Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow

Having spent significant time over the practicing and performing in a seasonal show (OK it was Christmas), I've come away with more observations about serving within church culture. As always, these aren't complaints, but observations. They don't apply to all churches, but to the Church (let's call it Christendom) in general.*

• As much as I appreciate the opportunity to participate and get to know a few more people, I'm not sure it's been a worthwhile time investment. Perhaps we believers need to be more discerning with our choices of where we serve, especially in church. 
• One needs to decide if the time investment will yield a significant enough impact and return. We should make our decisions based on where our gifts are valued, appreciated, and make the greatest impact.
• Feeling under-utilized leads to discouragement.
• The arts consume an inordinate amount of time, compared to the amount of time spent in service. Practice takes time. Other than preaching, is there another area of service where the ratio of prep to time spent delivering is so high?
• Church culture is can be tough to crack, and a challenge to be accepted. Have you ever wanted to serve, and you know you're capable, but don't seem to fit into the culture? The church wants people to serve, it just doesn't seem capable of assimilating them into areas of service in meaningful ways.
• The church seems interested in quantity of people serving, not necessarily quality, competence, giftedness or capabilities. There often seems to be little interest in understanding what one's gifts are, and where the individual might best serve. There's no point in asking individuals to take spiritual gift surveys, if church leaders aren't going to pay attention to them. 
• What is of primary importance to the church isn't necessarily top priority for its people. 
• The Church knows best. Outside opinions and outsiders aren't quickly welcomed, even if the outside experience will enhance the opportunity for others to serve, and the quality of their service.
• Serving isn't only about meaning for the one who serves. For those who are served, even the  smallest contribution is noticed, and adds to their experience of being served.
• The expectations of the one who serves is often different than the expectations of church leadership.
• Every little gift matters, whether it's the gift you've been given, or the gift you have to give.
• It's not about me — or you. John the Baptist reminds us that "he must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less." Our participation in service should be meaningful and fulfilling, but it's goal is to reveal Christ and his grace. 
• We need to check our egos, and lead through serving. 
• Community and common bonds are strengthened and deepened through shared service. Leaders need to know their team members, and understand how to integrate them into the area of service they have responsibility for. If you don't know your people, you may be missing out on fully utilizing the talent that people want to share.

*Your experience may vary. Opinions expressed by this writer are observational and may not reflect your actual experience with church culture. Then again, they may. This is why God pours grace into your life every day, so that you may endure and be strengthened during the challenges you face serving—and give grace to those serving alongside you. After all, it's about Christ, not you.

The personality of church culture

Have you ever noticed that the culture of a church or ministry is a distinct reflection of the personality traits of its primary leader?

There are many clues; some obvious and others subtle. Most churches are a combination of what follows, watch closely and you'll see it in your church. I've categorized a few:

• Control Culture: The leader seeks to have input into, or control every aspect of ministry. Evidence of this type of culture is in staff and volunteers who feel pressure that their performance is never good enough. This feeling is compounded by the leader's weakness in interpersonal communication skills, lack of accountability, and unapproachable nature.
• Numbers Culture: Evidence for relevance is driven by numbers: numbers of attendees; numbers of small groups; numbers of children in ministries; the amount donated on a weekly basis. Numbers matter more than relationships. Closely related to the Pedestal Culture.
• Cowardice Culture: Evidenced by the use of executive pastor or staff to deliver bad news at direction of senior pastor. Senior pastor refuses to accept responsibility or be accountable for bad decision making.
• Last-minute culture: All execution is last minute, even if planning is done months in advance. Most likely, planning and execution are done last minute. Little regard given for personal schedules of volunteers, and possibility of previously scheduled events.
• Only my Ministry Matters Culture: Intra-church ministries and teams do not compare calendars, and cross-schedule events. So much for the idea of a body working together.
• Pedestal Culture: Senior and executive staff who exhibit reclusive behavior, rarely interacting with "the flock," as if the very activity is beneath them, and perhaps best left for a pastoral care professional. Difficult for these individuals to come down off their pedestal and get a different perspective.
• Excuse Culture: "Oh, it's because he's a musician." It's because he's a big picture individual." "It's because he's the teaching pastor." "It's because we're short-staffed."
• The Miscommunication Culture: How can the church communicate the gospel, if it can't even communicate internally well?

Oh, I could go on, but it makes me tired just thinking of all the reasons why churches are so dysfunctional, and how they could be better. If only our leaders would listen as much as they talk!

Ideas for art in the church

A college friend, who pastors a church, recently asked for my input on how art can help inspire, encourage and challenge.  It's taken me some time, but here are some thoughts.  To start, here's his initial question:

"The church is in a 10-year-old metal building. Everything's gray! I'm working on bringing some color into the building. Over the last few years, I have become much more sensitive to how art can inspire and encourage, not to speak of how art can challenge and "preach." But in wanting to bring art i.e., painting, sculpture, etc., into the church, I'm at a loss as to how to begin to create a plan for this or to create a financial provision for it. Looking for guidance…"

Here's what I suggest:

First, read through these books to get yourself into a proper mindset about art and the church.   One of the reasons that churches don't have much art in them is that the Church, in large part, abandoned the arts long ago, substituting sentimental popular culture for artistic depth.  If art of any kind couldn't be used for Sunday school or evangelism, it was deemed not worthy and largely ignored. Some churches create complex graphic and environmental themes to support sermon series, but they are no substitute for art in our lives – in our churches, our homes and in our spirits.

HR Rookmaker's Art needs no justification is an excellent treatise on how the Church (and Christians) has lowered its aesthetic standards,, and failed to interact with contemporary culture in a meaningful way (preferring to mimic an copy, rather than being original).

Schaeffer's Art and the Bible  is a superb work.  One of the most significant, and shortest, works on art ever written.

Current books on art and Christian faith can be found at Square Halo Books. I recommend It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God.

I feel your pain: my office is in a building on battleship gray and glass.  Were it not for the light and the color we've added; it would be thoroughly depressing.

Your environment, your existing architecture can be treated as art. Starting with color is a good place. Create BIG panels of color by staining 4x8 sheets of plywood with rich, deep color stains (not paint) to accent the industrial feel of the building – allowing the texture of the wood to show through. It doesn't need to, but as a metaphor it can speak to the beauty and transparency of grace and God's revealing work in our lives. A main panel covered in vibrant red can be a focal point to bring to the attention of the church family and to visitors the sacrifice of His blood that was made. Avoid kitsch references to any color-based evangelism tools such as color books. Remember, art needs no justification.

Too many churches try to appear so polished, so perfect, that their environment becomes merely a stage for a production and an entertainment venue; a whitewashed imitation of what the Church can be.  Art should be authentic, not amateur.  The environment in your church is spatial art. It's architecture.  If it's metal and industrial, don't try to hide it, accentuate it.

One idea to consider – (I'd love to see you do it), and done in a very small way, is to mount a series of mirrors, circular (which will look great on square walls).  Choose a series of words, or phrases such as Redeemed, I am one whom Jesus loves, Forgiven.  Have them cut in vinyl that looks like frosted glass and mounted on the mirror, and hang them on the panels, centered.  Then when an individual looks in the mirror, they see the message direct from scripture, the word that reminds them of their standing or potential in Christ.

What can you do with light, especially natural light? I am mystified by churches that so thoroughly darken a worship environment.  We worship a God of light! Why must we worship him in the dark? Light encourages the building of relationships between familiar friends and with visitors; it allows us to read the Word while it is being preached.

Art is for (God's) glory and for beauty; in Exodus the art of the tabernacle was to enhancement the environment of worship (my favorite are the pomegranates). God told Moses that he filled Bezalel with his Spirit in order to create works of art for the tabernacle. In the Hebrew it indicates he will think of what he wants to create (even though God told him exactly what he wanted), and to have the skill to create them.

Next we'll discuss specific types of art.  That's more of a challenge, and topic for another article. The environment is the first place to start, it's the canvas upon which art will hang; in which art will create an atmosphere of beauty.

When the Church is the center of the universe

In the 16th and 17th century, both Copernicus and Galileo asserted that the earth moved around the sun.  Of course, the church's opinion that the sun revolved around the earth contradicted the scientific facts, and Galileo was placed under house arrest and forbidden to publish any of his research ever again.

Such a historical story serves as a historical and contemporary metaphor as well; namely that the center of the universe is not the earth, but to many, it is the Church.  (of course it really should be Christ, but we all know what it's like to argue with the church at times).

I've touched on this theme previously, that unless our passion and interests are the same as the Church's they don't seem to matter. Yet if the Church were to realize that there is a place of balance, a place where it is as interested in my life as I am in its life, a wonderful balance occurs.

Our individual calling and service may touch upon the programs and mission of our local congregations, but – here's the part the Church as a whole seems to miss – our individual callings most likely will include other interests outside of the Church.

Even our Christ-related activities are church-centered: if someone from the Church wants to meet with us, often they call us to them; we serve in the Church, at the Church, for the Church. For all that time we spend serving, little time is given from the Church to the relationships we need to form in order to belong, to find community – sadly in the context of serving. How well do we know each other, even when we serve together? How well do those who pastor and shepherd the body of Christ really know the members?  To know the people one must get outside the confines of the Church, spend time equipping and knowing and speaking with.  Consider that Jesus spent more time outside of the synagogue than in it.  If you're a pastor – when was the last time you visited any of those who are closely aligned with your ministry either at their home or in their business?

How ironic that in my profession, I can confidently say I belong to and am a member of the business community – but in the Church the same sense of community does not often exist. (especially not in the way Bonhoeffer thought of community) (Boenhoeffer's Life Together)

Community comes from spending time together, getting to know one another in order to share common interests, common passions, common service. It comes from praying together, being authentic with each other, even from disagreeing with each other. We are the people who share the passion for the cause – people who are flawed, who are busy, who are the center of their own lives, no matter how much evidence there is that the earth revolves around the sun.

If we don't feel like we belong, we aren't going to feel like we want to give, to serve, to love.  There is a give and take that must occur – If the Church were to show more interest in its people, they in return will show more interest in the cause.

I wish I was on a missions trip

So, you're back from your summer missions trip, and off the mountain and headed back down the side. (for some, literally, our church's youth group spent a week in the mountains in Appalachia – but this a biblical reference and metaphor for that missions-trip buzz you're coming off of. That's why it's called a trip).

At the end of the week, you were tired, but excited about the work that you saw God doing. Now what? Some of you want to stay where you were, because "It's not as boring as where you are now." You love the feeling of doing something special, of really serving those in need. Admittedly, it can be a grind coming back to whatever reality you live in, good or bad.

Perhaps you're missing the point: Missions trips are a sprint in the marathon of life, and the apostle Paul says we're to run the race to receive the prize, the writer of Hebrews says we are to run the race with endurance. Life is a marathon, (not a sprint) and a marathon requires endurance.

Why are the missions trips so exciting and invigorating, and why do our day-to-day activities seem so, well, boring?

Missions trips are special, and they should challenge you, give you opportunity to stretch yourself, to let God stretch you, and to draw you closer to God – while you're serving others. Shouldn't that be happening at home too? Of course, but at a slower pace. Any gardener knows that growth happens with water and fertilizer – too much of either can burn out or drown a plant.

If serving God through missions is your passion, don't forget that there are mission fields at home – we just don't call them that. We make them seem less that that by calling them school, community, work, church (yes, church!) – any place you happen to be. Remember what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:20, "We are Christ's ambassadors, God is making his appeal through us." We've got a daily task of reconciling people to him, but it takes focus, strength and endurance. An ambassador represents their King no matter where they are or what they are doing.

What to watch for when you come down off the mountain? Just like Moses, keep your eyes out for the golden calf.

Letting God choose where you serve

The way I see it, there are three types of people who serve in Christian ministries:

• Ministry professionals (who by calling serve, and are paid for their service)
  
• People who want to be in ministry but aren't (who serve in volunteer positions and give a large amount of time, while working full-time jobs to support themselves and/or their families)
  
• Volunteers who serve because they enjoy it (who don't feel any call to full-time ministry, but have a passion to serve)
  

Of course, I'm not counting those whose who serve out of guilt. More encouragement for you later.

If you count yourself in the last group, then you're in the majority. There's nothing wrong with loving your career and choosing to serve the Lord with the gifts he has given you as a volunteer.

Let me repeat: there is nothing wrong about that type of service!

Don't let emotion, guilt or peer pressure force you into decisions about service. God's call to you to serve will be clear and satisfying – but you may have a family, a career, a role that he clearly wants you in outside of ministry – and that is part of God's sovereign will for you as well.

An overlooked verse is 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NLTse

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,* so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

You are part of the church, the body of Christ. Everybody who believes in Christ is part of the body and fills a different role. No matter where or how we serve, the task is the same for all of us: ambassadors for God, appealing to those around us to be reconciled to God. How He chooses to do that through you should be up to Him, and not up to those around you.