Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Year of the Broken Heart

January 1st almost always brings in a renewed hope for me. Hope in mankind, hope in God, and hope for what this year will be, just as December almost always puts me in reflective mode. However I have never quite been as reflective as I am this year. Last January while working on a creative piece for the Conspire conference, I found myself very touched by the lyrics of the song Hosanna, by Hillsong United. Overtime there was a verse that God seemed to be focusing me on, and it became a prayer.

…Open up my eyes to things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your Kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth to eternity.

During much of 2009 I felt a deep sadness for the hardships of life all around. We have all see it this year, the closing of eras, sickness, job loss, family hardships, extreme poverty… Throughout 2009, there seemed to be an extra amount of sadness in the world. The aha moment came recently as I shared this story with some dear friends and realized God had used 2009 to show me what breaks His heart. God uses a variety of means to speak and teach each of us, for me God used a little girl named Lucy to remind me that his heart is broken for the orphan, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyL9UjLrdM

He used the situation that some sweet neighbor children are in, to remind us that his heart is broken when a family collapses, because their financial world is shattered, and they are fearful to turn to the church that hurt them in the past.

He used organizations like IJM, Nuru, and Kiva to show his sadness at extreme poverty. “That desperate people will do desperate things.” http://www.nuruinternational.org/videophoto/

That His heart is broken when we ask the lost to find their own way to church on “our” terms, instead of being like Jesus and walking among them in kindness and in love.

It breaks his heart when we hide behind our religious safe holds.

He used two seriously ill little girls to teach me how broken his heart is over the sick.

He used a small church to teach me that ALL children deserve a chance at a deep relationship with him.

His heart breaks when his children stay in the safety of the huddle? Be the team he has called us to be. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN7Z5w_j0Ac

So as we approach January 1st 2010 I find myself with a new hope to respond and be a little more like Jesus than I was in 2009. That God will “show me how to Love like you have loved me, everything I am for your Kingdom’s cause.”

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Changing a Tradition

I love traditions. Since, I am a learner and also love the beauty of an experience, when my boys were very young I wanted to make sure that we had the best Christmas traditions. The year the boys were 3, 2 and an infant, I spent that fall asking my friends, acquaintances, and even complete strangers how they celebrated Christmas. Many of our family Christmas traditions are a result of those conversations. There are many, but things like making sure the “cool” gifts come from the parents and the boring gifts like underwear come from Santa. That way the “cool” parents get the credit (love this one.) Choosing a picture book for each child that reminds us of their year, writing in it what we saw in them, and reading it to them first thing on Christmas.

This Fall I sat down and had conversations with some volunteers and families. One of the questions was, “Is there anything you would like to see changed?” Over and over, one of their replies was to change something that was actually a tradition in the church. During the Christmas Eve main service the children would perform. Volunteers and families found this very stressful on an already full day. They very much wanted the kids to have the chance to sing for the congregation, but not on Christmas Eve. One lesson I learned long ago is to listen well to volunteers and families. The call for a change in tradition I heard loud and clear, but I was not as confident how my Senior Pastor and programming team would like to hear about the change in tradition.

Traditions should enhance our experiences. Are there traditions that you have in your ministry that need to be evaluated and asked, “Why do we do it that way?” “Is this the best thing for our kids, families & ministry?” I encourage you to ask the hard questions, evaluate and make the changes if necessary.

As for our Senior Pastor, his heart is to serve, shepherd, and teach our congregation. When he heard the thoughts of the volunteers and families he was quick to create a new tradition. This year the kids are singing the Sunday before Christmas and EVERYONE is thrilled and looking forward to the experience.