“BROKEN ALTARS”


A new year is just around the corner. What will it bring your way? What do you hope and dream will happen in your life in the coming year? What concerns do you have? In what ways would you like to grow, improve, and end next year significantly better/stronger/richer (and I don’t mean monetarily!) than you are right now, on December 31, 2011?

A recent writing in my daily devotional, “Magnificent Prayer,” cut me to the heart and challenged me to consider how I’ve been, how I’ve compromised my life, my faith, my values, etc. and how much I want to be significantly better/stronger/richer (and also deeper in my relationship with the Lord) than I am today when December 31, 2012 rolls around.

Here’s what I read. The author is Vance Havner, a popular preacher and conference speaker from earlier in the past century. I’m going to separate the various thoughts that he has for us, to create space for you to think and ponder what he has to say.

“And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.” (I Kings 18:30)


“We read that Elijah began the demonstration of the true God by repairing the altar of the Lord that was broken down. Never was there a revival that did not so begin.

And if today God answers from heaven we must begin to repair His broken altars:

•Altars of consecration, where once we gave ourselves to God and promised to do His will alone; where we offered Him our talents and time and possessions, ourselves…but with the years we have kept back part of the price and lied unto God until it is a wonder we do not drop dead like Ananias and Sapphira;

•Altars of dedication, where we gave our children to God…but later chose our way for them and denied God;

•Family altars, where once we gathered to read the Word and commit our way unto the Lord…but now abandon with the silly excuse that since times have changed, it is no longer practical;

•Altars of praise and testimony, where once the redeemed of the Lord said so…but sin and worldliness and neglect have closed our lips and stolen our song;

•Altars of service, where once we lived only, always, for the King…but have now deserted because we live for self and none beside, just as if Jesus had never lived, just as if He had never died.

Here is our task: to repair these broken altars. All our pious dodges and clever substitutes to avoid repentance will never avail. Stained glass windows and robed choirs and anthems and banquets and dramas and eloquence in the pulpit and elegance in the pew have never fooled God. He demands truth in the inward parts, and heaven will keep silent and no fire will ever fall until we approach Him with rebuilt altars in the name of the Lord.” (Vance Havner)

I think this devotional also struck my heart because of the situation here at Hilmar Covenant. For many years, people have prayed for revival. People have wanted the congregation to grow. People have wanted the church to be alive. We have tried new programs, new activities, new fads, new facilities, new staff...but to what end?

Through the Veritas evaluation process, we were shocked to discover that the health of our congregation was not real good. Instead of revival and growth, we had plateaued – and were even declining! We were a “critical moment” church. Deeper study showed some of the reasons for this.

Why the discrepancies between what we as a congregation desired and the reality that we were faced with?


I think it was because of “broken altars.” Some of the things mentioned in Havner’s comments. Some of the peripheral issues and concerns that we as a congregation got caught up in, expending our energy and emotion on secondary matters instead of focusing on our primary calling as a church: pursuing Christ and Christ’s priorities in the world. Things like worship style, music style, preaching style, length of worship, staff personalities, habits/traditions vs. change/new relevancies, people's fears, etc. became priorities and took our attention and energy away from the central, essential elements of being the church, like our relationship with the Lord, Bible study, prayer, worship, community/fellowship, acts of service, concern for those who do not yet know and follow Christ, forgiveness, grace, trust, and so forth. Being human got the best of us! American individualism triumphed over how we are to live together, serve God and others, and “be” the Church. Our culture’s insatiable thirst for personal satisfaction, comfort, security, and pleasure triumphed over putting other’s interests first, sacrifice, embracing the unfamiliar, and generously deferring to others.


There is only one way for revival to occur – in one’s personal life and in the community life of a church: PRAYER. Focused, committed, communal prayer. Tinkering with the outer things (worship, programs, stylistic choices, fun activities, minimal commitment, new staff, etc.) will never bring revival and true spiritual growth. Appealing to people’s preferences will never bring a church alive either, because the focus is 180° in the wrong direction: on people, and not on God! Prayer brings the necessary change of heart, known as repentance, and that brings a deep desire to repair broken altars in one’s life. The result will be revival.

I believe we at Hilmar Covenant have made good progress forward in becoming a more healthy congregation. We have addressed some of the issues that made us a “critical moment” church. For those of us who continue to be committed and active here, there is a sense of expectancy and hope for better days ahead.

However, the truth of the matter is that we have declined. The only way to reverse this process is through revival – which is the work of the Holy Spirit, not human efforts. And the only way to unleash the Spirit and bring revival to us is through PRAYER.

As the New Year begins, I want to call us as a congregation once again to prayer. For us to be a praying congregation – not just a couple dozen of us, but everyone; 100%! If you have an asterisk by your name in the church directory, you are a member of Hilmar Covenant. When you joined this congregation, you made a number of promises before God as well as before the rest of your brothers and sisters in Christ, and one of these was to pray for the ongoing life of Hilmar Covenant. Are you faithfully doing so? Or is this a “broken altar” in your own life?


If we want to see our church thrive and grow and erupt in excellent health, it is our responsibility, individually and corporately, to seek an active, alive, vibrant relationship with God. This is what it means to repair broken altars, personally and together as a church. If we get our priorities straight, if we will forgive and seek unity, make the Lord first in our lives, and PRAY, “we can approach Him with rebuilt altars” and the Lord will pour out revival in ways we have never seen before.

I close with another selection from “Magnificent Prayer:”

“Brethren, we must fight for the prayer time! We must have time to pray. If we wait until we have some leisure moments to pray, we will never have the chance to pray. We should set apart some definite time for prayer. ‘Those who have no set time for prayer,’ warns Andrew Murray, ‘do not pray.’ For this reason, we need to watch that we may get time to pray. We must also use prayer to protect this prayer time from being snatched away through the wiles of the devil.” (Watchman Nee)

PRAY ON!

FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN!


I hardly know where to begin…

I first became acquainted with this organization when FMSC was at CHIC in 2006 and 2009 and students and leaders packed hundreds of thousands of meals for hungry children around the world.


Over a year ago, Hilmar Covenant committed to hosting a “Feed My Starving Children” food packing event, after I learned that another Covenant church in New England had raised the money necessary to do such an event. Each meal now costs 24 cents, and to make the event cost effective, we had to commit to packing a minimum of 100,000 meals – which meant raising $24,000! I was apprehensive about this; with the economy the way it is (especially here in Merced County), the number of organizations and groups seeking financial support these days, and the many other ministry responsibilities that are on my plate, I saw a long hard road ahead, trying to make our FMSC food packing event a reality. We had a big publicity kick-off for our congregation in March.

Our food packing event takes place on January 20 and 21, 2012. Volunteers sign up for two hour shifts, and work in cells of 20 people, to assemble as many packets of food as possible. Children as young as 5 years old can participate, making this a tremendous intergenerational and family event. Students receive two hours of community service credit for their involvement. Businesses, schools, churches, clubs, and other organizations receive excellent publicity for helping to sponsor the event. Best of all, a food packing event is both FUN and meaningful, knowing that you are doing a very practical, hands-on activity locally and, at the same time, doing something to make a huge difference globally: feeding hungry kids.


Fast forward to today: Not only did we meet our minimum goal before the end of October, we are currently at about $40,000 – and 166,666 meals! Through matching grants, generous donations, advertising spots, an ingenious M&M tube program (fill the tube with quarters – that’s $14, and 58 meals!), and many solicitations, we have been stunned at the tremendous response to our FMSC event.

Last week, it was time for two of us on our FMSC committee to get trained in how to sign up volunteers for the food packing shifts in January. This took about 45 minutes. At the end of our training, the woman at FMSC headquarters in the Twin Cities encouraged us to consider going ahead and committing to our “God-sized miracle goal” of $72,000, 300,000 meals, and nearly 1500 volunteers! These numbers had been thrown out in one of our early committee meetings, and we have continued to keep them before us as a goal that was FAR beyond what our human abilities would ever be able to achieve. Our trainer kept offering us positive information and encouragement and…(gulp)…well…WE SAID YES!

It’s still rather unbelievable to me that these are the new numbers we are now working with, leading up to our January event. Yes, it does seem totally insane – impossible – irresponsible, even! But somehow, we are convinced that we’re being called to take this huge leap of faith and give God space “to do immeasurably more than all we could ever ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20)

Also last week, I was interviewed by the biggest newspaper in our area, the Modesto Bee, about our FMSC food packing event. It made the front page of the Sunday “Lifestyle” section of the paper...

And since then, it’s been all I can do to keep up with the interest, the inquiries, talking with people, making connections, discovering new funding sources, registering volunteers, etc. all week long! New signs of support are popping up all over the place, including our local Hilmar public schools (which is very cool)! It’s almost like God is saying to us: “You did the right thing. You tested me in this, so now “see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it!” (Malachi 3:10b)


That’s why I have not had time to even think about writing another provocative blog post. Instead, I’m sharing my current, incredible experience with any of you who are now reading this so you will know what’s going on in my life right now. Click ModBeeArticle to read the Modesto Bee article, which is super! And if you would like to donate to this food packing event and be part of the miracle that God is doing in our midst, you can end your contribution to: Hilmar Covenant Church, PO Box 340, Hilmar CA 95324 (with “FMSC” on the memo line). We only need 288,000 quarters to reach our goal! And if you live close to us, why not sign up for a food packing shift and be part of this fantastic opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children around the world? Go to www.hilmarcovenant.org for loads of information about Feed My Starving Children, and to volunteer.


Finally, PRAY for us! The semi truck arrives on Thursday, January 19, full of everything we’re going to need to fill 300,000 bags with rice, dehydrated vegetables, vitamins and minerals (with chicken flavor), and soy protein. In the meantime, we have a huge financial commitment to reach and hundreds of people to organize for the food packing event. The whole thing is going to takes supernatural strength and action.

And I can’t wait to see what God is going to do as we keep stepping out in faith!

GOD KNOWS YOU!


Today, November 22, is mostly remembered for the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. Did you know that it was also on this date that C.S. Lewis died? At 5:30 p.m. (in England) at The Kilns, one week short of his 65th birthday. No doubt Lewis’s death was overshadowed by the Kennedy tragedy, but I’ve always wondered if more would’ve been made in the news about the death of C.S. Lewis if it hadn’t been for Kennedy’s assassination.

I bring all of this up today: 1) because it is the 48th anniversary of C.S. Lewis’s passing, 2) because of the selection I read this morning in a devotional I’m using again this year based on quotes from Lewis’s classic works, and 3) because it beautifully highlights something I shared with my high school small group on Sunday afternoon. I find it amusing that all of these elements came together today! Once again, “Surprise, surprise, God is a surprise!” (Carey Landry’s marvelous lyric from his album, “Bloom Where You Are Planted.”)

I was sharing with the guys some reasons why I believe that Christianity IS the “true religion” (the “myth that is true,” as Lewis himself once put it). I pointed out to them the claim Christians have in Scripture that the God of the universe loves us and is reaching out to us, as opposed to other religions where it is all about humans reaching to God, trying to appease God, be good enough for God, etc. This is what makes Christianity unique, beautiful, amazing, almost unbelievable. It turns religion on its head – the way so many things we read in Scripture are turned upside down in God’s economy (the last shall be first, the older will serve the younger (Esau/Jacob), whoever loses his life (for Christ) will save it, etc.).


I tried to impress on these four high school guys how utterly fantastic this reality is: God love us and God is seeking us! It’s not about us being the center of things, our personal faith, our personal salvation, our attitude toward God – no! Instead, it begins with God. God knows us, loves us, and is reaching to us – first and foremost – so that we are known by God even before we ever know about Him! When people say that Christianity is all about “do’s and don’ts” and rules and regulations and limitations and “have to’s” and oughts and shoulds and boring rituals and learning about all sorts of irrelevant religious stuff…well, they are really missing the point. The majority of all this stuff is man-made, mostly; human attempts to control and manipulate both God and people, and not at all what the essence of Christian faith and truth is about. Christianity is “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son” and “While we were still sinners Christ died for us” and “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.” Christianity is the beautiful reality of grace and forgiveness and a relationship with a loving God who desires us to call Him Father and Friend – even Abba (daddy!) – not a distant God who is unknowable, fickle, fearsome, and expects sacrifices to be made if you want things to go well in life (sort of a tit-for-tat, I’ll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine situation).

How much more glorious and freeing and almost laughable is it that the Great God of All seeks us, reaches out to us, knows us – and wants so much for us to know and love Him in return. All we have to do is accept this gift from our loving, all-knowing Abba Father and respond appropriately and responsibly out of love and thanksgiving to this God who gives Himself to us. It’s not rules and regulations and expectations – no! It’s easy. Simply desiring to please the very One who first loved us. Expressing love in similar ways to how we show love to our spouses, our children, our parents, our friends: wanting to please them, spend time with them, give to them, respond to them, be there for them no matter what, with no strings attached. Seeking to do whatever will delight the object of our affections. It’s not hard! Challenging…yes – but not oppressive or drudgery or impossible to fulfill. It’s as simple as the way Jesus put it, in Matt. 22:37-39: “Love God and love others.” In this way we are known by God and we know Him!

Here is how Lewis puts it in his sermon, “The Weight of Glory,” first preached in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford on June 8, 1941:

Perhaps it seems rather crude to describe glory as the fact of being “noticed” by God. But this is almost the language of the New Testament. St. Paul promises to those who love God not (as we should expect) that they will know Him but that they will be known by Him (I Cor. 8:3). It is a strange promise. Does not God know all things at all times? But it is dreadfully re-echoed in another passage of the New Testament. There we are warned that it may happen to any one of us, to appear at last before the face of God and hear only the appalling words: “I NEVER KNEW YOU. DEPART FROM ME!” In some sense, as dark to the intellect as it is unendurable to the feelings, we can be both banished from the presence of Him who is present everywhere and erased from the knowledge of Him who knows all. We can be left utterly and absolutely OUTSIDE – repelled, exiled, estranged, finally and unspeakably ignored. On the other hand we can be called in, welcomed, received, acknowledged. We walk every day on the razor edge between these two incredible possibilities. Apparently, then, our lifelong nostalgia – our longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off (to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside) is no mere neurotic fancy, but the truest index of our real situation. And to be at last summoned inside would be both glory and honor beyond all our merits, and also the healing of that old ache.

When we are in an all-knowing relationship with God, we are united with that “something in the universe from which we now feel cut off.” To be known by God and to know Him – this is uniquely Christian. Best of all, we do not have to wait for it to happen in some future afterlife in heaven. We can live in the midst of it and live it out here and now, in the present, in the world as it is today. Wow! Such an incredible, loving reality that God gives to us right here, right now, in the present! We can choose to live on the positive side of that “razor sharp edge” and experience the reality of being “called in, welcomed, received, and acknowledged” by God right now, if we are simply willing to open ourselves to Him. He already knows us! Why hold back? This is life abundant.

My prayer is that I can help people grasp the beautiful reality of all of this more and more and better and better as I begin a new chapter in my ministry responsibilities here at Hilmar Covenant. Resources like C.S. Lewis and Oswald Chambers will be helpful in articulating what Scripture describes. I pray that You, O God, will go ahead of me and plant a hunger, a curiosity, and a longing in many from our congregation that I can follow up on, enter into a relationship with, and through the power of Your Holy Spirit awaken them to the delight of a loving, living, knowing relationship with You, the God of the universe who made Yourself most clearly seen in the person of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus. Amen!

"WORDS MATTER"


I'm resorting to someone else's writing again for this blogpost - but it's about something important to all of us who are involved in ministry, especially worship arts/music. A topic that got a lot of attention in our "Better Together" Covenant Worship Leaders Facebook group a couple weeks ago became the topic of this blogpost on the Covenant's website, and I want to share it with you and see if it creates any discussion here on my blog. It's all about words; how we use them, how they convey meaning, their ability to express truth, and so forth.

Words are very important to me - if you've ever received my annual Christmas "epistle," you KNOW about me and words! When I choose music for Sunday worship each week, I always consider the words of every song I pick for the congregation to sing. So when people say they just want "pep-y" songs and don't care about the words (because they don't listen to them anyways), I am always amazed, a little hurt, and more than a little pissed off! Words are getting a lot of attention in our angry, divided, uncivil society today too, as people, groups, organizations, the media, government officials, etc. attack each other with extreme, over-the-top, vitriolic charges and counter-charges, using words that cut and bite and devalue.

See what my friend and fellow worship pastor, Matt Nightingale, has written about words. Then, put down some words and respond here on my blog to what he has to say! I'm waiting to hear from you...

"WordsMatter"

DISCIPLESHIP


I just returned from ten days of vacation and have no time to come up with a new blog post! So I am going to offer you a link to a fantastic article I read on the plane home last Sunday. It is from the latest "Mission Frontiers" bulletin, and addresses what I believe is the single most important reason that churches (and Christians) are floundering in America these days: a lack of DISCIPLESHIP! After 31 years in ministry, I am realizing (as the article points out) that churches have focused so much on "getting people saved" (and on programs, church growth strategies, and lots of busy activities) rather than on "making disciples" (Matthew 28:19) that "there seems to be a great deal of confusion in the Church about what is and what is not the mission that God has given us. And if the leaders are confused, then how can the average church member possibly understand what God has called us to do? The more ominous question is whether the Church as a whole has adopted the wrong mission and as a result we have not fulfilled what God has intended."

Intrigued? Read on: Discipleship

"CULTURE IN WORSHIP"

I'm not finding much time to write my own blogs these days. Too many things to juggle in my life to be able to sit and think and write about things I feel strongly about. So instead, for this blogpost, I'm going to sent you to a link that is really interesting - and challenging! It is from two members of our Covenant worship leaders Facebook group, "Better Together." They wrote this week's blogpost for the Covenant website, WorshipConnect, and it expresses very well my own feelings/concerns/interest regarding multiethnic worship. I believe that we at Hilmar Covenant need to be wrestling with this issue much more than we are - and to consciously educate ourselves on the issue so we can embrace it better. Whether we like it or not, we are becoming an increasingly multicultural, multiethnic society and churches MUST reflect this reality better in the future if they are going to not only survive, but thrive. To ignore this reality and cling to a homogeneous mindset will be the kiss of death for churches. The cool thing about this link is that the blog also provides you with links to other stimulating locations (ex. our superintendent, Efraim Smith's, perspective on diversity and North Park's approach to multi-ethnicity in their worship life). And you can also comment on the article itself! Click ConversingOnCultureInWorship - and enjoy!

A few weeks ago during my prayer time, I was spending reflecting on our church, my ministry responsibilities, this transition time that we are in, various issues and concerns, etc. In the midst of these quiet moments, I began to get a series of rather poetic couplets that seemed to express what was on my heart. Out of this, the following prayer emerged:

A PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH
(as a new year of ministry begins...)

O God, the fall season is just around the corner. New opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus, to grow in discipleship, and to reach out in ministry and service abound. As a new season awaits your Church, there is an eagerness and excitement to start new and fresh once again.

Thank you for your love and faithfulness to us.
Thank you for the hope of our salvation, made available to us through your Son, our Savior, Jesus.
Thank you for your Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who enlivens our faith, helps us grow in awareness and understanding of you, and sends us out to minister in your name.
Thank you for the community of faith, the Church, which is your means of reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. May we be faithful in this calling.
Thank you for the resources you have given to us, your Church, the body of Christ on earth: spiritual gifts, talents, creativity, finances, sacred spaces, artistic expressions of every kind, materials and property and the freedom to use them all.
Thank you for the privilege of including us in your mission to reach all people, for “you do not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (I Peter 3:9)

But sometimes, Lord, our humanness, our selfishness, and our bent to sinning get in the way and get the better of us. Then your Church doesn’t look so good, grows increasingly unhealthy, and gets sidetracked with issues and concerns other than your mission. Forgive us, O God.

If we have been self-centered, we repent...
If we have hardness of heart, we repent...
If we are have a critical spirit, we repent...
If we are holding grudges, we repent...
If we have been judgmental, we repent...
If we have been antagonistic, we repent...
If we have been resistant, we repent...
If our words or actions have hurt or alienated others, we repent...
If we have set up roadblocks to progress and change, we repent...
If we have been lazy in our relationship with you and with others, we repent...
If we have relied on human efforts instead of the power of prayer and on your Holy Spirit, we repent...
If we have made the life of the Church about something other than your Kingdom priorities, we repent...

Thank you for confession, repentance, and forgiveness, O God. May we exercise these healing expressions often and freely so your Church can remain strong in unity and love.

Finally, dear Father, we pray for those who struggle with life and faith. The world has changed in so many ways and many of your people are apprehensive about what’s happening with your Church today.

For those in fear, bring peace and understanding.
For those who are disheartened, bring hope.
For those who are hurt, bring healing.
For those who are mourning losses, bring fresh vision.
For those who are angry, bring resolution.
For those who are bitter, bring sweet release.
For those who are frustrated and upset, bring patience and perspective.
For those who are suffering, bring comfort.
For those who are wounded, bring healing.
For those who feel broken, bring restoration.
For those who are sad, bring joy.
For those who feel neglected, bring connection.
For those who don’t feel heard, bring opportunities for listening.
For those in broken relationships, bring confession and forgiveness.
For those who are dry in faith, bring renewal.
For those who are resistant to change, bring openness and courage.
For those who are impatient for change, bring patience.
For those in leadership, bring wisdom.

Hear our prayer, O Lord.

And now, as we go forth into another season of ministry in your Name, may we be ever attuned to your leading, always pursuing Christ and Christ’s priorities in the world.

Amen.