Mike Edmisten

Recently I blogged about my disappointment with the Tigers loss in the World Series. (See my previous post.) Although they received tremendous production from one guy, that was not the case from the team as a whole. Sadly, that often aptly describes the life of many churches.

But this past weekend, I watched teamwork on display in our church family. Our annual Harvest Festival was on Saturday and it was the very definition of a team effort. It started on Friday night as a small but very committed group of men set up some large tents in the driving rain. Then on Saturday, numerous volunteers showed up early in the day to continue the massive set-up required for this event. Most of them worked almost straight through until the festival was over that evening. We had scheduled time to clean up on Sunday morning before our worship crowd arrived, but everyone did such a great job Saturday night that there was hardly anything left to do on Sunday!

The event was well-planned, which is tough to do. It was also well-executed, which is even tougher to do. We had hundreds of people on our campus for the Harvest Festival, and we were ready for every one of them thanks to our team of volunteers.

It’s a privilege to serve on a team.

My favorite baseball player is Sean Casey. He’s been my favorite since he joined the Reds in 1998. I was really bummed when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. His stint in Pittsburgh was short and then it was on to the Detroit Tigers.

I was really interested in this year’s World Series because, even though my team wasn’t there, my favorite player was. Sean Casey is a world-class player and he deserves a World Series ring. Obviously that didn’t happen as the St. Louis Cardinals clinched the series last night. But that definitely wasn’t Casey’s fault.

During the World Series, Sean Casey led the Tigers with a batting average of .529, an on-base percentage of .556, and a slugging percentage of 1.000. (For those of you who aren’t baseball fans, all you need to know is that those are monstrous numbers.) If one man could actually carry a team to victory, Tigers fans would be celebrating a world championship. But despite Sean Casey’s stellar performance, it was the Cardinals fans that were up all night celebrating.

No matter what kind of numbers he puts up, one guy simply cannot carry a team. And let’s not forget that the church is designed to be a team. Are you sitting on the bench waiting for that one person in your church to carry the team to victory?

A lot of people assume that this falls on the shoulders of the preaching minister. “He’s the one who can bring effectiveness, health, and growth to the church. I’ll just sit back and watch as he works his magic.”

Bad idea. As a pastor, I can tell you in all honesty that a church who simply relies on one guy for its success is doomed to failure. If one man could carry a team, then nearly every church in America would be thriving. And the Tigers would be world champs.

Today I had lunch with Jason. Jason is a ministry colleague, but much more than that, Jason is my friend. He’s just one of those guys that encourages me every time I’m around him. He’s also one of those guys that make me feel a little inferior because it just seems like his passion and hunger for God far surpasses mine. He would never want me to feel that way. He would tell me that I shouldn’t feel that way. But I still feel that way!

“But wait a minute, Mike. Aren’t you a pastor?”

Yep.

“And you’re telling me that you aren’t as spiritual as you’d like to be? That there are people who seem to be closer to God than you are?”

You’d better believe it.

In our message Sunday we talked about people like Jason. As much as we love and respect them, it can be difficult when it seems as if they’re just better at this Jesus thing than we are.

And yet, I know that being around people of such spiritual depth is a good thing. I left my lunch with Jason committed to keep striving for God more and more. His hunger for the Lord made me more hungry. His desire to make an eternal impact for God’s Kingdom renewed my desire to make an impact myself.

My little inferiority complex isn’t Jason’s problem. It’s mine. But if it pushes me to chase after God more and more, then it’s a great problem to have!

God, I never want to become complacent in my relationship with you. Surround me with people that make me uncomfortable in my faith. Use them to draw me even closer to you. Amen.

My family took a trip to the Newport Aquarium this week. I highly recommend it if you’ve never been there.

The diversity of the aquatic life at the aquarium is really incredible. They have everything from a common largemouth bass all the way to the very rare shark ray. As I walked from exhibit to exhibit, I couldn’t help but marvel at God’s creativity. The beauty of the tropical fish was stunning. The octopus crawling up the glass wall of its tank was strange but fascinating. The opportunity to actually pet a shark as it swam by was awe inspiring. Every exhibit in this place was a tribute to God’s creative power.

And yet some of the aquarium’s staff members were talking about how these creatures had evolved over millions of years. I couldn’t help but wonder at their level of faith. Yep, I said faith. To look at this amazing array of animals and to believe that they are all the result of a cosmic accident and evolutionary chance…that’s faith!

For me, the aquarium was clear and convincing evidence of God. It reminded me of the words of the Psalmist. “How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number‚— living things both large and small.” (Psalm 104:24-25)

Earlier today we took Ryan to a farm/greenhouse in Felicity. Their “Kids Day on the Farm” was today. The event (which was free!) came complete with farm animals, plenty of pumpkins and scarecrows, a straw maze (think corn maze, only for small children), and a hayride. It was a ton of fun. But I never thought that I would find my new favorite quote in this rustic setting.

I looked up at the barn, and there was the sign with the words that I’ll never forget.

So simple, yet so profound.

How much better would our lives be if we stopped listening to the “bull?” The complaints, the negativity, the criticism. What if we could shut our ears in the same way we shut our eyes? That way we could automatically tune out all of these destructive words.

Don’t get me wrong. There are times when we need constructive criticism. But “constructive” is the key word. Most criticism is destructive. And destructive criticism isn’t worth our time.

So go ahead…shoot your cow and then let the bull roam elsewhere.

It’s early on a Sunday morning. Brian Morrissey (our youth/worship minister) and I are the only ones in the church building right now. It won’t be long until this building is bustling with activity, but at this moment, it’s absolutely quiet. It’s usually around this time each Sunday that I ponder and reflect on certain things, some of which I want to share with you. These are some of my usual “early Sunday morning thoughts.”

• Are we coming to church today or are we coming to meet God today?
• What if my message bombs?
• How will we receive our guests? Will we get out of our comfort zones to make them feel comfortable?
• This is an incredible calling that I have been given. Preaching the Word of God is the most humbling and exciting experience of my life. It is my passion.
• Will our worship be heartfelt and sincere or will we just go through the right religious motions?
• I’m tired. My neighborhood was very quiet when I left this morning because everyone was still sleeping. I was just a little jealous.
• Will we be ready to minister to the hurting people who walk through our doors this morning?
• How many people will walk through our doors who are hurting in secret?
• I wonder if a “regular job” would be easier than my job.
• I wonder why I would want something “easier.”
• What will be the eternal significance of what happens here this morning? We may not know until eternity.
• I make good coffee.
• This morning will be imperfect. Excellence is our goal, but imperfection is always our result.
• All of my work and preparation through this past week will come and go in the span of one hour this morning. Then it’ll be time to start all over again.
• Sometimes Sundays are great. Sometimes they wear me out. But God is blessing the journey. Thanks God…for everything.

Last week my family visited the annual Brown County Fair. There is just something special about that event for us. Maybe it’s seeing old friends. Since Nicki and I were in the same class in Georgetown, the fair is like an annual class reunion. We saw classmates who still live in Georgetown and classmates who live as far away as Oklahoma City. Everybody is looking a little bit older now. I’m sure they were all surprised to see that Nicki and I haven’t changed a bit.

Maybe the fair is special because we’re “country folk” at heart. I live in suburbia now, but my heart still longs for the country. Strapping on my dirty work boots, walking through the barns, seeing the animals, looking at tractors that are as big as a house, listening to Joe Diffie sing classic country songs…it made Nicki and me feel right at home. We got so nostalgic about our country roots that we both left the fair with John Deere shirts. Oh yeah!

Maybe the fair is special because of the food. The corn dogs, funnel cakes, pork tenderloin and ribeye sandwiches were all out of this world. I made the mistake of getting on our bathroom scales this morning. Ouch.

But mostly, the fair was special this year because I got to see it through my little boy’s eyes. This is the first time Ryan has really experienced an event like this. It was amazing to watch his eyes light up and to listen to him talk excitedly about the animals, to watch him nervously pet a cow, and to see him smile as he rode the kiddie rides. He even got into the tractor pulls. He was totally into the noise, smoke, and dirt that are part of every tractor pull. We’re living in the suburbs, but my boy may still be a redneck!

Needless to say, I left this year’s Brown County Fair with some wonderful memories…and we didn’t have to fly hundreds of miles and spend thousands of dollars to make those memories. The memories were made in a very simple, non-flashy setting. A few farm animals, some simple food, some old friends, and a couple of outdated kiddie rides made for some fantastic memories.

Sometimes we go overboard. Sometimes we make things more extravagant than is necessary. This year’s fair reminded me that there is beauty in simplicity.

I wish you “simple memories.”