Dream On!

Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. – Ephesians 3:20

God’s church, which is the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit, has been working on this earth for just short of 2000 years. So why hasn’t the message of Christianity been spread and demonstrated and accepted in every corner of the globe long before now? I’m sure there are many factors, but I’m convinced that one of the major reasons is something that may surprise you.

Lack of faith? That’s certainly a problem – few Christians take the time and effort to build and use the faith God gave each of us. Lack of prayer? If anything is more important than what I have in mind, prayer would be it. But I’m thinking of something else.

Perhaps the biggest reason the church has not reached its potential, perhaps the biggest reason most Christians never reach their potential, is the failure to do one simple thing: dream.

Moses dreamed of delivering his people from slavery. Nehemiah dreamed of rebuilding the demolished city of Jerusalem. Esther dreamed of saving her people from genocide. Paul dreamed of spreading Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.

What would have happened if they never had those dreams? What would have happened if they never followed through on them?

I want you to especially notice one thing, because this is the part that surprised me when I realized it. None of those were things that God specifically told them to do. Moses, Nehemiah, Esther and Paul dreamed up those things by themselves.

I’m not saying that God was opposed to what they did. In fact, God wanted those dreams to be fulfilled. My point is that those four, and countless others throughout history, didn’t just sit around waiting for God to tap them on the shoulder. They were close enough to God that they would not dream of doing things for selfish reasons or against God’s will. But they were free enough to follow their dreams.

(Yes, I know God appeared to Moses in a burning bush, but that was after Moses already tried to rescue his people in his own power. I know God called Paul to be a missionary, but it seems that it was pretty much up to Paul where he went – only once is it recorded that he was called to a specific place. There is no indication of any kind of divine commissioning for Nehemiah and Esther.)

Jesus said, “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends” (John 15:15). God doesn’t want you to think of working for him, like an employee. God wants you to think of working with him, like a friend.

In other words, don’t sit around waiting for God to say, “Go do this job for me.” Instead, God says, “I have all kinds of important projects going on. I’m educating children. I’m fighting hunger and poverty and disease. I’m importing some of the beauty of heaven to earth, in art and music and craftsmanship. I’m expanding freedom and justice. I’m rescuing and protecting and defending people. I’m making goods and services available to make people’s lives easier. I’m doing all kinds of things, all over the world. I’d love to have you work with me. What sounds interesting?”

One of the great characteristics of God is that God is creative. God made you in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). That means God made you creative. Creativity starts with a dream. So dream!

I believe one of the main jobs of a church, and of a pastor in particular, is to encourage and help the people of God to dream God-size dreams and then carry them out. We have not always done a good job of that, and the world is the worse for it. But it’s never too late to start.

What is your dream?

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” You can never dream bigger than God can fulfill. You may not get to see it through to completion – somebody said, “The only things worth doing take more than a lifetime.” But if you don’t get it started, who will?

Dreaming with you for God’s kingdom,

David

Getting Unfrazzled

We often hear that we shouldn’t be part of this rush-rush society we live in. In fact, many doctors are telling us that the stress of constant busy-ness is downright unhealthy. But isn’t that the way the modern world works? Is there really anything we can do about it?

God had an idea we might run into this kind of thing. That's why he told us - no, commanded us - to take one day out of seven just to relax. It’s number four in the Ten Commandments: “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days a week are set apart for your daily duties and regular work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God.” (Exodus 20:8-10).

Personally, as somebody who works on Sunday, I define “Sabbath” as whatever rest day works for me – as long as I get one every seven days. And I define “work” as anything I have to do, and “rest” as anything I want to do that makes me feel relaxed, restored or rejuvenated.

I love the story of when Jesus was told that his friend Lazarus was on his death bed. Jesus didn't automatically rush back and heal him. Instead he asked God what to do about it. God told him to take his time. When Jesus did get back there (four days late by most people's estimation) the miracle was even bigger. And Jesus wasn't frazzled.

The other part of it is to be sure we don’t try to cram too much into the other six days. Some of us just need to learn to say “no.”

But then, what if we wind up with not enough to do? We sure don’t want to be bored. I find the middle ground is to not overbook appointments or things with deadlines, so I don't get frazzled, but always keep a project going so I have something to do if boredom threatens.

The big thing is that God knows how much you can do in 24 hours, including the necessary rest and personal care, and he doesn't expect you to do more than that. The key is differentiating between God’s expectations and people’s expectations – including our own.

Show and Tell

As we continue looking at what Ezekiel can teach us about revival, we come to a very interesting command from God.

“And now, son of man, take a large clay brick and set it down in front of you. Then draw a map of the city of Jerusalem on it. Show the city under siege. Build a wall around it so no one can escape. Set up the enemy camp, and surround the city with siege ramps and battering rams. Then take an iron griddle and place it between you and the city. Turn toward the city and demonstrate how harsh the siege will be against Jerusalem. This will be a warning to the people of Israel.” – Ezekiel 4:1-3

God calls us to proclaim his message by word and by action. We understand proclamations issued in verbal form. Modern western society is all about words. Proclamation by actions is another matter.

Usually when we hear someone say we should proclaim God’s word by our actions, we think in terms of living a good and kind and holy life. We may think of St. Francis’ saying: “Preach the gospel always; use words when necessary.”

(I understand the point behind St. Francis’ words, but I think it can become an excuse for not using words. After all, if people think that I’m a nice guy just because I’m a nice guy, and don’t know that it’s because of Jesus, it doesn’t help them toward the kingdom of God.)

All this is good, but it’s not what God was telling Ezekiel to do. God instructed Ezekiel to perform what theologians call “prophetic acts.” Regular people would call it “street theater.” God wants his message to get across, and he knows that some people’s eyes glaze over whenever a preacher starts talking. So he told Ezekiel to add to his preaching something that would communicate with the non-verbally oriented people. God basically told Ezekiel to do a show-and-tell.

Annapolis is a highly educated town, and most people can understand verbal communication. That doesn’t change the fact that many people respond better to other means of getting a message across. I believe God is calling his people to be creative. After all, God created us in his image, and God is the creator. What kind of show-and-tells can we create to help make God’s message clear and accepted? The better we can do that, the better our chance of making Annapolis a target of God’s revival fire.

Speak Their Language

Then he said, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel with my messages. I am not sending you to some foreign people whose language you cannot understand. No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen! I am sending you to the people of Israel.” – Ezekiel 3:4-7

Ezekiel would have been a very successful missionary. God said that if he sent Ezekiel to a foreign people with a difficult and obscure language, they would listen. But God did not call Ezekiel to be a missionary.

Why would God deliberately steer someone away from a ministry in which he would be successful? That’s not my topic here, but take note: just because you are good and successful at something, even something that seems like God’s work, that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what God wants you doing with your life. Take the time to seek God until you receive his specific guidance for you. (In the meantime, do what seems best, trusting that God will let you know when it’s time for a change.)

God has sent me to Annapolis. With regard to that, I want to look at what may seem like a very minor point. God didn’t refer to the other nations as a people “who cannot understand your language.” He said, “whose language you cannot understand.” The emphasis was on Ezekiel’s ability to adapt to and understand the language of the people, not vice versa.

Shortly after being beginning my ministry at a previous church, I convened a staff meeting and asked why there was not a monthly newsletter. The answer was, “If people want to find out what’s going on at the church, they can call the office.”

To me, that’s totally backwards. We no longer live in a culture in which people seek out the church. We are the ones who are trying to get our message to them. If that means getting a newsletter physically into their house through the U.S. mail, or putting up a sign that is so big and clear that they can’t help but see it even if they aren’t looking for it, or whatever it takes to get their attention, that’s what we have to do. If we want to communicate with people, we can’t demand that they learn to understand our language. We have to understand and use theirs.

A recent article said that the model of evangelism that is based on inviting or attracting people to a church service or event no longer works for 60% of Americans. “Come to church” is not part of their operational vocabulary. What they are saying is, “If you want me, come to me.” If we don’t understand that, we effectively eliminate over half the population from our efforts at advancing the Kingdom of God.

God’s message never changes, but the way we communicate it must. Even Jesus used a variety of methods: sermons, stories, miracles; in synagogues, in homes, in fields; with individuals, with small groups, with large crowds.

Certainly we must keep up our efforts to attract people to church, because four out of every ten people are open to that. But we must also learn the language of those who consider themselves spiritual, even love Jesus, but don’t want to have anything to do with church.

Refocusing on Revival

It’s time to return to the original purpose of this blog. I apologize for the digressions of recent months. Let’s talk about revival!

Several years ago I attended Randy Clark’s School of Healing and Impartation at Washington Crossing United Methodist Church in Pennsylvania. While I was there, Pastor Scott McDermott prayed over me twice, on different days. Both times he used the words, “Ezekiel anointing.”

I took it as a word from the Lord. When I returned home, I re-read the book of Ezekiel, looking specifically for what God might have been saying to me through Scott. Here’s what I gleaned from it. It has come to form the basis of my understanding of revival.

Through a strange and unforgettable vision, God calls Ezekiel to go to his own people, those whose language he understands. God tells Ezekiel that though many will not listen, he must persevere in his message: warning people of God’s righteousness and judgment while encouraging them about God’s grace and promise of restoration. Ezekiel does this through a series of speeches and memorable prophetic actions.

In chapter 37 the story shifts to a series of visions, beginning with the famous valley of dry bones. As Ezekiel speaks God’s message over the bones – the same message of righteousness, judgment, grace and restoration – the power of the Holy Spirit brings them to life and forms them into a vast army.

The scene shifts again. This time Ezekiel sees a vision of God’s temple – not the stone temple which lay in ruins in Jerusalem, but the ideal which the stone temple was intended to represent: the dwelling place of God. From the temple flows a stream of water. As Ezekiel follows the stream farther from the temple, it becomes deeper and wider, and trees grow along the riverbank, with healing power in their leaves.

The New Testament uses the images of army and temple in referring to Christians. In other words, Ezekiel’s visions are pictures of the church.

More than that, these visions are pictures of what God wants each local church to be, at least in part. The farther Ezekiel got from the temple, the wider and deeper the river got. Water must have been flowing in from other sources. The only source of Holy Spirit water is Christians, whom Jesus said are to be fountains of living water. So the increasing size of the river speaks of the varied contributions of all the different local churches flowing together into one great river of life.

Taking this all together, I condensed it into what I believe is God’s personal mission statement for me: to go to my own people, whose language I understand, and, regardless of their response, to faithfully proclaim through word and action God’s message of righteousness and judgment, grace and restoration, prophesying the Holy Spirit over the dry bones to form them into a dwelling place for the manifest presence of God and a source of the river of living water that brings healing to the nations.

The people of Annapolis are certainly my own people. I grew up in the area. I don’t believe God is calling me to try to organize some big revival movement. But neither do I believe that God has called me to focus on building my own little local church empire. You can’t dam up living water. You can’t catch it all in a cistern inside the temple and keep it for yourself. The purpose of the river living water is to bring life and healing to all those who are outside the walls.

So that’s what I hope to focus on in this blog from now on. I appreciate your prayers and your comments.

Thank you, Stan and Jen!

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. – 1 Timothy 5:17


Most of us wouldn’t call Stan and Jen Bice “elders.” But they are older than the teens in our Trinity youth group. Since 2003 they have done a wonderful job of “preaching and teaching” and even “ruling” (in the words of 1 Timothy 5:17) our Trinity youth group. Now that they are stepping down from that position in order to give their growing son Corey the attention he needs, I want to be sure we give them “double honor.” They certainly deserve it.


For seven years Stan and Jen have selflessly given of their time and their hearts to the young people of Trinity Church. They have been there for them in times of fun and times of crisis. They have played games with them, taught them, listened to them, counseled them, and encouraged them. They have provided a shining example of what a Christian relationship between a guy and a girl should look like. They have taken their vacation time to attend youth leader training events.


Young people today face problems and pressures most of us even one generation older can’t begin to imagine. Stan and Jen have been there to help our kids navigate these rocky waters with grace and faith.


In twenty-nine years of ministry I have worked with many youth leaders, paid and unpaid. I can say unequivocally that Stan and Jen are among the best I have ever worked with.


In the past, Trinity has had paid youth directors. As we are in the process now of returning to that once again, I urge everyone to make a point of thanking Stan and Jen Bice, unpaid servants, for the difference they have made in the lives of many, many young people, and in the life of Trinity Church.


Thank you, Stan and Jen! You’re the best!


Blessings,

David Wentz

Haiti and Holy Week

Last night (Friday, March 27) Trinity Church was honored to host a marvelously eclectic concert of music to benefit long-term care of orphans in Haiti. Organized by David Slade of the SladeChild Foundation, a great collection of local jazz, blues and worship musicians donated their time, and the appreciative audience donated approximately $1500, 100% of which will go to Haitian orphan care.

I think this was a tremendous way to lead into Holy Week. But the way many people approach the week before Easter, they might miss the connection entirely.

Holy Week, sometimes called Easter Week, starts and ends with celebrations. Palm Sunday, a week before Easter, recalls the cheering of the crowds as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the deliverer promised by God. They cheered, sang, and made a carpet of palm branches and their own coats to keep the road dust down as the donkey carried Jesus.

At Trinity, we will celebrate that tomorrow (March 28) with the premier presentation of “Majesty on a Donkey,” an original cantata for praise band (we call it a Praisata), written by our own George Lewis, at the 9:00am and 11:00am Sunday services.

Holy Week ends with Easter, which celebrates the fact that Jesus rose from the dead as a guarantee that all who put their faith in him will also rise from physical death to eternal life. Trinity, like churches everywhere, will be bursting with music, praise and joy.

But there’s a third name for Holy Week or Easter Week: Passion Week. The passion of the Christ, as many people know from the movie by that name, was a horrible episode of betrayal and sadistic torture that Jesus endured in between those Sundays. When the formerly-cheering crowds discovered that Jesus had come to deliver them from spiritual bondage, not from the Roman army that occupied their country, they turned on him. He was beaten, whipped, and nailed to a cross to die. And in so doing, he paid the price for all the sins of all the people of the world.

That’s why we celebrate. And that’s why I think it is so appropriate to lead into Holy Week by doing something to help Haitian children orphaned by a massive earthquake. Because the children in Haiti are suffering. And if you take away the Sundays, Holy Week is all about suffering. Jesus knows what those children are going through, and Jesus cares.

Some people might wonder about jazz and blues music in church, especially leading into Holy Week. But the Bible says, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress, and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27). I think a concert that raises money to help orphans is the purest form of religion.

So have a wonderful Holy Week. Celebrate Palm Sunday! Celebrate Easter! But find a church service on Maundy (Holy) Thursday or Good Friday to remember what the celebration is all about. If you live near Annapolis, we'd love to see you at our service at Trinity on 7:30pm Thursday. Many people say it is one of the most moving services of the year. Or join the 24-hour prayer vigil starting at 8:00am Friday, organized by our youth.

And remember: in Haiti the ground has stopped shaking, but the work has just begun.