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Pastoral Nuggets |
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If
you stop and think about it, 100% of our Christian experience is relational.
Reread that sentence. Yes.
100%. Salvation is based
upon our relationship with Jesus and our outreach, discipleship, and benevolent
ministries are based upon our relationships with the people, churches and
communities to which we seek to minister. Even
our corporate worship is based upon relationships and preferences within our
congregation. And the Good Lord
knows that if the pastors preaching style, the teacher’s method of teaching,
the music minister’s song selection, or the deacon’s philosophy of ministry
are not what we :prefer, then it affects our relationship with church members,
church staff, our community, and even God Himself.
Everybody
knows that when it comes to our individual preferences regarding worship –
it’s all about us! This is why we
have so many varied opinions regarding worship styles.
Some think a preacher must be a hellfire & brimstone type preacher,
shouting, turning red in the face, pounding the pulpit, and foaming at the
mouth, while others think he should simply teach the scriptures in a quiet,
reverent, monotone, and dignified manner. Some
think he must be educated, while others ostracize education.
Some think he must be dressed in a suit, while others prefer a Polo shirt
and khaki pants. Some think you must sing songs from the old red-back Church
Hymnal (Don’t tell anybody that the Church
Hymnal is actually a Church of God Hymnal!) while others insist on using the
latest edition of the Baptist Hymnal,
and others insist upon having the words projected on the wall.
Some prefer pianos and organs while others prefer keyboards, drums,
guitars, and horns. Some prefer
choirs while others prefer praise teams. Yes,
it seems as though the focus of our corporate worship experience is on what we
want. Sadly, what we want is not
what always attracts lost hell-bound-sinners to Jesus. Now
I realize that the paragraph above is a little cynical and is written from a
pastoral perspective. I’m sure
that many of you parishioners reading this Nugget could write something just as
cynical from your perspective, but it’s my Nugget and I’m writing it from my
perspective. You know, as a pastor
I used to think that my main job was to cuddle and coddle parishioners while
dusting and adjusting their halos. Oops!
There I go being cynical again. Seriously,
the point I’m trying to make is that 100% of our church experience is
relational, and I believe we all need to work a little harder at making the
relationship work. We need to realize that the ministry of our church isn’t
about us rather; it’s about reaching the world with the life-changing message
of Jesus Christ. Sometimes this
means we cannot always have things our way.
We don’t always get our preference.
We have to give and take. We
have to realize that what Christ wants and expects from our church experience is
far more important than what we want or expect. Recently,
Pastor Bryan Geter of Bethel Chapel Baptist Church in LaGrange, Georgia gave me
a copy of a pastor’s column that was published recently in the Harris County
Journal by Pastor Rick Lipp of Community Chapel Church in Pine Mountain Valley,
Georgia. This column, which I have
included below, compares our church experience, or Christian duties and
responsibilities, to those of a soldier. It
serves as a poignant reminder that as foot soldiers in God’s army we serve at
the pleasure of our Commanding Officer. We have one duty, to execute His orders with skill and
precision. Our personal preferences
do not matter. We are under His
authority. He sees the whole
mission while we see in part. His
orders are not given to make us feel good about our situation or ourselves.
His orders are given to facilitate victory in His mission.
And what is His mission? His
mission is to seek and save that which was lost.
Consequently, if you and I are saved, then we are no longer the center of
His mission. We’re safe.
He is seeking those who are lost! We
tend to forget that. Perhaps this
article will help restore some perspective to our Christian walk, which as I
said earlier is 100% relational. Remember,
He is our Commander. We are foot
soldiers in His army. Here
I Stand
“I
am a soldier! I
am a soldier in the army of God. The
Lord Jesus Christ is my Commander. The
Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, prayer and the Word are my weapons of
warfare. I have been taught by the
Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire.
I
am a volunteer in this army and I am enlisted for eternity.
I will retire from this army at the rapture or die in this army but I
will not get out, be talked out, or pushed out. I
am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable.
If God needs me I am there. If
He needs me to teach children in Sunday School, to work with the youth, help
adults, or just sit and learn, He can use me - because I am there.
If He needs me in church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, or mid-week,
during revival or special services, I am there.
I am there to preach, sing, play, work or worship.
God can use me because I’m there. I
am a soldier! I
am not a child. I do not need to be
pampered, primed, pumped-up, picked-up, or pepped-up. I
am a soldier! No
one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me or lure me. I
am a soldier! I
am in my place saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name and
building His kingdom. No one has to
send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me handouts.
I don’t need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for or catered to. I
am committed! I
cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.
I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside.
I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.
When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing.
If I end up with nothing I will still break even.
I will win! My God will
supply all my needs. I am more than
a conqueror. I will always triumph.
I can do all things through Christ.
The devil cannot defeat me. People
cannot disillusion me. Weather
cannot weary me. Sickness cannot
stop me. Battles cannot beat me.
Money cannot buy me. Governments
cannot silence me. And hell cannot
handle me. I
am a soldier! Even
death cannot destroy me, for when my Commander calls me from this battlefield,
He will promote me to captain and bring me back to rule this world with Him.
I
am a soldier in God’s army! I
will never surrender to the enemy. I
will never turn back. I am a
soldier, marching heavenward, claiming victory as I go.
Here I stand! Will you stand
with me?” Man!
Reading that makes me want to charge hell with a water pistol.
It pumps me up! But it also
reminds me why I’m in the service of the Lord.
I’m not here for it to be all about me and my personal preferences.
I’m here as a foot soldier in the army of the Lord. I’m here to do as
He commands, to uplift Him, to advance His kingdom. And I don’t always get
things like I want them. But since when do the privates run the army? How
pleased would God be if one by one, Christians from all the churches in the
Troup Baptist Association laid down their personal preferences and humbly
approached the Throne of Grace, saluted our Commander and said, “Sir, private
(insert your name) reporting for duty?”
I believe this just might be the relationship God desires to have with
us. But then again, maybe that’s
just my way of thinking. Private
McCollough, signing off.
Copyright 2008 Aaron McCollough Fresh Fire Ministries All Rights Reserved
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