God Isn't Enough

I've heard several preachers say, "God is enough." I know what they mean but I'm not sure if God agrees. Let me explain.  Yes, fulfillment and peace come from a genuine and intimate relationship with the Father, but getting there requires other people.  Your relationship with God is not an individual pursuit.  It is a team effort.

Take David before he was King David.  In the second half of I Samuel David is running for his life.  His success on the battlefield, his growing fan-base, and his dose of the Lord's favor had stirred up King Saul's competitive spirit.  So Saul plans to protect his throne by putting David on the top of his army's hit list.  Shepherd boy makes Israel's Most Wanted and so David goes Bear Grylls.  He kicks into survival mode: lying to priests, eating holy bread, pulling a Hamlet by pretending to be insane (drool and all), and hiding in deserts - whatever it takes to stay alive.

During this time, David's charisma and leadership rallies a small army of screw-ups 600 strong and King Saul has had enough.  To make sure his servants know he means business Saul kills 85 priests!  (No, these were not televangelists but Israel's priests). He then turns up the heat in his pursuit of David.  While David hides out in Kelilah he hears rumors of Saul's plans to "storm the castle," and so he inquires of God to determine if the rumor is true.  Here is the exchange between God and David (I Samuel 23):

¹¹ Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant.”

   And the LORD said, “He will.”

 ¹² Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?”

   And the LORD said, “They will.”

Not sure how God spoke to David, but the text suggests the message was clear. Clear enough for David to pack up and "Get out of Dodge.  Yes, David is on the run. Yes, he is having to be a desert nomad for awhile, but God is on his side.  God is his alarm, his adviser (I wish God spoke to me in that way).  That should be enough.  But it wasn't (I Sam. 23:16):

¹⁶ And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 

It was not enough that David heard from God; he needed Jonathan to help him make sense of God in his current situation.  Perhaps if Jonathan had not come to David's aid at this critical and challenging moment he might have stepped away from God instead of closer to him.  Our relationship with God is not a straight line connecting you to God. It is a triangle connecting you to others to God.

Your relationship with God is not up to "you."  It is up to "us." Unfortunately, at times church is the least likely place to admit that your relationship with God is struggling, that perhaps you and God are even separated.  "Everyone at church seems deeply in love with God; I could not tell them of my difficulties.  After all, it is up to me."  But it is not, the church is there to help you find strength in God.

Do not be afraid to seek help in your relationship with God.  Lean on others' understanding, experience, struggles, confessions, stories, suffering, joys, etc. Be courageous and grow in your relationship with God by approaching and engaging others.

I want to offer my wife's and my help.  If you feel your faith community is unsafe or if you do not have a faith community, our ears are available.  We don't have a lot of answers and, compared to many, not a lot of life experiences, but what we can offer is a non-judgemental, honest, and safe place to wrestle with, celebrate, or question your relationship with God.  Drop us a message on Facebook and we will make sure and get in touch with you.

UNPREACHED #3

Last sermon continued.  See previous sections of sermon here and here:


1.  Faith Practices are about Relationship and not Recognition.  Look back at Matthew 6:2, 5a, 16a:

2“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full... ⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others... ¹⁶ “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting.

Part of what Jesus is doing in the Sermon on the Mount is reacting against the pharisees.  The pharisees were a group whose name means "Separate Ones." The pharisees were a group concerned about Israel maintaining her separateness as God's people.  They were also concerned about demonstrating their separateness from their fellow Jews had been contaminated and influenced by foreign culture and religion.  They proved their "separateness" by following religious law better than anyone else.  So, when it came to Faith Practices (giving, praying, fasting) they were to the letter, because they wanted to be recognized as better than the others.  They wanted to be recognized for their religious zeal.  They wanted to be recognized for their greatness, not for how great God was.  It was about drawing attention to themselves rather than giving glory to God.

In college I had four roommates - all of us great friends.  We were all about 5'10", 30-32 inch waist and 32 inseam.   We walked in unity of stride.  It wasn't like walking with Kent Rogers (6'4") where I have to jog or take massive steps to keep up.  But every time we left the cafeteria there was an upper class man, Shawn Lewis... great guy.  Upon each cafeteria exit, one of us would bend down to tie his shoe and the other three guys behind him would turn to Shawn and say, "Bye Shawn!"  And then one guy would trip over the guy tying his shoes, and then like dominoes we'd all go down.  We'd act embarrassed and run out of the cafeteria.  Yes, we were mature.  Here's the thing... even though we used Shawn's name in our little stunt, it wasn't about Shawn.  It wasn't about drawing attention to Shawn; it was about drawing attention to us.  That's what the Pharisees were doing... they used Faith Practices as little stunts, not to draw attention to God but rather to themselves.

That hits pretty close to home!  Often we act like the pharisees.  That's something I figured out in High School.  The best way for me to get known was to be the Christian kid.  Not all my motives were bad but a lot were selfish.  I realized I could leverage my faith to draw attention to myself.  It was as much about me as it was about God.

And so many of us still do that today when it comes to faith practices such as going to church, reading our Bibles, praying, or serving in ministries.  Sometimes we do that because we want recognition for being a good Christian.  Honestly?... for being a better Christian than you.  In our Bible Belt culture we learn that if you can master the Christian look: listen to the right radio stations, attend church, have your quiet time, teach your kids memory verses, join the PTA and FCA then you are respected and people look up to you.

And you may say, "Wait!  Wait! I thought we were supposed to let our good deeds be seen!  That's what Jesus said at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.  Remember? Be salt!  Be light!"  Yes! True! But Jesus said let your light shine so that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven, but when we make faith practices about self-recognition... God gets cut his fair share.

When our works of righteousness are about recognition then Christianity becomes about the appearance of perfection.  It is only an appearance of perfection because NO ONE is perfect. What ends up happening is church becomes a place where we go to show everyone that we have it together, that we read our bibles, we pray, that we have devos with our kids, and that we watch Veggie Tales on Saturday mornings and Ed Young from Fellowship Church on Saturday nights!  And so church and church friends become the place where we wear our masks the most.  As Rick Atchley says, "We are all 'fine' and if you are not then go back home and come back when you are 'fine.'"  Church becomes the place where we feel like we have it together, where we can't let the secrets out, where we can't let people see the chink in our armor, where we can't let people know that our marriage is falling apart, that our family is crumbling, that we're struggling with sin.  No!  Because, we have made Christianity about recognition, about getting all the practices right!

It's like when you've got a mess in your room and you find out someone is coming over in ten minutes.  "Oh, I can't let them see my house like this.  I have to get this mess cleaned up."  But it's too much...not enough time.  So, you take it and shove it all in the closet!  The room looks clean but there is a pile of junk in the closet.  Your guest shows up and remarks, "Wow!  Your house is so clean!"  You say, "Thank you!"  You get the recognition but the junk is still in there.  Eventually the closet gets too full and it burst through onto the ground in the middle of a dinner party and everyone goes, "Oh, my!"  That's when the affair happens, the papers are signed, the suicide note is left, the child goes to prison, the habit becomes an addiction...

When faith practices and acts of righteousness become about recognition instead of relationship then authenticity has no place!  People can't come and show their real cards.  They can't say life is more gray than black and white.  They can't come and admit their failures.  They can't just say, "Look!  Yes, this is the mess!  I know legos, pants, and magazines scattered all over the floor.  I wanted to put it in the closet but...this is me and this is my junk."  But, when it is about relationship, when coming to church, reading your bible, praying - when all of that is not about people giving you the approving nod, "Yep, you are a good Christian!" - but when it is about knowing God, seeking his heart, then church becomes the place where we can be our truest selves and still find love, acceptance, forgiveness, and family!

Faith Practices are about Relationship and not Recognition. 

 

UNPREACHED #1

I had one sermon left.  I had written it and submitted it but due to my choices was never able to preach it.  Instead of letting it digitally petrify on my hard drive, I am posting it as my next few blog entries.  As I read back through my sermon I was convicted and embarrassed knowing that, not long after crafting it, I would make choices contrary to its message .  But perhaps, despite my failure, these words can encourage and challenge you.

We were in a Sermon on the Mount series called RED.  You can watch the series intro below:

 

 TEXT: Matthew 6:1-6, 14-18
TITLE: "Why not What"
ONE THING: Motivation determines movement.


Introduction:
We've just finished Matthew 5 in our RED series.  We are looking at Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.  In chapter 5, Jesus spends the bulk of his time demonstrating how he had come to perfect the OT Law rather than abolish it.  He did so by taking his audience back to the original intent of the Law, which was to form a certain kind of people rather than create a group of rule-followers.  He was forming a people of reconciliation, of commitment and contentment, of covenant keeping, of honesty, truthfulness and integrity, of generosity, and of indiscriminate love!

In chapter 6 Jesus takes a turn in his teaching from character to what I'm going to call "Faith Practices."  Faith Practices are spiritual rituals or disciplines intended to move us into a deeper relationship with God.  Think of a marriage class or marriage seminar.  Attending a marriage seminar doesn't make you a better couple than one who doesn't attend, but it is a practice intended to help your relationship grow.  Or, why do you practice baseball everyday when you only play a couple of games a week?  Baseball rules don't change from week to week.  It's still about scoring the most runs.  You practice daily because it helps you grow as a player!  The same is true of Faith Practices. Engaging in such practices don't make you a better Christian; they help you grow in your relationship with God.  The three faith practices Jesus addresses in chapter 6 are: giving, prayer, and fasting.

[Prayer]

Move 1: 
Turn to Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18:
¹ “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ in front of others, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
   ² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
    ⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you...
    ¹⁶ “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

In the NT times God commanded Israel to give alms, to pray and to fast, and so it would seem that you either did them or you didn't!  If you do these practices you get the smiley face and gold star.  If you don't?...bad!  If I tell my son to make his bed, he either makes it or he doesn't.  So you either gave, prayed and fasted or you didn't...right? According to Jesus it wasn't quite that simple.

In his teaching, Jesus describes two types of people.  Both of these groups of people do what was required.  If you made them a chart saying Giving, Praying, Fasting and put it up in their room, both groups of people could put check marks or smiley face stickers by each of the Acts of Righteousness.  So what's the difference between the two groups?  What distinction is Jesus making between the two groups?  One group he calls hypocrites even though they do what is required; they give, pray and fast (perhaps more than the other group). But they engage in these Faith Practices in order to impress those around them.  They do it for their own glory.  On the other hand, the second group gives, prays and fasts but do so secretly, in the closet, or when no eyes are watching because they give, pray and fast as a gift to God.  SO... what's the difference between the two groups that do exactly the same thing?  MOTIVATION! The 'Why."


Jesus is saying that motivation determines movement!

Join Frog

I'm Charlton Taylor and I'm a People-Pleaser.  This week marks two months of being sober, and sobriety is a a necessary step in joining Frog's mission!  I know what you're saying, "There's nothing wrong with doing something to please someone!"  Correct!  There is also nothing wrong with having a beer or two... but 15 beers? Or 15 beers everyday with your oatmeal and fried eggs?  Enough said!

People-Pleasing can quickly turn from serving another for their pleasure to a hunger for affirmation and acceptance. Both affirmation and acceptance, like food, are vital for human life and health, but when you live for the next hit they become destructive.  You find yourself serving, ministering, and giving for yourself - to hear, "Wow, great job!  Thank you SOOOO much! You are so amazing!  I can't believe you did that for me; you really are an incredible person!" A & A addiction moves the focus away from "The Other" and the act itself and places it on yourself!  That's why I want to join Frog.

In Haruki Murakami's short story collection, After the Quake, he shares the tale "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo."  The narrative centers on a middle-aged loan officer, Katagiri, who receives a visit from a 6 foot frog.  Frog invites Katagiri to fight against Worm, who happens to reside deep below Tokyo.  In a few days Worm will become angry, an anger that will cause a fatal earthquake in Tokyo killing over 150,000 people. Worm must be destroyed and Frog says he can only defeat him with Katagiri's help.  Katagir tries to wiggle his way out of the invite but Frog refuses to accept:

No, it is a matter of responsibility and honor. You may not be too crazy about the idea, but we have no choice: you and I must go underground and face Worm.  If we should happen to lose our lives in the process, we will gain no one's sympathy. And even if we manage to defeat Worm, no one will praise us. No one will ever know that such a battle even raged far beneath their feet. Only you and I will know, Mr. Katagiri.  However it turns out, ours will be a lonely battle.

I want to do what is right out of honor and responsibility... and love and genuine compassion and not primarily for affirmation and acceptance. The key is to bring joy to others without them knowing I was the one who brought joy.  They key is to help others without them ever knowing it was me.  Jesus says it this way: But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

So, I'm a recovering People-Pleaser, not because I don't want to serve others, but because I want to serve others for them and not for me, because I want to brave the battle against Worm, to stand victorious over Worm's lifeless corpse while the masses miles above go about their daily lives oblivious to the war that raged below .  So today... give, serve, and minister incognito.

I'm Charlton Taylor and I'm a People-Pleaser. 

This Little Bud Light of Mine

When I used to be a preacher, back before I drove a truckload of dynamite into my life, I attempted incognito Wal-Mart runs.  There were times I just wanted to go in, buy merchandise or toiletries, and exit without, "Hey, Tom (Jan, Jake, or whoever) how are you? Good to see you.  How are the wifey and kids?"  So one night as I am making a mad dash into the supercenter....

Something you have to know about me. I'm extremely observant, like Mel Gibson in Conspiracy Theory (sans paranoia).  Scanning, scanning... spot church members and spot a six pack of beer on top of the checkout counter.  As I approach to do my pastoral responsibility (Pastoral Manual page 256, item 4.6 "Pastor must greet with smile and firm hand shake or squeezing side hug at all public encounters with parishioners"), Joe and Jan Churchmember quickly turn me away from the checkout counter.  They did not want me to see the beer.  Now, if they were turning me around out of embarrassment for buying Keystone Light, I would have understood, but that was not the reason.  They did not want me to discover their secret consumption of adult beverages, because somewhere they learned that Christians do not drink.

And if you are a boozing Christian, at least pretend you are not.  So when Pastor/Preacher drops in for a visit, transfer the alcohol to the fridge parked in the garage.  Use the Styrofoam cups when the kids are around.  If you have a stash, make sure it is a hidden stash.  And when stumbling upon other closet Christian drinkers, form am alliance, "Shhh, our little secret."

Perhaps it is time we come out of the closet.  If you are Christian who does not drink alcohol, good for you.  If you are a Christian who does, good for you.  Let's just quit hiding.  There is nothing wrong with drinking.  I like a beer every now and then.  I prefer Margaritas and Whiskey and Coke to that.

I believe it is more harmful to the cause of Christ to pretend we don't drink than it is to drink. Pretending reinforces that great lie about our faith, that following Christ is about perception. I once worked for a church where policy dictated that a minister could not drink within a 100 mile radius of the city.  Why?  Because drinking was sinful?  No, because of perception. The Pharisees where masters at perception, but perception is not real.  It is the manipulating of others' thoughts about who you are in a favorable light.  Jesus wasn't after perception.  He was after genuine, honest, raw relationship.  I'm writing this as the #1 offender.  I have lived as a great pretender, using Christianity to shape others' perceptions of me. I was pretty good at it.  I no longer want to spend my time shaping your perception of me.  I want to fall in love with Jesus and fall in love with following Jesus.

So... no, being a closet drinker is not the problem with Christianity, just a symptom of the problem and one I find amusing.  Bottoms up! Whether that be Coca Cola, Guinness, or Horchata.