The Target

Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, come one, come all!  Take your seats and prepare to see the most amazing and frightening performance of your lives.  As I blindfold myself and ready my throwing knives, my lovely assistant shall step up to the wheel and I will demonstrate the object lesson of today’s blog.  I recommend that those with delicate constitutions step out of the room as we perform this death defying trick. 

I used to love circus acts like that: the pretty lady spinning on the wheel while the blindfolded man throws razor sharp blades at her.  There was a sense of suspense, a tempting titillation, and a delicious desire for danger.  There was even a secret macabre hope that you just might see some blood.

Over the years, this act has lost its delight as I see it played out in the real world of ministry.  There are many things that are absolutely wonderful about leading a ministry, but there is one significant drawback that I’d like to share.  Being a ministry leader makes you the person spinning on the target.

There just never seems to be a lack of people who are willing to tell you what they think you are doing wrong or telling you how they want you to be doing things.  There is always someone willing to tell you how they believe you could have done better.  Perhaps you should have said __________ in your sermon.  Or, I don’t think that we should do __________ as a church.  Or, your church should be doing __________ type of ministry.  I don’t think we should play __________ type of music.

Often, these are couched as ‘suggestions’ by well-meaning people, but then they are hurt when you don’t take their suggestion, or if you offer a different point-of-view.  What’s even more common, the person giving the advice usually isn't even actively involved in the ongoing ministry of the church.  They just sit there and snipe at the pastor, music leader, elders, or other ministry leaders.  I have even had new people, after their first or second visit, tell me what they thought was wrong with me or our church, or even other churches.  I can even go further in saying that the people most likely to make these types of suggestions are the ones who are least likely to show evidence of an active and growing discipleship.

I write this piece, not to whine about how things are, or to grumble and complain; I write this to offer a better way.  (no, I don’t miss the irony here, I am suggesting another way of doing things, but the difference is, I am committed to being involved and living this out myself.)

1.       Encourage those in ministry.  Pray for them.  The jobs are difficult, the pay is low, and they are working very hard.  They love what they do, but it can be mental and spiritually draining to be criticized all the time.

2.       Instead of suggesting that ‘the church should do __________,’ as if ‘the Church’ somehow is an entity outside ofyou.  Why don’t you volunteer to make something happen.  Offer to do the fundraising, solicit and train volunteers, and make the ministry happen. 

3.       If you felt something was left out of the sermon or that it could be said another way, why don’t you go back and listen to what was actually there, instead of what you wish was there.  Perhaps the message had a different intent to it that you can learn something from.

4.       If you are focused on the type of music instead of the message of the music and the purpose of worship, then perhaps it is time to look at your own selfish desires and retrain them on God instead of on yourself. 

5.       Refocus your faith.  You should be serving God and serving His community, not being served by the church.  If you have been at your church more than a few months, you should be volunteering and becoming an active part of the family instead of being a passive consumer.   Church is not a business that sells a product to you, but a family, a body of people who work together towards God’s goals, not their own.

This isn’t to take anything away from the active, serving believer who offers gentle truth, a graceful critique, or sees a way to improve ministry and is willing to get their hands dirty to make a difference.  We need more of this and less of the other type.

It is time to take a hard look at how we do church.  In fact, let’s not do church anymore.  Let’s BE the church!  Let’s get rid of the petty, old-school ways of churchianity and begin living as selfless, loving, merciful, joyful, grace-filled servants of Jesus.   How powerful could it be if everyone in the small local church took the personal responsibility to serve and not to be served?  What if all of us decided to put our faith in action in the local community and not wait to be catered to? 

What could happen if each one of us gave sacrificially of our time, money, and abilities instead of waiting for someone else to do it?  Imagine a church where every single member was actively serving in a ministry that God called them to, regularly giving to God’s work, and committed to building a vibrant, loving, and welcoming community where those outside the church could come and encounter a safe place to seek God.

Perhaps that’s the target we should be aiming at. 

One Word

Broken.

That’s the only word I have for it.

Broken.

Broken pavement on the roads.

Broken windows in the houses.

Broken glass on the playground.

Broken hearts from the abuse, incest, and rape.

Broken families from the poverty and unemployment.

Broken lives from gang murder, drugs, and alcohol.

Broken.

Less than 2 hours from the jobs available in Phoenix, less than 50 miles from the affluent bounty of Superstition Springs Mall, is the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation.

Less than a day ago, I went with a ministry co-worker, Amber, for a tour of the reservation where we saw for ourselves the pain and desperation of this place. 

Stories.  We heard lots of stories.  A twelve year old boy murdered by gang members.  A pre-teen girl whose uncle got her drunk in an attempt to molest her.  A young teen boy who attempted suicide in a house full of his younger siblings and cousins.  Girls pregnant at the young age of 13-15.  Those same girls, grandmas at thirty, sobering up for the first time so they can take care of their grandchildren for their addicted daughters.  Corrupt politicians handing out free 40s of malt liquor in order to garner votes.  Husbands taking the $250 a month the family lives on to gamble at the casino only to lose it all.

We saw things too.  A mom, with her two children, whose only notable fact was she happened to be sober for once.  Graffiti and gang symbols everywhere.  Sheds, shanties, rusted out cars, and tarps where whole families live without electricity or running water.  A police officer’s home, with bars on the windows next to a drug dealer’s home.  Broken Colt 45 beer bottles on the kids playgrounds.

I have no words to describe the heartache that I felt from seeing and hearing all of this.

I do have another word, though.

Hope.

The ministry that gave us the tour builds homes for the homeless on the reservation.

They provide back-to-school backpacks and supplies for kids.

They provide Christmas stockings and presents to families.

They are working on a battered women’s shelter.

They have a bus ministry that we got to take part in.  The bus drives through the neighborhoods and stops periodically and toots its horn.  Kids come running from houses all around to get a chance to go on the bus.  It then pulls up in an empty field next to a basketball court and the kids sing, get a Bible lesson, eat a snack, and then take part in games and crafts.  I got to hand out otter-pops to 45 smiling children, teach a young boy named Jay how to roller skate, and play basketball with a couple of other boys.   As we were leaving, Jay came up and handed me a rock, saying, “I found this cool rock for you, thank you for helping me to skate.”

Children are the same everywhere.  In the midst of poverty and abuse, on a playground covered with shattered glass and trash, they are still able to play and smile.

All they need is a little hope.

It’s there, in the ministry of a few people who care enough to sacrifice lives of comfort and material comfort in order to minister to those who need.

Hope.

Hope for shelter and food.

Hope for a safe place to grow up.

Hope for an education that will someday provide for them.

Hope for healthy relationships and families.

Hope for freedom from addiction and abuse.

Hope for the future.

Hope.

If you would like to help out, visit www.azrez.org and donate your time and money.  Take a trip with them to build houses.  Donate school supplies and Christmas stockings stuffed with presents.  Donate Walmart gift cards or donate cash.

Looking for a Sign

Feed the hungry. Or else.

That is the short version of Jesus’ message in Matthew 25:31-44. He also mentions giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, and nursing the sick, inviting in the stranger, and visiting the prisoner. He makes no bones about the threat of punishment to his followers who do not do these things.

So, what does that look like in our world?

A close friend of mine, Amber, and a few of her buddies were planning to go on a mission trip to help the poor. The plans fell through and left them with about $1400 in cash raised and some time on their hands. They talked about helping out a local ministry such as a food bank or homeless shelter. They also discussed visiting other places such as the Indian reservation or Mexico. In the end, they decided to put the money and their time directly to work by buying food and taking it to the homeless in local parks.

There is a large park downtown where many homeless sleep, so they chose to go down there. They setup a small canopy and started handing out sandwiches. Park personnel immediately came over and told them they weren’t allowed to feed the homeless in the park and made them leave.

I visited the park this morning with Amber to find out more. We were looking for a sign that had rules to see if there was a statute posted, preventing them from feeding the homeless. We found a sign with park rules and regulations. No loud music, pick up your pet poop, and don't play golf, but no mention of feeding the homeless, so we flagged down a park maintenance truck and met Terry. He told us there was no official regulation or statute, but it was park policy because of the mess that the homeless leave. He then went on to share that he has tried to help the homeless in the past, including putting some up in a rental property he owns, all to no avail. “Most of these people don’t want real help and they don’t want the Lord, they just want a hand out,” Terry told us. He did direct us to a local church abutting the park that fed the homeless on their property. We thanked Terry and went on our way.

As we walked across the park, we saw a group of people wearing red t-shirts pulling rolling coolers, handing out water bottles and lunch sacks to the homeless. I flagged them down and talked with Brian, a volunteer from a church in Anthem (about an hour or so North of Central Phoenix). Brian said his group had been feeding the homeless there every Monday for several years. They have been kicked out several times, but each time address the complaint and come back. First they were told that too many people were gathering and needed a park permit, so they went and passed the word that they would walk through the park pass out food and water without gathering everyone in one place. Then they were told that they had to have food handlers’ cards and a restaurant license, so they began using prepackaged food such as Vienna sausages and bagged chips. He said, “We do get hassled, but always try to be respectful and polite while doing our service.”

Amber and I thanked Brian and continued on to Grace Lutheran Church where we met Evelyn. She and a group of women have been feeding lunch to the homeless every weekday for over a decade. She shared that she has found mental illness to be a huge issue. “These are the people who have slipped through the cracks,” she said, “No one wants them and there aren’t enough facilities or beds for all the ones who need real mental health assistance.” She also said that considering life circumstances, "there but for the grace of God go we."

Like many issues, homelessness is a problem that is very complex and is not easily solved by sound-bite answers and simplistic solutions. It's easy to say, "Get a Job." It's easy to call them bums and derelicts, but it's much harder to realize that life circumstance could leave any one of us there, just as Evelyn pointed out.

Is it better to give money to organizations such as St. Vincent de Paul or the Phoenix Rescue Mission who provide food, but also job training, life skills, and other assistance in getting out of a bad situation? Possibly, but due to space limitations and distance to their location, they can’t help every homeless person in Phoenix.

Is it good to hand out food and water in the parks? This provides temporary assistance and possibly keeps people away from the shelters that might help them. But, it does help someone who is distress at this very moment.

Thank you to Amber Steven, Laura, and Kaylee for being willing to get out there and do God's work instead of just sitting in pews and saying, "someone should do something about that. Thank you also to Terry from the park, Brian from Anthem, and Evelyn from Grace Lutheran for sharing on this issue.

A final observation: Terry, Brian, and Evelyn all had one thing in common. When I approached them on asking about feeding the homeless, their response was immediately defensive as if they had been burned before regarding this issue. It wasn’t until they realized that I didn’t have an agenda to push on them that they calmed down and shared openly.

I don’t have all the answers, but I do know this: Jesus calls his followers to feed the hungry, help widows and orphans, clothe the naked, give water to the thirsty, and nurse the sick.

So that is what I must do.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27