Bethlehem Baptist Church of Richmond, Va
We are a congregtion of loving Christians in the Richmond, Va metro area. We are cooperative in our fellowship with other Christians. We focus on our work with children, students and adults of all ages. Our worship is authentic and relevant, our ministry to our community and beyond is passionate.Archive for February, 2008
It’s Not About Us…
It’s worship, wor-ship. Worth-ship. When we gather on Sunday’s for worship, it is for a blink of time. A small slice out of a whole week. It is our set aside time, at God’s demand, that we show God His worth in our lives. It is not our time to show off our skills or be in control of anything. It’s about God, and God alone. It’s not about our needs, our wants, our likes and dislikes…it’s not about us.
I once served a church that had a man (no gentleman…just a man) who’s role was to handle the church’s money. Now he took his role very seriously. Handling the church’s money is a serious matter. But this man actually believed the money was on loan to him from God to dispense as he thought he should. One summer Sunday morning at about 10:57am (worship began at 11:00am) he makes his way to the pulpit area where I am engaged in a conversation with the chairman of the deacons. With his right index finger wagging 1/2 inch from nose, he began to make some very loud accusations and some very unflattering comments about me. Did I mention that is was about 11:57. At the altar and the organist was playing the prelude and the choir was coming in and the deacons were taking their seat on the front row. At that moment I had an epiphany…this man was not ready for worship, nor would he be that day. He had an agenda that did not involve God. He sang the songs, he heard the message and scriptures…and when it was over…he put the finger back in my face and picked up where he left off. Much to the embarrassment of the chairman of the deacons, and the pastor and most of the congregation, me and I’m pretty sure God heard him as well.
This man was in the minority. There were saints who gathered to truly worship. Just like we have saints at Bethlehem. They enter the sanctuary eager to express their appreciation and love for their heavenly Father. They sing from the bottom of their soul, with, or without, an ability to sound like an angel. They meditate on His Word. They encourage those they meet. They know that their time in the sanctuary is not about them…it is about God.
Jesus, according to Matthew, says we worship God and serve him only! When we lift our voices in song…it is for God alone and not for us. When the choir or soloist sings…it is for God alone and not for us. When we pray…it is for God alone and not for us. When we serve The Lord’s Supper or take up the offering…it is for God alone and not for us.
Now…if someone doesn’t like a song we sing, or the manner we share in Table Fellowship, or even how someone say’s hello, it becomes a God problem. Listen to their complaints…”I don’t like…”, “I think we shouldn’t…, “I don’t see why we do…”, “I’m in charge of…” Compare their statements to those who have discovered that worship is showing God His worth to them. They don’t care about their own needs, they are not concerned if something is being done they way they think it should be. To them…it really is all about God.
And by the way…everything we do is worship…all day, everyday. Each action we take is to be an act of worship.
I’m looking forward to worshiping this week. Won’t you join me so we can be a community in one accord?
A Shift, not a change
Our journey, our faith journey, takes us by the cross of Jesus and the tomb from which he left. We sit around the tables of fellowship with friends, old and new. We put our hands into the hand of God, who takes us to experiences we had never considered.
We recognize the cross, and we seem to vaguely understand the true significance of the tomb. We want to linger at the table with old friends. But what of these new friends and experiences?
As a church we often struggle with who were are to be as a vehicle on the journey of faith. Are we the horse that was used when we were organized in the 1800’s? The large, strong cars of the 1950’s and 60’s? The pickup truck of 1970 and 80’s? The import and SUV of the 1990’s and turn of the current turn of the century? Each of us have a different response because we evaluate our journey through the eyes of our generation. My generation…those born in the 50’s may wish to see the church with a sanctuary filled with bodies and choir loft filled with robes and the parking lot filled with “grocery getters” (station wagons and large family cars”.
Look around. Where are the horses and station wagons? Where are the big Buick’s and Plymouth’s? In our parking lot there are old and new sedans and vans, trucks and SUV’s.
God is telling us to make a shift on how we do church. Not a change because our destination has not changed, the stops along the journey has not changed…how we get there has changed. Change brings fear. Fear of the unknown. There is nothing unknown about the church other than what today will bring. I want us to be ready to minister in today’s world, with the people who come to our doors and the people who’s doors we go through. For those who have fullness of life in what we are now, that will not change. The way we get to those places will have an impact on who we are able to impact with the Gospel of Jesus…the good news. God is telling us daily to not change our destination but to shift our focus. Shift from what We Like…from what We Want…to what He Demands and what He Expects.
The book “The Purpose Driven Church”( by pastor Rick Warren) begins by reminding us that it’s not about us. It’s about God and how we are to live in His world.
Pray for the shifts we will make for God.
A lesson from a basketball record…
I just finished watching Duke University’s Mens Basketball team go into the record books. They played Wake Forest University on TV. That’s not the record. They turned the ball over a whole lot due to poor play and good defense by Wake. That’s not the record. They missed lay ups and easy shots. That’s not the record. They played almost all of their players. That’s close…but that’s not the record. They had all 5 starters foul out of the game with over 1 minute left. THAT’S THE RECORD!!! The best 5 players on the # 2 ranked team in the country played soooo bad that the officials felt that they could no longer play in the game. No amount of coaching, or playing or yelling at the officials was going to change the outcome. It was a game for the record books and a nightmare for the Duke team.
HOWEVER…That’s not what got my attention, though. (Sure, I am a huge Duke basketball fan and I felt that we were unfairly picked on by the men in striped shirts) it was the look on the coach’s face towards the end of the game. The look told it all. As the game wound down, Duke’s coach could only watch in disbelief. He realized that his players could play so far above their heads and ability that their nose would bleed for a week to 10 days, and it still wouldn’t help his team win. Wake Forest was on, Duke’s team was off and the Officials were in control. The coach knew that no matter what he told his players. The Officials were the “player” they couldn’t play against. The coach’s only recourse was to encourage his players, remain calm, congratulate the other team, look forward to the day being over, and begin to develop a plan to teach his players for the next time his 5 players are up against a 6 man team.
So what does that have to do with anything. Only this…
Some days it does not matter how hard you try…there are just somethings out of your control. And you just have to sit there and realize that at the end of the day God still loves you and really does have a wonderful plan for your life. Not everyday has you winning national championships, or discovering the cure to premature male balding, or making your spouse happy beyond belief. SO…at those times, we must sit still and wait for the tough times to pass. At the very least, realize that in the darkness of the night, God will provide a Son to bring light and hope in the morning.
The writer of the book of James puts it this way in the first chapter:
2My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. 3You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. 4But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.
Duke will win more games. Wake will win more games. We will have good days and we will have bad days. And in the midst of the good and the bad…we must learn to endure. Surround yourself with God’s people, spend time every morning with God in prayer, serve other’s in God’s name.
peace
mark
