Last night was the premier of Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers.
I'm not going to lie - I'm a total geek and I love science. I love meteorology. I grew up in Cleveland watching the sky - and there were some wicked storms that would come off Lake Erie in the Spring and Summer. I remember standing in my godparents backyard, on the driveway, looking up at the anvil cloud - a thunderstorm in the making whose top had reached so high it was sheared by the wind giving it a flat, anvil-like look. I remember standing on the concrete patio on the back of parents house with the aluminim roof listening to thunderous noise of hail plummeting to earth. I remember waking up more than once to my dad carrying me down to the basement because the weather dictated that we go underground for safety.
Though my eyes have always scanned the sky and I get good and geeked up over the science of weather and the physical forces that cause it, there was something about the 2011 tornado season that impacted me in a completely different way.
Throughout March and April tornadoes had been ripping through the plains, causing death and destruction. I watched as one particular line of strong storms marched eastward. I remember the forecasters saying that it was going to be bad in North Carolina - that we should expect the intensity to remain high and cause tornadic activity. On a Saturday afternoon, I watched the sky begin to darken and thought, "Okay, here we go." I turned on the TV to see the composition of the storm and look at the radar. Within minutes, around 3PM, one particular cell to my southwest went tornado warned. I started to pay attention more closely - the Doppler hook on the radar was the most impressive I've ever seen. Then the meteorologist said, "We have a spotter-sighted tornado." I felt like time began to slow down. Spotter sighted - a human being sees the tornado. The storm was moving NE - toward my location.
I continued to watch the weather, like I'm sure everyone in Raleigh did. I prayed and waited. Downtown Raleigh took a direct hit. The tornado stayed on the ground. Right around 4, the color of the sky where I was changed and had a green hue. I knew what that meant and went to the safest place in my house. I was by myself (my son was it his dad's) sitting on my bathroom floor downstairs, waiting to see what would happen - well aware that I could be minutes away from seeing Jesus face-to-face.
And then it went silent. And I don't mean just peaceful quiet. I mean eerily quiet. No sounds. No wind. No rain. No birds. No crickets. Nothing. That lasted for about 60 seconds. Then the sky opened up and all heck broke loose with rain and wind and thunder and lightning. I knew the worst had passed. I emerged from the bathroom as the rain let up and went outside to check my house and to check on my neighbors. All was well, but I could hear police and fire crews screaming by - I knew others weren't so fortunate.
I pulled a storm chaser move and scrambled up to the top of my SUV to get a better look a the storm as it moved east. It was a monster. Later, as I pulled out of the neighborhood to go to Bible study I saw a rainbow beautifully visible against the charcoal gray sky. I stopped and again climbed to the top of my car to take a picture. And in that moment I heard a still, small voice speak into my heart - "God sees and He knows." That was the caption I put with the photo as I posted it to Facebook.
As I drove out of my neighborhood I started to see the destruction. I thought, "How close was the tornado to me?" As it turned out I was within a half mile of the damage path. And I saw destruction. Trees, houses, debris. Power outages. The news reports said that areas of Buffaloe Road were heavily impacted. My son's school was in that area. The next day my son and I drove up to his school. The destruction was incredible. Power lines down. Trees everywhere. Houses flattened. Roofs missing or heavily damaged. The school roof damaged. In the bus loop at the school had a stand of pine trees to one side. It looked as if the trees had been removed and a stand of toothpicks planted instead.
And in my heart something happened. A profound sense of grief for the people that were in the direct path of the tornado that ripped through. I saw people walking around - trying to make sense of what they were seeing. Kids, looking a little shell-shocked, walking down the side of the road. I saw the destruction and the devastation first hand and in my heart this love for my city and for my community welled up. I cried out to God, "How can I help these people?"
I've always been fairly missional. I care deeply about other people and have always tried to give lavishly to others. Missional for me had always been more individual than community. But in that space of 24 hours it went to both individual and community. The school was closed Monday and reopened Tuesday. My employer graciously allowed me whatever time I needed to help at the school. My neighbors and I provided practical help by way of donating goods and food to those who had lost everything. I wanted to see these people made whole again and comforted in a time of uncertainty.
As I prayed, God pressed in to my heart saying, "Everyone has a story and that story needs to be heard." That is what I did as the school reopened. I spent several hours listening to the stories of the kids. Of the staff. Of the parents. And in the process my heart was opened to my community in a way that only God can do. As they told their stories they experienced relief, they experienced community, and I was able to love them as they stood in a dark and uncertain place.
Missional is a buzz word that the evangelical community is super into. In fact, there are some who have sacrificed the gospel to be "missional" and attact people to the church. That isn't at all the concept of missional living. True missional living starts and ends with the gospel. I don't serve my community in order to say I'm awesome or my church is awesome. I serve my community because, through Christ, I have a genuine love for it. I want to show my city Jesus by loving it. I don't serve them to gain anyone's love - I serve because I already have the ultimate love - of Christ Himself. He's given me His eyes to see the community I'm in and to love its people passionately. And he birthed this more fully in me through a natural disaster that helped me see my community in a new light.
So as I watched Storm Chasers last night and saw the footage of the tornadoes that ripped through Alabama just a couple weeks after the tornado in Raleigh, my heart broke for the people all over again. Here, though not so badly hit, people are still rebuilding. There are still blue tarps over roofs as the homeowners wait for their turn to receive repairs. One house completely demolished has risen again from the ground, more magnificent than it was to begin with, but still in the process of being built - nearly seven months after the storm came through.
And as I drive through the streets of Raleigh, I have a deep desire to love my city in a way I didn't this time last year. And for that, I'm thankful. God can truly use anything for our good and His glory. In an afternoon the lives of many were forever changed. Including mine.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
So the SBC Wants To Change Its Name?
All right. Apparently the Twitter-verse exploded last night because the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is considering changing its name (see http://www.dennyburk.com/southern-baptist-convention-considers-name-change/). According to the linked article, the SBC President appointed a task force to answer a series of questions -
1) Is it a good idea, that is, is there value in considering a name change?
2) If so, what would be a good name to suggest?
3) What would be the potential legal ramifications of a name change?
4) What would be the potential financial implications?
These are all good questions to ask. I think I'd like to add - what does God want and how would a name change glorify Him and advance the gospel?
And some of you are wondering why on earth I would care. Well, there is one major reason. I'm about to join a church that is affiliated with the SBC. I don't care on the level of some bloggers I read, just to be clear, but it is interesting.
The simple fact I'm considering joining a church when I grew up believing that church membership requirements might well be from Satan himself pretty much qualifies as a miracle. If I weren't 100% sure that God was guiding me in this, I would have nothing to do with it. The simple fact is that He has changed my ideas on church membership in the past year to even open up my heart enough to walk down this path. The reason I'm amenable to membership now is way too long an explanation for this blog, but the impetus started with God moving on my heart and exposing me to an idea I had never considered.
Secondly, if the church I am about to join had the term "Southern Baptist" in its name I would never have set foot in it. I'm being honest here. While I am from Ohio, I grew up in the South and I have been to Southern Baptist churches. Those churches did a lot of harm to me spiritually, including scaring the life out of me regarding end times and the return of Jesus. I was also assessed based on what I wore and how I behaved, not on who I was and that was very detrimental. The Southern Baptists reinforced the belief I held that I only mattered if I performed for God in a way acceptable to the church. That way happened to be at odds with my personality, which is a little bit wide open and outside the box. I'm not a Sunday's finest gal - I'm jeans and a t-shirt (albeit a sparkly t-shirt because I do love me some bling and I possess a prissy streak).
To be clear - when I say "out of the box" I do not mean unbiblical - I would have a problem with me in that case! And to be fair - there were a lot of other circumstances in my life in play when I went to these churches. And to be even more fair - I experienced the crushing weight of legalism at non-denominational churches, too. Legalism can show up anywhere.
I know this isn't how all Southern Baptist churches operated back then, but this was my experience with more than one and I'll be honest that it left a really bad taste in my mouth. The experiences were enough to keep me from darkening the door of another one until, at the leading of the Holy Spirit, I unknowingly stepped into a church affiliated with the SBC.
What I see in this particular church is a lot of God's grace. I don't think for a second it's anything that the pastoral staff dreamed up or decided to "pilot" as part of some SBC program - I think it has to do with the very real movement of the Holy Spirit that I started to notice 12 years ago - and that set me free from a lot of bondage I was living in. Since it's a move of God, denominational boundaries were (and are) irrelevant - if you are a Christ follower then He was (and is) wooing your heart in this direction.
So with all that being said, I can see - purely from my own perspective - why the SBC might want to change its name. It has some heavy connotations - some are good (if you had a great experience in a good church growing up) and some are not (like mine). I also think that God can use whatever He pleases, regardless of the name, if He sees fit. He obviously has used the SBC and affiliated churches to preach the gospel to many. I mean, really, I could be affiliated with the Gospel-centered People of the Purple Feathers and if we're committed to the gospel, God is going to use it.
I'm also not saying that considering a name change is a bad thing. By all means, consider it. I really hope the message of the Gospel doesn't get lost in the debate. After all, this is all about Jesus and making Him known.
Ultimately, I personally don't care what the SBC elects to do since I don't really have a dog in the fight. Nothing they decide will change the fact that I'm joining a church that happens to be affiliated with the SBC. These are just my thoughts on the whole shebang. I mean, since the Twitter-verse went haywire, I ought to give my $0.02, too, right?!
1) Is it a good idea, that is, is there value in considering a name change?
2) If so, what would be a good name to suggest?
3) What would be the potential legal ramifications of a name change?
4) What would be the potential financial implications?
These are all good questions to ask. I think I'd like to add - what does God want and how would a name change glorify Him and advance the gospel?
And some of you are wondering why on earth I would care. Well, there is one major reason. I'm about to join a church that is affiliated with the SBC. I don't care on the level of some bloggers I read, just to be clear, but it is interesting.
The simple fact I'm considering joining a church when I grew up believing that church membership requirements might well be from Satan himself pretty much qualifies as a miracle. If I weren't 100% sure that God was guiding me in this, I would have nothing to do with it. The simple fact is that He has changed my ideas on church membership in the past year to even open up my heart enough to walk down this path. The reason I'm amenable to membership now is way too long an explanation for this blog, but the impetus started with God moving on my heart and exposing me to an idea I had never considered.
Secondly, if the church I am about to join had the term "Southern Baptist" in its name I would never have set foot in it. I'm being honest here. While I am from Ohio, I grew up in the South and I have been to Southern Baptist churches. Those churches did a lot of harm to me spiritually, including scaring the life out of me regarding end times and the return of Jesus. I was also assessed based on what I wore and how I behaved, not on who I was and that was very detrimental. The Southern Baptists reinforced the belief I held that I only mattered if I performed for God in a way acceptable to the church. That way happened to be at odds with my personality, which is a little bit wide open and outside the box. I'm not a Sunday's finest gal - I'm jeans and a t-shirt (albeit a sparkly t-shirt because I do love me some bling and I possess a prissy streak).
To be clear - when I say "out of the box" I do not mean unbiblical - I would have a problem with me in that case! And to be fair - there were a lot of other circumstances in my life in play when I went to these churches. And to be even more fair - I experienced the crushing weight of legalism at non-denominational churches, too. Legalism can show up anywhere.
I know this isn't how all Southern Baptist churches operated back then, but this was my experience with more than one and I'll be honest that it left a really bad taste in my mouth. The experiences were enough to keep me from darkening the door of another one until, at the leading of the Holy Spirit, I unknowingly stepped into a church affiliated with the SBC.
What I see in this particular church is a lot of God's grace. I don't think for a second it's anything that the pastoral staff dreamed up or decided to "pilot" as part of some SBC program - I think it has to do with the very real movement of the Holy Spirit that I started to notice 12 years ago - and that set me free from a lot of bondage I was living in. Since it's a move of God, denominational boundaries were (and are) irrelevant - if you are a Christ follower then He was (and is) wooing your heart in this direction.
So with all that being said, I can see - purely from my own perspective - why the SBC might want to change its name. It has some heavy connotations - some are good (if you had a great experience in a good church growing up) and some are not (like mine). I also think that God can use whatever He pleases, regardless of the name, if He sees fit. He obviously has used the SBC and affiliated churches to preach the gospel to many. I mean, really, I could be affiliated with the Gospel-centered People of the Purple Feathers and if we're committed to the gospel, God is going to use it.
I'm also not saying that considering a name change is a bad thing. By all means, consider it. I really hope the message of the Gospel doesn't get lost in the debate. After all, this is all about Jesus and making Him known.
Ultimately, I personally don't care what the SBC elects to do since I don't really have a dog in the fight. Nothing they decide will change the fact that I'm joining a church that happens to be affiliated with the SBC. These are just my thoughts on the whole shebang. I mean, since the Twitter-verse went haywire, I ought to give my $0.02, too, right?!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Growing Up Evangelical
Okay, so I've been thinking about this a lot the past couple days. There are some transitions happening in my life - all of which are good - but I think it's only natural to look at things and consider them during such a time. Of course it could be me and none of the rest of you ever experience this. At any rate I've been doing a lot of thinking about the church. I don't mean one particular church - I mean THE church.
I grew up in the church. I'm not quite the kid that Matt Chandler (pastor of The Village Church in Dallas, TX, who I listen to a lot and respect as a very solid Bible teacher) describes as being literally birthed in the sanctuary. But I'll admit it's a really close description. My life has always included Jesus. I don't have some amazing conversion story where I was strung out and Jesus spoke to me through it and saved me. He was just always there and I always knew He was for real. I recall having dreams and stuff about heaven and being with Jesus when I was a little kid. Jesus + my life = normal.
There has also never been a time, save for a few years as a young adult, that I wasn't actively involved in a church. I've been part of the Lutheran, Southern Baptist, and Calvary Chapel (yes, they are a denomination that calls themselves non-denominational - we can argue about that later) denominations. I've also served in a ministry or leadership capacity for just about as long as I can remember - I taught for my first time when I was 8 - in my dad's church in the children's ministry. We talked about the story of Joseph and I used a flannel graph, which was high technology back then. I've seen vocational ministry from the inside and it's not always real pretty.
And here is why I wanted to write this note. I grew up in the evangelical climate of the 80s and 90s. And I am a Christ follower. I have never not been a Christ follower, despite the fact that I went through a major period of rebellion in my teens.
I lived in the Christian bubble life that Reformed pastors now rail against. I've struggled heavily with my upbringing from a spiritual perspective. In the past I was being crushed by the burdens of legalism which caused tons of problems for me spiritually and emotionally. I saw first-hand people reject God because of the actions of their church (and other Christians). I participated in tape/CD burning parties (and then went out and bought the same music again a few months later). I went to all manner of Christian concerts (and youth of today you need to understand how awesome you have it - the 80s and 90s were just about 100% lame musically). I was utterly dying under the weight of rules I attempted to make myself follow, not understanding the gospel in any sort of life-giving way.
But I was saved. In that nonsense somehow I heard the gospel and God did a number on my heart - He reached in and saved me. And I'm not the only one. There are lots of us who are a product of the evangelical climate of that time who are now parents, husbands, wives, preachers - and we are all believers. Does this mean we shouldn't zealously contend for the gospel and relentlessly talk about God's grace? Absolutely not. Does this mean that we should gloss over some of the serioulsy ridiculous, harmful, and dorky that characterizes those times? No, not all. What I'm saying is that we need to be very, very careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. It is VERY tempting to become prideful in what we think is better and do the "us-against-them" number.
The real take away, in my opinion, is that we should not vilify an entire decade (or two). Nor should we gloss over the very real concerns and oddities. What we absolutely have to do is hold fast to the gospel. I've seen people who grew up in that era who have now swung into license - doing things purely for shock value in their churches because they "can." As I recall, the Apostle Paul made mention that everything is permissable but not everything is beneficial. That is something that we can't lose sight of as we press forward in our freedom.
There were for sure issues in evangelicalism back in the day. There are issues now. The only hope we have for our kids who are now growing up evangelical is to hold fast to the gospel. To teach them that we have a desperate need for a Savior no matter how well we can make ourselves behave externally. To teach them who we are in Christ. To acknowledge the weirdness of the past and present that doesn't line up with scripture. And above all to know that God will make up for the stupid things we'll unknowingly do because we're sinners and He is gracious and He is calling people to Himself.
So, please feel free to laugh at evangelicalism from two decades ago and by all means work through any issues the weirdness may have caused. Look at it all in truth for sure. But don't vilify it - people met Jesus in it. That is proof positive that He can do whatever He wants by any means He chooses. There are problems now; no church or denomination is perfect - don't forget that the church is made up of people - and I'm sure the Bible teaches that we are all pretty much a hot mess in need of a Savior. No matter what decade you happen to have been born into.
Anyway these are just things on my mind as I've looked back on almost 36 years in the church.
I grew up in the church. I'm not quite the kid that Matt Chandler (pastor of The Village Church in Dallas, TX, who I listen to a lot and respect as a very solid Bible teacher) describes as being literally birthed in the sanctuary. But I'll admit it's a really close description. My life has always included Jesus. I don't have some amazing conversion story where I was strung out and Jesus spoke to me through it and saved me. He was just always there and I always knew He was for real. I recall having dreams and stuff about heaven and being with Jesus when I was a little kid. Jesus + my life = normal.
There has also never been a time, save for a few years as a young adult, that I wasn't actively involved in a church. I've been part of the Lutheran, Southern Baptist, and Calvary Chapel (yes, they are a denomination that calls themselves non-denominational - we can argue about that later) denominations. I've also served in a ministry or leadership capacity for just about as long as I can remember - I taught for my first time when I was 8 - in my dad's church in the children's ministry. We talked about the story of Joseph and I used a flannel graph, which was high technology back then. I've seen vocational ministry from the inside and it's not always real pretty.
And here is why I wanted to write this note. I grew up in the evangelical climate of the 80s and 90s. And I am a Christ follower. I have never not been a Christ follower, despite the fact that I went through a major period of rebellion in my teens.
I lived in the Christian bubble life that Reformed pastors now rail against. I've struggled heavily with my upbringing from a spiritual perspective. In the past I was being crushed by the burdens of legalism which caused tons of problems for me spiritually and emotionally. I saw first-hand people reject God because of the actions of their church (and other Christians). I participated in tape/CD burning parties (and then went out and bought the same music again a few months later). I went to all manner of Christian concerts (and youth of today you need to understand how awesome you have it - the 80s and 90s were just about 100% lame musically). I was utterly dying under the weight of rules I attempted to make myself follow, not understanding the gospel in any sort of life-giving way.
But I was saved. In that nonsense somehow I heard the gospel and God did a number on my heart - He reached in and saved me. And I'm not the only one. There are lots of us who are a product of the evangelical climate of that time who are now parents, husbands, wives, preachers - and we are all believers. Does this mean we shouldn't zealously contend for the gospel and relentlessly talk about God's grace? Absolutely not. Does this mean that we should gloss over some of the serioulsy ridiculous, harmful, and dorky that characterizes those times? No, not all. What I'm saying is that we need to be very, very careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. It is VERY tempting to become prideful in what we think is better and do the "us-against-them" number.
The real take away, in my opinion, is that we should not vilify an entire decade (or two). Nor should we gloss over the very real concerns and oddities. What we absolutely have to do is hold fast to the gospel. I've seen people who grew up in that era who have now swung into license - doing things purely for shock value in their churches because they "can." As I recall, the Apostle Paul made mention that everything is permissable but not everything is beneficial. That is something that we can't lose sight of as we press forward in our freedom.
There were for sure issues in evangelicalism back in the day. There are issues now. The only hope we have for our kids who are now growing up evangelical is to hold fast to the gospel. To teach them that we have a desperate need for a Savior no matter how well we can make ourselves behave externally. To teach them who we are in Christ. To acknowledge the weirdness of the past and present that doesn't line up with scripture. And above all to know that God will make up for the stupid things we'll unknowingly do because we're sinners and He is gracious and He is calling people to Himself.
So, please feel free to laugh at evangelicalism from two decades ago and by all means work through any issues the weirdness may have caused. Look at it all in truth for sure. But don't vilify it - people met Jesus in it. That is proof positive that He can do whatever He wants by any means He chooses. There are problems now; no church or denomination is perfect - don't forget that the church is made up of people - and I'm sure the Bible teaches that we are all pretty much a hot mess in need of a Savior. No matter what decade you happen to have been born into.
Anyway these are just things on my mind as I've looked back on almost 36 years in the church.
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