Unfinished

“Dad, I finished my science project!”

I heard the excitement in my daughter's voice and saw the smile of satisfaction as she proudly told me that she had finished her school project one week earlier than the due date. She beamed with pride and contentment as she surveyed the fruit of her labor. The science of rocks and minerals put in project form a week before the completion deadline can be a daunting task for a 4th grader. How did she do? Read on.

Rinito! Acabodo! Fertif! (translated…Finished!)

Whatever the language, finality brings a feeling of accomplishment, and places a period at the end of a task. Finishing that last quarter mile of a first marathon. Finishing a college degree at 40 years of age. Cleaning out the sagging attic brought about by years of accumulation of “stuff”. Checking off the last item on the mile long to-do list. Finishing that last spoonful of ice cream. (Well, maybe this one is not really an accomplishment, but I like ice cream, and it seemed to fit here)

So what is the big deal about finishing?

I work in a manufacturing environment where we build assemblies for the United States Armed Services. There are often over 100 individual parts that make up some of our final assemblies. I have the unique vantage point of seeing the finished product in various stages of a pre-assembled state. These pre-assembled stages are messy, disorganized, and frankly, completely useless. But when all the individual pieces are put together as one, and the final assembly is cleaned, inspected, tested and packaged to go to the customer, we realize that the hard work that went into producing that finished product makes it all worth the effort. The result? A finished work that is presentable and fit for use by our heroes in uniform.

What does this concept have to do with the Christian walk? Much, it seems.

Upon doing some research, I discovered that the word “finish” (or in the form of “finished”) is used at least 52 times in the Bible. Given the frequency of use for this word, it would seem that God thought there was something to be said for completeness. The end product is important to God, but our journey to the finish line is equally important.

Let me be very clear. None of us have “arrived”. There is not a Christian on the planet that has reached the top rung of God’s ladder of righteousness and faithfulness. None of us can look into the mirror of our soul and see His perfect reflection. What we are now in Christ is certainly not what we can one day be in Him, or what He wants us to be in Him. We have yet to become the finished product. God is not done with his child. He is refining His willing vessels, piece by piece, hour by hour, and day by day. Refinement is not always comfortable, convenient, or painless, but it is necessary for each of us walking the journey of faith. We are a work in progress. Even better, we are HIS work in progress.

“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” Ephesians 2:10, NIV

When my daughter Emily was working on her project, she glued some pictures in the wrong place and had to remove and replace them. She misspelled a word or two here and there and had to re-write them. She had to erase some lines that she had drawn that had not been carefully planned out. Life is full of “re-do’s”, “do-overs”, and “undones”. Christ knows this and is forgiving and patient with our flaws as we are transformed more and more each day into His likeness. Our primary desire should be the eventual transformation into His likeness. He will finish the unfinished work, because he promised that He would.

“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6, NIV)

Never forget that we are a work in progress. We make mistakes. We mess up. We blow it. But thanks be to God that He never gives up on His "works of art". He keeps drawing us to Him. He keeps chiseling the “rough edges” of bad habits here, and polishing the “dull luster” of lackluster faith there. One day, we will be like Him, when we see Him face to face.

But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2, NIV)

Many who know me well, may know that I am a big fan of Max Lucado. His words of encouragement have inspired millions in their walk with Christ. One of my favorite quotes from Mr. Lucado that I use to encourage others, as well as myself at times, is the following:

 "You weren't an accident. You weren't mass produced. You aren't an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the Earth by the Master Craftsman." - Max Lucado

Imagine that! We were intentionally put here by God! As we yield to His plan and purpose, He continually refines us so that we can be more and more like Him. It is amazing to think that the God of the universe cares enough to make our life His project of love.

As for Emily’s class project that she worked so diligently to finish, I am proud to say that she made an A+. The hard work paid off. It was worth the re-do effort of every misplaced picture of marble and every misspelled word in the description of quartz. As for our journey toward the likeness of Christ, we too will come out of the Refiner’s fire, tried and true. It will be so worth the discomfort of refinement for a season. After all, there is none better to complete the eternal work that was begun in us, than the One who declared…IT IS FINISHED!

Be encouraged friend. As a yielded child of God, you are a one of a kind masterpiece in the making, with God’s fingerprints all over your life. Trust Him completely, and as you do, I guarantee you that He won’t leave you....unfinished.

What Is The Church For Anyway?

It may come as a shock to you that I know many people who attend church every single day of the week. Surprised to hear such a claim? You may be even more surprised to know that these extraordinary church attendees are not pastors, missionaries, or evangelists. After all, it is oftentimes “expected” of individuals in these particular roles to be in church everyday. The people that I am referring to are so-called “average” Christians, with no title other than the One whose name they bear, who have decided to live out the gospel each and every day. Without a title, without a ministry, and in many cases without recognition.

Church. What exactly is “church” with respect to the Christian believer?  It is evident what most people consider to be the meaning and purpose of the church. Webster’s Dictionary lists the most often used definitions of church as follows:

Church (n)

1: a building for public and especially Christian worship.

2: the clergy or officialdom of a religious body

3: a body or organization of religious believers: a : the whole body of Christians b : denomination c : congregation

4: a public divine worship <goes to church every Sunday>

5: the clerical profession <considered the church as a possible career>

This quaint set of definitions has been accepted for decades, and conveniently allows for predictability and ritualism. It allows us to fit God nicely inside a box, namely the four walls of a building on Sunday mornings. Interestingly, all five of these definitions are nouns (i.e. non-action definitions) I would submit the idea that perhaps Jesus Christ intended to define church quite differently. I believe that Christ intended church to be a verb, backed by action, and not to be confined to the man-made mechanics of “church-ism”. Radical? Far fetched? I don’t think so. Nothing about the command “Go ye into all the world” suggests passiveness and confinement to the four walls of a church building or ministry. On the contrary, it was said of the believers in the book of Acts, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also” (Acts 17:6). Wow! What a badge of honor! I am pretty confident that the impact that these believers had did not happen in a weekly Sunday morning worship service for 3 hours. These men turned their world upside down because they put action behind their faith in their everyday lives and proclaimed and lived out their Christian conversion experience in front of others on a regular basis. There were no technology-infused “Mega Church” ministries or emotion-based camp meetings, and the official title of “pastor”, “missionary”, or “evangelist” was not required for legitimacy and for the Holy Spirit’s power to be displayed. No church or denominational membership card was required. The only thing for certain was that these common men and women of action, empowered by the Spirit, had a message to share with the world that they knew. They were compelled to take the gospel message where life happens, outside of the comfort of the church, and into the real world.

Now, please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. The church, and accompanying corporate worship with other believers, is absolutely essential for building up one another in the faith. In fact it is clearly commanded in scripture, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb. 10:25, NIV). But the programmed formality and “comfort zone” atmosphere of the church has allowed many to lose focus on what I believe to be Christ’s intent of the Great Commission. Jesus said “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mar. 16:15). Unfortunately, this has allowed for the misguided idea that God can only move in a scheduled church service, mega-ministry events, or missions trips that take place half way around the world. The need in third-world countries is obvious. There are ministry opportunities by the dozens for these countries, and scores of ministry organizations to address these needs, and rightly so. Furthermore, the function of the “Sunday morning church” is clearly evident…to help the lost and hurting who have decided to come to church. However, the fact of the matter is that life happens on our job, at school, at the supermarket, and at the kids’ soccer game. This is where ministry opportunities are often lost in the shadow of the efforts of the pastor or missionary, but the opportunities are just as genuine and just as necessary as those afforded the pastor or missionary with the formal “title”. Perhaps even more so, as this is where the world sees us outside of the safe haven of the church walls, away from the comfort of a programmed, neatly packaged worship services. This is where the mask comes off and the world sees us for who we truly are. It is where the substance of Christianity that is talked about on Sunday morning rises to the surface and is tested for all to see.

Take Steve, for example. Steve is a janitor. Steve is part of the real, “unchurched” world that I live in and experience each day. You have not seen Steve in church…yet. Sometime back I made a conscious effort to eat lunch with Steve, every day, for almost two months. He was totally shocked that someone from the "office area" would sit in the corner of the cafeteria with him and eat lunch and chat about life. He told me his troubles each day, and I listened and offered him Christian advice, as the Lord directed. In conversing with him each day, I came to realize that no one had ever really listened to Steve before. After all, he was just "a janitor", right? Come to find out, Steve, like many other skeptics of today, had formulated his idea of the ways of “church” people. I was presented with the opportunity to help clarify some of his inaccurate perceptions, and sadly try and explain some of his accurate ones. Steve and I had some great conversations over the coming days, and I looked forward to and enjoyed our daily lunch meetings. To this day, he comes to me from time to time about his questions and troubles...and of course, the Lord. He recently told me that he had given up his beloved alcohol that he had been attached to for years. He knew I would be proud that he had given that stuff up, and more importantly he knew the Lord would be proud of him too. As far as I know, Steve has not given his heart to Christ yet, but I am praying that he will soon.

Steve is a part of where real life happens, and where I believe that Christ intended for church to begin. The more I go through this life, the more that I realize that the opportunities that the Lord puts in front of us happen mostly outside of the formality of the institutional church setting. They happen in the real world, where the “hard stuff of life" happens. You may say to yourself, “But I am not a pastor, missionary, or evangelist.” I beg to differ. All believers are all called to be ministers and are responsible for touching others with the love and hope of Christ. In fact, the “average believer” can often touch lives that an “official” pastor, missionary, or evangelist could never reach. God bless our pastors, overseas missionaries, evangelists and other members of the clergy for their commitment and their labor of love for the Kingdom of God. But never underestimate the importance of your mission field, and your role in it, with regards to the church in action. There are opportunities for ministry everyday in the workplace, schools, and communities that are equally as important as that pastor preparing a sermon each Sunday morning, or that missionary carrying the gospel to thousands in a third world country. And you don’t have to carry the proverbial 20 pound Bible under your arm, quoting scripture every other sentence, to impact those around you. People will notice when you live Christ in front of them. They will ask you questions about the hope that is within you. They will be hungry to understand what is different about you. They will ask you for prayer, advice, and encouragement. And the neat thing is, you don’t have to be a pastor, missionary, or an evangelist to be a witness in the mission field known as your own back yard. The bottom line? Christ’s concern is for lost souls, and the value of every soul is equal in his sight. Christ’s mission for the church….The Gospel in action lived out in front of others. We all play an equally important role in that common goal.

Bridget Willard and her husband Mercier, a pastor, lead a motel outreach in Anaheim, California, called Pardoned Prodigals that has been reaching out to the downtrodden, discouraged, depressed, dejected, and the lost since 2001. I close with a favorite quote from Bridget: “Church isn’t where you meet. Church isn’t a building. Church is what you do. Church is who you are. Church is the human outworking of the person of Jesus Christ. Let’s not go to Church, let’s be the Church.”

Amen Bridget! May we be a church of action! May we be a church without walls!