Important

The kids were getting squirrely. Through their participation in church they had earned a trip to a local restaurant for ice cream sundaes.

Vanilla
Chocolate
Whipped Cream
Sprinkles
Hot Fudge
Cherries

Though these items were all clearly on the menu, all we'd been given so far was glasses of water. We'd been seated for nearly an hour.

The wait staff had been running around the restaurant and seeming to work. Yet, when we looked around, we noticed no one else in the restaurant had ice cream, either. Meanwhile, the line at the entrance grew longer and longer, winding out the door and into the night.

Our ability to entertain our kids had maxed out quite a bit earlier so I flagged down the manager to get an update on our order. He let us know that their computer system had gone down and they were all working on it. "Once it's fixed we'll be able to fill your order," he said.

Getting desperate, I looked at him and said, "I know that the computer system is really important to you, but as a customer, I don't care. It doesn't take a computer to put ice cream in a bowl."

He looked shocked. He then went over to the computer station and had all the wait staff start scooping ice cream and distributing desserts to the customers. As we were fed, the computer healed.

As a pastor it's easy for me to be like the manager of that restaurant. The things needed to make the church run smoothly don't always like me too much. It seems that if the video projector is working then the sound system refuses to do so. The box of scissors goes rogue at craft time and there aren't enough green crayons to go around. The Popsicles leak all over the freezer and turn everything in it blue. And the package I thought was toilet paper was actually paper towels and we're now Charmin-free with a line of little kids at the bathroom.

And that's before we even begin to talk about the all-consuming denominational issues, interpersonal conflicts, theological hot spots, spiritual authority questions, and meetings upon meetings upon meetings.

But none of these things are on the list of why people come through the door of the church.

Healing
Hope
Repentance
Strength
Encouragement
Wisdom
Prayer
Community
Praise
Fellowship

These are the things people seek. Though the background organizing is important to make sure the doors stay open and the big issues of the day will eventually impact how we deliver the Message, I need to make sure I focus my energy, and everyone else's, too, on helping people get what they so desperately needed that they found their way to the church's doors.

Because Jesus didn't say that he came so we could be organized and have all the answered nailed down. The Pharisees and Sadducees already had a corner on that market. He said that He came that we could have life, full and abundant (John 10:10).

And the world is getting more than squirrely; it groans for the liberating truth of the Gospel. May I not focus so much on the church's internal workings and, instead, serve those who have come so that they might find what they seek and not be left standing out in the dark.

Lord, be my vision.

Terminal

He lamented the same topic each time we visited. His girlfriend had a terminal illness.

I never met his girlfriend; I never knew her name. I don't know where she lived, though he was basically homeless so I'm not sure how that all worked anyway. Occasionally he would ask that I remember her in prayer.

The thing with her illness was that, though there was no cure, her death from it was not expected any time soon. In fact, the disease didn't have a direct obvious impact on her physical well being. She was in the very early stages of this slowly progressing illness and the doctors had predicted it would have minimal impact on her for the next 10 years. The prognosis was for gradual decline after that. Since she was already in her late 50s, with mindful monitoring she would most likely live for what most people would consider a full life.

None of this seemed to matter to him, though. The fact that she had a terminal illness obsessed his mind and depleted his well-being.

One day as he again lamented about the situation, I turned to him and was surprised to hear the following statement come out of my mouth:

"You know, we're all terminal. She just knows what from."

He gave me an odd look and changed the topic of conversation.

I saw him again about a week later. He looked about 2 inches taller and 10 years younger. His demeanor, actions, and conversation were filled with a new vitality. In our visits from that time forward he no longer obsessed about the terminal nature of his girlfriend's illness. He would occasionally mention that her illness was terminal but always followed it with a grin and the words, " . . . but, we all are."

That little statement changed his life for the better. When I remember it my life is better, too.

There are only a few material things like pyramids and Great Walls and Colosseums that have survived the ages and they're mostly in some state of ruin. Virtually all of the music ever composed or words ever written will never be heard again. The churches that Paul helped establish are not mega-churches or beacons of Christianity today.

Some might find that depressing. For me it's a relief. It takes the pressure off of me and reorders priorities. Sermons and public prayers change from speaking words today for all eternity to speaking eternal words for today. Building a church that will endure changes from setting things up now that will be right forever to forever setting things up that will be right for now.

Ministry comes not in monuments but in moments, and moments are fleeting. We're all terminal; our works, our ideas, our selves.

And just once in a while I have a day when I'm not obsessively lamenting that fact. It's then that I can let the One who was and is and is to come fully invade and embrace His terminal creation known as me, bringing with Him into this fleeting moment the vitality of His everlasting life.

Thank you, God, for each moment. Free me from my focus on the temporary to live fully in Your presence.

Need

As people were gathering before the Sunday morning service, a woman who lived across the street from the church whipped open the door and ran across the back of the room at full speed. One second later she dashed back out of the building, plunger in hand.

Just a few minutes later and still in time for church, she returned at a more relaxed pace and put the plunger back in the women's restroom. To those of us still chuckling and with inquisitive looks on our faces, she announced, "I thought I was headed for a disaster. But then I remembered that what I needed was here in the church."

When we think we're headed for disaster do we remember that what we really need is in the Church? No, the church can't immediately solve all of our problems for us. But when the Church is alive, in it are encouragement, wisdom, truth, support, correction, help, comfort, healing and strength. In it is the reminder that we are not alone, both because of the presence of his Spirit and the presence of His people. In it our impending disasters are not measured by the world's standards but by the power God gives us to endure, to overcome, and to become more than conquerors.

Can the Church become known in the world as the place that, when disaster seems imminent, people can find what they really need?

Joy. Hope. Love. Peace. Community.

And, occasionally, a plunger.

Lord, help me to truly be a part of the Church. Help me bring what is truly needed into the lives of all those I encounter this day.