IN THE NAME OF LOVE

I am guilty.

I have lost my bearings amidst what can become the task filled world of the church.

I am wrestling with not making ministry a task but rather a service driven by love.

I have allowed myself to tread down a path that has lead me to activiate a wrong perspective of what it is to be a part of the body of Christ. What does it mean to be an active member or part of the body of Christ? Do not be confused by apart and a part. Indeed I am apart of the body of Christ yet I am also an active part. The former recognizes ones membership in the orginization while the latter indicates ones role in the orginization. Thus I am not focusing here on what it means to be apart but a part. Indeed I am a member, a part, a piece of the body of Christ. Each part has a symphonic role that when working with the whole compliments all the roles resulting in beautiful and unique compositions of love. This is the body of Christ, individual musicians commissioned to play according to their unique giftedness as a unified symphony.

The Lord has helped me discover a sobering reality. I am not being an active part operating effectively for the whole. If one part is not working well then the whole will not operate to its fullest potential. What am I talking about then, where does this task thing enter into the picture?

I have a tendency to make ministry the accomplishment of a series of tasks and not well, ministry. To be doing ministry to me is simply loving on those who need to be loved. I have discovered this to be the greatest difficulty I face in full time ministry. I have allowed myself to sit and accomplish a series of tasks that indeed contribute to the overall ministry of my church community to the outside community. Yet, by doing this I excuse myself from personally ministering to that outside community. I sit behind the ministry helping equip it to minister effectively, yet I am not out doing that ministry. I in turn develop an excuse to doing nothing at all. I believe there is a difference between contributing to the administration of the ministry of the whole and ministering along with the whole. Indeed the administration part is needed, yet for that to become the only part of the ministry that you involve yourself in you qucikly forget what ministering is all about.

Ministry is more than sitting in the office, going to meetings, writing out strategies, doing things, etc. These are only tasks that left to themselves can blindly be substitued for doing the action of service driven by love. No you are not doing the ministry, you are in essence simply planning the action of the ministry. I see ministry as an action that takes away the attention of serving your own needs and focuses them on serving the needs of those in need.

I have already been and will probably forever be labled as a minister of the gospel, simply because I will be in a leadership role at the church. I can't get around it this is just how things are. However, I am beginning to conclude that I don't really like this label, minister.

I often chuckle inside when I hear the phrase, "Well this is my ministry," as that individual sits down folding letters for one of the churches ministries. I hear all the time, "I am in the ministry", or "I am a minister", or "I did ministry this weekend." I am realizing that I am getting sick of this word. Maybe because I am not seeing the heart of what ministry is by those who say that they are doing it, this especially includes myself, especially.

What does it mean to minister, to do ministry, or to be ministering. Is folding a letter ministry? Is counting a tithe ministry? More generically is volunterring your time and accomplishing a task ministy? Part of me wants to think not. I tend to think of ministry as for example spending time with the poor or one infected with HIV, feeding the homeless, or taking an under priviliged kid to an Angels or Ducks game. I would like to think that ministry is serving the needs of others both inside and outside of your church community driven by nothing more than love.

The word ministry in its truest form is simply an act of service. Thus, another part of me recognizes that ministry is nothing more than service and indeed folding a letter for a certain ministry, counting the tithes, or shuttling people from the parking lot to the worship center is ministry. It is a place to serve. Anyone can serve, yet here is where the dilema I seem to be facing surfaces. What is driving you to do this service, what is the heart of it? Is this service accomplished to simply get something done, or to make yourself feel good or are you doing it with a heart that centers itself on a selfless love. For the heart of true service is nothing more than love. Serving is laying down your needs and acting into anothers needs, whatever it may be. Both outside and within the walls of the church there exists a hundred different oppurtunities to serve desperate needs in the name of love and in the name of Jesus Christ. I think what it comes down to is that I am not on the frontlines of service, doing those service projects that affect people in big ways.

Let us move beyond our walls. Let our blind eyes have their site restored to the needs amoungnst us. Let us dive into action driven by love.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

The last several days have been refreshing. I had the chance to return home for a brief...very brief visit to be in the wedding of a close friend. My time home served me in three ways...great sleep on my wonderful bed, a place to decompress and be refreshed through great company and converstation and finally confirmation that NWA is not where I am to be at this season in my life.

I am blessed. Blessed in so many ways. I was driving down 540 the other night returning to my house after a night out with the guys and I can't tell you how much joy came over me during that drive home. It was like a waterfall of happiness was released. God has been so faithful to place incredible friendships in my life. These guys and girls are my rocks. How fruitless and unabundant life would be without friends who stick closer than a brother.

I am also blessed to have a safe place to hide when it is time to retreat and decompress from the hustle. My home is a safe place. I have two rocks in that home whom I can fall on and know everything will be ok when the storm rages on.

Home I have realized is not simply a geogrpahic location but it is a community made up of your friends and family. So no matter how many times that geogrpahic location may change my home, as the old saying goes, is where the heart is.

BLESSED

Hope this update finds all of you blessed! It is hard to believe that I have now been here in Southern California for three months. How quickly the time has passed. I guess this means I am having way to much fun or just staying way to busy! No, I would say it is a good balance of both. I am staying very busy serving in the mission’s ministry of Saddleback yet having a blast living life out here and being apart of something bigger than myself.

I was talking with Brad, our college pastor at Saddleback the other day. In the course of our conversation he asked me how I am adjusting to the culture of Saddleback Church. I told him I feel like things are moving at a hundred miles an hour with barely enough time to slow down to maneuver the corners, there are a lot of corners to maneuver here. I asked him how long it took him to adjust to the way things happen out here, he came from a church in Norman, Oklahoma yes he is a Sooner, half way jokingly he admitted that he just got adjusted yesterday, he has been out here for two years. However, I feel I am beginning to adjust quickly to the fluid and fast paced environment of Saddleback Church. Though I do have my days, it is an exciting place to be!

Yesterday I headed up to Los Angeles with all of the other interns at Saddleback (There are nine other interns serving in several other ministries at Saddleback). We ended up going to sit in the studio audience of a new game show on FOX called “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. It was a blast! Yes, I will be making a two second TV appearance in six to eight weeks on FOX, Thursday at 7:00 pm central. If you are that bored and remember, it should be fun watching. I know you will be having “Shawn appeared on FOX for two seconds” parties, stay safe, haha!

Do you ever have nights were right as you slip into bed you just smile and say, “Father, thanks for everything!” I tell you what I have experienced a lot of that lately. There are moments that I am overwhelmed with gratefulness. It is true that every good and perfect thing comes from above! God continues to astound me through all that He is doing in me and allowing me to experience during this season of life. I am humbled. I am humbled also by your prayers and your incredible support of me. Your prayers are constantly felt! I praise God for each of you!

I have been blessed to live with my new host family, Jeff and Valerie and their three children Ethan, Lindsay, and Sarah. I have been living there for about a month now and love it. I feel like the big brother! I will usually come home from work and have Lindsay and Ethan, five and seven, waiting upstairs with their Star Wars Light Sabers ready to have an epic light saber battle. I love it!

BUSY

Well I have been in my new home for about a week now. It has ended up being a good fit for me. The family, Jeff and Valerie and their children Ethan, Lindsey, and Sarah have been a blessing to me thus far. I will be spending 6 months with them so I'm sure they need all the prayers they can get.

I am currently so busy with the new projects I have been assigned. Some days I feel overwhelmed some days I feel like I have a handle on it. The biggest lesson I am learning right now (and a very important lesson) is how to say no though. Many people can quickly be burned out in any job setting simply because they have not learned how to say no to others requests. It is easy to take on tasks coming from all different directions but soon your commitments have caused you more grief and anguish than excitement and confidence. I am learning more and more about what I am capable of daily.