Tuesdays with Morris

So, yesterday I had to stop by the Muncie District Office of the United Methodist Church. I was dropping off some paper work for my licensing process.

I noticed that the first thing you see when you walk into the office is a picture of the Bishop of Indiana. I don’t know about you, but that just sort of turned me off. Sure, it’s great to have a picture of the Bishop in the District Office. However, should it be the first thing one views upon entering the office? I’d think a picture of Jesus or a nice painting of some Biblical scene would be more appropriate.

To me, the picture of the Bishop as the first thing one sees communicates that our priorities are a bit off. When I walk into this office, I feel like every thing is about the Bishop. I know that’s not the case. However, when I saw the picture, that’s immediately where my mind went. I already have enough issues with all the politics and “boys club” atmosphere of the United Methodist Church.

I’d like to see this change. Put the picture of the Bishop above the fax machine or something. Not that there’s any thing wrong with our Bishop. From every thing I’ve seen, he’s a pretty solid guy.

Then I started to think, when people walk into our church…what’s the first thing they see? What kind of priorities do we communicate by the physical nature of our building?

Last night, I was reading Augusten Burroughs book “Possible Side Effects” and came across a passage that reminded me of the “God-shaped hole” inside each of us. Now, Augusten wouldn’t exactly qualify as a Bible-believing Christian…but, I do think this paragraph sheds a light on how many people feel…broken, defective, ruined. And, many search for a reason…coming up empty. Many search for ways to fulfill their broken state. And, many continue to come up empty. I’ve found that it’s often the feelings of brokenness, of being defective or ruined that lead many to seek out God…to take a leap of faith to find the only true fulfillment in Him.

“I had decided that I loved Dr. Ledford and that I wanted to see her constantly. For reasons I did not understand, I felt related to her. When she described her accident and the fire and her ugly face, I felt she was describing me. Even though I wasn’t burned. For some reason, I felt like I was the same. And suddenly, I liked her face very much. And I almost wished I had the same face. Because then I would have a reason for feeling the way that I always felt: defective. So if I looked ruined on the outside, at least I would know why I felt ruined.”

In the church, we relate this ruined state to sin. It is our sin that makes us feel defective. And, in the church, instead of finding peace in others that are ruined…we find our peace in the Jesus Christ, the one that perfects our defective nature.

This morning, I was reading a passage of Scripture from Zephaniah 1. Verse 12 really stuck out to me because I’ve been thinking about how many that fill church pews (not just at Center Chapel, but worldwide) seem to simply be going through the motions. The passage is warning about the coming destruction and in verse 12 says, “I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’”

See, I think that’s the thing…many of us often grow complacent. We find ourselves in a place where every thing just seems to be okay…we grow content. Yet, that seems so opposite of what Christ calls us to. And, here, we’re warned of being complacent…we may think we’re just find…not bad, not really good…just okay.

So, I hope to find that Christians, including myself, will grow out of this state of complacency, this state of contentment and press on toward what Christ has called us to. I hope that we will actively live out our faith.

Sometimes church can be one of the most frustrating places I find myself. Now, don’t get me wrong…I love the church. But, there are days when I wonder why half of the people actually come to church. There are days that I get frustrated because I feel like half of the people are just taking up space. At times, I feel like Rusty and I pour our hearts out…trying to motivate, encourage, push, and lead the congregation and the majority just sit there with blank looks on their faces.

So, as I’m going through this “Changing Our World…By Faith” series, I’m really wondering if anyone is actually listening. I often wonder if when I challenge the congregation to read a passage of Scripture or invite one, five, or fifty people to church if even one person responds.

Yesterday, there were several moments when I wanted to just shout out, “Um, is anybody listening??? Hello???” I mean, I love preaching…I’d do it every day if I had the chance (which, according to St. Francis…we’re always preaching). Maybe it’s just because I only preach every now and then and don’t have a fully solid rapport with the congregation when it comes to preaching…but, yesterday it just felt like a ton of people had no desire to be at church…

I’m probably over-analyzing all of this. But, over the past two years…I’ve just failed to see a lot of measurable results of the lessons brought on Sundays. I guess I’m just a bit frustrated this morning.

Tomorrow morning, I’m starting a two week preaching series called “Changing Our World…by Faith.” Over these two weeks, I’ll be taking our congregation on a journey through Scripture that will define what faith is and what can be accomplished through our faith. I’m really pretty stoked about it! Plus, it’s pretty rare that the Associate Pastor gets two weeks in a row.

Rusty just finished up a series called “Dare to Be Different.” I’m going to tie into that series by talking about how it’s often our faith that gives us the strength and courage to be different. And, over the next two weeks, I may be trying some things that will be “different.” We’ll see how it goes.

Anyway, I like to spend a lot of time in prayer prior to preaching. This week has been tough for quality prayer time. With Samantha now in the picture…free time is no longer some thing that exists in my life. Even tonight, as I held her as she was sleeping, it was hard to truly focus on my prayers.

But, I know that “by faith” God will accomplish what He needs to tomorrow at Center Chapel. If you’re in the Muncie area, come check out our worship tomorrow at 8 or 10am.