Before I Wake

Now before I share this thought,  let me qualify it by saying it came to me in the in-between time, as I was coming out of a dream and before I was fully awake.  Therefore, I am not completely responsible for it. Yet, even though I am now fully awake, I am still thinking about it and want to share it.  It would be best to say I found the thought revealing of how we (and by we, I mean those who spend their time reflecting about church and ministry) might actually think.  Now before you make the click to move to another page because you do not spend much time reflecting about church and ministry, let me say I think this random thought, which I had in the time before my brain had the opportunity to censor itself, actually impacts much more than ministry.  It has implications for every aspect of our lives. Given this fact you, might want to read on.

I hope I have not built up what I am about to share too much, after all it was a fleeting thought of an unfocused mind,. Then again, you might also says it was clearer and more honest than many thoughts, precisely because my mind did not have time to recognize how irreverent it might be and hide or edit it.  I will share it in the form of a question (see I am editing it already).  Here goes, "If you were leading a church or ministry and Jesus was on your staff team what job would you give him?"

The first thing that comes to my mind is I would want him on the Care Team.  With his gift of healing, there is no one I would rather have making hospital visits.  He also has the gift of compassion which seems to allow him to relate in powerful ways to those who marginalized and struggling.  Because of these powerful abilities, I think he would definitely be a good on the Care Team.

What other role might he fill?  Given the fact so much of the Gospels are Jesus’ actual words, you might consider making him a Teaching Pastor.  I caution you to consider this move carefully.  Think about it, many times what He shared was not clear.  Rather than speaking plainly, He would tell stores which often left those listening feeling confused.  Even His own followers would pull Him aside and ask Him to explain what He had just taught.  While His communication was interesting and could draw a crowd, you might want your spokesmen to be a little more clear.  Given all of the emphasis on easy to understand, relevant teaching in the church, I am not sure Jesus would be the best fit.  Jesus seemed to be content leaving a bit of mystery in his teaching and allowing the Holy Spirit to empowering people to understand, or not.  I am not sure most of us in leadership are willing to take the same risk.

You definitely do not want Jesus dealing with people in leadership or being in charge of donor relations.  We do not like to talk about it much, but Jesus was prone to call people names, especially those who were in leadership positions in religious institutions.  Just image Him in your next elder board meeting or ministry-wide leadership training event calling those in charge “whitewashed tombs”, “fools”, “blind guides”, “hypocrites”, “murders”, or “children of snakes”.  Jesus had such a problem with this He even called those closest to him names like “Satan”. I am not sure He is the kind of guy you are going to want representing you or your organization.  This is not going to make your leaders happy, nor is it going to inspire others to follow those Jesus is prone to attack.  If you goal is to keep leaders happy, Jesus may not have the ability to do it.  Jesus' way with religious leaders caused them to plot to kill Him.  Is your church or ministry willing to take the risk of having someone like this on your team? Most are not.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.  Except for the miracles He could perform and the compassion He could demonstrate, it is probably going to be hard to find a spot on your team where Jesus is going to fit without making things harder.  He just does not blend into our structures very well.  This should not surprise us, because He did not come to join our team.  He came to invite us to join His.  He called us with the invitation, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” He is not asking us to find a spot for Him in our plan.  The truth is He will not fit there.  He is the head.  We follow Him. We are the ones who are to fit into His body and fulfill the purpose He has laid out for us, not the other way around.

When asked why he was no longer a pastor, I heard a university professor once quoted as saying something to the effect of; "When I was a pastor I often seemed to be working in opposition to what Jesus was doing.  I was trying to make it easier for people; Jesus was calling them to the narrow road. I was trying to make my church bigger; the crowds around Jesus diminished as he moved towards His calling.  I wanted to make people happy and like me; Jesus had no problem challenging the system."  In short, this ex-pastor was saying, Jesus simply would not fit on his ministry team.  Because of this fact, he had a choice, to follow Jesus or to continue to try and shoehorn Christ into the model of ministry he knew and lead.  He chose to follow Jesus.  I personally think he made the right choice.

What would it be for us to quit trying to make Jesus fit our models, to quit trying to find a place on our team for Him, and to begin looking to Him to teach us how to do what we are called to do. Not just in ministry, but with our entire lives.  What power would be unleashed?  What transformation would occur?  What would we have to die to in order to take hold of what Christ is about?  Sometimes, I think it is the answers to these questions which keep us trying to make Jesus fit on our team.  It is much easier than the yielding which is necessary to fit on his.

The invitation Jesus gave is pretty simple and clear.  He invited us to follow, not to find a place where He fits.  He assured us that He would make us; we do not have to try harder or come up with a plan. It is not our job to make it happen; we simply need to be discerning of His voice, open to His call, and responsive to His leading.  He gave us our purpose, to be fishers of men: we need not come up with our own vision, but be willing to embrace His.  In short, we only need to follow.

Are you willing to lay down the desire to make Jesus fit on your team or fit within your plans and allow Him to lead?  We know instinctively the question, “Where does Jesus fit?” is the wrong question to ask, and yet, often in very subtle ways, we ask it.  It was only in the unfiltered moment, before I was able to edit my thoughts, that I could recognize the question for what it was. 

O Lord, forgive me.  May the meditation of my heart be on what I know to be true.  May it transform even my unconscious thoughts in such a way that even they are willing to follow you.  May you give me the strength to trust to do the work of transformation in my life, and may I willingly embrace your purpose.  

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. - Isaiah 55:9

“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  - Matthew 4:19 

He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." - Luke 9:23

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6