Scripture

So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 15:10-11

Observation

In some churches two conversions are needed. First is a conversion to Christ. The second is a conversion to the culture of that local church. There are sometimes written rules and always unwritten ones that define who is and who is not part of that church.

God has designed a way to offend churches to discover if their heart is his heart. The Lord offends churches by bringing the “Gentiles” in. It was a struggle 2000 years ago and it is a problem now. Since the church at Jerusalem, those in the church want to create church designed for their comfort. So behind our smiles and handshakes we give subtle messages about our hidden agenda and pile new Christians with extra club rules. How we process outsiders reveals our heart. If we sift them with the screen of our expectations we don’t have the heart of Jesus. But if we call them to follow Christ he will never leave them the same again.

Peter made it clear that there should only be on conversion necessary to come into a church–the call to follow Christ. That conversion is challenging enough. Some metro transport systems city buses that hydraulically lower themselves to curb level so passengers can climb on board without any step up. The local church should design its culture at the curb level of the society so people can easily get on board and then be taken where they have never gone before. This isn’t compromise, it is simply requiring no more of new Christians than what God does.

Application
The early church struggled with integrating the “Gentiles”. The problem persists to this day. A local church must constantly self-examine to see what extra turnstiles it has erected on the road to salvation that were not designated by the Lord. Let it start first in my own heart.

Prayer
Father, it’s surprising you let me into church, so let me never make it difficult for others. Keep the expectations of my own heart simple. For I know if I accept others Jesus will do the changing. Amen.

This video clip about the value of ink will make you feel wealthy!

Scripture
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7

Observation
What is the most expensive liquid on earth? Gas, vintage wine, or pure maple syrup? No, it is printer cartridge ink. If you don’t believe it just watch the video clip above. But what happens when the last precious drops of inkjet have sputtered out? We toss the cartridge away.

That’s a bit like us. Christ followers are filled with something quite extraordinary but we’re still just disposable packaging. When a person says “yes” to Christ do we have any idea of what happens on the inside?

Think of it this way. When I walk into a room I turn on a light switch. A sixty watt bulb gives me a useful pool of light. I’m busy with my work so I do not think of what that bulb is connected to. Wires run from that light to the breaker box, out to the wires in the street, to a transformer station, onto main lines, then to the power grid and into a coal, hydroelectric or nuclear powered turbine in a whirling room of machines producing inconceivable amounts of electrical energy. All I see are watts not megawatts. When I say yes to Jesus Christ what is happening in the reactor of heaven with the radiant Son of God in the presence of his Father, surrounded by angels and believers in a city of light glows inside of me. What is inside of any Christian is extraordinary. Inside a Christ follower is enough hope to outlast despair, healing to overcome disease, faith to conquer doubt, and grace to outlast hurt.

Yet for all this we are quite ordinary. We are fragile clay pots. Let’s put it into words that we can relate to. We are all disposable containers with the shelf life of a Coke can. We really aren’t that great. We are incredibly ordinary. All the packaging and branding known to Madison Avenue cannot change the fact that we are on the way to the recycling station.

Truly great people are marked by their ordinariness. What they speak, write, do, invest, touch, care, pray can be quite exceptional. But when I’ve met the truly great ones I’ve found an honesty with the disposable nature of their human existence. They are cardboard boxes and they know it. The goods in us are of God and all we offer is the paper bag to put them in. When we become relaxed with the faults, flaws and fractures of our lives then the glory of God can leak out.

I interviewed a number of pastors who had experienced burnout. All of them made the same comment. When they returned to their pulpits they were honest about their frailty. Instead of rejection, all of them heard comments from their people like this: “At last there is a preacher that I can relate to.” As much as people are hungering for the exceptional, there is something the everyday person that is so appealing.

Application
I need to be comfortable with my humanity while at the same time expecting the exceptional when God leaks out of me. I am exceptionally ordinary.

Prayer
Father, I cannot even begin to comprehend what is living inside of me. Just like we really don’t have a clue of the geothermal powers at work in the core of the earth just under our own feet, so I really don’t understand what you put into me when Jesus came into me to stay. Help me to be vulnerable enough to let that leak out. So often I want to dress it up to impress others. But I only end up plastering over the cracks that let your light shine through. Let the cracks in my life only make the glory of God more accessible to others. I accept the humanity you have made me with. Help me to be comfortable with my ordinariness in the presence of others so that they can access the glory of God in me. Amen.

Plastic Men

What the Bible Says
Then, with the crowds listening, he turned to his disciples and said, “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.” Luke 20:45-47

What My Mind Thinks
It’s interesting that Jesus unmasked the fake preachers in public and not in a private chat to his disciples. Jesus wanted the rank and file to overhear the private discussions of management because in Jesus’ mind there is no separation between clergy and the people. Jesus then and now wants to create dissatisfaction in followers of insincere spiritual leadership. He wants the average pew sitter to be able to distinguish between leaders who gather followers and shepherds who set sheep free to follow to the Good Shepherd. This passage is Jesus’ vaccination against spiritual abuse. If sheep take this warning to heart they will never be kidnapped by sheep rustlers.

Jesus says to sheep, “Beware of these teachers”. In other words, the relationship between Jesus and a Christian must never be tampered with. It can be coached, revived, corrected, encouraged, but no human being can slip in between the Shepherd and his sheep and interfere with that relationship. It is up to the sheep to beware of phonies and to protect their free access to hear Christ and follow him. Jesus isn’t suggesting that sheep should become cynical of all shepherds. Cynicism can sound wise but it is not the voice of God. Sheep need shepherds; that’s a given. They are not to be afraid o following them. Instead, like the Bereans checked their Bibles to be sure that Paul’s voice was God’s word, so too sheep need to turn to Jesus to be sure that they are being led well.

Of course this is not just a message to sheep, it is also a message to shepherds. What was so obvious in a Pharisees can be subtle in us. To put it in modern terms the Pharisees loved their suits and ties, the title of “Pastor”, and the front row seats. They acted like middlemen between givers and God taking a little commission for themselves. They felt hard done by for the hardships of ministry and motherly widows opened their nest eggs to give them the lifestyle they deserved as men of God. Ministry doesn’t offer much money, but there are perks that are even more toxic to the soul. On one hand there are needy people and on the other there are leaders with the time and ability to help. Sometimes the sheep can be too grateful and the shepherds can enjoy the nuzzling of the flock too much.

If a shepherd is to be useful to Christ he must put to death the feeling of being hard done by. Instead he should accept that he is a servant, that life is difficult and sometimes unfair, but he is a servant and that is his duty. He gives without thought of gain and nothing should pollute that purity of service.

Then suitcoats can be removed, sleeves rolled up so work can be done;

then the title of “Pastor” or “Reverend” can remind a leader to serve the people and not himself;

then the seats of honor can be surrendered to those in the back row who need them more than he does.

How My Heart Changes
Sincerity in ministry really matters to Jesus. He says he will “severely punish” frauds. So the challenge to the plastic pastor is not a passing comment. This really matters to Jesus.

It is time to melt down plastic toy leaders into something useful for the kingdom. If they could be molded into a cup or a basin that would be helpful. That must begin in me.

Every pastor needs to look in the mirror while he straightens his tie and ask himself, “Am I serving myself today or am I working with the Shepherd?” There are times I feel hard done by in ministry. That I must dispose of.

How My Spirit Prays
Father, today unwrap the plastic that can surround me. Let my ministry not mask my insincerity but flow from a pure heart. And help me to help other pastors step out of the cellophane of ministry so that they can move from plastic to warm flesh and blood with plenty of heart. Can you help me to help pastors find their way out of the display case and into the lives of their people. Amen.