Reflections from the Building

In my previous post, I shared some memories about the church I attended while I was in college. There are many more memories tied up in the place, because the building hosted the ministry I was involved in. I wanted to share a few of those memories here.

While in high school, I felt that I was being called into some kind of vocational ministry. So far, the closest I've come to that is working with this ministry, named SALT, which stood for Students Alive in the Lord's Truth. I was involved in a variety of ways in my four and half years there, but here I want to focus on two main lessons/impressions about ministry that were directly tied to the church building.

The first involves a giant tree on the wall in the church foyer that shows all of the different churches that have sprung from the ministry of this church. The church is almost a century old and was the first Southern Baptist church in the state of Arizona. The trunk represents the church I attended, and each leaf a church that sprang from it. Each leaf has the name of a church engraved in it. The leaves closest to the trunk are the churches that are planted directly from the first one. As one goes down the branches there are more leaves that represent churches those churches planted, until you can see that church A planted church B, which planted church C and so on and so forth. There are dozens of leaves representing several generations of church planting.

As a part of SALT, there was a group of people who got to the church about an hour early every week to pray for the upcoming service and those involved. Before walking throughout the sanctuary in individual prayer, this group would pray together in the lobby, often sitting on the benches under this tree. It served as a powerful reminder of what the body of Christ is called to do. Not only are we to support one another, but we are to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). This tree was a visual picture of the this. None of the leaves would have existed if people from the trunk hadn't gone. In fact, the trunk wouldn't have existed if people hadn't come from somewhere else, going all the way back to the men and women who actually heard Jesus speak this command. This tree represents a thumbnail sketch of the interconnectedness of the body of Christ regardless of time, denomination, or location.

It's important for all believers to remember this connectedness and history. Its even more important for the kind of people those students that sat under that tree and prayed represented. Those who were beginning to serve and lead in the church whether as a lay person or on staff. Young men and women who would need the perspective of the past as they led into the future.

The second main lesson I learned about ministry in this building was the incredible amount of work and the dozens of people that no one knows about that are involved in what most people would consider "formal" ministry. For example, most of the people who spoke at our weekly service were local pastors or people who ran some kind of ministry. If these men and women were making small talk with a stranger and were asked what they did, the answer would be some form of "I'm in ministry." 

What most people didn't know or think of is what goes on behind the scenes in order for those people to get up and speak. There is a different amount of labor involved in every setting depending on the location and permanence of whatever is going on, but there is always a lot of work, and a lot of people who quietly do that work without ever receiving an once of credit or recognition. 

For our service in particular, there was a group of people who met weeks in advance to plan out topics and speakers. Someone had to orchestrate all of that with many phone calls and glances at the calendar. The day of the service, a different group of people would start bringing over and setting up equipment, usually around one or two in the afternoon for the service that started at nine that night. Between four and six depending on the day's schedule and the plan for that night, the band, sound guy, and person running the slide show would show up for practice.  By eight the previously mentioned prayer group would show up, get briefed on the plan for the night and any problems that may have been occurring. Shortly after that, another group of people would show up to greet people as they came in and give them any instruction they might need. After each service, another group of people would tear all of the equipment down and pack it away until next week, while others folded up chairs and picked up any trash that may have been left behind. Altogether, besides the band and the speaker that people actually saw on stage, for each service there were between twenty and thirty people who had put in several hours of work over a span of weeks for a service that lasted just over an hour.

Whew...that makes me tired just typing it all out! You're probably thinking, "I'll bet. It makes me tired reading it. Why should I?" Two reasons. One is that I hope it prompts you to do a little investigating behind the scenes at your church and/or ministry and find out the names of those people who do all the kind of stuff I just wrote about. Take some time this week to write them a note or give them a call and tell them thanks for all of their work. These people don't do what they do for the recognition; they do it because they want to serve the body of Christ in any way they can. However, everyone benefits from a kind word, and everyone appreciates being appreciated. 

The second thing I hope reading about that might do is cause you to find out where you can get involved. There are so many needs waiting to be met, and many hands make light work became a saying for a reason. Chances are, you aren't aware of kinds of things you can do that don't seem like much but actually make a big difference. Most of them don't require a huge time commitment, especially if spread among many people.

You can do this even if you aren't involved in a church. There are little ways to help out in every area of life, whether it's at work, home, or out at the grocery store. For example, when I sub in a class that we used textbooks in that day, I almost always make sure they're up off the floor at the end of the day. Those of you who know teenagers know that most things end up on the floor; multiply that by 100-130 of them throughout the day, and you can imagine how may of the books stay on the top of the desk. It's nothing for me to have everyone looks around them and make sure there are no books left on the floor. It takes them about ten seconds. My few words and their ten seconds save the janitor a ton of time in effort. Instead of having to come in and bend up and down thirty times to pick up books before she can sweep, she can come in, sweep, and be done. It costs the students and me virtually nothing, yet helps her a bunch.

Look for something like that you can do in your own life. Start with one thing. When you have that down, maybe look for another. It makes life more fun, and making someone else's load a bit lighter is one of the best things we can do. Whose load will you make lighter today?

Never Stop Loving

Why is it that we put so much stock in what other people think of us? Yes, God created us to need one another, to love one another, and be loved by one another. And yes, loving involves caring about what the other person thinks. Yet, when love is reciprocated, what he/she thinks isn't a concern, because you know he/she loves you. And if it is a Christ-like and Christ-based love, (which hopefully it is) then you can have the confidence that even when things are rough, that other person still loves you and that you still matter to him/her. And I think that that knowledge is at times even sweeter than the simple fact that the other person loves you.

I have this friend that I met my freshman year in college. At the time, she was the best friend I ever had. We were nothing alike and had no business being friends, except that God put us together. I felt safer, more accepted, more loved, and better understood in our friendship than I had in any other previous friendship. We helped each other through some tough times, and went through some crazy things together. We had our rough patches (as any friendship that is honoring of God and bringing glory to Him will--the enemy doesn't like relationships that work like they should), but through them all there was a mutual understanding that she and I loved each other and that was never going to change. We spurred one another on towards righteousness, we were constantly pointing each other towards Christ, and we were always sharing with one another what He was teaching us.

Then over the course of time things changed. The single road that we had walked together over the last two years (and sometimes carried one another on) began to split and turn into two. She made some choices that weren't the wisest and began to be very defensive about everything. No longer could we share our hearts with one another, for they were no longer both beating for Christ as they once had. Yet I continued to pursue our friendship, to encourage her, and to try to love her like Christ does. However, when two roads diverge, be it ever so slightly at first, at some point they will have diverged to the point where they are headed in completely different directions, and a major detour on one or the other road would have to occur for them to cross once more.

Sadly, her road has diverged from all of our mutual friends and she refuses at this point to come back and meet us. While we do our best to bridge the gap, our devotion to the Master of the roads compels us to continue to follow His road. He is wise and loving and knows what is best. And as He can see the entire road and not just this length of the journey, He may see a point down the road when she accepts His hand of forgiveness and grace, and our roads will once again merge.

Until that time, I am left here brokenhearted over my loss. But even more brokenhearted for my friend who has no idea that the road she is on leads to destruction...or if she does, she simply doesn't care. Brokenhearted for who she once was and who she could be again. And brokenhearted that who she is now won't let me reach out to her. So here I am mourning for what was, broken for what is, and hoping for what will be.

Hoping? Yes. Despite the pain, the tears, the sleepless nights, and the broken relationships, I am still hoping. Praying that one day she will wake up and let God back onto the throne of her life. That she will realize that all I want to do is love her and that all He wants to do is heal her. Praying that she will jump from the road to destruction to the road to redemption once more, and that we will once again have sweet fellowship as we follow the Master along His way. Even if she never speaks to me again, I will take 1 Samuel 12:23 to be my verse, when it says "As for me, I will certainly not sin against the LORD by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right." I will continue to love her, continue to pray for her, and continue to hope that God in His grace will once again pull her from the miry pit and set her feet firmly on a rock.

Never stop praying my friends. For anyone. No one is beyond help, and no one is beyond the reach of the One who stretched out His arms and died. My friend will be wooed by Him once more. Whether I get to be a part of that or a part of her life after that happens is secondary to her being once again on His road, following His ways. Never forget that the salvation and restoration of another is more important that your personal comfort and desires. 2 Samuel 14:14 says, "All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. That is why God tries to bring us back when we have been separated from him. He does not sweep away the lives of those he cares about – and neither should you!" We must continue to spill out our lives for others, that they would be saved and restored. So keep hoping. Keep praying. Never stop loving.

Intercessory Prayer

“Your part in intercessory prayer is not to enter into the agony of intercession, but to utilize the common-sense circumstances God puts you in, and the common-sense people He puts you amongst by His providence, to bring them before God’s throne and give the Spirit in you a chance to intercede for them. In this way God is going to sweep the whole world with His saints.” ~ Oswald Chambers

A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to "practice the agony of intercession" in my "common-sense circumstances". SALT ministries has two main parts to it, the Tuesday night worship service and small groups. For the last 15 years we have had a man who has been in charge of these as far as making decision and coordination goes. He left in May to take a position at a church in Oklahoma. That meant that students either had to step up and run things or let the ministry die, because he wasn't going to be replaced. So six of us who had been involved with the ministry over the last few years and had been significantly impacted by it stepped up to keep small groups going. We call ourselves the Bodybuilders because one of our main jobs is to build up the rest of our small group leaders so that they can in turn build up the guys and girls in their small groups. Our theme verses for the year are Ephesians 4:4-6 which says, "There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all." So, we try and do our best to build the body, or at least our little part of it.

I love being a Bodybuilder and the other five people I work with are absolutely amazing. One thing about being in the Bodybuilders though, is that there is not really anyone who is pouring into you because well....you are the pourers. Besides coordinating and making decisions for all of the small groups on campus, we also lead small groups, are full time students, work, and various other things that the college life involves. So we pour into one another. We do things like "Bless ___________" week, where five of us get together and decide to bless the sixth member without them knowing. We each take a day and write them a note of encouragement or appreciation, we do dinner for them, and other things to make them feel special.

Today we got together and just shared our struggles and prayed for one another for an hour or so. It was great. One of the guys was sick and couldn't make it, so we started off praying for him to get better. Then we just went around and were vulnerable with one another, which I must say is very hard for those in leadership to do. It is a necessary element of leadership--to be humble and open in front of others and God--but it is hard at the same time, because you want people to think you have everything together, because you are leader and you think you should have it all together. One of those crazy pride things. Anyway, we were able to do that in the safety of a small group of people that we love, are comfortable with, and trust. We shared what was going on and what we were struggling with, and then someone prayed for that person immediately. And until we can meet again we will know how we can be specifically be lifting one another up, so that we can continue to do as Oswald Chambers says and, “Launch out in reckless belief that the Redemption is complete, and then bother no more about yourself; but begin to do as Jesus Christ said-pray for the friend who comes to you at midnight, pray for the saints, pray for all men. Pray on the realization that you are only perfect in Christ Jesus…” There is so much freedom and joy found in doing as James says in James 5:16. He says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful.”

So I encourage you to take a group of your closest friends and set aside some specific and intentional time to be vulnerable with one another and pray for one another. I know that schedules are crazy, but you know, I kind of like something Martin Luther had to say about this. He said something to the effect of, "I have so much to do today that I must set aside more time to pray." Wow! So much to do that I must pray more. That's that right attitude there. So take time to pray...it will do a body good.