An Attitude of Servitude

I am a proud dog owner!  I “rescued” a pup from the pound a couple weeks ago and since then, my social life has increased dramatically as I transitioned away from talking to myself and talking to Charlie, my massive puppy of a mutt.  It seems that Charlie was abused as a younger fellow (he is only 1) so it has been difficult building trust with him, but he is coming around and warming up to his bear of a new Dad… Me!  This is Charlie.  He is a beast.

Now that I have said I am a proud dog owner, I want to challenge the idea of ownership in this relationship.  Let’s be real, in no way do I own Charlie.  In fact, it is the exact opposite, he owns me.  I walk him on a daily basis, I feed him, I pet him, I PICK UP HIS POOP and I talk to him.  I asked myself the other day, “What does Charlie do for me?”  When you think about it, being a pet owner is entirely an act of servitude.

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So my question now, is why we see our relationships with pets as self-fulfilling?  Maybe it is because it is in our nature to serve.  Maybe it’s because Christ called us to care.  I have been challenged by this.  The world tells us that it is in our nature to be selfish, but we are created in the image of God which means it is in our nature to love others and to serve.  Having a pet is a subconscious act of servitude because we NEED to serve.  The desire is within us and it needs an outlet.  

So why pets?  I think it is because it is much easier to serve something that can’t speak.  We are relieved from casting judgment against animals because “they don’t know any better”.  It may also be because they are stinking adorable.  There is nothing like a satisfied puppy curling up on your lap for a back rub.  When animals poop, we congratulate them for doing it in the proper place and when they pee in the house, we pop them on the nose only to apologize a hundred times for hitting them. 

What about our fellow man?  We see someone in need of rescue and think “I wonder what he did to get himself into that situation”.  We make up excuses as to why we can’t serve the homeless, or the poor, or the diseased, but we have time to walk our dogs because they have been “cooped up all day”.  We invite stray animals into our house before a man or woman without a home. 

It is time to stop believing that we are inherently selfish and learn that we are called to serve.  If we find joy in serving dogs and cats, think about how much greater our joy would be in serving Gods people.  Like I said, I have been challenged by Charlie.  I encourage all of you to take time out of your day to think about the silly things we do and re-evaluate our reasoning for them.  God may just show you some cool stuff!  Now that I've preached it, I gotta go live it.  God Bless!    

Christopher

This Sunday night, our church was hosting a farewell dinner for one of our faculty members.  It was requested by the congregation that the youth serve the dinner for those that were attending.  It was amazing to see my students so excited and energetic to serve.  We had a great time and smiles filled the room of about 150.  I was touched by how thankful the congregation was with the student’s simple act of servitude, but meeting my new friend Christopher was definitely the highlight. 

Christopher is a young man of 18 with Down syndrome. I have no idea who his parents are or where he came from but he ended up sitting by the door where dinner was to be served from.  As no one bothered to introduce the two of us, I took initiative and introduced myself.  He was very kind and seemed excited to meet me as well.  After a brief intro, we began talking about the night and I asked if he was going to help us serve dinner.  He replied with a yes (after I told him Free Pizza was involved).  I then gave him a pair of gloves and he was off to the races.  I noticed Christopher as he went from table to table with a pitcher of water excited to be able to provide someone with a nice cold drink to wash down their food.  He continued on this way for some time, but most of those who were dining had an ample water supply.  Whereas most would have given up, Christopher pressed on until he spotted it…  He found what he was looking for...  A place to put the water.  He bee-lined towards the only empty table (which had no water) in the entire sanctuary and set his pitcher down.  As he smiled, I felt his accomplishment from across the room.  He then saw that I was watching him and came over to me, gave me a high five and said, “Took care of it boss”.   This absolutely amazed me.  It didn’t amaze me because of the irony of the action, but it brought to light a wishful understanding.

Christopher finds joy in the little things.  He showed me how needs can be met simply and with great satisfaction.  He did not seek praise or congratulations, he simply found joy in service.  I can’t attest to his reasoning behind it nor can I assume that any of this was intentional.  But Christopher did not quit. He knew that water was needed somewhere.  When he found it, he did not hesitate to provide.  Whether that water would be consumed or not, it was there, available to anyone who was called to it by the thirst of their lips.  Christopher “took care of it.”

To be honest I haven’t really thought about Christopher or this story until tonight when I was working on a new blog entry.  I was trying so hard to explain why Christ is about surrender, not acceptance. My mind was fumbling words and misplacing meaning and near the end of it, I am not sure if I even believed let alone understood what I had written.  I became so focused on being right that I lost understanding.  The Christian faith is as argumentative as politics and as disconnected as land is by water.  My disconnect comes from an attempt to place value on my thoughts and beliefs when in reality I am just thirsty.  Christ is the water and his truth is satisfaction.  All I need to do is find it, and drink.  

This story is less about Christopher placing the water at an empty table and more about the understanding of thirst.   Maybe Christopher had it figured out.  Maybe he knew that when people get thirsty, they will look for water.  And what happens when people look for things???                                       

They find it

The Start of a new Standard

This is a little look into the direction of the youth program here at Grace Presbyterian in Temecula California.

There is yet again another energy crisis in California.  The crisis I speak of has nothing to do with electrical surges, power outages or home energy conservation, but the lack of reflective and transformational learning within the youth of this generation.  It is evident that young people’s lives are being consumed by routine, expectations and pressures put on them by our culture to be the best.  Competition takes over their hearts as approval is sought after from friends, parents, coaches and teachers.  Evaluation is becoming a constant in the lives of our students, and in their attempts to please everyone else, it is easy to forget who they are.  Students are beginning to define themselves by their grades, rank, positions, appearance and friend groups.  This is a scary thought.

             Our youth program “Outlet” is taking a break from society and redefining who we are, and who we are meant to be in the image of God.  It is our goal to take away the evaluative nature of our culture and instead of “do” we will just “be”.  We are working hard to create an atmosphere where students can gather and simply be themselves without societal pressures to be what is expected.  Christ tells us again and again that He is enough and He wants us just as we are.  It is our duty as the bridegroom of Christ to establish a strength and confidence in our youth and in ourselves so that we may be the salt of the earth. 

            This month, we are working towards taking our Jr. High students to a weekend retreat February 24^th-26^th so that we may amp up our desire to discover who God is and what that means for us.  We are also looking into a similar event for the Sr. High in March where they can escape and take time to grow their own relationships with Christ through practicing solitude, prayer, and group discussion.  Please be praying for our youth as we are continuing to pray for the congregation as a whole.  

Does Jesus Hate Religion? Kinda, Sorta, Not Really – Kevin DeYoung

Does Jesus Hate Religion? Kinda, Sorta, Not Really – Kevin DeYoung:

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Hello.  I read this article after watching the video and can't stop thinking about how far people can take such little things about our faith.  I wrote what will follow in response to what some folks said about the church and religion being against Christ.  It was hard to hear being that I work in a church and feel i practice religion because of my love for Jesus.  This is no doubt an excellent article, worth the time to read even if you don't care much for my response.  Much Love Peeps of the world!



I really enjoyed this article. I believe it was a well thought out and a very appropriate response. I was incredibly disheartened by the response. It seems that Kevin merely responded with biblical insight to a poem. Being inherently human, people saw it as a personal attack or an attempt at justification (of which, none is needed). There were many truths about this poem and it undoubtedly has effected those who have heard it. But to say that Jesus HATES religion is irresponsible, unless your definition of religion is established. In my mind, religion is not hated by Jesus, but religion is how we act out our love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on this Earth. Everything that is in existence, is actively living out in response to the cross for it is by grace alone that we are in a position of salvation. While reading the responses, I noticed a lot of judgement and outcry against the church and religion because of Jesus’ words and actions towards the pharisees. Was it their religion that he hated? Or was is in fact their lack of understanding of who He was. If you want to sit here and tell me that Christ loves you but hated the pharisees, then you are one with them as I am now one with you. Christ loves you through your sin as he loves me through mine, and the pharisees through theirs. In my mind, religion is not something you HAVE to practice, it is something you WANT to practice because you want to know Jesus more intimately. I am discouraged at the negative response towards rules and the idea of being a slave. Was it not Christ who practiced obedience in all circumstances? Was is not Christ who was a slave to righteousness and refused to do wrong? Was it not Christ who through prayer, Gods word and discipline, drew from the the Heavenly Father in order to do what was necessary for our salvation? In no way am I saying I need to be a certain way or have earned my salvation, because none of us have, but I want to be a light for Jesus in the world and that goes hand in hand with the way I live out my relationship with Christ. To those who think your relationship with Christ is between you and Him, refer to the Greatest “commandment” that CHRIST gives us which is to “Love the lord your God with all your heart, your soul and your strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.” As far as the rejection of the church, open your eyes. Can’t you see that it isn’t the church, or its mission, or its foundation that is faulty; but the corruption of man within it that is broken. I used to be against the idea of church, thinking that spiritual survival outside the body was achievable. I along with many others have had poor church experiences where faith was put in the leadership rather than in Christ. I am now a youth pastor and I urge you to remember who created the Church and why is was created. The church was created to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19) I also challenge you to provide me with an answer as to why the church still stands after 2,000 years if religion and Church are terrible by nature? You can say what you want about mega churches and the money that flows through them, but I tell you this, there is more money flowing out of them in attempts to feed the poor, provide fresh water wells for those without, schooling, sex and hygiene education, and providing sanctuary for the hungry, sick and needy in their community than almost any other organization. In the church I serve in now, our goal isn’t to bring people into the church, but as a body of believers, bring Jesus to people! In the end, we are all just speculating on a complexity that none of us will fully understand until the day we receive our judgment. But when writing responses, posting videos or articles, remember that this walk is not an easy one and be thoughtful in your declarations because Jesus tells us that it is better for one to have never existed than to lead any of Gods children astray.