My Job

"My job isn't to build the church. My job is to follow Jesus." (Andy Stanley)
  -- Thanks to Darryl at The Dying Church

A Thought That Came to Me Unbidden

Isn't it sad, the thought came, that we spend so much time and energy trying to attract people to a new idea, a new worship service, a new lecture, a new attention-grabbing event. Isn't it sad, the thought continued, that we exert so much of who we are trying to convince people that they should try us out, come see who we are, when who we are is often not what is to be seen in these events.

Isn't it more likely, the thought added, that if we were simply going about our business of being the people of God in our daily walks, that the Word made flesh in us might have an impact? Isn't it more like what the Lord Himself did, the thought pushed on, when we heal the sick, release the captives, visit the poor, and point to the Kingdom?

Perhaps thoughts like that are unwelcome because they point to the waste of time and energy we all place into promotion of ourselves in the name of Jesus, when what we should be doing is simply being Jesus in action. That might attract more than we realize. It might even be worth trying.

A Year Has Passed

One year ago today the political climate was altered by a small plane crash in northern Minnesota. Senator Paul Wellstone, a remarkable human being and tireless advocate for all that is right and moral and hopeful in political llife, was gone. Matt Zemek has kept the vision alive over at The Wellstone Cornerstone. He had this to say today:

But you can't take this away from Paul Wellstone: he had a gut-level identification with the beaten-down and broken the likes of which no other United States Senator has ever achieved in recent times.

And when you get down to it, that is really the source and summit of what we, as Americans--all too individualistic and in need of returning to the communal ethos our Founders envisioned for our nation--need to rediscover.

Wellstone was a man of vision and action. His was a vision of a nation and a world where people were respected and upheld in their basic humanity as creations of God. He could be wordy, or over-the-top, but he was always likable and highly respected. He was a man of conviction.

His death reminded me that none of us is perfect- or immortal. We have a responsibility given to us by God to live out our vision and to care for those who are not as fortunate as we are. We have the calling to be witnesses to the possibilities of life lived with meaning and hope for all. As such, his death reminded me that I need to be about that mission in all that I do. Life is too short to get caught up in the trivialities and fears that can paralyze us. Rather we are to move forward with our vision always guiding us.

In relation to the first two sections of this post that means for me:
<>< Follow my Lord and HIS vision.
<>< It's not about me or even us. It's about HIM.
<>< Always walk the walk AND talk the talk.
<>< Move forward with hope, never allowing the fear to keep us from being who we are called to be.
<>< As the church, BE Jesus' Body as He intends us to be.