The Pastor's Blog

By Larry Day
 
Yup.  I think I am.  I just had another birthday. This one brought me to the grand old age of 52. I don’t feel 52 but, then again I’m not sure what its supposed to feel like. I don’t feel half a century old – except in the areas of our culture – specifically in our ceaseless culture of change…more specially with the contemporary church generation (of which I am a part).

I’m a plodder.  That’s right. I’m a one- foot- in- front- of- the- other, non sexy, plough-horse plodder.   “I plod; therefore, I am”.   When it comes to the proverbial tortoise and the hare…I’m the tortoise.  Yeah…that’s me; I’m the one on the right… 

So, you’re asking…”Larry…are you depressed or something”?  Not at all! I’m excited to be a plodder. I want more people to plod.  Join me in my plodding quest. I could maybe start a “Plod-cast” with instruction for plodders.

Most people tend to like the sexier and flashier alternative to plodding; sprinting.  They want everything fast…they want the scenery to be always in change. They want to say…ditch “church” and be “revolutionaries” and follow Jesus in “real” community and meet under trees, on the beach and in coffee shops.  Don’t worry your pretty little self that this isn’t biblical, provides no accountability, and will fail in the long run – it feels cutting edge so it must be good - right?

I see people who want to sprint…when they have not yet mastered the art of Plodding.  “What we need is to change the world”!    Okay…great…you go with that.  Never mind that you haven’t ever held a job, or been faithful in a marriage, haven’t ever raised a child and may still live at home…but, yeah…you go change that world!

Forget my Pastor’s teaching…look at what Bono has accomplished! Oh please! Don’t get me started!  No self respecting plodder can go there!  With all due respect, what’s harder… to be an idolized rock star who travels around the world wearing shades 24/7, touting good causes and chastising governments for their lack of foreign aid… or to be a line worker at a factory with four kids and a mortgage, who tithes to his church,  serves on the church set-up team every week,  works with the local food pantry , supports a Christian relief agency and a few missionaries from his disposable income…  that’s right…plodding is harder!

You know what…I don’t recall that there is a patron saint of plodding.  I think we should change that. I nominate …Ampliatus (Roman 16:8) to be the patron saint of plodding - or maybe Phlegon (v. 14)    “Hey…I’ve never heard of those dudes”!  Yup.  And yet their names are read whenever one reads God’s word. Imagine that!
Being ordinary is okay! And being an ETRAordinary plodder is even better!

“Larry…stop it…I’m special…!”

Yeah…bla…bla…bla…

Folks, the reality is this:  Our jobs are often unexciting. Our devotional times often seem uninspired at best. Church services are often forgettable.  So what. That’s life. We drive to the same places, go through the same routines with the kids, buy the same groceries at the store, and share a bed with the same person every night.  Church is often the same too — same doctrines, same basic order of worship, same preacher, same people.

But guess what… in all the smallness and sameness – in all the plodding, God works! He works like the smallest seed in the garden growing to unbelievable heights, or like the beloved Tychicus, that faithful minister, delivering the mail and apostolic greetings (Eph 6:21).

The fact is this: life is usually pretty ordinary, just like following Jesus most days. Daily discipleship isn’t being a “revolutionary” each morning or an agent of global transformation every evening; it’s a long obedient plodding in the same direction.  A “slog” if you will.

My mind plods as well…and I wonder…is it also possible that it’s not the church that needs a total overhaul…but, maybe, us?  Is is possible that our boredom has less to do with the church, its doctrines, or its poor leadership and more to do with our unwillingness to tolerate imperfection in others  - and our own coldness to the same old message about Jesus’ death and resurrection?

Is it possible that we talk a lot about authentic community but we really aren’t willing to live in it?

Hey…I’m just sayin’….

Put away your sprinter shoes and get some hiking boots and join my plodding quest to run the race…plodding style.  When you get to my advanced age – you’ll be glad you did.