Why?

We've had this "Whatever!" clock for years. It doesn't work anymore, but we keep it as "art" on the wall anyways. Today, one of my fellow DTS-ers, a 22-year-old woman named Anne, asked me one of those questions that kind of brings you up short.

"Dude, can I ask you a totally personal question about something? You DON'T have to answer if you don't want to," says Anne, as our team of workers was sweating in the hot Okanagan sun.

Her choice of words made me laugh. "Wow, with an intro like that, you've definitely got my absolute, unmixed attention", I replied.

Anne got serious immediately. "You and Wendy have been through a lot, in church situations. How do you keep doing the stuff? What keeps you going?"

Wow -- a huge question, especially in a dusty yard filled with junked autos and other household debris that we were removing (four industrial dumpsters filled and counting), and as we dodged the occasional black widow spider (three so far).

Not the kind of question you want to answer glibly or off-handedly. The "whatever" clock doesn't apply here.

We chatted about it for awhile, off and on, in between gathering up broken glass, finding auto parts and tools in the grass, tearing out dead bushes, moving/removing stumps and old logs, and battling (stepping on) the afore-mentioned spiders.

It was one of those "why?" questions that lodges in your brain cells long after the original conversation. As I've continued to ponder Anne's question of this afternoon, here's some thoughts that have come to mind:

1. While going through tough times at the hands of churches and leaders can really take a round out of you, whenever I read the "Hall of Faith" (Hebrews 11:36-38), or St. Paul's resume of pain (2 Corinthians 11:24-27), my own journey seems carefree by comparison.
   
   While I wouldn't want to re-live any of our church horror stories again, I haven't been martyred, beaten, shipwrecked, or bitten by snakes in a woodpile. That's a helpful, if sobering, perspective.
   
   
2. Like the beach ball metaphor that Roger Helland gave us a few weeks ago, our vision/passion of ministering among the emerging generations just won't go away. Trust me, there have been times where we've wished that God's gifts and callings were negotiable! But as long as we call Jesus "Lord", we don't really have the option of opting out.
   
   
3. Honestly, it's people like Anne that God uses to keep us "doing this stuff". Meeting and becoming connected to other genuine God-seekers and Jesus-apprentices gives us hope and encourages us to keep on keeping on. Often wounded by church experiences, but still with a flicker of the flame of the Holy Spirit within, they are looking for like-minded people to journey with; we consider it an honour to be a part of their stories.
   
   Younger people who are needing spiritual mothers and fathers (1 Corinthians 4:15). We just cannot ignore how many are leaving churches in frustration and/or disillusionment; we are simply unable to sit by and do nothing.
   
   People who have emailed us or taken us out for coffee to talk about their own post-charismatic journey; friends like those of the old "Dead Pastor Society" who gather in a pub to work through their disillusionment as they are detoxing from church, and dreaming of seeing the Body of Christ acting like, well, the Body of Christ.
   
   And last, but most important,
   
   
4. Where else could we go (John 6:66-69)? Who else could we turn to? What would we do with our lives if following Jesus didn't matter? If His Spirit were not inside us, prodding us to action and steadily moulding us into His likeness?

I hope that last one doesn't sound like a trite, religious bit of Christianese-inspired spiritual jargon. Because it's not. Not to me, anyway.

We follow Jesus, who instructed us to focus our absolute unmixed attention on two things: loving God and loving our neighbour (Mark 12:29-31). And ultimately, it is Jesus who enables us, calls us, and equips us to keep "doing the stuff", in spite of the bumps and bruises along the way.

Thanks for making me think more about this, Anne! Your questions have caused me to reflect, and in so doing, have brought me encouragement. You rawk!