a few weeks ago, out of the blue, I looked up Rachel Held Evans because I hadn’t heard from her in a while. I have enjoyed her blog, and though at times I have been at odds with her view point, I have always been challenged by what she had to say.
So I looked her up, and discovered she was ill and in a medically induced coma. I couldn’t believe it. What? Naturally, I figured the doctors knew what they were doing and she would be fine. Then I saw the news today, it was sobering, it caught me by the throat and wouldn’t let go. I involuntarily exhaled all of the wind from my lungs. She was gone.
I cannot even imagine what her husband Dan must be going through right now. She was only 37 years old, and I feel as if the world has been sucker-punched right in the gut. How could something like this even happen…and yet it does. How could something so random and seemingly innocuous even take place in our modern-medicine-filled-world? It feels as if a large boulder has been placed on our collective chests and we are immobilized by the sheer weight of it.
The “pat”, Christianese answers like “well, it must have been God’s timing” and “everything happens for a reason” just feel like bold-faced lies, and I don’t want to hear them said. There is a certain bitter taste that wells up in my mouth and I feel that when someone so young (with a young family) and so much potential in the world dies it just seems so unfair. I have felt this way numerous times, and I wish that there was some way to quantify the sudden passing of people like this…but there’s not. We live in a very fragile world and every one of us is very much mortal. Life and Death balance precariously in our world and (as morbid as it sounds -sorry) any moment could possibly be our last.
I won’t cheapen Rachel Held Evans’ death by trying to summarize and “mortalize” a neatly packaged missive, stating that we never really know when the Lord will take us…but I will say that this all just feels heavy and unfair. I know we have never, ever been given a life that was guaranteed to be fair, but when a loved one or someone we respect dies so suddenly we feel it in the core of our souls…and it feels so very unfair. Please keep Dan Evans, Rachel’s husband in your prayers, as well as their small children and the extended family.
Perhaps we will all catch our breath again, but for right now, it just feels like a massive sucker-punch…and it’s okay to mourn…but it just feels so unfair.
-Just a thought.
At the other end of the spectrum is the ignoring and tolerance of sin issues in your corps. Be mindful that we are not the judge of our world, but we do hold a high standard for our fellow brothers and sister in Christ who wear this uniform. This almost seems to be in complete conflict with the first point, but it is not. Galatians 6:1 clearly reminds us as it did in Paul’s day – “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”
Officer(s). Yes, they have had training, yes they are leaders, but they cannot lead properly without the core leaders to help them. A shared vision and delegated group will be better equipped to handle opportunities and threats that come to your corps and community. If you don’t currently have core leaders, begin by praying and asking God to reveal potential leaders to you. Prayer is never a last resort, but a constant conversation. Don’t limit your search to just the older members, the younger generations will eventually replace us at some point, so begin to invest in them. Begin to disciple them, and display for them what leadership is all about! Gather one or two influential people with common sense to help you in your corps. Remember, that we are an egalitarian movement – both men and women are equal, so do not limit your leadership search to just men or just women. Without a core group of leaders, the vision and movement will be limited.
and what we do as a corps, that we begin to have no need for the “outside world”. We stop looking out into our community and we become self-reliant and self-focused. In this danger, what happens when our congregation gets old and dies? Will there be youth to raise up and take our place? Will be just be a group of inbred soldiers? I don’t mean to sound crass, but the reality is, we need to stop being afraid of our communities. We need to stop treating the people outside our buildings as “those people” with a sense of superiority. We must squelch the desire to just remain in our buildings and selfishly focus on “us”. What about the great commission? What are we fighting for if we only fight for ourselves and our traditions and self-interests? If we are all-in and inwardly focused, we will slowly die away…and no one will care when we’re gone.
This is probably a rare thing, but perhaps not. Perhaps there are some corps that have so many services to the community that worship and all things “Spiritual” are an after thought, and then you come to Sunday and it just becomes a “thing we do”. We focus all of our energies on the outside, on meeting human needs but we seldom meet those needs “in HIS name” anymore. We might as well be just another social service agency or a humanitarian group, because we will have forgotten our first love and the “body” will be just bits and pieces pulled and stretched so thin that it doesn’t resemble Christ any longer.
vision and goal because “they have been set, and we don’t alter these goals”. Goals should never be so rigid that there is no looking back and re-evaluating what works and what does not work, whether it be in evangelism, discipleship, or corps fellowship growth strategies. Remember what worked 100 years ago, might not necessarily be the best method to use in an ever evolving culture. Not to say we adopt our culture, but we ought to consider what works and what does not work any longer and not be so rigid that we refuse to ever change how we plan and how we enact a strategy in our corps. Rigidity can kill your corps, and stifle any potential growth you might see.
If you corps does not understand Holiness, and or it is never preached on spoken of, perhaps this might be an indicator of a terminal issue. I am not saying that holiness is the end-all be-all of the corps, but what do you do with Salvation after receiving it? Where does one go after initial sanctification? Does the Holy Spirit still desire to transform us through and through? Does He not want us to be the very reflection of Christ? Yes. There needs to be continual conversation about our surrendered life and how that looks in the real world.
emulating elders we respect, this is becoming more than who we are now. Walking in the footsteps of saints and in so doing, we too become saints within this great army. If your corps does not have this vital element, closely connected to holiness, you could be facing extinction. Recognize this need, and do something!!
to be in the bygone days. We can rest comfortably on financial resources and riches we have been given from various places, and never take another risk again…and if we do this, we. will. die. I cannot stress it enough, in order for God to change our Army, we have to become uncomfortable again. We have to take risks and forget what the rules and regulations say. We have to close dead corps, move to places of need without bureaucratic red tape hamstringing us along the way. We have to get out of our pews and put feet to our professed faith. It’s either put up or shut-up. Seriously, we can talk a good game, but if we can’t back it up, then hung it up and quit already. We don’t need fans in the stands not doing the work. We don’t need complainers and criticizers telling it us it can’t be done – because the risk is too great. If we don’t do something, we might as well put our corps on life-support right now. There is a sad trend that is taking place in our corps around the USA, and our corps are not statistically growing anymore. We are not busting out of our corps buildings anymore. Yes, perhaps it’s across the board in all denominations, but could it be that we are so comfortable now that we have stopped ACTUALLY trying to reach our communities? Could this be an entire systemic issue of spiritual laziness? Forgive me if I offend you today, I can’t help but feel alarmed at how swiftly our corps are dying. And I can’t help but wonder what the next 50 years will hold for this movement? If we do nothing, we will not be here in 50 years…not like we have been, not like we should be…and then perhaps, Lord forbid, God raises up someone else to do what we should have been doing.
My very first recollection of Bowie’s work came by way of the movie “The Labyrinth”.
I have listened to Bowie’s last album “Blackstar”.
but for One who has given us all grace. I live for One who holds both life and death in His hands, and in Whom everlasting life can be found. I find that my “Lazarus” in this new life, in the hope of eternal life is completely and utterly found in Christ. This isn’t some sermon I’m writing, or a persuasive speech, this is just how I feel and what I see in my life. I know hope exists. I know peace exists. Everlasting love and life also exist – in Christ.
Where ever you live.
Pastor's Ponderings 