God's Smuggler, by Brother Andrew

The following is an excerpt from the book. Brother Andrew is a Dutch lad who is at a missionary training school in Scotland.

"During the first few weeks, however, something kept happening that bothered me. At mealtimes the students would frequently discuss inadequate funds. Sometimes after a whole night in prayer for a certain need, half of the request would be granted, or three-quarters…The Bible said that we were workers in God’s vineyard. Was this the way the Lord of the vineyard paid His hired men?

One night I went out for a long solitary walk. On several occasions students had warned me not to “go into Patrick.” Patrick was the slum at the bottom of our hill. It was, they said, the home of addicts, drunks, thieves, even murderers, and walking its streets was unsafe….Before I had gone five blocks I was accosted two times by beggars. I gave them all the money I had in my pocket and watched as they moved without pretense toward the nearest pub. I knew that thee drifters, begging in the streets of the Glasgow slums, would receive a better income than the missionaries-in-training at the top of the hill.

I could not understand why this bothered me so. Was I greedy? I didn’t think so. We had always been poor, and I had never worried about it. What was it then?

And suddenly, walking back up the hill toward the school, I had my answer.

At the chocolate factory I trusted Mr. Ringers to pay me in full and on time. Surely I said to myself, if an ordinary factory worker could be financially secure, so could one of God’s workers.

I turned through the gate at the school. Above me was the reminder “Have Faith In God.”

That was it! It wasn’t that I needed the security of a certain amount of money, it was that I needed the security of a relationship.

I walked up the crunchy pebblewalk feeling more and more certain that I was on the verge of something exciting. The school was asleep and quiet. I tiptoed upstairs and sat by the bedroom window looking out over Glasgow. If I were going to give my life as a servant of the King, I had to know that King. What was He like? In what way could I trust Him? In the same way I trusted a set of impersonal laws? Or could I trust Him as a living leader, as a very present commander in battle? The question was central. Because if He were a King in name only, I would rather go back to the chocolate factory. I would remain a Christian, but I would know that my religion was only a set of principles, excellent and to be followed, but hardly demanding devotion.

Suppose on the other hand that I were to discover God to be a Person, in the sense that He communicated and cared and loved and led. That was something quite different. That was the kind of King I would follow into any battle."

Welcome Moscow!

Welcome to whoever checked out my blog in Moscow!

I am able to view where viewers are coming from, and this is the first one from Asia. I have had one from India, but it must have not been interesting enough. Anyway, welcome Moscow.

Shine Like Stars

If you have never seen U2's Rattle and Hum DVD, I would take an hour and a half, make some hot cocoa and a warm fire, and sit down with the kids and watch it. Or if you're single, maybe just microwave some chicken nuggets and sit on your bed and check it out. There is a playlist of all of the songs that take you through the DVD, fantastic. I highly recommend it.

Multiplicity

And I'm not talking about the movie with Michael Keaton.

It is possible that our model of ministry is still based on a model presented to us over a thousand years ago. Think about that. At that time one man went to God for us (the priest). Martin Luther rediscovered the importance of the "priesthood of all believers," we can all go to God, we don't need someone to do it for us. Yet, our ministry model looks the same (show a sermon on TV and it's possible for me not to know if it's Roman Catholic or Protestant, except maybe the clothes give it away). We still have a person (pastor) going to God for us each week. She/he does the work beforehand, as the professional, and then prays for us and then presents the Word for us and blesses us at the end. For some reason this particular person is way more important during a community time than the rest (remember, she/he is the professional).

Two main things come to mind. First, the New Testament does not have the word "pastor" in it. God never calls a "pastor" in the New Testament. But God does call "pastors" (Eph 4:11). And actually of that list, pastors is number four in importance. (What happened to the first three is a discussion for another time.) But why take the number four of the list and make that the top of today's Christian hierarchy? Very interesting historical progression...but to keep the blog short, I'll continue. The church has done a much better job and not making today's head pastor have to have all the tools in the toolbag. They are now surrounded by more associate pastors, which is fantastic, but I feel as if the process needs to continue. How? Great question (let's blog about it!). Possibly having the church name more pastors (they don't have to be paid, do they?). Naming someone's gift is not a bad thing, and they don't have to be called Pastor Bob or anything, just a noticing of gifts is awesome enough. Maybe CEO pastors, who have just an once of pastoring or shepharding ability, should not be called pastors. They could have another title, and allow the church to reclaim the meaning of the word pastor. I'll continue to my next thought...

If the church has only one person up front, only one person "speaking for God" typically each week, one who is able to go to God for us (at least communally...when was the last time you were asked to pray for your congregation publically?), then how is the world supposed to believe in our Trinity? Three people in unison, three who are one in purpose and power. If we can't see past presenting one and showing a unity among ourselves, how is it possible that we represent a unified God? We are what we do and what we don't do. We need to recognize the gifts among us and let each know how important they are to the body. Pastoring is only one aspect of what's important. Thoughts?