Stewardship Thoughts

An article and blog I recently read gave me pause to think. The title of the article was "Preaching On Money" it went on to talk about how difficult it is to preach on money and how most preachers avoid doing so or approach it very timidly and reluctantly. The auther gave some sound advice on how to Help People Find Balance, Create an Atmosphere of Grace, Address Real Life Issues and Draw People to Invest in a Higher Calling.

While I found the article helpful and full of grace filled thoughts, never did the author use the word Stewardship. Never did the author come out and connect Stewardship and Discipleship. Personally, I think it is wrong to "Preach On Money." However, having said that, I do believe we are called to preach about Stewardship. That may sound like straining at gnats but "money" and "giving" is only one small aspect of the Stewardship of Life and Discipleship. I don't believe we can even talk about money without putting it into the context of the whole Stewardship of Life package. Too many people hear the word Stewardship and immediately and mistakenly equate it to exclusively mean money. But they are wrong.

Stewardship is a soul issue. Stewardship is a Discipleship issue. You can't be a faithful Disciple unless you are a good Steward. And you won't be a good Steward if you aren't seeking to be a faithful Disciple.

Stewardship begins with a change in mindset. You see most of us think this life and all we have in it is ours to do with as we please. We look upon all this stuff in our lives and think of it as "Mine." We forget that life and all it entails is a gift from God. God has placed this small part of God's creation (our life and all it entails) into our hands and asked us to be good stewards, good caretakers of God's stuff. We have to get out of this "Mine-set," if you will, so we can grow in our Discipleship; so we can grow more and more like Christ.


So, how's your "Mine-set?" Do your realize it's really not yours? You're really not yours. You belong to God and are called to live a life that glorifies God by being a good steward of the life and the gifts God has given you. How's your "Mine-set?"

A Day of Silence and Gloom

Saturday. There is no special worship service on the Saturday of Holy Week. But it is known as Holy Saturday or The Day of Silence and Gloom. It was on Saturday that the world exeprienced the darkest day of all.

The disciples couldn’t have been any more fearful, distressed or depressed. All their hopes and dreams had been broken and then shattered with each successive hammer blow on the nails. And when they heard Jesus’ last words, “It is finished,” their hearts and spirits concurred as they spiraled down into to the darkness of depression; the kind of depression that only comes following the loss of someone you deeply love or the knowledge that everything you hold dear is gone or wrong.

Not only are there feelings of depression and anxiety there are also feeling of abandonment coupled with profound loneliness, even in a group. In their group there was a feeling of dread. Gloom covered their hearts and their eyes. So, deep and thick was the gloom and despair; so thick and overbearing that it silenced them. So they hid in the silence of their grief; hiding from the Romans as well as the Temple guards; hiding from each other; hiding from themselves.

Night was falling. The growing darkness all around matched the darkness of their hearts as they watched the stone rolled into place sealing the tomb. Shoulders slumped in defeat. Tear stained faces filled with grief covered heads hung low. They welcomed the night. It hid them from His accusers and those who had crucified Him. It hid them from each other.

They slid away into the darkness, silent and mute, too shocked, too grief filled to speak. The silence was almost deafening. Ironically, they each made their way back to the Upper Room. Where else could they go?

They sought each other's company but then remained silent and alone in their compnaionship. They could hear their own ragged breath, subdued sighs and moans of grief as loud as thunder across ocean waves. It was so loud in their own ears it occasionally made them jump in fear.

Jesus, the one they had hoped and believed was the Messiah, was dead and sealed in a tomb. It was a Day of Silence and Gloom.

National Tell A Lie Day

I love weird Holidays. Yesterday was Don't Go To Work Unless It's Fun Day (I went to work) and National Work Place Napping Day (I didn't) or Sauturday which is National Carmel Corn Day (I may or may not have some). But really, National Tell A Lie Day, that's what today is. We'll probably never find out who started this holiday. Those who say they did probably didn't and the anyone who says they didn't could be lying.

My observation is that, generally speaking, we are a very tolerant and forgiving people. We are tolerant of people's little foibles and eccentricities. We are even tolerant of little white lies. I'm sorry he can't come to the phone right now or she has someone in her office when we don't want to talk to a salesperson. Fisherman are known for the ever growing size of their latest catch. Grandparents are noted for grandizing their grandchildren's exploits. Most of us just consider this to simply be a part of life. But is it? Is it necessary? And what are the consequences?

I don't think the little lies are necessary. I think they are habits we fall into. Habits can be changed. Especially when we become aware that something we are doing is detrimental. Instead of saying, "He or she's not here," simply say, "I'm sorry they're not available at the moment, but please leave a messgae." No need to lie.

The recent outburst of Alec Baldwin (which was probably justified) over the two papparzzi who signed up for his new fiance's yoga class just so they could get a photo of the ring is an example. It's only a small "white" lie, so what's the big deal. The big deal is that we are the ones who have arbitraily categorized and prioritized what is and isn't a "white" lie. We've chosen what is acceptable. The problem is, every time we draw the line, someone else moves it and consequently the line just keeps moving.

Lying breaks trust. While we are tolerant and even forgiving of little "white" lies, they still chip away at the trust we have in others and the trust others have in us. If you've ever seen the movie The Shawshank Redemption, you know what can be done over a long period of time with a small rock hammer. Andy Duquenes didn't dig his way to freedom over night. But chip by little chip he continued to dig until that day that he was able to escape. Lying slowly chips away at the trust we have in and for each other. When you chip long enough, the wall you are chipping away at, suddenly collapses and you find yourself under the lies and mistakes of the past.

People generally begin crying out, "Why me?" when that happens. They forget all the other lies and wrongs that undermined their wall.

The point is, our descent into this current level of hell is not a giant leap, we descend one small step at a time. Sometimes the steps are nearly impercieveable but with each step down it gets harder and harder to turn around and head back up. Once you've lost the moral ground it's hard to gain it back. The gravity of your lies or what you have done holds you down like chains and weights. Trying to turn back and undo something is sort of like running up a down escalator that keeps speeding up. With each step you have to run faster just to maintain the current level.

So, please don't celebrate "Tell A Lie Day." Avoid it. You'll be much happier without this little holiday. And that's the truth.

Resurrection Restoration Car Show

Saturday, March 31st, our church, First United Methodist Church of Glen Rose, Texas held its First Annual Car Show. Someone asked me Why? Why are we hosting a Car Show?

That’s easy, I like cars. But that’s not the real answer. We wanted to do something unusual for the community as a nonthreatening outreach to those who may never darken the doors of our church or any church.

One of the most intimidating things for some people, is entering the Sanctuary of a Church for the very first time. Will they accept me? Will I make a mistake? Will I sit in the wrong place or a host of other fears.

We held our awards ceremony in the Sanctuary. They came in where it was cool, where we had a PA System and where a slideshow of the days events was being played. all in all it was a very inviting experience.

The other reason is that car show officianados and churches have very much in common. Those who restore and rebuild classic cars and everyone who drives a restored or rebuilt car has something in common with the church. We are all in the Restoration and Resurrection business.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NRSV) the Apostle Paul wrote: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”

We have one thing that is very basic which we share. When restorers look at cars and when the chuch looks at people, we both see what they can be and not what they are now. We see them as they were originally created. A thing of beauty.

We do resurrection and restoration work. In the church we preach and help people live a life that reflects the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. And we help Restore broken lives and broken relationships. Car officianados raise the dead and restore life to old classics which, to most, are rusted and broken beyond repair.

We are all in the Resurrection Restoration business. What better way to celebrate that than on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, which is the beginning of Holy Week and leads up to Easter.

Now That's Justice, Mercy and Grace

http://www.thisistrue.com/

One of my favorite email newsletters to receive is from Randy Cassingham. This is True is a weekly e-mail newsletter which reports on bizarre-but-true news items from legitimate news outlets from around the world. Each story ends with a comment -- a tagline which is humorous, ironic or opinionated (or with luck, some combination of the three).

Every week Randy tickles my funny bone and challenges my brain with his tagline quips. This past week was no different. This is from The Premium Edition of This is True #865: 9 January. I think it is a perfect example of Justice, Mercy and Grace.

PUSHOVER: A 63-year-old man from Manila, Philippines, was in line to buy a lottery ticket when a woman cut in front of him. He did the gentlemanly thing, stepping back and allowing her in. The ticket she bought -- that would have been his -- wasn't a winner. The ticket he ended up buying, however, was: 741 million pesos (US$17 million). "When he won, he kept thinking: how sad for that woman," said Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office chair Margie Juico, "She could have won the big prize if she had just been patient." (MS/AFP) ...Chivalry not only isn't dead, it sometimes pays quite well.

Now you might be wondering why I said this is a perfect example of Justice, Mercy and Grace. Well, the Mercy is shown by the 63-year-old man who did the gentlemanly thing of stepping back so the pushy woman could cut in front of him. He could have protested and made a scene. But his heart was such that he didn't and was actaully saddened by the fact that she could have had all that money if she hadn't been so pushy.

The Justice, of course, was the fact that she didn't win. And the Grace, well of course it was the $17 million dollars he won simply because he was polite. While I don't want to laugh in sardonic glee because she DIDN'T win, I do want to shout for joy that the nice guy was rewarded. It might not have been Divine Grace but it was a form of Grace none-the-less. And that kind of thing always makes my day.

Blame Someone Else Day

According to one of the calendars I check, tomorrow, January 13th, is National Blame Someone Else Day. Why anyone would set up a special day to blame others is beyond me but it did get me to thinking. We have been doing this since the creation of humanity. As long as Adam was a solitary figure everything was fine. He was lonely but he hadn't found anyone else to blame stuff on because it was just him. He wasn't bright enough to blame God. That didn't come until after the incident with the apple.

God, being the compassionate loving God which God is, saw Adam's loneliness and created Eve. I realize I wouldn't be here writing this if things had stayed the same but maybe . . . No, we like to blame others. We don't like to take responsibility.

Let's look at the whole apple incident. God created Adam and then Eve so they could be companions together in this life. But then one of the disgruntled, actually the chief of the disgruntled angels, decided that what God had done wasn't right. Maybe he was jealous that Adam and Eve were getting more attention than him. Maybe it was because of his own vanity. He did think he was the most stunningly beautiful archangel ever. I never have understood the serpant's motivation.

Anyway, if you remember God had said everything in the garden was theirs to use and eat except for the fruit from two trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpant knew that by eating from the apple of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil he could ruin this young couple's idyllic existence. I'm mean really, if he couldn't have it, no one should, right? At least that's what I think he was thinking.

So, the serpant tempts Eve with the forbidden fruit. "Oh, go ahead. It's delicious. No one will know. It'll be our little secret. Besides once you eat you'll be just like God." Now I have a bone of contention here with most commentators and writers. Most assume that Adam was off doing guy stuff and Eve was just puttering around in the garden on her own. I don't find that to be the case, Scripturally. Adam was right there by her side. Eve was a stone cold fox and he wasn't going to leave her side for anything. At least not yet. Now he may have been doing the inactive listening which most men do, which is to ignore all the chatter. He may have been looking for the remote or checking for sports scores or whatever. He was there but he wasn't paying attention. He didn't do his job of protecting her.

Eve, probably thinking that because Adam hadn't said anything, thought it was OK. We do that you know. Because no one has said we can't do something, we assume we can. Or maybe Eve just fell fully for the huckster's charm. Whatever, Eve bit. And then, with juice running down the corner of her mouth, turned to Adam and said, "Oh, wow, you've got to try this. It is SOOO good." So, Adam, still looking for the remote, took a bite and wham, everything changed. Their eyes were opened up; they looked at each other in surprise, discovered they were naked and ran in the woods to "Hide."

The next day God comes walking through the Garden and immediately notices a change. Everything just seems about a half a bubble off. Adam and Eve are nowhere to be found. Then they come out in their ridiculous clothes. God's reaction was less than pleased. But God did ask the ultimate question. Whose idea was this?

Since Adam was created first and had the deepest relationship with God, God asked Adam first. It wasn't because Eve was a woman as some speculate, as if women were inferior not equal. It was a matter of courtesy not heirarchy. But what did Adam do? With dried apple juice still on his chin, Adam pointed at Eve and said, "Not my fault. She made me do it!" Whereupon Eve pointed at the serpant and said (Not unlike Flip Wilson's character Geraldine) "The devil made me do it, honey!" And thus began the steady flow of blame.

What we need to remember is that NOT EVERYTHING IN THE BIBLE is supposed to be emulated. God wanted and still wants honesty. God wants us to take responsibility for our own actions. If we can't admit when we are wrong, then there's no room for forgiveness. If we can't admit that we have done something wrong in the eyes of God, then what's the good of repenting? There's nothing to repent. And that's where we make our mistake.

So, here's the challenge. Fess up to your mistakes. Be honest with yourself. Celebrate this day NOT by blaming someone else but by taking responsibility. It may very well be the single most pleasing thing to God ever. Try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised how light your heart and soul feel. And how close to God it brings you. Be a rebel today. Celebrate by doing what's right and taking responsibility for your own actions NOT blaming someone else.

"Woob, woob, woob!"

Today is Curly Howard's Birthday, "N'yuk, N'yuk, N'yuk!" I don't know how many others grew up watching the Three Stooges like I did. I loved their slapstick humor. The whole pie in the face schtick always makes me laugh. So, does Curly every time he flops on the ground, running in circles with his shoulder as the pivot point saying, "Woob, woob woob woob!" or "Moe. Larry. The cheese!" My Dad thought they were hilarious and remembered seeing their shorts in the theater on Saturday mornings, so, often times he was laying on the couch laughing with us as we watched Captain 11's Showboat featuring the Three Stooges.

I do remember when we got banned from watching the Stooges, though. I was probably 8 or 9, which would have made my brother about 4 or 5. It was before he was in school. One day a friend of ours was over and we were all watching the Stooges and laughing how Curly's head had bent the axe or hammer or something like that after Moe whacked him with it. My brother was laughing, too. But the next thing we knew, he had gone and gotten a little wooden hammer out of the toy box and (You Guessed It) whacked our friend.

Unfortunately, we knew nothing about special effects or sound effects because there wasn't that bouncey "Boink" of Stooges fame. Instead it was more the sound of a "thunk" with loud crying and lots of tears.

To me, the Stooges weren't the Stooges without Curly. Sure, Shemp was funny, Joe Besser was irritating (though funny, too) and Curly Joe was better than the other two, though in my opinion, seemed too intelligent to be a true Curly. But no one could truly replace Curly. If Moe was the brains and Larry the heart then Curly was the soul and funny bone.

I don't know what you think of the Stooges but to me they are a serio-tragic American Icon. They had no idea the joy and the laughter they were bringing to both the adults and youth of the day because of the studio contract system. And because of that system, they never really reaped any of the benefits of their popularity until long after.

Now excuse me, I have to go dig out my DVD collection of Stooges (8 volumes so far) and watch "You Natzy Spy," "Punch Drunks," and then laugh as Curly tries to outsmart an oyster in his Oyster Soup.

"B-A, bay. B-E, bee. B-I, bicky bye, B-O, boe. Bicky by boe, B-U, bue, bicky bye boe bue."