Ask another question...

Over the past few months, I've had several of the typically phrased questions asked of me that folks in churches that are declining in attendance ask (I guess because the church I help lead has new people, young people, people who are living a little different from the rest of the world, etc).  Questions like, "How do we get people to Church?" Or if they have some people, maybe "How do we get young people to church?"  Or if they have a few young people, maybe "how do we keep our young people coming to church?" Maybe they have some people but they aren't seeing much spiritual maturity or freedom, so that question is more like "how do we get people to stop sinning" or "How do we get people to take faith seriously?"

I'm tired of trying to answer these questions; not because I don't think there's an answer, but because the answer is the same for all of them, people just don't seem to want to hear it.  Or maybe the answer just seems too simple for such seemingly complex issues.  

Here it is... ready... you already know what I'm going to say... do I really even need to say it... I'll just say it.  

Jesus.  

There, I said it... again.

Those aren't bad questions, they just usually have skip over the preceding question.  The one we need to start with is "How do we get people to Jesus?"  Unfortunately - and I don't know how this is even possible - Jesus got overshadowed.  Being at church on a Sunday or being on a church member list became a proxy for being close to Jesus.  Don't get me wrong, being with a bunch of other people who know Jesus is vital, it's just that church is often about something else.  Looking like you're a good person who doesn't do bad things or has good morals has become a proxy for being close to Jesus.  Don't get me wrong, the closer you get to Jesus, the less you want to be a crappy person, but I know lots of nice, moral people (at least as nice and moral as the people I go to church with) who don't know Jesus.   Knowledge about God, Jesus, theology, doctrine, etc., have become a proxy for actually knowing Jesus, which is a spiritual thing that only happens by the Holy Spirit.  If you don't know Jesus yet by the spirit, it's not going to matter if you can tell me the difference between classic dispensationalism or progressive covenantalism (if you message me with the answer to that question I'll give you 10 bonus points).  Don't get me wrong, it's important to know what you believe, but only if you you first know who you believe.  

People would come up to Jesus all the time and ask things like, how do I get to heaven?  And Jesus would say things, well why don't you leave everything else behind, follow me around and I'll show you.  Some left everything, some went away sad.  Same is true now.  Not only did Jesus make the way to get to heaven through his blood, sweat, tears, death and resurrection, but he set the whole deal up so we could see heaven come to earth now.  And if we're following Jesus around, people will start following us around, which will probably include "going to church."  

Sometimes people would ask Jesus what's the most important commandment.  And he'd say, Love God and love other people, that'll take care of all the rest of them.  Some people got it and some said, "yeah but..."  Same is true now.  Jesus left us with a new command to love people the way he loved his friends, unconditionally, without condemning of all their many faults and struggles, in the midst of their sinfulness.  No "yeah, but..."  If we treat people like that, they'll soon see who Jesus is and maybe some of that stuff will change, either way, Jesus will still love them and love us.

Or people would say, what's the kingdom of heaven like, and Jesus would say, it's simple, go ask that little kid, they see it.  And some people would get it, because they knew how much they loved their own kids, and some people didn't because kids were a burden to them.  Same is true now.  Our broken brains tell us our father couldn't be that loving, we must be making him angry or at least annoyed by our constant failure and weakness.  Not the prob Bob.  Jesus went out of his way to show his love for the weakest people around.  We all start out weak, we all have a pile of brokeness.  When we stop pretending we don't have that, other people who have stopped pretending they don't will start getting together and Jesus will start putting the pieces back together.  His strength will be evident in our weakness.  

People left everything behind because a rabbi showed them love and gave them a chance when they'd failed by worlds standards.  People got the most important commands because they knew they needed God in order to see those be real and they'd only fail in trying to keep the others on their own.  People recognized the kingdom of heaven because they saw joy and gentleness and dependence on someone greater than them when they saw Jesus with kids.  

Nothing has changed.  If your church is about Jesus, all those other questions will get answered.  If you're like me you'll be in awe of what Jesus will do while you're following him around.  People will go to your church, young and old alike if Jesus is there.  People will mature in their faith and start to look more like him if you make your gatherings about him.  Spiritual transformation will happen right in front of your eyeballs which has very little to do with you and everything to do with how Jesus is using you.  People will take their faith very seriously when they see and experience what the Holy Spirit does in us and through us. You won't have to beg them come to a prayer meeting, you won't have to bribe them with... I mean offer incentives like... tax receipts to get them to give when there's a need.  You won't have to force feed them bible lessons and doctrine, they'll come looking for living water and spiritual food.  

You want people to come to church, you want them to keep coming, you want them to be free from sin, you want them to take faith seriously.  

Jesus, man.  

Maybe it's not the answer you thought you were looking for but He is.  

Someone called...

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

God didn’t rescue you to give you a job description.  You haven’t been saved to be a pastor or missionary.  You’re not redeemed to be a worship leader or a church treasurer.  His plan for you isn’t to be a doctor or a fisherman.  At least not primarily.  So many of us find our identity in our job.  Many conversations start out like this, “nice to meet you, so what do you do?”  Our value, our worth, our position in life is directly tied to our professions.  Church folks like to talk out the more ‘spiritual’ professions as callings.  Don’t get me wrong, I think God did make us a certain way and leads us into certain paths that involve those things above.  He’s made some good at speaking, so sends them out to speak.  He’s made some good with numbers so send them out to earn or take care of money.  But he’s just as likely to use the thing we’re least skilled at to show himself to people.  So we better not get too wrapped up in our ‘calling’.  Maybe it’s time to back that train up a little and remember the one who calls us and what he calls us.  

The greek word used there for call (kaleo) means to be called aloud to, invited into and given the name of the one calling. What an amazing thing God does with us who once were wandering in the darkness of the world.  He calls out in the darkness, invites us into his kingdom and gives us his name as sons and daughters.  That word kaleo is the same word the angel uses when she comes to tell Mary what’s about to happen.  He says, ‘you’re going to have a baby, call him Jesus (which happens to mean Jehovah is Salvation) and he will be called Son of the Most High God’.  Because of what Jesus did at the cross, God now calls us by the same name when he rescues us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved son.  We get the same inheritance.  Romans 8:14-17 gives us this amazing spiritual reality that when Jesus gives us his Spirit we know that we are sons and daughters and cry out to our Abba father in heaven.  We become co-heirs with Christ.  Employees are not heir, children are heirs.

In Romans 8:30 Paul says, he predestined us, (that is he thought us up with intentions of us being his children before time began), then he called us and justified us and glorified us.  I love that everything in there is about what he did and not what I have to do.  I didn’t invent myself, I can’t join his family except he’s grafted me in, I certainly am incapable of justifying myself and glorifying, well everything else pales in comparison to his glory so only he can dish out anything worth while.  That word glorify is a huge one, it means to give worth and dignity, make excellent, adorn with lustre, clothe with splendour, give praise, give honour.  Imagine, the creator of the universe, the one who made us in his image put all the things that he is and deserves on us because of Jesus. 

Mind = Kabooooom!

So maybe you know what you’re ‘calling’ is, but just for a moment, take it off.  Lay it aside and rest.  If you’re like me, you’ve been trying really hard to carry something that seems heavy but Jesus wants you to take his yoke for a minute.  Just for a minute he wants you to take of your Sunday suit and tie, or your uniform or your Carhartts and he’s wants to clothe you in splendour.  He wants you to come back to the call.  In Romans 13:14, Paul says to “clothe yourself in Christ”.  I’ve heard so many people talk about ‘pressing into’ Jesus, like some kind of wrestling match or rugby scrum to get to whatever Jesus has for us, but Paul actually tells us to ‘sink into Jesus’.  Not like a fight to get there but the trust game where you close your eyes and fall backward into his arms knowing he will catch you.  Or like snuggling into a big fluffy house coat to relax.  The next time your kids come to you in their cozy fleece pj’s and you’re there in your lazy boy in your adult onesie (don’t pretend you don’t have one or want one) let that image hit you that that’s how you’re Abba father in heaven sees you because he’s calls you his son or daughter.

He has plans for you, he has a purpose, he has a future.  But you’ll never see it for what it is, you’ll never see him for who he is and you’ll never know who you are unless you hear the call, ‘this is my beloved son or daughter in who i’m well pleased’.  So before you you get out to go about your calling you better make sure you’ve put on a good base layer and clothed yourself in Jesus first.  It’s cold in Cape Breton, you won’t make it through unless you’re dressed right.