Rob McQueary Following Jesus, Scripture as Source, Sharing Life

The Stickers That Saved My Life

stickersBefore we begin, no, I don’t believe the stickers literally saved my life. And, no, I am not even talking about my physical life. However, none of that makes any part of my story any less true.

Recently a new friend of mine learned that I had been a church planter and that our church closed. He asked me a question that I have not stopped thinking about since. He said something to this effect, “And you escaped with your faith intact?” It was a harmless question. I think in some ways he was joking. But having also been a minister himself, I’m sure he knows examples of people that were not so fortunate. I know I know such people. I have friends that have not only stopped ministering after a spiritual trauma, but in some cases, they have walked away from their faith. So, my friend’s question was fair. The answer is a simple “yes”. The title of this post gives the how of the “yes”.

How I maintained my relationship with Jesus is much more involved than the simple “yes” answer indicates. The short list of things I will mention here are only part of the story. In time I will write about all of it because the how of my “yes” includes darkness and light.

I liken the grief of the last two years to the grief experienced in the loss of a close loved one. I knew I was hurting. In time, I even knew I was grieving, though I was numb to that at first. In 20+ years of serving as a pastor I have seen grief destroy relationships and people. I knew I was exposed. I felt exposed. I was deeply wounded.

Back to the stickers. Thanks to many years of great training and living as a practitioner, in my woundedness there were two constants that have sustained my faith. One, is the Bible and the other is worship… both were intentional choices.

Choosing Scripture
I’m not going to make this rosier than it has been. There were days that I do not even remember what I read. There were moments that reading the Bible was little more than a spiritual exercise. I wasn’t faking it. I just did what I knew. I believed then and now that the very words of Scripture are life-giving and powerful. I knew that even if I didn’t feel it, eventually this book and these words were able to revive my soul. And they are doing just that.

Choosing Worship
This one was even more difficult because much of worship involves the emotions. And when I was feeling numb, sad, and angry I was not favorably dispositioned to worship. I told another friend recently that I had even tried to be angry with God, but could not… because I know who and what he is. I can remember weeks where I stood in church and just listened to the words being preached and sung. Especially during the music I can remember contemplating the meaning of the lyrics and just weeping in the middle of the service. I knew none of this was God’s fault. Declaring his worth helped pull me out of my nose dive.

So, no, the stickers themselves did not save my spiritual life, but I do believe my choosing the Scripture and worship did.

Rob McQueary Creative Change, Following Jesus, Sharing Life

Preparing for the Holidays

Christmas DayThe holidays are upon us. I’d like to challenge all of us to consider now (at the beginning of the season) how we prepare for these days of wonderment. My heart is that you and I could enjoy the trappings without falling into the traps that so often come during this time of year. Allow me to suggest a few actions that will help us prepare.

Avoid Extremes
There is a beautiful sacredness that accompanies this season. There are also plenty of secular traditions that have an appropriate place in our hearts and lives. Be ok with both. Don’t get trapped into meaningless arguments about the wording of our greetings, etc. If “keeping Christ in Christmas” is important to you, then do that. That has nothing to do with secular people inserting the name of Jesus into a greeting. It has everything to do with those of us who believe keeping the person and work of Jesus alive in the way we talk about and operate in this season.

Simplify
Our western culture could not possibly be more different from the eastern culture of which Bethlehem was and is a part. We tend to think that the more, the better. Packed schedules. More gifts. What if we made active attempts to simplify this year? What if you just applied it to those two things? Try to clear your calendar instead of fill it. Give fewer gifts that have deeper meaning. However you choose to analyze simplification, you are almost certain to benefit from its consideration.

Worship
With this final thought I am not so much thinking of mainly corporate worship, though attending special Christmas services can be an excellent push in the right direction. I’m thinking more of personal, private, and daily reflection on the coming of Jesus. What it means. Stand in awe. Let the incarnation of Jesus blow you away again the way it did the first time you understood it. Be thankful. Be humble.

But none of these things are likely to happen by accident. Some of them are downright difficult. All of them have value and rich reward if we will just prepare for the holidays.

Rob McQueary Creative Change, Following Jesus, Spiritual Progress

CCM: Changing With the Times

2000px-CCM_hockey

In these days of corporate takeovers and the overall conglomeratization of businesses, names and functions change. In case you’re not a hockey fan, the CCM logo above is arguably the largest manufacturer of hockey equipment in the world… certainly the most recognizable. As I thought of them in relation to this post I did not know how good of an illustration they would turn out to be… it was beyond perfect. Founded in 1899, the CCM above was originally known as Canada Cycle and Motor Co. If you really care to know of all of their iterations and changes over the years, you can always count on Wikipedia for that kind of info. Suffice it to say that the original CCM brand has experienced a multitude of changes and adjustments over the years. In fact, their contract with the NHL expires next year.

There is, however, another CCM. It was/is the moniker given to so-called Contemporary Christian Music. In many ways I am so past this discussion that I am not sure I have much to offer. So I will not volunteer any final word… as I believe there are many. But I do remember well the thought processes involved in my movement from the very conservative music of my youth to CCM and beyond. That is the bulk of what I will share… my own experience.

Music may be one of the greatest areas where personal preferences take center stage. Plain and simple. We can say whatever we want about singing “songs, and hymns, and spiritual songs”. I’m sure that all of us who choose to have the name Christian attached to our music would say that it fits within the scope of that verse. Contrary to the belief of those with more conservative positions, the goal of the majority of us who have chosen to enlist more modern music is not to be cool, but to exalt Jesus… likely the same goal that you have.

There is zero biblical proof that the music itself (style, instrumentation, etc.) can be an isolated part of the discussion. Yet this is the very approach that most of the “discussions” take. This instrument or that sound is ungodly because the world uses it in their music. It really is an absurd ad hoc argument that suggests certain sounds can be labeled unholy. I cannot even intelligently or morally enter into that discussion because to do so would be to give it merit that is underserved.

Finally, to those of us with a less conservative view, a word about humility. Humility does not (necessarily) mean I stop sharing my opinion when it differs with yours. Humility realizes that when the Scriptures are silent on certain details it is usually because there is room for difference. Placing your viewpoint as the “more liberated view” is arrogance. So let the piano and organ folks sing their hearts out to God. There’s room for all of us… that should not change with the times.