VillagePastor

Becoming Fully Present to God

I just finished another journey with Barbara Brown Taylor.  Through her words, which are done with the skill and care of a craftsman (like Eugene Peterson), I have followed her from When God is Silent (a book every preacher should read at least twice a year) to her transparent transition from the church, Leaving Church (which also is worthy of a regular read for those of us when “we get so immersed in indoor dramas we lose track of the seasons”).  

I wasn’t sure where her interests would take her next, but An Altar in the World suggests that with a certain slowing she has become much more sensitive to life around her.  The timing for reading her book was perfect, for I was doing much more thinking about how to become fully present to God.  The silence of a recent vacation prompted this.  Taylor’s work is all about this.  She writes twelve chapters underscoring twelve practices she has incorporated into her life, and she challenges us to integrate them into ours as well.  Returning to these has the power to save faith that might just be “out of breath,” something she seemed out of by the end of her parish ministry.  Some are more predictable—the practice of waking up to God, the practice of paying attention.  Here are some others— 

-the PRACTICE OF GETTING LOST - I liked this chapter a lot, maybe because I am too inclined to take the shortest distance between two points.  Here, Taylor unpacks the value of getting off the trail.  We are too inclined to the cow path, walking the same predictable route, riding or driving the same streets. The beaten down path makes all the choices for you.  The senses do not need to be on alert—and trust is not so required.  In getting occasionally lost, we discover things we would not have found if we stayed on the path.  Things happen in the wilderness that do not happen in a manicured garden.  

-the PRACTICE OF LIVING WITH PURPOSE - most people work at jobs that are too small for them.  I see this in many of the people I know. Most purposes this side of eternity are too small for most human beings.  People want to be part of something that really matters. Here Taylor shares more of her own journey, discovering that far bigger than the purposes she has lived out is the larger vocation of loving God and neighbor as oneself.  This is finding one’s real purpose, becoming fully human. 

-the PRACTICE OF SAYING NO - according to Taylor, this is the essence of Sabbath.  It is saying no to work, commerce, internet, car, and that voice in the head forever whispering “more.” Only in saying no do we resist culture’s killing rhythms of drivenness and depletion, compulsion and collapse.  This is probably why too few of us take a Sabbath rest each week. We have been conditioned to always say yes. 

-the PRACTICE OF FEELING PAIN - this I believe was the most powerful chapter.  The insights Taylor finds in the book of Job are stunning. While our obvious tendency is to avoid pain, there’s something important about engaging it, giving full attention to what it can teach us. Pain is “one the fastest routes to a no-frills encounter with the Holy.” Still, most of us, including me, are inclined to avoid it.  Job is a textbook on pain, as well as the silence of God.  This is what is hardest to work through in pain. Divine silence can feel like “falling through outer space without an oxygen mask on.” Yet, pain remains a “reliable altar” in the world, a place to discover that a life can be just as full of meaning as it is of hurt. 

-the PRACTICE OF BEING PRESENT TO GOD - it is here I particularly identify with Taylor and her own admission of being a failure at prayer.  When people ask about my prayer life, she writes, “I feel like a bulimic must feel when people ask about her favorite dish.  My mind starts scrambling for ways to hide my problem. As she adds, “I would rather show someone my checkbook stubs.  But there is a way forward, and that is to embrace a fuller definition of prayer that goes beyond set times. Real prayer, she notes, is waking up to the presence of God, no matter where we are.  Giving ourselves fully to God in that moment, we are in this dialogue.  Speaking is going on. 

Timely stuff!

Monday Debrief (09/26/11)

(a weekly post reflecting on the weekend)

The Text: Matthew 18:1-5

As their journey begins to move toward Jerusalem, the disciples are increasingly concerned with the pecking order.  Who is the greatest in the kingdom (or at least, who is the top dog amongst us twelve)?  They want to know. Jesus chose three to go to the Mt of Transfiguration, giving the keys to the kingdom to one of them.  Is Peter Mr. Bossypants?  And what is greatness anyways?  Maybe Jesus will enlighten them and give a Jim Collin’s type of answer, showing them how to move this emerging church from good to great.  But Jesus does just the opposite, turning their question on its head. Just as we saw last week, Jesus’ answer is aimed to make them think.  Last week, he declared that small faith is solved by small faith (17:20). In other words, to do extraordinary things will require a different kind of faith that you have.  This week, He took an object lesson, a small child (typically considered of little importance, a nuisance), set her in their midst, and said—here’s greatness. It will take a different definition than the one you are working with.

The Insight

Most of us have asked ourselves, “Where do I stand amongst my peers?” It’s natural to want to know where we sit in this pecking order.  My favorite story is Al Haig and Ron Ziegler having aides measure their sleeping accommodations so that their beds would be equidistant from Nixon’s on Air Force One. But I’m not so proud of my own moments, going to pastor’s conferences to be inspired, only to spend a certain amount of emotional capital wondering how I compare with others.

If Jesus had answered their question as the world often does, most of our lives would be a mess.  If He defined greatness as, say Hayward, in his book Greatness, as having a bold vision, having the capacity for immense strength, an iron will, and rock like convictions, we would be off to the races.

Instead, the insight here is that Jesus simply pointed to a child and in the process redefined greatness.  And maybe it goes something like this:

-Greatness is a childlike dependence that recognizes in every waking moment we, apart from God, can do nothing-John 15:5

-Greatness is a childlike wonder that never loses a sense of curiosity, never stops learning, and never stops being amazed by God’s grace

-Greatness is a childlike freedom that wakes up relaxed because one does not assume too much self importance

-Greatness is a childlike naiveness that is okay with a certain simplicity, that does not have to know what an impure, sophisticated, experienced world wants to teach it

-Greatness is a childlike authenticity that does not put on airs.  Children are not too concerned with designer labels and make-up.

This kind of childlikeness separates the good from the truly great (and greatly takes the pressure off).

The Helps

I appreciated thoughts in both Mahaney’s Humility: True Greatness, as well as McManus’, Uprising. Marva Dawn writes one of most insightful books on the subject in her Power, Weakness, and the Tabernacling of God

The commentaries particularly helpful this week.  The Gospel of Matthew, France and  Matthew, Bruner

Rating

Given the responses and my own experience, I will go with three out of four.

Lessons From a Health Bar

Behind those nutritional bars on the shelf is usually a story of someone who came up with an idea.  It would be hard to imagine a more compelling story than Gary Erickson’s.  Tired of the energy bars he consumed to boost his power for arduous climbs, he decided it was time to create his own.  Something told him he could make something better, something that “if you needed to eat six of them, you wouldn’t have to choke the last one down.” So out of countless hours in mom’s kitchen came Clif Bar, today the largest privately held company in its category.

I was encouraged to read his story from a former Villager who did innovative work at Starbucks, but eventually shifted and made the move to Clif Bar.  After reading Raising the Bar, I can see why he made the switch.  It sounds like a pretty impressive and inspiring company, one that ministries can learn from.  Here are some quick lessons from Erickson’s journey--

1-Embrace Risk.  Any venture begins with risk, but then, this is what entrepreneurs do. This is what Erickson did, starting with very simple beginnings.  And as I have been around guys in ministry who have done some pretty profound things—risk is what they assume.  This is what church planters, what apostles do—they start small and assume the risk of a ministry venture.  Paul started from Antioch with a small team and embraced the risk of setting his sights on Rome, and even on to Spain. But in this case, the risk amounts to faith—not in self--but in a great God who can do anything.

 2-Be Willing to Start Small.  When Clif Bar first came out, there wasn’t any budget for marketing, etc.  So they went to athletic events, set up booths in sporting ventures and got to know people.  They did the hard work, grunt work of working with people where they are at, staying within their means.  For us in ministry, we must always be willing to start small, get low, and stay low.  This is where we find God (Matt 18:5).

3-Catch the Wave.  Fortunately for Clif Bar, it was the right bar at the right time.  In business, timing is everything.  They suddenly found themselves on a ride, growing from three to fifty to hundred employees in no time.  For us in ministry, there is something to timing as well.  We plant and water, but God causes the growth.  We never know where this is all going, where the Spirit moves next (John 3).  The important thing is to be ready when the Spirit blows.

4-It’s the Road—Not the Destination.  Out of amazing growth, Gary Erickson saw himself thinking more and more destinational--making it big, earning immense profits.  He was on a mission, growing from 2 to 5 to 40 million in annual income. But he came to a settled conviction that it can’t be about the destination—the bottom line, maximizing shareholder value.  It has to be about the journey—not about the most direct and quick route. The road drives the company. As a result, Clif Bar is one of those unique corporations that doesn’t just make money—it gives back to the community, to environmental issues, etc. The older I get, the more I am getting it—that the road is what is important.  Destinations are good (Phil 3:12), but when we are too destinational, we can miss the present for the future.

5-Watch for Drift.  Inevitably, things that take off fast slow down.  After some early years of growth, things began to flatten at Clif Bar.  Gossip and morale loss began to take hold.  As Erickson explains, they began to rest on their laurels.  The organizational machinery began to transcend the vision. They stopped attending to changes in the market.  They were not so careful in listening to their customers.  More players entered the field, but those at Clif Bar weren’t paying attention, were not launching new products, nor being decisive in their execution.  This happens all the time at corporate level.  It also happens in churches that grow. The mission, values, and direction can begin to blur.  Growth for growth’s sake rather than growth to further a vision. We can lose our focus, get caught up in early successes and assume we’ve reached the summit when, in reality, we are still at base camp.  One way to avoid drift is keep to the adage—what got you here won’t keep you there.

 6-Remember Who You Are.  As Erickson put it, think big, but realize its only health food.  He started Clif Bar for one simple purpose—to make a better energy bar. As I noted in an earlier post on lessons from Starbucks, it is important to know who we are in ministry.  While corporate entrepreneurs can go after amazing goals and do great things, too many pastors underestimate their purpose as well as the possibilities.  We’re the church, the hope of the world.  We have to think big.  Anything less is missing the mark, missing our call, missing this immense challenge to be part of advancing God’s kingdom.

7-Keep It Simple.  One of the keys to Clif Bars success is that they have kept this large enterprise as simple as possible.  Simple, natural ingredients. Organizational structure simple—few hierarchal layers.  Decision making and direct communication happen quickly. Live within your means.  Grow at a rate you can sustain.

I reread Simple Church this week, and it gives a similar recipe to the church.  Ministry creep slinks in.  Elder meetings become full of complexities that get off the main thing.  Keep it simple really is critical to an effective ministry, just as it is for something as small as health bars.  The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing (German proverb).

Monday Debrief (09/19/11)

(a weekly post reflecting on the weekend)

The Text-Matthew 17:14-21

Jesus comes down from the mountain top back into the mess.  Many of us can relate.  We’ve gone to the mountain, moving into closer proximity with God (e.g. a personal retreat, time away), and now we find ourselves back in the realities of life.  The chaos in this story involves desperate people, impacted by an awful evil, and an ineffectual church that can seemly do nothing about it.  The problem boils down to people limited by their smallness of faith.  The solution is people with smallness of faith—faith the size of a mustard seed, that can do extraordinary things.

The Insight

On the surface, this text seems to contradict itself.  Small faith is solved by small faith. How can this make any sense?  It requires a clearer understanding of faith.  And I discovered that this is not so easy.  Faith is not a simple subject.  The temptation is to challenge people to have more faith, particularly if their mountains are not moving.  But this is the easy way out. People might be temporarily inspired, but set up to lose their faith in the end when things don’t change. Something more is being said in this story.

I thought a lot about this passage this week.  I have seen so many Christians disappointed, thinking their faith would change things.  I have brought numerous needs to God that I have prayed over, believing God will answer, but nothing happens.  Is it because I need more faith?  Is God waiting for something to increase in my life before He does anything?  The disciples in this story wanted to know, just as I want to know.

Here’s what I learned.  Little faith is faith that is driven out by fear, or faith so anemic it is barely seen.  This is obvious, but here is what is less obvious--little faith is also faith that is misdirected and/or misplaced.  Little faith goes something like this: I want God to do this (heal my friend, give me this job, bring me this relationship, provide for my son…), and I want it so much it morphs into an assumption God wants this as well, and I begin to base my faith on this.  But this is a SET UP!  And Christians do this all of the time. On the other side, mustard seed type faith is faith fed by Word (faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God-Rom 10:17).  It is faith based on God’s clear promises (not want we assume), and it is ultimately focused on God and His will. In other words, it’s not the size of our faith so much as it is Who you are placing your faith in and what He has clearly revealed.  When we pray according to the character of God and the clearly revealed will of God, this kind of faith has the potential to do the impossible.  But this requires spending significant time with Him.

The Helps

Resources were harder to come by.  Not many writers have written great books on faith, but here are some that helped:  Faith & Doubt, Ortberg; , Small Faith, Great God, NT Wright; Seizing your Divine Moment, McManus

The commentaries particularly helpful this week.  The Gospel of Matthew, France; Matthew, Bruner; The Gospel According to Mark, Edwards

Rating

Given the responses and my own experience, I will go with three out of four.

The Power of Influence

Influencing human behavior is one of the most difficult challenges of a leader. Anyone who has preached for a number of years, or taught in a classroom (like me), feels this keenly. At the end of the day, while I am convinced preaching and teaching are biblical mandates, I can sometimes wonder how effective they are in influencing change. What role does preaching and teaching have in lives that are called to become more and more like the image of Jesus (Eph 4:13)? It’s part of the reason I decided to go to a half day conference here in Portland last week. One of the authors of Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, Al Switzler, shared what he and others have learned about influence. Here are some very brief thoughts—

First, he made the point that the most important capacity you have is the ability to influence. It’s a bold statement, but it underscores what others have written, particularly about leadership. John Maxwell, after years of research on what defines a leader concluded, “Leadership is Influence. That’s it. Nothing more; nothing less.” Many others concur, ranging from Oswald Sanders to Warren Bennis. In Learning to Lead, Bennis writes that the basis of leadership is the capacity of the leader to change the mindset, the framework of another person—in a word—influence. Back in the early 90’s, Margaret Wheatley applied leadership to science, describing a leader as one who creates a “powerful field” by sending out a beacon of information, pulsing out congruent messages. Again, in a word—influence.

So how does one influence. This leads to the second takeaway. Switzler noted that influence takes into consideration two main things: a person’s will and a person’s ability. Change comes when a leader either motivates or enables. From a motivational side, a leader has to consider what makes the undesirable desirable? How do you get people to do things they find uninspiring, even painful? To motivate, one must also harness peer pressure, appreciating the power humans hold over one another. Finally, motivation  considers what rewards, perks, bonuses need to be optimized. From an ability side, a leader has to figure out what can enable someone to surpass their limits—what skills can change someone’s will. A leader has to also get people to respond as a community, leveraging the social capital, for this greatly enhances the ability to change. Finally, those intent on seeing change study the structures, the nonhuman forces in the environment that get in the way.

As he puts it, influence geniuses take into account and address all of these. They focus on behaviors, vital behaviors that influence others, that have the potential to drive a lot of change. Studying the life of Christ in Matthew, the One who has influenced more change than anyone in human history, it seems that this is exactly what He did. He made the undesirable desirable. He led men to a place where they were willing to deny themselves and take up their cross. He harnessed people, telling them—“You do it. You feed the 5000.” He constantly reminded them of the rewards. “I have come that you might find life, and find it more abundantly.” He got men to live way beyond their limits—like walking on water. He stressed community—seldom if ever encouraging His disciples to act on their own. He also changed the environment. He got men to see way beyond their human limitations. At the cross, he disarmed the forces of darkness, so that no one is forced into sin. He challenged them to have the kind of faith that changes the environment—moves mountains.

And then the world changed. This is what influence does.