Pastoral Reflections

At the Well Community Church we have a Elder team that provides leadership and oversight for the church.  We are an “elder lead, staff run” church.  These five men, fulfilling the qualifications of I Timothy 3 and Titus 1, are godly men who care deeply about the church and their role in what God is doing here in our Valley. 

I usually try and connect with at least one of them per month, for lunch or a cup of coffee.  It’s a good time of conversation and update, sharing the latest from our lives, evaluating what is going on in my world, and doing a little soul upkeep.  I love our times together and appreciate their insight and encouragement. 

This past week I met with one of our elders, Russ Taylor.  Russ is an architect in town and man of great character with a commitment to Christ and his church.  During our time together he asked, “So you are one year in this pastor thing, how is it going?”  That’s a loaded question to be sure.  Never in my wildest dreams did I see myself being called into this kind of ministry.  For the longest time my world has consisted of athletics and education and I always saw myself as a coach of sports team while working with young people.  To step into the church and into this pastoral role has challenged me and called out of my comfort zones. 

I smiled.  “Its been quite a ride,” I answered.  “One day is never like the last.”  I went on to explain that the fullness of human experiences that I have encounter in the past year.  I have stood with a couple on stage as they have exchanged vows and declared their love and commitment to each other.  In the same vein I have also sat with couples on the verge of divorce who have suffered through years of conflict and pain.  I have rejoiced at the birth of a child but have also prayed to the God of the universe to heal a newborn who has been diagnosised with a kidney cyst.  I have watched people transformed and healed of disease and addiction before my very eyes and at the same time I have agonized over people giving in to temptation and sin and creating destruction in their lives as well as others.  I’ve talked guys out of killing themselves and have celebrated with baptism as men have walked into newness of life.  Like King Solomon of old, I recognize that there is an occasion for everything, a time for every activity under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). 

Russ looked at me and said, “How do you do it?  How do you help people stay on the straight and narrow?  How do you keep yourself healthy and not become consumed with their issues and problems?  How do you allow yourself to minister to them and still continue to minister yourself?

“In all honesty, the only thing I know how to do is point them to Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). I’m not smart enough, or experienced enough, or prepared enough to be anybody’s Savior.  I need mercy and compassion and wisdom and discernment just like the rest of them.  So I try my best to help people see that Christ is the source of life and healing and restoration, that He is our Savior, Redeemer, and King.  That he is to be the one we turn in times of trial and tribulation (Matthew 11:29,30), and that he alone is capable of saving us (Matthew 1:21). 

Russ looked at me and said, “Sounds like a good plan.”  I replied, "It’s all I got.  But I think its a pretty good."  So no matter what stage of life we are in, not matter what condition our soul is, there is God who loves us and is ready to be the very thing that nothing in this world can offer.  Hope, joy, peace, and love everlasting.  Come to Jesus, fix your eyes on Him, and be saved (Acts 16:31).      

Jesus in Everyday Life

We are reminded that the Word became flesh (John 1:14) and moved into the neighborhood.  Jesus is Immanuel – “God with us” – and he came to this earth as a human being and set up shop in the life of a community.  He didn’t tuck himself away in a castle or temple or government palace.  He hung out in the streets, the marketplace, and the local taverns.  In contemporary terms he was at the local Starbucks, community center, and little league baseball complex.  He met people where they were.  He listened and cared for those in need.  If we are truly his disciples then we are to embody the word, deed, and life of Jesus into every aspect of our lives. We are to live authentically and distinctively in our world so that people can see Jesus and not just religious robots.         

Throughout the Gospel accounts, you see Jesus enter into the lives of people and meet them where they are.  He went out to the sea and recruited local fisherman.  He broke all conventional wisdom and engaged in conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well.  He do the unthinkable and found a tax collector sitting in a tree and invited himself over for dinner .  

See a pattern?  Jesus didn’t shy away from the boundaries that we often put against others instead he initiated conversations with blue-collar workers, scandalous women, and notorious tax collectors. He brought the Good News of the Gospel to people in a real and authentic way.  He wasn’t offering people self--help talk.  It wasn’t 5 steps to a better you.  It is the life-giving, life-saving, life-changing love of God, found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  When we live this way, we also bring the Good News to the places where we live, work, and play.   

Song of the Harlot

Sunday evening was a real treat for me as one of my favorite indie bands showed up in Fresno to play a gig at THE NEIGHBORHOOD THRIFT.  Twenty years I came across the album "Chosen", a release by a Southern California band called the violet burning.  Captivated by their sound and worshipful lyrics that were a combination of traditional song and soulful inspection, I feel in love with this band and especially their charismatic lead, Michael J. Pritzl.  Over the years, the band has changed members multiple times but Pritzl has remained the one constant.  A tortured soul of sorts, Pritzl has been one of a handful of musicians/artists that over the years I have found myself fascinated with and been a loyal fan of.  He has always had the fascinating ability within his lyrics to provide an authentic and deep seeded faith with the honest anguish and heart wrenching reality of our lives.  Like the psalmists of old, Pritzl is a master poet who can uncover the sadness while finding beauty within it.  He understands the chaos of life but sees splendor all around.  He can embrace the light in the middle of deep sorrow.  Sunday was the first opportunity for me to hear the band  play live and it lived up to its billing.  Their newest offering, "The Story of Our Lives" is a powerful testimony to the  unstoppable power of art, of sound, and of words.  Love it.  

Pritzl's songs have always touched my soul but none more than "The Song of the Harlot", written in 1992.  A powerful description of Luke 7 and Jesus encounter with the prostitute who enter the home of the Pharisee and humbly prostrates herself at Jesus feet in worship and adoration.  Scorned by her community, she falls down to her knees and begins to weep before while kissing her master's feet.  Angered by such a sight, the religious leader turns his nose to this woman and condemns her for being a "sinner."  Jesus, never one to miss a moment to expose the religious hypocrisy of others, confronts with the man with a parable.  Comparing the woman to the Pharisee, Jesus asks the simple question: Who is more gracious, the one who has been forgiven more or less?  The religious leader, not making the connection, answers the trap.  "I suppose the one he forgave more" (Luke 7:43).  Jesus then reveals one of the many truths of the kingdom, "Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that's why she loved much"(verse 47).  When we recognize our sinfulness, our response to compassion and forgiveness is so much greater than when we see ourselves as righteous.  

Prtizl finds the exchange powerful,  "because when I read the Bible I find that I relate to the sinners more than I relate to the saints."  By connecting to the sinner, Pritzl allows himself the humility and dependance upon a Sovereign God to save him.  

     If I could be

    Anyone at all

    If I could be

    Anyone at all

    Let me be

    The whore at your feet

I want to be the type of man that is willing to take responsibility for my sin, acknowledge my depravity and cry out to my heavenly Father for mercy.  I don't want to take the posture of the Pharisee, who lived with such a wretched sense of self-righteousness that he was incapable of feeling love or extending grace.  I want to cry out like David, "Then I acknowledged my win to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD and you forgave the guilt of my sin" (Psalm 32:5).  Let me be the harlot that confess one's sin and depend upon a Savior that is faithful and just and capable to forgive us and cleanse us from our unrighteousness (I John 1:9).  Pritzl always has and will continue to speak to me because of his willingness to expose his heart, mind, and soul in honest and authentic ways.