Considering Together

The Sunday School class I facilitate is rather predictable, in a way. After prayer each week, we read a passage from the Bible, usually in a few different translations, and talk about it. The conversation starts with four questions:

What captured your heart?

What captured your mind?

What did you notice?

What questions do you have?

And then we go from there. We talk about the passage, compare translations, consider how the message intersects with our lives.

That's where it becomes much less predictable, because the discussion is significantly shaped by each person's contributions.

A few things I can pretty much count on, though... We'll have a great group of people. Most or all will participate at some point. Each will bring a unique perspective. A sense of community will be developed, with new arrivals being welcomed and existing relationships being strengthened. And we'll be changed in the process.

I love this class!

At the Border, Part 2

The biblical book of Numbers has a reputation for being boring, and that reputation is largely undeserved.  Yes, there are lists of names which are often difficult to read and follow, but there is a lot of meaty story, too.

Within the broader story, the Israelites have escaped from their slavery in Egypt and are heading -- slowly, as it turns out -- toward Canaan.  At God's command, Moses sends a handful of leaders to scout out the land.  The group spends some time discovering what is ahead -- the towns, the soil, the trees, the fruit, the people -- and returns with its report:  "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!"  They brought back some apparently impressive fruit, too.  The men who had done the exploring were clearly quite impressed with Canaan.

The report continues: "But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large."  They all agreed that they would likely encounter significant opposition.  While they admired the land, most didn't believe they could have it.  Only two of them -- Caleb and Joshua -- believed they could move forward at God's direction with God's help.

The group's admiration of the land makes sense.  The land promised to them by God was indeed wonderful, and could provide very well for their massive group.  The fear of the majority in the group is also normal and natural.  They saw powerful people and large, fortified cities.  They worried that they might be defeated.  The differences in perspective within the group is not unusual, and it is appropriate to consider the various perspectives among them, to respect each other enough to allow the truth of their fear to be spoken as they figure out what to do next.  So far, that's probably all okay.

But it doesn't stay that way, because rather than recognizing and dealing appropriately with their fear, those who hesitated "spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored.  They said, 'The land we explored devours those living in it....  We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.'"  Rather than acknowledging their fears and pondering the possibilities together, the foothold of their fears became a stronghold as they stirred up dissension to the point that the whole community started into some pretty serious grumbling.  Through that process, they started to believe that their fears were representative of reality, and allowed those fears to dominate their thoughts.  They started talking foolishly: "Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?  We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

Back to Egypt?  Seriously?  The land of slavery and oppression?  The place they had miraculously escaped?  The land God had miraculously brought them out of? And this same God promised the great land they'd just explored? What were they thinking??

In the end, they didn't turn around and go back to Egypt, but they also weren't able to really move forward, either.  Their willingness to give in to their fears rather than seek God's direction, exacerbated by banding together with like-minded people, had serious consequences (Numbers 14:20-24).

Human beings are created for relationship and community.  We are designed to work together, to share our ideas, fears, hopes, experiences and perspectives with each other.  Partnering with others is to be a very good thing, a healthy and natural part of who we are.  At the same time, there is also a risk of allowing distortion and distraction to develop when we trust ourselves and others more than God.

Anticipating Together Time

We have been talking about getting folks together from the various Nazarene churches in Utah on a Sunday evening as a united congregation to worship God and enjoy relationships also with each other.  Details are still unknown, but I imagine it will include great music, some time in scripture, a few introductions, food, and conversation.  I am looking forward to this time together.

"There is one body and one Spirit -- just as you were called to one hope when you were called -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:4-6)

At the Border

I drove to Idaho again this week, and was struck yet again by the contrast in a section of land along the way:

Looking north from I-84

It reminds me of when my family moved during one summer twenty-some years ago from the very rainy Washington coast to the desert on its eastern side.  With 84 inches of rain per year, the coastal town was consistently and thoroughly forested.  With only 8 inches of precipitation per year, the eastern side is naturally marked more by sagebrush.  As we drove east across the state, our surroundings shifted from a lush green to more of a pale brown.

There was a place in the journey where the colors shifted back, though.  Where the Columbia Basin Project brings water to irrigate the fertile ground, an otherwise barren land produces well, and the impact is clear, even visible from far above, from the distinct line created.  There was a particular place on the trip that I looked forward to each time we drove it -- cresting a hill and seeing the green line ahead where farmland began.

Satellite picture, with new hometown near center

The soil in that area contains many nutrients and the climate provides plenty of sun during the growing season.  For so many years, this region had much farming potential, but something was missing.  Only when it was watered could that potential be realized.

Dr. Diehl talked last night (Numbers 13-14) about the Israelites on the border of the land God had promised to give to them.  He had gotten them out of slavery and sustained them as they moved together toward the place that was to be their new home.  Now all they had to do was go, trusting God to carry through what He had promised.

They had everything they needed, but had left God out of their calculations.  The potential was there, but they failed to realize it because they left out the "water" needed to make it grow.

As we take time in these days to intentionally focus on God, and to seek and pursue where He calls, Dr. Diehl invited us to take the next step forward in faith, wherever that next step may be in each of our lives.

Peace in the Midst

Camp Meetings have been significant in Nazarene history and this tradition still continues in a variety of forms. From what I understand, people would travel to a particular place and camp out there for a week or two with the intent and expectation of focusing on God through worship, preaching, community, rest, etc. Some of the details have changed over time, but this purpose has remained. This is a good thing.

Curious, seeking space to focus on God, and having a few flexible days available this year, I decided to attend and experience this event which has clearly been influential in the lives of many over the years.

Dr. Diehl is speaking this year. He talked last night about peace that comes from God and told some of his own story. He talked about being saved, and he talked about being sanctified. Then, in that context, he talked about grieving the death of his son. He told us that no matter how "spiritual" we are, it hurts to be hurt. That's just part of being human.

Dr. Jim Diehl

I think we need to hear that, and to acknowledge it. Life sometimes throws awfully difficult stuff, and everyone experiences this to some degree. To try to sweep the hurt under the rug, or to pretend that it doesn't matter, is to lie about reality.

Dr. Diehl spoke truth about hurt. He also spoke truth about peace. He loves his son and grieves Dave's death. Dr. Diehl's God-given peace is not an absence of struggle, but in the midst of it. It's also not just nice-sounding-but-distant theology; he is living it. He knows what he is talking about.

There is much more I could say, but... not now, not here. The service (at least the preaching part) was recorded last night and will be available soon. Let me know if you're interested.

Rightly Troubled

God chose a man named Saul to lead the Israelites as their first king, and Saul led.  He did some good things in leadership, but then drifted away from full obedience to God and toward reliance on himself (1 Samuel 13).  It would take awhile, but Saul's rule would eventually come to an end.

"Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 'I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.'  Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.  Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul..." (1 Samuel 15:10-12a).

Saul messed up.  It was not just an error in judgment; it was sin.  His behavior was wrong, and so was his heart.

What scripture tells next matters deeply:

The Lord was grieved.

Samuel was troubled by what grieved God.

Samuel cried out to the Lord, and did so all night long.

In the midst of his grief, and after prayer, Samuel took action.

With Pastor Joel's series on "Indispensable People," I think this phrase might describe Samuel here.  When Saul went astray, Samuel neither ignored the behavior nor despised the man.  He recognized the magnitude of what had happened and was appropriately troubled by it.  He prayed, intensely.  And, when it was right, he approached Saul.  He anchored himself to truth when it was difficult, maintaining boundaries while genuinely mourning a very real loss.

We need people like that -- people who value God and others enough to stand for what is right, who are genuinely righteous, whose response to those who stray from God is grief rather than arrogance -- and we are called to be people like that.

Big Church

Miss Allison
leading a kids' lesson

Children's ministries has its own language sometimes, and one common term is "Big Church."  It usually describes the main worship service, and distinguishes it from "children's church" -- a separate space where kids sometimes go to worship together with other young people in ways designed to communicate in developmentally appropriate ways.

Big Church can feel like a foreign place to children (and adults) who have not been there before.  It is a different environment with different actions and expectations than they typically experience in other parts of their lives.  As a result, it's not surprising that kids' responses to Big Church are sometimes disruptive.  It takes time and guidance to integrate.

Important relationships,
useful skills

Sometimes the disruptions are frustrating, but I love that we intentionally include children in Big Church.  With investment from their parents and others, kids can recognize that they have a place in the congregation, too, that they belong here, that they are important to the rest of us and to God.  They also can see church as something bigger than their naturally kid-centered worlds.

SLC Impact
worship team

I'm having a Big Church experience of my own this summer as I join in worship with other congregations in our area while their pastors are away.  Each group has its own unique people, congregational culture, and other variations.  Those environments are a little different from Rosewood Lane, and it takes a little effort to integrate.  Sometimes these differences create little disruptions, I suppose.  But, like with the children, it is worth the investment.  I trust each Sunday that I will both find and create hospitable space in my interactions with others, and I love seeing the bigger picture of God at work in other local congregations.  It is good to be in Big Church.

It reminds me, too, of our denomination as a whole, which introduces even bigger levels of "Big Church" -- not just individuals gathering together, but local churches joining to form districts, districts forming regions, and ultimately people of congregations in over 150 world areas uniting together in common purposes of worship, learning, and service.  It is through such partnership that we become able to engage in ministry so much bigger than any individual or congregation, ultimately reaching around the world.

It doesn't stop there, of course, because Big Church is not limited to our global denomination.  Our focus is on God Himself rather than on our organization.  We join in spirit with other Christians, both locally and around the world.

Big Church is indeed really, really big.