Ramming Roadblocks

“God must not have wanted it to happen this week, because He allowed one obstacle after another to get in the way.”

I used to be the Director of Drama Ministries at a mega-church. Only in church ministry are volunteers and employees allowed to use the above-mentioned excuse to not get their work done!

After all, who are we to second-guess what God’s plan for the week is? What kind of a Christian would we be if we forced our agenda when God clearly had something else in mind? Please! I can see God rolling His eyes and saying, “don’t blame your laziness on me!”

One of the women I worked with used the “God…obstacles” excuse all the time. Our job was to come up with creative elements for the Sunday morning services—like dramas and videos.

The pastor would provide us with a month’s worth of sermon topics. Then the worship pastor would choose songs that supported the message. Finally, our team would look for short drama sketches that added another funny, thoughtful, or poignant layer to the whole Sunday morning picture. Often, we’d write our own scripts.

I loved our team of talented actors, writers, directors, and tech crew. Most of them poured their gifts and heart into creating God-inspired, high quality art.

My personal code of ethics drives me to follow through on my commitments and promises. As a believer, I’m inclined to believe that the more obstacles mark my path, the more Satan wants to put the kibosh on the project…which makes me pray up and work that much harder to get it done.

But, how do you know for sure that God isn’t the one slowing the project down? How do we rightly distinguish between God closing a door, and a simple Satan snag?

I believe we ought to keep plowing forward. We need to use prayer and old-fashioned stick-to-itiveness to break barriers, ram roadblocks, and hack hurdles. I’d rather know that I was faithful to what God called me to do then to be guilty of blaming Him for my slothfulness. If I don’t do what He’s asked of me, He’ll call someone else.

So, get off the pew of laziness and run the race all the way to the finish line. Let’s commit to stop using God as an excuse for putting our selfish pursuits ahead of Him. Get off the pew!

Betrayal Happens

“If you haven’t been betrayed in the church, you’ve been living on a desert island.” Dan Allender, author of Leading with a Limp: Take Full Advantage of Your Most Powerful Weakness and Leading with a Limp: Turning Your Struggles into Strengths. In February Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois hosted an arts conference for Christian artists, which was simulcast all across the country. Speakers, pastors, and teachers are given permission to speak truth at conferences and retreats in ways they can’t from their own pulpit. Dan Allender was one of the presenters at the arts conference, and this was just one of his many quotes that punched me right in the gut. Church betrayal is a reality that is so often hushed in the local churches. Look, bring this truth out into the light so we can deal with it. There is freedom that comes when we acknowledge the truth of our weaknesses and then work together towards change and strength.

Willow Creek Community Church is a vibrant, growing church. While the focus of their attention has shifted a bit in recent years (wisely so), they still seem as determined as ever to give the artist a place to serve in the body of Christ. I grew up in a church where drums were not allowed in the church sanctuary, and going to the movies was strongly discouraged. I was not allowed to take dance lessons as a child because dancing was “against our religion”, and the idea of ever performing a play or monologue on the church platform was stuff of which fairy tales were made! The gift of eternal life is the most amazing gift God ever gave His kids, but talent is a close second. Whether you are an actor, dancer, painter, builder, architect, gardener, clothing designer, or short order cook, you are an artist. If you create – you are an artist.

There has been, is, and always will be a huge amount of discourse in the arts based ministries of the church. The reasons for this phenomenon are many and varied, but one thing that cannot be disputed – the heart of the artist is a sensitive one, and working with artists requires great patience and wisdom. I’ve heard people refer to the theatre as “the devil’s playground”, rock and roll as “the devil’s music”, and Hollywood as “the devil’s home”. Listen, no matter how dark the room, God’s light will always break through! It is our job to bring God’s light into the darkness. WE have kept God out of the arts. WE have done that! God does not want to be left out. We say, “Until the whole world knows”, but then we parenthetically add, “except Hollywood and The Ice Capades – no good Christian would be caught dead there.” God has called the artist to go into the art jungle!

The music and/or arts department at church is as much a jungle as the farthest corner of Africa, or the tiniest island of Indonesia. When I see betrayal happen in the church, I see it happen most often in the music and/or arts department. We argue over music styles, stage time, and the relevance of skits and dramas in the service. We disagree over the ratio of ability vs. heart (this is a whole other topic!), and we make assumptions about one another’s motivations. The artist is overly sensitive, wildly passionate, and sometimes emotionally volatile. Instead of focusing on the strengths, working through disagreements, and coming together as a team, we resort to all forms of betrayal. Shame on us!

Get off the pew and speak the truth! Betrayal happens! That is the truth! Don’t hide from it, don’t sweep it under the sanctuary carpet or bury it under the thrust stage. Deal with it! Get off the pew and deal with it.

Think Before We Speak

I received a birthday greeting that started out like this, “Satan wants to rob you of your joy….Happy Birthday”. Huh? I think this person was trying (in a strange way) to encourage me, but that’s not how I received it. I find that this kind of “satan talk” seems to be unique to Christians. I don’t remember ever receiving a birthday greeting from a non-Christian friend that started with something like, “Karma will kill ya….Happy Birthday!”

Listen, satan wants to rob all of us of our joy! That’s his gig. In the first chapter of Job the Lord asks satan where he’s come from, and in verse 7 he answers the Lord with, “from roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it”. What was satan looking for? He was looking for someone to destroy. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes to kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

As I said, satan wants to destroy us all. Unfortunately, my friend’s comment came across as a bit pious and judgmental – as if she was suggesting that satan had singled me out. Her statement didn’t bring me one ounce of joy or encouragement on my birthday. Had she been chatting with satan himself? In Romans 1:12 Paul writes that he longs to see us “mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” Sharing what God has done in and through us brings encouragement to the body. Did this proclamation bring encouragement? Telling the truth about satan has its place, but in a birthday greeting? Hmmmm…..

We need to take a moment and think – really think about our words. We need to ask God to give us clarity of thought and we all need to check and recheck our motivations. I don’t pretend to know what my friend’s intention was, but her birthday greeting left me feeling vulnerable and scared. Then I went to the scripture and was reminded that satan doesn’t really play favorites – he wants to destroy us all. But Jesus came so that we could have “life and have it to the full”! Get of pew and encourage! Get of the pew!

Truth and Prophecy

In January of 1987, Oral Roberts preached a sermon in which he claimed that he would die by March if he did not raise $8 million dollars. Interestingly, his prophecy had been tweaked a bit. He had said in 1986 that God showed him that he would be dead by the end of that year if he did not raise the money.

When the money didn't come and Oral Roberts didn't die, the prophecy changed. I don't remember if the faithful donated all the money, but I do know that Oral Roberts is, as of today, 91 years old and living in Newport Beach, California.

The "death" vision was just one of several revelations by Reverend Roberts. In 1977 he claimed to have seen a 900 foot-tall Jesus who told him to build his City of Faith Medical and Research Center. I wasn't there, so I certainly cannot speak to the validity of the visions, but I can say that it is no wonder that unbelievers are so skeptical about these prophecies

It doesn't do the cause of Christ any favors to use grandstanding and fear tactics as manipulation tools with which to garner money from trusting followers.

You know, nothing pleases satan more than to keep raising doubts about God's existence in the minds and hearts of the unbeliever. One of satan's best tools is the Christian zealot, who (let's be honest) can come across as kind of crazy!

My cousin has given me a number of God-told-me-to-tell-you visions and prophecies. I love God and I want to hear from Him, so I'm always open to hearing His voice. If He chooses to speak to me through my cousin, I'm willing to listen. So, far, I am confident that God has quickly debunked everything my cousin has insisted is truth. In fact, some of her "visions" have been downright nutty.

God's ways are always orderly, with purpose, and never crazy. Get off the pew and weigh carefully what you say. Are your "visions" self motivated, or are they REALLY spirit guided? If they are God inspired, they will always be true and selfless.

Before you share that which you believe the Spirit has shown you, check it out with The Word, with trusted mentors, and bathe your words in prayer before you share them. Then, do it all again until you are sure! Get off the pew and be seekers of truth IN love! Get off the pew!