SoStinkingCool

I was asked a couple of days ago how hot air ballooning (a hobby of ours) and children’s ministry are similar.  Interesting because prior to that day, I hadn’t really thought about it or considered there was a correlation.  But in fact, there is!

Every hot air balloon has a “system”, the rigging or apparatus that makes up the equipment and gear that enables you to fly in a basket under a piece of fabric.  Just like any aircraft, you have a system to maintain for safety, integrity and function.  These systems also of course allow the pilot and passengers to have a ton of fun!

There is a system to inspect the balloon annually to insure it is in good working condition, as well as,  a specific system to assemble the balloon, to check the balloon prior to inflation and to re-check before flight.  By checking the systems it helps the pilot and crew to know that they’ve done everything necessary in order to achieve their goal:  flight!

So how does this relate to Children’s Ministry?  We have systems (or we should have) to help us achieve the goal of connecting kids to God.  There are practical systems like curriculum, volunteer recruiting and training and check-in systems.  There are also systems that help us to establish our goals like creating vision and mission statements.

But we can’t just create systems and then walk away from them… Reggie Joiner said recently that, “effective organizations create a culture that is intentional about upgrading critical systems”.  Are your systems antiquated and working from memory or are you constantly evaluating your systems to enable you to reach the next generation in relevant ways?

A question that many people ask about ballooning is “do you know where you’re going to land?”.  The answer is no, God’s wind decides the landing spot, there is a definite faith factor that is coupled with the skill of flying. What I love about working in Children’s Ministry is the result of  “all systems go”… at the end of the day, if I have checked all of my systems and done all that God has asked me to do, I simply stand back and let Him finish the ride!  He blows my mind every week with the way He uses my simple systems and humble offerings and does big, hairy, audacious things in the lives of kids!

This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns. Jeremiah 4:3

How many of us really “breakup” the unplowed or fallow ground of our hearts and mind?  How many of us continue to plant seeds amoung the thorns of our heart only to have God’s voice squeezed out by the thistles of our past, the choices of today and the scars of un-necessary expectations put on us by others?

I have “sown seed” among weeds, tried to plant good seed in hard, dry undernourished soil which only led to weak, small and malnourished sprouts of faith that were quickly choked-out by a world of desire, unrealistic expectations and self-centered agendas.

Plowing through hard ground is tough work.  it requires stamina, persistence and determination.  Sometimes it requires us to keep focused only on the four feet in front of us instead of the entire four acres spreading out for what seems like miles.  Acres that must be broken up in order for a good crop to be produced.

The unplowed parts of my heart these days are not as obvious as they were years ago when I could identify easily the rocks hills and rodent holes in the field of my heart.  Rocks of selfish sin and holes that tripped me up.  These days it requires an honest inspection of my heart and motives and open eyes to see the ground that is yet to be plowed.  The surface of my field is fresh tilled soil, but there is more dirt underneath that must be raised up and turned toward the sun- I want my roots to go deep in God’s Word, to soak up every bit of the life-giving nutrient of His love and compassion.  So that the fruit of my field is strong, healthy and thriving, not choked out by the thorns of this world.

I realized this week that part of plowing through rough terrain is inconvenient.  It’s time consuming and takes you away from other things that might seem more pressing at the moment or the energy needed to continue “plowing” has waned to the point of fatigue.  But “plowing”  must be done… fruit does not appear without the initial work of plowing~

Jesus tells a story about a farmer who went out to plant a field…”As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ^5…Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹He who has ears, let him hear.”

From one farmer to another~  still breaking up hard ground, gonna till deeper!

It’s amazing to me how far we can get off track, how far we will wander and the depth of the crazy things we’ll do and chase after while we’re trying to do things “our” way.

Jeremiah 2:11b  ‘But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O Heavens and shudder with great horror’, declares the Lord”

God knows the good, beautiful, amazing and perfect things He has for us… it’s incomprehensible that someone would knowingly reject this kind of love.  And yet we do~

We exchange it for money, popularity, addiction, pretty things that make us feel good temporarily, fame, stature, comfort, so-called adventure.  We run from disciple meant to protect and mold thinking a gruel, demanding God has just “judged” me and in turn equate that with the acts of a dictator and not a loving God who desires freedom, peace, security and good things for us.  The BEST things for us.

What is even more amazing to me is the crazy love God still has for us even when we’ve exchanged our Glory to chase after empty pleasures~  ‘How gladly I would treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’  Jeremiah 3:19

In my life, I have exchanged my Glory for escape, “love”, acceptance and thrill, fun and downright selfishness, to name just a few.  The ironic thing is that all those things left me empty, wanting more and feeling very lonely.  When I strike out to “find myself” or do things my way and reject the most incredible relationship ever offered to me, I feel it so deep that my body aches from the separation.

A number of years ago after a bitter divorce and a miracle second marriage, which involved a move to a new state I experienced the pain and anguish that separation, can create.  After only four months in our new state my youngest daughter decided she wanted to move back to the state where her friends and father lived.  For some reason when you’re involved in a divorce you feel obligated to agree to things you typically wouldn’t.  Hindsight is always clearer isn’t it?

Within two weeks my husband and I were standing at the gate (obviously this was prior to 9-11) with our daughter crying shamelessly as we said our good-byes.  Yes, all of us were crying.  We all knew this wasn’t what we wanted and yet, we all followed through with it.  My heart was broken, I felt like I was missing half of my body, as though I had severed an arm and a leg.  Amputees will tell you that after the loss of a limb; they continue to feel like that limb is still there.  I knew I still had her, but she was absent.  I wanted (and still do) the best things for her, the safest life, the most security and love she deserved and I knew the environment she was entering was not that kind of place.

God aches for us when we’re far away from Him.  It is baffling and curious, the above verse says appalling, why we would exchange our Glory for emptiness, danger, separation and ultimate death when He offers every good thing to us.  I’m so incredibly thankful for His intense love for us, so much so that He sent His Son in exchange for me.  As hard and as painful as it must have been to send His Son off into a world that offered rejection and distain, it is more painful for Him to continue to be separated from us.  His love for us is so deep that He was willing to send His Son out in exchange for us.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”  Romans 5:8

Jeremiah 1:11-19  “What do you see”?  This is the opening question that God asks Jeremiah after he’d touched his mouth and anointed him with his Word.  God is preparing Jeremiah to go to the Israelites and speak some major truth into their lives.  You gotta know that Jeremiah is feeling a little inadequate and a bit afraid even if he was in awe of this amazing conversation he’s having with the Maker of the Universe.

True to the God who knows every thought we have even before we perceive it in our own head, God lets him know what else He’s given Jeremiah:

“Get yourself ready!  …Do not be afraid of them… today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land – against the kings of Judah, its officials, it’s priests and the people of the land.  They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord.”  v17-19

Jeremiah was looking down a dark tunnel filled with powerful kings, influential priests and an army of people that weren’t going to like the truth and judgement he was about to lay on them.  Get this picture:  one guy against hundreds of thousands of people with lots of resources, power and human-guided manipulation.

Have you ever been up against someone or something that you just didn’t feel you could possible stand against?  A mountain too big or a storm too violent to survive through?  I have… in the midst of it, you begin by using your own skills and resources to make it through.  You might read some clever self-help books to gain more insight or direction (because when you’re in a storm your first reaction is simply to get through it, survival), or talk to well-meaning friends who will usually feed your fear and tell you to keep treading water until the storm has pasted.  A storm or mountain faced without the proper equipment never ends well, usually ends fatally.

God tells Jeremiah not to be afraid, yep these people are going to fight you (verse 19), but I’ve hemmed you in with MY power (fortified city), I have made you strong (iron pillar) and I’ve given you My Word (bronze wall: judgement).

Ezekiel 3:8-9 says, “I will make you unyielding and hardened as they are.  I will make your forehead like the hardened stone, harder than flint.”  As hard and tough as some people or situations can appear in our life, even those that seem like impossible situations or relationships, God equips us with an even harder, tougher and stronger countenance to reach them.  He never asks us to go up against a giant alone, He equips us with the power of the Holy Spirit which is the same power and might that raised Christ from the dead.

I didn’t rely on that power the entire time I went through my storm~ I believe God was speaking to me and telling me how to navigate with Him, but I choose many times to weather the storm floating on my measly, pathetic piece of broken life raft rather than the strong, fortified and trustworthy cruise ship He had available for me to not just weather the storm, but to face it head on.

1 Corinthians 1:5 says that we “do not lack any spiritual gift…”, God has given us everything we need to face our storms ~ he will make us stronger than our strongest opponent.  That’s some good stuff right there!

So I was reading this morning in Mark 2, read through verses 22 and 23 and kept going, but the Holy Spirit pulled my chin back up to the top of the page to read verse 23 again.  Okay… you can’t put new wine into an old wineskin… I know, I’ve heard this a hundred times, read it at least a couple dozen times, what do you want me to get here Lord?

“Get rid of your old wineskins”

As I sat and listened, looked up commentaries on this parable, put it down and came back to it again a few hours later, it occurred to me that I have tons of old “wineskins” and if truth be told, we all do.  Personally and in ministry…

• The “wineskin” of a past unequally yoked-marriage and the residue still hanging on in my redeemed, covenant marriage. 
• The “wineskin” of my broken walls caused by sin and the consequences
• The “wineskin” of “we’ve always done it this way”
• The “wineskin” of legalistic traditions

The list could go on and on.  The truth of what Jesus was talking about and I believe still does today, is a simple truth most of us agree on:  Jesus came to replace the law, we have a new law called love and we are new creations if we believe in Jesus Christ as the one who stands in the gap for my sin.  Jesus was trying to show the religious leaders and tell them that very soon the religion they knew complete with priests, temple and alter would not exist.  He was telling them to stop putting all their hope and confidence in the old wineskin… stop leaning on the comfortable, the mediocre and the known and trust in HIM… have faith in Jesus, not the wineskin.  “The tablets of the law have been replaced by the tablet of the human heart, where God’s Spirit is writing the Word and making us like Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:1-3, 18)”

I realize today that there are old wineskins in my own life that I’m hanging onto.  I think we hang onto old wineskins in the modern church as well.  These old wineskins keep me stuck in the past, keep us from trusting God to work big, hairy, audacious things for His Kingdom and can keep the church from having the impact on the world around us.  Old wineskins are safe… but only with old wine in them. 

What old wineskins are you holding onto?  What old wineskins in the church are we holding onto?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Our oldest son left February 16, 2009 for a six month tour of duty in Iraq, leaving behind his wife, almost two year old son and soon to be born baby girl.  Prayer for him to return home whole physically, emotionally and spiritually. 

Fast forward: June 8, 2009  baby girl due any day.  9PM mild labor, 2AM getting ready to head to the hospital, water breaks, need to push, baby delivered on the guest bed by her Mom… seriously! 

Fast, fast forward: Calls and and mobile pictures from the hospital and then…  No one but God!  No one but God could bring a dad home three months early, 12 hours after the birth of his daughter.  That’s my God, I hope you know Him!

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