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Next
week Michelle and I are off again to our annual Pastor's Conference in
Banff. It is always a restful and encouraging time and we both consider
it a double blessing to be sent each year. We have to "suffer" by
staying at the Banff Springs Hotel! For 3 of the supper time meals we
all gather is a large room and are served delicious meals by the ever
attentive staff. It is quite the production! First, the staff come
bursting through the door carrying 5 or 6 covered trays (each tray has, I
think, 5 or 6 plates of food on them) which they carefully set down on
their serving tables... and then the staff grab the individual plates
and distribute them to the masses and hungry pastors and spouses who are
drooling while waiting at their tables. This process happens three
separate times...for the appetizer, main course, and the dessert. Each
step is carefully coordinated by the head waiter (he might be called the
maitre d'.. but we're not sure) and, prior to that, the kitchen staff
has managed to prepare the entire meal behind the scenes, prepping the
food, organizing the special meals (for folks with allergies) and having
each plate look....and taste like it was specially made for us.
I'm hungry now.
At the heart of this whole experience is
an attitude that has been drummed in to each member of the staff... that
they are there to serve us. Frankly, for us pastors we get a little
uncomfortable with all the fuss because, usually, we're the ones doing
the serving. Real leadership is serving. That's what Jesus taught us.
Each member of the hotel is, in fact, emulating Jesus when they serve
us. They may not know it (yet), but they are! And each year we have our
socks blessed off by the men and women who serve us. Many of them are
young people working in Banff from around the country and around the
globe. Many others of "lifers" who have made a career out of serving
others. Regardless of their background or rank, their job is to serve.
Now, imagine for a minute if every church member decided to serve
others each week? What would Sundays look like? What would the rest of
the week look like? I'm pretty sure we'd have socks lying all over the
place!
If you want to be great in God's kingdom, learn to be the servant of all.
Joell
PS. Bread plate is to the left. Water glass is to the right. Use utensils from the outside in. :)
Ah,
stereotypes. We love to use them on others and hate to have them used
on us! A way to find out what stereotypes are out there is to use
google to let you see what others have asked it. (See here).
We all have stereotypes. We often lump very large groups of people
into "types" without realizing it. Canadians do it to Americans. Rider
fans do it to Eskimos fans. Baptists do it to Catholics. Jews did it
to Samaritans.
On at least three different occasions, Jesus
broke down the cultural stereotypes that the much hated Samaritans had
for the Jews. The woman at the well, the Good Samaritan, and the healed
Samaritan leper. The Good Samaritan was a parable which, no doubt,
ruffled some Jewish feathers since the Samaritan was the hero of the
story. The other two were real people, and Jesus treated them
as...well... real people. And that's the tip off of what's wrong with
stereotypes. They can paint someone with a broad brush that has nothing
to do with them personally. Jesus dealt with the real people as
persons...and individuals... and cool stuff happened.
So, next
time you cross paths with someone from "another group" of whatever kind
it may be...get to know them as a person and place those stereotypes on
the back burner where they belong.
"Don't get me
started!" This is what you will often hear right before someone not
only already will have started, but will continue for some time! It's a
"throw away phrase" that really means "thanks for asking, and here's
the details". Of course English has many of these similar type
phrases. Here are some more:
"Can I ask you a question?" - well, you just did and one is all I can handle right now.
"It goes without saying." - but they are going to say it anyway.
"It literally...." - there is a good chance that it actually isn't literal.
"I'm looking forward to ... " - it's in the future....you have no
choice but to look forward to it. You could be looking forward to a
colonoscopy for that matter.
"Like...." - like we don't get like enough like likes already
"With all due respect." - yes, you are about to hear something that shows they don't respect you or your view on something.
And finally, "For Christ's sake" - You weren't expecting a swear, were
you?! But there it is....which usually means that someone thinks that
what you just did or just said was stupid or unwelcomed. But, what
would actually be "for Christ's sake?" I think if you were actually
doing something for Christ's sake, it would be a good thing. So, giving
a cup of water, helping the sick and needy, being hospitable to
strangers, sharing resources, giving of your time, talents, and income,
telling people about Jesus. All of these would be wonderful things to
do and, each of them would qualify as being done for Christ's sake.
So, go do something for Christ's sake!
Joell
I
promised myself that I wasn't going to write about the weather
again...for a very long time. Then winter refused to go away. My buddy
Michael Thom (Pastor at Willow Lake Baptist in 
Winnipeg)
posted this photo online. The extreme difference from last year to
this year is stark enough to get us wondering if global warming is
misnamed! Regardless, I often think about those who didn't have central
heating, insulated homes, and thermostats to bless them. Yes, I'm
thinking about our forefathers who used to live in this land without
electricity, natural gas, and heated car seats. When they would wake up
in the morning in their soddy or their teepee, their first order of
business wasn't to have a hot shower or put the coffee pot on... it was
to put wood on the fire (wood that they had gathered and split all
summer) so that they wouldn't freeze to death! Then they would have to
head outside to milk the cow so they would have milk for breakfast...and
then go out and cut ice out of the creek and bring it back to the ice
house (a hole in the ground) to save for the summer!
Yes, we have it tough. The previous tenants of this area of the world were troopers. Hardy. Tough. Hard working.
So,
the next time you think you want to complain about the weather, be glad
you weren't born 300 years ago...or 2000 years ago... which brings up
to Easter... next week.
Joell
PS. Happy Birthday to my beloved wife on Friday!!
Ah, Christmas
sweets. I'm still wading through them as they lay waste to my
waist! Christmas chocolates, candies, cookies, nuts, chocolate covered
nuts, tarts, poppycock, chocolate covered poppycock.... etc! Clearly, I
can't let these go to waste (waist), nor let my kids eat them so I've
taken on the huge task of scarfing them down. A British fellow named
Michael Mosley was exploring the topic of pleasure and pain and took it
upon himself to eat as much chocolate as possible thereby moving from
experiencing pleasure in the sweetness of chocolate to the point of
where it becomes painful. (https://vimeo.com/19300888)
Mosley makes an astute observation. Pleasure, by it's very nature, is
fleeting. Transient. And, just as eating too much chocolate (or
sweets) can lead to revulsion and even to pain, so too it is with the
pleasures of life.
The Bible says that we are to seek God,
first and foremost, and His right things for our life. Since God
created us He actually knows what is the best for us. When we put the
pursuit of pleasure (happiness) first in our lives we end up overdosing
and causing problems. However, people often get confused at this point
and think that God actually doesn't want us to have pleasure at
all....which is far from the truth. God is the master of dispensing
pleasure in just the right amounts so as to not sully it or cause it to
cause us problems. God designed pleasure to be experienced in all areas
of life (physical, emotional, sexual, relational) within His boundaries
so that we can get the most enjoyment and fulfillment possible out of
it.
My mom used to say "don't spoil your appetite" when we'd
go for a snack just before a main meal. But simply putting off my
desire to snack I am able to anticipate and enjoy my special meal that
much more! Michelle and I were heading out to a Christmas party meal
and I purposely avoided snacking all that afternoon so that I could
enjoy my meal to it's fullest! And it worked. It is a disappointing
thing to sit down for a wonderful meal only to discover that you aren't
actually hungry for it. Maybe that's why restaurants advertise like
crazy around meal times. They are hoping to catch you when you're
hungry!
So, learn to trust God with your pleasures and He'll ensure they don't turn into pain!
Joell
