Compost Tea

Survivor: China

Reality shows are not my thing, though sometimes they are interesting case studies in human nature. Routinely, (especially in the case of Fear Factor) people willingly sacrifice human dignity as they quest for riches and fame.

Recently, a new season of Survivor premiered. Though I rarely watch the show, I happened to be sitting in front of a TV when it came on. With all the contestants gathered in the courtyard of a Buddhist temple complex, host Jeff Probst welcomed the contestants. He then said that the local people wanted to welcome them by inviting them to participate in some Buddhist rituals in the temple. Knowing that some might object, he said that no one is asking anyone to worship and that it's just a welcome ceremony.

The show then focuses on the reactions of several of the contestants to the rituals taking place. One was bored and another one was moved. A contestant name Leslie, though, was torn. Even with Probst's disclaimer that what they were doing wasn't worship, her conscience told her that no matter how the issues might have been couched, she was being invited to worship something other than the Triune God.

Leslie walked out of the Temple rituals. Afterwards, with all the contestants gathered in front of the Temple, Probst asked her why she walked out. Leslie, knowing that she might lose goodwill among her fellow contestants and thus lesson her chances of winning, told Probst plainly that she felt like she was being asked to worship someone or something other than Christ. She wasn't rude or condemning, just courageously witnessing to her allegiance.

While Jeff Probst implied she might have been rude by not going along with the "welcome ceremony," it was really Probst and the producers of the show that were rude and exploitive. The producers do research on all their contestants. They knew the chances were great that one of the Christians would object and that would make for "good TV".

While Probst said the ritual was one that the local people wanted to share as a way of welcome, I doubt that it was their idea. More likely, they were also being exploited for "good TV."  I think the Buddhists would have been more respectful of religious convictions than the show's producers and can't imagine Buddhists pushing a Christian to participate in their rituals.

So, Leslie, I affirm your gentle stand.

And to Probst and the producers . . . well, forget it, you wouldn't listen anyway!

Perseverance

Scripture gave me a boost this morning (as it often does). From the beginning of the NT Book of James,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I once had a vision of a Christian community of faith that owned no property, no buildings. This community of faith would be the purest form of Christian fellowship: meeting in homes, studying Scripture together, praying together, and carrying each other’s burdens.

I couldn’t have been more serious about this vision: Nancy and I left a traditional Presbyterian Church that had just added an educational wing to an already fine building. We left stability and security to move into a neighborhood in order to start some new kind of ministry in order to reach those unconnected with Christ and the community of faith.

At the beginning of what turned into Common Ground, we met in homes, pavilions, and even a barn. As good as that was, our small group sensed a call to expand, to develop a worship experience that newcomers could relate with, to have a greater community presence, and to have more programming for children and youth.

So, we moved into South Range High School, began our advertising and started to grow. Less than 5 months after our official beginning, some started talking about property and the possibilities of building.

I was far from convinced that this was a good idea. Having experienced a church building project before, I knew that enormous amount of energy and resources required to pull it off, which could shift our focus away from our mission.

Gradually though, I became open to it. Our leaders discussed very thoroughly the dangers and risks of tackling a building project so soon in our life as a church community. We were in complete agreement about several things: 1) If we were to have a facility, it would seek to reflect the compassion of Christ—that somehow our building and campus would address the needs and hurts of the community and world. 2) That any facility for us would be designed to be used more than a day or two a week. 3) That our facility would reflect a keen sense of stewardship, shunning ostentation and luxury. 4) That our facility would be children and youth friendly.

So, we decided to move forward, knowing that we would have to make some short-term sacrifices for long-term gain.

We are definitely in that period of short-term sacrifice. None of the architects or contractors with whom we consulted would have guessed that our progress would have been so slow. Personally, I have had to deal with a lot of frustration about this. Some of you may be impatient.

What are we to make of the setbacks and delays? Is it a sign that God’s not with us? Did we overreach? Surely, if God was for this, wouldn’t things go more smoothly?

These are questions that I have asked and some of you may have asked. But here’s how I answer the questions and what I want to share with all of you. Struggles come to both those in the center of God’s will and those working directly against God’s will. That things are going smoothly is no guarantee that God is blessing and affirming our decisions or lifestyles.

James was a realist—but a realist with an incredible faith in God. James knew that even our struggles are under the providence of God and that He uses those struggles to build faith and character into our lives.

To use an agricultural metaphor, we are in the soil preparation stage. A farmer could just sow some seeds and hope for the best, but if the farmer carefully tills and prepares his soil, his harvest will be much greater. Right now, we are working the soil, and frankly, I’m tired of it. I can’t wait to teach more, to spend more time in developing programming, and to lead us into hands-on mission. I am ready to plant more seeds, watch them grow, and see the fruit.

Our values and goals are good. We must persevere.