2/22/10

When Characters of “The Office” Invade the Church
Part 2 – Dwight Schrute

Dwight Schrute, quite possibly my favorite character on “The Office” (because he’s certainly one of the funniest characters), is a man who is all about obtaining position, power, and authority. He constantly tries his best to get his title of “Assistant to the Regional Manager” changed to “Assistant Regional Manager,” he once called corporate and back-handedly tried to take the job of Michael Scott (the Regional Manager of the Scranton branch), he argued with Andy about who reports to whom on Andy’s first day in the Scranton branch, he considers everyone in his branch (aside from possibly Michael Scott) his “inferiors,” he tried to form a secret “alliance” group in order to gain leverage for himself if the company were to pinpoint him in their downsizing endeavors, and he reveled in his power and lorded over the others in his branch when he was given the responsibility to choose the company’s health insurance plan.

There is no one more power hungry than a Dwight Schrute. Likewise, there is no one who enjoys wielding power and authority over others more than a Dwight Schrute. And just as we discovered previously with Michael Scott’s character, the same is true of Dwight Schrute’s character; there are Dwight Schrutes everywhere – including, unfortunately, in the church!

Church members operating under the Dwight Schrute mentality come in all shapes and sizes, and they can be seen at all levels (from the average lay member to paid staff), but they have one thing in common: they are always looking to seize position, power, and authority in any way that they can – solely so they can “lord over” others, feel important, and bask in their “power.” You won’t see a Dwight Schrute acting as a mere spectator in the church (or at least not for long), because as soon as a position becomes available, they’ll do anything to get it. Whether or not they are successful in getting the position of their choice, they’ll constantly be seeking ways to go after another more-powerful position or to make their current position more powerful in the meantime. All of this is done because they revel in lording over others.

Now there’s certainly nothing wrong with having position, power, and authority. In fact, people with the right motives who use position, power, and authority in the right ways can do a lot of good. Moreover, position, power, and authority are biblical concepts, and the Bible teaches that those who possess these things should be respected. But the Bible further teaches that position, power, and authority should be attained with the right motives, and the Dwight Schrute mentality is the exact antithesis of what the Bible deems appropriate in this regard.

You might remember two biblical Dwight Schrutes who asked Jesus if they could sit at his right and his left in his kingdom. They were two of the twelve original disciples, and they wanted to be more esteemed than anyone and everyone else. They wanted the highest position any person could attain, but solely because the super magnitude of the position is what appealed to them, and so (naturally) their aspirations ticked off the other disciples. That’s usually what Dwight Schrute types do; they tick off everyone around them, because nobody appreciates a power-hungry, position-seeking megalomaniac.

But notice the response of Jesus! After telling these two disciples that they were off-base in their request, he then called over all of the disciples to teach them a lesson concerning position and power. He said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-29).

Jesus made it very clear that the Dwight Schrute mentality is unacceptable for those seeking and/or holding power and authority in his church. Christ-followers should never be about seeking position and power just for the sake of having it and using it to pull the strings of others. Instead, Christ-followers should be all about serving others and purposefully making themselves a slave to those in their care. That’s what great people do, according to Jesus; that’s what the greatest did – when Christ came to earth to serve and to give (even his life), when he could have rightfully came to demand the utmost praise and service from us, towards himself, as the King of kings!

For those of you who have come to realize that you’re a Dwight Schrute in your church, you can go about correcting the situation in this way: (1) Ask God to forgive you for seeking position and power instead of seeking ways to humbly serve others. (2) Begin looking at your desires and talents as tools to serve others, and (if you’re in a position of authority and/or you have a measure of power and influence in the church) begin thinking of ways to use your authority and power to serve and minister to others instead of promoting yourself and lording over others. While Dwight Schrute is hilarious to watch on television, he’s downright detestable to deal with in real life …so don’t be him.

There are more character-based devotionals (associated with “The Office”) to follow in the days ahead! Your feedback is both welcomed and appreciated!

2/20/10

When Characters of “The Office” Invade the Church
Part 1 – Michael Scott

Fans of NBC’s “The Office” know that Michael Scott is a man who is all about himself. He simply must have the spotlight at all times. Everything that he says and does, in some way or another, is to bring attention to himself. And when others happen to take hold of the spotlight for even a few moments (whether intentionally or otherwise), Michael will go out of his way, often making a royal scene, in order to reclaim what his ego has convinced him belongs to him and him alone! While Michael Scott is a fairly decent guy with good intentions overall, his worst and ugliest demeanor comes shining through when things become less about him and more about others.

Unfortunately, the Michael Scott character isn’t exclusive to a funny television show. The world is full of Michael Scotts, and churches are not exempt from their fair share of the egotistical characters. In fact, Michael Scotts are so common in churches, there’s a good chance you may even be one of the many Michael Scotts in your church. (You can make that call yourself!)

Church members operating under the Michael Scott mentality come in all shapes and sizes, and they can be seen at all levels (from the average lay member to paid staff), but the one thing they all have in common is this: they care more about themselves than anything and anyone else. Sure, they may be decent people in a general sense, but their primary motivation in all that they do is to seek attention for themselves. They must always have the spotlight, and things must always go their way, or else they will feel that their ego has been slighted – and that’s when they go about raising cane and stirring up trouble (in a manner of ways), as they attempt to bring the focus back to where they think it should be: on them and what they want!

The Bible makes it very clear that the Michael Scott mentality is unacceptable for the Christ-follower. Philippians 2:3-5 tells us, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”

The above passage describes the exact opposite of a Michael Scott type. It declares that “nothing” should be done based on self-promotion. It declares that we should be humble and “consider others better than [we consider ourselves]”. It declares that we should look for ways to promote the “interests of others” instead of always seeking only to promote our own interests. Finally, it declares that our behavior and mentality should be the same as that of our supreme example, Jesus Christ – who (as the passage goes on to explain) “made himself nothing …[and] humbled himself,” ultimately keeping his selfless attitude in full force even up until it led to his “death on a cross.”

If you’re a fan of “The Office,” no problem! If the real Michael Scott makes you laugh, join the crowd! But if you’re a Michael Scott in your church, this is a huge problem which is no laughing matter! Nevertheless, beginning right now, you can go about correcting the situation. (1) Go to God in prayer, and ask him to forgive you for your inflated ego. Furthermore, ask him to help you stay strong in your efforts to follow the example of Christ! (2) Be on the look out, and start catching yourself when your ego inflates and your focus becomes “you” rather than “others”. Then take the initiative to slap yourself down (mentally), as you remind yourself that you are to be “nothing” in order to better serve those around you. (3) Finally, start making a concerted effort to promote the interests of others. While it may be hard at times, because you’ll feel like every bit of who you are wants to promote “you” instead of “others”, you can make it happen with God’s help! Remember 2 Timothy 1:7, which states, “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.” In other words, there’s no legitimate excuse for being a Michael Scott in the church; you can no doubt trade the Michael Scott mentality for that of Jesus Christ … if you’re willing!

There are more character-based devotionals (associated with “The Office”) to follow in the days ahead! Your feedback is both welcomed and appreciated!

2/16/10

Human Bed-Warmers / Selfless Servants in the Church
A handful of Holiday Inns in London and Manchester have started offering a very out-of-the-norm service to its hotel guests. For those guests who want to enjoy a good night’s sleep without having to endure a bit of temporary discomfort from their bed’s super-cold sheets upon first lying down, a willing member of the hotel staff, wearing a full-body sleeper, will jump into the bed (upon request) and proceed to warm the bedding to a desirable temperature. Equipped with thermometers (with a goal of 68 degrees Fahrenheit for the bedding), these willing staff members will warm a guest’s bed FREE OF CHARGE! And it’s all done in order to make the guests’ stay in the hotel as comfortable and inviting as possible, in hopes that guests will return again and again!

Imagine what guests in our churches would do if we, the “willing members of the church,” would adopt this same kind of selfless attitude and employ some strategic and out-of-the-norm tactics in order to make our guests feel as comfortable and welcome as possible, in hopes that they might return again and again – and thus ultimately be penetrated by the life-changing message of Jesus Christ! Here’s what would happen: churches would be full to capacity (with standing room only, including in the overflow rooms), and people would no doubt hear and respond to the good news of Christ in the masses!

Philippians 2 implores us to “consider others better than ourselves,” as we take on “the attitude of Jesus Christ …who made himself a servant.” While this is a mandate concerning our lifestyle (24/7), here are some real ways we can go about doing this particularly on a Sunday morning at church:

(One):We can go out of our way to talk with guests and befriend them, even when it requires us to get a bit uncomfortable and/or to miss out on a few minutes of fellowship with our friends! (O ur comfort and our time spent with friends should always come second to what’s most important, which is getting to know our guests before they get to know how cold and uninviting our church is).

(Two): We can let guests park the closest to the church, open doors for them, greet them with a friendly smile and a warm welcome, meet them at their vehicles with umbrellas to escort them into the church when it’s raining, give them easy and quick access to pertinent information about the church, accompany them to their Bible Study group, sit with them during the service, and anything else (however out of the norm it might be) that would make guests feel comfortable and welcome.

(Three): We can speak to our guests in their language, rather than requiring them to learn our language to speak to us or (worse yet) to speak to God. In other words, we can use Bible translations that can be easily understood in our Bible studies and worship services, and we can worship God with lyrics that can be easily understood and in styles that guests are accustomed to. (And lest we find it hard to part with the King James Bible and our beautiful hymns for a few hours on Sunday, we ought to remember that it’s not about us; it’s about our guests! They don’t speak in Old English, and they don’t understand what “Cherubim and Seraphim falling down before thee” even means). We must speak the language of our guests, and we must allow our guests to speak to us and worship God in their language, even when it means we have to place our preferences aside.

Wow, I’ve listed merely a FEW ways we can begin considering others (our guests) better than ourselves on Sunday mornings, but I guess I better stop before this blog gets way too long. I could go on and on, and I may pick up this topic again sometime in the future. In the meantime, let’s go out of our way to reach people for Christ, and let’s place OURSELVES and OUR PREFERENCES dead last! That’s what Christ did, and that’s what we’re called to do as well.

2/9/10

Surgical Malpractice in the Body of Christ
When it comes to operating on the wrong body parts, it seems like nobody can do it better than the doctoral staff at the Children’s Hospital of Orange, California. In the past few years, the hospital has been responsible for inserting tubes into the wrong ear of one child, loosening tissue under a child’s tongue instead of behind the child’s upper lip, and even cutting into the wrong side of a child’s skull during brain surgery. Fortunately, these situations have all been corrected, but an investigation is now being conducted by state regulators.

On second thought, maybe I need to take back what I said about “nobody doing it better” than the Children’s Hospital in Orange, because sometimes those of us in the body (church) of Christ tend to carry out surgical procedures on the wrong parts of Christ’s body. Sometimes, unfortunately, when a bad situation is discovered in a particular area of the body, and some cutting and removing or some fixing and enhancing is required, we go about trying to cut or fix the wrong part of the body! It’s as if some parts of the body are off limits to corrective surgery, and so we foolishly think we can perform surgical procedures elsewhere that will somehow miraculously correct the diseased or hurting part of the body that we don’t even touch.

These situations should be corrected immediately, and we should strive to perform surgery on precisely those parts of the body that need it. Lest we think we can get away with malpractice, we should be mindful of the fact that an investigation is certainly underway, and it’s being conducted by the divine regulator, none other than God himself.

2/7/10

NASA Scrubs Shuttle Launch
NASA was supposed to launch it's final "evening" shuttle launch this morning at 4:39AM. I woke up in time to make it outside ten minutes or so before the launch in order to see it. Yes, I checked the latest news online beforehand - and everything seemed to say the launch was a "go!" So I went and stood in the cold (50-something degrees!!!), wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and I looked North and watched for signs of the shuttle. Since it was so cold, I stood there wishing I had worn a jacket out, but I didn't budge for the next 15 minutes, because I didn't want to miss the launch!

I have seen many launches before, from where I live in West Palm Beach, but I've never witnessed one in the darkness of night, where (I presume) the glow of the rocket fuel would be all the more spectacular to witness. So I continued to stand outside my front door and look in the right direction ... waiting to see a twisting pillar of fire formed in the night sky ...shivering in the cold ...but seeing absolutely "NOTHING!"

At about 4:45AM (6 minutes after the launch was to happen), I finally came inside. I immediately went to the computer and checked the status of the launch, only to learn the launch had been scrubbed "NINE MINUTES" before it was to occur! NASA had called off the launch because the weather was not exactly as it should be, and they didn't want to take any chances. Reports further revealed NASA's desire to attempt the launch again sometime within the next 48 hours, but nothing is sure yet. It all hangs on the weather, which nobody but God can control.

And so it is with LIFE in general! Sometimes we expect something to happen at a certain time, and all the circumstances surrounding that "something" look promising, and we keep looking in the right direction, as we wait and watch. But what we thought was going to happen at a certain time and in a certain way doesn't take place! In fact, no manifestation at all! That "something" that we were so much looking forward to gets scrubbed and delayed until a more opportune time.

"God's time" is the "more opportune time," and yet his plans and timing usually do not make sense to us, but we should trust him nevertheless. Isaiah 55:8 tells us that God's ways and thoughts are higher than ours, and so we should trust him and his timing even when we can't understand what he's up to! Even if it means we've been standing out in the cold, waiting and watching, and believing that all signs are signaling a "go!" Only God knows when the right time will be, and so it's incumbent upon us to keep praying and trusting him, as we should keep "looking up," knowing that he will manifest those things he has ordained in his time!

As God told the Bible's Habakkuk, "I will bring about this thing at a certain time, and it will not delay!" ...and God will certainly bring about those things in our lives which he ordains, but they will happen according to "his" timing ... and they won't be a second too soon or too late! God told Habakkuk he could take this news (about his plans and timing being perfect) to the herald and let him run with it. In other words, God was saying, "Things I have ordained will happen in my time, and it will be the PERFECT time, and you can take that to the bank!"

Let's go to the bank. Let's keep looking up. Let's continue trusting God's plans and his timing. The incredible and glorious glow of that miraculous launch will happen even yet!

2/5/10

Man Ordered to Demolish His Castle
Robert Fidler, a farmer who lives forty miles south of London, built his dream home back in 2002, and it actually resembles a small castle; it looks pretty cool! But don’t get too happy for Fidler, because here’s where the story takes a turn for the worse! When Fidler’s “castle” was being planned and built, he made sure to keep the whole thing a secret from the planning authorities. In fact, Fidler even went so far as to disguise his house for more than four years after it was completed, as he strategically placed bales of hay and other items around his property in order to block others from noticing it.

Unfortunately for Fidler; however, his miniature castle was finally identified, and a high court in his area has ruled that he must destroy his home completely and return the property to the way it was before he set out to build; he has one year to have his house demolished, the parts moved away, and his property returned to “pre-castle” conditions!

The sad situation boils down to this: Fidler had been accustomed to having disagreements with the planning authorities in the past, and so he anticipated that his permission to build his castle would have been denied; therefore, he decided to go for it anyway – in “secret!”

This story reminds me of the biblical Solomon, who (at first) had so much going for him, as God blessed him to the max and promised to keep the blessings coming, so long as Solomon would continue to keep God number one! But Solomon decided to take matters into his own hands when it came to marrying an Egyptian Pharaoh’s daughter, who worshiped other God’s aside from Yahweh (the true and only God, whom Solomon worshiped). In fact, God had warned Solomon not to take any wives of this nature!

But Solomon set out to do his own thing (by marrying the Pharaoh’s daughter), and he tried his best to “hide” the situation and keep it from “disrupting” the blessings he received from God. In fact, after Solomon built God’s temple, and then his own palace, he built a separate palace for his wife that was set back from his own, because (as Solomon said), “My wife must not [live where I live], because the places where the ark of the LORD have entered are holy (2 Chronicles. 8:11).” In other words, Solomon was employing his own kind of hay and such to try to disguise his decision from the ultimate of authorities (God), because he hoped he could experience the best of both worlds! He hoped he could serve the Lord and bask in his blessings, while having an Egyptian palace maintained on the side …in clandestine!

Well, that “Egyptian Palace” of his ultimately brought Solomon (in all of his splendor) to his downfall. He learned all too tragically that he couldn’t play with fire without getting burned; he couldn’t serve God without his secret “Egyptian Palace” poking its ugly head up and pulling him away from God. And thus, Solomon (and his entire kingdom) suffered because of his decision. He went from being a spiritual hero to being a two-faced zero, as he started worshiping the gods of his Egyptian wife and those of his other wives as well. That’s when the ultimate authority then made a high court ruling to “demolish” everything that Solomon thought he had going for him!

Here’s the question: What kind of “Egyptian Palaces” might you have secretly tucked away somewhere? Maybe you think you’ve got everyone fooled, and nobody knows you’ve decided to set out on your own course (apart from God) in one or more particular, well-hidden areas of your life. But guess what! – God knows all about your “Egyptian Palaces,” as he can’t be fooled, and if you don’t take care of those things that are drawing you away from him, you (and countless others, as innocent as they may be) will suffer a world of pain in the end!