My Calling

I was talking recently with several people that are considering major career decisions or changes in career directions. I’m always considering a career decision. So I found it an easy discussion to join.

Later, I read a commentator whose point was that God’s "calling" is too often used to refer to the ministry, when it should be used for a "calling" to any career just as easily.

It got me thinking. If God has a unique calling for each life, why does it sometimes seem so difficult to find? Why would he call me to X and then keep it completely hidden from me? Why would he hide “X” behind so much confusion and searching? Maybe I misunderstand something central about the whole thing.

Maybe a calling isn’t typically something that you hear, or know, or discover, or a particular place, or job. Maybe we are all called to find joy and live in loving response to the infinite love of God’s perfect love for us. Called to love, called to serve, called to joy in whatever place or way we work.

But a part of me is restless for more of God’s joy in my life. So a part of me will always wonder if I would find more fullness in the next job, next adventure, next day. And I may… but not because I have found my place or calling, but because I have found more of my God.

Goodness

On Sunday, we ended on Romans 15:14 where Paul says he is convinced that believers are able to “instruct” one another. We noted three conditions for his confidence.
1) We are in a community
2) We are full of goodness
3) We are filled with knowledge

As we discussed these, I neglected to mention one important thought about goodness. Goodness and “being nice” are not the same thing. Goodness is a noun that references the actions one takes when proper and right in relationship. “Goodness” is the works that come from love. That means that when Jesus looked Peter in the eye and said “Get thee behind me Satan” that was “goodness.” (Otherwise Jesus was being less than loving.) When Jesus said “woe to you, you bunch of snakes” that was “goodness.” When he wove a whip out of straw and went wild on the money changers, that was “goodness.”

The actions that come from doing right in a relationship are not always “nice” nor are they always “harsh.” That’s why being full of knowledge becomes so important.

Please remember to pray at let me know your thoughts about
- What’s after Romans?
- Do we give to the Rawanda Mission, and how much?
- Do we give to “Jack’s travel fund,” and how much?
- Should we spend $150.00 for a small coffee roaster?
- Details for this coming Sunday’s schedule (Steve has to be at the School of Medicine Graduation, Jack is graduating from the Bell Center)

Romans 14

“It’s OK for believers to hold, believe, and live by, different personal standards.”

I know that can seem contrary to what you have heard. Many of us have been taught that there is an objective standard of right and wrong to which all people will be held. But that’s only true about a relatively small number of issues.

“It’s OK for believers to hold, believe, and live by, different personal standards.”

That’s a position that’s uncomfortable. We are more comfortable with small boxes in which all “right-minded” people agree. But it’s not what the Bible teaches.

It’s possible that it is right for me to drink wine and wrong for you. It’s possible that it’s right for you to see an R-rated movie, but wrong for me. It’s possible that it’s right for the spouse of one adulterous spouse to stay committed and wrong for antoher.

“It’s OK for believers to hold, believe, and live by, different personal standards.”

The standards about which God convicts me, are standards for ME. I will answer to His standards for me. I will not answer your standards for me. I will not answer for how others live to His standards for me.

“It’s OK for believers to hold, believe, and live by, different personal standards.”

Don’t take my word for it. Read Romans 14

Leadership 3

Another key point is most of the modern books on Christian leadership is “assemble the right team.” One of these well-known books, by a well-known author suggests that potential team members should have “character, competency, and chemistry.”


The thought is that the person should know Christ and walk in honesty and integrity (character), a track record of accomplishment (competency), and “fit in” with the rest of the team (chemistry). While it’s obvious that it would be foolish to do ministry with someone who doesn’t know Christ, is dishonest, is unable to accomplish a task, and annoys everyone else, I wonder how God’s selection method fits these criteria.


Moses was a murderer that succeeded in the great career move of losing his place in a palace to live in a tent and chase sheep around in a desert. I don’t recall Jesus giving the 12 any special screening. He took a pretty variable lot that included some pretty undesirable qualities. And all of them ran away and hid when things got really tough. “Not many wise” of this world are chosen. (I Cor. 1:26)


Why is it dangerous to find someone with character, competency, and chemistry? Because character is impossible to accurately read (man looks at the outward appearance but looks on the heart. I Sam. 17:7). Competency leads to pride (God has chosen the base and despised people so that He would get the glory rather than the person. I Cor. 1:26-29) Chemistry leads to comfort and complacency or a clique that the church people cannot penetrate. (When they were well fed and comfortable, they forgot God. Hos. 13:6)


What do I propose instead? I propose that the church should not seek leaders. A focus on “assembling the right team” is a focus on the wrong thing. The “right team” can accomplish great things, but it cannot, ever, under any circumstances accomplish the right things.


We don’t need to identify great candidates. We need to be broken and lost fellow-laborers with other broken and the lost people until they become fellow-laborers indeed. This is not just a cliché. This is not an excuse to never have paid staff. (although I think most churches rely too heavily on paid staff) This is a fundamental shift in values and focus. It does not matter if our team fits any criteria on any list, has had success in any way, or enjoy the same things in each other’s company. What matters is that we and they be humble in admitting that we are struggling sinners that cannot live for God the way we wish, but despite that, we focus our energies on pleasing Him and serving others in His name, despite our ineptitude which ensures we will routinely fail.


An old song by a very creative Christian artist (Steve Taylor) was called “Jesus is for losers.” (I edited out a few verses here for space)


If I was driven
Driven ahead by some noble ideal
Who took the wheel?


If I was given
Given a glimpse of some glorious road
When was it sold?


So caught up in the chase
I keep forgetting my place


Just as I am
I am stiff-necked and proud
Jesus is for losers
Why do I still play to the crowd?


Just as I am
Pass the compass, please
Jesus is for losers
I'm off about a hundred degrees


If I was groping
Groping around for some ladder to fame
I am ashamed


If I was hoping
Hoping respect would make a sturdy footstool
I am a fool


Bone-weary every climb
Blindsided every time


Just as I am
I am needy and dry
Jesus is for losers
The self-made need not apply


Just as I am
In a desert crawl
Lord, I'm so thirsty
Take me to the waterfall


Just as you are
Just a wretch like me
Jesus is for losers
Grace from the blood of a tree


Just as we are
At a total loss
Jesus is for losers
Broken at the foot of the cross

Leadership 2

There is a second point, consistently made in the current books on leadership geared toward Christian leaders. It can be worded in several ways, but essentially it is this. “Be single-minded in the sense of that you do not allow anyone to distract or divert attention into any direction other than the vision you have.”

Last night I was reviewing one of those books (a best seller). In it, the respected Christian leader told every member of his staff “If you cannot work your ministry with the same vision the church has adopted, you need to find a new job.” What was the vision that some staff members were not following? It was an emphasis on moving people into small groups for discipleship. Every ministry, from the meals for the homeless program to the nursery, had to organize itself around a process that promoted small groups.

My chief objection to this single minded focus is that it makes the “vision” a greater priority than the people. The point is often made that the word “church” does not mean a building, or a worship experience. We need to remember that it’s not a vision statement, either. The people that are the core of what “church” means are vastly more important than the building, the style of worship, or the vision statement.

I wouldn’t be making this point if the vision statement were an undeniable Biblical truth…. “Proclaim Christ!” (for example). The vision of promoting small groups is (in my opinion) a good one. But the vision is NOT more important than the people it is supposed to serve.

I’m afraid that I want to take my disagreement farther. To me, it seems arrogant to assume that the vision I believe is from God is more certain, more fixed, and more reliable than the people He brings to the church. I do not believe that the pastor and the elders have a more reliable access to God’s direction than others involved in the ministry. I believe God can and will speak to me and to the elders THROUGH the voices of the people in our ministry. The lady who brews coffee for the men’s breakfast may the one member of the body who has an important key insight to refine the vision. To believe anything less denies what Paul teaches about the body and its many members.

It’s a terrible misunderstanding of “church” if we have a greater steadfast commitment to the vision statement than to the people. The scriptures place a much greater emphasis on loving the people in the church than an unwavering commitment to the style of worship or an emphasis on seekers as opposed to an emphasis on discipleship, or nearly anything placed in many vision statements.

It may be helpful to call this error “the tyranny of the vision” just to contrast it with the opposite error, “the tyranny of individualism” (anarchy). It is foolish to fantasize that a leader can let every person have their own vision, agenda, and ideals. A team must always work in harmony or it will splinter into factions and become completely dysfunctional. In my leadership, I avoided the danger of “the tyranny of the vision,” but fell into the “opposite” error. Predictably, our group splintered into factions and fell apart. But this danger does not justify reducing the people to a level lower than the vision.

It’s much easier to commit one error or the other than to find the balance between them. I cannot claim to have walked the balanced line often, but I think I can describe something close to the right path.

Every person, regardless of the role they play in the body, must always have the freedom to dream and to express their dream as a possible refining of the vision we are pursuing. When there are contradictory visions at play the answer is not to “throw out the [immoral or disagreeing] brother.” The answer is to leave your [sacrifice or vision statement] at the altar and go immediately to your brother and reconcile. Talk, discuss, quarrel, and humbly esteem the brother until the contradiction is resolved. Do not make any dramatic changes in the practices of the church until the contradictory visions are reconciled or all parties agree to pursue one approach together.

Neither the tyranny of the vision nor the tyranny of individualism, are acceptable. The only way the middle ground can be found and walked is when the unity of the Spirit is valued and pursued, as an inviolate portion of the vision for the church.

“I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Eph. 4:1-3

Anybody Need a Star?

Have you ever envied the “three wise men” of Christmas tradition? I don’t envy them a long Camel ride, or even having enough gold to spare giving some away. What I really envy is their star. They started on a trip with a clear objective… follow the star.

I wish I had a star to follow. I spend far too much time trying to decide which goal I should be pursuing right now. Nothing wrong with writing, but maybe my time spent writing this would be better spent writing a note to my mother. If I just had a shining miraculous star to show me the path, I could feel confident that I was always doing the right thing, pursuing the right course of action.

But if you read the story carefully, at some point, the star disappeared. What did the wise men do then? If they were like me, they wandered about confused and uncertain. But like I said, they were wise men so, we could be pretty sure they did something different. They thought. They reasonably decided that the most likely place for a king to be born was in the closest palace, so they headed to the palace of King Herod. Sure enough, they got enough information to be back on the right track, and the star re-appeared.

The truth is, that most of the time, I actually do have a Star…not a visual light in the sky, but a written light in the darkness. It says “Love your enemies,” “Give a cup of cold water in my name,” “visit the widows and the orphans,” “Love your neighbor as yourself” and plenty other things, but that’s enough to focus on most of the time.

But what happens when I’m in a place and can’t see the path? Should I be writing this, or should I be writing a note to my mother? The star is a bit too unclear for me. Well, that’s when a wise man would stop, think, make a reasonable decision, and proceed.

That’s all for now, I’m going to write a short note to my mother.

POSTSCRIPT: I sent an e-mail note to my mother a few minutes after this was posted. My brother read it to her that night. She died about 28 hours later. I feel grateful that The Bright and Morning Star led me.