Recently, I’ve been thinking of the necessity of lay leadership in the church. For starters, I began listening to a talk on “Mentoring Lay Leaders.” The 2nd speaker, John Yates rector of The Falls Church, began by publicly repenting of his low view of lay leadership at the beginning of his ministry. He thought that really strong Christians go into ministry and the rest kind of “serve Jesus on the side.” This is really just a pagan gnostic/Platonic picture of life, where the sacred and secular are divided into separate spheres, with ministry being spiritual and of greater importance, and any other work being secular and of lesser importance. Sorry for the run-on sentence.

To serve Jesus, you have to do it ‘on the side’ instead of actually serving him wherever you are. Fortunately our Reformed tradition has done everything it can to eliminate this faulty distinction, but sometimes people still think this way. This isn’t the point of my post, however, so I shan’t be touching on it further. Just FYI.

He challenged everyone on the importance of lay leadership. Then someone involved in church planting came to our session meeting on Wed with the intent of getting our elders on board with a presbytery wide vision of planting churches. One of the reasons why he found it so important for elders to become involved is that every great renewal movement of God has been the result of the Spirit moving in God’s people. Not specifically clergy.

Getting back to the talk, Yates mentioned that most of the ministries in his church actually began by lay folks seeing a need and rising to leadership to address it. Couple that with someone more capable than I agreeing to lead our summer mission project, and two ladies bible studies starting up-not by pastor recommendations but by folks seeing a need and rising to it-I’m really jazzed up now.

Well of course the Rays couldn’t take my praise and lost last night to the Yankees 2-1. That’s what happens when little guys like me put enormous pressure on them.

Anyhow, one of the points of my last sermon was to know that the joy Christ offers is grounded in objective reality. It’s not true joy because it makes us happy (there are plenty of happy folks that don’t know Jesus), but true joy because Christ has legitimate, objective worth. It is of the utmost importance that we continue to delve into deeper knowledge of Him (why we should have this joy) and how/where He will build His Kingdom through us if we are to maintain that joy in the face of either hardship or skeptics.

We obviously do this-though it has to be intentional and with faith-through fellowship, the word, prayer, sacraments. But another way is reading, or listening to sermons, talks, lectures, discussions. It probably sounds boring to some, but especially for those who don’t like to read or have time to read, these aforementioned resources though the internet/Ipod can be of great help. You can kill two birds with one stone: I’ll drive, work in the yard, or clean the bathroom with these talks/sermons. Many of the speakers are quite engaging, particularly if the audio comes from a conference: conferences tend to not get boring folks to speak!

Here is a link of talks/lectures (I hesitate to use the word “lecture,” because lecture seems so academic and these are not) from the Gospel Coalition Conference of 2007 that I have begun to listen to. I definitely commend to you the talk on “Mentoring Lay Leaders” by Harry Reeder and John Yates.

I generally see baseball in very pragmatic terms. It serves the sole purpose of ‘getting me though’ the tough times before football season starts once again. Then I drop it like a slippery trout, and it’s off my hands until next season. However lately, its been exciting to follow the Tampa Bay Rays (remember they are no longer Devil Rays, since that was a stupid name to begin with and there actually ARE NO Devil Rays on the west coast).

Whether its the name change, the new “uni’s,” the starting pitching, bullpen, defense, or all of the above, the Rays are now in first place. Yes, over the Yankees and over the Red Sox. How long this will last is anyone’s guess, but it feels good when teams with nearly 200 million dollar pay rolls lose to less funded teams (cheaper owners is really what it all boils down to). Regardless, it is a blast to see a perennial loser beat up on some of the bullies in the neighborhood.

Our team reigns, for now. And I want people to know about it-Sports Center has yet to show much love. But I want more people to know. For the Christian, as evidenced in Jesus’ resurrection, and start of His Kingdom moving forward (His will in heaven being done more on Earth, restoring all aspects of fallen creation), our God reigns. We should have much more confidence (the Rays reigning is only temporary, and maybe REALLY temporary) and far more joy in the fact that our God reigns. As a result, we go forth into the world motivated by our joy, to express this to others via the gospel and our gospel acts of mercy, reconciliation, love, hospitality, renewal, etc…

Sometimes folks who spew forth 95 % garbage, can say very true things. Theologians call this Common Grace, and is part of being made in the image of God. Even people who hate Jesus can say true things. Take Bubba the Love Sponge for instance. Not a fan of Jesus.

I was traveling back home from the church to get my Ipod before heading to presbytery in S. Sarasota (there’s no way I was going to drive 35 minutes there and back and not listen to a good lecture). Well, there were commercials on both of my normal sports talk programs, so I flipped to my 4th (after my CD that I was tired of listening to) option: Bubba the Love Sponge. Every so often I’m curious as to what he’s talking about. He is quite a repulsive individual, yet today I found myself agreeing with him.

Today he was angry with the prosecutor for the Sean Taylor murder case. The prosecutor will not seek the death penalty for the two young men in the case. Apparently one of the dudes who shot Taylor was under 18 years of age when he committed the crime. So the real question that Bubba raised was, “Why do you have to be 18 to be held FULLY accountable?” He reasoned that his kids who are 6 and 7 know right from wrong. “To not know right from wrong, you have to be retarded.”

While I might word that last sentence a little differently, Bubba makes a good point. People know right from wrong at a very young age and yet choose that which is wrong. Whether they are 16 or 18, they know shooting people is wrong.

So on this rare occasion, Bubba, I salute you. It might not happen again for a long time, so savor the flavor.

Amy had her last day of school today. Its been an amazing year for her. God has been so good to her, as He gave her a class of All Stars. The odds of such a truly unique, smart, well behaved, and loving bunch of kids coming together is like 1 in 75 years; kind of like Haley’s Comet.

Anyhow I was formally and cordially invited to come in for a pizza party and take pictures. The party was intended to help the kids could get a little more closure that she would not be coming back. I’m glad I came, because I got to take home the left-over Domino’s Pizza.

One of the girls named Jasmine drew a picture for me. I guess it had me and her in it. BTW-If you ever have the need to feel like a celebrity, walk into an inner city kindergarten class. They treat you like royalty, without acting like Paparrazzi. Upper-Middle class Kindgerteners may do the same, but I wouldn’t know since Amy has only taught in title one schools.

Every time I go there, someone draws a picture for me. No Picaso’s in the making, but their pictures are done with love and do put a smile on my face. Not because of the quality of their work, but because of the desire of their hearts: to bless me.

I think there is some similarity with our praise before God. Our offerings before Him probably look like little kid art. We often think we’re offering Picaso worthy stuff to him, but its probably more like stick figures. Yet God delights in the praise of His children. They make Him smile. Its not the worthiness of the art He’s after, but the desire simply to honor and bless His name.

She’s planning on tutoring some next year, so I may not have seen the last of little kid art. I may just have to share the spotlight with “little T.”

Today I had to make a decision on something that would be somewhat public. I’m staying vague here because of law suits. Not really, but you do never know who will sue you in our litigious society.

Anyhow, I sought some counsel with a friend whom I consider more mature in the Lord than I (though not that counsel from less mature folks is worthless), and who once walked in my shoes. Again, I’m staying generic.

However, I’m so thankful and filled with joy that I have someone-actually I have several folks-that I can ask hard questions to and listen to their counsel. Most Christians have folks like these in their circles, but because of pride, self-autonomy, and disdain for accountability don’t actually invite them into their lives.

But it is a beautiful thing for someone younger in the faith (again, the order can be reversed sometimes) to come to someone older and say, “What would you do in this situation” or “do you think this is really wrong?” I’ll never forget a college girl who asked me my best bud whether or not she should take a job as a bar tender. I still can’t believe that a college person sought counsel! May we all be more like this girl, or woman, now.

I’m not happy about the economy being down, gas prices going up, house prices going down. Mine has dropped a ton! But God’s grace has still been at work in a way we might often overlook. Our main sense of security more often than not is in our houses, bank accounts, savings. They seem to be bastions of security. But they are ultimately are vain idols.

A church planter I talked to several weeks ago informed me that God had been destroying such idols of security before his very eyes. A man with roughly 400, 000 in a particularly company (I can’t remember which) lost just about all of it when that company folded. Suddenly his heart was more open to the gospel. He was willing to talk.

Until the nation recovers, and I obviously do want it to, perhaps we should be more active in praying for/sharing with folks to run to the only REAL security we can have in life and death (Heidelberg Catechism Q 1). When the bottom drops out, people reach for something more transcendent. Like Soren Kirkegaard, a Danish philosopher, we only hope that folks are reaching out to find a nail scarred hand, not more vain idols.

My favorite sports talk host Jim Rome gets emails signed from people, emotions, states of mind, states, etc…Well somehow I’m getting comments from an entity known exclusively as “Spam.” It has found its way to the comment section of my blog. I’m not a fan.

Anyhow, for those who know Amy, I’d like for you to take a guess on when you think she will be delivering “Little T.” The due date is May 21st. I’m taking the over, and I think she is as well. Please post if you think she’ll go earlier or later than that day (if you’re not familiar with gambling terminology).

Lately I’ve been having a fun time scheduling things. I really have. There is not a huge section of my life that is truly organized. OK, there probably isn’t a small section either, except when it comes to Contacts and Calendar-courtesy of Apple and Microsoft respectively. Since I’ve become a pastor most everything big I do, or person I meet with, is put on my electronic calendar. If something happens, and it gets canceled, no harm, no foul. I just electronically delete it.

Now that Amy is due in two weeks, everything I plan becomes extremely tentative. And all the more so as the Vday (or technically B-day for birthday, but I like WWII terms better sometimes) approaches. So now I’ll tell people when I plan something with them, “We’ll say ‘tentatively’ Tuesday at noon” or something like that. I even have to have back up plans for preaching this Sunday, and for my report on the floor of presbytery next Tuesday. I seriously do have a “Pinch Preacher.” No lie. Hope you don’t have to see or hear him.

Anyhow, I got to thinking, as I sometimes do, and thought, “Everything is ultimately tentative.” Nothing is set in stone. There really isn’t a need to add ‘tentatively’ to my plans. There is a tentativeness about life that should simply be presupposed. James 4:13-ff reminds us to say, “If the Lord wills, we will do this or that.”

However, I don’t think we need a literal recitation of these words every time we make plans. In fact it bothers me sometimes when people have to say EVERYTIME “Lord willing, I will see you tomorrow.” I know everything depends upon Lord willing. I’m Reformed and know that all things happen according to God’s Sovereign will.

Maybe I need reminders of that truth sometimes. But it does sound unnecessarily redundant if I already presume EVERYTHING is according the Lord’s will. Maybe I’m just being picky, but you don’t need to say “Lord willing to me” every time you see me. Thanks.