Pastor Al's Blog

26 Aug 2010

Fortune Favors the Brave...

This year, our two weeks relaxing at the beach had a wonderful effect on me. I began to decompress, to gradually stop itching to be busy every second of the day and to truly start to chill out in the hot sun! So when it was suggested that we might embark on an adventurous bike ride to a remote cove, cut off from the road at the very end of the beach, I found myself somewhat reluctant and wondering...why bother? That said, I had been joking with my kids the previous day about the old Roman proverb "Fortuna audax iuvat" ("Fortune favors the brave!") and so I had little choice but to take a deep breath, practice what I had been preaching and go! It was certainly hot, certainly a long way, and certainly an effort. But when we got there we discovered an amazingly deserted beach where remarkably, the sand dropped steeply off into the ocean. We spend ages running down the beach and plunging deep into the sparkling waters. As it turned out, an activity that nearly never happened because of my apathy turned out to be one of the best experiences of our vacation.

In a similar way, as we now approach the Fall I am feeling God challenging me not to be complacent in my faith and my walk with Him. It was four years ago that we landed in Charlotte and not all that time has been easy. But this summer I have found I am really enjoying what God has done at CityChurch. I love the community, am excited about our worship times together and after our summer of Rest~oration am personally in one of the best places with God that I have ever been. It would be easy to just chill out...and say why bother? But if I am honest with myself, I sense instead that God is calling me onward, upward, to more of what He has for me. To not be lethargic, to not settle for where I am now but instead, as Paul says in Philippians 3:14 to ... "press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus".

In particular, I really sense the call to follow Him by acting in faith. Hebrews 11:1 says "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see". It is like embarking on that adventure to hidden beach...God asks us to act, to start the journey, trusting that He will use both journey and the destination to bless us. I am still formulating exactly what this is going to look like for me in the coming weeks but my initial sense is that, thus far we have only started to taste a small bit of what God wants to do in our midst and He is calling me to step out and play my part in "preparing the way..." for Him to do much much more. As I set my sights on this new adventure, I am excited because, with God as well as in the world he has created, there is certainly some truth to the saying that "Fortune favors the brave". I can't wait to see where it leads...

4 Aug 2010

Freedom Found: A Testimony...

I was really moved this last week to read a post Beth Murschell put up on her facebook page. Whether we are aware of it or not, Jesus is trying to lead us all on a journey towards greater freedom. As the bible puts it "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1). With her permission I have included below an edited version of that post. Beth writes...

I was a gung-ho fundamentalist. I wanted to do whatever *they* (the family, church, Bible, and God) wanted me to do. I was trying to submit, to get my kids to obey the first time they were told so that they wouldn't bother people, and to keep my music "safe". I was asking God for forgiveness if my speedometer crept inadvertently up a couple of miles an hour over the speed limit. I muted beer commercials. I crossed out bad words in my Louis L' Amour books. I read Christian devotional books and memorized verses. I was pretty sure I was going to end up driving a station wagon frantically across Louisiana someday during the end times, running from the government because I was a Christian and they wanted to put me in jail. I looked disapprovingly at anyone who did things differently than I did and I could quote Scripture to prove I was right. I was always right. I didn't know there was any flexibility anywhere...and I was miserable.

What happened then? A number of things, spread out over a period of time. I read Romans for the first time like a child, taking it at face value and realized that God is the One in charge, and He picked me. Our social worker helped us learn how our children would feel in a different culture. In the process of looking at the world through the eyes of Koreans, we opened our eyes to various facets of racism. Then a friend spelled it out clearly for me, the stuff I was still trying to figure out. She showed me the theology of the struggle I'd had my entire life. She didn't just touch the third rail; she grabbed it and shook it.

Since then, God has brought us to an unexpected place here in Charlotte. What we have found is a dance, not a march. It's a lovely, flexible freedom to love and be loved. It's looking at God and letting the rest of the issues be sorted as needed. It's appreciating his good gifts, including wine. It's watching the girls dance with their Daddy. It's a continual refreshing when I want to flagellate myself again for failing. We have found the Prodigal God: standing on the road waiting and watching for me, the wayward, to come walking back him so he can put the best clothes on me, hug me, give me a ring and a feast and a reinstatement. NOT because I deserve it, but because He gives it.

I asked my son to tell me how he sees the changes we've made. He said "More freedom. Not being afraid all the time." Those of you who loved me when I was so hateful and “right”—thank you. Those of you who still love me even though you think I’ve lost it—thank you. Those of you who have walked this path before—you have helped me. Thank you.

As I read it, it struck me that this is the business I want to be in - the business of being set free and helping others find more freedom! What a privilege and what a joy - than you Lord! To see the full version of this post on facebook do go to the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/n/?note.php&note_id=413591291458&mid=2b11301G540030b4G1da72d3Ga&n_m=al%40citychurchcharlotte.com

29 Jul 2010

The Pointless Art of Negotiating with God...

Do you ever find yourself negotiating with God? I caught myself trying it out with God the other day...with surprising results. It was the Sunday morning of our Joint Service with Greater Fellowship. Up to that point, the week had been crazy. We had an old friend visiting from England, there was lots going on with the kids and with one thing and another, I had not had as much time on my sermon as I had hoped. To cap it all, we started our service that Sunday morning earlier than usual. And so I found myself driving rapidly to church, piles of scribbled notes left abandoned on my desk at home, for first time ever in danger of being late for the service...and negotiating, working hard to persuade God to make the service a success. "Lord, if you could just...". "Lord, think how important it is...", "Lord I'll do it differently next time". It was an interesting drive in!

I have to say that I have really enjoyed this past period of "Rest~oration". As the summer has gone on I have discovered that the "Rest" God has been wanting to bring to me has been more about finding it in Him rather than putting my feet up and doing nothing. My hour of prayer each day has become more and more precious and even though these last couple of weeks have been crazy (hence the absence of Blog's!) the Lord has continued to draw me into that place of stillness before Him. After I became a Christian it took me years before I started to understand God's unconditional love for me. He has used this summer to continue to impress that upon me and that is what He did the other week as I arrived at church on that wild, manic, negotiation filled Sunday morning.

I drove into the car park still muttering my last ditch offers to God, pulled into the parking space and paused. In that moment, as I took breath, I felt I heard God respond with simple clarity "I will bless you and I will bless the service...but NOT because of anything you have said or done or offered but just because I want you to be a success, because I want the service to be a success, because I want you all to be blessed".

It was such a blessing and a powerful reminder to me that my negotiation with God was a truly pointless exercise for the simple reason that He is already on my side, He already wants to help me. I don't need to persuade Him. In Romans 8 Paul put's it like this "...If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?". This scripture really sums up what God showed me through this event - He has already given his son for me...what more evidence do I want? He is for me, he is for me, HE IS FOR ME! and one thing is clear - no amount of negotiation is going to change that!

29 Jun 2010

Life's too Short not to...

What do you get if you mix ten guys, a bunch of fishing poles, a couple of boats and a weekend away in Wilmington? We did this the other weekend and not surprisingly, I can tell you, you get an amazing time. But unexpectedly, while I was there I also had something of a spiritual epiphany! There I was, miles from home, sitting in a boat, watching the sun go down over the ocean. The fish were jumping and the sea air was fresh on my face. Jokingly, I said out loud "You know, life's too short to spend so much time worrying"...then it hit me...I needed to hear that...I spend so much time worrying about tomorrow...that I don't have much time left to simply enjoy today!

Jesus says "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matt 6:27). It strikes me that he is not encouraging us to be irresponsible or to throw all caution to the wind but he is simply pointing out a truth about life. He goes on to say "...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" As I sat on the water I confess to feeling somewhat sad as I realized how much time I have spent in recent years worrying about 'tomorrow'. Rather like the rich fool in Luke 12, I find it so easy to say "I'll just get through this crisis" or "If I could just get this project done" then I will relax, then I will spend more time with my family, then I will do such and such an activity. But here's the thing...there is rarely a time when life doesn't present some crisis or other and there is never another project to do... if I am not careful 'then' might never arrive!

Since the weekend away, I have pondered this a lot. I don't believe Jesus want us to ignore the crisis or to avoid planning for the future. Rather, I feel him encourage me as well, to make sure I also enjoy today for what it is. To find time to relax, to play more, to enjoy my family and friends, to be grateful for what God has given me, to sit on the porch and read a book, to have a glass of wine and watch the sun go down. Psalm 118:24 says "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it". That is what I am going to try and do much more - I am sure it won't always be easy especially when things get busy but I am going to try and do it all the same...after all life's too short not to!

15 Jun 2010

Getting Rid of a Stiff Neck!...

Perhaps it was the cocktail of shots pumped into my arm as part of our immigration process or perhaps it was the result of a rather rushed work out. Either way, I woke up the other morning with a particularly stiff neck. What really got my attention however was when I then picked up my daily bible reading, which happened to be from Acts 7, only to find that it contained the account of Stephen's scathing criticism of the Jewish leadership for being guess what - stiff necked! As you can imagine that got my attention!

The more I looked at this scripture the more it stood out as being extraordinary. Stephen has been seized and brought before the Sanhedrin. The building is packed with the elite of Jewish society, anticipation is high, they are all ears...what better opportunity could you imagine for Stephen to preach the good news and share the reason for his hope in Jesus. But no, filled with the Spirit, Stephen chooses instead to recount the history of the Jewish people and then launch this bombshell of criticism "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears, you are just like your fathers!". How are they stiff-necked? How are they uncircumcised in their hearts and ears? How are they like their fathers? - that comes next and is the real bombshell..."You always resist the Holy Spirit!". That is why they persecuted God's prophets, that is why they murdered Jesus and that is why they disobeyed the law...they always resisted the Holy Spirit. In a vivid demonstration of exactly what he is saying the Jews then drag Stephen away and stoned him to death.

As I have continued this week to ponder the nature of biblical "rest", I have had to ask myself the question am I being stiff-necked? am I resisting the Holy Spirit? Surely this is a critical question to ask. Psalm 127 says “Unless the Lord builds the House, its builders labor in vain”. How often do I do my own thing rather than following the spirit? How frequently do I fail to listen to what the Spirit may be saying? In how different many ways do I resist the Spirit? I don't know exactly how I'm doing, but one thing for sure...it has been a good reminder to me to focus again on the Spirit as my guide, my counselor, my teacher and ultimately as my cure for a stiff neck!

2 Jun 2010

Let the Lord do the fighting...

John Wesley once said "I have so much to do today that I must spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it". I have always found this quote challenging and as I have continued this week in my personal quest to plunge deeper in prayer I have been challenged afresh by the fundamental question that it poses - Is praying for several hours a day an effective use of my time? Wouldn't it be so much more effective to just pray for 15 minutes and use the rest of the time to build the Kingdom?

In pondering this little dilemma, I was drawn to the story of the Israelites flight from Egypt. Imagine the scenario. You are an Israelite, until recently one of the slave class. Moses has appeared from the desert and after a series of plagues has managed to persuade Pharaoh to let you go. You have gathered your possessions and have left town. As a group, you are weak and defenseless, but you are free. That is however, until you see the might of the Egyptian army following you. They have changed their minds and complete with gleaming chariots, thundering horses and crack troops are chasing you down. Their swords are drawn, you have nowhere to go, you look to Moses for a decisive plan of action and this is what he says "The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still" (Exodus 14:14). Had I been there I think I would have screamed at Moses something like "this is not the time to be super spiritual...we need to do something!". But of course, they were still and with an extraordinary display of power the Lord did fight for them, parting the Red Sea and drowning the most powerful army of the age under its waters.

Could it be true today that if we let Him, the Lord will fight for us? Paul passionately labels all his activity and actions as being like trash compared to investing time in "the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ" (Phil 3:8). Perhaps John Wesley had discovered that too and perhaps that was why God was able to use him to not only to spark revival across 18th Century England, changing the spiritual landscape of the land but also to start up the Methodist Church now found across the globe. If Wesley could find a good chunk of time to pray each day then so can I and like him believe that The Lord will fight for me; I need only to be still.