why did it bother me so?

Sitting in church this past weekend I felt my frustration rising. It wasn't just the length of the sermon which was over an hour long. It was the content.

The purpose of the sermon was to get church members fired up to support an evangelistic campaign in the fall. This is Adventist jargon for a public series of lectures which run 5 nights a week for over a month systematically teaching people the beliefs of our church and trying to recruit them to membership.

The preacher tried to reinforce an Adventist belief that is strong in some and waning in others. It's the belief that the Adventist church is THE remnant people of God mentioned in Revelation. Furthermore, it's the remnant to the exclusion of ALL other denominations, religions, and faiths. To some Adventists this belief is their understanding of being unique and following the Great Commission to preach the Gospel. To an increasing number it's seen simply as arrogance and needs adjustment.

It was no surprise to hear this line of reasoning as I have grown up hearing it. But it was annoying.

Why did it bother me so?

1. Maybe because I simply don't believe that anymore. I think Adventism CAN be A PART of God's faithful remnant, but I don't believe the denomination is the definition of God's remnant in totality. (This doesn't mean that Adventism has nothing valuable and unique to offer.)

2. Maybe it makes me feel despairing. I long to see the church move more progressively towards unity with other churches (not uniformity) and I feel messages like this take us ten steps backwards because a certain element of Adventists lap this thinking up. I wonder, "What's the use of trying to fight it? Furthermore, do I have any purpose as a pastor if I can't make a difference?" (Here comes another pessimisism swell)

3. Maybe just pride. It proves I can't make the church become what I want it to be.

4. I think I feel a bit embarrassed of my church. I am trying to build networks of connection in the community and here my church is going to engage in an activity that I feel builds walls, not bridges.

5. I find it hard to sit through these type of arguments, and this fall I'll have to be a "good" pastor and support this with at least my attendance. Approximately 25 nights of stuff like this--ahhh.

The interesting thing is that aside from these beliefs, this preacher is actually a nice guy. I hope I can find a way to not be so bothered by this event and simply go along with it to be with the people that I'm called to minister to. Maybe I can even find points within the series that I can use has injection points to drop seeds of a different focus and purpose for Adventism. The above picture I found online was in an article entitled, "Frustration as an Opportunity".

May my frustrations with this upcoming series not be a discouragement to what I feel God calling me to do, but a challenge to look for creative ways to still live and preach what I believe, remembering that it's not my job to change the church. That's God's work. I'm just a seed planter.