CityFellowship | Union Square NYC

Our new Lent Tradition…

ljkim — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:29:53 +0000

The word “lent” comes from the Old English word for spring time…but in the European tradition it’s shorthand for the 40 days leading up to Easter. What people often did for Lent is “fast” or give up something they love. Now I know there was probably a good idea there somewhere…but “giving up something you like” is not such a meaningful tradition for me right now. I think it makes people equate Jesus with mourning and losing things…and dying. And not the liberating “die to self” sort of way, but in a funeral procession sort of way. No wonder so many traditional church services sometimes feel like funerals. “Dearly beloved we are here to mourn the death of Jesus.” But the Jesus of history would not have been remembered had he only died… What was memorable about Jesus’ claim to Messiah-ship was that after he was killed, he then got up and preached some of his most mind blowing sermons. People started to get it…and they weren’t afraid any more.

So I’d like to propose a NEW tradition for Lent… Instead of giving something up – how about we give God something He wants… Of course, being God He doesn’t actually need a whole lot…but in the Bible, it tells us that there is one thing that He really wants but does not yet have… You.

So here’s the tradition: give God a piece of you for Lent. Publicly commit to something He wants. On Sundays we’re talking about the kinds of commitments God is after (the 3 c’s) – but you can make any kind of commitment you like…

Now in the Old Testament days people would gather a bunch of rocks and burn something to commemorate a commitment. All I’m asking you to do is to comment here. Say:

“I’m making a commitment to follow and learn from Jesus.”
Or, “I’m making a commitment to take a read through part of the Bible and understand every word of it.”
Or, “I’m making a commitment to forgive like Jesus, asking Him to teach me how and help me do it.”
Or, “I’m making a commitment to find a church home – other people to follow Jesus with…”
Or, “I’m committing to letting people ‘in’ so that they can share in what’s really going on between me and God – and maybe even shine some light on things.

It can be anything really…

But don’t just think it. Make it public in some small (but real) way. If you don’t want to comment here – announce it to your family at home, or your roommate, or your best friends… By making it public – it keeps you from just thinking nice thought and then forgetting it tomorrow…

Related posts:

Why I’m glad we don’t have Sunday school teachers…

ljkim — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:06:03 +0000

One of my favorite parts of church as a younger Christian was Sunday school – the classes after worship service… So I have nothing against that. But I’m glad we don’t have stuff *like* Sunday school and youth groups and praise teams that people can volunteer for… because when you have those things – the people who volunteer for them tend to think of THAT as their ministry. ”O I’d love to be involved in ministry, but I’m not musical, and I don’t know that I could teach a class in anything…” Or “I’d love to be involved in ministry, like the ‘Children’s Ministry.’” It’s too easy to confuse the ministry *program*, with your ministry…

What’s your ministry? It’s the difference between following Jesus and “leading” Him. Most professed Christians aren’t God-followers so much as God-leaders… Our natural human inclination is to want to LEAD God to places we want to go, and demand that God follow and do his part. But *following* means going and doing things we would not have chosen for ourselves, but doing it because it’s what Jesus wants to do… And there’s some unique way in which you have been placed and equipped to DO something (usually for other people) – something that’s not part of your job, and something that you don’t really need to do for yourself.

Being on a worship team or a volunteer at Sunday School is nice, and it can help the ministry of your church – but for MOST people, your ministry is something bigger than that, and beyond the walls of your church.

Related posts:

What are you trying to live up to?

ljkim — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:48:23 +0000

The Gospel is that there is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and nothing you can do to make God love you less…because Jesus has done it all for you. Your debt has been paid, and a glory you did not earn is bestowed upon you…you’ve inherited a righteousness the way some people inherit money and power. This also means that the way you are right now, who you are when you’re not trying to be something “better” is valuable and precious to God.

See the scary looking guy in the picture? That’s the character actor Danny Trejo. He’s been in over 180 movies, and you’ve probably seen him in dozens of roles…usually playing a tough guy or something along those lines. I think he’s perfect for it. He looks the part and he’s able to summon the right attitude to fill out the role…

A plastic surgeon came up to him at a party once, looked at his face closely, and pointing to the wrinkles under his eyes said ‘You know I could fix that.’ To which his wife and all the people around him said “No!!” Are you kidding me? That’s part of his character, his appeal. A part of who he is…as an actor anyway…

Now there’s nothing wrong with self improvement. God is all about you growing into holiness… But I’ll tell you what God isn’t after…He’s not out to change the parts of you that make you “you.” Unfortunately, sometimes, you are. The world gives you examples that you have to measure up to in order to feel smart or beautiful or successful – and if you’re not careful you’ll trade in what’s good and real for something less.

There is a BIG difference between growing in holiness and conforming to the world’s idea of something…and the difference has to do with God making you uniquely you, and placing you in such a way that there are things that only you can do, roles that only you can fill. If He were willing, would you let God lead you down the path that’s only for you? Would you be bold enough, faithful enough?

Related posts:

What’s the measure?

ljkim — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:49:21 +0000

Everyone’s trying to measure up to something… Pretty girls (and guys) try to measure up to the pictures in a magazine, smart people try to measure up to scores on standard exam, successful people try to measure up to other people’s measures of success… But what if those aren’t really the standards that matter? What if you are exactly perfect for the role God has for you? What if God had an aptitude test in which you’d get a perfect score, and everyone else would have to study just to try and pass… Because of your unique experiences and abilities and perspective all had a reason and purpose… If that were the case, what would you DO with your life then?

In one of his career-talks Seth Godin proposes: what if you’re a genius? Then he puts up a picture of Albert Einstein and says, ‘the problem is THIS guy ruined it for all the rest of us.’ He did something that NO ONE ELSE could do…using his unique ability to advance the world in some way – and the problem is now people think we have to do what he did in order to be a genius. Meanwhile Einstein couldn’t find his way home from work without getting lost. He couldn’t coordinate a suit with a tie. He probably couldn’t do a few things that you find easy to do… But he was uniquely gifted to do stuff no one else could do at the time.

You too are uniquely gifted and placed to do what NO ONE ELSE can do. The combination of knowledge and abilities found in you cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. Think about that. God loved you before the beginning of time and gave you a unique part of His image…

So stop asking yourself “how will I measure up?” And start asking yourself “so what will I do with my unique genius?”

Related posts:

Balancing work, play AND ministry…

ljkim — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:16:58 +0000

Most people these days think life is about balancing work and play… We talk about “work life balance.” We also talk about how hard work life balance is…and, to extend the metaphor, how easy it is to fall down. But life in the Bible really has three points and I think it makes the whole balancing act a lot easier! So what are they?

Your WORK is the stuff you do where you provide a service to people and you get paid for it. I’m a big believer in following your interests when it comes to work. Grace and I just watched a documentary on how these math geniuses love Origami, and found practical uses for it in pharmacology (to fold proteins) and engineering (to fold things like large solar panels into the bay of the space shuttle)… If you can make a living doing Origami, I think you can find a way to make a living doing almost anything that you enjoy and are passionate about!! Or at the very least find something that you can enjoy while offering a beneficial or useful service to others… [Btw - yes, the picture above is of an origami art piece, a single piece of paper folded without cutting]

But here’s the problem with work: one, you burn out. It doesn’t matter how perfect you are for your work, you will burn out on it. And the more interesting a job you have, the less sympathy you’ll get from people over it: imagine being stressed out after a long day of folding paper, or being a test driver for Top Gear, etc… Ha, you’ll get no sympathy from me – but the stress is real no matter what the job is! That’s why you need Play. Back to that in a moment.

The HOLY life is the good life…where you get to do things that interest you in your work – save the world through your ministry – and play, enjoy fun for the sake of fun, people for the sake of who they are, enjoying the good things in life.

On top of that, the second problem with work is that unless you’re really good at lying to yourself, you’ll eventually find it not-meaningful-enough. You’re made for more than your work. Sure making money makes your job feel more important than it is…but in your most honest moments you’ll feel like you’re wasting your life performing banalities… That’s why you need MINISTRY.

Understanding MINISTRY takes an enormous load off your work! Your work is not supposed to fulfill you as a person. Your work is not supposed to save the world. Your ministry…is more fulfilling, and it IS the way in which you contribute to God’s work in saving the world.

And if you understand God’s idea of work and ministry – then you can also really begin to enjoy the role of PLAY in your life! If you’re offering good things through your work, and saving the world through your ministry – you can really be free to PLAY and have fun. But you need all three… See that?

The HOLY life is the good life…where you get to do things that interest you in your work – save the world through your ministry – and play, enjoy fun for the sake of fun, people for the sake of who they are, enjoying the good things in life.

Related posts:

Disciples not students…

ljkim — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:09:48 +0000

I meet many Christians who seem to have a solid grasp of Christian theology and an understanding of how Christianity shapes worldview and culture…and yet feel like Jesus just a concept to them. Jesus the person seems strange and alien, unimaginable, distant, difficult. I understand this. And I don’t think it’s just an isolated problem for a small group of people – looking out at the conservative Christianity in the U.S., I think I see a lot of well-meaning Christians who are somewhat alienated from Jesus. Maybe alienated is too strong a word… But something is wrong, something is missing, and I think it can happen to anybody.

So how do you make Jesus real again? Encounter Him? It has to do with what we’re talking about on Sunday… The way Jesus taught stuff and taught about himself was not through a particular message/sermon, but through the process of discipleship. The point of becoming a disciple was to know Him, and to learn His teaching… To do that it wasn’t enough to listen to His lectures and think – one had to go where He went, do what He did, and do what He asked…

The idea is that as you “DO” these things (what He did, allowing Him to set the agenda, and also doing what He asked you to do…), through the interactive process of listening and DO-ing, you learn stuff about Jesus and what He’s saying. You don’t just learn by listening – but *understanding* the deep things comes as a result of listening and Do-ing…

This is true of regular people and more mundane situations too… You don’t get to know a person on a date or interview, by asking “So tell me about yourself.” You get to know a person, and the actual person becomes real to you as you do stuff with the person, respond to their requests as well make requests of your own, agree, disagree, etc. Real people are three dimensional, whereas talk is one dimensional, or maybe two. You need the reality of action to know them.

This brings us to the question: So what’s God’s agenda for you today? What is He doing and what does Jesus want you to DO?

Related posts:

Turning Lent right side up…

ljkim — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:06:00 +0000

Some of my readers will be familiar with the tradition of Lent… Usually it means either fasting or giving up something you like for the month leading up to Easter. Like any tradition it can be great and meaningful (if done right) or empty and superficial… If it tends to be the latter for you – then why not try the opposite of Lent? Instead of giving something up for God – how about taking some time to ask, “What can I DO for my Savior today?” ”What would he like?” Whatever it is, you can think of it as your Ministry for the day…it’s the thing that Jesus would want, that Jesus would do, that you get to do for him…

Related posts:

Everyday ministry…

ljkim — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:24:34 +0000

I confess, I have selfish reasons for wanting you to find your ministry. It would be cool to be part of a church where every believer was a minister. That’s what I always thought it was supposed to be like when I first read the Bible… then I got older and actually started going to church. It’s possible for smart talented people to spend all their time and money and energy on themselves, self promoting, self guiding, self medicating, self helping, self fulfilling, self involved… I do it too, and it kills fellowship and slowly saps the joy out of life without our realizing it. Ah – this is so negative, but it get’s better!

God has a better idea, instead of self help, how about God helps you; and instead of you serving yourself, you serve other people. That’s how fellowship happens. (Sin connects us with other people in rivalry because we have needs – people who hate crowds nevertheless live in the city because it gives them things they need… But love connects us with other people because we have gifts.) Anyway, as altruistic (or confusing) as that sounds, it’s really a selfish motive of mine, because that’s the kind of church I want to be part of! But that’s not my only motive, there’s another reason I want this for you…

Your life will be so much richer, you would be so much cooler even, and so much happier if you were using a part of what God’s given you for others! I wish I had the skill to help you imagine that better… To imagine the difference between a you that’s out for you – and a you that’s out to minister. One is boring, the other is a hero. One is vain, the other is beautiful. One feels like they’re slowly dying and needs to do things to feel alive – the other is fully awake. Holy Spirit, help us to see it!

Related posts:

Best reasons to miss church…

ljkim — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:23:37 +0000

“It’s too far, it’s too cold, I’m too tired, I want to sleep in…” Those are not very good reasons. So let me give you some better ones: “God loves me whether I go to church or not…” “My salvation does not come from perfect church attendance, but from Jesus’ life and death on my behalf.” “Church is not a place, it’s people…people I can see later.” And although I am kidding around a bit – I believe all those reasons are true… There really ARE good reasons to miss church. So I’ll never make you feel bad or guilty for missing something…some of you feel guilty anyway – so I go out of my way to make sure you’re not getting that from me. God really does love you the same whether or not you get up for church on Sunday…honest! Which is why I want to tell you a little bit about why in the 20 years since I started to know God and first went to a church, I’ve missed church only maybe once…

In fact before I was started doing church-ministry, I’d usually go to at least two worship services in two different churches every Sunday. I’m not bragging, and this doesn’t make me more spiritual… And actually I might have missed more than just one day of church in 20 years, maybe it was two – but I don’t remember and it was never (and isn’t now) important to me…

Okay if it’s not important, then why am I bringing it up? Because I want you to understand my motivation for this… I was never a great fit at the churches I was a part of, so it wasn’t really for social reasons…

So why did I go? Because by an extremely unlikely route, I found out that God was good. And from time to time He reminded me of His goodness, or showed me something more, or helped me understand… When God did stuff like that I felt alive. And where did God tend to speak to me or show His presence? ”Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be also…”

I go to church to meet Him. It never gets old. Why would I ever want to risk missing it? If you were giving away free money – I’d probably get up early and take the subway to go get it… Why would I do less for free grace? A free God who gives Himself to anyone who’s willing to receive Him? Or why would I plan to show up tired or hung over or distracted in some other way? It’s not because I’m so good…it’s because He’s so good, I don’t want to let one Sunday go to waste…

No, going to church does not make you good. Get that? That’s absolutely true. It’s God’s goodness that makes me want go to church… Church isn’t the only way God can speak and bring good things – but it’s the place where He’s promised to come meet us – so that’s where I’ll be.

Related posts:

Guide to finding your ministry…

ljkim — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:31:17 +0000

If God has a ministry for you right now – some way in which you are uniquely placed or uniquely equipped to serve… then one reason you might not be able to figure out what it is, is because you’re confusing your ministry with your skill set… At some point in your life God’s ministry for you might be taking care of an elderly parent or a sick spouse. That has nothing to do with your skill set, but everything to do with who you are. Or your ministry at the moment might be to befriend people around you, and treat someone with dignity when others do not… This might not be the main ministry God has for you five years from now, but it might be something so simple and unglamorous right now that you’re overlooking it… You might be thinking, “I have a professional degree, I have a unique skill set” but God is not impressed with your abilities – He can give abilities (or take them away), God is more impressed with humility and faithfulness…

So with that in mind here are some tips to help you find the ministry God has for you right now:

Be faithful with the small unglamorous ministries – and God will eventually give you bigger ones…
Rely on God for necessary skills, otherwise you might give up on your ministry because you think it’s out of your reach…
Don’t expect your ministry to be something you like initially – but do expect that you will love and be grateful for the opportunity down the line…no matter what a sacrifice it seems at the moment…
If there’s no opportunity to do your ministry right now – that’s because it’s NOT your ministry right now… You have to learn to follow Jesus, and stop trying to lead Him in directions you like.
Your ministry will be something that you have an opportunity to do…
Don’t expect your ministry to be easy – but do expect that God will send help at just the right times…
Don’t expect other people to support your ministry right away, most people will probably try to talk you out of it…and you might not see any immediate fruit to your labor.
Your ministry should be something that’s worth doing – even if you were to fail at it! A battle that’s worth fighting, a cause that’s worth pressing forward – even if it brings you nothing but heartache in the end… that’s part of how you know it’s a worthy cause.
Do expect some confirmation of your ministry – not everyone will encourage you – but if NO ONE encourages you, then it’s probably not your ministry…
Find other people who are looking for their ministries, and other people who have FOUND them… Don’t imitate their ministries – because yours will be unique to you (even when it sounds similar to someone else’s on paper) – but let their experiences encourage you and give you perspective on yours…

In the early church, Stephen’s ministry was to deliver food to elderly widows, then as a public speaker debating with religious zealots, and then to die forgiving his attackers… Those three “ministries” have little in common, and I bet no one who knew Stephen when he was a little kid would have guessed what they would be…

Likewise, when the singer Bono was 16, I doubt anyone thought his ministry as an adult would have to do with international politics!

You might have people trying to tell you what your ministry is (but not me!) – There will always be people trying to tell you what to do… But it’s up to you to find out what it is right now… Once you find it, follow Jesus with it, He’ll lead you to something else, and then something else still. It will be great! You will feel like life is more wild and exciting than anything you dreamed for yourself. So what are you waiting for?

Related posts: