Shaking off the Dust

or... all that you can't leave behind

07.08.2012 ~ r street community church

Mark 6:1-13 (NIV)

6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

These verses have always come in handy when I am feeling particularly put upon or under appreciated. There is a certain comfort in the idea that anyone who does not see how wise or how awesome or how amazing I am is unable to do so because, after all,

“A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”

Certainly a better conclusion than to consider the possibility that I am not so wise, awesome, or amazing.

Shut Up and Listen...

I have said on more than one occasion that this is, without a doubt, the most terrifying passage ever spoken in scripture.

“Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job?” ~Job 1:8

Thanks, God… appreciate the ‘atta-boy’… thanks so much for noticing…

God is having what almost looks like morning coffee with Satan and somewhere between “pass the sugar” and “did you see last night’s game” he sort of dares Satan to mess with Job. God touts Job’s goodness and his great character and Satan reminds God that it is pretty easy to be one of the good guys when you are healthy, wealthy, and have never suffered for even a day. God strokes his beard and considers Satan’s point and finally says, “Ok. Do what you want… bring it on. You got full access to screw up Job’s life… just don’t do anything to Job, personally”. Satan chugs the last of his coffee and says, “You’re on!” and likely mumbles to himself as he walks away, “this should be fun…”

Re-Planting

It is a pretty common practice to re-pot a plant because the current pot is too small and the plant is in danger of becoming root bound. But… what if the pot is too big… or simply the wrong kind of pot?

6 months ago, we sold our old church building and moved out. Many churches outgrow their facilities and need to move to a larger, more accommodating space. This was not our story. Instead, we found ourselves in a facility far too large with tons of wasted space and a mortgage that had begun to define us more than our stated mission.  In short, our space had begun to require virtually all of our resources and left little or nothing for the mission we claimed to value.

 

Most folks know, even those with nothing resembling a green thumb, that you sometimes need to move a plant to a larger pot in order for the plant to remain healthy. Roots without room to spread become bound and tangled; choking growth. Fewer are aware that too much space can be equally unhealthy. Planting in a pot too large often allows too much soil to hold too much water. The result is root rot and disease.  The roots decay and become diseased and the plant may even die.

Our pot was too large. We were losing the strength of our roots and watching them weaken and wither. And so… we decided to re-plant. We sold the old building and moved into a smaller, borrowed space. Our community did not so much grow larger but the roots strengthened and we have begun to show signs of health and life.  We have turned our resources from the maintenance of a pot that was not right for us and have, instead, poured them into things that matter to us. Things we hope matter to Jesus. We have replaced the transmission in a local van that carries supplies to the homeless. We have built a covered patio on a transitional home for formerly incarcerated women.  We have built gardens and sorted clothes. We have sent support to missions in Africa and India. We have handed out fresh packs of cigarettes to our homeless friends. And… we have removed ourselves from an oversized pot and we have seen our community begin to bloom and bear fruit. We are becoming the plant that the seed packaged promised.

We are learning to be church re-planters.

so... we do not lose heart (r street ~ 06.10.2012)

2 Corinthians 4:13-18

The Voice

13 We share the same spirit of faith as the one who wrote the psalm, “I believed; therefore I spoke.” We also believe, and that belief leads us to acknowledge 14 that the same God who resurrected the Lord Jesus will raise us with Jesus and will usher us all together into His presence. 15All of this is happening for your good. As grace is spread to the multitudes, there is a growing sound of thanks being uttered by those relishing in the glory of God. 16So we have no reason to despair (we do not lose heart). Despite the fact that our outer humanity is falling apart and decaying, our inner humanity is breathing in new life every day. 17You see, the short-lived pains of this life are creating for us an eternal glory that does not compare to anything we know here. 18So we do not set our sights on things we can see with our eyes. All of that is fleeting; it will eventually fade away. Instead, we focus on the things we cannot see, which live on.

So… we do not lose heart.

Here we are… half a year, 6 months into this new r street experiment. In so many ways we have already exceeded our hopes and dreams for this community. We have become more than we believed. And yet… there is maybe some disappointment; some regret for the faces we hoped we’d see along the way; over those we had hoped would walk with us out of the old reality and into the new. Maybe we even see faces we thought might join us; new faces – new voices to join us in this new journey. Wherever we find ourselves, almost half way through 2012; perspective is always helpful and we cannot hope to evaluate where we are without remembering where we started.

i am not Tenzing Norgay... yet.

Wrigley: 

Who are you looking for? 

Miles Massey: 

Tenzing Norgay. 

Wrigley: 

Tenzing Norgay? That's someone she slept with? 

Miles Massey: 

I doubt it. Tenzing Norgay was the Sherpa that helped Edmund Hillary climb Mt. Everest. 

Wrigley: 

And Marilyn knows him? 

Miles Massey: 

No, you idiot. Not the Tenzing Norgay. Her Tenzing Norgay. 

Wrigley: 

I'm not sure that I actually follow that. 

Miles Massey: 

Few great accomplishments are achieved single-handedly, Wrigley. Most have their Norgays. Marilyn Rexroth is even now climbing her Everest. I wanna find her Norgay. 

Wrigley: 

But how do you determine which of the people on here are... 

Miles Massey: 

How do you spot a Norgay? 

Wrigley: 

Yeah. 

Miles Massey: 

You start with the people with the funny names. 

~Intolerable Cruelty 

Last January, as folks talked of resolutions, weight to lose, bookshelves to organize; books to read; I thought of two words: Confidence and Humility. Six months in; I am still working toward that goal. I am still climbing toward that peak. I have determined that, at least for me, these are the two most needed attributes of healthy, effective leadership. And oddly… they are the two attributes that have seemed most elusive for most of my life.

It might seem strange that a human could so completely lack confidence and yet walk with so little humility. But, in fact, it is really not that unusual. You need little more than to have watched a single “Dr. Phil” show to know that most arrogance and braggadocio tends to mask deep insecurity and low self-esteem. And it is equally predictable that the folks who suffer this self-worth bi-polarity seem to often end up in positions that feed one or both of these extremes. Artists, musicians, writers, pastors, etc. seem to feed on the adulation of others and are equally starved when the adulation is withheld.

But not the Sherpa. The Sherpa, I am finding, is perhaps the most complete embodiment of Confidence and Humility. Most have heard of Sir Edmund Hillary but only the most rabid Everest enthusiasts are familiar with Tenzing Norgay. The Sherpa is typically the most skilled and the most competent climber on any Everest expedition and few, if any, climbers reach the summit without the leadership of a good Sherpa. And yet… they are invisible. Sherpa do not become famous. Sherpa do not sit down for television interviews or appear on late-night talk shows. Sherpa lead others to the summit and then let those they lead bask in the glory of the summit.

Confidence and Humility. I don’t expect to get there in the single turn of a calendar year but it is still the summit on which I have set my sights. Maybe a funny name would help…