Believing and Doing

Sometimes well meaning people speak of the Liturgical or Sacramental worship as though it were an option or a preference, "for people who like that kind of stuff." As long as you are worshiping Jesus, preaching the Gospel, its OK. Even within the Anglican tradition, there are those who would shelve the vestments, and liturgy for the sake of a more "seeker sensitive" environment. If reaching the lost is our objective, why persist in a worship "style" that is so "uncomfortable." Why kneel, and sign the cross in prayer, when standing or sitting works fine in other churches? It's just a formality a ritual.

Such reasoning sounds pretty good at first, yet it is a symptom the resurrgence of a gnostic heresy, that has once again infiltrated the Church. The Gnostics, held to a dichotomy between spiritual and material. The spiritual is good, material is certainly of lesser value, if not evil by nature. It is expressed in the idea that worship of God is primarily spiritual, and that the material is a distraction, of no value whatsoever. Your faith need not have any material or out-ward expression. Thus we enter the age of "casual" worship. Come as you are: jeans or shorts are fine, coffee holders in the pew, pray however you are comfortable, sing or sit back and enjoy the music. The important thing is that you are praying, and that you are present. Worship however you want. Be baptized, or not, have communion or not. Its the Spirit that matters.

The danger in this thinking is that it contains a grain of truth. The spirit is more important. The flesh is weak, and mortal. The Spirit is eternal. The error is in the premise that the two are separate. That the flesh is not effected or influenced by the spirit or vise versa. The Incarnation teaches us otherwise: It was Jesus' real physical death, his very lifeblood, that atones for our sins, that is, it accomplishes a spiritual effect, our eternal salvation. He taught us that we must be born of water and the Spirit to have eternal life, and that only a fool would hear his words, and not do them. The New Testament is replete with examples, testifying to the fact that your spiritual condition has ramifications for your outward life and behavior. The Apostle Paul testifies that mishandling the sacrament, profanes the Body and Blood of Christ, and had resulted in sickness and even death among the Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 11:27-32) To top it off, we live in the hope, not to be free from this prison of the flesh (Plato) but the resurrection of our bodies, immortal and glorified for all eternity.

This Scriptural truth is expressed in our worship. We show our love and respect for God, by our actions. We acknowledge his Majesty, by giving up our comfort for the sake of his Honor. We bring our outward bodies into submission to our heart and mind. If we honor Him with our thoughts, and emotion, we should also honor him with our behavior and dress. It is important. It's not that jeans or shorts are unacceptable if it is the best you have. Why would you not wear your best to worship the King of Kings?

Here we come to the heart of the matter-- our objective. The Church is the visible Body of Christ. He is present where two or three are gathered in his Name. He is present in the blessed Sacrament. Our worship is directed toward Him and Him alone. Consequently, we are not at liberty to worship as we see fit, or to pamper our flesh with comfort or convenience. Worship ALWAYS reflects and is appropriate to the object/person we worship. Our submission to the ancient liturgy of the church is a fitting and appropriate expression of our love and faith in Christ Jesus. He is not a motivational speaker or a rock star. He is, after all, God incarnate, the Second person of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, the Head over all things for the Church which is his body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23)

Bread, Sawdust, and....

Chickens??? Tractors? The truth is I haven't been making much sawdust lately. In fact, business has been slow for the last year and a half. Oh, I'm still in the cabinet business, but until the economy turns the corner, I've had to diversify. It's called making do. In reality it is what bi-vocational ministry is all about. Sure, I enjoy cabinetmaking, and it has provided well for us over the last 13 years or so, but its not my career. I was pastor of a small church, with a pile of student loans, when I graduated from Seminary. The four hundred dollars I received each month from the church, would just cover my loan payments. I had to find a job or leave the assignment.
Providentially, a good friend, who was a cabinetmaker offered me a job, as his helper. I didn't have any woodworking experience outside of "Industrial Arts class in Jr. High, but the job worked out well, and apparently, I had a knack for it. In a couple years I was working for myself, building custom cabinets, but more importantly I was providing for my family while I served the church. Cabinetmaking has made it possible for me to serve God in churches that cannot afford a full-time paid pastor. (For the man willing to do it, there is no shortage of small churches that need a shepherd.)

So this is me adjusting to a new economy: building cabinets, giving piano lessons, gardening, raising chickens for meat and eggs, and whatever else it takes, to provide for my family, and serve the dear people of my parish.

9 Years and Counting

It doesn't hardly seem possible that nine years have passed since I was ordained to the priesthood of God's church, but as they say, "Time flies when you are having fun." Well its not all been fun, but most of it has been. And the parts that have not been fun have been worth it. Our children have always brought us more Joy than sorrow. Serving God has always had a cross at the middle of it, but the way of the cross is life and peace. Bi-vocational service has lingered far longer than I had anticipated when we began this mission. I had ambitiously thought that in 2 or 3 years we would have a self sustaining parish. However, when I said "yes" to God, it was without conditions, and escape clauses. Besides, look at what I would have missed: All the people in whose lives we have sown the seed of the gospel, through the business; Years of working with my boys teaching them the trade, and so much more; Teaching them that the Christian way, is more than what we do at church-- it's how we live our lives, together as a family, how we work, the quality of our efforts, doing our best at whatever we do, to the Glory of God: the peaceful rest enjoyed by one who has worked long and hard all day long.

I can hope that one or more of my boys might get called to orders, and follow in my foot steps. But if not I want them to know that for the Christian there are few secular vocations. The only truly secular profession is the one that CAN NOT be done for the Glory of God. What ever we do, we do our best, and work at it with all of our might, for the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Life lessons are not taught in the class room. They are learned in the bump and grind of life. Our lives are an offering to God, poured out for His Honor and glory.

Nine years, really isn't that long after all. If God allows, I will give Him many more,
and when I finally lay this body down, by His grace it will be well spent.