Losing Momentum

In about an hour, our morning service will begin and I’ll be talking about our calling to serve the world. One of the things that prevents us from serving well is the loss of momentum that often sets in. It’s a problem in many churches like ours – churches with a grand history. For us, our rearview mirror is sometimes bigger than our windshield. We can look back to the glory days, but the days ahead look bleak.

When we lose momentum, we usually appear worse than we really are. Just like a baseball team that has lost momentum, it’s not as if all of the players are worse than those of the opposing team. It’s just that the tiny bit of extra effort to turn the double-play or to drive in the runner from third is missing. And a little less effort translates into losing games by just a hairsbreath. The more we lose, the more we feel like losers.

I’ve recognized my own personal lack of momentum when it comes to writing this blog. The farther out the last blog entry gets, the LESS motivated I am to write a new one. I convince myself that no one really cares about whether I write or not. And of course, the less often I write, the less motivated readers are to come to the site and see if there is something new.

Right now I am grabbing myself by the nap of my neck and literally forcing myself to write. That’s just one small element of the bigger picture of giving my best. It’s my prayer that in a dozen little ways, we as a church (the church local and the church universal) will take up the challenge to bring our A-game to the field. I’m hoping God will speak to our local body about that today.

Pentecost Monday

Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday. That makes today Pentecost Monday – or Whit Monday, as it is called in England. It would be a holiday for us if we still lived in Germany. Actually, the day after Pentecost is still a state sponsored holiday in a number of European nations. As I am writing these words, our German friends are taking advantage of a day on which all the stores are closed by having Kaffee and Kuchen with their friends, or going for a walk in the park, or taking a long bicycle ride along the Elbe River. Can you tell that I’m feeling homesick?

Of course, Pentecost is about more than just having an extra day off if you happen to live in Europe. Every time I read the story of what happened in Acts 2, it blows me away. At one moment there were 120 believers who confessed that Jesus was the Lord of all; then the Holy Spirit descended on them. The next moment the crowd was “cut to the heart” as Peter preached and 3000 new believers were added to the faith. God did something absolutely unprecedented in the history of his dealings with mankind and visitors to Jerusalem that day were swept along in his wake.

As generations of pastors have done before me, I find myself asking the question, “Does God want the same thing to happen again? If so, what prevents it from happening?”

There is something in me that bucks against even asking that question. Through the years, I’ve heard all too many pastors speak about the revival that was “just around the corner.” All we have to do is to pray long and hard enough and we can usher in the fire. But that teaching seems to squeeze out God’s sovereignty in the mix. The last thing we need is a man-centered gospel of Pentecost. What God did on that day was as unique as it was powerful and it will never be repeated in quite the same way.

Nevertheless, I’m not able to escape the challenge put before the church to play its part and to pray for the Holy Spirit to come in power. Bill Maxwell quotes an unnamed church leader as saying: “In Acts Chapter 2 they prayed for 10 days, Peter preached for 10 minutes, and 3000 were saved. Today, churches pray for 10 minutes, preach for 10 days, and 3 are saved.” I don’t think he was implying that if we simply pray for 10 days, we can dispense Holy Spirit revival like a vending machine. He is simply calling attention to our modern tendency to value methodology over prayer. The point is well taken.

May God use this Pentecost Monday as a reminder that He still delights in responding to the earnest prayers of his children who ask him for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And when we ask for a fish, he won’t give us a serpent.

The Joy (and Danger) of Not Speaking

Tomorrow I don’t have to speak. We’ve got a guest, Dr. Mark, who will be sharing about some of the things God is doing in the world today, especially in the Muslim world. I just spent the day with him and thoroughly enjoyed it. It reminded me of just how privileged we are that God calls us to live out our lives in community with other believers. We have so much to gain from one another.

Normally right now I’d be thinking and praying very hard about the service tomorrow. But tonight I am relaxed… sitting by the fire and taking it easy. I know that the service is in good hands. It’s a great feeling.

Of course, that relaxed attitude can also be a danger. I ought never to forget that each square inch of spiritual territory is fought over and that when it comes to Muslim teaching, that fact is especially true. Although Mark is a qualified brother who is well schooled in the spiritual disciplines, and although he has shared this message in multiple settings around the world, we have an enemy who does not want his message to reach our congregation. This enemy wants nothing more than to leave us misinformed and listless and hopeless in regard to the spread of Islam in our times. He would be delighted if we think about it as little as possible – and if we do think about it, he wants us to believe that there is nothing we can do about it.

I realized tonight that I am even succumbing to Satan’s devices by relaxing about tomorrow. I may not have to speak, but my responsibility to pray is just as great as ever. I ought to be as desperate for the message to touch our people as I would be if I were bringing that message myself. Unfortunately, I have often fallen prey to the danger of letting down my guard when I don’t feel the pressure to perform.

With that realization, I turn now to pray that God will break through the cloud of deception with which Satan tries to blind us and that he will put a fire in our hearts for Muslims around the world. Please grant it, oh Lord.

On the set of “Rogue Saints”

Yesterday, Karen and I spent the evening hanging out on set at Lake Sammamish Church with some very fun and very committed people. Rogue Saints is a film that bills itself as “the greatest church diamond heist, romance, comedy, drama, adventure you’ve ever seen.” The director, Adam Lubanski, grew up in Redmond and attended Redmond Assembly. He’s been involved in film making for quite a while, especially in doing motion graphics for films such as Transformers 2, G-Force, Charlie’s Angels, Swordfish, Eagle Eye, Hancock, and more. He recently directed iWitness, a short film that was selected as a semi-finalist for the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.

We first connected to him when he asked if he could use our building to shoot the trailer for the movie last summer. That trailer got them started and helped raise awareness of their project. Now they are getting close to finishing the actual shooting. Karen has been taking still photos for them at several of their shoots. And I was the “pastor on set” last night.

What we especially like about these guys is the attitude. I talked with several of the cast and crew and realized that almost every single one of them was a volunteer. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a cheesy basement production. They are people with real talent. Just check out the teaser on their website (http://www.roguesaintsmovie.com) to get a feel for how good it’s going to be. But this film does not have a major production studio behind it – what drives it is the pure love of the art and the love for God. This really excites Karen and me. We are longing to see God using people in the creative use of the arts. (One of our dreams is that CCA could become a center for community theater… but that’s another story!)

It was invigorating to be around a group of people who are so excited about what they’re doing. It reminds me that God is the author of passion – and that he’s the farthest thing from boring!

If you’d like to get involved, they still need a ton of extras for a shoot this Saturday. You can sign up on their website. I hope you do.

Reflections at the end of Resurrection Day

I’m in the weary state where the eyes barely want to stay open. It’s been a long day, but it’s been a fine day. In fact, it’s been a fine weekend. For three days, I’ve been calling people to reflect upon the twin realities of their own hapless estate on the one hand and the incredible victory that Christ accomplished over sin, hell and the grave on the other. Now I sink into my easy chair and reflect on that reality myself.

One of the challenges a pastor faces is that of preaching the classic and timeless themes in a manner that captures the heart. It’s impossible to meet that challenge apart from the work of the Spirit. It’s also impossible unless I allow myself to be transfixed by the message.

In today’s Seattle Times, an article about the head of the Episcopal Church in Western Washington discussed, among other things, the declining membership in the movement. What does one do when membership drops from 38,000 to 31,000 over the past 20 years, even as the general population is growing? Bishop Rickel poses the possibility, “Maybe the ship we’re trying to keep afloat doesn’t need to float any more. Maybe we need to dock it and do something else.” Rev. Rickel isn’t proposing that the ship of the church itself be docked, but some of the forms in which she presents herself. He argues for openness to newer, creative models… from more conversational worship services to house churches. At the same time, he is calling his flock back to the basics of the faith, stating that it’s difficult to evangelize the world with our particular message “if we don’t even know what it is ourselves.” I agree!

The article gives me pause to think about our church and how she is doing. Is it time to steer her gently toward safe harbor (where other old ships languish from sitting idle)? I hope not. I want to hang onto the hope that the simple, powerful and transformational message of Resurrection Day is enough to refurbish any ship, no matter how much she leaks. I’m not contending that we shouldn’t revisit the model. I just hope that the model isn’t the main thing, but that the message is. I don’t just hope it – I believe it with all my heart.

Around the world today, the ancient refrain was echoed in multiple tribes and tongues:
Jesus Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
I loved hearing it in our congregation. I know that other pastors feel the same. It reminds us that the same power which raised up Christ from the dead will quicken our sometimes lifeless churches and renew them by his grace.

The Rise of Incivility

My dad used to say that it is no disparagement when honest men disagree. I believe he was quoting someone, so I tried to find the quote. It may not be the same source, but I ran across the following from Elmer Davis:

“This nation was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the principle – among others – that honest men may honestly disagree; that if they all say what they think, a majority of the people will be able to distinguish truth from error; that in the competition of the marketplace of ideas, the sounder ideas will in the long run win out.”

I like the thought – it is the basic premise behind democracy and it is, at its heart, quite hopeful. In view of the quality of public dialogue in America at present, I just don’t know if it’s true.

The recent spate of brick throwing attacks in response to the health care legislation is rather disturbing. Admittedly, the number of those who are actually resorting to that kind of action is minimal, but the nature of the communication between competing factions in the health care debate is genuinely disturbing. Where did civility disappear to?

Sometimes the followers of Jesus get caught up in the mix. I’m not sure how it became acceptable in some circles for Christians to demonstrate disdain for those who disagree with them. I’m not against strongly worded statements. I pray for more people in our church who are able to express themselves with clarity and with certainty. I also pray that each of us will keep a civil tongue. It is, after all, our own scriptures which remind us that “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

That is true even in politics. Or should I say, especially in politics.

Living Alone

This week I’ve been on my own… Karen flew to Boston to attend a FAWCO conference (Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas). Some of her friends from the club in Hamburg are there, so this is a great time of reunion for her.

I’m a bit jealous – I’ve never been to Boston and would love to see the city. But in general, I always feel left out if she’s the one who’s away and I’m the one who stays at home. It’s not as if I’m lonely… I have too many people in my life to feel that. But I do feel a kind of aimlessness when I come home at night and no one is here.

It reminds me of something I’ve heard from some of our single friends – especially from the widows and widowers. They tell me that Sunday afternoon is the hardest time of the week for them. That’s because they experience the joy of fellowship at church, but then come home to that empty house or apartment and they feel the full weight of being alone.

If the emptiness hits me emotionally, even though Karen is only gone for a few days, I wonder how some of them feel. Maybe that’s why James writes to us that true religion consists of “visiting orphans and widows in their distress and keeping oneself from being polluted by the world.” In the people-filled and often hectic schedule of my life, it’s too easy to forget how much difference a visit can make.

Being led by the Spirit

I just got back from one of my favorite activities… drinking a cappuccino with one of the brothers in the church. We walked down to the Roosevelt Square Starbucks (only 4 blocks away) in the warmth of today’s Seattle sunshine and talked about what God is doing in our lives. There are few things I enjoy more.

To be honest, the Starbucks experience cannot begin to compare with the Lüneburg experience, or the Freiburg experience (or any one of a host of German cities). Three years ago I might have been sitting with a group of students at an outdoor café in the town square, surrounded by 400-year old buildings, drinking fragrant German coffee and eating Kuchen and thinking to myself, “This is my job… I actually get paid for doing this!” Alas, I have to settle for Starbucks (my apologies, Mr. Schultz). But that’s merely an aside.

What I was thinking about is just how cool it is when the Holy Spirit takes the coffee experience and turns it into something much deeper than simply a meeting of the minds. I’ve been especially concerned lately that so much of my time disappears into activities that are not necessarily fruitful (like blogging, perhaps?). Last week I asked my small group to pray for me that I would really listen to the Holy Spirit about how to spend my time. There are so many things that I am supposed to do… but what are the things that I really should do?

As I pondered that question and asked the Holy Spirit to direct me, this particular brother came to mind. So I asked him to coffee and today felt the wonder of what happens when God sets the appointments. Now, I’m not saying that the everyday, more hum-drum, encounters of my week were unnecessary or that they were less important. But I do love the fact that the Holy Spirit really does want to direct my steps and that when I ask him to, he does it more often. In spite of the fact that I regularly preach that truth, I sometimes forget it.

Max Raabe & the Palast Orchester

Last night Karen and I went to see Max Raabe at Benaroya Hall. I wasn’t sure what to expect – only that our friend, Sharon, had told us that it was music from the 20’s and 30’s and that it would be a great date night.

What we got was a sumptuous feast of 70-year-old melodies set in captivatingly creative arrangements. It was a powerful reminder that art transcends culture and age. These definitely weren’t the songs I was raised on. Since half of them were in German, much of the audience didn’t even understand the texts. But we were transfixed nonetheless.

What impressed me almost more than the music, however, was Max Raabe’s sense of timing. His slow, sometimes halting delivery, spoken with a wonderful German accent, was perfectly paced. The audience hung on every syllable. His dry humor hit the nerve each time he introduced a song. Before singing the classic, Salome, he noted that the sheet music calls it “an oriental Foxtrot. Of course, there is no such thing as an oriental Foxtrot. But after listening to it, you can’t help but think that this is… well, an oriental Foxtrot.” And we all erupted in laughter. It wasn’t the words themselves, it was his perfect timing.

As I reflected on the evening, I couldn’t help but feel a certain jealousy. I had just sat under the spell of a master communicator and I had savored every minute of it. It reminded me that communication is an art form. And if Max Raabe works as hard as he does to communicate the music of the art deco era, how much more should I work on communicating the beauty and glory of the Gospel. God, give me the discipline and the grace to do so!

Today marks the beginning of my blogging era

I’ve been reluctant to try blogging. For the most part, I really can’t imagine that there would be any great interest in my thoughts. So if you’re reading this, that’s amazing to me, in and of itself.

I’ve taken the blog name, pastorinseattle, because that identifies pretty well the kind of content I’d like to put here. Namely, I’d like to reflect on what it’s like to be a shepherd in a city that has a reputation for not being particularly enamored with shepherds. Apparently, the Pacific Northwest no longer holds the title of “most unchurched area in America,” but we’re still up near the top of the charts.

After having lived in Hamburg, Germany, for 18 years, I’m used to people reacting to the church with a strong degree of indifference. What’s different for me is the fact that, in spite of the low level of church attendance in Seattle, there is still a plethora of church options for people to choose from. I’m disappointed inwardly – it often feels like churches are fighting over the few sheep that are out there, competing for which one can best package a program that attracts them into the fold.

I had a lot of discussions with other pastors in Germany about the “attractional model” versus the “missional” or “servant model.” The discussion always seemed to lean toward either-or thinking. I don’t believe it’s ever either attraction or mission. When you look at the church in Acts, it’s clear that both movements were present – both inward and outward, both centripetal and centrifugal.

My hope is that I can effectively lead our congregation to be both – and to do that within a cultural context that is basically skeptical toward the Christian message.