Restoration

Every once in a while I will walk around my house with tools from my tool box. I will grab a screw driver, a "finishing hammer," and an oil can just to tighten up loose screws, reseat unhinging hinges, and quiet extraneous noises. Occasionally the task is more than a simple adjustment. Sometimes there is a replacement or reconstruction needed. Once in a while the task exceeds my ability. I have to learn what I can and cannot fix. Still, the house won't do the repair itself. That's when I check the budget and then call a professional. This is part of being a good steward of the things that God has given to me.

I would watch my Grandfather do the same kind of thing when he visited our house. It was what he did. We did not take offense. It was his gift to us. In fact, I would follow him around and watch him fix items around his house and our house. He would show me how to restore things.

In all of this the word restore is operative.

I love the word restore. It is a gospel word. It is a mission word. The dictionary connects the first meaning as brining something back into existence. The next two are intriguing. 2. To bring back to an original condition: restore a building. See Synonyms at revive. 3. To put back in a former position.

Spiritually and, in glory, physically, that is exactly what God offers to us. Sin has made us something God never intended for his creation to be. In the garden of Eden, after the fall, God asks the question, "Adam, where art thou?" Adam realized that he had fallen. He needed restoration. We have fallen apart. Our Lord has put us back together by taking the fall for us. We do need rebuilding. We have been rebuilt in Christ. Sin has unhinged us. He has reseated us. Sin has killed us. He has revived us. We have been restored. He offers exactly that to all of His creation.

Acts 15:13-18 . . . James answered saying, "Brethren, listen to me. 14 "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. 15 "With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 'AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, 17 SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,' 18 SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO.

This restoration, first promised to Adam, is for all people. It is our joy and delight to bring the restoration of Christ to the world. The memories of my Grandfather's restoration fix-it tours are for life. Those memories shape what I do. He and I and other such stewards have to make that tour around the house again and again. It is never a one time solution. But in Christ, the restoration is for eternity.

While we cannot fix the world with a flathead screw driver and oil can, we certainly have been called to bring a word of restoration to the world, to communities, to neighbors. That restoration is shaped in words of encouragement and hope, not judgment and condemnation. The restoration that Jesus offers is not a temporary solution. Instead, His restoration from cross is eternal, never needing to be addressed again.

In the meantime, I will get up and look for that which needs restoration.

The Need for Transmission Lines

John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

The conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus in John chapter three is intriguing from so many points of view. Jesus looks at Nicodemus and says, "Do you understand the way wind works? All you know about it is that it is there and that is about it." Well I have to say, we know a little more about the wind, methodologically, than Nicodemus did. We know that wind is the result of pressure gradients in the atmosphere (to be simple about it) and such movement and development is the result of temperature variations. The product is wind. And does it blow in West Texas.

The wind in West Texas is strong and consistent. It is the second windiest place in the country according to story. (The first is in South Dakota somewhere. Same source.) This consistency has changed the landscape of West Texas. As I drive there are fewer and fewer miles where one cannot see the virtually ubiquitous wind turbine.

The wind turbine, that generates electricity, is an engineering marvel, an aesthetic curiosity and a landscape frustration all at the same time. Driving through a wind turbine field makes one profoundly aware of the wind. Blades facing into the wind, adjusted for maximum efficiency create power and give life to people and communities up to hundreds and thousands of miles away.

These turbines are designed to reach maximum output at only 13 meters per second. If the wind is stronger, the unit is designed to turn at such a rate so as not to put the turbine at risk. On the other end of the scale, these turbines can produce electricity with winds at only 6 meters per second. That's not much wind in order to supply energy.

There are two problems with this system for creating energy, notwithstanding aesthetic and land usage considerations. The first of these two problem occurs when there is no wind at all. The blades stop turning. This did happen last year. While there is a provision in design for this, there was a real concern about the length of inactivity. Fortunately, the wind kicked up again and the turbines came to life.

The second problem, which is being resolved by the wind energy industry, is the number of transmission lines. In other words, there aren't enough connections with the outside world relative to the amount of energy being generated. While there is life in those turbines, the energy is not getting out the way it could in the amount that it could.

That got me to be thinking about John 3:8 when Jesus speaks of the Spirit being as the wind, and then John 3:16 where we are assured of God's love for us. In addition to that, we are reminded in John 10:10 the Jesus came "that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

What wonderful insights and promises we have here. The breakdown begins when the Word is ignored and equivocated. God's Word is that through which the Spirit moves in our lives and in our churches. Not hearing the Word or reading the Word is like a day without the wind in West Texas. The blades won't turn and life begins to drain away. The Spirit is not a capricious thing that comes and goes on a whim. God's Spirit moves powerfully through the church by the promises of the Gospel given in God's Word. He is there as our ears are turned to hear.

But a second problem is also apparent. Many congregations lack the transmission lines to communities both near and far. We have been given the task to approach our world with the Gospel. We have been commanded to build ways by which the promise of life is communicated to those who do not know or trust in Jesus. To follow the metaphor of the wind turbines in West Texas, the church has more strength, more giftedness, more power, more life than it has the ability or willingness to communicate to those who need and want it desperately.

It is time for the church to build numerous transmission lines into our communities. It is time for congregations to look for new ways to deliver the message of the Gospel to those who do not know or trust in Christ. The Spirit of God is there, ready to move into the community through the connections you make as you are in the Word.

Respect for Life, Coping with Death

I don’t listen often to “A Prairie Home Companion,” with Garrison Keillor on NPR. But whenever I do, he really holds my attention. He is a great story teller. He told the story of the slaughtering of one family’s hog. He placed himself in the story as one of the young children watching this process. It was a family event. The hog was going to provide food and sustenance for a significant period of time for them. It was also a hog they had raised and taken care of on the farm. The father and oldest brother did the deed. The hog died and then they processed the animal. The younger boys watched this and then began to imitate, in a playful way, leaning toward being disrespectful, that which had just happened. When the older family members saw this growing mockery of the hog’s death the boys were stopped and told this is not something of which to make fun. The parents said, “This hog gave its life so that we could eat.” The message was clear. Instead of making fun, this hog’s life and death was something to respect. That story impressed me. It was just a pig that died after all. Yet God had created this animal as well. But that family had taught their children to respect life at every level. They used this vivid illustration to teach the honoring of life created by God.

Living in awe of God’s creation and knowing that it is He that provides for us at every level and that His provision includes community and relationships, we find the respect for the life that God has given to man and to all of creation is more likely to be established.

And with this respect, children are a blessing to the family and not a burden. Yet the urban life style parent can hardly wait to get their children off to school, so I have had said to me many times. In effect children are not typically embraced as the blessing they are but are seen as a burden that imposes on a lifestyle.

The Elderly, as well, are often seen as burdens to have to look in on, more than as one who contributes wisdom and stability to the family community. One of the tasks that I had in the parish ministry was to visit shut-in members. These are people who want connection and who indeed have helpful and wise things to say were one to listen. I received such encouragement in ministry from these visits. They want to be embraced with a dignity and a respect called for in the life that God has created.

In those same homes where two or three generations lived, people also died. The family gathered around the one dying and made sure they knew they were loved by the family and by Jesus. The children watched. When my ministry was in the urban setting and when my children were young, I often brought them with me to many of the functions of ministry. This included the funerals of members. The thinking behind this was that my boys would not be afraid of the issue of death in the context of life in Christ.

The story is told of the Pastor who was called to the home of a member who was near death. The family was gathered around and the pastor wasn’t sure what to do or what to say. He read a Psalm or two and had a prayer but beyond that he was silent. He sat and watched. The member finally did die. The Pastor was wondering to himself if he had done the right things and could he have said more and what that would have been. About that point in time, one of the family members sat down next to the pastor and said, “Preacher, you did just fine.”

The presence of Christ through the ministry of the church is the coping mechanism for those in the community of believers. We know that life is precious, so much so that Jesus died and was raised again so that anyone, by faith in Him, need not fear death but have life everlasting.

If there is an advantage to the rural or urban culture in this regard, I am not certain. What I do know is that the issues of life and death are not so far removed in the rural context. A birth and a death, significant as it is, in the city is a statistic to the larger community.

The challenge in ministry is to teach that the life we have has been given to us by our Creator. We have to find ways to communicate that all life is precious and yet it is under the curse of the law. Still, our Creator loves what He made and so provides a solution to the curse that is upon us. Your life and my life is so precious to Him that He gave His own Son to die so that we could life forever. This value must not be lost.

A Week of All Weeks

In this week of all weeks there are many things upon which to focus. There is an entry triumphant into Jerusalem within which we learn that if we, as God's creatures, cannot behave the way God made us to behave, namely to praise God in our vocations, then step aside, because the rocks themselves will praise the Living God, simply by being what they were made to be; rocks. God will be adored.

Take some time to examine the righteous indignation of Jesus when He storms through the Temple and says, "You have made this place into something of dishonor." We are mindful that God will not be mocked.

On Maundy Thursday Jesus celebrates Passover one last time and then gives the church an unqualified gift, namely His body and His blood in, with, and under bread and wine.

In the garden, a grieving and distressed Jesus asks Peter, James and John to watch and pray not once, not twice, but three times; and they could not.

Then there is Judas and "the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees" coming to arrest Jesus. The one who would write, "be prepared to give a defense . . . for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15) defended Jesus with a sword (the antithesis of his most recent advice to the church concerning defending the faith) and cut off the ear of Malchus.

Then the defender denies Jesus. Jesus would have to deal with that later at a place where Peter could be found; on the shore of the lake.

A mockery of a trial is held. Protocol is shattered. The sentence of death by hanging on a cross is reluctantly agreed to. "There is no cause to punish this man," says Pilate. That is true. Jesus broke no divine law. And He knew the law. He wrote the law. But His creation, specifically human kind, broke His law. There was only one thing to do about this. It was His love for us that drove Him. It was a Godly love, an unconditional love that carried no assurance of return. He alone assumed our sin, the sin of every one born of the seed of Seth. Because He did, there is every reason for Him to suffer hell on the cross. Because He did, there is no way around it.

I need to add that this was not a spur of the moment, spontaneous idea of Jesus. Jesus, being born to die for the sins of all mankind, for your sin and for mine, was first promised in the Garden of Eden when the Universe was fledgling and starlight was fresh. It wasn't so much a promise as it was a statement of fact, addressing Satan and intended for Adam and Eve to hear. Adam and Eve heard the Word of God, and they embraced it by faith. Hope was alive. Hope was alive because of God's love.

So concerning the crucifixion, appropriate is not the word to use. Amazing, remarkable, astonishing, beyond our ability to conceive, these words fall short to describe that which was accomplished by Jesus on the cross for us. But that which was accomplished brings hope, comfort, peace, and a future. These are ours because of the resurrection. With sin there is death. With Christ, there is a resurrection to life.

As you focus on the events of this week of all weeks, I encourage you also to consider the message of Peter and Paul in the book of Acts. Read this post resurrection record and as you do, notice the frequency of teaching and preaching on the resurrection. Having been sent by the risen Christ Himself, every chance they had, they talked about Jesus being raised from the dead. We are a resurrection people. We are a redeemed people who have been sent with the same message that Adam would teach to his children and their children. We have been sent with the same message as Noah, and Jonah, reluctant though he was. We have the same message as the disciples.

Is your neighbor looking for hope or peace? Assure him of this: "He is risen. He is Risen indeed!"

The Advantage of a Shared Vision

Perhaps the most powerful adhesive in any relationship, whether that relationship involves two, twenty, or two-hundred people, is summed up in what some would say is a cold term used by analytical consultants. The term is Shared Vision.

In Proverbs 29:18, a father explains to his son that, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law." In other words, if there is going to be joy and peace in the living we do, vision has a role to play.

When I was in the position of counseling couples before marriage, one of the exercises that I insisted upon was for the engaged couple to describe their home life in five years. What would it feel like when a guest came to the house? Would that guest be welcomed? Would there be tension in the home? Would it be relaxed? What smells would there be? Answers to these kinds of questions precipitated interesting discussions. How you are going to make your vision happen was a strategic question. But you can't ask "how" until you answer "what." During these conversations, priorities and values were considered, revisited and challenged. The product of these discussions was a developing shared vision for the couple's relationship and for their family.

There is another value to this exercise. As the father of Proverbs indicates, there is a delight in shared vision. My experience tells me that Shared Vision brings purpose in community, peace in relationships, and builds trust as time goes on. A genuinely shared vision insists upon articulating values and priorities and finally calls for action.

While there is much in this to offer married couples this dynamic is no less important for congregations who are pursing the missio dei (mission of God). Vision, in this context, is not some mystical immediate revelation from God. To say it plainly, Shared Vision is simply everyone being on "the same page" when it comes to where the community is headed and agreeing, generally speaking, on what is important.

In fact, here are some bullet points and statements concerning Shared Vision:

• Shared vision is not an idea. It is a driving force in people's hearts.
• At its most basic, shared vision asks the question "What do we want to create?"
• Accompanying Shared Vision is a sense of commonality, purpose, and cohesion to diverse activities that one can find in any congregation.
• A Shared Vision realizes a commitment to one another in the congregation.
• A Shared Vision is not imposed by an individual or a committee. One does not comply with the vision if it is to be shared. One is committed to the vision.
• Commitment implies sacrifice by members in order to realize the Vision.

Extrinsic v. Intrinsic Vision
One last thing to mention at this point is in the question, "What drives the Vision?" There are two options One is extrinsic and the other is intrinsic.

A vision that is extrinsic means that it comes from the outside. In other words, it is most often related to the context, in this case, of the local congregation. An extrinsic vision is competitive by nature. A local congregation wants to be bigger and better than the other congregations in town. Such competition, however, ultimately ends up becoming a defensive position where creativity declines, risk is discouraged, and security is valued. The congregation ends up protecting their "number one" position, if they ever arrived at that position in the first place. A vision predicated upon "defeating the competition" will, in the long run, weaken the congregation or the institution.

There is another kind of vision. It is called intrinsic. This means that the vision reflects the essential nature of the congregation. This kind of vision, issued from a Christ-centered congregation, embraces the call to faith, the giftedness by the Holy Spirit, and the unity of the body of Christ. It also agrees with Paul when he wrote to the Galatians and said, Galatians 2:20 20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."

"Christ in me" is who we are in our Baptism and in our confession. Who we are now lifts us up to the mission of Christ, namely "to seek and save" those who are lost.

In the context of this truth, there is created a climate, a style, and a spirit that seeks to honor Christ and His call in everything that is done. How can there not be joy when we share together the vision and the mission of God?

Developing a Shared Vision takes time and it is not easy to do. But it is worth the investment of a congregation, no matter how small or large. The result will include clarity of call and resting in purpose.

Witness Opportunities

In 1987 I was extended a call to another community. I was a pastor in a remote part of Texas at the time. The question I was asked was, "Why would you not take this call to another place?" My response was, "60% of the population where I live does not know Christ." Over the last twenty plus years, that number has changed -- for the worse. Today, in Texas, the number of people that are in worship on an average Sunday morning is seventeen out of one-hundred.

When a small congregation, for example in Borger, Texas, looks at the context of their ministry and sees seventy other congregations of various shapes and forms, that congregation can easily be discouraged. Having said that, the reality is, fewer people are attending worship than ever before across the country. There is an opportunity.

For Lutheran congregations, the members of which live by the powerful message of the theology of the cross, (a message that addresses sin, hurt, frustration, failure, loss, and hopelessness) there is a tremendous opportunity to witness the work of Jesus for all people.

The door is wide open for God's people to witness. This is particularly the case with the uncertainty and fear that exists in our country today. The message of hope that comes from legislators in various states, courts and national forums is a hope that will evaporate and will never address the human condition in a satisfactory way. In addition to this, the Gospel is not, at its root, behavior modification initiated by human attitude and effort.

On the other hand, the message of hope that comes from the cross of Jesus Christ is eternal, complete, certain; and it is a gift embraced by faith alone.

That is our message -- and it changes lives beyond the grave. That message is unique to what the world says. The cross of Christ and the empty tomb stand alone as Truth. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, ". . . I will build My church . . . " And He would work through you to do so. In that same Gospel Jesus said, just prior to His ascension, "Go, (and as you are going, wherever you go) make disciples of all nations. . ."

Our Christian message of faith and hope is the message that will transform people, communities, indeed the world because it alone can transform hearts.

If you are interested in witnessing and becoming involved in mission opportunities look at the side bar on West Texas Currents. Also, take a look at what one West Texas Congregation is doing, go to the Church Door. For more information you may also email me at steven.misch@gmail.com

The Golden Rule of Evangelism

For a period of time, longer than my tenure in professional church work, I have been looking at and trying "Evangelism Techniques." Looking for the one that "works" I have tried Dialogue Evangelism. I have tried the "Roman Road." I have tried "Injoy Life." I have gone to neighborhood doors "cold turkey." I have visited those who have visited a Sunday morning worship service. I have witnessed to people who come in off the street "just to talk." I have spent time talking with Jehovah Witness types and with Mormon Missionaries. (I made them angry.)

In the 80's, while a pastor at Grace Lutheran, Del Rio, I constructed my own program. Using technology of the day, I put together an eighty-slide presentation including a sound track with music in the background that members could bring into the homes of friends and family. The thinking was that members would bring this tool to the homes of friends and family. Together, they would watch a twenty-minute slide presentation by me on a thirteen inch screen. As creative, resourceful, and doctrinally correct as this was, I'm not sure we could have paid people enough to watch. Still, it was a well-intended idea and the Word was proclaimed in homes.

The question remains. What is the best way? Is there a "method for evangelism" that is better than another?

The answer is unequivocally, "No."

The question then is, "What does work?" The Golden Rule comes to mind. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In other words, when you engage in witnessing, be who you are and approach people the way in which you would like to be treated. And that is not the same for everyone.

Spend some time reflecting and discussing with a trusted member of the body of Christ which of the following statements best describe you? Do more than one describe you? To what degree?

• One of my favorite things is long talks with friends.
• Personally, I usually enjoy discussions and debates on difficult questions.
• When presented with a choice, I generally prefer to physically assist people in the name of Christ versus becoming involved in religious discussions.
• I am happiest when I am able to include new people in the activities in which I am involved.
• I often identify with people by stating, "I tend to think like that, too" or "I used to feel that way, too."
• I strongly feel that confronting friends with the truth can be more important than hurting their feelings.

Every one of the above is valid. Some people nurture long conversations while others get to the point quickly. Still others subscribe to service in Jesus' name as the greatest form of evangelism. They would agree with what Brennan Manning said: “The greatest single cause of atheism today is Christians who mouth Jesus with their lips but deny him by their lifestyle. That’s what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

With these diagnostic statements you can see the entire spectrum of styles and approaches with which people are comfortable. These are the kinds of situations that apply to the Great Commission. "Go, and as you are going, make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19)

Having reflected and discussed how you might best relate to others according to your God-given personality, what kinds of activities would be the best compliment to your evangelism style?

A simple style may help discover your best environment for "making disciples."

Which is of the following is your style?

• Servant
• Invitational
• Relational
• Witness
• Intellectual
• Challenging

Perhaps it is a surprise or perhaps it is a confirmation of what you have been thinking all along. In either case, reflecting Christ to the people around you according to the person He has recreated you to be seems the best way to reach out to others.

We can embrace the differences of evangelism styles and spiritual giftedness and at the same time celebrate the unity we have in our Risen Lord.

Reference: Evangelization Teams in the Making, by Dorothy Hulbert