With a title like “what keeps me up”, you might expect that I’m talking about my insomnia and subsequent teratment (again). That is not the point of this post. Sure, the thoughts that I’m talking about are no doubt a part of the storm that constantly rumbles in my head and heart, but ultimately it’s not about the sleep. No, this post is about something much bigger than my sleep, it’s about a sense of discontent, a holy worry about what is and what is needed.
Even as I type those words, I squirm. It makes me sound super-spiritual. The reality is, I’m a fellow pilgrim on this journey of faith. I fall down and I get up (a lot). I continue to struggle and continue to seek transformation. I’m also someone who’s entered in to a covenant call – I’m a pastor, a shepherd, an official “deliverer of discontent”, and, hopefully, a messenger of hope. This call and job description is what gives me this discontent and it’s what keeps me up at night.
I’m awake because I believe that the body of Christ is in need of some reorienting (and yes that includes this pastor as well). I’m a big fan of the book of Acts and I’ve spent hours researching and studying what the early church was and did as it lived into the call of Jesus in “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the world.” How did they infect so much life change in such a short period of time? Did they have consultants come and inspire with new ideas and creative force? Did they read growth books and leadership “how-to’s” as a part of their training? What was the difference and why does it feel like their impact was all-encompassaing?
I’ve been in the church all my life and I’ve over and over heard the rule of 80-20. This principle sates that 80% of the work of any church is done by about 20% of those who claim to be involved and who “own” their church. We’ve heard the idea, we’ve experienced the pain of it’s truth, and yet we are still burdened with talking about it and bemoaning it’s presence in our church. It’s mindnumbing for pastors who see this pattern over and over again and know what’s being missed.
What is being missed? It’s not just more people doing work to uphold the institution. It’s the life that comes from being involved and being released to ministry that’s missing, and that missing element has immediate impact into a church’s passion and reach. If only 20% of folks are finding life and engagement through serving then that means a lot of people are missing out on the “something greater” that Jesus had hoped for His Bride.
Don’t get me wrong, I get it. Joy and I were just talking the other night about how we could reorient our schedules so we could be more available to our family and to our neighborhood. But what could happen if those numbers were switched? What would happen if 80% of our church people actually engaged in the ministry that our churches release us too? I don’t mean busy work, but actual leading and ministry? What if our expectation was that new folks to our church found Welcoming and Embracing with a grace that could only be of Jesus? What if those who chose to join were invited and expected to engage in a regular output of transformation every week? Transformation that reaches out to the lost and broken. Transformation that invites deeper and changed lives through intentional connection to others both inside and outside our walls? Transformation that sees needs and embraces opportunities to jump in? Transformation that goes not the minumum but goes to extravagant and sacrificial lengths to change today?
This keeps me up – it keeps my mind racing and my heart aching. It keeps my spirit longing and desiring. It keeps me living in a constant state of uncomfortable hope that one day we’ll get it. It makes me see my own short-comings and failures. It also pushes me to risk failing harder! It stretches me to rethink comfortable plans and schedules. It demands that my time with God be open, honest, real, vulnerable and deepening.
I share these thoughts not to overwhelm, but to paint a picture, that for me, is so captivatingly stunning that I’m breathless. It has always been my dream to be a part of a movement like this, and at times I’ve been in and out of places that experience this kind of beauty. But what I really desire is that it not just be some passing fad but be something that radically shares the life of Jesus in blazingly beautiful ways. It’s my dream, it’s what keeps me awake.
May you be a person of holy discontent today. May you be filled with the awareness of God’s love for you to that you will pass it on to another. May we see God’s beautiful picture and may we all walk in that wakefulness.
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Thanks Jim for the good thoughts. the 80-20 principle reminded me of a question someone asked me about those who attend church. The question was, "If we were under real persecution (think of early Christians in Nero's Rome or Jews in Hitler's Germany, how many people would we still have in church?The question becomes more relevant when I attend services at mega-churches and see so many people. Are they there for the entertainment value; because they like the preacher; because "it's the thing to do;" or do they really seek to be on a walk with Jesus?See you Sunday.