"The Reason Why There's No Post This Week" Post

I don't have a spiritual point to make today. I apologize for that. I offer this post as a "reason why there's no post this week" post instead. Enjoy.


Two weeks ago I hurt my back. I didn't really do anything to cause it to go out, it's just one of those things that happens when you're my age, I guess. Usually when my back goes out, I fall into a precise pattern of behavior. It hurts, so I rest it. It starts to feel a little better after a day or two, so I assume it's all fine and return to my usual activities. I push it too far too fast and, wham, it ends up going out again and we start the process over.

After a couple rounds of that through the last few weeks, I really thought i was over the hump. It had not hurt for several days. I believed I had full range of motion back. I decide it's time to test it out on the golf course.

The Missouri district pastors had an "Advance" this week out at Pinecrest campground. One of the activities was a scramble -- you're divided up into a four man team and play "best ball" to shoot the lowest score possible for your team. My round started out awful. No matter what I tried, I couldn't keep from topping the golf ball and hitting a little dribbler down the fairway. While I'm not a golf pro, I'm usually much better than that. It was almost like my back wasn't allowing me to take a normal swing.

That, in the middle of intense pastoral competition, was completely unacceptable.

On the 7th hole, I decide that enough was enough. I concentrate on staying in my slot and forcing my body through the normal torque and rotation. I go back and swing down hard, keeping my form, locking my body into its often-practiced motion, and following through completely. The result was a gorgeous 240 yard 3-wood that sailed up into the air, fading ever so slightly, and dropping in the middle of the fairway.

While celebrating my mental victory over the limitations of my physical self, I felt my left arm get all tingly. A creeping yet vicious pain shot from the center of my spine, filling the left side of my back with the fire of a thousand suns. Breathing became a real issue. My eyes watered. Oh the pain! Oh the agony! Oh the joy of hitting a great shot!

A normal man -- even a smart man -- would stop right there and call it a round. No sir. Not me. This is competition, remember. It's war. It's not some friendly round with a bunch of pastor buddies. I. Must. Play. On.

Whatever God-given obstacle that kept my back from making a normal golf swing (and me feeling relatively pain-free) was ripped asunder. On my next shot, I pleasantly discovered that I had full range of motion back! Sure, every practice swing felt like someone was billy clubing my left ribs, but if I sucked up the pain, I could move without limitation. I see victory within our reach. I go after it!

I absolutely let it rip. I started hitting greens. I was peppering the fairway. I was chipping and putting well. I was awing my teammates (who were convinced I had hustled them for the first 6 holes). I was downing Tylenol like they were Smarties. At one point I think I passed out for a few holes. It was fantastic!

We added up the scores at the end of the round and my team won, with a not-very-impressive 3-under par -- all of which came after my back, as one team man put it, "loosened up".

It was worth the effort, the pain, and the undiagnosed overdose on pain medications. We were the champions of the Pastor's Advance men's golf scramble! My performance will go down in history as one of the guttiest performances ever performed by a pastor trying to impress his pastor friends in order to win a meaningless competition with no prize except pride.

Sure, my back still hurts like you wouldn't believe. My neck is most comfortable when it's cocked at a 45 degree angle toward my left shoulder. My extremities still randomly twitch and spasm uncontrollably. But I'm not to complain about it. No sir! Not me! I know that what I suffer now, I suffer intentionally, having chosen several days of physical anguish over the agony of defeat at the hands of fellow pastors on the golf course.

So, that's why there's no post this week, and why, instead, you get a post about why there's no post. If you're looking for a spiritual or inspirational lesson... well, you'll have to find one in there yourself!

"Serve" vs. "Serve"

Let me preface this by saying very clearly and bluntly: I am not a Greek scholar. I never had much more than a casual introduction to Greek. I spent all of my language credits in undergrad and grad school on French and Hebrew... Neither of which will help me with this current post. That's why this is a blog and not something more official. If this piques your interest and you want to go deeper, then feel free to contact my friends Dr. Grizzle or Dr. Mansfield or future Dr's. Foster and Lunsford and they'll fill your brain with greek-iness all day long.

Now that that's cleared up, let's butcher the language of the New Testament!

The passage that I chose for the next two sermons is Romans 12:1-13. There are two references to the word "serve" in this passage, and both have unique contexts. The first is in verse 7.

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve".

The second reference is several verses later:

"11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."

If you've ever looked up a word in the English dictionary you know that sometimes words have multiple meanings. You depend on the context of the word to tell you what kind of meaning is intended. Here the NIV translators have chosen to use the same English word to represent two entirely different Greek words. In verse 7. the Greek word used for serve is "diakonia". In verse 11, it's "douleuo".

Douleuo -- to serve or to be a slave.

Diakonia -- to minister to.

Now, look back at the context. Diakonia is used in the context of the Church (people). Paul is taking about the Body of Christ -- the collection of individuals all with unique talents who serve each other in Christian love. Diakonia is your ministry, your service to the people around you. It's gifts oriented. It's how you attend to someone; how you minister to people; how you bless your Christian brothers and sisters. We'll talk more about this next week.

Douleuo is used in the context of your relationship with God. It's the answer to the three topics Paul introduces at the head of this chapter. What does it mean to be a living sacrifice (vs.1)? What does it mean to conform yourself no longer to this world (vs. 2)? How can you know and do God's will (vs. 3)?

Paul provides a radical answer. Douleuo. Become a slave to God.

Slavery is always a touchy subject. I'm watching "America: The Story of Us" right now on the History Channel and they're talking about the events leading up to the Civil War. Slavery was a driving force behind a war that killed more people than any of the other U.S. wars combined. It's something we've spilled blood to eradicate. It's completely contrary to the American ideal of freedom, that hard work and determination will lead you to success. All men are created equal and have unalienable rights! You can acheive your dreams and find success if you try your best! It's the American way!

God is suggesting, rather, that your success is dependent not just on how you use your freedoms but on how many of your freedoms you're willing to sacrifice for him.

There's a statement that I'm going to make in my message this weekend that I feel comfortable revealing now, hoping maybe it will sink in a little before you hear it again on Sunday morning: "What is common practice among common people is not the same as the extraordinary will of our extraordinary God."

What's the best thing that you can do with your life? Live free? Work hard? Be your own man? Make your own way? Nope.

The best thing you can do with your life is slavishly devote yourself to God and his will. Lay down your desires. Pick up His will. Set aside your old way of thinking. Unite your thoughts with God. Become a living sacrifice to him (a slave to his will), conforming your will to His, renewing your thoughts with His thoughts instead of the worlds, and then doing His will -- His good, perfect, and pleasing will.

More to come on Sunday. For now, think about that. Are you willing to be a slave for God?