Hello, my name is William Lehman. I don’t know where God is taking me. I do know that it’s a wild ride and that He’s given me many gifts to do a lot of things. I graduated in 2003 from Circleville Bible College with a degree in Biblical Theology/Youth Ministry Emphasis. I’ve worked as a Youth Minister, a full-time associate pastor, a Studio photographer, a professional blogger and channel editor, a web designer, a freelance artist and a coffee server since. In the last five months, I’ve also become full-time daddy to our little son.
When it comes to the average church, I often see it as a bureaucratic facade of “fiscal maneuvering” designed to look like ministry. Meetings designed to put together action plans for increasing attendance, thereby increasing monetary means to increase attendance to again increase net wealth of “God’s kingdom” on earth. This from the role of someone who has been in those shoes, lived those meetings. Here are some questions I’d pose for that average church that feels they might be going through the same charade:
- If you really loved God and loved people as much as you say you do, would you still spend 12 hours a week going over action plans for five year goals or would you spend those 12+ hours each week actually listening to the hurting or caring for the broken?
- Aren’t you tired of trying to make it work, to make the numbers add up, or preaching to deaf ears on a Sunday morning?
- Does it really matter if everything goes smoothly on a Sunday morning or is it some kind of illusion of control that you want?
I for one am tired of feeling that I have to be so shallow as to be reduced to “getting it right” on a Sunday morning to have a relationship with a God who has forgiven my sins and genuinely loves me enough to die on a cross and make me a co-heir with Him.
I’d rather listen to the broken-hearted than to go to a meeting and try to figure out what is five years down the road. Because frankly, we don’t have tomorrow, next week, the year after, or five years from now. We have today. If we are called to live as bridegrooms ready for the return of Christ, then we’d best start understanding that our real treasure, our only treasure is the same thing that our God came and died on a cross for, that He may come back between now and our next goal realization meeting, and that no amount of goal setting will be excuse enough for the ones we were called to reach and did not.
I have the gifts to do a lot of things. To build websites, to serve coffee, to play drums, to lead small groups, to preach, to do design work and many more besides. If I had these and so many other gifts, I could do so much but it would be in vain unless I failed to do that thing that is called of me, of all of us to do, to love.
This is my personal mission statement, a sound out from the depths of my heart resounding with every stroke of a key.
Love God. Love Man.
I will fail at times to do this but I am confident that God’s grace is sufficient for even me.
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Amazing Grace! <3
Of course, good stewardship requires planning,
but it also requires action.
And understanding what God intends for one’s life
is very much like that movie, “Silver Streak”
where Gene Wilder is thrown off the train,
and keeps getting back on and thrown back off.
You think you’re on the right track and moving ahead at a good pace,
and then you’re plummeting and splashing
and scrambling up a muddy, rocky bank into weeds and wilderness…
Somehow, it’s the plummeting, splashing and scrambling
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i hear ya on this. i just went and looked at your “About” section (love the pic by the way) to see if i could determine where it is that you are. i remember similar sentiments in myself back in the day and i also remember fighting the changes that came along to lead me to a much better place. i thank God for the journey and i still forget the many graces along the way, but there have been graces. Love God. Love Man. that works for me on many levels. i read Shane Claiborne’s “Jesus for President” in the last year and it really kicked me in the pants to be doing more for working with and among the poor (it can be pretty political so be careful as you read but it took me to some really good places). anyway, i just wanted to comment and send a prayer of blessing on your journey at the same time.
Meg what is the url of your blog? you said you were new to blogging…
Stacy I agree with you in that action and planning are a part of stewardship. Easily seen in the parable of the talents. I can’t stress enough that this life of “plummeting, splashing, and scrambling” (I liked that analogy by the way) is somehow dear to the heart of God, but we must carefully separate it from a life of lax mere spirituality because any relationship requires something of both parties. If relationships were easy, we’d see a lot more people stay married.
Ian I’ve been reading your blog for about a month now. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll add you to the blogroll when I get a spare moment.