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bishop's perspective:
Can the bland lead the bland?
I read “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” this summer. Whatever else is said about the book and movie, I was impressed and inspired by the jockeys' sheer devotion to riding. Laura Hillenbrand writes that “no one would hire a man who hesitated in the heat of battle … jockeys never, ever spoke of danger, pain or fear, even among themselves … in their autobiographies, they recounted great races in intimate detail, but falls and injuries were glossed over ...”
These jockeys, often impoverished and
subjected to hardship, were driven by a
deep passion. There was nothing bland
about them.
Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Christian pastor, tells of his assignment after years of study and preparation. The bishop said, “Elias, you are being sent to Ibillin in Galilee .. it is a rather small village. Modest ... poor ... the situation is not easy.” When Elias arrived at his new appointment, he noticed the church door was hanging off its hinges. The Responsible (similar to a lay leader) was standing there waving, “Get out of here! Turn your car around and get out,” he bellowed. “We don't want you here – go away,” he ranted.
The church building was in shambles. The parsonage was worse. But he
stayed. He prayed. And prayed. And preached and visited. Nothing could deter
him. He was there to help lead lost and angry persons to reconciliation with their
God. There was nothing bland about him.
Nor was Jesus bland. Nor Paul. Nor John Wesley. Nor any one of us who is passionate about the Gospel. How we use our financial resources, how we spend our time, what we lust after, and how we practice our faith is more important than what we say or what we claim to believe. There is nothing bland about sacrifice, denial, taking up the cross and following Jesus.
Jesus said, “Anyone willing to lose his or her life for the Gospel will find it.”
O God, stir within us a holy fire. Save us from weak-kneed, bland and mushy
faith. Open our eyes to the sin of living by default. Spare us the curse of merely
drifting through life either as individuals or the church. For the sake of Jesus
the Christ, Amen.
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Bishop Ray W. Chamberlain
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