soapbox #1

Well I have realized my first soapbox; it came to me as I was sitting in one of my many meetings that I sit through in a given week and it hits me. As I work in the full time ministry we encounter a lot of people that would like us to partner with them in doing whatever it is that they do. And it never fails during the pitch that this person is making I hear the dreaded phrase: "We need to be doing this" or "This needs to happen!"

Now to be fair these are generally good hearted people that are very passionate about what it is that God has called them to do and I don't fault them for that. The problem for me is what I will call the "Need" mentality with God. It is that thing people in church do when they unknowingly want to guilt people into showing up to something by telling them that they need to do it. Suddenly everything becomes top priority and everything needs to get done. Regardless of what your calling, passion, or talents are you really need to be doing this thing over here. I remember one such meeting a few months ago there were no less than five different people that were presenting their ministry and wouldn't you know it, I needed to be involved in every single one.

The main thing that bothers me about this mentality is it's underlying logical inconsistency. If everyone needed to do this one thing then who would do all the other things that need to get done. The second thing that I find troubling is the emphasis that it puts on performance rather than enjoyment. I believe that we are the best examples of Christ's love when we are carried by it and strengthened by His power rather than our own. When we as believers can exist out of the freedom and love that Christ bestows we can then be an unstoppable force. How much better does that sound than dutifully showing up to a banquet or function because we feel like it would make us bad Christians. Now I do not intend to invoke the theology of Freedom in Christ to alleviate us from any and all hard work or responsibility. In fact I believe that it would be just the opposite. When you are passionate about something then there is no stopping you or I from achieving an objective. It is out of freedom that you will pour out countless hours and resources in order the make happen what needs to get done. It is only when we are obligated under the pretense of need that we will only ever do enough just to get by. It is like being at a wedding where no one agrees that the couple should be getting married. It is quick routine and polite and sadly nothing more.

This is not my ideal for ministry or Christian life. So in order to validate my point even further I did a search on biblegateway.com for the word need in the same context as has been used here and this is the result that came up: Exodus 14:14 :The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Ouch

The First...

I am beginning this blog as I sit here with my son as he watches Disney's Treasure Planet and I have the day off because of Martin Luther King. It will be an interesting process as I learn what will work best in this, my little corner, of cyber space. My desire is to communicate the larger life themes that have more opportunity to change lives and find out how many agree or disagree with me. I will always welcome and truly thrive off of healthy debate as long as it remains logical and above the belt. I truly hope this is going to be awesome!