Pastor of Fishing

Comparing Jeebus and Jesus is something that truly captures what I believe has happened in my own life.  I think of growing up and it was always that I made Jesus out to be how I wanted him, not how He WAS.  We see the opening chapter about the pressing the questions of how our perception of Christ is.  A quote such as, “Jesus is the key not only because Christian discipleship is about becoming more like Jesus but also because it is only in and through Jesus that we can get the proper, truly Christ-ian understanding of God.”  Is like having somebody flick you between the eyes.  How many of us started to follow Christ but truly didn’t take time to know the true Christ?  The various ways people want to depict and view Jesus from an image versus the actual image that  He was.

Putting Christ at the center of our actions and our life becomes a very tough picture to paint for myself.  I say this because so many times in my own life I have tamed Jesus.  Let Him be less than He was.  Many times it seems that I have done things in the “name of Christ” but truly was not Christ like acts.  It begins to really mess with my head as I think more and more about my past and how my concept of Christ was definitely shaped a bit differently.

The section on becoming what we worship truly stood out to me regarding how we view Jesus.  Are we looking to live like Jesus did?  Do we have a disconnect between God and Jesus?  Do we not look at Jesus as the portal to God?  I think at times it’s safe for us to have a distance from God, makes it more like and us and Him versus one big US.

This chapter begs for us to begin asking and searching for the deeper meaning of what it was that Christ was doing?  His holiness was something that truly attracted sinners.  The questions Hirsch pose are ones that I am wrestling with as a pastor right now.  “What is it about the holiness of Jesus that caused “sinners” to flock to him like a magnet yet managed to seriously antagonize the religious people?”  and then he continues with: “Why does our more church form of holiness seem to get it the other way around – to comfort the religious and antagonize the sinners? “  Jesus had a brand of holiness that is the true form.  It didn’t deter the sinners from wanting to get up close and personal with him, it was something that I believe is the model of true-authentic life.

As a church leader or one that is in the church it makes me start to wonder how to live out this concept of holiness that is attractive.  Living an authentic free life in Christ begs to ask this question.  I see continually in people’s lives that the drama and the pain that they consistently deal with is stemming from their lack of living a holy life.  All the pains of relationships and dealing with one another is a direct result of the fall of man.  With this craziness then we need to truly step back as followers and beg to ask the question of ourselves…”Is my brand of holiness attracting sinners and antagonizing the religious?”

I am talking about a subtle love that continually portrays how beautiful Christ is to others.  The love that brought us to our knees and to love those around us…

Please leave your reflections of the chapter or thoughts on the writing…

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Tags: Alan Hirsch, American Church, christ-like, christian, pastor, Untamed
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I found this chapter to be very compelling within my own being.  More and more as I begin to dig into the concept of the Spirit I am reminded at the vastness and how just sometimes it does make me wonder how much do I want Him?  Is the He leading me?  I am going to process a couple spots in this chapter because I feel they need to be highlighted and looked at with some more pointed scrutiny.

 Loving the church
 His thought that he posed, “How much do you love the church?  As you look around at your brothers and sisters do you think to yourself,  I love these people so much I pray God empowers me in some way to encourage these people toward a deeper walk with Him “  Wow!  I am finding myself more and saying this prayer.  Why?  I am in love with the church, and yes some days more than others.  Recently it has been harder for me to “love” but I am.  Consistently going to prayer for empowerment is a deep process that is becoming more and more apparent as my days continue.  The other day I caught myself wanting to go to heaven for the shear purpose of leaving this rock of a planet and enjoy the peace of being with God…yet am I not here to create the Kingdom on earth?  Wow talk about a revelation!  It definitely was the kick this war horse needed to be spurred on.

 So what does it look like for us to take interest in what God is doing in others?  It boils down to asking questions about people’s lives.  This is why I have been so bent in the Sunday school class to get people to share about what is happening.  The Spirit is working among us and I so want to hear how!  I want to seek the Spirit for the right reasons…to create the Kingdom here on earth.

 Miracles
I have heard recently (past 2 weeks) a few people say where are the miracles of the bible happening around me.  The theme is they want to see the miracles as they played out in the bible happen to them in their world.  I tend to see a danger in this as the Chan points out.  The “miracle hunting” that is happening more and more within the postmodern church.  I am seeing this hunger to see this happen, yet the lack of how is God to use me now?  This miracle hunting has created a misguided pursuit in priorities.  Emphasizing how we enter into the presence of God and know that He is the one that is calling the shots is rather important…hmmm what does this mean for how I pray?

 Followers or Leaders
 So did the Spirit lead me into the pastorate or myself?  That is the question asked to me with this chapter.  Digging into who I am and how I am walking with God at this point is important to me.  Having two weeks to prep for this Sunday’s sermon has really gotten me into the mindset of being vital in ministry.  God wants me and He wants you!  WOW could this be the key to why we serve?  Not out of obedience but out of our hearts to be wanted and loved?  What does it look like if we are find our being loved through experiencing the Kingdom? Hmmmmm more ponderings on this one.

 Esther…did he have to put her in the book?
These are stories that do not move me anymore…they ache me instead.  Reading these types of accounts tend to make my heart pain.  How easy do we have it?  Yes we, not just I but we.  We have a life that is so simple and safe.  Daily we take for granted that we could have been born into a world like Esther, instead we get this nice cushy life here in America.  We do not understand just how good we have it, yet we forget how much God is doing in our world.

 Conclusion of it all
Basically this chapter has summed up how the Spirit is in my life.  Daily manifestations of the Spirit are being seen, but are we noticing and acknowledging them.  Seeing people being focused on the wrong things and not asking for the empowerment and listening has become the norm.  This Sunday as I prep for the sermon I am continually digging into the concept that it is through our prayers and the interactions with the Spirit and the church that we will see the glory of God!

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Tags: American Church, christian, church, Forgotten God, Frances Chan, Holy Spirit, life, pastor, people, prayer
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Recently as a Christian in America I have been struggling with how I fit in within the grand scheme of the Kingdom. Saying this I do not mean I am struggling with my identity as much as I am saying how does it all work? The bible portrays the early church as a very active force, a force that is almost super hero like and seems to impact the areas that it touches on a regular basis. The early church seemed to truly be one that was transformational in its surroundings. I take this passion and drive of the church of Acts and start to look at how it applies to me today. What created this effort that was so powerful?

I am lead to look first at who was doing this? It was men and women that had a personal interaction with Christ and then those that were touched by the Holy Spirit. They had faith that meant something to them because they wanted to be close to their Lord as well as reach out to others. How did they preserve this passion?

I am embarking on a journey in my life as a pastor because I will be solo at the church. It is a time of transition and uncertainty which drives me to my knees on a daily basis. I am striving to help those in my care to press closer to God and seek His heart for them. When I look at the Church of Acts I begin to weep because I feel in many ways we are so far from the mark. I begin to look at my own world and ask how does this change? How did we get here? What do I as a pastor need to do to lead in this day in age?

Being a pastor in today’s age means I have a mark on me. When I say the word pastor people automatically have a built up stereotype or generalization of who a pastor is, what we do, and how we act. Its almost automatic for many depending on their background. Lately this has been a weight on me. I have spent so long not to live inside a box of others and now…the box is so well defined by those in my world that I tend to want to just rip it away completely and not have that title at all.  Did those in the Church of Acts deal with this label?

I guess where I am going with all this I think is what does it mean to me today? How do I lead in a time when Christians are so poorly defined in our culture? A time when the term Christian is not welcomed always, when being a pastor is not necessarily a positive word, and finally a time when people are searching for a “spiritual” connection to those around them…how do I function around all this?

As I look back on Anabaptist history and reflect this with the Church of Acts I see disciplines formed. Ways of creating good formations of their spiritual life that keeps themselves strong under the times of pressure. Whether its communion or prayer it seems that in order to succeed there needs to be a way of passing on what is good to those that go ahead of us. Recently I feel that as a pastor in the post modern world there is a disconnect from pastors of previous generations to a point where I feel that sometimes I am teaching the old dogs instead of them teaching this pup. Its hard some days.

Recently I have been finding myself pressing for the discipleship that Paul shows to the church leaders of the early day. Pressing to be in relationship with other pastors to sharpen me and push me into something more than I am now. Wanting to be pushed into a direction that creates a stronger man of God is what my heart’s desire is. It has been very difficult forming this wise counsel. It seems that many pastors are just getting by and not really pushing their congregations to grow…I could also just be critical, but it seems that with all these churches around me our towns should look vastly different. Our towns should at least be changing for the better instead I see area after area around me looking bleaker and bleaker. I guess in the end I want to see growth of the Kingdom around me and I want to be a part of it.

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One thing that gets me the most in my ministry is the DUH temptation. Let me explain. I frequently am finding myself saying, “DUH, why did they do that!?!”. I get very frustrated with various folks when they do stupid stuff. Its like Jesus saying, “DUH PETER, why did you lop off the ear?” I get this way from time to time. I find that it happens usually at a time when I am deep in something and feel like I am doing toomuch and others are doing too little. When in the end its my fault for not training them right. DUH MAN (yes I get DUH at me more than others!!!!   So it goes. There y’all go my one temptation of frustration with my ministry as a pastor here at my church, the congregation of believers that are just a little screwed up…but not as much as their pastors! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

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