Balance

Leaning too far one way or the other results in the loss of balance, and the loss of balance usually results in falling down. I don't like to fall down.

There are two areas of life and ministry that I have been struggling with lately, mostly because I have been leaning so far to one side of each issue that this "lean" has become my norm. I think that God is calling me to adjust my lean.

The problem that I am struggling with is not adjusting my lean - I am open to that. The problem is that I know myself, and I have a tendency to over-adjust and to lean completely the other direction. And then I am just as off balance, only in another direction.

One area has to do mostly with ministry in general. I have been raised in an era and schooled by the best in the discipline of the attractional style of ministry. This has caused me to walk with a lean in this direction, and all without ever really realizing it. Yet, here lately, God is impressing upon me the thought and concept of (what has been labeled) the incarnational style of ministry. I sum up the difference as this: attractional style=doing church, and incarnational style=being church. I realize that this is an over-simplification, but I am a simple guy so this works for me.

When I look backward over the past few years of ministry, I see evidence of God creating in my heart and mind the shift toward incarnational ministry. Much of the unrest in my last ministry position (at a great church that I love) was a low-level lack of satisfaction due to the absence of the church being “present” in the community. My heart was connecting with the community in authentic ways, but I felt alone in this.

The other area of life that I have been struggling with has also to do with ministry, but in a more personal dimension. My context of faith, being Pentecostal from the beginning, results in the expression of evangelism that relies on the momentary anointing of the Spirit in bringing about conviction, repentance and then faith in the life of an individual. Yet, God is bringing me to see the need for strong apologetics. I read authors like J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, and I gain the understanding of how crucial apologetics is in the realm of evangelism. Therefore, I must study to gain the wisdom and understanding necessary to engage in dialogue with the unsaved of this world. OR, do I rely on the Spirit? After all, “It is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.” And didn’t Paul say that he didn’t want the Corinthian believer’s faith to rest on man’s wisdom, but on the Spirit and power of God?

I realize that I am wrestling these passages out of their proper context, but when you are leaning as far as I have been for as long as I have been, that’s not hard to do.
I have come and am coming to the conclusion that the solution to my struggle is this: both/and. Authentic and effective ministry in today’s American culture must be both attractional and incarnational, and it must rely both on a strong anointing and a strong apologetic.

The Point of the Cross

I am in relationship with a lot of people, and for the most part, each relationship is based on something different. For example, I am in relationship with my wife based on our wedding vows, and I am in relationship with the president of the United States based on the fact that I am a citizen of the country.

However, just because I am in relationship with each of the above examples does not mean I am in or have fellowship with them. Relationship and Fellowship are two different things.

God has made a way (through Jesus Christ) that we might be in relationship with Him, and He did so for the purpose of us being in and having fellowship with Him. I know that this is where I have missed out on my relationship with God alot of times in my life.

The truth is this: if I am in relationship with God, but not taking the time or investing the effort to experience fellowship with Him, I am missing the very purpose for which He brought me into relationship......in other words, I am missing the point of cross of Jesus Christ.

Itineration

As an Assemblies of God U.S. Missionary, the first leg of our journey in establishing ourselves and ministry in the great city of St. Louis is to develop a support team - financial, prayer and emotional support. We do this by connecting with churches and individuals who give us the opportunity to communicate our calling to church planting in St. Louis. This is at least a year-long process, and so far has been fairly costly; it is also something that at first I chaffed against because it meant at least a year delay in getting started with what I call, "the work of the work."

However, I have come to find great value in the itineration process that the Assemblies of God structure demands. Three specific things I have found valuable. First, it has given us opportunity to meet more people across the country than I would have ever imagined. We have met local church pastors, national leaders, and church members who have all enriched our lives in one way or another.

Secondly, this mandatory process has allowed/caused my wife and me to spend virtually everyday for the past six months together, and this has caused growth in our marriage and friendship more than any other single period of time in our lives. As we say, "Every day that we don't kill each other we become better friends!"

Lastly, and in some ways most importantly, it has developed and solidified our calling to the city of St. Louis in a way that nothing else could. It seems that every time that we share what we sense God calling us to, the calling gets deeper and more entrenched in our spirits. Just last Sunday while preaching in Dexter, Missouri, I was moved to tears as I spoke of our passion for the people of St. Louis, and I found myself asking God to permit to give our lives to impact St. Louis. This had never happened before.

Do you want to do something crazy?

Back to what I said about the month that disappeared... one of the events that took place was the wedding of Raneka Hopkins and Brandon Truelove. I had the privilege of officiating the ceremony, and it was an honor.

Raneka is one of the young ladies that I have spent the last 10 years of ministry with... we first connected when she was in the youth group at Sheffield Family Life Center, and we stayed connected when she went to Fisk University in Tennessee. Upon her return to Kansas City she spent two years in the Master's Commission that I was directing at the time. Following this she worked at the church for a year, preparing for the next season of life. Needless to say, we have spent a long and a lot of time together.

Two times over this period I felt prompted to ask Raneka the same question: "Do you want to do something crazy?" Once was while she was driving all night on her way home from school in Tennessee. From our discussions over the previous few months, I knew that she was experiencing a time of spiritual dryness and emptiness. The Lord prompted me to ask her "the question." The something crazy was going to Mexico on a missions trip. Now that might not seem crazy on the surface, but it must be understood that the trip left the next day, only 4 hours after Raneka was due to arrive home from school. "I can't do that," she said, "I wouldn't even have time to do my laundry and pack!"

"I just thought I would ask," I said, and the conversation ended. About an hour later she called me back and said, "I'm going," and hung up. It was on that trip that God refreshed her mind and spirit, and that he began to redirect her life.

The second time I asked her that question the "something crazy" was committing to joining the Master's Commission ministry for a year. She said, "NO!" She was coming back to KC to finish her degree in business and get on with her life; she had no time to detour for a year into MC. Yet, over the next few days, she began to sense the Lord's nudge. She did come to MC for that year, and one year turned into two. She graduated having fully submitted herself to the voice of God.

Both times that God posed "the question" to Raneka, the timing in the natural would lead one to believe that this would not be the way to go - it was too inconvenient and to disruptive to the normalcy of life. However, upon reflection, I have come to believe that part of God's desire and delight is to keep us from the normalcy of life, to keep us a little off balance, so that he can constantly be speaking into our lives the things we need to grow and mature in our faith, in grace, and in our knowledge of him.

Time keeps on slipping into the future

Over 30 years ago the Steve Miller Band wrote and recorded a song whose lyrics are still true today. The song - Fly Like An Eagle. The words of the chorus are, "Time keeps on slipping...into the future."

This morning on my morning walk (with my dog Bella) I thought about the recent opportunity that I had to preach at Sheffield Family Life Center (http://www.sflc.net/), my home church in Kansas City. It was May 4th that I preached at Sheffield; today is June 7th.

I actually stopped in my tracks when I realized that a month had passed, when it seemed like only yesterday. Then I thought about the fact that we arrived back in Kansas City (to await the birth of our first grandchild) on Monday of this week, and it is now Saturday. A week, a month, it all seems the same in some ways.

However, when I slow down to look at the month in retrospect, I see that it was a rich, rich month. I spent a week in a seminary class (studying apologetics) with my son in Springfield, MO; I performed the wedding of one of my non-bio daughters. I preached at four great churches and had lunch with six pastors, four of whom I had never met before.

The issue is slowing down. I realize that I must spend time reflecting and contemplating each day to prevent it from "slipping away."