In the thick of it

“And so this is good-bye. You’re not going to see me again, nor I you, you whom I have gone among for so long proclaiming the news of God’s inaugurated kingdom. I’ve done my best for you, given you my all, held back nothing of God’s will for you.”

“Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes—both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people—God’s people they are—to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for.”

“I know that as soon as I’m gone, vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your very own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus. So stay awake and keep up your guard. Remember those three years I kept at it with you, never letting up, pouring my heart out with you, one after another.”

“Now I’m turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends.”

Paul's last words to the Ephesian elders as recorded in Acts 20:25-32, The Message

We weren't that empty

There were only 39 people at our weekly worship gathering yesterday morning and yet I feel fine today. In fact, I feel very encouraged to tell the truth. I pastor a small fellowship in a small community in northern Wisconsin. So, having only a couple of handfuls together for a worship service is not an unusual experience. While typically we average around 50-60 a Sunday this past weekend was the deer-rifle season opener and in a congregation made up of several hunting families that spells “excused absence.” Even our son home from college was out in the woods with his uncles and grandfather.

Given that I had to lead worship, facilitate the gathering and preach made it a work day indeed (I love doing any but having to do all in the same setting is not what I would call preferable.) The day before while I was out in my deer stand I got a text from one of the kids from Focus away at college wondering if I wanted help on Sunday morning leading worship. He's a fairly musical kid who has taught himself to play guitar and the thought of having one more instrument to bolster our small worship team of a mother-daughter combo and myself was inviting to me so I texted him back, “sure!” So at 9 a.m., an hour before our gathering normally begins, Monica and Rachel got behind their mics for sound checks while Derek and I tuned up our guitars (he on his electric while I on my Fender acoustic.) I got a little grief from Derek and Rachel (19 and 18 respectively) for picking not one but (heaven forbid) two hymns (Blessed Assurance and Great is Thy Faithfulness) but they were otherwise good sports about it and for the next 45 minutes we warmed up the sanctuary as we went through the worship set I had pulled together on Friday afternoon.

By the time we were through practicing there were perhaps 15 people in the building and by 10 a.m. that number had grown only by 2 or 3. It was “go” time. But just like most Sundays, it's the music that draws them in. By the end of the first medley of songs, 10 or more folks had wandered in and two of them guests, a father and his young son. By the time we returned to worship following our meet-and-greet/offering/announcement-time eight more had straggled in. And early into our main worship set the rest showed up. But the response to worship was real. People entered in sincerely and devoutly. When I “opened up the altar” - the time in our gathering when we invite people to come forward, kneel and receive prayer from the body – it was like a flood-gate. Young and old alike made their way – here was a young man that I know is earnestly seeking God's direction for his life; here was a guy fresh out of the Justice Center (and who had brought his three juvenile sons to worship with him); here was an older missionary presently on furlough who a few weeks before had been hospitalized for a severe concussion and broken vertebrae in his neck while cutting a tree down behind his home; here was a local massage therapist at something of a crossroads in his life; here was an middle-aged woman facing surgery soon. All across the altar they knelt before the Lord. For a little while I was concerned there would not be enough ministry team members on hand to pray for each individual (usually, our trained prayer ministers will pray for one individual and then return to their seat.) Fortunately they recognized that we were shorthanded and a few of them were more animated than usual as they moved about the altar praying for those gathered there.

For corporate intercession our practice is to have a floor mic where designated “pray-ers” go to pray for the various needs listed on the prayer insert in the bulletin while the musicians on the worship team continue to quietly play. But due to the intimate size of our gathering, I just encouraged everyone to sit down and anyone who felt so inclined to lead out in prayer. “We can sit in 'Quaker-silence' if you prefer – even though that's not preferable to me,” is what I told them (frankly, when we practice an “open mic” format for Pentecostals we're a pretty sorry lot; no one seems too eager to pray out loud.) But not yesterday. Yesterday for nearly 15 minutes various individuals sat where they were and prayed for various needs and individuals most which were listed in the bulletin while some were not. From my perspective it didn't feel like an exercise in corporate disciple (i.e., this is the time in our gathering when we pray for our needs, etc.) but true corporate intercession agreeing together for God's kingdom to come and His will to be accomplished in each and every matter that was brought before Him.

It's more of a postcard than a letter

Recently I have been leading a short series entitled “Postcards from the Edge” on the “one-pagers” of the New Testament – 2 and 3 John, Philemon and Jude. I began Jude yesterday and my text was 1:1 (yes, only one verse and it took all of the time I usually take to preach which is usually about 45 minutes.) I loved preaching it and it seemed to have some “thickness” to it or have what an earlier generation of Pentecostal preachers referred to as “the anointing” (although admittedly that is entirely subjective conclusion.) When the gathering closed and I said my last “Amen” only a few left. Most remained to visit, to pray with one another, to comfort and encourage one another. You could say that the long and short of it was we had “church” yesterday.

While I was leading worship I had a random thought about our fellowship. Some of our members have grown stagnant and need reviving. They are, in my opinion, marching in place or plodding through the motions of being a disciple. Some of our members have drifted away not running headlong into a worldly lifestyle but slowly succumbing to the weight of carnality that permeates our North American atmosphere. Some seem to be at a flash point where they could go either way – embracing the call of Jesus or artfully dodging it. And some are genuinely growing in their love and devotion to Jesus and it is telling. Some are going forward. Some are falling backward, good and bad going hand in hand in the life of probably any local fellowship of believers. When I open my Bible I read,

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. Some of it fell on the road; it was tramped down and the birds ate it. Other seed fell in the gravel; it sprouted, but withered because it didn’t have good roots. Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds grew with it and strangled it. Other seed fell in rich earth and produced a bumper crop...”

“...The seed is the Word of God. The seeds on the road are those who hear the Word, but no sooner do they hear it than the Devil snatches it from them so they won’t believe and be saved.”

“The seeds in the gravel are those who hear with enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm doesn't go very deep. It’s only another fad, and the moment there’s trouble it’s gone.”

“And the seed that fell in the weeds—well, these are the ones who hear, but then the seed is crowded out and nothing comes of it as they go about their lives worrying about tomorrow, making money, and having fun.”

“But the seed in the good earth—these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there’s a harvest.” (Jesus in Luke 8:4-8; 11-15. The Message)

…

“I’ve known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather.”

“And that’s not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut.” (Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:27-29, The Message)

…

“I’m passing this work on to you...The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we’re in.”

“There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them. I let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.” (Paul in 1 Timothy 1:18-20, The Message)

…

“It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off.” (The author of Hebrews in Hebrews 2:1, The Message)

What I glean from all of this is that my experience as the pastor of The Refuge in Chetek, Wisconsin isn't too at odds of what greater and wiser pastors dealt with in the first years of the Church. There were disciples made who later flamed out. Others wandered off. Others abandoned ship when opposition came. But then there were others who firmly took the baton in their hands and ran with it. I suppose it will always be so until He comes. So that's why I'm encouraged today. We may be metaphorically off the beaten path as people chart those things but in reality we are in the thick of it, doing what we can to make disciples of Jesus who will remain faithful under pressure and resist the gravitational force of this present darkness. In my experience, there seem to be more losses than wins but ultimately it's God who makes the seed grow. My task, among others, is to keep chucking seed as copiously as I can, and contending for the faith "that was once and for all entrusted to the saints" (Jude 1:3, NIV). God helping me, I plan to.