Boats and Bull$&!#

I try very hard, given my profession, to leave my critical nature at the door.  I really want to experience worship services and sermons "naively" - meaning not always filtering it through my rational faculties.  But this morning it was very difficult.  A visiting pastor at a church we were visiting for to celebrate a baptism - so really I'm not that invested.  I wanted to show up - worship - and have a good Sunday.  But when the pastor starts by, as I interpreted it, insulting the congregation - my bullshit detector when on high.  So what if they were singing out of the hymnal.  So what if the congregation had a large number of old people - what, are old people not allowed to go to church anymore?  This particular pastor was no spring chicken... 50's not that young.  Fine... get past the unfortunate beginning and settle in to hear the word of the Lord... from John Oortburg?  The fact that I just misspelled his name tells you how much I read his stuff.  I'm not that impressed.  Plus... wasn't he kind of the in thing 10 years ago? 

The text - Jesus walking on water.  The message:  Get out of the Boat.  Sigh... I remember this being a summer camp theme at least 10 years ago.  No matter - go with it.  Ok, so we're not supposed to be boat potatoes.  We're supposed to get out of the boat.  We're supposed to challenge ourselves as a church to not be boat potatoes.  The pastor wanted an interactive crowd - how I wished some of the people I knew in the congregation would have spoken up.  The fact of the matter is preachers like this don't have a frickin clue about what goes on in the lives of those sitting in the congregation.  They are not aware of the "insignificant" ways in which people minister to each other - nor do they care.  They are the ones who get hung up on the worship style or the age of the congregation - not the ones sitting in the pews.  They don't bother to find out about how some in the congregation minister to the old guy living in an old railroad car on the other side of town.  They're not concerned with the countless hours spent sitting with the alcoholic or the drug addict.  Or how the congregation ministers to those with disabilities of various kinds.  They don't take notice of the way in which single mothers are cared for... or how young people are being included.  That's because most of this ministry goes on without trumpets and fanfare.  The people who do it aren't interested in accolades - they do it out of love and charity.

Part of me wanted to stand up and say "Why don't you get off your high horse and get out of your own boat."  Maybe then you'll see the "insignificant" acts of mercy and love going on all around you.  But, of course, that doesn't make for good books or flashy messages does it.