Spring Cleaning

I read in a recent magazine that millennials do not do spring cleaning because they do not have time. That’s interesting. We make excuses for everything. WE claim that we don’t have time to clean, but we have time to argue and bicker on social media. I have noticed that many young people collect various “things;” therefore, they may not do spring cleaning because we have created a society of hoarders.

Before we judge people for having to many material items and having relationships with these items over people and that technology has created this, let’s first realize that we all have to do “Spring Cleaning,” and if we are honest with ourselves, it’s not fun. We don’t like to take the time to do the activities that are not fun.  We have to clean our hearts, minds, and souls of the garbage we have allowed into our lives without the hesitation of getting rid of the garbage. Once we do, we just might have the time to actually clean our homes and not bicker and argue on social media.

Maybe it’s time we get rid of the garbage in our souls. Our souls are suffocating under the barrage of impurities that we allow to remain within them. We judge others so that no one will see us for who we really are because if they see us, they will see that we need some “Spring Cleaning” every day. If we busy ourselves to judge others, then we hide behind our own dirt.

If we concern ourselves with the dirt of others, we can keep our own dirt. Spring Cleaning is about throwing out the old and making room for the new. It means putting order into our disorderly lives. So many of us do not want others to see our disorder, so we comment on the disorder of others. (Notice I put “we” because I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else.)  We want to control those who God has put into our lives to lead because our lives are so out of control. If we control them, we are not leading them, but if we lead them, then they may actually see the messiness of our own lives.

Jesus didn’t go around pointing out everyone’s flaws. People rose to the occasion being around Jesus, his power, his authority, and the way he spoke. I can’t even imagine the conversations Jesus had when he ate with sinners and tax collectors, but I know they were amazing because the woman at the well changed along with Zacchaeus. Jesus was able to speak so that people wanted to get rid of the old and allow the newness of his grace and love into their lives. What if Christians began to influence others the way Jesus did? I can only imagine that society, but there is more. I can be one to start becoming that influence.

It’s spring. It’s out with the old and in with the new. It’s time for all of us to look within ourselves and begin cleaning out the things that are not necessary and filling our minds with things that are a necessity to speak the truth. We have clutter from social media, the news, and people in our lives. Instead of building the clutter, we need to clean up our souls. It may mean removing toxic media or people from our lives. It may mean to be a voice that influences others to come to the love of Jesus. Then, with a clean soul, we can begin to clean our rooms and our homes and bring people into our lives with healthy relationships, and most importantly, the world will see Jesus in us, which is so needed in our world today.

Run to the Finish Line

Today, as I have done in the past, I stood on Hollywood Blvd. to photograph the students from my school that run in the Los Angeles Marathon.  Only 1% of the population run in a full marathon. One young student is on track to finish the marathon within three hours.  Two of my students are on track to finish the marathon right under four hours.  They can run 26.2 miles under four hours. Both of those students ran by my spot as if they were having the time of their life and it was an easy task.  I was at the halfway mark.  They ran just like the elite runners…to get a prize.

I stay until the end to make sure I get most of our students. Whether they are at the beginning, middle, or end, they all run to achieve their goal to finish. They don’t stop. They set an example for how I need to do life. I need to run life like it is a marathon and not a sprint. That’s what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 9:24 when he said to run the race to win the prize. You don’t stop because it gets too hard. You don’t stop because you are tired. You run as if the halfway mark is just like the beginning. 

It is springtime, and it’s time that we begin to run with endurance with whatever passions we have in life. As adults, we treat tasks as sprints, but in reality, they should be marathons. It has taken me many years to discover this because I want results immediately.

Relationships need to be marathons. We don’t just give up because we are tired, but we listen to the right voices on the sidelines who are cheering us on to endure. We run from the harmful relationships and continue to run our marathon of life with people who build us up instead of tear us down.

Careers need to be marathons. I get it that we need to move forward and out of toxic careers or job placements, but we have to be careful that we’re not just running away from troubles that we may have caused. We have to be in a marathon that pushes our careers forward.

Dreams need to be achieved with marathons. So many of us have so many dreams and goals, but we believe that they only come true for those who are fortunate, rich, or are well behaved. The truth is that we achieve goals and dreams with time of a marathon. It takes time to write a book, paint a picture, film a movie or television show, achieve an academic endeavor, learn to play a piece of music, to perform, dance, play a sport, create a craft, create a business, etc. Whatever the dream or goal is, it is a marathon to achieve the success, not a sprint.

Today let us see life as those marathon runners. Let’s run with perseverance. Let’s not give up on what we step out to accomplish. Listen to those few voices that are on the sidelines supporting you. Life is a marathon. It’s not the time that we get to the finish line; it’s that we make it all the way to the finish line.  

Sanctuary, Sanctuary

Our world has become barbaric. A place that is supposed to be a refuge has become a war zone. Outsiders have lived a life of fear rather than a life of faith, so they enter into a sanctuary and take life because they fear those on the inside. It has happened in America in our churches and Jewish synagogues and in Mosques around the world. We throw blame on those in leadership, but let’s be honest. We are all to blame for not showing love to others.

In the story, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, it is very clear that the church is a sanctuary, a place of refuge, a place in which anyone can run to be safe from physical harm or ridicule for their beliefs, physical appearance, or choices in life. We have taken that refuge and made it a place where we ridicule, judge, and demand that people live, look, and speak a certain way and there is no place of refuge. Then, with those beliefs, we are shocked when someone takes those actions and harms others that meet in a place of refuge that is different from our beliefs.

A sanctuary is a place that we can all seek refuge. We need to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to convict people to come to Jesus. We need to remember that in a place of refuge, people are scared at first and need time to heal. In a sanctuary, the peace will lead someone to Jesus, not the wrath of anyone.

The last words of Jesus tell us to go. We are to go into all the world and make disciples. Do we even notice that it took Jesus three years to convince his disciples that he was the true Messiah that conquered death?  We must realize that it will take time for people to come to Jesus. With the love of Jesus, and believing that he is all powerful, we can bring His message to all, as we make our churches sanctuaries. May we pray for those whose places of refuge are not safe and peaceful. May we be the ones to bring peace.

Women, The Church, and Leadership

In 1990, I was shunned. I was shunned all because I was a woman. I was the youth pastor of a small church in Southern California. There were times when I wondered if I had committed the most offensive sin in the world. They male youth leaders told their students and other leaders to have nothing to do with my youth group or me. They believed scripture without looking at the context of the cultural or historical setting of which it was written.

During my sixteen years of youth ministry, I didn’t stomp around and scream for equal rights. I led the group of young people that was entrusted to me and did my best with every endeavor that I led our group to do. After sixteen years of youth ministry (in only two churches), I left youth ministry. It was not a pretty exit, but I left with as much dignity as I could and began to pursue a new career and my writing. Power came when I chose to have dignity and not tell everyone how wrong they were.

On Friday, March 8, 2019, we celebrated International Day of Women. Stories of powerful women flooded the Internet and were honored on all types of social media feeds. These powerful women never walked away when people told them to leave or told them that they could not do something. They did not stomp off and scream how horrible and wrong everyone around them were. With steadfastness, they pursued their cause, and because of these powerful women, the world has received their benefits.

Christians have debated the roles of women in the church. Many take one passage and follow it. (There are many passages that people need to take and follow, but that’s for another day.) In the passages where it states that women were to be silent and not have authority over men, they overlook the women in the Bible that had authority over men (Deborah, Esther, Tryphena, and Tryphosa, etc.). The women who were to be silent and not have authority were the ones who were mixing in their false doctrines with Christianity.

If women cannot lead and speak, then all men must work in the following areas of the church: Nursery, children’s ministry, youth ministry, kitchen (don’t want your food to be prepared by lowly women who could discuss scripture with those with whom they are cooking), music, women’s Bible studies, Bible quiz teams, secretaries, finances, cleaning, etc.

Understanding scripture in the context of which it is written is vital to the reader. It’s like reading a Mark Twain novel and not understanding the language that he uses because you do not have any knowledge of the time period. Reading comprehension is vital to Scripture, news media, history books, science books, and even novels. Once we are able to understand that what we are reading may be different from our own experiences, we can better understand the piece of literature.

To those men who shunned my youth group and me, all is forgiven, but all is not forgotten. I refuse to forget because that would mean I didn’t learn from the experience to investigate my beliefs and understanding of scripture first before condemning someone else. I also understand that some of those men have changed their theological beliefs and today they support women in leadership in the church.

As I studied Queen Esther, I recognized that she was able to rise to the occasion because she allowed the events in her life to influence each step that she took in her life and was able to save her nation because of it. She did not stomp and scream. She did not demand respect. She earned it. The best leaders in the world earn respect; they don’t demand it. The best leaders in the world know how to negotiate, listen to others, give grace and mercy, and influence others. It’s what gives them power.

Women have been leading in the church since its beginning. Women do not have to take over from men, but to work together with men in leadership in order to bring more people to Jesus. That is the ultimate goal that we must always remember in the church. Our goal is to bring people to Jesus, show them his love, and disciple them. God has used women, men, children, and even a donkey to deliver his message. God is bigger and more powerful than any human. We need to put our trust in Him and allow his work to be done. He can use anyone. He wants to use us all with our unique talents and abilities. Let’s allow people to use their gifts and talents to build the kingdom of God and see what he can do. 

“So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-28