"They Only Have To Get Lucky Once"

Still processing what I learned as a result of our time in New Orleans and really what I've learned over the years as a Christian - not just as a pastor. And at this point what I'm learning is that I'm not nearly as much like Jesus as I hoped I was.

My life is still more self-centered than cross centered. That for all the books I've read, all the sermons I've read, listened to, written, and preached - I am still not THERE. During that time away, I was more concerned about myself and Bunny, and our vacation than I was about people. That can't happen. Ever.

One of the reporters asked one of the security professionals after 9/11 "How can we make sure that this never happens again?" You could see the policeman's brain working as he thought and then he said "The thing is, we have to be perfect. Every day we have to find and prevent any and all threats from being carried out. We have to  achieve 100% perfection. They only have to get lucky once."

Was reading this earlier today and it occurred to me that there's no way we can do this in our own strength. If we do, we will fail.

9 Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. 10 Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. 11 Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, 12 cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. 13 Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. 14 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. 15 Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. 16 Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody. 17 Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. 18 If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. 19 Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it." 20 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. 21 Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good. Romans 12:9-21 (MSG)

Who can do all that - keep doing all that? No one. We're just not that good -just not that kind. It's impossible simply because we are human. But with God's Spirit working in us, with His love replacing our cold hearts, we can see glimpses of what we were created to be. I'm just not there yet, and I've said my apologies to God and I repeat them to all you who might read this. Mea culpa

"They" got lucky once. The opposition robbed us of a chance to see God at work. Doesn't mean that God's will for the young man was thwarted. But we missed a chance to be a part.

My mission from this point on is to be so in touch with the Holy Spirit regardless of where I am to never see that happen again. I can't run and run without rest anymore because when I do unplug and go somewhere on vacation, I'm so dry that I lose my ability to sense when the Spirit is at work.  So I've got to bring my life into balance and stay there. "Physician, heal thyself" used to be a joke.

Well, practice what you preach did too. But not to me. Not now.

Face to Face With the Enemy

So we managed to scrape up enough money and plastic to take a Mother's day weekend trip to New Orleans. It was a chance to unplug from the intensity that is the life in a pastor's family. Thanks to brother Jack Anderson, I knew that the people at our beloved New Hope would hear a word from the Lord that Sunday. And thanks to the leaders in the church, I knew that the pressing issue of our two dead A/C units would be put to a vote and handled with grace.

We left and jumped up on I-10 and personally I could feel the stress fall away. While I practice placing my faith in what happens in my life and my church in the hands of God, all of you in ministry know that it's really really hard to not be thinking about "church". But it was working, and I turned my focus on making sure Bunny had the best vacation ever. Friends, the wives of the pastors in your churches carry a heavy load without much notice. They need a break. And with this being the first Mother's Day since Bunny's Mom passed away I was determined that she would enjoy herself and remember the time in NOLA forever.

Both of those goals were met.

If you ask Bunny, I think she'll tell you it was the best vacation we've ever had together. And I know she'll tell you that she will never forget it. Up to a point, that will be because she really enjoyed herself. She took each day as it came, and was able to live in the moments as they came - no outside pressure and no worries. She saw art in bunches, we visited churches, a synagogue, and cemeteries. We ate food we normally wouldn't and slept more than we ever would. She had a blast and I did too - in part just watching her.

New Orleans isn't exactly my kind of place. It's a little rough around the edges. It's pretty raw when it comes to selling sex and the party lifestyle. And it has plenty of people that either caused me to check my options in case we were about to get mugged, others that looked to be in altered states, a few that were dressed freakily - even painted, and some that were just wanting a buck or two. They all seemed to be part of the "scene."  At no point did I see them in any other way.

Just like my toothbrush and toothpaste, I left my compassion and my caring heart at home. The first we solved at Walgreens. The second I never really did while I was on the streets of New Orleans. When I was with "safe" or "church" people, I connected. On the streets and in the square, I did everything but.

Sigh...

In the cartoon above, Pogo has just realized that instead of being part of the solution, he is part of the problem. I didn't realize that until my wife's heart was broken over our utter lack of Christlike love for this young man once we returned and she realized we never asked his name.

For me, he hit several of the categories of people in NOLA I listed above. He was part of the scenery - musicians are all over the French Quarter, usually wanting money. He looked strung out to me,which is why I was trying before this picture was taken to get Bunny on down the street. But he was singing a song and she caught his eye, and he wound up catching us as I tried to move along. Bunny had me take her picture with him, and I'll let her tell the story that leads up to that. Let's just say I had an opening you could have driven a truck through, but my head and heart weren't screwed on straight.

We walked away and neither of us knew his name, or whether he had eaten, had a place to stay, or knew that God loved him. I'm a pastor. I left the business world because of a direct call from God to love His people and to spread the good news of Jesus. I've been at this for many years and talked to lots of people about Jesus. But this young man, who could have been one of our sons, I never even prayed for. The opportunity I had to show the love of God to Him as a believer, as a pastor - came and left.

Father, forgive me. Lord Jesus, give me what I lack of you that I might never ever leave my compassion and love for my neighbor behind no matter where I go. And please let someone else find this young man and remind him that Jesus cares.

Even if a pastor when on vacation didn't.

A Fresh Pair of Eyes

From New Orleans 2010

We saw a lot in New Orleans last week.  I joked this morning that we spent more time in church on vacation than we normally do. We visited Touro synagogue, and three Catholic churches and a convent for good measure. The absolute highlight of those explorations though, was meeting Jack Guidry. We almost missed the opportunity. We ate lunch and were headed back toward the French Quarter and saw the sign for the church and the Father Selos Shrine and turned down a street into a neighborhood that included St. Mary's Assumption church, a church operated home for the elderly, the Selos Shrine and museum, and a Catholic school.

From New Orleans 2010

When we walked into the church, a workman eating lunch in the doorway told us to watch our step, because they were repairing termite damage inside and we "might fall through the floor." It's possible he's not on the regular greeter's team. :) Bunny was almost beside herself at the beauty that presented itself from every angle. While she rushed from place to place, I caught the eye of a man with a lanyard and badge who introduced himself as a volunteer. "I'm Jack Guidry" he said, and the warmth of his presence was evident immediately. To call what he gave us a "tour" would be to belittle it and him. He gave us his heart for God and for his Church.

From New Orleans 2010

His knowledge of the church was amazing - he didn't know everything, but "he'd only been there 20 years." For over an hour, he took us through the amazing story of how the church was built, the short but incredible meaningful ministry of Father Selos, the church today, and so many facts about the art, furnishings, and people who made (and make) up that parish that we listened hard, lest we miss a word. His narrative was interrupted at one point by a woman and her husband. She was wearing a patch over one eye and came forward and hugged Jack and proceeded to tell him that she had undergone surgery for brain cancer. While she lost one eye, she was in good health now and her future was bright. She credited the prayers of Jack, the people in the church, and of the saints for the blessing of healing. She had come into church to pray the day before her surgery and met Jack. He prayed with her and gave her a relic from Father Selos, who was known for his compassion and care for the sick. She returned it to Jack as we watched and saw the woman, her husband, and Jack share the joy of the knowledge that God heard their prayers and acted on her behalf.

It was worship - and it was amazing to stand there and watch it.

As they left and we stepped outside to make our way to the museum and gift shop, Bunny walked off to take a picture of something in the garden and I told Jack that I got the feeling that his church was one of those places the ancient Celtic Christians called "thin places." Those believers, who really kept the faith alive during the Dark Ages, practiced the spiritual disciplines of solitude and meditation with a fierceness rarely seen. In that pursuit, they looked for places where they felt the presence of God was stronger. They called them "thin places" where they believed the distance between the "now" and the Kingdom of God was smaller or "thinner." The look on his face was priceless. A bigger, warmer smile I don't think I've ever seen.

We continued our exploration together and when we left we had a great appreciation for the work of the Christians who literally carried the materials to build that church brick by brick from the river. But they have nothing on Jack, who's carrying the message today in such a winsome way that you want to move there and worship with him - even if you are a Baptist. :) Such a grace-filled man.

Jack

Bunny and I have a friend and a brother in Christ in New Orleans and his name is Jack Guidry.

Unplugged

Saturday night and I'm in my usual place, making sure my brain and the powerpoint for tomorrow are both ready. But this time last week, Bunny and I were in New Orleans and were off the "grid." Normally, I'd have written all week about what we experienced, but for some reason I didn't feel that I could adequately do that without some time to look back and reflect on just what we saw and did.

New Orleans got to me.

The picture above was of the Cathedral as the sun was going down. Last Saturday night we happened to be down there on the square as a wedding party came out of the cathedral. The bells rang in joy and the whole effect was almost magical. That area was just stunning, and yet it also was a place where the people who seemed to be "lost" in every sense of the word congregated. There were several fortune tellers at any time, people who dressed weirdly and people had their pictures taken with them, musicians (including one guy on a recorder that was awful), and street people.

Despite the location near to the most beautiful church exterior in NOLA, it seemed to me that the "light of the world" was unplugged. We were down there every single night and at no time did we see any hint of Christian influence and only heard one attempt at "Amazing Grace." Hint - it helps to know the words. The darkness especially in the French Quarter really bothered me while we were there and still does. I was frankly stunned by it and woefully unprepared to "do something" about it. I've wondered since that given the churches in the area, the presence of seminaries including New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary just a few miles away, why groups of musicians couldn't come down every night and sing. Why couldn't compassion teams check on the street people - build relationships with the fortune tellers and the like - why couldn't Jesus be seen down there every day.

If you remember, a while back I wrote about how many children are dying from lack of clean water, from treatable illnesses, and I posed this question: Are you okay with that?

Fair enough? Given we can do something about it?

Well, are we okay with giving the devil the French Quarter in New Orleans?

We (the Church - all of us) have to do better. We have to be great at the Great Commission - everywhere.

Pray for New Orleans. Pray that God would raise up a mighty wave of grace and love that would flood the French Quarter and bring glory to Jesus and people to faith in Him.