Catalyst Notes: Jud Wilhite: Staying Grounded in Ministry

     Jud Wilhite’s (Senior Pastor of Central Christian Church, Henderson NV.) talk at Catalyst in Dallas was great.  It probably was a gut check to a number of ministers who are often hoping to move into larger and larger churches during their preaching careers.  Not all do, but there is a pull on many ministers that says that they are not successful unless they are at a larger church.  And so the question begs, “When are you then successful? When you are at the largest church in the world?”  If success depends on how many you are preaching to then you will never feel successful.  Jud Wilhite walked through II Corinthians 5:11-15 with us and reminded us to be present where God has called us to be.

2 Corinthians 5

-----New Living Translation (NLT)-----

11. Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

-----New Living Translation (NLT)-----

“God might not call you to a spectacular ministry, but will always call you to a faithful and sincere heart.” (v. 11-12)

Paul lets the Corinthians know that it is more important to have a sincere heart than it is to have a spectacular ministry.  He doesn’t say that spectacular ministries are wrong, just that our focus should be on having a sincere heart.

Jud reminded us that very few ministers will ever be able to work at large congregations.  The facts are simply that most churches are small.  We must measure our success first by having a faithful and sincere heart to God, and to where God has called us to be now.  Jud stated, “At the end of life nobody cares about the ministry scorecard.”

“Stay a little crazy for God” (v. 13)

Paul goes in to say that if what he is doing doesn’t make sense to them it is ok (v. 13).  They are doing things differently so that they can reach people with the message of Christ.

Jud had two great quotes on this point. 

• Sometimes you have to get down in the mess to help people get back on their feet.
• Ministry is messy, because sin is messy.

“Compelled by Christ”  (v.14-15)

It doesn’t matter if I appear crazy or if it all makes sense to you.  But what matters is that it is the love of Christ that controls or compels us. We no longer live for ourselves but instead we live and try to love others as Christ loves them. 

Jud reminded us all that no matter the size of our congregation or ministry,

 “Home is where God calls you to be.”

Have you made where you are home?  How do you fight the conflict between being present where you are and wanting to be more successful? Is there a to be content with where we are and have a holy discontent with the way things are? How do you stay focused on a sincere heart when the world screams we need a spectacular ministry/lifestyle/job/income? 

Baseball and Church

Ok, I am officially tired of baseball. I get so frustrated. I am sick about it. Don't get me wrong I love the game. There is just something so cool about something with so much history and so much fun. A day at a real ballpark with your family while costly is very relaxing.

What I don't understand though is the refusal to go to instant replay. In tonight's game six of the NLCS a batter was hit by a pitch but the umpire called it a wild pitch which means the guy on third base could run home. If it was called a hit batter then the batter would go to first, but the runner could not come home. On replay, he was clearly hit. Major League Baseball has forgotten the purpose of the umpire -- to get the calls right. In their stubbornness they hold on to being "pure" and refuse to use instant replay which would arguably speed the game up not slow it down. I don't suggest they use replay or computers to make every call but something has to change. No one can argue that instant replay would get more calls wrong or that it would hurt the umpires in fulfilling their purpose.

It reminds me of something we do in church. So many of our congregations forget our purpose -- to help non Christians come to know Christ and to help us all grow closer, to each other and to God. Sometimes we get so caught up in tradition that we refuse to change and to do things will help us become more welcoming to outsiders. We have to be willing to look at how we do what we do and decide if there is a way to do it that will help us connect to non-churched people. The function of church, -its purpose- needs to be a constant steady thing over time. The form of church- how we do the function- needs to be fluid and moving so that we can fulfill our mission. I have spoken to members of churches that say, "we do it this way because it is what we like. Doing it the other way isn't sinful and might help us reach people, but we don't really like it." The congregations have forgotten their purpose.

I'll still watch baseball. I'll still be in church Sunday Morning. I love baseball. I love my church.

God, Please help me be open and fluid to your will in my life. Help me keep my eyes and heart focused on you and let your love flow through me to the world.