Christmas Rest

(Gransdson and Grandpa on Christmas Eve)

O ye, beneath life's crushing load,

Whose forms are bending low

Who toil along the climbing way

With painful steps and slow.

Look now for glad and golden hours

Come swiftly on the wing

O rest beside the weary road

And hear the angels sing. (Edmund Sears)

For my yoke is easy; And my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)

I love Christmas Eve. The church is decked. The hymns are beautiful. Christmas is upon us whether we are ready or not.  There is no more making ready for Jesus.  No more wrapping of gifts. No more trips to the post office. No more swiping of the credit card. The baby comes and again He makes His home in our hearts.

And it is just the beginning...

Because then there is Christmas day.  It is full of wide-eyed wonder.  The anticipation of weeks and weeks finally arrives. Families gather and presents are presented.  Gifts are given and gifts are received and unwrapped.  And after the gifts are opened, we prepare food, we assemble toys, we clean up, we do the dishes...and, then, the beautiful hymns come reverberating through our head, "O rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing."

But there is no time to listen, let alone to rest beside the weary road.

Soon, we will be boxing up the Christmas decorations. The season of Christmas will slide into Epiphany.   The Christmas tree will come down and the elf will go back on the shelf.  We will drift into ordinary time and back to work and our forms will, once again, be bending low...

And I am convinced that all of this why our Savior came. God wants more for us in life than painful steps and slow. God desires for us to see the light and experience the wonder and enjoy our families gathering and gifts given and received, and not just at Christmas, but all year long.  And if it sounds exhausting, it's not that we don't desire Jesus to come and live in our hearts, we just realize that we don't have the time and resources to make Christmas happen more than one day a year.  Not like this.  In our labor, we miss the promise and the real Christmas magic: The yoke is easy and the burden is light and glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing.

We can do Christmas differently. My wife and I are already talking about simplifying next year. We are getting rid of some old stuff, and God has snowed us in.  I believe it is God's way of telling us to rest beside the weary road and let the Savior come again in to our overwrought hearts. In fact, it is my prayer for me, our family, your family, and Christ's church to dare to take time in the midst of it all, to stop, to wonder, to see the beauty, and hear the angels sing. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

White Wave Manifesto: The House of God

(Our "Restoration House")

·                     All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. (Acts 2:45)

.·                     Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; (1 Corinthians 6:19)

*          Thus says the Lord: "Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool' what is the house which you would build for me, and what is place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and all these things are mine," says the Lord. (Isaiah 6:1-2a)

Stephen quotes and exegetes the Isaiah passage (above) in Acts 7 and is promptly stoned to death.  And even today, the suggestion that the church can be healthy without a building, in many circles, is met with stony anger.

Our family lives in an older home in an older neighborhood. It seems that the domicile is in constant need of repair. A friend has christened it, "Restoration House." The name is not quite as cool as "Wuthering Heights" or "Misselthwaite Manor", but it is apropos.  There are, of course, the immediate needs...a leak in the sink, and a back door that doesn't work right, and a water heater that doesn't heat water.  And there are the needs that we know are coming and we pray won't happen today...an ancient furnace that needs replaced. A sewer line that is crumbling with the weight of fifty years of earth.  It takes a lot of time and energy to keep up with the Restoration House.

It also takes a lot of time and energy to keep up with the house of God.  And that isn't a bad thing, until it begins to erode the main thing.

Sometimes, when I am working on the bathroom or even mowing the lawn or cleaning up the kitchen, one of our sons will come in and ask, "Daddy, will you play with me?" The miracle is that they keep asking even though they know the usual rejoinder, "I'd love to, buddy, but I have to finish fixing the chicken coop."

We do the same thing in church. We get busy painting bathrooms and vacuuming the carpet and cleaning the windows. We replace gutters and we plant, weed, and water the front flower bed. And there is nothing wrong with these things, until they erode the main thing.  "Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourselves." (Luke 10:27)

Our relationship with the house of God can just as easily become a substitute for God as our relationship with our house can become a substitute for our family. I've sometimes wondered what would happen if we were to sell our churches.  What would happen if we were to sell our homes? In the short-term, there might be flashes of anger and tears of disappointment.  Stones might be thrown.  But in the long run, my suspicion is that neither the body of Christ or my own children would suffer greatly. In fact, we might just rediscover the main thing.

Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.

White Wave Manifest: Friends for the Journey

Will...and a couple of friends.

*          Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? (I Corinthians 6:15a)

*          It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you
and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples...(Deuteronomy 7:7)

As a parent, I admit, it is easy to get distracted by the accomplishments of other parents' children.  "My son just made first chair cello in high school...and the varsity swim team...and is fluent in ancient Aramaic. We always knew that he was gifted.  After all, he was potty-trained at ten months." Then, I think of my own child, who does an awesome "pencil" on the diving board, loves to bang on the drums with his friend David, and is fluent in Laffy Taffy jokes. Is that so bad?  And if it isn't, why do I feel so inadequate as a parent?

And as a pastor, I admit, it was easy for me to get distracted by the accomplishments of other pastor's churches. "We just broke ground on our new arena...and we baptized 300 last week...and we are sending three million dollars to international missions this year alone!" Then I think of my own church. We stripped-out our angel tree, one  year, by the third week in Advent!  And I remember making a hospital visit and found three other parishioners had already been there that morning. One year, our membership didn't decline by a single person. Is that so bad? And if it isn't, why do I feel so inadequate as a pastor?   

For parents and for pastors, in families and in churches, the problem is that we often put our emphasis on the wrong things.  As parents, we celebrate what our children do, not who they are. As churches, we celebrate the numbers and tally up our successes and pay no mind to what really counts.

I remember one fall, we took our children out of all fall activities. No more soccer. No more cub scouts. No more Aramaic. There was school and church and lots of fun climbing trees, and building awesome Lego creations.  Most importantly, our sons figured out again what it was like to have friends for the journey.

What if we did the same thing as a church?  What if we quit counting members?  What if we actually deleted the membership roles all together? Would things change? Could things get any worse?

* Only 10% of all Christians possess a biblical worldview that informs their thinking and behavior. (Barna, George, The Habits of Highly Effective Churches)

* Of the 38% of Americans that attend worship, only 22% of them engage in any additional  Christian education.(Willimon, William, The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry)

So, maybe it is a time to quit counting and discover, again, those things that are really important; things like visiting church members in the hospital, spreading a little light in dark places, and climbing trees.  Maybe we, as a church, can quit counting and figure out again what it is like to have good friends along for the journey.

Church Stopping. More being. Less doing.

White Wave Manifest: Household Chores

(Sam, mowing. Now, about the leaves.)

And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all the people also will go to their place in peace." (Exodus 18:22-23)

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to tech you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food. (Hebrews 5:12)

In our home, there are household chores.  My wife and I will drive to the bus stop and run the chain saw, but the boys are expected to run the vacuum and put the dishes away.  Instead of constant reminders and supervision, it would be easier, sometimes, for us to just take care of it; mow the lawn, take out the garbage when it is overflowing, or wash the dishes.  My wife is very capable of setting the table and feeding the chickens and splitting the wood herself, and there would be less headache for her if she did just that.  If our boys weren't expected to pack their own lunch, life would be much easier for the two of us and more comfortable for them.

However, being comfortable and easy is not the goal.

Jethro, Moses' father-in law, told Moses to appoint other leaders to help judge the people, not so that they could remain comfortable in the desert, but so that they could 'go to their place in peace.'

In the New Testament, the early church is reminded that they need to teach others the faith and care for new believers, not constantly need someone to feed them.

We still need these reminders today; no one person should be expected to do everything and we all need to share in teaching others the faith.  Sometimes, we seek to stay comfortable where we are.  We are comfortable in hiring someone to preach, teach, and outreach for us. Sometimes, we hire more than one person.  It allows us to say where we are and drink milk. And for church staff, it is often easier for them to do the preaching, teaching, and outreaching for us rather than train, equip and nag us to do it ourselves. 

However, being comfortable and easy is not the goal.

But what if we hired part-time staff?  What if we hired the human resources executive to handle payroll and the college professor to teach Sunday School?  What if there was a stay-at-home mother or a retired Grandfather with lots of experience with young children and we employed them to run the children's ministries?  

Most of the time, our churches don't need more full-time ministers. They need less.  Jesus chose tax-collectors, fishermen, and harlots over professionally trained priests, lawyers and clergy.

I am not suggesting that we fire our full-time pastors, just that we don't think of them as full-time. Rather, we should think of them as part-time preachers and part-time chaplains, and part-time visionairies.  This leaves room for others that might be called to preach, or call on shut-ins, or dream big dreams for the church.  

It won't be easy, for church members or for pastors, to share the household chores, but being comfortable and easy is not the goal. It is time for us to eat a little solid food.

Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.  

.

White Wave Manifesto: Re-entry

Fo

(They were babies once! Christmas 2010)

For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD.  Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. (Leviticus 25:3-4)

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon, and learn from me, for I am gentle an lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28030)

We try to be intentional as a family.  We try not to over-schedule or over-commit. We try to keep a Sabbath weekly. We try to speak kindly to one another and be kind to one another. We work on sharing our things and sharing in household chores.  And our life together, with the exception of a few hiccups here and there, is pretty good.  However, my wife and I have noticed that for several years, there is something we call "re-entry."

Re-entry is that period of intensity at the very beginning of Christmas break when all three of our boys get to spend, not just a few hours a week, but entire days together.  Superficial niceness can't cover all the close contact.  And, at first, it is kind of  hard.  They have to re-learn life together.  There are more dishes to do. There is more sharing that is required. There is just more time...more time for fun, but more time for frustration.  But once we get past that moment of re-entry, the atmosphere changes and the boys rediscover just how much they enjoy being together.  It is Christmas magic...for them and for us.

In a similar way, in many of our congregations, life is pretty good.  We try to get together on the Sabbath and speak kindly to one another.  We try to be kind. We work on sharing our things and sharing the chores that come with life together. With the exception of a few hiccups here and there, is pretty good. However, after a few years, it can be...even for all of it's pleasantness...pretty superficial.  

Our churches need an intense time to be together without all the distractions that keep us from running deep with one another. This is where church-wide sabbatical comes in to play. Not for a week, but for a whole year everything that is non-essential is allowed to lay fallow.  There are no more committee meetings. The choir sings familiar music.  There is no mission trip. There is no Easter egg hunt or Trunk-or-Treat, and there aren't five services on Christmas Eve.  We take a deep breath and then hit re-entry. 

After fifty-six years, the little church that my wife and I were serving dared to do just that. We took a break and put programs on hold. We limited church work to the bare essentials.  There was still one meeting a month for essential business, but we tried to keep it short.  There was no Easter requiem or Christmas cantata and we dusted off some old hymns and used resources from the lectionary.  The youth did mission work around town instead of across the country.  The senior ministry went on hiatus.  

It was hard, at first, but once we got past re-entry, the whole atmosphere changed.  We had always felt good about ministry, but we rediscovered that we actually enjoyed being together.  We ran deep with one another and fell in love again with the One who first loved us.  We learned not only that we could rest as a church, but that we should. It was a little bit of Christmas magic.

I have come to the conclusion after nearly fifteen years of professional ministry that the best thing that the church could do for the church and for the world, is stop.  After all, His yoke is easy and his burden is light.

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.

White Wave Manifesto: Ecclesiastical Vacation

In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,

            but you would have none of it. (Isaiah 30:15)

                     He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. (Psalm 23:2)

"In our product-driven society, work, especially networking, makes us feel important and productive.
Of course it may also make us feel cranky, put upon, overtired, frustrated, thwarted,
bored, and miserable-but who has time to think of that?
Who wants time to think of that.
We do. We just may not know that we do." (Julia Cameron, Vein of Gold)

We still talk about it.

That trip we took to the Redwoods two years ago. We had driven all day to get there. The sun was starting to set, so we pulled over into the nearest picnic area we could find and entered into a whole new world. It was amazing. Some of the trees had been standing there since the days of Christ. Our middle son, seven at the time, bailed out of the car before I came to a complete stop and began running from tree to tree until he found a snag that he could climb.  Up he went and from his elevated rostrum shouted joyfully into the maritime dusk, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for taking me to this place. I have been dreaming of this place my whole life!"

We need to get away. We know it...even if we don't because when we don't, we get cranky and miserable and bored. Life loses it's liveliness. There's a reason that many employers encourage their employees to take vacation time...they are more productive when they do and those around them like them better when they get back.

It's the same way with the church.  We need time off. We need to re-consider the idea of ecclesiastical vacation.  When was the last time we took a vacation as a church family?  There isn't a Biblical mandate to take four weeks off, but there is a mandate to rest; to enter into quietness and trust.  How much vacation time do you receive at work?  Do you take it all. You should. It isn't just a good idea, it is "your salvation."  

But do we believe it?  Do we really trust that the church can exist for four weeks without our input and our wisdom and our hard work?  It really is the question.  It isn't a question of whether or not we can stop. It is a question of whether or not we really trust that God will move when we stop.

There are, of course, some practical considerations when taking an ecclesiastical vacation just as their are practical consideration when heading to the Redwoods.  For example, the chickens need to be fed and the mail needs to be picked up and the flowers need to be watered. The point in leaving home is, in part, that we can't do the things that we normally do.  Likewise, when we leave our church home it has to be long enough and far enough away that we can't do the things that we normally do. Arrangements will have to be made for the lawn to be mowed and the bills to be paid.  Staff needs to be informed that they are not to stop by the office and answer phones or do correspondence.  The point is that we actually leave the church.  It will be okay.

And we will be freed up to go see the Redwoods or experience a different kind of worship. Our souls might be fed while hiking a fourteener in Colorado. We can listen to God's word and not worry about preaching or singing or ushering or greeting. Or, perhaps our sacred desk is a fly-fishing stream or a week taking in the culture of the city. Maybe we can find our very own, two-thousand year-old Redwood snag and clamor up to new heights and exclaim with new excitement in our voices, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Lord, for taking me to this place. I have been dreaming of this place my whole life!"

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.

White Wave Manifesto: A Congregational-Sabbath Blueprint

(www.freeimages.com 1307880)

I wonder...

I wonder what would happen if the church didn't rely on our own strength and actually trusted God for strength.

I wonder why we insist on making the church move when the church is a movement of God.  

I wonder how effective the church has been for all of our hard work and how much more effective it would be if we allowed room for God to work.

I have enclosed a "blueprint" for a new church development or for churches wanting something new. It would take courage.  Major things would have to change. But imagine how different things would look if we gave control of the church back to God.

Over the next five weeks, I will look at each of these steps in more detail.  Until then, I have offered them to you in toto.  

White Wave Manifesto: A Congregational-Sabbath Blueprint

A. Stop: For four weeks every year.

·                     In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,

            but you would have none of it. (Isaiah 30:15)

·                     He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. (Psalm 23:2)

           

B. Stop:  For one year every Seventh

·                     For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops.

                But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD.  

            Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. (Leviticus 25:3-4)

             

C. Stop: Paying full-time staff

·                     For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God

            prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:10)

*         For by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles              of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food. (Hebrews 5:12)

            

D. Stop: Counting Members.

*          Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? (I Corinthians 6:15a)

*          It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you             and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples...

E. Stop: Maintaining church buildings.

·                     All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and

            possessions to give to anyone who had need. (Acts 2:45)

.·                     Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you

            have received from God? You are not your own; (1 Corinthians 6:19)