Archive for the ‘Service’ Category

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Living In Service To Others For Jesus

January 27, 2016

Service is an important spiritual discipline. Jesus almost always had people respond after a healing. James told us that faith without works (service) is dead.

Wycliffe, the Bible translator group, had a celebration yesterday Jan. 26 as it released 16 new translations of the Bible for language groups in Asia, Latin America, and south Pacific Islands.

It is amazing how many languages there are. In the US, we have some people who think that everyone should only speak English here. Some of these people travel and think that everyone everywhere should be speaking English. It’s only natural, I guess, when you grow up in an area where that’s what everyone  speaks.

Hearing these stories of groups of people in Peru, southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea where there is a distinct language in almost every village, would blow their minds.

The Wycliffe presenters (I was at a Presbyterian church in The Villages, Florida for a service led by leaders of the nearby Wycliffe headquarters) shared stories of people of service who dedicated large chunks of their lives to learning about a people, their language, and their culture. They did this in service so that they could translate the Bible into their language so that they could better understand.

A woman in Cameroon who had only heard the Gospel message in French only came to understand the Easter story when she heard it in her native language. That is the power of the work of these people.

Another of the powerful spiritual disciplines is study. Picking up the Bible daily and actually reading it. Almost all of us read it in our native language without thought of the translation from the original Greek or Hebrew. We rely on the translators without thinking most of the time. But the power of the message for our faith and our lives comes out of study and meditation on the word.

This is marvelous service. Makes me wonder about my service. Am I using all of my talents? And you?

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Act Without Murmuring or Arguing

January 25, 2016

Watch out for small groups of people in the organization who gather to criticize, back bite, and argue. Have you noticed this phenomenon? Worse, have you ever been in one of those groups? Or been a leader in gathering them?

I am by nature an analyzer (ENTP). I have to be very careful and aware of whom I talking with as to whether I’m merely analyzing or “murmuring” or arguing. Occasionally someone has accused me of cynicism. But that stance ascribes motivations to others. I try to just describe actions and probe reasons. I don’t automatically think people are duplicitous.

Paul offers an antidote to this attitude that can be so hurtful to people and organizations. Writing to the Philippians (2:14), he says, “Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.”

Nothing beats negativity or (non-clinical) depression like action. One of the key Spiritual Disciplines is service. When you’re out serving others, doing for Jesus, you don’t have time for complaining and murmuring.

A good leader will organize such that there is a bias toward action. Don’t give people time to gather and complain. Get the teams moving in a positive direction.

Several years ago, there was a company I knew that had pathetic leadership. I’m being kind. Employees had all kinds of time to go online and comment on Websites. The negativity, hate, complaining, finger-pointing was terrible. People in other companies wondered how they had all that time. Part of the problem of the leadership was that they weren’t focused on pushing ahead and getting commitment of people.

It is often our fault, though. In the end, we are responsible for ourselves. We need to have some self-awareness of when we are slipping. When we sense this negativity happening, it’s time to look for a service project. Get busy. Get focused. Get positive.

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What Kind of Person Will I Be This Year

January 4, 2016

Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. … All the widows stood beside  [Peter], showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made.

This is a story found in the Acts of the Apostles where Peter brings a woman back to life.

Let’s consider the woman, Tabitha, in the context of thinking about looking forward toward our new year. Who do I want to be this year?

First, she–well let’s pause there a second. She. To all those rigid people who misread Paul and other texts, here is an early example of an important woman disciple.

OK, I’m not going to be a she, but I can certainly learn from her example.

She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. I don’t write enough about the spiritual discipline of service. But if I could be known as a disciple who does good things for people, that would be good.

Sort of reading between the lines, it appears that she was a leader of a group of widows. Women who had lost their husbands were at the mercy of others in that society. Remember how the apostles wanted Paul to raise money to support widows back in Jerusalem? One of the powerful acts of service of early disciples was caring for the unfortunate, such as widows.

She must have been a leader of the group, discipling them, doing good works such as making clothes for them most likely out of her own wealth.

For this next year, i’d like to be like Dorcas–do good works, lead a small group into discipleship, help people out of my wealth.

That would be a good year.

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For Christmas, Jesus, I’d Like Your Presence

December 21, 2015

“Jesus, I want your presence for Christmas.”

That sentence appeared somewhere last week. I love plays on words. They often drive ideas home. Several books of the Bible are full of these word plays–especially Psalms and Proverbs. Sometimes I think Paul sneaked one or two in his writings.

Presence–Presents.

There are people who, as children, received few presents. Then they went to school and saw what some of the other kids got. Cue jealousy, greed leading to a life of self-absorption, narcissism, and/or greed. Even into late adulthood, they still crave presents.

Even as Christians, as self-professed followers of the guy whose birth we celebrate. They can’t help it. This most likely was not a decision. So many things we get blamed for by the Pharisees who still live amongst us are not really decisions. Just reactions reinforced by family or peer group becoming habits of self-thought.

Others of us learned from those “poor” beginnings that all the gifts really had little meaning. Open the present, check out the (most likely cheap) toy, play for a while, then it’s over.

What remains is experience. All the family gathered. Special church worship. People especially cheerful, wishing peace for everyone.

Me, I seek the presence. As a contemplative, I’ve had experiences. They are deep and meaningful. On the other hand, some of the best experiences of presence have come in service. Sometime just a helping hand. Or picking up a dinner check for some stranger spontaneously. Or working with orphans in international ministries. It can be in the same house or half-way around the world.

We celebrated the 4th Sunday of Advent in a church that celebrates diversity. In just about every way. What a welcoming group of people. The presence was felt.

I only wish that we could spread that presence of the one whose birth we celebrate.

Could I be more witness and less preacher? Seek and share the presence of Jesus.

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A Life of Service

December 2, 2015

It was somewhat “accidental” that the government sent him to work with youth in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the US.

You wonder how much of an accident it was. For the government, it was a form of punishment for not being drafted in the VietNam War era. He chose service.

There are people who love to quote passages from the Bible such as all things work for good for those who have faith. Whether God was behind the decision or God worked in the moment, the decision led to a life of service.

After some years of service, he went into business. But the service continued. He began adopting children whom no one else would care for. Severe handicaps and abuse. Some would never be able to leave his care (also his wife’s by the way who shared the entire journey).

He and his partner were good at that business thing. Became quite wealthy. The resources enabled the growing family to build a suitable estate to house them all.

A life of service done in the name of God. A life of service of which he never boasted. He and his wife “just did it.”

I heard the story once. It stuck. It makes me wonder what I’ve done with my life. Christians used to call this feeling “conviction,” in the sense of being convicted of a crime.

Stories such as this from my lifetime force me to recall Acts 2 and 4 where the church grew rapidly because of the way the members of the fellowship lived and cared for people.

Our witness of the power of Jesus gains credibility when done from a life of service to others.

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A Passion for Service

September 15, 2015

There was a sudden change at the top of management at United Continental Holdings (United Air Lines). According to reports in national newspapers, the problem could be ethics related.

My son was discussing the state of the airline industry and the lack of leadership at the top of the entire industry with me when I pulled out a quote from one article in The New York Times. The writer said something you’d usually only find in a small town local paper, “Executives usually have jet fuel in their veins.”

I think the writer meant that executives usually come from within the industry. And maybe that the have a passion for the industry.

Today almost all the leaders in the industry are either lawyers or finance people. None come from operations. None ever interacted with customers.

As a long-time frequent flyer, I observe the industry closely. I remember when Continental had a CEO who had a passion for serving the customer. Knowing that customers are served by the thousands of front line employees–pilots, flight attendants, gate agents, baggage handlers–that CEO put programs in place that motivated and rewarded customer service.

He was followed by a finance guy. As people with that training do, he was a spreadsheet manager and looked daily at costs to be cut. Soon the culture of customer service was replaced by a culture of  let’s just get by.

That’s a long introduction to why I was sitting in my chair this morning thinking about service.

I thought about how if we focus on serving others, we cut out time for whining, pouting, worrying, and otherwise focusing on ourselves.

I thought about how Jesus said that he left two commandments–love God and love our neighbor. When some local wise guys asked, “Who is our neighbor,” Jesus responded with a story. We call it the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the story the religious leaders failed the service test while the outcast Samaritan man passed it.

Obviously Jesus was teaching that part of our spiritual formation comes when we focus on a life of service.

A life of service is tough. Even the little I do gets tiring sometimes. One of my service functions centers on soccer. By this time in the season, I feel drained at times dealing with the difficulties and the personalities. But in the end a few thousand kids get to play the game and develop physically and (I hope) emotionally. (Although following last night’s game, I heard a coach and a dad tell a player whom I had called for a foul to just keep doing it–other referees may not call it. Hmm, not a lot of emotionally healthy teaching going on there!)

Whether you’re a leader of a big organization or a small church or a non-profit or a committee–determine whom you’re serving and go out and serve them with passion. In the end, your spirit will have developed and matured. And you’ll earn a “Well done good and faithful servant.”

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Discerning God’s Will

August 19, 2015

“You will win the election if it is God’s will,” the lady told a political candidate.

Subsequent conversations with others about God’s will centered on the question of how do you know and what do you mean.

Is it God’s will for whether the politician wins or not? Or, is the issue whether the politician is following God’s will–his calling–for his life? Maybe he sat in contemplation and God whispered that his talents would be best used as a politician. Although I have to say from personal observation (I’ve met him briefly, he’s my representative somewhere) that he probably had a better calling as a Navy SEAL than as a legislator. But, who am I to question God?

Psychologist Henry Cloud spoke the past two weekends at Willow Creek Community Church on that topic. God’s will for your life–not my legislator.

He talked about finding your passion. Getting your passion aligned with your talents. That will be a hint about following God’s will for your life.

But you need discernment. Is this a real passion or a momentary infatuation? Does it match my talents and skills with passion for service? Can you visualize a beneficial outcome?

He talked of two builders. Each made a pile of money developing tracts of land, building houses, and selling them.

One was tired and burned out. He found it boring to do the same old thing over again–even if he did earn millions of dollars.

The other was energized. “I just love what I’m doing. I fly over the undeveloped tract of land and visualize houses and parks and families grilling and kids playing. I just love this.”

One found his passion. His heart was in it, and his heart was in a right relationship. He made a lot of money, but his heart was on helping others.

This one, no doubt, had found God’s will for his life. And many benefited. The other merely found a job he was good at.

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Live In Unity

July 28, 2015

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! Psalm 133

Of course, that was originally written for physical descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

However, many of us look at our congregations of believers and sigh that same refrain. If only…

Dallas Willard writes in The Spirit of the Disciplines, “Personalities united can contain mor of God and sustain the force of his greater persence much better than scattered individuals.”

I’ve been devoting several hours of service working with other members of my congregations, and I have to leave in 10 minutes for another four hours this morning.

Just reflecting for a few minutes that serving together on a common project is so much better than just sitting around and criticizing one another, or making up untruths about others, or gossiping about others.

How pleasant indeed it is when we can get together and serve in unity.

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I Am The Guardian Of A Vision

July 9, 2015

Some 20 years ago, I served as chairman of the board of trustees for our local church. Our main task was to oversee the health and repair of the physical property. With a building older than 100 years, that is a task.

There were some marvelous servants on the board. We all worked together with the skills God had given us, and I believe we were good stewards of the building and property–and the financial health of the church.

Writing in the Celtic Daily Prayer, an unknown author was talking about place (geographic, local) and especially about old places in England. He (she?) said, “When we say, ‘I’m in charge of these ruins,’ it must mean that we are guardians of a vision, not curators for the department of ancient monuments.”

There was a sense when I was attempting to lead the group that I felt part of a long line of people stretching back to the mid-1800s (a long time in western Ohio where settlement really didn’t begin in earnest until about the 1830s). They had a vision of being Jesus’ witnesses in the frontier.

In a way, we are still on the frontier wherever we go. Jesus remains a stumbling block to many. And my great sorrow is when Christ-followers themselves help throw up stumbling blocks instead of looking for ways to help people turn the stumbling block into a cornerstone for the foundation of their lives.

Let’s take the thought even further. When are we guardians of a vision laid out thousands of years before? When are we merely curators of an ancient monument out of which has been sucked all the life and spirit?

When we consider our spiritual formation, at what point do we look for what adds life? Or, should we consider at what point we began just curating an ancient monument and have lost the life?

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Christian or Follower of Jesus?

June 18, 2015

Most of the time I just like to teach. Or point out some interesting or ironic observations. Or share something that (I hope) helps  people in their spiritual formation.

Then, sometimes I get into controversial things that cannot be explained in 300 words or less 😉

This may be one of those.

How do I describe myself?

I’ve just returned from a conference with an international focus. I count people from many cultures and many countries as friends (OK, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but I hope they are). I am aware of history and its impact on perceptions people have even to today.

While contemplating a completely different subject for this post, my thoughts focused on the differences between the person I was going to quote (see a future post, I’m sure) and me.

He’s not expressly a Christian–or maybe not even consciously one.

But, I sometimes have a little problem identifying myself that way. I have absolutely no problem identifying myself as a follower of Jesus. His words have penetrated deeply into me for what seems like my entire life. I want to be like him (as a disciple should), although even while writing this, I’m painfully aware of how far from that ideal I am.

I know people from the Middle East. I’m aware of the connotation that “Christian” often has. Instead of describing someone who lives such an attractive life that people want to be like them, the term often recalls savagery, genocide, exploitation. Even in Europe, “Christians” massacred each other for hundreds of years. No wonder that so many throughout the world don’t care to identify with the name.

Attraction

The Acts 2 church grew because the people lived such extraordinary lives that they attracted those around them to Jesus.

Last week I met (English names, not theirs exactly) people like Daniel and Joe and others who are living that kind of life. They are in areas hostile to “Christians”, yet the example they set is so attractive that people from a diverse religious and cultural background are led to learn more about that unique person from 2100 years ago.

I’m little interested in knowing if you identify yourself as “Christian.” I am more interested in whether your life reflects how you are a disciple of Jesus. I just used a quote at the end of my Yoga class, “As I grow older, I am less interested in what men say. I just watch them and see what they do.”

At the end of every day we should ask, “What did I do today that proclaimed that I follow Jesus” and “What should I do tomorrow to show that I follow Jesus?”

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