Shawn Stutz

{edited from earlier today}

I was browsing the itunes world for new music.  And I have to tell you that one of my favorite features of itunes is the “other people also bought” feature.  I feel a bit like I’m finding out a secret– I know I’m weird.  But more than that, it introduces me to new artists and music; often lesser known.

Anyway, I stumbled on the Red Mountain Church‘s worship projects.  The one entitled Help My Unbelief stuck out.  There is something about the simplicity of hymns, re-done or not, that has had quite a draw on my heart lately.  Their song, “It Is Finished” is very good.

While there, I surfed their site to figure out where they were located.  Listed in their about page, like many other organizations, was a statement of mission and purpose.  Here it is:

We believe that the gospel –

as taught in Scripture and lived out through the church –

changes everything.

I’m not exactly sure why it seemed to stir me so much.   Maybe it felt fresh, like their hymn interpretations.  Maybe it felt real, simple, and yet powerful and radically impossible.  How can you fully believe the gospels.  They are wildly amazing and incredibly hard to believe at times, and yet I believe.

How does the church, the bride of Christ, effectively live out this good news in a way that really makes it good news to all?  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen it done.  But sit long enough with this thought and a sense of discomfort can settle in.  Are we really doing it; living out the good news in true Christ-like community?  Is that what people exclaim about the churches of today?  Or do other phrases of sub-culture familiarity roll off their tongues?

However, it was the final phrase that got me most, “changes everything.” What changes everything?  Supposedly a specific brand of tooth paste can change a lot.  Buying the right car or drinking the proper beverage can obviously alter your social circle.  Your financial status can even change if you take that new job.  And one’s body shape will change if s/he just purchases (and uses) that number/letter mix workout DVD set.  But will that change everything?

Everything changing sounds so good one day and scary or bothersome the next.  Do I want to change too?  How can I be apart of the change?  How does it come about?  Everything… really?

Something in my soul says change is good, and here.

Share on Facebook

I was recently asked by a student from my first full-time ministry position in Tennessee to write a letter for him that would be read at his up-coming ordination service.  Pardon the awkward reference, but it was kind of a Rod Stewart moment.  Rod is famous for making the following lyrics popular…

“I wish that I knew what I know now –  when I was younger”

And though I’m not a real Rod Stewart fan, for whatever reason this lyric has always stuck with me.  So I took the following approach:  “What do I firmly believe today that I wish I could go back and tell myself at the beginning of my minsitry?”

That’s a powerful thought really. Here was my advice:

**********************

Daniel,

When you called and said you were being ordained for full time ministry I wasn’t surprised.  I knew, even in the days of Fairview, TN (not as catchy a song as “Days of Elijah” though), that God was shaping you into a servant for His kingdom.  And yes, you were a wild-eyed (and idea-ed) junior high boy that gave a few Sunday School teachers some fits.  However, look at you now!  Paul said it like this in first Corinthians 13:11…

“¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”

That’s you.  You are ever so methodically stepping into the role of the godly man the Father Himself created you to be.  And if I were to give you advice, advice that I wish someone had truly taught & embedded in my soul way back when, then I’d say this:

1) First and foremost, love the Lord your God with Your Heart!  No seriously, remain in Him.  Love Him.  Praise Him.  Know Him… forever.  And know that you do this only because He knew you, loved you, redeemed you, and remained with you first!  Let that grace wash over you all your days.

2) Secondly, love people!  It’s the greatest joy and challenge of a pastor.  In a world where ministry models and methods can spawn like weeds in a garden, remember that Jesus asked you to shepherd His flock!  That means knowing them like the Father, praying for them like the Son, and encouraging & equipping them like the Holy Spirit!  Jesus died for people!  So spend your time loving that which is truly eternal, people.

3) And finally, remember you’ve been empowered to “declare the praises of Him who brought you out of darkness and into His marvelous light!” (I Peter 2:9).  Declare it well!  Declare it passionately!  Declare it to the lost and found, to the pew-sitter and the pagan, and yes, even to yourself from time to time.  And do it with such kindness and grace that wayward children return to their heavenly Father in repentance!  Your life transformation is a great story… go declare it!.

Blessings, a fellow servant of the King,

Shawn Stutz

*************

This letter was a condensed version of this series.

.

Share on Facebook