The Inspired Life

Day 34: Thinking About My Purpose (or, Uh-Oh, Gotta Go!)

Chapter 34 encourages us to think like a servant, and let’s look at the last point:

“Servants think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation.”

Personally, I’m glad to think of ministry as an obligation – a joyful obligation. But we might be in trouble if we consider it a grievous burden to be avoided at all cost. And we fall into that attitude more easily if we are so heavily scheduled that there is no room for opportunities to serve.

Yesterday I gave you the first four parts of Dr. Richard A. Swenson’s prescription for “Restoring Time Margin,” in other words, restoring breathing room to our schedules. They were:
Rx 1. Expect the unexpected (add some time to your scheduled activities)
Rx 2. Learn to say no (if there are 100 good things and you can only do 10, you will have to say no 90 times)
Rx 3. Turn off the television (and many people would gain more than 30 hours a week)
Rx 4. Prune the activity branches (cut out commimtments that have proliferated and self-perpetuated)

Last night as I was about to turn on the TV (why would I want to watch only the last half of a crime drama anyway?), I decided to clean up the kitchen so Michael wouldn’t have to do it when he got home from Bible study. I hate dishes, so I tried to think about the fact that I was serving Michael, and that helped. A little.

OK, here are more prescriptions for restoring time margin, from Swenson’s book Margin.

Rx 5. Practice Simplicity and Contentment

“We consume significant quantities of time in the buying and then maintaining of things. With fewer possessions, we do not have as many things to take care of. Recognize unnecessary possessions for what they are: stealers of divine time.”

I have taught a class on “Uncluttering Your Life” (and sometimes even practice the principles that I’ve researched and preached!) And one of my favorite principles is this: Let’s say you have a possession you don’t like -- it doesn’t do what you want it to, and it’s taking up space. You really shouldn’t have bought it. Well, don’t keep something just because you bought it. Admit you made a mistake and get rid of the evidence!

Rx 6. Separate time from technology.

“Technology is responsible for a great deal of our time famine. Go on strike occasionally. Disconnect from clocks, watches, alarms, beepers, telephones and faxes for a day, a weekend, or a week.”

Let’s add to that e-mail and web surfing. How much time do you spend on line?


Rx 7. Short term flurry vs. long term vision

“Americans are notoriously shortsighted. We must have a vision that extends beyond tomorrow. Living only from week to week is like a dot-to-dot-life.”

Rx 8. Thank God you can't do it all

“If you have two meetings scheduled on the same evening, you obviously can attend only one. Don’t overlook the possibility that this might be God’s way of being kind to you.”

Some pastors in small churches go to everything. If the doors of the church are open, he usually opened them, he set up the chairs, started the coffee and runs the projector. There is not a meeting that he doesn’t attend (usually leading), not a social function that he doesn’t grace with a prayer. People become accustomed to his presence and are concerned if he is not there. Meetings cannot be scheduled concurrently lest he not be able to give his full attention, advice and leadership to each group. (I freely use the pronoun “he” because I don’t know any women pastors who do this.)

This approach is more rare today than it used to be, and it generally applies to very small churches. In a larger church (50 to 75 members or more), or a church that desires to grow, that kind of pastoral involvement is impossible and ill-advised.

Presbyterian churches are designed for growth. The pastor needs to attend certain meetings: Congregational meetings, Session meetings, Personnel Committee and Nominating Committee. But the rest of the groups, committees, commissions, teams and task forces are empowered to seek the Lord and carry out their ministry fairly independently, under the supervision of the Session (board of elders). We are a priesthood of all believers. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit for ministry.

Thank God I can’t put my children to bed and go to the (name your committee) meeting. If you are being asked to do two things at once, like work in the nursery and sing in the choir, there’s a pretty good chance that God is calling you to only one of them. But if you’re not doing anything, you may not have heard the call. Listen to what God is telling you.

Note: Rachel just asked what I was doing. I started to tell her that I’m writing to everyone to help them find more time to spend with their children… Uh-oh. Gotta go!

POINT TO PONDER: To be a servant I must think like a servant.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

Am I a slave to my possessions? Is the clutter in my house, my car, my office taking up all my time and energy?

Am I overcommitted in some area of my life?

Am I neglecting one area of my life (marriage, children, grandchildren) because I’m spending too much time in another area (television, shopping, activities)?

Am I too involved at the church? Or not involved enough?

Am I too busy “serving” to hear God’s call?

Day 33 “How Real Servants Act” (or, How to Put Some Breathing Room Back in Your Schedule)

I’m going to challenge you on the first characteristic of a servant: “Be available.” And since many of you will say, “I’m too busy,” I’ll give you a break. Instead of preaching/harping on “come on, be a servant” I’m going to give you some tools that have helped me to open up my schedule to make room for service.

In his book Margin, Richard A. Swenson, M.D., cautions against having overloaded lives. Margin, he says, is the space that once existed between ourselves and our limits, It’s something held in reserve for contingenies or unanticipated situations. He details the problems of a society in which people are expected to fill up every moment, to fill up the margins of life, and then he gives recommendations in the areas of physical energy, emotional energy, time and finances.

He compares “overload” to “margin” as follows:

Overload is not having time to finish the book you’re reading on stress.
Margin is having time to read it twice.

Overload is fatigue.
Margin is energy.

Overload is red ink.
Margin is black ink.

Overload is hurry.
Margin is calm.

Overload is anxiety.
Margin is security.

Overload is the disease of the 90’s.
Margin is the cure.

As I glance through this book (I read it about 10 years ago), I realize I need to read it again. Here’s part of what he says about restoring margins in the area of time and restoring sanity to our schedules.

Rx to Restore Time Margin

“Rx 1: Expect the unexpected. Nearly everything takes longer than anticipated. If you want some breathing room, increase your margin of error. For example, if you are chronically late, try adding an extra 20 percent time margin to your scheduled activities.”

(I knew a bishop who always arrived at restaurant meetings early and brought a novel to read. No matter how early I arrived, he would be there first. I learned to respect it. It was his breathing room.)

"Rx 2: Learn to say no. If there are 100 good things to do and you can do only ten of them, you will have to say no 90 times."

(Wow, that gets to me. I will try not to feel guilty next time I have to say no to something like being on the advisory board of the Cancer Society or Snow Cap.)

"Rx 3: Turn off the television. For the average adult, this would gain more than 30 hours a week."

(Really??? I have a hard time believing that people watch that much TV, although I do remember hearing a couple of women at the beauty parlor this time last year being very upset that their shows were ending for the summer. “What are we going to do?” they lamented. “It will just be reruns. How will we make it until the fall?” I swear they were absolutely serious.)

"Rx 4: Prune the activity branches. Activities multiply. They often have a way of self-perpetuating even when we are no longer particularly interested in them. It is much harder to stop something than it is to start it. Peridically, it is important to get the clippers and prune away."

Let's look at this one for a moment. Just because you did it for the last 3 years doesn't mean you need to keep doing it. Re-evaluate why you're involved.

Did you know this goes for church programs, too? Even great programs go away if they are not advancing the cause of Christ or if people are no longer interested in leading, helping or supporting them. And that's not a bad thing, even though it's hard to let go of cherished memories or traditions.

What church events or programs have you supported in the past that you are no longer interested in doing? Is it OK if it goes away? Why or why not?

Tell me what you think. These are the first four of 16 ideas to reclaim your time margin – I’ll give you more tomorrow.

Day 30: Shaped for Serving God

One of the things I like the best in these 40 days is the idea of “SHAPE,” as Warren says, “the custom combination of capabilities.” Because as the Veggie Tales say, “God made you special, and he loves you very much.”

But have you ever felt Not Special, like you should be something other than what you are? All of us have faced the pressure to be something we’re not.

We “older moms” are bedazzled by the gorgeous celebrity moms who seem to live lives of perfection and fulfillment with flat bellies and perfect hair and international careers and tucking in their adoring children every night. We Christians are painfully aware of our shortcomings and sin. We voters wish we knew more about the candidates and issues. We church leaders are confronted daily with a variety of challenges that require a diversity of skills.

Do you ever feel that being who you are is not good enough? Or can we focus on the strengths that we do have?

Our friend Van is always quoting Peter Drucker: “Make strength productive.” You don’t build an effective organization, or a meaningful ministry, on weakness. And to try to build against weakness frustrates our purpose.

For the individual, I see it this way: you can spend a lot of time and energy trying to make up for your deficiencies and never make any progress on the things you are really good at and called to do.

God has given different gifts to different people in the body of Christ, the church. Preachers, teachers, pray-ers, helpers, givers, discerners, encouragers, mercy-givers – Read the list in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 and try to see yourself in one or more of these roles.

For me, I know I’m never going to have all the skills and qualities I would like to have. But I know God has called me to live a rich life and make a contribution. So I’ll try to focus on the gifts, talents and interests God has given me, and make the most of them!

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

What are some things you’re NOT good at (even though you think you need to be) and that you DON’T care about (even though you think you should)?

To what extent can you let go of those “shoulds”?

What are your spiritual gifts? If you don’t know, how are you going to discover them?

What IS your passion? What DO you care about?

Day 29: Accepting Your Assignment (or, There Are No Little People)

Hi, I’m back. Did you think I was out of town? Or deathly ill? Maybe I’ll just let you think that. But I’m still with you on the reading and the Sunday sermons. Here we go…

1 Timothy 1:9 … God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.

Matthew 20:28 “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

In the priesthood of all believers, every Christian is a servant and every Christian is a minister. We are all called to ministry, to serve God by serving one another. From the bagpiper on Sunday morning to the little girls who straighten the pew cards on Monday, every person is important in the life and work of the church.

Wherever we are, we serve God by serving others. Helping Rachel practice the piano. Giving Laurel a cup of juice. Remembering to give Michael a phone message. Honoring the ministry areas where God has placed us: marriage, family, church, work.

Did you know that your every act of service matters? Here are a couple of quotes from theologian Francis Schaeffer, in his book No Little People:

“The Scripture emphasizes that much can come from little if the little is truly consecrated to God. There are no little people and no big people in the true spiritual sense, but only consecrated and unconsecrated people. The problem for each of us is applying this truth to ourselves: is Francis Schaeffer the Francis Schaeffer of God?”

“We must remember throughout our lives that in God’s sight there are no little people and no little places. Only one thing is important: to be consecrated persons in God’s place for us, at each moment.”

POINT TO PONDER: We are created to do good works (Ephesians 2:10)

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

What act of service did I do yesterday?

Did I realize that I was ministering to God even as I was ministering to that person?

How might what I’m doing today make a difference in the world?

Day 21: Protecting Your Church
(or, “Knock It Off; You Know Better”)

Presbyterians consider unity extremely important, since Jesus made it a big part of his teaching. He gave them the image of himself as the vine, and us as the branches. The picture of the vine runs all the way through the stained glass windows in our sanctuary. We must remain connected to the Lord and bear fruit. We are one vine. Jesus told us to love one another, and it is because of this love that everyone will know that we are his disciples.

Every minister, elder and deacon takes a series of ordination vows, one of which is “to maintain the peace, unity and purity of the church.” Sometimes those three don’t go together. When we come to serious issues, there are questions: to resolve this, are we going to have to sacrifice peace or purity? We stick together and keep working on it.

My experience from 21 years of ministry is that the majority of conflicts in the church are not over theological essentials. They are over style, hurt feelings, unmet expectations and misunderstandings.

Do you think the unity of our church needs defending and protecting? Absolutely. Don’t wait for conflict to rip it apart. Be part of strengthening the love and honor in the church.

Criticism breaks down the church. Some Christians have a natural tendency to criticize and have to work hard to overcome it. Criticism wears down people in ministry. I’ve seen people resign from positions, paid or not, because they were constantly criticized and made to feel they couldn’t do anything right. Sometimes they say “that’s the last straw” and quit, but sometimes they just wither away until you can’t see any life there anymore.

If you’re a critical person, think before you speak, and remember that it takes about ten affirmations to balance one criticism.

One more thing. Don’t gossip, and don’t even listen to gossip. Gossip is telling negative things about other people for the purpose of tearing them down or supposedly making the gossiper feel important. Gossip is often cloaked in such sheep’s clothing as, “Let me tell you this bad thing the pastor did, and tell me I’m not crazy.” Or, “We really need to pray for this deacon because she did this bad thing.” Or, “I’m just letting you know why I’m not in the (whatever group) any more.” If the person is not working with the object of their gossip towards reconciliation, refuse to listen to it. Say, “That’s not for me to hear. Why don’t I go with you to the person in question and we’ll work it out?”

POINT TO PONDER: We must defend and protect the unity of the church.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. How have I unwittingly contributed to the breaking of another person’s spirit?

2. How have I neglected to protect the unity of the church?

3. What can I do on Sunday morning to build someone up?

4. How can I change the way I do ministry to work for unity?

“Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.”

Day 18 Experiencing Life Together
(or, Why She Murdered Her Husband)

Warren writes, “In real fellowship, we experience authenticity.” Can we really be authentic in the church?

This made me think of the woman in southeast Gresham who killed her husband because she thought her church would accept her better as a widow than a divorcee. I wanted to share it with you but I was fuzzy on the details, so I called Sharon Nesbit from the Gresham Outlook and asked her to help me remember the story. I hope we’ve got it right. According to Sharon, the woman’s name was Carolyn and she was a kindergarten teacher at a Christian school on Palmblad Rd. as well as a Sunday School teacher. Her husband was a coach and a likeable guy. She lured him down to the basement with the promise of sex. Her boyfriend was waiting down there and beat him to death.

When it finally came out that Carolyn planned the murder (and Sharon had a sense from the start that the wife did it), she was asked why she didn’t just divorce him and leave the marriage. This is the part I remember most about the incident. She said something about that in her church divorce was frowned upon, and she would suffer everyone’s disapproval, but if her husband died tragically, they would surround her with love and sympathy. Unbelievable, but that’s the way a sociopath thinks.

Aside from the fundamental horror of it, there’s something else about it that scares me: It’s not too far from the truth about churches.

We are pretty good at caring for people when they share their polite, acceptable troubles. But how does a church treat someone who is about to make a devastating choice?

I hear that some churches run people out of the church when an “unacceptable” sin is discovered. I read recently some reflections by a woman who says she was brought before the (all male) church board, accused of sin and was interrogated with hurtful, personal questions, then was dropped from the membership of the church without ever having the chance to explain her side of the story.

I don’t know of anyone who has ever been “excommunicated” or run out of Smith Memorial Church when a problem or a sin is revealed. And I hope there’s no one at our church who would leave the church rather than tell us what’s wrong and let us help. It’s in those times that you need your church family the most.

Just as we pray and support people in the many needs that are shared in church, we must be just as loving, just as gracious with the “unacceptable” troubles: the messy problems, the bad choices, the mixed motives, the sins in which people are trapped.

Friends, we all have sin in our lives. In fact, as elder Joe Lagerstrom put it, “We all have sin. I have sin. That’s why I’m here. If I didn’t have sin, I wouldn’t need Jesus.”

POINT TO PONDER

1 John 1:8-9 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. Will you accept someone who has an unpleasant problem? Someone who is struggling with something you will never understand?

2. Is there a problem in your life that you don’t want anyone in church to know? If it comes out, will your church still love you? Will you stay and let people help you?

Day 14: When God Seems Distant (or, the Terrible, Awful Baptism)

Read chapter 14 in Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life.

I was baptized when I was a college student. Not because I came to faith at that time, but because someone at Glendale Presbyterian Church noticed that, while I was at the church five days a week doing choir and college leadership team, I wasn’t actually a member of the church. For the membership roll, they asked me the date of my baptism; turns out I hadn’t been baptized.

So my baptism was scheduled for a Sunday after church, the same day as the 8th grade confirmation class.

I was pretty excited about this. If I had been doing the Lord’s work before this time, just imagine how great my life and ministry would be like after my baptism!! I was going to be cleansed of my sins, adopted into God’s family, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit would be conferred upon me. Plus, I was going to be immersed (yes, Glendale Presbyterian has a secret pool under the stones of the patio) which would make it the experience of a lifetime.

I spent weeks preparing spiritually for the event. I made a catalogue of all my sins and confessed them to a couple of friends in the college group who probably couldn’t have cared less, and I thought about how, in a moment, heaven and earth and my soul would be changed.

The day came. I think it was Jack Chisholm who baptized me. I went into the water, I came out of the water. That was it. No bells, no choirs, no angels, no dove, no “this is my beloved daughter…” Nothing happened.

I had thought that baptism by immersion was going to be a great experience. Everybody said it was. I even knew people, having been baptized as infants, who wanted that experience so badly that they had managed to get re-baptized (bad theology, but sometimes they tricked the pastor into thinking they hadn’t been baptized) so that they could have the wonderful feeling of adult baptism by immersion.

But I didn’t feel anything. Someone took a picture of us after we had been baptized – I looked stone cold. I dried off, returned the white robe and went home. That was it.

Did God adopt me into the family of God? Yes. Have the gifts of the Holy Spirit been unleashed in my life? Yes. Was I empowered for ministry? Yes. Did I feel anything at my baptism? Nope.

You can’t use feelings to validate your faith. Years ago I saw an illustration of a train – engine, freight car and caboose. The engine is Fact. The car is Faith. The caboose is Feeling. Feeling doesn’t drive the train – the fact of the resurrection and the truth of God’s Word are the engine. Feeling is along for the ride. It’s part of it, but not the engine.

Check out this song – “Nothing” from “A Chorus Line.” It’s sung by an acting student. Much better to watch someone sing it, but maybe this will remind you of a performance you’ve seen.

[DIANA]

I’m so excited because I’m gonna go
to the High School of Performing Arts!
I mean’ I was dying to be a serious actress.
Anyway’ it’s the first day acting class’
and we’re in the auditorium and the teacher’
Mr. Karp... Oh’ Mr. Karp...
Anyway’ he puts us up on the stage with
our legs around each other’
one in back of the other and he says:
"Okay... we’re going to do improvisations.

Now’ you’re on a bobsled. It’s snowing out.
And it’s cold...Okay...GO!"
Ev’ry day for a week we would try to
Feel the motion’ feel the motion
Down the hill.
Ev’ry day for a week we would try to
Hear the wind rush’ hear the wind rush’
Feel the chill.
And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul
To see what I had inside.
Yes’ I dug right down to the bottom of my soul
And I tried’ I tried.

[Spoken]

And everybody’s goin’ "Whooooosh’ whooooosh ...
I feel the snow... I feel the cold... I feel the air."
And Mr. Karp turns to me and he says’
"Okay’ Morales. What did you feel""

[sings]

And I said..."Nothing’
I’m feeling nothing’"
And he says "Nothing
Could get a girl transferred."
They all felt something’
But I felt nothing
Except the feeling
That this bullshit was absurd!

[Spoken]

But I said to myself’ "Hey’ it’s only the first week.
Maybe it’s genetic.
They don’t have bobsleds in San Juan!"

[sings]

Second week’ more advanced’ and we had to
Be a table’ be a sportscar...
Ice’cream cone.
Mister Karp’ he would say’"Very good’
except Morales. Try’ Morales’
All alone."
And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul
To see how an ice cream felt.
Yes’ I dug right down to the bottom of my soul
And I tried to melt.
The kids yelled’ "Nothing!"
They called me "Nothing"
And Karp allowed it’
Which really makes me burn.
The were so helpful.
They called me "Hopeless"’
Until I really didn’t know
Where else to turn.

[Spoken]
And Karp kept saying’
"Morales’ I think you should transfer to Girl’s High’
You’ll never be an actress’ Never!" Jesus Christ!

Went to church’ praying’ "Santa Maria’
Send me guidance’ send me guidance’"
On my knees.
Went to church’ praying’ "Santa Maria’
Help me feel it’ help me feel it.
Pretty please!"
And a voice from down at the bottom of my soul
Came up to the top of my head.

And the voice from down at the bottom of my soul’
Here is what it said:
"This man is nothing!
This course is nothing!
If you want something’
Go find another class.
And when you find one
You’ll be an actress."
And I assure you that’s what
Fin’lly came to pass.

Six months later I heard that Karp had died.
And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul...
And cried.
’Cause I felt... (smiling) nothing.

POINT TO PONDER

God is there even when you don’t feel God.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. First of all, are you even close enough to God to note God’s absence?

2. When things seem dark, when faith seems dead, what brings you through?

3. Do you consider yourself a “feeling” person? If not, (and that’s ok), what can you learn from this chapter?

Day 13: Worship That Pleases God

On the first page of chapter 13, Warren quotes Hebrews 12:25 thus:
“Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him.”

I’ve encouraged all my 40 Days students to take the time to look up these Scriptures in their own Bibles, especially when they are so far paraphrased that they don’t sound familiar, and to embrace the larger context. Hebrews 12 is a great example. Check it out, as we back up a few verses before “let us be grateful and worship God.”

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our "God is a consuming fire."

In this passage, we see God as …
One who must be listened to
One who warns
One whose voice shook the earth
One who will shake the heavens
One who must be worshiped with reference and awe
A consuming fire.

This is the God whom we worship. And God calls us to worship “in spirit and in truth.” So become aware of who God is. God is revealing God’s self to us, through the Scriptures, through Jesus Christ who is the living Word, and through the Holy Spirit residing in our hearts and in the church. And the more we know of who God is, the better we can worship in spirit and in truth.

The Bible is filled with various names of God. A group of high schoolers identified these:

I am
The Lord will provide
The Lord our banner
The Lord our peace
The Lord my shepherd
The Lord our righteousness
The Lord is present
The Lord of hosts
The strength giver
The everlasting God.

Jesus said, “I am…
the resurrection
the way
the truth
the life
the light of the world
the bread of life
the good shepherd
the door of the sheep
the true vine.

POINT TO PONDER

Let us worship God as God is.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. When I begin a prayer, how do I address God? (Dear Jesus, Almighty God, etc.)

2. What does God prefer to be called? What are the examples in Scripture? How did Jesus teach his disciples to address God?

3. Of the nine ways people draw near to God (Gary Thomas, Sacred Pathways, quoted in Warren p. 103), which ways do you draw close to God?

Day 12: Developing Your Friendship With God (or, Am I Going to Hell for This?)

Disclaimer: There is strong language in this post.

Don’t ever phone me on Wednesday nights at 9 because I do not answer during The West Wing. I’m a die-hard fan. And lucky for you that you didn’t phone last night, because I was grumpy that my fast-talking-hyper-intelligent-saving-the-world-for-democracy friends were replaced by a Dateline special on the end of Friends.
(* sigh *)

Today’s reading, especially the part about being honest with God, reminded me of the season finale (Season 2) of The West Wing, in which President Bartlet admits to the nation that he has MS, a serious tropical storm is coming in off the ocean, and his personal secretary and lifelong friend, Mrs. Landingham, has died in a car accident. After her funeral, Bartlet asks to be alone in the cathedral. The Secret Service seals the doors. He vents his frustration over the senseless tragedies that have plagued his personal and political life. He lights a cigarette and walks down the aisle:

"You're a son-of-a-bitch, you know that?" he directs toward the altar. “She bought her first new car and you hit her with a drunk driver. What, is that supposed to be funny? "You can't conceive nor can I the strangeness of the mercy of God," says Graham Green. I think I know who's ass he was kissing there, 'cause I think you're just vindictive. What was Josh Lyman, the warning shot? That was my son, what did I ever do to yours but praise his glory and praise his name? There's a tropical storm that's gaining speed and power. They say we haven't had a storm this bad since you took out that Tender ship of mine in the North Atlantic last year, sixty-eight crew. You know what a Tender ship does? It fixes the other ships, and, delivers the mail, that's all it can do. Gracias Tibiago Domine. Yes, I lied. It was a sin, I've committed many sins. Have I displeased you, you feckless thug? Three point eight billion new jobs that wasn't good? Bailed out Mexico, Increased foreign trade, 30 million new acres of land for conservation, put Mendoza on the bench, we're not fighting a war, I've raised 3 children. That's not enough to buy me out of the doghouse? Hace credam a deo pio? A deo iusto, a deo scico? Cruciatus in crucem. Tuus in terra sertvus, nuntius fui. Officium perfecti. Cruciatus in crucem. Eas in crucem.”

(Latin translation: "Am I really to believe that these are that acts of a loving God? A just God? A wise God?" Bartlet exclaims. "To hell with your punishments. I was your servant here on Earth. And I spread your word and I did your work. To hell with your punishments. To hell with you.")

With that, he drops his cigarette on the mosaic floor of the cathedral, grinds it with his heel and walks out.

Creator Aaron Sorkin commented on that scene:

“No, there was nothing that standards and practices found objectionable in the Latin. As for the clergy, there were many of them on the set while we shot the scene (some of them were used on camera.) I was introduced to a minister and said, "You know he's about renounce God, right?" The minister said, "Yeah, I saw rehearsal, it's gonna be great." I said, "That's fine, but am I going straight to hell?" He said, "Maybe for other stuff, but not for this." Then he gave me a pretty good talking-to about how true people of faith are supposed to question God. And about how those who don't are usually the ones who end up sending their money to guys with cable TV shows.

“I think there's plenty of evidence that Bartlet's faith is important to him: The meeting with Karl Malden in Sabbath Day, dressing down Jenna Jacobs in The Midterms, his meeting with Chinese refugee in Shibboleth, his friendship with Al Caldwell, but nowhere do I think it was more strongly expressed than in Two Cathedrals.

“He made his peace with God. Mrs. Landingham's appearance in the penultimate scene wasn't a ghost. He was talking to himself, using her memory to coax himself in the right direction. Tommy was sure to show you the wide shot of Bartlet talking with nobody else in the room. And when the scene was done, he looked out at the storm that he was sure God had sent just to mess with him, and realized it was God sending him His strength. And he baptized himself in it. And as he passed by the church in the motorcade, a custodian, a child of God, picked the cigarette butt off the ground, and we cut back to Bartlet, who sensed something move inside of him.

“It's never my intention offend anybody or be reckless with things that are important to others. I meant the episode as a tribute to faith.”
- Aaron "Benjamin" Sorkin on one of those West Wing fan sites.

A lot of religious people were angry about that show; they thought you shouldn’t speak to God that way. But when I was watching it, I felt it was a powerful demonstration of faith. When you’re angry with God, you can either turn away or turn to God. The people in the Bible that Warren cites in chapter 12 were angry and they let God know it. God wants us to be honest.

You can debate whether name-calling God is appropriate for prayer or just for drama, and you can debate whether they should have filmed in the actual National Cathedral (after all, as one critic said, if Martin Sheen is going to spit on the carpet of the Oval Office, would they really film it at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave?)
But let’s never be afraid of being honest with God. Look up some of those stories that Warren cites. Read some of the psalms and hear the cries of angry people of faith.

POINT TO PONDER
A relationship with God must include honesty on my part.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
1. When I’m angry, upset or frustrated, do I pray? If so, what do I say?
2. What am I complaining about these days?
3. Write a short prayer of complaint to God. Remember to fear and reverence the Lord, but be honest. End it with an acknowledgement of God’s soverign will and a statement of trust in God.

Day 11: Becoming Best Friends With God

In the book, Warren makes reference to Brother Lawrence. Here's an excerpt from "The Practice of the Presence of God," in which Bro. Lawrence communes with God throughout the day. My favorite part is in bold.

"That he had been lately sent into Burgundy, to buy the provision of wine for the society, which was a very unwelcome task for him, because he had no turn for business and because he was lame, and could not go about the boat but by rolling himself over the casks. That however he gave himself no uneasiness about it, nor about the purchase of the wine. That he said to GOD, It was His business he was about, and that he afterwards found it very well performed. That he had been sent into Auvergne the year before upon the same account; that he could not tell how the matter passed, but that it proved very well.

So, likewise, in his business in the kitchen (to which he had naturally a great aversion), having accustomed himself to do everything there for the love of GOD, and with prayer, upon all occasions, for His grace to do his work well, he had found everything easy, during the fifteen years that he had been employed there.

That he was very well pleased with the post he was now in; but that he was as ready to quit that as the former, since he was always pleasing himself in every condition, by doing little things for the love of GOD.

That with him the set times of prayer were not different from other times: that he retired to pray, according to the directions of his Superior, but that he did not want such retirement. nor ask for it, because his greatest business did not divert him from GOD.

That as he knew his obligation to love GOD in all things, and as he endeavoured so to do, he had no need of a director to advise him, but that he needed much a confessor to absolve him. That he was very sensible of his faults, but not discouraged by them; that he confessed them to GOD, and did not plead against Him to excuse them. When he had so done, he peaceably resumed his usual practice of love and adoration.

That in his trouble of mind, he had consulted nobody, but knowing only by the light of faith that GOD was present, he contented himself with directing all his actions to Him, i.e., doing them with a desire to please Him, let what would come of it.

That useless thoughts spoil all: that the mischief began there; but that we ought to reject them, as soon as we perceived their impertinence to the matter in hand, or our salvation; and return to our communion with GOD.

That at the beginning he had often passed his time appointed for prayer, in rejecting wandering thoughts, and falling back into them. That he could never regulate his devotion by certain methods as some do. That nevertheless, at first he had meditated for some time, but afterwards that went off, in a manner that he could give no account of.

That all bodily mortifications and other exercises are useless, but as they serve to arrive at the union with GOD by love; that he had well considered this, and found it the shortest way to go straight to Him by a continual exercise of love, and doing all things for His sake."

Now here's Cynthia writing:

Warren very loosely quotes Ps 25:14 thus: “Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him.” The idea of friendship with God isn’t a regular part of my theological vocabulary, so I’ve had to think about it. I know many people who consider Jesus their best friend and constant companion. Kind of like the hymn “In the Garden” (“and he walks with me and he talks with me”). That’s not my model and it’s not my experience. And I don’t like that hymn, either, mostly for its theology but for a lot of other reasons. (Sorry.)

When I looked up Psalm 25:14 in a better translation, I found a Scripture that’s closer to my experience of God:
The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

I think of holy fear and reverence before I think of friendship. But that doesn't mean God is remote. I also sense the closeness of God in the image of God confiding in us. God is revealing himself to us through his word and ultimately through the Living Word, who is Jesus Christ.

When we reverence God, open our hearts to God, keep our minds stayed on God, pray continually, we are in a position to receive more wisdom, more illumination, more of God.

What do you think? Respond at obrien2@juno.com

Day 10: The Heart of Worship: Surrender

Tim Challis writes on www.purposedrivenlutherans.com

“We live in a culture that frowns on the very idea of surrender. How many jokes have been made using France as the punchline because of her long list of surrenders? Yet God calls me to go against my natural instincts and to surrender my life to him… When I surrender myself to God and submit myself to his will, I can begin to understand the relationship as it was before sin, where man and God walked in perfect communion.”

Here are some songs that talk about surrender. Read a few. No wonder we’re confused about what it might mean to surrender to God.

“Mommy’s all right, Daddy’s all right, they just seem a little weird.
Surrender, surrender, but don’t give yourself away.” Cheap Trick, “Surrender”

+

“I will go down with this ship; I won’t put my hands up and surrender.
There will be no white flag above my door. I’m in love and always will be.” Dido, “White Flag”

+

“A foolish love, a kiss that I should have turned away,
But instead, I surrender.” Echo, “Surrender”, from the How to Deal movie soundtrack

+

“WITH A LITTLE PERSEVERANCE YOU CAN GET THINGS DONE
WITHOUT A BLIND ADHERENCE THAT HAS CONQUERED SOME
AND NO BODY WANTS TO KNOW YOU NOW
AND NOBODY WANTS TO SHOW YOU HOW

SO IF YOU’RE LOST AND ON YOUR OWN
YOU CAN NEVER SURRENDER
AND IF YOUR PATH WON'T LEAD YOU HOME
YOU CAN NEVER SURRENDER
AND WHEN THE NIGHT IS COLD AND DARK
YOU CAN SEE YOU CAN SEE LIGHT
CAUSE NO ONE CAN TAKE AWAY YOUR RIGHT
TO FIGHT AND TO NEVER SURRENDER”

Corey Hart, “Never Surrender”

+

“Everything is perfect now
We can live forever.
You can’t abandon me
You belong to me…
There’s no escaping me, my love…
Surrender.”
Evanescence, “Surrender” 2002

+

“Surrender your love baby
Surrender your love
Come along peacefully…”
Diana Ross, “Surrender”

+

“Sadie said she couldn't work out
What it was all about
And so she let go
Now Sadie's on the street
And the people she meets you know
She tried to be a good girl and a good wife
Raise a good family
Lead a good life
It's not good enough
She got herself up on the 48th floor
Gotta find out
Find out what she's living for
Surrender, Surrender
Surrender, Surrender.”
U2, “Surrender”

+

“You take me in
no questions asked
you strip away the ugliness
that surrounds me
are you an angel
am I already that gone
I only hope
that I won't disappoint you
when I'm down here
on my knees
And sweet surrender
is all that I have to give.”
Sarah McLachlan, “Sweet Surrender”

+

“i surrender all
to the promises you made
and i will give it all
to the maker of the day

no one knows your heart
and no one knows your fears
when no one solves the mysteries
or even wipes away the tears

can you hear the sound of laughter
from the other side of life?
there are days when i feel like a stranger sometimes
tell me, are there any other fools like me?

this reliance on another world
has a great effect on this world
this conscience of another world
has a great effect on
grace recollection

he doesn't love us 'cause of who we are
he only loves us 'cause of who he is

we all were children once
so will we return
so let those days return
let us all return …”

Newsboys, “I Surrender All”

+

“I have wrestled in the darkness of this lonely pilgrim land
Raising strong and mighty fortresses that I alone command
But these castles I've constructed by the strength of my own hand
Are just temporary kingdoms on foundations made of sand

In the middle of the battle I beleive I've finally found
I'll never know the thrill of victory 'til I'm willing to lay down
All my weapons of defense and earthly strategies of war
So I'm laying down my arms and running helplessly to Yours

I surrender all my silent hopes and dreams
Though the price to follow costs me everything
I surrender all my human soul desires
If sacrafice requires
That all my kingdoms fall
I surrender all

If the source of my ambition is the treasure I obtain
If I measure my successes on a scale of earthly gain
If the focus of my vision is the status I attain
My accomplishments are worthless and my efforts are in vain

So I lay aside these trophies to pursue a higher crown
And should You choose somehow to use the life I willingly lay down
I surrender all the triumph for it's only by Your grace
I relinquish all the glory, I surrender all the praise

Everything I am, all I've done, and all I've known
Now belongs to You, the life I live is not my own
Just as Abraham laid Isaac on the sacrificial fire
If all I have is all that You desire
I surrender all.”

Clay Crosse, “I Surrender All”


POINT TO PONDER

The heart of worship is surrender.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. What does it mean to surrender?

2. When is surrendering a good thing?

3. To whom would you feel safe surrendering?

4. In what areas of my life do you say, “I know God says this, but I’m going to do that”?

Day 9: What Makes God Smile?

My husband and I smile a lot more the last five years than I think we ever had before. Our daughters make everything more fun. Who would have thought that silly songs and Barbies would bring such joy? They’re just the tools that open up the personalities of two girls who are a pleasure to be around.

There are some people who just make you feel good. What is it about them? It’s a little bit what they say, a little bit what they do… sometimes it has to do with their relationship to you, especially if you are their mother, or the history between you. But mostly it’s just who they are. When you are with this person, the sky is a little less gray and you don’t feel so bad about yourself. Everything’s all right with the world, at least for the moment.

I know some people like that, and I enjoy being in their presence. I’m not a sit-down-and-pass-the-time kind of person (“You don’t alight anywhere for very long, do you?” someone once observed) but the moments I have with those people keep me spiritually and emotionally afloat.

Could I be that kind of person who makes other people else smile? At times, I know I am. Plenty of other times, I’m sure I’m not.

Do I make God smile? From reading the Scriptures, I know that God loves me, and that no matter what I do, I will be loved. And in reading the Scriptures quoted in TPDL, I’m reminded of the attitudes of my heart that are pleasing to God:

-- loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, strength
-- honoring God
-- obeying God’s commandments
-- praising and thanking God
-- using the gifts God has given us for holy purposes.

POINT TO PONDER

God smiles on you.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. Who are the people in my life who make me smile? What is it about them?

2. How can I let God’s “smile” flow through me to other people? How can I use my unique gifts to be a person who makes someone else smile?

3. Who needs me to be that uplifting friend? When can I see him/her?

4. What was it about me today that made God smile?

Day 8: Planned for God’s Pleasure

God has created us for worship. And one of the most wondrous scenes of God appears in Isaiah’s vision. Try to picture this scene in Isaiah 6:1-6:

… I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

We worship a holy God whose glory and power we cannot comprehend. When I try to picture this scene, and the doorposts shaking and the temple filled with smoke, it sounds like a rock concert where 20,000 fans are stomping and yelling and the fog machines are smoking. Then lights and lasers pierce the smoke, and when the performer appears, the sound of adoration rises until the whole stadium is shaking.

Annie Dillard, in her essay, “Expedition to the Pole,” reflects on Christian worship: “Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.”

This sometimes comes to mind when I am planning our church worship services. That’s why, whenever I can, I choose the hymns with the loftiest texts and the most soaring melodies for our hymn of praise. That’s why in worship I say “The Lord be with you” instead of “good morning.” I say, “The peace of Christ be with you” instead of “have a nice day.” That’s why many of the prayers we say are carefully crafted in advance, sometimes by those leading the service, sometimes drawn from our historic tradition.

Because we are joining the angels
and the saints
and the creatures in heaven
in the worship of the almighty God,
the Lord of heaven and earth.

Rejoice! For our God is mighty, and our worship pleases God.

POINT TO PONDER

I was made to worship God.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. When I attend Sunday worship, what are some of my attitudes?

2. How can I be more attentive to my connection to the worship in heaven?

Day 7 -- Guest Column by Pastor Reed Mueller

Today, in reflection on our day 7 reading, I'll be writing about glory, sin, and being ripped off. (Doesn't that just make you want to keep reading?) I'm writing about these three things because they came together for me in a new way today.

Romans 3:23 says "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Let's begin by talking about getting ripped off. Romans 3:23 makes clear that there is an experience that we're all missing out on. This is such a wonderful experience that really, if we pause and consider how magnificent it is, we would never willingly trade it for something else. And yet we miss it all the time.

The experience that we're missing out on is God's glory. What is this glory which we all have fallen short of? What does that mean? Quite simply it means that we've failed to grasp God and to see God as he is. When Moses said to God "Show me your glory" what he was really saying was "God, show me God - let me see who you are!" (Exodus 33:18)

Now let me ask you something. If you had a chance to see God, would you take it? Of course you would! I would too. But something steals that away from us, something rips us off, and that something is sin. Sin is that part of our life that pulls us away from keeping God at the center of our life and God at the center of our purpose in life. When we're pulled away from that, we miss God, and we get ripped off from seeing God move in our life, in our relationships, in our church, and in our community.

When God asks us to turn away from sin he's not telling us to stop having fun in life and he's not simply giving us a list of rules to follow. Rather, God is trying to give us the greatest gift we could ever have: Seeing his glory - seeing him - in our life! I want that for me! I want that for you!

As we continue in the 40 Days of Purpose, keep this perspective in mind. When we're encouraged to live lives of worship, stay in fellowship with other Christians, follow Jesus more fully, minister to others, and share the wonderful of Jesus with others, we're simply being encouraged to receive a great gift!

Traveling with you,
Pastor Reed
http://www.teammueller.com/reed/


(Thanks, Reed, for writing while I was serving birthday cake to a dozen preschool ballerinas!)