Work as a means to the end

There is an argument to be made for "working for a living."

It is commonly argued today that we should choose a career or employment that matches our personality, likes vs. dislikes, etc., so that we employ ourselves "pursuing our joy." I will not argue against it, because I agree with the ideal. But I think most of us find ourselves living (surviving?) in a very different scenario.

When we come to terms with our need to provide for ourselves, and perhaps the ones who have joined us as family, a regular life sustaining diet, shelter, etc., often at a moment of shock as reality settles in around us in our late teens or early twenties, we might just grab the first opportunity for earning money that comes our way. We might promise ourselves to keep an eye open for better opportunities, but we quickly become involved in the routine of work, sleep, eat, and play, forgetting the search for anything better. In fact, short of an employment crisis, time passes quickly, and we find ourselves wondering years later, "is this really what I wanted to do with my life?"

The problem is not in the question, but rather in the direction of the inquiry. To ask of ourselves the question regarding shelter, food, and especially family, makes the answer an easy "yes! Absolutely!" When we relate the question to our career choice or employment, the answer might become more difficult. At the risk of sounding old and traditional, let me say what my father or grandfather might have said: "Just do your job, and thank God you've got one."

It's OK to view a job as simply a means to the end. You don't have to enjoy your job to find joy in your work (but it does help!). The joy in working is found in the reasons you are working at the job: shelter, food, family. You may have other reasons for working. I work because I love my God and King, and want to contribute as much as I can to the Kingdom enterprise--the church. To that end, I look for employment that pays as much as possible for the most flexible schedule, so that I can do the things I believe God has called me to do in the church. My skills, education and experience all impact the availability of such work. So do outside factors, like the strength and health of the economy, the mindset of potential employers regarding my need for work that fits my priority of church work, and the overall culture of the area wherein I currently live. Sometimes I have to settle for minimum wage and little flexibility. Sometimes I get more than I dream of! But every time, I work for a particular end: to be able to spend myself--earnings, time, etc.--building the King's enterprise. So I thank God for the job that He provides, and work hard and joyfully toward that end.

The joy is in the work, because it gives us what we need--the means--to accomplish the necessary end.

Once a quarter

Every three months.

Is that reasonable? To post every three months may be all I'm capable of doing. I want to do more, but I can't manage everything on my schedule well enough to promise more--or necessarily even that much!

The Kingdom is an exciting place to be, no matter where you live. But if you live in Northern New York, you may be aware that a handful of pastors and disciples have committed together to live in such a fashion as to threaten the enemy's powerful hold on people, institutions, even churches here.

• We will pray consistently, individually and together, that God will bind the enemy from specific people, places and powers; that He will break down strongholds of the enemy's power and influence; and that He will send laborers into fields ready for harvest, to claim for Christ souls that might otherwise be lost forever.
• We are asking God for, and looking for committed workers and equipped, dedicated soldiers to go into places to claim, secure and hold positions of strategic importance to the King. It is time to quit our prior positions of "maintaining" dying churches. It is time to assume a new posture of aggressive, calculated evangelism and spiritual warfare designed to lay groundwork for a new birth of the church in our time.
• Having already reached the limits of our feeble human abilities, we will advance on our knees. We will pray our way to success, by the power of the blood of Jesus' sacrifice.

Father, I beg you, please, give us our communities for Christ. Swell the numbers of believers and disciples in our churches. Bind the enemy away from us. Give us a season of peace among our members, a spirit of joy in the work of our hands, and a genuine, disciplined commitment to Christ among all our members. Make us like Him in every respect, such that we bless our world without hesitation or reservation. Take away our fear, our selfishness, and our doubts. Give us Your Spirit so that we are confident, capable and redemptive to our very core. Let it be so, by the power of the blood of Your Son's sacrifice, by the power of the name of Jesus. Amen.

Catching Up

Three months. That's how long it's been since I last posted to this blog. Just so you know that I know. I've had many things pass through my mind, blog worthy, but now lost to oblivion, because my discipline has been interrupted by activities, fatigue, sleep, and hopefully, some effective service.

Today my attention was captured by something I'd forgotten. The search for partners with whom to share ministry is often complicated by many things, but the most common obstacle is the future partner's lack of awareness of their capabilities and desirability for service. A friend reminded me of an old conversation wherein we discussed the competencies of the members of the body of Christ. People are developing at various levels at different times, often regulated by simple need and opportunity. Craig Groeschel describes four levels of (in)competency:

• Unknown incompetence: a team member doesn’t know what she doesn’t know.
• Known incompetence: a team member is starting to learn what he doesn’t know.
• Unknown competence: the person is starting to understand how to do her ministry role but isn’t really aware how good she is.
• Known competence: the person is becoming aware that God has gifted them for this specific role.

Serendipity may help folks "figure it out," but most folks would benefit from a more disciplined approach. I think it's necessary for us to encourage each other to take chances, embrace opportunities, and consciously push ourselves to grow. The Kingdom of God grows by the work of the Holy Spirit directing the willing hands of believers/disciples of Christ. Our hands increase their effectiveness as our competency grows in our service.

I hope you will welcome opportunities to serve, in various ways, in order to become the most competent disciple you can be. I pray we will all study, plan and prepare in order to become more competent at everything we are called to do. I pray God uses us well, and smiles upon the work of our hands. I pray our King and His Kingdom are blessed by our disciplined competence.

Rules & Regs & Doing the Right Thing

In a 2007 edition of the New Oxford Review, Dr. A. Patrick Schneider II, who holds boards in family and geriatric medicine and runs a private practice in Lexington, Kentucky, did a statistical analysis of cohabitation in America, based on the findings of a number of academic resources. Here are five conclusions Schneider draws from his studies:

• Relationships are unstable in cohabitation. One-sixth of cohabiting couples stay together for only three years; one in ten survives five or more years.
• Cohabiting women often end up with the responsibilities of marriage—particularly when it comes to caring for children—without the legal protection. Research has also found that cohabiting women contribute more than 70 percent of the relationship's income.
• Cohabitation brings a greater risk of sexually transmitted diseases, because cohabiting men are four times more likely to be unfaithful than husbands.
• Poverty rates are higher among cohabitors. Those who share a home but never marry have 78 percent less wealth than the continuously married.
• Those who suffer most from cohabitation are the children. The poverty rate among children of cohabiting couples is fivefold greater than the rate among children in married-couple households. Children ages 12–17 with cohabiting parents are six times more likely to exhibit emotional and behavioral problems and 122 percent more likely to be expelled from school.

Living together as husband and wife is marriage. Period. Simple as as that. Men who "trick" women are just as evil when they do it without as license as when they obtain a license from the government. I know the government provides certain guarantees to women when they register their marriage with the state, which is really decent, since they tax you according to the registration, but the fact remains that dishonorable behavior is dishonorable behavior.

Men and women have been entering into partnerships since the garden. There was a snake in the garden then, and there are snakes around still today. Women need to choose carefully a partner who is trustworthy. The success and prosperity of the household, the security of the children, the stability and health of the future rely upon the discernment of the people involved--particularly the women.

But the fact remains, the snake in the equation is the person or persons who selfishly pursue their own interests at the expense of others. Christians have not so learned Christ. When we follow Christ, He leads us to love as He loves--holding the other's interests above our own, seeking the blessing and benefit of others at our own expense, forgoing our own pleasure for the benefit of others. When we give ourselves away, sacrificing self, redeeming and lifting up others, we are most like Christ. In so doing, we put ourselves in the optimum position to bring blessing and prosperity to the entire house. Ultimately, our greatest potential for blessing is never found in what we can take from a given situation. It is found in the hand of a loving God who gives every good and perfect gift, freely, from above.

When we love, bless, and live honorably, faithfully with each other, we are most like Him.

Walking the Garden Path

Following Christ can be very exciting. Following Christ can be a little scary. There simply is no way that I can, in good conscience, tell you that it will always be easy to be a faithful disciple of Jesus.

Ask Peter about his experiences. Ask him if he was scared the night Jesus was arrested. Ask him if he worried what the religious leaders thought about his violation of Jewish traditions and laws. Ask him if it hurt when he was stoned, beaten, and ultimately crucified. Ask him if it was worth it.

I believe our choices are simpler today, and our risks are not as great, in this country. However, the teachings of Christ still require that we give ourselves away in the fashion He did at every moment leading up to and including Calvary. How we manage this life's resources and assets entrusted to us, how we relate to others, what we do with our time, etc., all are areas of discipleship that demonstrate the Lordship of Christ.

Religion often over simplifies the Christian life to a series of rules, dogmas, and rituals, all of which are designed to focus our attention on Christ. But it's easy to make the religious exercize the focus, losing the focus on Christ altogether. It's really important to remember that our actions are supposed to grow out of the relationship with God. And similarly, our actions should draw us closer to Him. But it all starts with the relationship. And the relationship is like any other--communication is key.

The easiest part about following Christ is the time we spend just being with Him, talking to Him, listening, just being. And if we stay there, we might think it will always be easy to know what to do, and to do it. But remember, the disciples were with Jesus the night He was arrested. Even though they were walking right alongside Him, they were scared, confused, and at least one of them struck out violently with a sword. The sweetest thing is that--even in that stressful moment--Jesus just fixed it, miraculously healing Malcus' ear. I don't really like being scared and confused, but I'd love to have been there.

As we walk together with Christ and the family of disciples here, there will be moments of fear and confusion. It's inevitable, because we have an enemy who will confront us. We will likely screw up, individually and collectively, and Jesus will have to fix it. I don't really like being scared and confused, but I really have to be there. And I want to be there with you.

Family at Work & Play

Saturday was a huge day for Calcium Community Church. I love the sound of family when they work together, play together, and just spend time doing stuff.

Saturday, we were family. We worked together, painting much of the walls and ceilings in the new building. We played together, painting and laughing and eating and just having a good time being together.

Our family gets pretty loud. We can be a little chaotic. We can tolerate a lot more of the noise and chaos than I thought! As a result, we can accomplish more than I thought.

I think we may be ready to try some really ambitious things.

Think about it. Pray about it. Get ready.

The Joy of People

One of the greatest joys I experience routinely is the joy of people that God sends to me. What once seemed a wonderful serendipity has become a fairly regular treat. I am blest to look up from work from time to time--computer dazed, snow shovel weary, study eye bleary--only to find that God has sent me a visitor! I LOVE IT! People come looking for information about the church, wanting to talk faith or religion, maybe needing directions or a word of encouragement or just wanting to share a piece of their history with the church and community.

Regardless of need or motive, it's always a blessing to meet new folks and share a moment of conversation and communion. The Spirit in the believer thrills to the rhythm of the Spirit resonating in another, and our day is brightened.

To each of you, I say a hearty "thank you" for sharing life in the moment. May our Lord bless you for being a warm, friendly, stereotypical (?) New Yorker!