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i was doing a little blog-surfing this afternoon. i always come away with mixed feelings as i read the posts from other church leader-types who give their post-game analyses of their various sunday morning big shows.
there’s a recurring theme in their observations (and it’s not the first time i’ve mentioned this). it’s uncomfortably funny that my criticism is not about their evaluations, per se. it’s about their theology. or maybe it’s a criticism of mine.
god did amazing things in our service today.we had a bunch of baptisms today. god is working. god was really present in the building.attendance was incredible…god is moving here. or one of my new favorites: god is totally kicking butt in our church these days. (no joke!)
now don’t get me wrong. i’m going to end up reasoning myself into a corner right now. but this is a genuine theological battlefield for me.
if god is in fact moving in our service today, isn’t this something that he should be doing every time we get together? if an extra-large attendance is evidence of god moving in a powerful way, can we safely assume that a smaller attendance might be an indication that god was busy doing something else…instead of moving?
and if baptisms and attendance and great music and life-changing experiences are what god wants…and he is in the business of making those things happen…is there some compelling reason why he only chooses to move in this way every once in a while?
i’m not being cynical here. this thought process is legit.
i’ve been around preachers all my life that, when they are complimented after giving a sermon, respond with something like, “it was all god. he was speaking through me. all praise to jesus.”
call me shallow and unspiritual, but on those occasions i’m complimented, i just tend to say “thanks”.
or what about the times my sermon isn’t any better than a presentation in a 10th grade speech class? am i supposed to say, ” uh, sorry. that one’s all on me. it definitely wasn’t god speaking today.” just thinking.
so i’ve backed myself into a corner. again. why does god only seem to answer some of our prayers? why do i experience only limited change in some areas of my life? why do some churches explode in size and budget…while others decline and are forced to close their doors? does it mean that god just picks and chooses when and where he wants to move?
could it be that god is always moving…always responding…always busy…and we are just looking in the wrong places and using a wrong system for evaluating his movement? could it be that we were never really designed to justify god’s apparent behavior or explain the mysteries of his actions, in the first place?
as for the north point scorecard today: we sang…we laughed…we studied god’s word…we took communion…we gave our money…we shook hands and hugged…we made fun of each other…we made mistakes…we forgave the offenders…we told jokes…we prayed…we affirmed our loyalty to each other…we encouraged the weak…we confessed our sins…and we remembered what christ meant to us.
was god at north point this morning? yup. because his word said he would be. did he keep his promises? he always does. did he have more movement than he did last week…or the week before? i’m not sure, but i don’t think so.
but who am i to judge? i got lost in my sermon notes twice during the second hour…
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