For years the question would come up “So what do you like to do besides ministry?”

I often would say “Well, I enjoy sports and politics.”

The reply:  ”Do you get out to play much?”  and I would say “Not as much as I’d like.”

The reality is that while I do enjoy sports (baseball, basketball and football), these were not really hobbies.  I wasn’t in any leagues and I didn’t get out to clear my head very often.

Politics is a hobby to me but it’s not exactly a stress relief.  In fact, honestly thinking through the issues, reading first-hand documentation and listening to the spin doctors all add strain and stress to an already stressful calling of launching a new church.

So what’s my hobby?  I like to read.  But I don’t like fiction.  I only enjoy reading books that I can actually apply to my life and non-fiction strikes me as a waste of time.  So reading isn’t a great hobby for me as it usually ends up in the theological or political world.

I got to thinking… “When do I refuel?  When do I actually decompress and relax?”  For me that answer is in long rides and nature.  Typically I like to find a body of water and simply sit with my bible or just take time to recognize my own humanity.  We live in such a linear world where our brain is only challenged to consider the things that most directly impact us and in the order of a timeline.  Immediate and urgent tend to occupy our frontal lobe and the rest of our lives backs up like a line at Wal-Mart.

So again I thought.  What if I could get the joy of relaxation and rest while getting my mind completely off of being a pastor and considering politics?  What would give me an opportunity to learn something new while enjoying God’s creation.

Enter my new lime green hobby:  

My 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 650r

In the weeks to come I will likely talk about what I’m learning and how it relates to faith and the ministry.  For now I simply want to encourage my ministry friends in particular but everyone in general, find yourself a hobby!  Be sure you have the ability to keep your sanity in the midst of all of the stress you juggle.  This is doing it for me.  I hope you’ll find what works for you.

My wife and I are very different people.  In fact, we’re opposite in every imaginable way except one.  Our faith.  We both take our faith very seriously.  While I’m more vocal and vision-oriented she is much more introspective and detailed.  I’m loud, she’s quiet.  I’m hood, she’s…not.  She’s never cared to maintain a blog although I obviously believe she has plenty to contribute.  The other day she shared some thoughts with me and I invited her to takeover a post to share those thoughts with you.  So, without further ado, here is my lovely bride, Kristy.

The other day on my way to work, I heard a new song on our local Christian radio station called “He Said” by Group 1 Crew.  This is a Christian band whose primary audience is…well, Christians.  Let me start by saying that I’ve enjoyed their music in the past and I know they mean well.  This song is meant to encourage and lift up those who are hurting, which is awesome, and we should always be doing so.  However, it is imperative that our encouragement is rooted in truth.  Check out the first part of the song:

So your life feels like it don’t make sense

And you think to yourself, “I’m a good person”

So why do these things keep happening? Why you gotta deal with them?

You may be knocked down now but don’t forget what He said, He said…

I won’t give you more, more than you can take

And I might let you bend, but I won’t let you break. 

The song left me with a few theological concerns.

Only Jesus Is Good:

As believers, we should never think to ourselves or believe that we are inherently “good” people.  If we are, then why do we need a Savior?  Only Jesus is good – perfect, blameless, spotless.  We, on the other hand, are born sinners and deserve nothing more than separation from God.  Sin keeps us from being inherently good.  This distinction is personal to me because I grew up being known as a “goody-goody” and “legal beagle” long before I became a Christian.  My good behavior was actually a hurdle to my Savior.  It took me well into adulthood to really grasp this great truth.

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” –Romans 3:23 (NLT).

It’s why Jesus came, died, and rose again.  He took the punishment that we deserved, and when we accept Him, believe who He says He is, and confess Jesus as Lord, only then are we in perfect communion with God and get to spend eternity in Heaven.  People feel like they are good enough but we simply aren’t.  Coming to the end of ourselves is the greatest thing we can do.  I’m not sure why G1C felt this line was a necessary expression without addressing the fact that there is a better way.

More Than You Can Take:

It is common to hear “God won’t give you more than you can handle” but it’s simply not true.  God never made us that promise in scripture.  God often gives us more than we can handle!  In my life, for sure, and for many people in the Bible (think Job and the Apostle Paul).  If He didn’t give us more than we could handle on our own, then we wouldn’t need to rely on Him through the tough stuff of life.  Being broken with the weight of our own inadequacy is precisely how we learn to really trust Him!

What the Bible does say is that God will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, meaning we will never be in a situation where we have no other choice but to sin.  See 1 Corinthians 10:13.  God does not do the tempting, but He does permit us to be tempted.  I encourage you to read a full-length explanation on this subject here.

Broken For Our Good:

Finally, I’ve been bent and broken many times in my life.  Sometimes we have to be.  In fact, hitting rock bottom and acknowledging your brokenness to God is when He can do His most glorious work in you…and your faith grows stronger because of it.  Christians are killed every day for the sake of their faith in Christ.  If that’s not letting you break, I don’t know what is.

Just because a song is on Christian radio doesn’t automatically make it biblically sound. Let’s not water down our faith and throw around clichés that are not scripturally accurate.  God is a good God and He loves you immensely.  If you are hurting today, cry out to Jesus.  Talk to Him.  Ask Him what He wants you to learn from this trial.  He will meet you where you are.  You will bend, you may even break, but here is a truth we can count on in our trouble:

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” –Romans 8:28 (NLT)

Today is a guest follow up to a post entitled “What Makes The News”.

Matt Steen, who contributed over at ToddRhoades.com on the original subject of my post has been kind enough to stop by and respond to some of my concerns.  In the spirit of dialogue I invited Matt to post here and share more of his perspective on the local church.  I enjoy respectful discussion even (especially?) when people see things from different perspectives.  Matt and I have different perspectives on things but we share a common desire for the Christ to be lifted up.  

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The story of the church coming alongside the City of Portland is not a totally new one.

In fact, on a daily basis churches across the country are interacting and serving the communities in which they reside… and are doing it well. Tally is right, over the last 10-15 years the churches in this country HAVE done a great deal of shifting in the way that they approach ministry, service, and caring for their community. Churches like Captivate are constantly doing good works by feeding the poor, caring for the homeless, stabilizing neighborhoods, and loving the least of these.

While Tally is correct when he says that the reason that much of these works don’t make the news is because there is no conflict, my intention with my post was not to call the church to launching a better marketing campaign (though we can probably learn a thing or two from the Mormons). My hope was to remind the church that we have made a mess out of the name of Christ… and the time to clean up that mess is now.

Jess and Thom Rainer’s recent book The Millennials points out the heartbreaking truth that only 13% of the rising generation have any use for religion… any religion. The recent spoken word video that went viral, Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus, may have been flawed, but it touches at the heart of how many in this rising generation feel about the church.

Shortly after posting the original article, a former student of mine from Atlanta shared his feelings on why he stepped back from the church in order to save his faith:

Church became a place not to worship God, or to lead nonbelievers to him, but a place to celebrate sameness. A place to be around people that agree with you. That stagnation leads nowhere good. I see people unifying in church not for worship, but to speak out against those who are different: other religions, other cultures, the gays, and even democrats.

God says to love all, yet, this happens. I find it hard to justify speaking against these people instead of reaching out to them. Isn’t that the main point of a church? Saving? And preaching against democrats, of all things. I don’t exaggerate, either. There are people I once considered religious leaders of mine- people I personally looked up to that I’ve removed from social media sites because they constantly spew hatred and insults towards political parties, claiming the just position of God. I’d understand if it were about specific issues; abortion, the homeless, god in schools: these are all things any person certainly has a right to be angry and forward about.

I’ve seen individuals AND churches give rants on the evils of political parties because of differing views on taxes. How is this becoming of a circle of believers? How does this fit the title of Christian: “little Christ”?

Hate and isolation are not just present in churches; they run rampant… and it’s only a secret to the church.

I don’t go to church anymore because the most disgustingly angry and hateful people I meet are churchgoing Christians. I don’t go to church because I don’t need politics in my God. I don’t go to church because I don’t want to be told to hate a type of person.

I don’t go to church because I love God more than myself, and I can’t find a church that acts that way.

I wish this were the only person I have had this conversation with. I wish that this was just the story of one bad experience, with one church that is missing the mark.

But it isn’t.

The reason that journalists are allowed to get away with the laziness that Tally spoke of is because this is how the world views the church…

My motivation for writing the original post was not to beat up on the church, but to encourage the church to take responsibility for the reputation that we have developed… and embrace the effort it will take to change it.

How do we do this?

• Humbly Own Our Mistakes. The church has made some missteps through the years. While your particular flavor of Christianity may not have taken the lead on protesting soldier’s funerals, fighting to maintain the status quo in regards to civil rights, or the crusades, the truth is that much has happened in the name of Jesus that I don’t know that Jesus is all that excited about. We have been made out to be stubborn neanderthal hate mongers… nothing would work to undermine that assumption more than apologizing for our bad behavior, and the bad behavior of our brothers and sisters.

• Partner On The Common Ground. During my time at The Garden Community of Baltimore we embraced what we called “shoulder to shoulder” ministry. While we took part of our fair share of the more traditional “face to face” type ministries: meeting needs, spiritual conversations, and the like, the linchpin of our success was inviting those who were spiritually unresolved to serve the community alongside of us. Working with others afforded us the opportunity to develop some great relationships, meet the needs of the community, and be recognized as an asset to our community. This also allowed those that the “lazy journalists” would portray as our enemies to know who we really were, and what we were really about. These relationships allowed me to witness some amazing conversations on our behalf… and some unlikely defenders. Linking arms with others in the pursuit of common ground issues will go a long way towards ending the myth that we are all about hate and isolation… and give us some unlikely advocates.

• Disagree In Love. The 24 hour news cycle and the advent of talk radio and all news television networks has greatly reduced the amount of civility in our culture. Whereas labels like heretic, outside orthodoxy, and unAmerican were once reserved as a last resort method used sparingly after much prayer, discussion, and contemplation, it would seem that these days we skip to the end and start with the labels. The church needs to lead the way in this, and needs to realize that there is a difference between loving those with whom we disagree and admitting defeat. In fact, it may be beneficial for us to stop approaching disagreements as contests that need to be won.

Matt Steen loves seeing the church thrive.  Currently serving as a Church Concierge with Church Simple, Matt has served as an executive pastor, youth pastor, and planted a church in Baltimore.  Matt lives on Long Island with his wife Theresa where he secretly leads a resistance movement against the New York Yankees (this might be the Orioles year… or not).  You can follow Matt on twitter (@matt_steen) or at ChurchThought.