Tv's, Zombies and My Very Smart Wife

Hello Emmanuel,

My wife talks to the tv.  I’ll probably get into trouble for writing about this.  Of all people in the house, I talk to the tv more than anyone.  My passion for the Reds and Bengals encourages me to do so.  I know they can’t hear me, but my frustration or my need to celebrate gets the best of me.  I talk to the tv too… sometimes I yell things at the tv (one of the reasons I watch sports by myself).

But the Bengals and Reds are real people playing a real game.  Zombies?  They aren’t so real.

The Walking Dead is a popular tv show.  Kim likes it probably too much.  If she ever has blood pressure issues, it is probably between 9 and 10 o’clock on Sunday nights.  She tries to warn people when there are zombies just around the corner and she will verbally question a person’s wisdom of walking down a dark hallway with a weak flashlight.  They never listen to her.  Then again, it’s been claimed that I don’t listen to her either.  Maybe I’m to blame for her semi-entertaining behavior?

Before I get into too much trouble, I should probably come up with a point for this illustration.  The point is this:  Kim is very smart.  She knows when you are in trouble.  Her skill at anticipating the tragic moment of getting bit by a zombie is unparalleled.  There.  Now that I’ve balanced my critique of Kim’s tv watching and her higher intellect (thus clearly getting me out of trouble) let’s get to the real point.

How often do you talk to God?  Do you talk to God more than you talk to the tv?  I suspect God listens better.  Do you yell at God more than at the tv?  Again… God probably listens better.  I’m not going to spend time discussing how God may or may not respond.  For this MMP, I just want to suggest that there is value in just talking to God, regardless of His response.  There is a certain kind of psychological comfort when your faith says that God listens.  He hears you.  He wants your interaction.

And it doesn’t so much matter your emotional state.  A Pastor of mine once suggested to me that it may be okay to even vent frustration at God….. that God just might be able to handle it.  While we are taught to speak to God with reverence, the reality is that sometimes we aren’t happy with God.  I want you to know that it’s okay.  You wouldn’t be the first.  Indeed, more than one person in the Bible had moments of displeasure with God and told Him about it. 

But what you also need to know is that, while you may vent at God, understand that He inevitably knows best, even when you are the most scared or frustrated or even angry.  In the end, I do believe we will understand all that we don’t understand now.  It’s one understanding that I hold onto even in those moments when I throw up my hands in frustration.  God promises new life.   God also promises peace.  There are days when I’m more thankful for the peace.

So the next time you want to yell at the tv, know that the tv doesn’t care what you say.  God does.  Not that I would ever suggest that God would need to save you from zombies, but Matthew 27:51-53 might say otherwise.  This scripture reference is for Kim to read….. and for my continued entertainment purposes.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

The Curses of Managing People

Hello Emmanuel,

Managing people is difficult business.  I don’t know how God does it.

Emmanuel, for the most part, is powered by the Holy Spirit to forge forward, even it means to change how things are done…. Even if it means to change who does them.  I’m not sure I’m used to this even after 4 years of it.  It’s certainly refreshing not to preach 40 sermons a year on how to not be in a rut (only 10 or so), but I’m learning that there are different kinds of challenges in such a progressive-thinking church (relatively speaking).

So as the church changes and new and more people get involved, let’s consider what I have seen as the challenges (and how my preaching may be tweaked in the future).

1.  Know when to pull back on the reigns.

I didn’t think I’d ever need reigns.  However, I am learning that there is a certain point when stopping a ministry or keeping a ministry from starting can actually be healthy for a church.  For example, there is a tendency for progressive-churches to duplicate ministry, causing it to become poor stewards of its resources.  Or another example is when leadership isn’t equipped to start such a great idea, setting itself up for failure… or worse… pain and hurt.  Or a third example is when there is an idea that is not going to help the circle chart go around as effectively as another idea might.

I still don’t like to pull on the reigns.  I actually detest the idea and have done it so rarely that I can’t count more than a few instances over the years.  But the great thing about Emmanuel is that resources (time, money, people, energy) will get used.  I’m feeling the responsibility to make sure they get used as wisely as possible (keep the circle chart going, people).

2.  Communication gets more complicated

It’s a continuing frustration for me as my wife can attest to.  I’m concluding that there is no such thing as a perfect communication system.  People plan differently, implement differently and communicate at different levels with different intentions.  I’m thanking Lori, our administrative assistant, more often in my prayers as she has really caught on to the use of the google calendar.  I dread to think what I would NOT have time to do if I spent my week making sure communication in the church was going smoothly 100% of the time.  I would be a very frustrated pastor.

Please, please, please communicate with each other effectively and timely.  When I see disruption or frustration in ministry, it is usually because of a lack of communication.  And while I am not immune to forgetting how to communicate, I can promise you that I lose sleep when I do.

3.  Christian people don’t always like each other

There you have it.  I typed it.  I even put it in bold.  Wouldn’t we all love to see 100% harmony in the church?  I would.  My job would be easy.  The reality is that some people simply will not like each other.  There can be lots of reasons for this.  I can often explain it, but sometimes I can’t.  However, if communication issues wouldn’t take up most of my time, dealing with how so-and-so doesn’t get along with so-and-so would take up much of it.

God loves us all.  We are commanded to love one another.  Sometimes I am to love someone I don’t like too well.  So what?  God has every right to not like me very well, but He loves me anyhow.  If we can recognize that we are all flawed, then we can move forward together by embracing the good that comes out of being a faith community.  And when the chance to hold each other accountable comes along, we can do so in the midst of trust and forgiveness.

So how do we deal with the challenges?

We use our resources the best we can; communicate the best we can; and love each other the best we can and let God take care of the rest.  I refuse to micromanage.  Emmanuel can’t afford a pastor to delve into every nook and cranny of the above issues without there being a cost.  The cost would be a church that is too busy being a perfectionist and not busy enough being a house of grace.  This creates a church that becomes too focused internally and not focused enough externally.

I am blessed to be at Emmanuel.  I am blessed to be freed up to tackle my Call to lead a church to be a disciple-making church.  Let’s continue to do so even as our challenges change over time.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Ready To Be Evaluated?

Hello Emmanuel,

My annual evaluation is over….. I think…..

Every year around this time, I am evaluated on two different fronts.  First, Emmanuel evaluates me via the Staff-Parish Relations Committee.  It is a team made up of extremely wise people who have high intelligence, good looks and plenty of great faith…. At least that is what I tell them.

They gave me an ‘A+’ evaluation.  (insert smiley face here…. With a wink)

For those who doubt the high integrity and vast insight of the SPRC, let me attempt to put your mind at ease.  In the United Methodist Church, the SPRC is only part of my evaluation.  I also get evaluated at the District level.  Every year around this time, I go to the District office and have a one-on-one with the Superintendent of the Ohio River Valley District that oversees the 100+ churches in the Cincinnati Region.

Ever hear of the saying ‘flattery gets you nowhere?’

I obviously jest regarding both parts of my evaluation process.  However, it is two very different kinds of evaluating.  For one, with the SPRC, there is an aspect of personal relationships involved.  We work together; do ministry together; solve problems together; create problems together; hurt, love and celebrate together.  It would be impossible not to have an amount of subjectivity when evaluating how I do my job.  It’s human.

So there is also the other side.  The district—because they don’t work among us through the year—get to look at my work from a more analytical perspective.  How is attendance?  Giving?  Membership? Small Groups?  Hospitality?  What are our goals?  How are we going to get there?

Not to suggest that the two parts are entirely polarized.  The SPRC does analyze results as well.  And the District does concern themselves with the relationship between pastor and the church.  But maybe you get the idea that the two help bring fairness to the process.  I like it.

What about you?  Do you like to be evaluated?  Maybe?  Maybe only if you pass?  And what does ‘passing’ mean?  Here is where I suggest we all take a deep breath and give thanks to God.  While it is important to evaluate how we do ministry together, our evaluation is for the purpose of making God as happy as possible.  The good part of the evaluation process is that it has nothing to do with the state of our soul.

Jesus died for you so that your evaluation doesn’t speak to your reward or punishment of your soul either now or later.  Our ministry together is out of thanksgiving for such grace.  I very often feel very free to experiment with ministry ideas, including the thriving or failing of ministry, because God has promised to still love me in any case.  This is partly why I do not sweat during my evaluations.  As much as I appreciate the accountability of the wise SPRC and very cool District office, I do what I do because God has freed me to do so. 

And so I hope as we work together, we do what we do because we are greatly appreciative that God has freed us to do so.  True, I may still feel some pressure to do well in my job, but the state of my soul isn’t on the line.  That is a big reason why, at the end of every MMP, I close it by saying…..

God is Good,

Pastor Joe