July 3, 2007

People who go to the beach early in the morning are a strange lot. Today was no exception. There were fishermen who seem strangely content to catch nothing but seaweed. The familiar treasure hunter was there --- outfitted with a metal detector, earphones, a scoop/sifter, and black socks. The serious runners dotted the beach, including one guy sporting a pair of pastel green 1970’s shorts and matching tank top. What was that about? There were also the vacation-only runners. You may be familiar with these whimsical athletes. They should have been running January through May, but they just kept putting it off. Therefore, vacation time became a great motivator to begin shaping and sculpting. Obscure, early-morning, vacation running was the least noticeable platform for such procrastinating, athletic, monsters. The soon-coming Halloween candy will probably make these fleeting summer efforts a distant memory.
Before all the normal people came out at about 9:30 a.m., all these eccentric folks had their glorious time in the sun.
I was there too.
I joined in with the sunrise crowd by sitting in my beach chair, reading my Bible, eating an apple, closing my eyes, praying, and listening to some worship music. Listening to Chris Tomlin sing, “… the waves are crashing, the sun is raging… it’s all for You,” while sitting directly in front of land, sea, and sky is one of my favorite things to do. Another one of my favorite ocean-side antics is putting my hands to both sides of my face and creating blinders. I block out everything to my right and left so that I can only see creation. Assured that none of the other really strange people are looking, I pretend to be an eye witness of the first, original seven days when God called everything good. I know, I know… strange. Maybe on this morning I was the strangest one on the strand. Sometimes… often times… my life feels that way.
One day I’m up and life is good. God is on his throne. Jesus is the Lord of my life and I’m glad. Then the next 24 hours unfolds and I’m at war with myself and sometimes God. My praise can so quickly turn to cries of doubt. My awe and wonder of God can morph overnight into my wonder of where God is. It feels so strange. Spiritually schizophrenic.
I read more Psalms (9-24) today and I was flooded with gentle reminders that I wasn’t alone in my strangeness. One minute David and his musicians are exuberantly praising God and shouting, “The Lord reigns forever.” Then comes what seems to be a sudden mood change and David let’s out an Alan-like blurb, “Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?” THAT is my life.
“In the Lord I take refuge… My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Strange. Spiritually schizophrenic. Me.
The Bible is real. Somehow God seemed to be telling me that my struggles are normal, human, and even Biblical. To be in the company of someone like David worked on my heart this morning. God seemed to be giving me permission to be strange. In fact, somehow and someway, God can be found in the ups and the downs if one is looking.
Again, my attention turned towards the church. Could many churches be strange… schizophrenic… in a bad, non-Biblical way?
Thomas Rainer and Eric Geiger (authors of “Simple Church”) seem to think so.
Without alignment and focus in one direction, churches get pulled and default into strange, schizophrenic, complexity --- and complexity can be synonymous with mediocrity.
Could the Church really be doing more and more, and the Church, as a whole, is making less and less of a difference? Wow.
Rainer and Geiger reminded me of a gross-but-convicting movie I saw about two years ago called “Supersize Me.” Have you seen it? I haven’t been to McDonald’s since.
In short, the movie points to the fact that fast food is killing us. Our lives are so busy, so hectic, and moving in so many directions, and fast food has become an ever-increasing menu of convenient poison. The busier our lives spin, the better served we are by the Golden Arches… with expanding selections that are expanding our waistlines (of the latter expansion, I have been privy to first hand evidence while sitting in my beach chair).
Have our churches bought into the cultural phenomenon of offering an ever-expanding bulletin full of opportunities to attempt to fill quickly, cheaply, and conveniently?
Is it killing us? Is it creating weak, sick disciples? Are we spiritually schizophrenic… in bad ways? Have we labeled this as successful… millions served?
Can we simplify? “A simple church is a congregation designed around a straightforward and strategic process that moves people through the stages of spiritual growth.”
Love. Feed. Connect. Motivate. Can we move people through this in all we do? Can we have totally alignment in every area? Can we stay focused and eliminate (or not start) anything that doesn’t fit into this simple design? Can people simply become Jesus followers?
I finished “Simple Church” today. Great stuff to consider. I start “Blue Like Jazz” (by Donald Miller) tomorrow. My plan is to join all the strange people again in the morning. Didn’t God say something about how He uses the strange to confound the cool?