God's version of the antique roadshow...

Donald Miller writes in Searching for God knows what, “ I fell like I am in a lifeboat trying to get other people to say that I am important and valued, and even when they do, it feels as though their opinion isn’t strong enough to give me the feeling I need, the feeling that quit at the fall”.

Our value, our importance comes from God and when it doesn’t is when our self doubt and self esteem take the dive and we feel worthless. Starting out in ministry, I was concerned about people and how they perceived me. How they thought about me, do they think I am doing a good job? I kind of felt like in my mind that there was a constant evaluation of Andy going through everyone’s head. I felt only the most valued when I felt like I KNEW what people were thinking about me.
Going through school, I was never really picked on. I was high enough on the perceived social ladder, which not many people knew that I was a pk or that I lived above a church because I never gave that info out, that I was never the butt of many jokes. Sure, there was always the occasional, jello man, jelly belly, etc, but when your name is Jellison you come to expect that! Still, even today, we feel that we must always be comparing ourselves.

I do it with competition. I hate to lose and I hate when things that I am pulling for (i.e. IU basketball, Colts and the rest) do bad. My attitude is sometimes based on how they are doing. It is a constant comparison. Sarah does this when we walk through check out lines and when she is alone at home watching tv. She will look at People magazine and watch this show about this person and she will tell you she just likes seeing what other people are doing. When in reality, somewhere in the back of her mind, she is comparing herself to what she sees. You do the same thing with blogs. I can’t tell you how many times I have walked away defeated and almost depressed after going through the blogs of others. They talk about this trip or the last big thing that happened and you see the pics and, at least for me, I automatically start thinking, “Man, I wish that I could…fill in the blank with whatever you are reading”. We wish so much of our lives away because we are always comparing ourselves to others and wanting what they have. When you are young, you wish for the money and security that the older folk have. When you are old, you wish you had the looks and energy that the young kids have. The cycle never stops. It started in the garden when Adam and Eve didn’t have enough and where deceived into taking that fruit and eating it. We must get our self importance from God and God alone. Anything less, well that would be just that…less. We cannot find lasting importance in the things of this world. They are all “good for a season”. God wants us to find out what he truly meant for humanity to be IN Him. Nowhere else can we find such reassurance because there is no penalty from God for being unimportant in the world’s eyes.

80.20

Way back in the IWU days (seems like forever ago), there was a rule that I learned about in Church Leadership. It is called Pareto’s Principle or the 80/20 rule. Some of the implications for the church go like this: 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people; 80 % of the problems in the church are caused by 20% of the people and so on. I know that this is true because I see it. It is so hard for us to get people to take time from their “busy” days and invest their time into ministry. In the Barbarian Way, Erwin McManus states, “One of the tragedies of a civilized society is that no one wants to get involved. What becomes appropriate is to mind our own business. When we join a community that lacks a passionate heart for the world, we soon find ourselves acquiescing to apathy.”
People feel that there is really no need to reach out to those that are not in their “community” or what we call church.
I get drained emotionally and mentally every once in a while because I feel like a used car salesman whose income is commissioned based. I keep trying to get people to commit to whatever it is that is needed and for the most part all I get is a big fat silence. People love to give money or something else so that they don’t have to do it themselves. Just take for instance, guys with the remote. We don’t want to get up to change the channel but we will turn the house upside down looking for the remote. Churches love to give to missions and other “good causes” but when it comes to rolling their sleeves up and actually doing it, we fall short of glorifying God because we only have 20 people out of the 100 doing anything. Then, you have the reversal when you can’t make some changes because 20% are dissenting to it.
I hate trying to sell to people. I never liked fundraisers and never like asking people for money. I hate asking my family for money. I would rather go without. So sometimes, in my humanness, I try to sell, sell, sell and try to get people to change their priorities and give a little more than they have been and the same people line up to help. Christians on the whole, I believe have left their first love because their priorities have changed. I am not saying that if people aren’t in church every Sunday or Wednesday that they are backsliding. Still, John wrote to the church at Ephesus that they had walked away from their first love. I wondered if we have gotten it all wrong sometimes in the making of new programs and “outreach” events that fizzle quicker than a sparkler dud. What we need is for those who follow Christ, who say that they want to be little Christ’s, acting, speaking, listening, and DOING the things that he did, we need the Church with a capital C to being to shift our priorities and start returning to our first love.
Donald Miller writes in “Searching for God knows what”, God’s message to mankind wasn’t a bunch of hoops to run through to get saved and it wasn’t a bunch of ideas we all had to agree on. Rather, it was an invitation to KNOW GOD!” We have become so busy with life that many so called Christians don’t know God. Why? Because they don’t spend the time with Him, they don’t Do Ministry. The Bible makes no distinction between laity and ordained ministers in the amount of Ministry they are supposed to do. We are called to imitate Christ through growing fruits of love, joy, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, patience, self control etc etc etc. American Christians are so concerned about how church is ran instead of who shows up. It seems to me that sometimes we feel we are good at church and doing church but we fail at BEING the church outside the walls. God help us all, me included.

It's snowing and blowing...

Hello...

We have had a bunch of snow today...pretty much all day for that matter. So I thought I would update a little through pics from the past few months ...enjoy

1. Pic from the Youth pastor and spouse renewal weekend

2. pic of Sarah and the Pegster at the Ft. Wayne Komets game...what is Peggy looking at?

3. We had the kids make this "football" field for the SB party

4. Pic from the Gathering in Orlando...boy that sounds good about now.

5. Lex hates the cold...but I think he hates me pestering him more!

Stay classy everyone...stay classy

Super Bowl prep

DUDE...I am so ready for the SB to get here! I am tired of the build up already...all the hype etc.
I am so looking forward to the SB this year because of the Colts I can't stand it. I wish the Bears weren't the other team because of where we live. Even though this is Indiana, we are too close to Chicago that there are enough Bears fans to make it an annoyance.


Go Colts!