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Recently I was
privileged to participate in a study group convened by our district
superintendent, Rev. Randy Robinson; we discussed Martha Grace Reese’s
book,
Unbinding
The
Gospel.
In it she challenges churches to find new
and creative ways to share Christ with their communities.
In chapter nine she mentions various kinds
of distractions which can deter us from focusing on what God has called
us to do (which is to make us and others disciples of Jesus Christ for
the transformation of the world.)
Since Lent is a good time for introspection,
let me name the four distractions and then share Martha Reese’s remedy.
The first distraction is other good things; in the
church there are many valuable ministries, so we must decide which
one(s) our church can successfully perform and put the others aside.
The second one she calls alluring
distractions; they captivate us and entice us away from our intended
goal – for example, television, checking e-mail constantly, eating or
drinking too much.
The third distraction is a tragic
occurrence.
This one should be addressed right away and
never
ever
ignored!
A church’s goal can wait until it seriously
deals with whatever tragedy has occurred.
From dealing with a tragedy, a church will
find the deeper meanings of life God has in mind for His people; then a
church can move on to even a deeper, more in-depth evangelism – a deeper
sharing of Christ with others.
Finally, the fourth distraction deals with
confusion.
Some distractions come all at once and
really disrupt the balance of a church’s work.
It’s like one thing happens on top of
another, and the church can lose sight of its main focus.
A good example might be when the guest
speaker’s plane arrives late, and a tree falls on the church roof, and
then the back-up speaker gets sick, and the pastor just happens to be
out of town on vacation.
Perhaps the church could handle one
distraction, but dealing with a whole bunch of them gets to be a
problem.
Martha Grace Reese concludes by saying that we can
deal best with all kinds of distractions by
#1) recognizing the distraction as soon as
possible, #2) naming it, getting it out in the open, and discussing it
with concerned others, #3) praying about it to discern God’s will, and
#4) staying on target with our mission.
Again, Lent is a good time to make sure our
distractions do not veer us off target for making disciples for Jesus
Christ.
See you on
Wednesday nights and on Sunday mornings!
In Christ’s Peace,
Pastor Bill
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