You can watch a video of what I am referring to here: http://youtu.be/lt8wBfqc32A
Part 1
Recently, a good friend named Aaron,
asked me to help him with his brakes on his car. It is a simple job,
and it is something I've done before on other cars. We were to
change the brake pads on both front calipers and bleed the brake
lines while we were at it. All together, the job should have taken
us two hours at the most. This day, however, was very much like
Homer's Odyssey or Harold and Kumar goes to White Castle – anything
that could go wrong, went wrong. But in the end, we were able to
accomplish everything that we set out to do, and to call the moment
when we sat in the car, accelerated, then stopped smoothly without
fault, satisfying, is an understatement. We started around 9:30. We
finished around 5:30.
It was a memorable day. Both of us had
somewhat clear schedules, there was the sense of adventure, and there
is something bonding about guys working together to fix something,
especially a car. I think God wired men to be this way – to be a
problem solver. Thinking back upon the dating relationships that
I've been in, wearing the “problem solver hat” usually made for
interesting interactions. I've come to the conclusion that knowing
when to wear the “problem solver hat” is really important. Is she
looking for an answer to her situation? Or is she just looking to be
understood on a deeper level? Usually it is the latter. My default
is to do the first. God has a great sense of humor.
Moreover, on the grandest scheme, God
has asked his creation to wear the “problem solver hat”. Just
like how that day was a powerful bonding experience with Aaron,
participating in the Great Commission follows in the same suit.
Don't get me wrong, quite times and devotionals are critical, but at
least from what I've experienced, nothing connects me closer to God
and nothing has brought me greater joy than participating in
ministry.
The problem is sin. The answer is the
gospel. I get to participate with God on the grandest adventure, to
play a role in fixing what is broken.
Part 2
Another observation that I made that
day was an interesting dynamic in problem solving. In our situation,
the front left caliper's piston was extended out too far so that we
couldn't get in back on the disk. This problem set us back a couple
hours. What was most interesting was the way in which Aaron and
myself approached the problem, for the longest time we thought of it
as a unilateral issue – that there is one thing wrong. This way of
thinking led us down many dead ends, and certainly some frustrations
too. In analogy we saw the problem with the brakes like this:
6 + x = 10
We would solve for x over and over
again, and double and triple check out work. We would swear we were
right (that we were not putting enough force on the piston to
overcome the fluid in the brake lines), but the piston would not
recede to the position we needed it to be at. Hours would pass, and
through intellectual flexibility we came to the conclusion that we
had the correct solution – but we were solving the wrong problem.
In our situation, the solution involved two variables, so our
situation was more like this:
6 + x + 2y = 10
In our brake situation, the solution
was our piston was misaligned and we were not
putting enough force on it. We tried those solutions independently,
but it required both for us to get the desired results. In the end
it took our intellectual flexibility to see the possibility that the
solution might incorporate more than one dynamic. From my
observations, ministry behaves in the same way. We institute one
thing, such as weekly prayer meetings, and expect results. In our
intellectual flexibility we need to properly assess the situation and
see that loving well is complex, dynamic, and has several levels.
Part 3
Another dynamic found in our time
working on the car was our dynamic determination. Dynamic
determination, in my own words, is simply the capacity to continue
and not give up in light of difficulty, set backs, and/or problems.
As you can imagine, both dynamic determination and intellectual
flexibility are woven together in most situations and usually, both
are required for problem solving. Just our dynamic determination to
keep on pushing on the brake piston alone was not enough to solve our
issue – and even led to a level of frustration. We needed to keep
on pushing (dynamic determination) and realign the piston
(intellectual flexibility). I wonder how many churches and
ministries have given up and stuck with the status quo because of the
lack of integrating both determination and flexibility.
Metaphorically speaking, they push and don't realign, or realign and
don't push, and then over time they give up on both realigning and
pushing altogether and look for another answer (which actually isn't
the answer at all).
Our situation with the brake involved
lots of dynamic determination. For hours we pressed and pressed on
the piston, hoping that it would go back into the caliper. Our
determination, however, was actually dictated by the situation.
Aaron's car was at my house. Without our problem solved, the car is
not drivable (no brakes!). Therefore, Aaron is stranded here. To be
honest, I was scared for a good moment of time. What happens if we
can't fix this? How would Aaron explain this to his parents? What
happens if we need to just buy an expensive new part? Our backs were
against the wall. There was no other option: we need to fix the
brake and we can't stop working until it is done.
I believe that this attitude and
situation carries over to our participation in ministry. There is no
other option: we need to love and we can't stop loving until the
Great Commission is done or till were dead. I know that sounds
harsh, but really, what else is there to do or endeavor in our lives?
Money, fame, comfort – in light of death is meaningless. I guess
where I'm going is this: we can gain a source of motivation by just
assessing our situation, yes, your calling is difficult, but what
else is there to do outside of your calling?
Conclusion
Participating in the Great Commission
is a privilege, honor, and a great source of joy as it bonds us to
our true source of joy, God, in a special way. We don't earn special
favor in our participation, for we are saved by grace, but many are
missing out on joy, and that is unfortunate. Loving people well is a
complex and multilateral. What works for one situation may not work
for the next, thus we need to be intellectually flexible. To be able
to assess the situation fully and to be constantly asking God for
wisdom in every step of ministry. Dynamic Determination is woven
together with intellectual flexibility and both are to be stewarded
in unison. Ministry can be difficult at times, but quitting is not
an option, for there is nothing else worthy of my time.
