Mainstream

The concept of God-fearers has always intrigued me in the scriptures.  It leads us to the fact that there are people who’s hearts are attuned to God but who may not be a part of a faith community.  My guess is that many of them have not ventured into a church because of the lack of conventionality of their faith.  It doesn’t fit the Christian church world.

I’m also reminded of the way in which my faith has been challenged over the years in various settings.  The first of those was college.  I did not drink alcoholic beverages.  As a member of a fraternity I was in the microscopic minority of those who didn’t.  I defended my position until it became apparent to me that my reasoning for not consuming didn’t get two minutes worth of attention from those around me.

My time in the navy was also an eye-opener as I have written before.  I was faced with questions and assertions by Mormons, those practicing voodoo, metaphysicians, radical right wing Christians and others who were embracing the homosexual lifestyle.  My Baptist theology wasn’t deep enough to help me encounter the questions of those I met.

Several things came into my life to impact that.  I have written about the impact of Francis Schaeffer and his philosophic approach to the truth of the Gospel.  It enabled me to be in conversation with those who didn’t adhere to mainstream Christianity.  I’ve also been enabled to dialogue with those in the main stream of our culture as I have found the reality of God in my own emotional life’s healing.  I am convinced in a very experiential way that God is real and He and I are in relationship.

I remember writing once during a goal setting exercise when I was pastoring that I would like to study the unchurched, have more interaction with them and find out what brought them to their place of faith or lack of it.

Now I find myself immersed in that world.  I am no longer working for a self-confessed Christian business.  I am not surrounded with others who have been attracted to their employer by his or her statement of faith.  In fact, I’m in an environment where I have to be somewhat careful of “pushing” my faith on others.  I don’t have a problem with that.  I like the natural way of conversing anyway.  Tracts and confrontive evangelism have never been my style.

What of those who have never been exposed to the Gospel in any kind of organized form?  What of those who have unfortunately had a negative encounter with those of Christian faith?  Who reaches those who would never darken the door of a church to further their faith?  What of those who, if given the chance, say that they are without faith of any kind in God?  Would we ever have occasion to have conversation with them about the Gospel?

We need to be in the world.  We need to be daily interacting with others who may not have a traditional faith.  We need to have communities (notice I didn’t say church—I’m not talking about a building with organized programs) where faith can be questioned.  Where a relationship with God can be sorted out.  Where we can court the Father before we commit our lives to following Him. 

I want to be there.  Right in the middle of the mixing pot.  I want to be on the mount sharing my heavenly Father with those who are searching for truth and seeking for life…and that to the full.  There is a deep hunger in our culture for something of meaning.  Too much of life is being lived by those who are just existing.  Then there is the other extreme of those who are living life by amassing as many toys as they can to flavor life and make it all worthwhile.

I haven’t found either of those in my relationship with the Father.  I have found a richness and fullness of life and joy.  I want others to have the opportunity to experience that.  It’s without cost—at least monetarily. 

Tolerance

Tolerance is a word I have most often heard in relation to mechanical tolerances.  The Japanese have long been known for their close tolerances in their mechanical parts.  That's part of what makes them last so long.  Compare the engine of a Model T to one in a Lexus.  It's hard to believe they are both the same kind of machine.  The closer tolerances of the Lexus make the engine purr rather than rattle and clank like the Model T.

In more recent days I have heard tolerance used as a way to describe my feelings toward those who are not like me.  I am, being politically correct, to be tolerant of those who have a different lifestyle than mine.  Funny how many times those persons aren't tolerant of where I am.

So does God just call us to be tolerant of people?  That seems so negative.  Like I just can't hardly stand to be with someone but I'll suck it up and make the best of it.  Hopefully, it won't last long.  I'm sure when I am being merely "tolerant" that the other person is able to pick that up.  My smile is fake and they know it.  Trust me, God doesn't need us to "act" tolerant.

What I've found as the Father has healed my heart is that I am more genuinely tolerant of others.  I'm even patient with their dysfunction, not just tolerant of it.  I'm even compassionate of the place they find themselves in.

What changed all that?

When I was hurting so badly I couldn't think of any one else but me.  I was in pain so I needed all the attention and sympathy I could get.  My pain was sticking out all over so I didn't have more than a second or two of tolerance for someone else's behavior.  Wow!  Sounds a lot like a 2 year old.

As the Father has healed my wounds I have found that I have more compassion for the misbehaviors, if you will, of others.  I see people in the traffic here in DC with microseconds of patience with the other vehicles and their drivers.  It's hard not to judge them but as I remember and am reminded by the Holy Spirit I pray for them and bless them.  They are hurting and don't have the capacity to give others room in their lives...or room in their lane of traffic.

As I have come to know the Father more intimately I have relaxed a whole bunch.  Talk to those who know me well (my wife).  I'm not the same person...and no, it's not the medication I'm on.

It's because I know I don't have to fight for space in this world.  I am a child of my Father.  He loves me.  He cares for me.  He is with me wherever I go.  He comforts me.  He has great patience with me.  He has tolerated me in my sin for a long time.  As I receive His love, experience His patience with me and know how He feels about me as one of His children I can love others.  I can give them the grace they need.  I can demonstrate the love of the Father for them.  I can have mercy when they are so wounded that they can't think of any one else.

That clanking engine in the Model T reminds me of the scripture in Corinthians that says that without love we are like a clanging bell.  Not a pleasant sound.

Let me suggest you stop trying to "love" or be "tolerant" of others.  Your efforts are going to come across as fake to those who hurt.  Stop long enough to let the Father love you, heal your wounds and pour grace on your wounded soul.  Then your "tolerance" will come across as that Lexus and will purrrrrrrr....right into the heart of the one you are loving.

Is it OK?

It's a small world.  Friends of mine were recently in Rehobeth for some vacation.  One of the friends knows how to speak PA Dutch.  She gets a kick out of finding someone like Amish people who are out of their element, saying something to them in Dutch and watching their reaction.

That happened.  She spoke to the husband of the couple and they struck up a conversation.  In the course of the conversation my friend realized that this Amish couple may know me because they have a store in Spartensburg, PA.  She mentioned my name and the wife's eyes lit up.  They were off to the races then.

My Amish friends are a wonderful couple and I enjoyed visiting them when I made my rounds in their area as I sold fabric.  My visits weren't all just about how much fabric I could sell.  They got into the personal.  The spiritual.  The real part of my customers' lives.

The same was true with this couple.  We talked often about our relationship with the Father and what He was doing in the world.

Of course, they wanted to know where I was.  My other English friends told them about my job in Washington, DC with the Veterans Affairs.  They were a bit surprised and suggested that maybe since I was spiritual that it was unusual to find me here.

So where are Christians supposed to be?  What are we supposed to be?  Last time I checked we were to be in the world but not of the world.  We are to be salt and light wherever we go.  Can I do that working for the government?  Certainly.  I am a child of the King wherever I find myself.

Are there needy hearts in Washington?  Are their needy hearts on the Metro each morning and evening?  Are there needy hearts in my office?

Haven't had any trouble finding them so far!

What are we as Christians supposed to be doing in the world?  We are to serve.  We are to love.  We are to be available where the Holy Spirit needs us to be.  As we love we create an atmosphere where people can smell the scent of the Father.  As we serve we are ambassadors for Christ.  As we give of ourselves we usher in the presence of the Holy Spirit so He can speak to hearts and woo those around us.

We can also do just the opposite.  We can create static by our inconsistencies and aid the enemy by our lack of integrity.  Someone told me this weekend about a fellow who attended church diligently, came to football practice where he was the coach with his suit on, fresh from church...and proceeded to curse the players out with language that would make a sailor blush.  My guess is that his testimony wasn't met with awe but rather disgust.

When I was pastoring in Mountville, PA I used to go into the local bar across the street every morning to get my paper.  They came to know me during my ever so brief stops and eventually called me Father Murphy.  Some time later someone came to interview me about my pastorate and they made the comment that they would never darken the door of a bar.  It just wasn't the right thing for a Christian to do.  Are we to leave the dark places to the enemy and hide in the light?  Or are we to take the light into the dark places?

Seems simple but we get sidetracked so easily.  God is calling all of us who profess to be followers of Christ to serve and to love wherever we find ourselves.  It's okay to be salt and light in dark places.  It's good for us to press forward into battle in the territory of the enemy wherever you think that might be.

My Father hasn't called me to be a judge of the world but a lover of the people of the world so He can reach them.  It's OK.  I'm under cover for the Father.  How about you?

Eyes to See

I had a unique experience last November...at least unique to me.  I had someone sit down with me, go over my resume, probe me about my experiences in life and encourage me to aim higher.  That person was my sister-in-law.  It's not that she is one of my best and oldest friends.  In fact, we could be said to have hardly knew each other before that encounter.

Then a few weeks later she was at our home over Thanksgiving with a host of others in the family.  In one of those roundtable family discussions we got to talking about business and eventually ended up on the government.  I've heard families should avoid the topics of religion and politics but I find that the discussions can be very stimulating and fun.  My sister-in-law began to share some of the things she had seen while on temporary assignment with the VA in Washington DC.

She wasn't critical as we can be so often, coming up with things that are wrong but not offering solutions.  Instead she cast a vision of what could be.  When that starts happening I get excited.  I begin to see possibilities.  Opportunities for things to run smoother.  A chance for an organization to serve their clientele better.  I like to be right in the middle of those things.  I know.  Many of you have listened to me wrestle with the things I am trying to align.  Thank you for being patient with me.  It's who I am.

Now I find myself four weeks into working in the VA.  I have seen enough to keep me busy for months if not years.  Just as exciting is to find that there are many who are equally excited and passionate about seeing the government be more efficient, save more money and serve the veterans more effectively.  There are people who really care and see that they can make a difference...and want to.

Some of you see the beauty in flowers (so do I).  Others see the beauty of seeing things work well and jobs made more pleasant because we can meet expectations of others who come to us for help.

This week I was in project management class.  After the initial ice was broken the ideas got to cooking.  I heard many stories laced with sadness of how the departments these individuals came from around the country were not performing up to par.  They were frustrated.  Not because they wanted their jobs to be easier but because they saw what they could be doing were obstacles removed from their path.  They saw that the ultimate goal of their jobs was to serve the veterans who had served our country.

What do you see?

Whatever you see is what God has called you to do something about.  He doesn't give us vision to see things we can't touch.  He gives us eyes to see what He has gifted us to do.  If you see a piece of paper on the ground in a parking lot, do you lament the fact that someone dropped it and didn't care?  Do you think something critical about the person who is assigned to keep the lot clean?  Or do you bend over, pick it up and take it to a trash receptacle?

Do you see someone in your circle of friends hurting, lacking someone to listen or needing a smile or act of compassion?  What can you do about what you see?  Act on it.  "But I'm not qualified...or trained...or whatever."  But you have seen it and if you step out in faith God will provide what you need to act on it.  He didn't give you eyes to see something only to walk away in frustration unable to do anything about it.

So often in a situation we criticize the "leadership" or "management" or our "pastor" or those in authority over us for their lack of leadership, for not getting the job done.  Rather than demonstrate what leadership looks like we sit back and criticize.  Rather than pick up the broom and start sweeping, we look for someone else to handle it.  We can't change those who lead us but we can do what we see before us that needs doing.  We can perform the tasks and acts of mercy that our eyes see.

We can make a commitment to change our behavior.  God gave us eyes to see so we can act.

I'm going to speak out with passion because I see a vision of what can be.  I'm going to act on what I see because I can't expect someone else to do it if I'm not willing.  I can lead by example.  I'm going to encourage others who are seeing to act on what is before them.  Rally the troops.  Who knows.  At some point the tipping point might come and things might change.  What will we be seeing then? 

Running

Pat and I have been running from the city.  Well, I guess I can't speak for Pat but it is true for me.

I came to that realization the other night when I was talking with someone.  In spite of all the movement and activity in DC I am still able to hear my heart and what the Father is revealing to me.

I have been hiding in the country and semi-rural areas.  It was safe for me.  I wasn't asked to do more than I could do.  The people were easy to get along with.  I felt like I could handle any relationship that I came across.

My fear was that if I got in an urban setting that it would be revealed that I wasn't all that sharp.  That I wasn't able to run with "the big boys".  That intelligent people would see me as a nave.  It isn't that I haven't been around sharp people all my life or been unable to have a deep intellectual conversation with many of you reading this post.  It's just that I assumed that you were "nicer" because you lived in the country and that people in the city were just mean.

It was only the encouragement of a friend that helped me risk the attempt to fit in some place where there weren't a lot of trees or cows.

What I'm finding is that people are all alike...and that God is with me wherever I go...and I am able to be just who I am in whatever setting I find myself.

This week I have continued to ride the metro, walk down streets lined with tall buildings and I've still been able to be courteous, loving people, listening to them and being me.  I fit.  I fit in better than I ever thought I would.  It even feels comfortable.

There are nice people everywhere.  They respond to nice and genuine interest in them from someone else.  All I have to do is be me.  It gives them the freedom to be them.  The conversations are lively.  We're having fun teasing each other but there are still opportunities to talk about what matters.

This week I had a brief conversation with one of my office mates about Congressman Weiner.  We had just learned that he had resigned.  A co-worker said, "What difference did it make that he was sexting?  If we looked into every politicians life we would find things that were inappropriate."  My reply was that the character of a person is reflected in his actions both privately and publicly.  I believe it's time for us to expect people to take responsibility for their brokenness, get help and realize that it impacts every aspect of their lives including their ability to lead in the public sector.

So I was afraid that I couldn't speak my mind in that setting.  Funny how fears keep us from doing what we need to do...what we have been called to do.  The setting doesn't matter.  The relationship we are speaking out of does.

The Father is in DC with me just like he was in Holmes Co with me.  The geographic location, the mode of transportation and the speed at which people go about their lives doesn't change who He is and my relationship with Him.

What have you been running from?  Is there a calling that you don't feel you measure up to?  What fears are keeping you from being who God created you to be?  I know answers to those questions will bring some renewed excitement to your lives.  Count on it. 

Changes

As I wrote of in my last blog, as followers of Christ we are just temporary residents of this world.  Our world, our normal, our home place is the Kingdom of God.  As such we are to find our center in our personal relationship with the Father and maintain communication through His ever present Holy Spirit.  What that means is that wherever we are...we are at "home".  We remain connected to Him and everything else can change.

Well, I experienced that this week.  I had a thought while walking home from the office on Mon.  Here I am in downtown Washington DC in a suit and tie walking past the tall buildings of a center city toward the Metro for my ride back to where I am staying.  Couldn't be any different from hauling Amish in a carpenter crew truck or living next to a horse and buggy Mennonite farmer.

Although only 24% of men in the US own a suit, 99% of those work in cities.  I saw them this week (and sweated along with them) in the 102 degree heat of Thurs afternoon.  That's when I had to take a walk of about 10 blocks from one VA building to another.  On Mon while dressed for my orientation I had to walk around several blocks of downtown (because I exited the wrong street from the Metro station).  By the time I got to the meeting I was soaked...literally...from sweat.  After checking my ID and giving me a temporary pass to the building the security guard handed me a paper towel to wipe my face!

I'm in a downtown building where the security is tight.  ID cards, scanners, armed guards and nobody just wandering around.  Security for the internet, encrypted emails when sending important information.  No funny programs loaded on the network computers.  They don't have time for the little evil bugs to be turned loose on the systems that control what is happening.

Several other changes I noticed this week.  People who didn't know me...complimented me.  I got compliments on my glasses and on my ties.  I'm not used to someone noticing that kind of thing and saying something about it.  Friendly people, especially the black people.  I'm having fun with them.  They are loose and yet are very competent in their jobs.  I was introduced as being just as crazy as they are so I would fit right in.

I was also introduced as being a former pastor so that I could be contacted if someone had a spiritual need.  Now that's a change from the business world I've been traveling in.  Quite a few believers there praying for what is happening.  I'm sure I'll learn more about that as time goes on.

I'm walking the equivalent of 4-5 blocks on each end of my Metro ride each day.  I'm carrying my soft-side brief case and yellow school bus lunch box (not really!).  The Metro is full of people either listening to their ipods, their phones, texting, reading their ipads, the paper or sleeping.  Yep, sleeping standing up, sitting down...any way they can.  Sometimes the a/c works on the Metro.  Sometimes it doesn't.  The men usually congregate around the escalator stairs where the a/c vents pour out cold air while waiting for the next train.

Downsizing and energy efficiency are the words of the day.  We'll be thinking about these as we design buildings, utilize space in existing buildings and keep the facilities from hindering the programs for veterans.

One thing hasn't changed.  I'm right in the middle of the battle for the hearts and lives of men and women.  I have opportunity to be courteous, stepping aside at the Metro, holding a door open for someone or just smiling to someone who needs a smile.  There are men and women all around me who still are not firing on all cylinders regarding their gifts, their leadership abilities and with support to do the job they have been entrusted with.  I'm going to get to help build leaders, build a team and contribute to the change of the government culture.  I believe many of the people I am working with right now are going on to be leaders in other government agencies in the future.


Changes.  Plenty of changes have occurred and there are plenty more to come.

Please be in prayer for my immediate supervisor, Mike, his supervisor, Bernard, his supervisor, unnamed and Bonnie who is our Deputy Under Secretary..  When God wants to do something special you can bet the enemy will rear his head and attempt to destroy it.  Let's summon the warring angels to come fight alongside me...and you wherever you are...to bring the Kingdom of God to bear on this world.

Sojourners

I remember standing on the deck behind our house in OH a number of years ago talking to my then college-aged son.  I have forgotten what triggered the conversation but I remember distinctly telling him that we as followers of Christ are sojourners in this world.

That's an old term.  In fact its probably from the King James.  It basically means that we are temporary residents here.  We are aliens in this world.  Our citizenship is in another world...the Kingdom of God.

So what made me think of that this morning as I woke up clearly and couldn't go back to sleep?  I was freaking out a little yesterday from all the changes I am going through.  It's been 20 years since I wore a suit or sport coat and tie to work.  I started out yesterday morning at a tailor's in downtown Lancaster getting my suit fitted as well as a blazer I bought a few years ago.

I printed out my selection package for my job that I need to have completed by when I report on Monday, June 6.  It's at least a quarter of an inch thick.  Intimidating.

I'm making a significant change in my way of life.  From wearing jeans, tee shirts, comfortable shoes (I found out they do have some of those for dress) and getting dirty to wearing a dress shirt and tie daily in an office building that is probably too warm for my comfort but energy-saving. 

This is the first time in my life when I am working in a downtown office building, living out of the city (maybe) and riding public transportation to my job.  That's a lifestyle change but one that millions of people in the world experience every day.

What is my task in this very different world I am entering?  The same task I have always had...to use my gifts to serve and bless those for whom I am employed.  To represent the One I follow and to spread His love to those who are hungry for it.

Am I going to take tracts with me to hand out?  Or carry my big KJV reference bible to work every day?  Or have a lapel pin of the cross?

No.  My life is going to be my testimony.  How I serve in a world that is different than where I usually find myself but similar in so many ways.  I am going to be among people who have not experienced the love of God.  Or if they ever did they have lost touch with it.

People who are having struggles in their world with their marriage, their children, with their job, with their future and a million other things we all ponder as we wonder what is happening next in our lives.  Our lives all seem a little out of control.  One of my friends in OH was mentioning how she thinks NE OH may be turning into the next rain forest.  I suggested that at least she hasn't been transported to tornado alley.  She was glad for that because tornadoes are so random.

That describes the world we are living in...random.  A record number of tornadoes this year.  Record catastrophic floods.  Record gas prices.  Record food prices.  The uncertainty of our job futures.

The world around us needs the assurance that we can offer them...that we are all sojourners in this land.  This is not our permanent home.  Our security is not in our retirement package or our paid down or off mortgage or our health from "good, clean living".  Some of us have lived good clean lives and still gotten deathly sick.

Our lives are to demonstrate to those around us who have no hope what it is like to live with hope for a future that isn't dependent on Wall Street.  How does one live in a world where nothing is "normal"?

We live as citizens of another Kingdom.  We live with responses that come from the opposite Spirit than that who roams this world.  We live so that others may ask "what is the hope that you live with?"

It's kinda hard to live like that.  The pressure is to go with the flow.  If your income increases, ramp up your lifestyle so that you can impress those around you.  If someone snaps at you, snap back.  They deserve it.  If someone is taking out their fears and frustrations on you, give them a cold shoulder.

Living as citizens of another world.  Sojourners in the one we find ourselves in this morning.  Father, give us the grace, a full dose of your Holy Spirit and empower us to live as those who belong to a world that is far different that the one we serve in this day.