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Michael Mercer: teacher. writer. father. husband. follower.

I Love Church

8/27/2013

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At the beginning of this year I made a set of goals.  One of those goals was to write 30 blogs this year.  This blog marks #30.  I think I'll go way beyond 30 though.  Hopefully you stick with me.  On this "goal-meeting" blog I decided to write what is dearest to my heart.


I have been in church all my life.  In my 36 years I have been a regular member at only 2 churches.  The second church I was at for 17 years.  Including my employment at churches I have been a part of 7 churches.  The two I grew up in and 2 that I interned for during summers and then the 3 churches I have worked for as a full-time minister.  I say all of that to say this:  Church is extremely important to me.  Let me say that even more specifically:  The LOCAL church is extremely important to me.  The significance of the church comes from a deep rooted faith, a faithful and consistent church-going family, authentic faith relationships with other church members, intellectual study (including formal Christian education), the word of so many church fathers, the Bible, and my personal experience as a member and minister with the local congregation.  I love church!  I may not always agree with what a church does or even always like church.  But I have a deep, unconditional love for the local church.  I believe in the church.  I believe in it when it is flawed and I believe in it when it inspires beyond its perceived ability.  So I want to take this blog to share some thoughts on church.


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A View From The Front

7/16/2013

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Every Sunday as I take my place on the stage to deliver a message for those who have joined together to worship God at UCC in Conway, AR, I look out into a crowd full of faces and silently pray a short prayer.  Work through me Lord!

It is quite interesting all the things a preacher, or any public speaker for that matter, sees while they are speaking to a crowd.  I almost hate to share this best kept secret.  I see people's eyes, their facial expressions, head-nodding, uncomfortable body language, way too comfortable body language (sleeping), people getting up and leaving, walking around, or even arriving in the middle of the sermon.  I see people who are tracking with my message and those lost in a world all their own.  And while this helps me as speaker to either add some inflection to bring attention back to the message or explain something a bit more to help the idea come to life, it is not the greatest thing I see.

The best thing that I see when I stand before a people who have made all the necessary sacrifices to come meet God, Jesus, Spirit, and Church that morning is the countenance of Christ.  I see the body of Christ!  I see black,/white, catholic/protestant, young/old, female/male, sufferers/blessed, survivors/thrivers, strong/weak, gatherers/missionaries, republicans/democrats/independents, liberals/conservatives, and churched/unchurched.  It inspires me and should inspire you that on one hour on a Sunday each week such a diverse group can enter the same building and find a common bond in Jesus Christ.  They are all walking on a similar path dedicated to a lifelong journey with Christ.  Some have been on that path all their life and there are others who have to yet to decide if this will be the journey for them or not.

And why is this a place of such unity in the face of incredible diversity?  Because whether we hold the same ideals, desires, interests, backgrounds, or experiences we have the same spouse; Christ.  The church is His bride and this common factor draws us together to not only be inspired by His word, His worship, and His people but also because of His Spirit.  When we come together we can all share how Christ has wept with us, cheered with us, challenged us, and saved us!  

There is one thing I know about the church.  The church is bigger than any individual involved.  The church is at its best when it comes together to celebrate, lament, and serve as one body.  A body that is local and global.  A body that is united and yet diverse.  A body that understands that Jesus has already come and is yet to come again.  A body that lives because it is part of the Kingdom today and the Kingdom that is yet to be fully realized. 

So when I stand up to preach this Sunday and I say, "Work through me, Lord!" I will see you nodding and nodding off, but more importantly I will see an incredible set of individuals who have joined together for a journey of following Christ and living Kingdom life together.  And believe me, it is a sight to behold.  It's the best view in the building!

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Spirit in the Sky

3/15/2013

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There was a lot of talk this past week about the Vatican conclave choosing a new Pope.  It was all over my Facebook and Twitter feeds.  There were prayers being sent, information being reported, but mostly witty comments and jokes being made.  I saw several of my friends making tweets about waiting for the call from the vatican.  This is all good humor.  One of my favorite humorous posts comes from a friend in Abilene, 
"Add a Sorting Hat and you have the makings of an 8th Harry Potter." 
Then there were many comments about the smoke and how that would communicate the decision.  Of course after the selection of Pope Francis, there was much good said about him and now the critics are having their voice.  But what I really want to share on my blog is about this idea of closing yourself off to the public and being vulnerable before God about your decisions. I love humor, so I get this comment and others and have laughed in jest with the different quips and ideas.  This is flattery and all of these kinds of comments must be kept in perspective that humor is okay.  It is fun and does not take away from seriousness of the event. But there is truth in every joke and the amount of comments, mostly from protestants, shows that we have our suspicions about the idea of this secret meeting and its reliance upon the Spirit.

Say what you want about Catholicism, Pro or con, I love this move they make to consort with God, the Holy Spirit.  All Christians should be this bold with the decisions we make regarding our spiritual direction.  I have long been a critic of considering God and praying for us to have a good parking spot or something of this insignificant nature.  It's not that I don't appreciate a good parking spot or a nice house, or don't want to win American Idol or the lottery, but it's that there are some things that either happen or don't happen, not necessarily due to God's providence, but just due to how things fall.  I want all Christians to put their hope in things above and count on the moving the Holy Spirit, but the promises of God aren't for us to have comfortable, easy lives.  The promise of God is that His son will return and that he has prepared a new Promised Land that will last for eternity and we are invited.  So while I accept the leading of the Holy Spirit, I reject that God intended for us to have a parking spot closest to the mall in mind as he commanded us to follow his crucified, resurrected son and to pray in his name.  There is more at stake than that in the Kingdom.  The Holy Spirit is at work and we need to open ourselves to His leading.  I think that's exactly what the Cardinals were doing during the conclave.

This opens a huge can of worms and room for great pondering.  What does God genuinely care about?  Well, he cares about his creation.  He cares about His kingdom.  He cares about His people (please read all people).  I hope this isn't over simplified.  Within each of these there are other ideas to explore.  Kingdom has so much wrapped up in it, just like creation, and just like people.  In biblical times you wouldn't find an Israelite or a follower of Christ who separated out their religious world, their social world, their work world, and their private/family world.  These were all combined in how they lived and what they did.  So when they were sick, they had sinned against God.  When they were rich, wealthy, and healthy, they were following close to God and listening to His ways.  Nowadays we take these worlds and we separate them.  God is at church or when we say, "Bless You."  We make our money at work and it is through our determination to the job, the hours we put in, and the way we lead that gives us our paycheck (as opposed to our following of God).  Friends are in our social planes (virtual or real) and we have success in relationships based on our own feelings, happenings, or support given.  And our family is found in our home behind our front door, within our fenced-in yard, and plastered on our Christmas card.  When we get sick its a virus or an infection.  When we get a raise it's because we have done good work.  When we fail, it is because we made poor choices, or someone else did, or because it wasn't the right time or opportunity.  Okay, I've stepped on some toes here and I have made some grand generalizations and to the negative side of humanity.  I get that and its all for this point.  We need to bring all of those worlds together under God.  We need to explore what God wants for not just us individually, but for us as a people (do I dare use the term church here).  We need to barricade ourselves off from the world sometimes to call on God and to seek His will and His direction.

When we hire ministers, select deacons, call elders, place membership, promote discipleship, serve those in need, send missionaries, collect an offering, or chart a vision we need to remove distractions and call on the Holy Spirit.  So many times we make decisions in churches based on how it will impact attendance, finances, moods, or outside appearances.  That's why we need to be called to a private, holy, space and allow for our focus and question to be what is best for the Kingdom and what does God want for us.  Then when the decision has been made we can send the smoke into the sky knowing we have given it over to God and his leading and we follow his plan.  Maybe then our different worlds will collide and what we see done in our churches, even when done in private, we can take home with us and allow for God to lead us there too and all over the world.  Where there is Spirit, there is God.

I know this song is about dying, but I love it and the Spirit is moving in the sky and on the ground!
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Church is Not the thing Jesus is!

11/10/2010

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The focus of the gospels is pretty plain...Jesus' life, teachings, death, burial, and resurrection.  The focus of Paul's letters seems obvious...church.  Acts seems to focus on the actions of those who were following Jesus over Judaism for the first time since Jesus' ascension.  The pastoral letters, James, Petrine epistles, Johanine Epistles seem to focus on those that are doing their best to follow Jesus or exhortation to follow Jesus.  Jude and Revelation focus on what it may mean for those who suffer for Christ and briefly say something about His return.  Hebrews...now Hebrews focuses on Jesus being the ultimate high priest.  When it comes down to it all, the entire focus is Jesus Christ.  Paul is sharing what it means to be church through the lens of being a follower of Christ.  Acts is giving examples of what it looks like to follow Jesus.  The pastoral letters are how to use Jesus as your leadership model.  The other letters constantly are pointing back to Christ.  The apocalyptic literature is framing martyrdom, and suffering as a grace act of relentless faith in Jesus.


If you go back through the Old Testament with your Jesus goggles on you will see also how the entire story of God is seeking His son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  The church must not be the thing.  It is a thing, but not the thing!  The church is the living of of the rest of the story.  The Old Testament to the New Testament to our current Testament the focus is Jesus Christ.


What does this mean?  Does this mean we don't worry about the budget, carpet color, missionaries, staff salaries, ministry to neighbors, fellowship meals, or worship on Sunday.  Not at all!  We shouldn't really worry over those things, but they aren't precisely evil things for us to pay attention to.  It means that the focus, the mission, the vision, the call should all be out Christ and living out our redemption through him into the world.


When we worship it should be because of Jesus. 
When we take communion it should focus on the Messiah.
When we sing it should be songs of the Savior.
When we preach it should point to the Lord.
When we pray it should not just be in His name, but all about His name.
When we leave and go out into the world, we should be sent with the Christ call.


Church is only what it is, because of Christ.

To make it anything else is to miss the point of church and Christ!


Church shouldn't make us want more church.  It should make us want more Jesus.


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Church of the Pharisees

11/6/2010

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As we continue this series about church again I want to share what church was never intended to be that sometimes we make the mistake of making it.  Church is not escape from the world.  This idea is different from church being a sanctuary.  The Sunday assembly should be a place where people who have been engaged in the world during the week can come together to have some respite and be recharged for another week to come.  That's not all it should be though!


However, the idea that the church should be disengaged from the world does not line up with Christ.  It may line up with the proverb about bad company corrupting good morals, but not with Jesus' story.  Jesus sat and ate with tax collectors and sinners.  He touched lepers, talked to women, Samaritan women, touched the dead, a bleeding woman, and defended an adulterous woman.  In fact as far as scripture goes, the people he hung out with the least were "church people."  


So as a church what do we do?  Do we spend time with only our Christian, safe friends?  Do we spend time only with those that are "like" us?  Unlike Jesus we are sinners just the same as anyone else we could interact with in this world.  Are we using church to guard ourselves against murderers, thieves, liars, cheats, prostitutes, homosexuals, wiccans, muslims, buddhists, and atheists.  If so, maybe we have missed part of what church should be today.  


Church is not an escape from the world.  This is what the Pharisees were all about.  They held tightly to the rules and regulations and kept those who didn't fit the mold out of the temple.  They rebuked Jesus, the Christ, for mingling with the wrong people, breaking the sabbath, and forgiving the unforgivable.  Jesus healed people on the Sabbath.  He touched the eyes of the blind.  He commanded the lame to walk.  He forgave the immoral.  He convicted Zacchaeus to stop cheating people and give his money away to those in need.  There is no way that Jesus could have taught his disciples "the way" without mingling with the destitute of society.  Remember it is not the well who need the physician, but the sick.


Church would be more of what is should be if we did become a silo for the worldly behavior of others, but rather a place of refuge for the worst of sinners, a place of healing for the rejected, and a place of hospitality for the least of these.


We can be a refuge from the world and be the church of the Pharisees or we can be a welcome mat for all and be the Church of Christ!

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Why Church? (Part 2) Why Church is not necessarily the fire escape from Hell

10/24/2010

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There was a time in my life and maybe yours too where the answer to not going to Hell was making sure you attended church.  There are so many things that are wrong with that ideology that we must unpack the thought then concentrate on a better ideology.  First of all Heaven and Hell should not be made the designated multiple choice answers for everything theological and faith oriented.  Jesus never made Hell the negative motivation to follow Him.  And in fact, Jesus never made Heaven the positive motivation to follow Him.  Jesus simply made the Kingdom now of greatest importance, which was to follow God and honor Him by honoring his word, his people, his creation, and his call.  If we try to make Hell the enemy of the church, then in essence we are making the church Heaven and I'm not sure anyone who has ever been in relationship with any church would be willing to give it that tag.  Second, attendance with a church does not give a free pass for everything else in this world.  There are great positive things about church attendance and frankly I'm a proponent of church attendance.  However, just because we attend church doesn't mean we live sin-free lives and are conquerors for the kingdom.  It simply means we made a concerted effort on Sunday to join others who made the same effort.  Sometimes it will mean we have walked away with great insights, warm emotions, or even full stomachs.  And sometimes it will mean we feel we have wasted our time, the minister's time, and God's time.

If Hell is the scare tactic that is coercing people into a building to praise God...


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Why Church?

10/14/2010

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This is the question so many are asking today.  And to be honest, why wouldn't they be asking this question.  I am not so sure we have been promoting a strong sense of what church really is or we have made church something it's truly not.  


I have heard through the years that a church must decide whether it is a "Sanctuary for Saints" or a "Hospital for Sinners."  Why these two statements do stress the fact that we use our Sunday assembly to both encourage and heal, they miss the point of who the church really is.  The church is a group of people who together are finding their way on the journey with Jesus.  Now all of that sounds somewhat like Christian Jargon and doesn't help us practically with why we should invest ourselves in the church.  We can be a people on the Jesus journey without stepping foot into the building each Sunday.


Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola have put some language to a new thought about what it means to be the church. I hope to draw on this language so that we can think through the purpose and power of the church for the next few weeks
       "The church is Jesus Christ in corporate expression.  So, properly conceived, the church is the reassembling of Christ so that He might be made visible on the earth...We see Him, hear Him, touch Him, taste and smell Him through our sisters and brothers within whom He dwells.  Genuine church life is born when groups of people are intoxicated with a glorious unveiling of their Lord.  Jesus Christ is the only foundation upon which an authentic church can be built." (Jesus Manifesto, 143)

In the next two weeks I want to talk about what it means to be that corporate expression and the dangers of using church as a means to a specific end.  Join me in the conversation with your thoughts, complaints, questions using the comment section.

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The Journey

8/21/2010

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There are many journeys or treks shown through scripture.  There are countless in the Old Testament when the Israelites were pursuing God through worship, wandering in the desert when disobedient, or crusading when conquering in His name.  There are positive journeys where the Israelites followed God's plan and were rewarded and times when they ended up exiled to foreign lands because of their arrogance and disobedience.  In the New Testament we are quickly shown that Jesus doesn't stay in one place too long.  Paul has several missionary journeys and even John when receiving his great revelation was moved swiftly from place to place and vision to vision.  Sometimes these movements were calculated and expected and other times where those traveling are pleasantly surprised like on the road to Emmaus.  The book of Acts and the sets of letters that follow are sure indications of the church moving and growing as Christ is being preached and the Spirit is working miraculous things.


Then there is today.  We have gone through strong periods of time where "journey" language has been lost and finding the right way of thinking and arriving at certain destinations have taken over.  Whether those destinations are praying Jesus into your heart, baptism, or being a radical servant when we think we have arrived, we are on dangerous ground.  Life with Christ is a journey.  Sometimes we are on the right path and sometimes we lose our way.  The key is finding that path with Christ and walking on it together.


If we take this journey alone we are sure to get weary, lose our way, or just give up.  We need one another to continue on the journey.  Together we can challenge one another, dream new visions, and spur on one another.  I'm excited by the journey we are all on.  Now how do we take this journey together with so many differences and preferences.  Next time let's talk about what it means to be gathered together to share the journey.


-Michael 

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    Michael Mercer

    I like to explore different things about theology and the life of the church.  You might also find things here about me and my family.

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