Wow! What a Heart!

I am the Daddy of a little girl and so I am quite acquainted with hand-drawn hearts.  In my office you can find a small sampling of the many hearts Anna has drawn and colorfully decorated for me.  When Anna gives me one of her artistic renderings of another heart, I say, “Wow!  What a heart!  Thank you, Babe, this is really good. I love it!  You are so creative and so good at drawing.  You have made my day.”  To which she usually replies, “I love you so much, Daddy.”  Of course, I eat up these expressions of her heart and try to cling to them as long as I can.

Right now, as I am looking at one of her most creative and colorful portrayals of the heart, I find myself thinking about God’s word to Samuel in regards to finding the next king of Israel (I Samuel 16).  Samuel had seen all of Jesse’s biggest and brightest boys, but each time God whispered to Samuel, “He is not the one.”  Finally, there was no one left.  “Do you have more boys?’ Samuel asked.  As though he forgot or was somewhat embarrassed to mention him, Jessi, admits it he has one more boy who is just a shepherd named David.  Compared to his brothers, David, just does not have the look of a king.  But God says to Samuel, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 

Wouldn’t it be great if we could let the Spirit train us to look past the outward straight to the heart?  I believe that if we will be open, God will give us eyes to see the hearts of others in a way that can reveal some beautiful pictures of God’s transforming work.

This week has been a week in which I have had the opportunity to let the Holy Spirit open my eyes to see glimpses of the heart.

For instance, yesterday I sat in McDonald’s with a 17 year old named Steven and saw the heart of new life.  He is fairly new to CFNAZ.  He doesn’t really have any church background.  His parents do not attend.  He comes on his own because he was found by Jesus.  I asked him, how did God become real to you?  He shared how he was watching the testimony of one the lead singers of a favorite band.  The artist shared how Jesus rescued her from suicide and changed her life.  He said when shared that I knew that was what I needed.  He met with me yesterday just to ask questions and to talk about Jesus.  Think about that a 17 year old just want to be like Jesus.  Wow!  What a heart!

During the NMI convention and District Assembly, I saw the heart of service.   I watched so many people of CFNAZ give of themselves to stuff packets, fold papers, prepare meals, set up furniture, clean up messes, greet, usher and so much more.  Each person I saw served with a smile and out of an attitude of love.  So many of you gave and gave and gave during those days and I had so many people say how grateful they are for you.  I am grateful for you as well and I say, “Wow!  What a heart!”

But if I had to give out a “Heart Award of the Week” it would go to Chuck Sprouse.  I don’t know how to communicate to you what this story does inside of me other than every time I recount it I have this wave of emotion wash over me.  It is such a godly example that both encourages me and challenges me.  Chuck, who is in his seventies and has been a part of CFNAZ for 30+ years, motioned for me to come to him.  I walked over and said, “How are you doing, Chuck?”  He flashed that bright and loving smile of his and then he looked me straight in the eye and said in a serious tone, “Chad, I read your write-up about worship.” (I began to brace myself for the blow--you see, we Pastors can get a little gun-shy after a while).  He went on, “I just want you to know that as long as you preach the Bible, I don’t care what we do with the music.  I don’t care if we use an organ or drums.  I don’t care about any of that.  Just keep preaching the Bible and you can do whatever you think is best for the music.”  Wow!  What a heart!

Will you pray with me?  “Father, give me eyes to look past the outward appearance to see the heart you see in others.  Help me not to judge a book by its cover but to take the time to read the story.  Let me not be afraid to see the darks spots on people’s hearts, but help me also to see where you are bringing about your colors.  And help me to show others your heart for them by letting you show them my heart. May we all so let you change our hearts that we become to the world what Anna’s drawings are to me…a precious gift that makes people say, “Wow!  What a heart!”

Christian Jihad

In recent years we have learned all-too painfully that Jihad means “Holy War.”  As Muslims flew airplanes into the Twin Towers we saw just how committed a person can be to a belief system as they took their lives and that of thousands.  In their mind such action was not a sin, but an act of obedience to God.  I still shake my head in both indignation and sadness over such evil committed in the name of God.  

Then, a few years ago, Trevecca Nazarene University President Dan Boone challenged me in his book, “Charitable Discourse.”  He challenged me by leading me to ask if there is any way that I as a Christian participate in Jihad.  At first, I pushed back and thought, “Of course not!  I don’t strap bombs on my chest, walk into a café and blow it up for God’s sake.”  But, then Boone, in his incredibly gentle and logical way, helped me to see that while I may not blow people up in God’s name literally, I might as well do it because of the less bloody, but just as damaging “Holy Wars” in which I have been tempted to or have actually participated. 

Perhaps the most well-known Christian Jihad in the last few decades has been what the American church has labeled, “Worship Wars.”  God forgive us for even putting those two words in the same sentence, but nonetheless the battle goes on…Hymns versus choruses.  Guitars verses organs.  Hymnals versus projectors and screens.  Choir verses praise teams.  Gaither verses Tomlin. And on and on the list of worship war battles go.

In the name of God we attack, hurt and even sever relationship with one another because that is not  how “I like worship.”  O, we don’t say that…we say, “We have to be respectful of the older generation” or we say, “We can’t ignore being relevant to the younger generation.”  Or we make it really spiritual and say certain instruments are somehow less holy than other ones.  Or we pretend to be concerned that if we don’t pass on the music we had growing up in the church then the next generation will miss something good (as though the next generation not learning the same songs will make them somehow less spiritual).  Or we pretend that the New Testament Church was our model for worship when in reality it was the church of the ‘80’s, 70’s or 60’s or may be some earlier decade.  Or we act like somehow “being cool” in our worship is honoring God because we want unbelievers to think he is “cool.”  But let’s face it, at the end of the day, no matter how spiritual sounding we try to make it the ugly truth is that the reason we war over worship is because we each want what we want.  The reason worship has become a fighting word is because we started using two or three simple and seemingly innocent words, whether we say them out loud or not, “I like…” or “I don’t like…”

And so here we sit CFNAZ overlooking this bloody battlefield.  With Pastor Tim approaching his final two weeks of worship ministry with us, we will directly confront this question of our hearts as individuals and as a church family:  Will we use this time of interim to fight for worship to be the way I like it or will we lay down our weapons and plead, “Father, give us a heart of worship that is not dictated by our preferences, but driven by a heart for you and to worship in spirit and truth in such a way that our corporate worship is a powerful witness to non-believers of who God is and what he has done in our lives and for our world?” 

I believe that your heart for God is bigger than your personal preferences.  I believe that your desire to win the community and world for Christ is greater than your own need to have worship exactly as you want it for 30 minutes on Sunday.  I believe rather than making this transition time a time to declare Jihad, we will use this time to make worship not about us, but about HIM.  I believe that, though we rather not lose Pastor Tim, we will seize this transition as an opportunity to keep growing in heart of and moving forward in the practice of worship through music. 

So, CFNAZ family, what do you say?  Will we declare war on one another in the name of God or will we lock arms, look up and lift up the name of the King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega, the Prince of Peace, the Bright and Morning Star, the Everlasting, Savior and Sustainer, Jesus Christ?

I would very much value your feedback on this.  I am saying that I need to hear your response to this be it via Facebook, email (Chad@cfnaz.com ) or phone (330-492-5698).  Also, below I have included the questions and decisions the church board voted to raise and let guide us through the interim process and search process.

June 10, 2014 CFNAZ Board Meeting Considerations for the Future Worship Ministry:

•First, we acknowledge the talent of Pastor Tim Pitzer and express our appreciation for his service. We continue to pray for JoAnn’s healing and for their transition to Kansas.

•Second, due to Pastor Chad’s understanding of hurtful situations being created by using people within our church family to lead worship in the past, he asked and it was agreed that we only consider both for the interim and the permanent, part-time paid position bringing someone in who does not presently attend CFNAZ. 

•The following two questions were discussed at length:

1)       Could it be said that in our attempt to please all we have pleased few, if any?  Do we have a band or an orchestra?  Presently, it would seem we have both.  Would it not make more sense to choose one?  In light of our present culture, and in our attempt to let our worship be a witness to non-believers, we would recommend we move to a band that would incorporate the same instruments that we now have in a different way.

2)       Could it be said that our choir and our band/orchestra function as two separate entities on the same stage and worship setting?  Is it not in fact treated as such since the band and choir do not practice together?  Is that point not further made by the fact that when Tim is absent he have one person lead worship and one person lead the choir? Furthermore, our band does not play the music for our choir specials and so doesn’t that further create the dichotomy? What could happen if our choir and worship musicians were treated as one entity; all working together to lead people into the presence of God through praise and worship? We voted to move in this direction to see what good God could bring.

• We voted to extend a call to hire, for 10 hours a week, an interim worship leader who will be asked to begin leading our musicians to play as a worship band while more intentionally and specifically making our worship band and choir one team.  This person would also lead any and all choir specials.

• We committed the next month to prayer concerning the matter with the intent, unless otherwise led by the Spirit, to begin the formal search process after the July board meeting.

•We recommend that if the above are approved we provide a copy of the considerations and recommendations to the church membership.

The above was discussed at length and approved with a unanimous vote.

The Best Sermons I'll Never Preach

This week you will hear three of the best sermon’s I’ll never preach.  I have long since reconciled myself to the fact that value of any sermon I preach on Sunday has nothing to do with the words I say.  The truth of the matter is that 90% of what I say on Sunday is forgotten minutes after the benediction.  I’ll admit I have regularly wrestled with the value of the whole preaching event and have taken my consolation in the very fact that  the only thing that makes preaching matter is what the Holy Spirit works through it and how the hearer responds to the Holy Spirit…everything else is merely a side note. This being said, I have no trouble admitting that three of the best sermons you will hear this week will have nothing to do with my preaching.

The best sermon I will never preach # 1: “ Can Jesus Be Seen without Saying a Word about Him?” Yesterday, CFNAZ hosted Belle Stone Elementary summer literacy day 1.  Nine children plus and their Mother’s attended along with the Belle Stone Community Worker and the new Principal and Assistant Principal.  Our CFNAZ family did an incredible job not only leading the program but engaging each child and parent.  At the end of our two hour sermon, the Principal and Community Worker enthusiastically thanked and assured us that our partnership would continue to grow.  And then, guess what?  As I was driving some of our guests home, I heard a 7^th grade young man who had tagged along with his parent and connected with Pastor Jordan say, “Mom, that guy said they have a night for teens on Wednesday, can I go?”  I listened but did not say anything.  I waited to see what his Mom would say.  She leaned forward and asked, “What time is the teen night? He can go if we could find a ride for him.”  I assured her we’d find a ride.  Then Paula Crum (who by the way is amazing with kids) said, “Chad, she also wants to come to worship on Sunday?”  I looked in the rearview mirror and asked, “Do you want to join us on Sunday?”  She said, “Yes, I want us all to come Sunday, but I’ll need a ride.”  Paula assured her she would contact our bus ministry. 

Now, what do you make of that?  Neither I nor anyone in the Literacy Day group stood up and shouted, “Repent!  The end is near…lest you know Jesus you shall burn in hell.”  In fact, not a word about Jesus was spoken.  We did not even pray for the meal.  So, how did…why did this Mother and her family ask to come worship Jesus with us?  You see, we in the Wesleyan Holiness tradition believe in prevenient grace (the grace that goes before).  In other words, we know everything does not hinge on us, but that the Holy Spirit is always working in every person’s life to draw people to Jesus.  Therefore, we do not have to freak out when we work with a public school because we can’t tell people about Jesus.  Why?  Because when you show people Jesus, the Holy Spirit will tell people about Jesus and next thing you know a Mother and her children are asking for a ride to come and hear about Jesus.  The question is not how can we tell people about Jesus where we are not allowed to do so, but how can we not trust the Holy Spirit to speak more loudly through loving actions and relationships than any sermon you could preach?

 

The Best Sermon I’ll Never Preach # 2:  “Jesus is C.O.O.L.”  Last night I received my call from Nicole Barrett letting me know our family is on their project team.  This Saturday our 165 will join folks from lots of other area churches from different theological traditions and perspectives.  We will find unity not in our denominational backgrounds, but in our common work for the Lord. With each stroke of the brush and hammer of the nail we will proclaim Jesus without saying a word about him.  And, as we all come with the right attitude, just may be this Saturday we will be a part of witnessing Jesus’ dying prayer answered: That we might be one for they will know Him by our love for one another.  In culture in which the church has lost its voice of influence, may be the best way to be heard is to stop talking and start doing. 

The Best Sermon I’ll Never Preach # 3: “The Water Says It All.”  This Sunday 19 people are scheduled to be baptized.  Wow!  Pardon me while I shout and jump in my office…OK…I’m back.  Praise God!  This Sunday, I will not preach a message because I do not dare try to add to or take away from the public witness of those who will enter the water and share their testimony.  Invite friends and family to join you on this special day.  It will be one of the best sermons they will ever hear!  The Holy Spirit is going to break out and we will live the truth of God’s Word together that says, “We shall overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony!” 

And then all of us will be looking for people who did not even attend the worship service, but receive our sign’s invitation to stop by for the inflatables for the kids and a free lunch.  They were cautiously wander over.  They will come because their kids begged them to let them play.  They will welcome the free fun.  But they will also wonder, what kind of sermon am I going to get by showing up?  And then we will preach loud and strong without saying a word.  We will do what CFNAZ does best and that is love on people.  We will shower them with a love that we know is His and through our love they will experience his.  And the Holy Spirit will preach the message they most need to hear that we would never know. 

Yes, this week these will three best sermon’s I’ll never preach.  And it is exactly how Jesus taught his Followers is one of the best ways to preach.  Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”