Wednesday, September 28, 2005
High score to heaven
I grew up in a Christian tradition where the ultimate expression of Christianity takes the form of evangelism, which means getting other people to give their lives to Jesus (getting them saved, for short). Evangelism as such is the highest calling of each individual Christian, and the ultimate goal of the church. The climax of every worship service is the invitation (altar call), at which time someone can officially become a Christian by praying a prayer of salvation and walking down the aisle to inform the pastor of his or her decision for Christ. Maybe this sounds familiar to you, or maybe it sounds totally foreign. As a child, this was reality for me.
Reality as preached in the sermon was reinforced by Sunday school. In my sixth grade class, I recall one terrible morning when my well-intentioned teacher asked each child to verbally state whether or not we had received Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. All the other kids (including the bad ones) said yes. How could I say no, even when I knew it wasn't true? So I lied. Fortunately, I was among the brightest and best behaved children in the class, so my teacher never suspected that I was still an obstinate sinner.
Another way evangelism was subtly elevated to preeminence in Sunday school was through the occasional use of incentives. Our teachers would announce the possibility of winning a great prize (like a new Bible) by collecting points. Points were earned for certain good behaviors like regular attendance at Sunday school and memorizing Bible verses. Bringing a friend to church scored you mega-points (even if that friend already went to church elsewhere). I have to take a moment to apologize to my friends, especially Craig, who got dragged to church several times in order for me to get more points. The best prize I ever won was a set of twelve apostle-head-shaped metal charms to go on a keychain or bracelet, each with the name of the apostle and a Bible verse inscribed on the back. I have no idea where those apostle-heads are now, but I know that most of my friends who came have little or no interest in church anymore.
So here I am, all grown up and working in a job where one of my roles is, ironically, evangelist. The temptation from my youth is still there to view the communication of the gospel as a means to get points. The prizes are no longer Bibles and apostle-head charms, but fame and recognition from the Christian community for being an all-star InterVarsity staff worker - and of course, eternal rewards from God himself. The consequences of being a lousy evangelist loom larger too. If too few students become Christians, I fear that people might stop financially supporting my work and that God will be disappointed with me. Not to mention that I'll be way behind in the race for points.
Please join with me in praying:
Reality as preached in the sermon was reinforced by Sunday school. In my sixth grade class, I recall one terrible morning when my well-intentioned teacher asked each child to verbally state whether or not we had received Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. All the other kids (including the bad ones) said yes. How could I say no, even when I knew it wasn't true? So I lied. Fortunately, I was among the brightest and best behaved children in the class, so my teacher never suspected that I was still an obstinate sinner.
Another way evangelism was subtly elevated to preeminence in Sunday school was through the occasional use of incentives. Our teachers would announce the possibility of winning a great prize (like a new Bible) by collecting points. Points were earned for certain good behaviors like regular attendance at Sunday school and memorizing Bible verses. Bringing a friend to church scored you mega-points (even if that friend already went to church elsewhere). I have to take a moment to apologize to my friends, especially Craig, who got dragged to church several times in order for me to get more points. The best prize I ever won was a set of twelve apostle-head-shaped metal charms to go on a keychain or bracelet, each with the name of the apostle and a Bible verse inscribed on the back. I have no idea where those apostle-heads are now, but I know that most of my friends who came have little or no interest in church anymore.
So here I am, all grown up and working in a job where one of my roles is, ironically, evangelist. The temptation from my youth is still there to view the communication of the gospel as a means to get points. The prizes are no longer Bibles and apostle-head charms, but fame and recognition from the Christian community for being an all-star InterVarsity staff worker - and of course, eternal rewards from God himself. The consequences of being a lousy evangelist loom larger too. If too few students become Christians, I fear that people might stop financially supporting my work and that God will be disappointed with me. Not to mention that I'll be way behind in the race for points.
Please join with me in praying:
- that I can know the gospel for what it is: as the story of the Kingdom of God, a story which continues today as the Spirit restores the reign of God in the lives of individuals and communities all over the earth
- that I'll be free from the temptation to score points with God and with people by trying to win converts to Christianity, InterVarsity, or any other cause
- that I can unselfishly celebrate the victories of other ministers and not be focused on building up a ministry as my personal kingdom
- that I can proclaim the holistic gospel of the Kingdom with sensitivity, grace, and courage
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Prayed Out
Have you ever gotten tired of bowing your head? From a 6:30 AM daily prayer meeting at church to midday meetings with ministry partners, pastors, and faculty, to late-night prayer gatherings with students, neighbors, and Wes, the last two weeks have been punctuated by prayer. Prayer for the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Katrina, for the VT campus, for the town of Blacksburg. Prayer for students to step up as leaders, for more volunteers to join the ministry, for wisdom in approaching the ever-growing number of opportunities to exercise my own talents and energy. Prayer for our daily bread of God's Word, of the Spirit's action, of supporters' gifts and prayers to keep me on campus a little longer. Prayer for God's kingdom to come, for his will to be done, for his fame to be made known among all people near and far.
All this prayer has produced an unexpected result: weariness. The more I pray, the more I see God act. But the more I see God act, the more I realize the need to pray, because I feel the weight of God's love for a loveless world. And finally I reach a point where my awareness of the needs of the world, the ministry, and the people I love are too great for my words. At this point, the best I can do is just sit still before the Lord.
I thought prayer was supposed to be refreshing and life-giving! Well, it is, in the same way that exercising my body relieves stress and gives me more energy throughout the rest of the day. But working out makes me really tired, too. So I guess my spiritual muscles aren't as strong as I thought (a good thing to know at this point in the year)! I couldn't yet pray all day even if I wanted to. This is why I value the prayers of those from afar - the Lord uses them to sustain me. Thank you for standing with me when I'm all prayed out.
On an exciting note, this outpouring of corporate prayer is a both a response to and an invitation for the Spirit's work in Blacksburg. I have never sensed so much unity and expectancy among Christians in a place before. In spite of the weariness, my spirit senses that God is doing BIG things in this small town.
All this prayer has produced an unexpected result: weariness. The more I pray, the more I see God act. But the more I see God act, the more I realize the need to pray, because I feel the weight of God's love for a loveless world. And finally I reach a point where my awareness of the needs of the world, the ministry, and the people I love are too great for my words. At this point, the best I can do is just sit still before the Lord.
I thought prayer was supposed to be refreshing and life-giving! Well, it is, in the same way that exercising my body relieves stress and gives me more energy throughout the rest of the day. But working out makes me really tired, too. So I guess my spiritual muscles aren't as strong as I thought (a good thing to know at this point in the year)! I couldn't yet pray all day even if I wanted to. This is why I value the prayers of those from afar - the Lord uses them to sustain me. Thank you for standing with me when I'm all prayed out.
On an exciting note, this outpouring of corporate prayer is a both a response to and an invitation for the Spirit's work in Blacksburg. I have never sensed so much unity and expectancy among Christians in a place before. In spite of the weariness, my spirit senses that God is doing BIG things in this small town.
