Can I admit something to you? I just read today’s chapter in PDL, and I am feeling a little funny about the press release we sent out about the gas buy down tomorrow morning. Rick talked persuasively about how service is best done in secret, not to gain notoriety but to simply meet needs. On a day when it was exhilarating to hear Vintage mentioned on the news, that is an important reminder.

So that I don’t get deceived into thinking something that isn’t true, let me remind myself of some things that are:

- Vintage Fellowship is God’s church. It is not Robb and Aaron’s church. It is not the leadership team’s church. It is not our members’ or attenders’ church. It is God’s church. Our compelling mission is to exalt Jesus Christ, not ourselves.

- The goal of our servant evangelism projects is to communicate to non-churched and de-churched people in Northwest Arkansas that we are here for them by surprising them with a grace-filled act of service. We want to make someone’s day. And we think Jesus is the model of this kind of ministry. Our goal is not to make people think that we are great, but rather to cause people to be intrigued again with the idea that Jesus is great.

- We utilize the media because it the primary medium for information and opinion to be communicated in our culture. We are not slaves to press coverage or marketing ideas. Rather, we seek to utilize them to maximize the scope of our service. It’s a balance, but one we are willing to risk striking.

Friends, I have had the sense for a while that tomorrow could be a very significant day in the life of Vintage. Please join me in praying that we do more than get the word out that Vintage exists. Pray that we can bring a smile to some faces, that we can extend some unexpected love and grace, that we can change attitudes about Christians and their Lord, that we can see some people begin anew in their journey with Jesus.

Thanks.

Navelgazing. That’s a great word. It’s not in the spellcheck, but I will use it anyway. Navelgazing is when we get so internally-focused that we fail to see anything other than our own little worlds. Myopia. Tunnel vision.

It can happen in churches. Friends turn inward and holy huddles form, leaving lots of needy people on the outside looking in. And it can happen individually, when we become so consumed with whatever is going on in our own lives that we fail to see what others are going through.

I really appreciate Rick’s warning against navelgazing in today’s chapter of PDL. It is ironic but true - we can become so distracted by discovering our “spiritual gifts” that we fail to actually serve people.

The trick to ministry is matching up our passions with needs. It is an amazing thing when we can put our passions to work to meet needs. But sometimes, needs simply exist. We can’t wait on the sideline, saying, “Well, that’s not my gift or passion, so I am not going to meet that need.”

Jesus told the famous story of the Good Samaritan. Two religious men passed a needy man by. Who knows what they were thinking, but they failed to take the opportunity to look beyond themselves in a way that would motivate them to meaningfully serve a needy man. On the other hand, the good Samaritan didn’t tell himself that he wasn’t passionate about nursing when he saw a needy man. He simply helped him.

Navelgazing is OK when it is kept in check. It is appropriate to assess and inventory our skills, passions, experiences - our shape - as long as we don’t use that as an excuse to actually be about the business of ministry.

What do you think?

So, here is the problem of pain again. We have talked about it already. The spiritual pain of the dark night of the soul deepens our experience of worship. The fellowship of suffering gives us a unique bond with Jesus and each other. Hardship is the crucible on which Christlikeness is formed in us. And now, pain is the perfect entree for service.

What an amazing idea. My greatest heartaches and failures and hurts can become the spring from which my greatest ministry flows. At Vintage, Aaron and I believe this with all of our hearts. That is why we don’t get up on Sunday mornings and try to sugarcoat easy answers to life’s problems. We have shared our doubts and discouragements. We are far from perfect, and anyone who hangs around Vintage for very long will figure that out.

We believe that words like authentic, real, and vulnerable capture what makes ministry relevant. Effective ministry is not about having all the answers or packaging the answers you do have in the slickest way. It is about being real and from the gritty reality of our lives seeking to meet some real needs in the lives of others.

Have any thoughts about all this?

Curious to find out more about how God has shaped you to serve him? Email vintagefellowship@gmail.com for an assessment you can use to help figure it out. As always, Aaron and I are here to help you get plugged in to the ministry that best fits you!

Want to talk more about it?

God has blessed us. He has given us so much.

Spiritually, we have been given grace, truth, direction, encouragement. Materially, we as Americans have more than any other people on the planet. We have each other and family and (in most cases) health and resources. Ephesians said that God has lavished his grace upon us, and that sounds like an accurate assessment of how he has blessed us.

So, what do we do with it all? Are we just supposed to be fat and happy Americans? Or, is there a higher purpose to our blessings?

We have been blessed to be a blessing.

There is more to say. Do you have any thoughts?

The Happy Song-Delirious: www.delirious.co.uk 

Every Move I Make-David Ruis: www.vmg.com 

Indescribable-Chris Tomlin: www.christomlin.com 

How Can I Stop From Singing-Chris Tomlin

I have had some very influential people in my life, people who modeled what it means to follow Jesus to me, people whose realness was a breath of fresh air while I was choking on the all the hypocrisy around me. One of those people is a man named Russ Warner. Russ directs the camp where I became a follower of Jesus. And I have learned so very much from him about what it really means to walk in the steps of Jesus.

Russ is fond of little sayings, that might sound like cliches except if you really pay attention to them, they are packed with some profound truth. For instance, Russ, used to say to us if we were grouching and complaining or just having a bad and frustrating day, “Do you need to take a walk in the woods with Jesus?” (I say that sometimes to people in my life.)

Russ also used to say that everyone needs “time and room to grow.” Time and room to grow. I can’t fix somebody - including myself - overnight. People don’t change instantly. It is not something that can be forced upon them. And the more I crowd them, the more likely I am to slow the growth process in their life. The Bible describes God as being longsuffering with us. He gives us time and room to grow.

We know that we need grace to start the journey with Jesus. Maybe what we need to remember is that we also need grace for every step of the way.

What do you think?

Since we have been thinking about temptation the last couple of days, I thought I would share with you a painting that captures the amazing story of one who got drawn in by temptation and back out again by grace. It is Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son, based on the famous story by Jesus.

I first became familiar with this painting through Henry Nouwen’s enchanting book by the same name, and I love it because it captures the way sin can ravage us, yet at the same time, how the restorative love of God can embrace us. I hope you like it too.

Temptation is really difficult to understand sometimes. Why is it that something that goes so counter to complete orientation of my life is so alluring? Why is it that I know I am going to feel badly about doing something before I even do it, but I do it anyway? Why is it I go through seasons of success and failure in my discipleship journey?One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Romans 7 where Paul wrestles with these questions. It’s comforting to me that he struggled with the same kinds of things I do. And, it’s comforting that he doesn’t really come to a conclusion except to throw himself on the hope of forgiveness and ultimate redemption through Jesus. Here’s what he says:

I am beginning to notice a common thread throughout our 40 day journey - the presence and power of pain.

CS Lewis called pain “God’s megaphone,” and this series has been reemphasizing how impactful suffering can be in our lives.

First, we talked about the dark night of the soul, how to worship God when he feels distant and far removed from us. There is a spiritual suffering that makes worship deeper and more real. Then, we talked about the fellowship of suffering, how our war stories bind us together with Jesus and each other. And today, we read about how God uses our suffering, our pain, to make us more like Jesus.

Maybe those of us who have been in church a long time have gotten too familiar with this kind of talk, but it is so revolutionary. Who would think that suffering is good, that pain is helpful, that difficulty is to be desired because of what it produces? Don’t we all live our lives to eliminate as much hardship as possible? Don’t we long for comfort and health and as much luxury as we can afford?

Today, I am headed to work that is full of stress and pressure. In the grand scheme of things, the things that everyone at my work gets all worked up about are really insignificant. But maybe they are not. Maybe that tense relationship with another department is supposed to teach me something. Maybe how I talk to that irate customer will reveal something about my character. Maybe the seemingly unending pile of files on my desk are there not just to be plowed through but to be engaged as God’s tools in my life.

Let’s talk more about suffering and pain and its impact on us.