Relating to those you can’t relate to…

Through the magic of social networking, I connected with a young lady from my youth group from the past.  Many years have passed and her life has changed.  She has 2 kids and her youngest (5 yrs old) has brain cancer and it is moving quickly throughout his body.  That is bad enough, but as we learn more about the situation, our friend, has had some drug problems and consequently her children are currently in foster care.  She is restricted to 4 hours a day with her child in the hospital, and that is only if she is lucky enough to find a ride to the hospital.

As I thought about her struggles,  I found myself trying to place myself in her shoes.  I have never had a drug problem, I have never had my kids taken away and I have never had a child experience a life threatening illness.  I had concluded that I could not relate to her experiences, OR COULD I?

Even though I have not experienced what she is experiencing, we have a lot more in common than I realized.  Even though my situation is different, it seems we are both asking the same questions.  Here are a few of the common questions:

• God, Why?
• God, Why me?
• Do you really care?
• Did I do something to deserve this?
• What are you trying to teach me?
• Why can’t you take care of this quickly?
• What do I need to do?

Pain comes in a lot of different forms.  Pain produces questions.  It is something we all experience.  It is something we all can relate to.  You don’t have to be a drug addict to relate.  You just have to know that they are experiencing some pain in their life.  I am sure you can relate to that.

My Church Website…

I read an interesting article today about church marketing.  The article points out that most websites point out the positive of the church (and often times not truthfully).  But, what if a church website was honest about their weakness.  Instead of trying to hide them, and hope no one sees them, what if we mentioned them up front?  Here are a few from the article:

• Our sermons run an hour plus and our pews aren’t padded: You do the math.
• We work our volunteers to death. Then grumble when they want a break.
• Drums are evil.
• Our Sunday morning service is a major production. Sit back and enjoy the show.
• Our people probably won’t talk to you until you volunteer for something and even then don’t hold your breath.
• We pay lip service to social justice.
• We stand up and sit down a lot, so try to keep up, OK?
• Our sermons have more movie clips than Bible quotes.
• You’re going to get lost in our sprawling campus. Bring a map or hire a guide.
• We believe homosexuality is…
• The only diversity you’ll find here is in our stock photography.
• We’re so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good.
• We plan more social events than Bible studies.
• Nothing ever starts on time at our church.
• Our pastor is a minor celebrity with an ego to match.
• We think the role of women in leadership is…
• We’re really old.
• Churchese spoken here. Translators are not available.
• We’re good people but we’re going to judge you.
• Our children’s ministry is an after thought.
• We hug.
• On Sunday morning you’ll never/always see an altar call.
• Our people talk more gossip than gospel.
• We lift up our hands and get a little crazy when we worship. It’s going to freak you out.

So, what would your church website look like, if you were honest?

Just a Moment.

Life is a process of events and moments that help mold and shape you into what God’s desire is.  That sounds great but moments can be hard.  Moments in life are often painful and full of questions.  However, think about this, what if every moment in my life, and yours,  were driving us to a destination?  It doesn’t matter if the moments are good or bad, they are the fuel to push us to a greater destination.  Moments help fine-tune us.

Moments may drive us to a destination but the road is paved with attitude.  Moments have the potential to launch us into the next phase or sink us into despair. Like standing at a crossroad with one sign pointing to the left and one to the right, I must decide my attitude. That attitude will shape and formulate my destination.

Embrace the moments of life and let them drive you to your destination, as long as you have the right attitude. It is not easy at times (I sometimes relapse with a bad attitude) but stay focused and stay on track.

Imagine if our churches were filled with embraced moments with good attitudes?  Imagine if the work place were filled with embraced moments with good attitudes?