serve again! We do hang out! And we do give academic advice as spiritual advice! It is...different! Here is a glimpse of my thoughts captured in this poem:

Welcome to Different

It's Same at first

Upon the surface

Explosion, burst!

Then a peculiar

Happening occurs

The depth of love

Erupts in blurs

It confuses

It taunts

It reaches

It flaunts

It rises upon

Our hearts until

Suddenly Different

There revealed

It teaches

Matures

It grow

Endures

Then service erupts

The other is clear

A towel to wash

Salvation is near

Welcome to Different

You can never go back

Embrace the call

And life never lack!

Reverence Matures

The voice is familiar and somewhat vague

Laughs, family, gifts, on stage

The drag is noticed too, distinguished from rest

Jealousy, dishes, money, and guest

It comes to announce good tidings and cheers

It surprises sometimes and new life appears

It follows us hidden down beneath

It retrains itself without relief

They keep it at bay and traditions continue

They perform it again without new venue

They struggle for clarity with all a blur

They hear and doubt the gold and myrrh

What do you hear? What do you feel?

They unite and reverence they reveal

Work the Raw Materials

I regularly sit to discuss various forms of this question: "What does God want me to do with my life?" We talk through this sometimes over the course of a semester, semesters, or years. I love guiding and helping others through this time of searching; it seems to come with the territory as a campus minister. Dan Miller has been a good resource for me in these conversations for some time.

Today's post was a little longer than normal, but contained some great perspective on the raw materials called spiritual gifts. Here is an excerpt:

God’s gifts are raw materials, not finished products. Think about the most revered sacrament in the church – Holy Communion. Does God give us bread and wine? Where can you find those in nature? You can’t. God makes wheat, He doesn’t make bread. He makes grapes – not wine. But when we take the raw materials God gives us, we can add our work and give them back to him as an offering.
And I remember reading in the most popular “self-help” book available: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” ( 2 Thes. 3:10)
This is a picture of the spiritual life for each of us. Every one of you has special gifts – singing, writing, gardening, art, computer skills, selling abilities, teaching others, encouraging others – but whatever our gift is – it’s a raw product. It has limited value until we apply the discipline necessary to make it useful to ourselves and others.
We get nothing but rough materials – life doesn’t hand us the finished product. Life may even bring us obstacles or heartache along the way. But ultimately, our lives are the bread that we prepare. Our lives are what those around us see as the result of what we’ve done with those raw materials.
So the issue is balance – is it all us, NO. Is it all God, NO. We develop the raw products of what God has given us. ...
I recently read a couple books by Franciscan priest Richard Rohr. He comments on how to joyfully surrender ourselves to God, and how to pray: "Asking for something from God does not mean talking God into it; it means an awakening of the gift within ourselves."

I really like how he encourages us to work to enhance the gifts God has given us. Instead of waiting for lunch to be plopped down right in front of us, we can enjoy the same end (lunch) with more perspective, maturity, and transformation having made it ourselves.

We are more fully alive having taken the gifts God has given us and working to make the heavenly banquet the best it can be! It would certainly be great to have "God open all the doors, creating the perfect (and clear) path" for our lives! Yet, we would jeopardize the incredibly important process that can lead to an amazing feast!

Perfection or Maturity

It seems like this time of the year always brings about an energized propensity for focused campus ministry dreaming sessions for the coming academic year. It is a good thing for our work here in Huntsville! This is the exciting part of ministry.

Reflecting on how previous dreams have actually materialized in years past, I must say that I have lacked the ability to execute what is up in this bald head of mine. The semester brings with it a busyness that seems to choke out my good summer intentions. I get caught up in the details of maintaining a ministry somewhat solo. I haven't communicated well. I haven't empowered others well. I spent way too much time perfecting things that don't need perfection. The spacing between paragraphs on our weekly announcements doesn't HAVE to be uniform throughout! The page layout doesn't need to carry with it the golden ratio of design (1.62) before it goes to print.

As I return to my dreaming session, I have realized that something has to change at a core level especially dealing with things being perfect; my attitude needs a little adjustment. I have these perfectionist tendencies that don't want things done sloppy or incompletely; they can always be done better...and so I do them better. While this might be good at times, I think it prevents me from working on matters that really...matter.

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With that said, I wonder about Jesus' admonition to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect in Matthew 5:48. How far should we take that little phrase? It would be easy for me to take that one statement completely out of its context and place it on my announcement preparation. Maybe we should do that.

I am inclined, however, to have a little bit of textual restraint. The beginning of Jesus' sermon on the mount (specifically Matt 5:17ff.) calls to mind the shallowness of following rules verses the maturity of true righteousness. You can follow the rules without changing your attitude. You can refrain from murdering someone (the rule), but your anger has already murdered them (the attitude). The shallow righteousness of the Pharisees is surpassed by the mature righteousness of those who take Jesus' words seriously.

I use 'mature' here instead of 'perfect' intentionally because 'mature' gives the connotation of growth or completeness that 'perfection' doesn't. "Be mature as your heavenly Father is mature" is a plausible translation of this passage. It also does something more for me. I can strive for maturity more readily than I can strive for perfection. Perfection seems to be allusive whereas maturity is possible. Maybe it is a mental block of mine...I don't know.

Back to my perfectionist tendencies. The mature/perfect person (as I understand) would let some tasks go in an effort to get other (more important) tasks finished. In order to guide a larger process, the manager needs to step back from the details of the assembly line. In order for Kats for Christ to pursue being mature disciples of Jesus better, I need to let go of the margins in our announcements. I probably also need to let go of other tasks as well.

This summer will be a time for us to think about the maturity that Jesus desires of his disciples. Do you need to let go of some things in order for God's purposes to be completed?

Asking for Help

I am excited when I see people asking for help. It tells me a ton!

It shows strength. It shows weakness.

It shows maturity. It shows a lack of maturity.

It shows contentment. It shows discontentment.

Asking for help brings us closer to God, but only if we find him in those from whom we ask help.

How did I become so mature?

Have you ever looked at your life and noticed that you have done a little growing up in Christ? You tried to pin down an event that did it, but couldn't. It is not like the growth that happened at a Youth Camp one summer or a major life changing event. You can't quite put your finger on what made you grow, but all you know that you were a different person two or three months ago. What is it that brought you to this point?

Every single day of our life we engage ourselves in conversations, we listen to certain radio stations, we go to certain stores, we sit in classes, and we go to work. We do many things in the course of one day. There are those situations that come along where you find yourself talking to someone about God, or something the DJ says makes you think about religion, or you take time to read the Bible one evening and learn something you never knew before.

As we go about the business of living, small choices that we make help us grow. You might look back and say something like, "You know, it was this conversation I had with Janet that really got me to thinking about God more." Or maybe, "My professor really challenged me with a new idea I had never thought of before." Because we have chosen to have that conversation, to go to class that day, a little bit of growth has happened. You probably can't see it at that point, but after a couple of months or even weeks you might notice if you take the time to look. "I've done a little growing up in Christ!"

Think about the small choices that you make today. Choose what is good. Choose what is edifying. Choose what is godly. Growth is happening...even as you chose to read this entry all the way through. Have a wonderful day :-D