Crossroads Farm

Barnstorming Tour

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 12:01 -0400

Five Guys and Holiness

Tue, 20 Jun 2017 14:30 -0400

As I walk through the building, I am overcome by two powerful sensory experiences. The first is smell. I can smell cooking beef everywhere in the office. It doesn’t usually smell like that, but right now, I am driven nearly mad with the thought of getting to a Five Guys, fast.

Our summer residents are doing food prep for our trip to a music festival. That means browning somewhere around 30 pounds of burger for Sloppy Joes. It has been fairly hard to concentrate on my task at hand; which is to pray for that trip.

As I move into the game room, I am struck by a second, and completely overwhelming sight. It is that same staff on their knees praying through our student list. I am humbled, proud and exhilarated at the same time. It is the experience that I feel has most closely replicated attendance at one of the Temple’s high festivals. Fire smoke wafting the scent of roasted meat while the voices of thousands pour their hearts out to a living God. That is when I realized that the cross has made this moment, exactly the same as that moment. Holy.

So many times we in youth ministry, or for that matter put more emphasis on the offering than we do the submission. The place may smell sacred, but it does not sound it.

I have been fascinated by Andy Stanley’s focus on reclaiming the irresistible nature of the first century church. As I wander through the unavoidable scent of roasted hamburger, I wonder if “irresistible,” has more to do with our knees than our altars.

Happiness Is

Tue, 17 Jan 2017 15:14 -0400

This last weekend Stephan talked about there being more to life than being happy. It probably made you think, “Like what?” Let’s explore that topic a little bit further.

I have heard tons of people tell me that they knew that God ultimately only wanted for them to be happy. To them, I always respond, “Actually, that isn’t really logical.” You cannot believe that an all powerful God really wants for everyone to be happy. If he willed it, then the Muslims would eliminate the Jews. The Jews would displace the people living in modern-day Palestine. Detroit Lions fans would celebrate a Super Bowl victory, as would Green Bay, New England and the rest of the 32 cities that have teams in the NFL.

It would mean that two guys in love with the same girl would both be married to her and live happily ever after. If you start to make a list of the things that make us happy, you would realize that we could not possibly have it all. Workouts wouldn’t be necessary because no one would be fat. No one would die because that makes us unhappy. We would live in a perpetual state of getting everything we wanted all the time. Our lives would become meaningless.

More importantly than the pure logic, which would dispel the thought that God just wants to make us happy, there is an incredible spiritual truth that dictates that God is less concerned with our happiness than we think. God does not exist for our pleasure. Most people have God confused with either a genie or a doting grandmother. Neither are true.

Romans 1:23-25
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them up in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

This passage states that people would serve what they wanted more than serving God. It actually describes pursuing happiness above everything else is actually a punishment from God. More than this. The Bible says that as we chase our own happiness at the expense of glory to God, death is the result.

James 1:14-15
but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Most people believe that what they want, what makes them happy is getting what they want. They do not take into consideration that people are evil by nature. What I want, many times would be painful and sometimes even tragic for someone else. That is not what God wants. There must be something far bigger.

There is just one more thought about happiness that is critical.

Happiness is an effect. It is a terrible end. What I mean is this. Happiness is something that we experience because of things working well. We know that this life is not designed to always work out. Happiness comes on as a surprise, but when we expect it or even live for it as our goal, we become entitled to happiness. The end result is that we are disappointed with most of what life hands us. I am sure that you have heard some one complain about the Christmas gifts they received, or talking negatively about a date they had. That is because they felt entitled to happiness. It is a better life when we are surprised by happiness.

We would be better served discussing what God actually does want for us. I consider that God has already told us what he wants for us. It is that we find our fulfillment in our relationship with him. That makes sense in that God is permanent and unchanging. Fulfillment is also a more important experience than happiness. It lasts.
Hey. Consider these things when you are thinking that life is not making you happy enough.

Turns Out That There Is A Dumb Question

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 14:14 -0400

In keeping my promise to answer some of the tough questions that students ask, I am ready to tackle the second question that we received. The question was, “Why do you want to believe in something so stupid? Why trust those dumb Bible stories?”

Let’s lump this with a couple of other questions that are similar.
“The Bible says that there was nothing in the beginning but darkness. Isn’t that something?”
“Can God create a rock so big that he can’t lift it?”
“How can you believe in something that cannot be proven?”

Let’s answer the first question first and then deal with all of the other “Got Ya,” questions.

I don’t believe in anything stupid. I only believe in things that make sense. Believing in “Dumb Bible” stories actually makes sense if you understand who God is. If I have a friend who doesn’t believe in the Bible because of stories that are admittedly tough to believe, then I need to explain that the Bible stories are surrounded by some of the most brilliant, logical, wise and incredible teaching. Much of the Bible has been incorporated into things like our legal system, our commitment to education, racial and gender equality, financial advice and leadership principles. I don’t think that it is too tough to believe in those things because they make complete sense.

I’d ask if the student was aware of the other teaching that exists in the Bible. That student will most often state that they are (in spite of the fact that most are only minimally aware of what the Bible teaches). I ask them if they are suggesting that I throw the baby out with the bathwater. Most will concede the wisdom that the Bible contains.

What we have now agreed on is that there are parts of the Bible that are not stupid. The Bible is not just dumb stories. But let’s talk about those stories. You know the ones that I am talking about. There is that story about Jonah and the whale, and the one about God only needing a week to create the entire world. There is the parting of the Red Sea, Noah and the Ark, Jesus walking on water and then coming back to life. We can’t really be stupid enough to believe those stories, can we? Hang on to that thought.

Did you know that George Washington never cut down a cherry tree. Based on that, I have tossed out my history books. They are all so full of lies. Doing that would make me stupid. Let’s decide right now, that one difficult to understand story does not eliminate the wisdom or truth written through the rest of a book.

I actually am smart enough to believe in those had to understand stories. You see, The Bible tells us stories that are pretty easy to defend. Jonah was swallowed by a “great fish,” the size of which can be seen on a regular basis. The story becomes harder to believe if the largest fish ever seen or recorded was a bass. More than that, we have three recorded non-biblical accounts of people being swallowed by whales. Two of those people died, but one man, a whaler, lived to tell about it. It is difficult to believe for sure, but it has been verified as possible.

What about the Hebrews walking across the Red Sea? How could we believe that? I have two answers. The first is that people used to walk from Russia to Alaska all the time. They did it by crossing over a land bridge that stretched across the Bering Strait. The bridge is now covered over, but the strait is significantly shallower than the rest of the sea. But how could that happen in a matter of hours? That is what people find impossible. We don’t think that it is impossible when it happens to a huge river though. And it does happen often to rivers. It also happens in Lake Superior. In a wind occurrence called a “Seiche,” winds have actually left ships high and dry in ridiculously short periods of time.

There is also evidence that chariots were swallowed up by the waters of the Red Sea. In a place not too unlike the Bering Sea’s land bridge, The Red Sea has a shallow section (more precisely, an underwater mountain range) that would have required much less to have been cleared of water. And then there are the chariot wheels and Egyptian weapons in that section of the Red Sea. It is not too hard to imagine at least a possibility of a day when people would have been able to cross the Red Sea on foot.
I can do this for each miracle. I can understand it from a scientific perspective. I don’t though.

You see, if I believe in God, and I have had enough personal evidence of God’s existence to keep me faithful for eternity, then things like a resurrection or the amount of time it takes God to create anything does not bother me.

Honestly, I have seldom spoken to someone who has put much work into their disbelief. I, on the other hand, have invested everything in understanding why I believe what I do. 100 years ago, people would not have believed that space travel was possible. They would not be able to accept TV, or the internet as realities. Our belief changes as we have new information.

I own the one piece of information that makes each of these questions simple to explain. I know God. I have His Son living in my life. That is something that a skeptic cannot argue against. It does not mean I’m stupid. Dumb questions, in contrast may mean something about the asker. Maybe the problem is that people do not believe in a big enough god.

The One True God

Sun, 18 Dec 2016 21:20 -0400

I have made a promise to attempt to answer a few of the more difficult questions that we get asked here at Crossroads Farm. In beginning I should state that all of these questions have been answered far more thoroughly by people far smarter than me. I hope though that the answers I propose will be helpful to the many people that have consistently asked them through the years. Today’s question is this.

“How can you believe in only one god?”

I believe that another way to ask this question is this. “Given that the world is so full of people who believe in different gods, how can you be so sure that there is only one?”

My answer is pretty straight forward. There are many gods. I am not looking for one to trust. I am looking for the One great God. In a world of what the Bible calls “false gods,” Jehovah God has stated it pretty clearly. He is the God above all other gods.

Satan is considered the god of this age. I believe that the gods of other religions have power, but these powers come from the same source. The Bible has said, (and I will explain why I believe that it is right) that Satan masquerades as an angel of light. His legions of demons have powers that we as humans do not. They are pretend gods. They live in order to trick people.

The Hindu religion claims to have hundreds of thousands of gods. The Egyptians served many Gods. The Greeks even had an altar for the gods they may have not have remembered. The Romans worshipped lots of gods. The Incas, Aztecs and Mayans offered children in sacrifices to their gods. The Norsemen worshipped gods that looked like them. I ask the simple question. Are there really that many different gods? If there are, then which one rules them all? I believe that these false gods all represent Satan. Any lie they tell works against THE ONE TRUE GOD.

More does not mean that all are equal.

Psalm 4:2, 3 How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods…

Jeremiah 11:12 The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes.

1 Cor. 10:20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.

Let me put it to you this way. If I am going to eat at one restaurant for the rest of my life, I want to chose the one that is best. Many restaurants does not mean that all are equally good choices, do they. Variety doesn’t come into play either. If this one truly great place to eat states, “We are the best. You can have whatever you want here. We have just one condition. You can only eat here for as long as you live.”

Even if every other restaurant tells me that all restaurants are equal and that they are good with me eating at any of them, it does not mean I can experience the One True Restaurant.

The real question is whether or not Jehovah God is that one great God.
There is only one God that created the heavens and the earth. It is Jehovah God.
There is only one God who saw that men could not keep the law by themselves. It was Jehovah.
Only one God sent an offering that was for all time. It was Jehovah God.
Only one God loves mankind enough to sacrifice for it. It was Jehovah God.
Only one God has said that they are eternal and have been working on our eternal place called heaven for a long time.

There are many gods (or should I say “prophets”) who claim that they (their gods) have done some of these things, but there is only one that claimed he has done all of them.

For me, the choice to believe in a god is easy. God (or Jehovah, his Hebrew name) has claimed that we will be able to know him through his son, Jesus. It all comes down to Jesus.

It’s All Big Stuff

Fri, 21 Oct 2016 22:07 -0400

I was reading this morning about a friend who quit smoking one year ago. He said that the way he stopped was to put the money he would spend on cigarettes in the bank. In just one year that special account held over $5000. Habit cured.

I began to think about the accounts that I systematically take from in order to “purchase” something really harmful. What I mean is this. A person has to take from his/her marriage account to view pornography, look at someone lustfully or have an affair. Another person steals from their “Made-In-The-Image-Of-God” account in order to allow friends to speak poorly of them or to be a part of an abusive relationship. A third person robs his account called “Meaningful and Fulfilling Career,” in order to continue to work at a dead-end, negative energy job. I take away the opportunity to invest in my “Spiritual Growth” account in order to sleep in, skip church or neglect reading my Bible, daily.

Think about this from a positive perspective instead though. Think about the investment I make in my romantic relationship when I live in purity. Imagine the deposits when I have surrounded myself with people who pour encouragement into my life. Reflect on the difference my heart feels each day as I do what God made me to do! The benefits that a focused discipline on God’s Word and my prayer life would be incalculable. These investments would also be compounded, right?

That’s what we mean by “Big Stuff.” A person weighs 600 pounds, by eating thousands of bacon double cheeseburgers with fries and a shake. They don’t eat one 600 pound burger. I lose my relationships one comment, lustful side-glance and one lingering thought at a time. I lose my hope each day I work the wrong job, until I cannot foresee myself attempting something more. I lose my faith a little with each unconfessed sin, a day further away from God’s ear and one selfish ambition at a time.

I read another article that reminded me that one penny, compounded and doubled each day ends up being worth about ten million dollars in just one month. If you don’t believe me, do the math. It’s all big stuff. Zootopia says it this way, “Changing the world, one carrot at a time.”
Each thought, action and word add up. The Bible talks about these investments.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17

Time to start making some deposits.

What God Really Cares About

Wed, 05 Oct 2016 11:58 -0400

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is not my favorite story. If you saw the Disney version I need to tell you that Walt’s version is not close to the original. The story ends with Quasimodo dying in the catacombs of Paris with his arms wrapped around his dead love, Esmeralda. It was creepy. It was also a waste. No amount of sacrificial love was bringing the hunchback's girlfriend back.

That started a weird tangential thought. I know what Jesus died for. I also realize that most people don’t really understand why he died. They think that God cares about getting stuff done. Stuff like making sinners repent, keeping Hell hot enough, making sure that the pearly gates are all shined up, and answering prayers for the people he likes. Most people think that God really cares about getting stuff done.

They’re wrong.God cares about you.He created you. He wants to have a great friendship with you and everything he has done since the beginning of time was about letting you understand that you are the thing that he cares the most for. Wow.

That is what he wanted them to know when he created the beauty of earth. They are his love. When he offered man a system of law in order to keep them healthy and at peace, it was to demonstrate that he was worth order. When he washed evil off the planet, when he sent messengers called prophets, and when he ultimately sent Jesus to die for them, he was telling the story of how much he loved you and how beautiful the story could be with you living with him. It is the opposite of the Hunchback. When Jesus died embracing you he came back to life with you.

I Want To Be A Star!

Tue, 27 Sep 2016 14:28 -0400

"children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. Philippians 2:15

So my question for the week is this, “What does a shining star look like in my world?”

Let’s talk about your world first.

High School and Junior High are brutal at times. There are these incredible “Bright” moments, like when you get an unexpected “A” on a test or a note from someone you really like. Then there are the really dark times. There are days when your best friend betrays you or you have an incredibly embarrassing moment. The darkest moments in a student’s life are lonely, depressing and awful. You might feel as if you can’t tell someone about what is going on. Maybe you did and they mocked you. School can be a really dark place for all of us, but just imagine what it is for outcasts. It is the darkest possible prison of isolation and rejection.

You are the light. The way that looks is like this.

1. Sometimes stars shine simply because they Do what they are supposed to do.

Think about it. At school, people stick out for doing simple things, like homework, saying “Please” and “Thank You,” and clean up a mess they helped to make. Each day, start keeping a list of the things you need to do and then finish them on that day.

2. Stars don’t really shine unless someone sees it.

Deliberately pick one kid each day that could use some light and compliment them or say something really positive to them. Make this a habit. Watch how the environment around you changes.

3. Shining brightly means being different

Your world is sarcastic hostile and mean. Be the opposite of that. Look for the positive thing about the people around you.

4. Be bold enough to tell people why you shine (The source of your light.)

At the end of Crossroads we asked you if you had enough light to change your school. The answer is that Jesus, living through you does.

The Bible says that when we give Jesus credit in front of our friends, He gives credit to us to God the Father. Shine your light back on Jesus Christ.

That is where our focus should be anyway

Am I really made in the image of God?

Fri, 23 Sep 2016 12:01 -0400

Am I really made in the image of God?
Am I really what he had in mind?
What does God look like?
What am I supposed to look like?
What if I decide I want a different image?
Don’t I have the right to pick my own life?
Do I have to be like God to be happy?

These are a few of the questions that I had when I started to think about being made in God’s image. I am pretty sure that I have a handle on some of it, but there is one question that I haven’t quite figured out yet. It is this one.

“Why did God want us to look like him?” Is it that he lacks creativity, looked in the mirror and thought, “Well, I guess I can make some mini-mees.” I kinda doubt that.
I think it has to do with who God is. The creator God…

It is easy to think that our parents, teachers, bosses and even our God, want us to do something for them, when actually, they are asking us to do something for themselves. Your parent may ask for you to keep your room clean because they want for you to learn to be organized. A teacher asks for you to do your homework because they want for you to be disciplined, get good grades, go to college and have a fulfilled life. A boss may ask for you to work overtime and fill in the reports because they are looking to promote you.

These things are designed for our good but feel like they impose on my life.

God created you as a masterpiece. We’ll talk more on that on October 9th, but for now, what I want you to know is that God understands what makes you fulfilled, joyful and shine. He knows that because he made you a certain way. It’s hard to see in yourself what God already sees in you.

The rules that God has set up for us are designed to keep us living in the flow of his plan. I think of the things that God says are best for us as if they are signs in our lives. Some of them are DANGER signs. Some of them are ATTRACTION signs, and some of them are mile markers. God’s plan can work like this.

He warns us about sleeping around. The small print is like a drug commercial ending. You know. Where the drug company warns you that taking this drug may have side effects.

“Snoria can help 3 out of 1000 patients experience a good nights rest. Always consult your physician to see if Snoria is right for you. In some cases, patients have complained about nausea, diahrea, hives, excessive acne outbreaks, loss of taste sight and hearing. Less than 20 percent may experience slight cases of leprosy. If a part of your body falls off while taking Snoria discontinue use immediately and call your physician. Other side effects include ebola, stupid children, decreased desire for life, bad SAT scores, and global warming. Snoria… for the person who is willing to risk everything for a good night’s rest.”

The second sign is an attraction sign: Healthy Incredible Marriage… Followed by a mile marker: 3 Boyfriends away.

If you had this information ahead of time, you most likely would not make the same mistakes. This is why knowing what God has written about your life in the Bible is so important. Take a few minutes to ask God to begin to reveal what you look like if you live in God’s Image.

Music City

Thu, 28 May 2015 15:56 -0400

CRF Rocks Music City

Hiawatha 2015!

Thu, 28 May 2015 15:17 -0400

Download Hiawatha Youth Camp forms here.

Clarity

Tue, 19 May 2015 11:40 -0400

We have these moments of ministerial clarity. They generally follow weeks, months and years of stupidity.

Mine came this morning in jail.

I wonder how many times that has happened?

Now just for the record, and more to the point of assuring those who have always thought this might happen to me, I was visiting someone there. The visit itself was not the catalizing agent. It was the drive from the jail to another touch-base with a staff member. My usual course from one appointment to the next is to try and get into my office and spend some time planning, studying or doing other important stuff. Stuff, I might add that will never get done, or be missed. It is stuff that seems a bit more professional though.

What I did, instead, is to stop by another staff members place of employment just to say, “HI.” Actually, I was responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. If this seems like a rambling commentary from the author of the children’s book, “If You Give A Moose A Muffin…” well, I’m not that person. It is my mind, however. Hence, there is comfort and productivity of a solitary office. I can’t be annoyed, interrupted and distracted by the voice of the living God.

My epiphany is that when God’s voice is contrary to my plans for the day, I must not be walking very closely to him. It happened, on my way from one place to another; from one person to another. It should not surprise me. This is what God cares about. If God needs for me to have more time in the office, he can stop the sun again. In the meantime I am hearing his voice remind me of this truth.

God is more concerned with who I am in him, than what I do for him. I am the product of his grace, love and mercy. The cross was not a task for Christ as much as it was his relationship to me.

That is what this morning has been about. Relationships. You see, I cannot predict impact. I can only predict schedule. The rub has come from my belief that I am supposed to predict anything. Today, I am going to engage people. In that way, I am the mouth, hands and feet of Christ. Hmm?

I need to go to meet another friend. After that, I think I will pick up a student who is living in a bad situation. Gotta go. I’m hearing something.

The Shed

Wed, 30 Apr 2014 16:28 -0400

You can't change the whole world...but you can change this one.

Happy 15th Anniversary!

Fri, 11 Apr 2014 10:49 -0400

In May, Crossroads Farm will be celebrating their 15th Anniversary! Celebrate with us!

I AM THAT HERO! Winter Retreat 2014

Mon, 21 Oct 2013 12:25 -0400

Winter Retreat SIGN UP FORM & Ski Release form & Packing / Info list

Download the form, fill it out and email it back to rich@crossroadsfarm.org...or mail to 5520 W. Card Rd., Reading, MI 49274

Join us at the I AM THAT HERO! Winter Retreat 2014.

Ultimate Date Night Coming to CRF!

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:30 -0400

An evening of adult fun for married couples is scheduled for Saturday May 4th, at North Reading Baptist Church on Bankers Rd. in Reading Michigan. Jay and Laura Laffoon have been hosting one of the most enjoyable mariage events on the planet for a while. CRF is hosting the event and invites you to invite your friends who are married, engaged or in a serious relationship to join us for a night of hillarity and romance.

Tickets are just $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Refreshments will be served at intermission! Call the CRF office today to make reservations for this incredible night!

TO PURCHASE TICKETS! http://merch.crossroadsfarm.org/product/just-for-parents

WATCH THE VIDEO TO SEE WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gJNlZS1UeY&feature=youtu.be

Oh Grow Up!

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:51 -0400

Have you ever looked back at the pictures you have of you when you were a freshman in High School? Do you remember how grown up you thought you were?

I have a picture of me in a leisure suite with a big bow tie, and high heeled shows. My hair was split down the middle and wigged out on both sides above my ears. Yep. It pays to be around the day the clown dies.

I recall feeling, not only, dashing, stylish and cool, but I actually thought that I looked old. I was positive that 17-year-old girls probably wondered who the new senior was. I was my illusion.

I’m not really embarrassed by the picture because, in 1974 a pale blue leisure suit was stylish and somewhat cool. If I still wore my hair the same way today however, I would have cause for embarrassment. Style has moved on past the 70’s. It moved past the Bee Gees, permed Afro’s for white guys, and the over-heightened shoes. My ankles, record player and mirror have all expressed gratitude to me in writing.

Spiritually, I have also moved on. I have grown in my understanding of God’s grace, love, sacrifice, provision and expectation for my life. In short, I am living each day in pursuit of a deeper, richer, more faithful and anticipatory faith than the one I understood as a freshman.

Someday, I will write a book about the adolescent faith I see expressed by life-long believers. I will call it , “Stalled At Fourteen.”

I know some people who are stalled at the developmental age of 14. What that means is that they have not progressed emotionally, mentally or spiritually since their freshman year in High school and their lives reflect that. Their church politics reflect it. Their commitment to evangelism, giving, service, sacrifice and discipline reflects it. Frankly, our commitments to Church, marriage, missions and Bible study, you know, the old fashioned stuff, reflects it. They will not: simply refuse to work at their faith.

The pervading sentiment among most Christians that I encounter is that my mediocrity is what God is happy with. He should be happy that I made it to church. He should be happy for a twenty in the offering plate. God should be pleased if I occasionally help out by ushering, working the nursery or painting a church in the third world once a decade. The fact is, that we have looked at ourselves in the spiritual mirror and congratulated ourselves for looking so grown up in our leisure suit. God saw it coming.

In 1 Corinthians chapter three, Paul scolds the immature church in Corinth for the mentality that I have sometimes. He said, in verse 2, “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.”

Some of you may be inclined to yell, “Wait! We are supposed to be like babies in our faith! In Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Somebody else may say, “Yes! And don’t forget that in 1 Peter 2:2, God said, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,”

Yep. It is true that we all start faith like babies. I wonder if it isn’t time to move past diapers and bottles. It is time to move beyond the Bee Gees and the pale blue leisure suit. We don’t really look as mature as we think.

Winter Retreat is COMING!!!

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:51 -0400

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHEH5EHtzws

The Greeting Tradition in the Era of Hand Sanitizer

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:26 -0400

I was standing in a church where I was about to speak and the pastor announced, with a sadistic smile that it was time to greet each other. This statement was welcomed with a din of unbridled collective chatter. Being new to the church, I did what all newcomers do. I held my ground.

I believe that the church is the last place where we actively and systematically “Greet” people. If you consider it for very long, you probably would realize, along with me, that this tradition of accosting people we do not recognize with zealous niceness, is maybe… Ummm… frightening.

Place yourself at Walmart. A gregarious voice comes over the speakers heralding that it is 10:00 A.M. walmart-time. That means that you are to welcome other shoppers to the store. How would that fly?

I’m the type of person that doesn’t mind meeting new people, shaking a few hands and perhaps, if the atmosphere is just right, exchanging warm hugs. If the welcoming ritual happened at a store, however, I bowl over the door greeter in an attempt to get out. As it was, being that I had to stay and speak at the church, I protected myself by coughing and sneezing directly into my own hands each time someone approached.

Immediately, after the greeting period, indicated by a few quips by the worship leader regarding how friendly this church was, I could literally smell gallons of hand sanitizer being poured over the welcoming hands.

Imagine Jesus, after he touches the leper in Matthew, chapter eight, runs down to the river and begins to scrub off his top three layers of skin. It may make an impression that Jesus was less convinced of the healing than the rest of us.

I suppose my thoughts on the matter are pretty simple.

Whenever we institutionalize something personal, it makes it creepy. If the people of God took this principle of welcome outside the doors of the church and hugged, loved and invited a culture of lepers into our lives, the gospel of Christ would become vibrant. We need to take it outside.

Just in case God tells me to do something for a leper. I have purchased a small pocket sized hand sanitizer.

Matthew 8:17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“He took up our infirmities
and carried our diseases.”

Winter Retreat is COMING!!!

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 10:45 -0400

http://youtu.be/5-cOgiQckf0