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Lessons from the ER

by ray on 02. Feb, 2009 in Gospel, Life

I’ve watched NBC’s ER from the beginning. It’s lost some of its luster, but it’s still a decent show. The season just started for us and so we’re still getting to know Angela Basset’s character. In the last episode, Parental Guidance, a mother brings in her daughter who’s apparently fallen off a concrete ledge and broken her leg. Along with the daughter comes the younger sister.

Long story short…the younger sister is responsible for pushing the older. She seems to be mentally unstable and in the end is taken away to the Psych Unit. The mom is left in the ER facing Dr. Banfield (Bassett). The mom asks if her family is going to be okay, is her girl going to become “normal” again.

Dr. Banfield responds by saying she doesn’t know. This answer is not good enough for the mom. The mom says, “but you’re the doctor. You’re supposed to know these things. We bring our sick to you and you’re supposed to know the answer. It’s not good enough for you to say you don’t know.” I paraphrased, but that’s the gist of it.

As I watched it struck me that reality is such that the overwhelming majority of people are looking for answers. Things like, is their marriage going to last, are they going to make it through the tough financial times, why are they here, what are they supposed to do with their life? But for most of us, we’re too afraid to ask, don’t know who to ask, or too afraid of what the answer might be. So, we sit in silence, carry on with our life, and pretend that things are okay.

People are seeking. The want to know answers. The over-used, seldom helpful answer that comes from evangelical Christianity is Jesus. Jesus is the answer to all these questions. I know that’s the answer, because there was a time I used that answer when these kinds of questions were asked of me. But I don’t know that that’s the best answer. Now don’t get me wrong, I fully believe that a personal relationship with Jesus provides help through much of what ills the individual. But to get a person to see the need for Jesus in their life you have to be willing to walk the journey with them. They need to see the bigger picture. They need to understand the purpose of creation, the separation that ensued, the need for a savior. Yes, Jesus brings hope, peace, stability, calmness, joy. But those things mean nothing unless Jesus has made himself real to the person that is seeking, and in return that person is seeking after Jesus.

So, you might wander what my point is. Very simply this…be willing to walk the journey with those in your life that are asking the questions and seeking the answers. Don’t be a know it all. Be a listener. Point them to the whole truth of the Bible. Don’t beat them over the head with Jesus.

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Choices

by ray on 09. Dec, 2008 in Life

I’ve been thinking about the life of Jesus recently. More specifically, the part that’s not found in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). I wonder what things were like for him prior to his coming on the scene in his early 30′s. All we know of him is that he trained (under his father), that he had brothers and sisters, that he made his parents mad when he was 12 by staying around the temple when the rest of the family was leaving Jerusalem.

And all this thinking led to a question (or a couple of questions really). When Jesus had a free afternoon who did he hang out with? Did he hang out with family, friends, the guys on the street corner, the poor…who was he with?

We know from the Gospels that once his “ministry” started (still don’t like that word) he got a group of guys together and started training them. He had a group of 12 that he was close with, but a smaller group of 3 (Peter, James and John) that was his inner-circle, his closest friends. Then beyond the 12 he had the group that followed him around listening to him teach. Outside that group he spent time with the Pharisees, the sinners and prostitutes, the sick, lame, deaf, and blind. I think you get my point…there were a lot of “different” groups he hung out with.

But when he had a free Thursday afternoon, who would he have chosen to spend time with…his closest 3, the 12, the Religious elite, or the “others” of society? And was his choice based on the fact that he knew his time was limited? He knew he was only going to be around a few years and then his time was done. He had a limited amount of time to speak into the lives of those he had in his life. So does that mean on a free afternoon he would choose to hang out with the 12, teaching them as much as he could? Or would he spend that afternoon with his closest 3, so he could sit back, relax, be himself, maybe complain a little about the stresses in his life? Or did he spend that afternoon out, in the public eye, healing, teaching, “saving”?

The reason this question is important is because ultimately the answer should drive what you and I choose to do with our time. If I know my time is limited (and all of us should view life that way) then I need to consciously think through how I spend that time. How does my time break down with those that I have influence with? On a free Thursday afternoon do I hang with the family, get together with my “inner circle”, train my group of 12, or hang out with the “others”?

Choices.

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What’s My Ministry

by ray on 14. Nov, 2008 in Life

I attended a training event recently. The training was focused on developing strategies to reach a given city and implementing that strategy through a team and/or with partner organizations. There was a word that kept coming up in our discussions that I’ve been thinking about the last couple of days. The word is also used with great frequency by most Christian “workers”.

The word: ministry.

It seems that in Christian circles the only way to define what you do is to define it as a ministry. Sports ministry, puppet ministry, youth ministry, singles ministry, etc. Churches use it, IMB workers use it, and I’ve decided that I’m not using it anymore.

To me the word ministry screams compartmentalization. It signifies to me that when I’m in ministry mode I’m all about reaching people and being Jesus to them…as if there is another part of my life that’s not ministry mode. And I’m tired of having to define what I do with my life, which I’m trying to live incarnationally, as a ministry.

I want my entire day to be centered around knowing Jesus and making Him known. I choose to do that through a charity organization, but I don’t see this as my ministry. I see it as my life. It’s what I do to be Jesus. If you dig wells for Africans in Kenya why do we call it a ministry. Isn’t it simply your life, sold out for Jesus, which just happens to be expressed through you helping others dig wells. If you reach out to students by kicking a soccer ball around why is it called your sports ministry? Isn’t it you using your gifts to be Jesus to others?

I know the word is used Biblically, but in our Christian culture it has become to us a marker, a thing we strive for…a successful ministry. I’m not striving for a successful ministry. I’m striving to live a missional-incarnational life. I’m striving to help others see Jesus through my life…how I treat my wife, love my kids, and run a charity. That’s not ministry, that’s life.

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From the Newsletter

by ray on 10. Sep, 2008 in Life, Missional

I sent the following out in a newsletter to our friends and family last month. I thought it was worth repeating here…

While July may not go down as the most exciting month in our time here, it will go down as a month where I had continued opportunities to spend time with the individuals God has placed in my life.

In the past month I’ve been able to meet with all nine of the friends I mentioned last month. Some relationships are progressing, some are moving a little more slowly, but all are opportunities for me (and my wife) to be Jesus to those he’s placed in our life.

As each month passes that we’re here I continue to be amazed at the journey that God has brought us on and excited about the prospects for our future. I am certain that there are things that I have learned and am currently learning that couldn’t have been done in the States. I really think God had to bring us here to teach me some of the things he’s teaching me. And while it may seem a little drastic that I’ve had to come half way around the world to learn what I’m learning I’m thankful that God has given us the strength to endure each day.

When I think back to what I imagined we would be doing in our daily life here and what we actually do I’m thrilled to think how far God has brought me in my beliefs about missiology. I am convinced that one of the best ways to reach a community for Christ is through one-on-one committed relationships with individuals that do not yet know Jesus as their savior; to live a life in front of them that mirrors the life of Jesus; to begin the discipleship of that individual before they become a follower of Christ; and to build up in them the qualities of a leader so that they can repeat the process with those in their life. This is the beginning of a movement.

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Multiple Choice

by ray on 06. Aug, 2008 in Gospel, Life

Question: You live in suburbia. Your neighbor is similar to you in age and family structure. You don’t know much about your neighbor but feel that God is wanting you to invest in him. Do you…

A) invite him and his family to come to church with you and yours.
B) invite him to a special men’s event your church is hosting.
C) invite him and his family over for dinner, fully expecting to talk about spiritual things. You prepare yourself by reviewing the 2 spiritual diagnostic questions, the Romans Road, and the 4 Spiritual Laws.
D) get to know him over the course of several weeks through numerous conversations. After finding out his likes/dislikes/interests you ask if you can come along to his next _______ (you fill in the blank).
E) None of the above (had to add this as no good multiple choice question leaves this answer out).

Be honest with yourself as you think through how you would “witness” to your neighbor. Don’t be too quick to dismiss how entrenched we all our in our consumeristic christian sub-culture and how that influences how you become Jesus to those around you.

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