Here and There...

Nathan Colquhoun - of The Story  - is doing a series on "What is a Pastor?" The link takes you to the fourth installment - links to his other posts in the series are there as well. This topic has been occupying a lot of my thought over the last six months or so.

Nancy gave us a poem that I particularly enjoyed. The thing I like best about poetry is how it needs you to slow down. It needs you to care about every word, every phrase.

we all want to see that what we do is something that makes a difference.
but we do not see what God sees
and it is probably for the best
but we would like to be the one to choose
what things would be best
and what things would be big and awesome
and instantly life changing
so that we could see our power
so that we could see our work
we would like to see what God sees
but God wants our trust
it is He that knows the worth of us
and the worth of what we do
it is God that does the work
that we do not see
and it is so hard to understand this
to remember this
when things look dismal and unchanging
when the things we do look small
our work
is to Love God
and one another
and that looks different to all of us
but we do not see the whole picture
we do not see
but we know
we know

And, in a past comment Beth asked about ministering amidst poverty, addictions and hopelessness:

....but when the context has been shot to hell with addictions, abuse, self abuse, poverty, hopelessness, and then I'm coming along behind 'the church' mopping up a lot of bull shit and lies and utter usury, I'm just wondering - where in the world do I start? The best I can come up with is being a friend. I'm wishing I was in a typical mission field --where the culture is intact, and a social structure exists.

Any thoughts?

Comments

[penni]

:: ...but when the context has been shot to hell with addictions, abuse, self abuse, poverty, hopelessness, and then I'm coming along behind 'the church' mopping up a lot of bull shit and lies and utter usury, I'm just wondering - where in the world do I start? The best I can come up with is being a friend. I'm wishing I was in a typical mission field --where the culture is intact, and a social structure exists. ::

you asked for thoughts and i really hate being first out of the *box* :), but my initial, knee-jerk reaction to the above is: sweetheart, this IS your mission field!

you are seeking picture-perfect, culture-intact places to do God's work? you think because the places we see in photographs of cultures far away from here aren't wrought with problems that are contained within their culture, rather than without? where exactly do you think our drugs came from initially?

honestly, your question about where does one start and self-answered "by being a friend" is in my opinion, a very good place. i am learning by being involved in a 12-step program since december that for every finger i point at someone else for *my* issues -- they did this or that to me -- there are three pointing back at me. i said to rwk a few comments ago that Ghandi said "be the change you wish to see." i stand by that.

we may not feel we are making a difference, but when we offer a listening ear and heart to someone who is hurting, we are being the Body of Christ. donations of coats or other pieces of clothing - we are clothing the Body of Christ. volunteering at a women's or homeless shelter, serving them a meal -- feeding Christ. as the Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love." if we all start small, doesn't it stand to reason that a bunch of folks doing small things can amount to something much greater than the sum of their parts? God's ways are so much higher than ours.

i have rambled, so i shall close here so that i may not sound like a gong clanging...thank you for letting me share :)

[penni (again)]

on my way to my meeting this morning, i felt conviction about saying this:

::where exactly do you think our drugs came from initially?::

that was a generalization and i apologize if i offended. i do know, however, that illegal drugs are oftentimes imported from foreign countries whose cultures, to an outsider, appear to remain "intact."

i'll shut up now, lest i dig myself in deeper...

[caddywampus]

Thanks so much for your continued encouragement to live a life of love and grace. I am living in the Middle East now and I have been more than a bit overwhelmed by the lack of space I see for grace and the lack of change I have seen in the culture....and then I was reminded (as tears strolled down my face) while reading Nancy's poem that I am called to be loved and love- that's it! God alone sees the worth of my work and He alone can be the judge of my worth. Thanks for the reminder- it was much needed.

[beth]

well, i have thought of something that helps: i really can't make things worse.
i find comfort in this.

[The lady at the end of the couch]

No, we can't make things worse.

What I'm learning is that we can't fix things, either. The brokenness is so far beyond our ability and reach that it reminds me of a Dilbert cartoon where one of the office workers is given a task that she realizes is impossible. She bursts out joyfully that she's free. If failure is inevitable, then she is free!

I apply that to what we do. If we try to fix things, we will fail. So that means we're free - to trust God. Easier said than done, I know, but the absolute best thing we could do.

And every now and then, something beautiful happens and we don't know whether it had anything to do with us being there, (tho as someone said, it probably has more to do with it than we know) but we can see that God is at work and that's a wonderful thing.

[Marjorie]

I understand the weight of this issue, seeing as I struggle with it myself, everyday. Where do we begin, with so much addiction, so much mental illness....you're right on the money...being friends. I recently read Shane Claiborne's, Irresistible Revolution. One part he mentions how amazing it is when the people you're ministering to become friends to you. I believe wholeheartedly that Jesus meant us to be friends, which causes us to love unconditionally.

It's hard to do it yourself. It almost overtakes me sometimes. But then I realize when I trust in God when I befriend these people, He takes over and works in amazing ways.