Graphic Design Produces Catfish Gospel Experience

I really need to take more time to write on this particular blog in my world. The idea is (like the song lyric it comes from) there is a lot of "catfish" out there - we live in a dirty, messy, smelly world! In the midst of all the crud, there is a beautiful Gospel power that redeems the world's "catfish" into something beautiful. If we pay attention, there are moments and experiences every day in which the Spirit of God actively redeems things not usually considered to be holy.

I had one such experience today while attempting to create a sermon series graphic for our church. Our next series is called "Love Like Jesus." I searched for images with every possible combination of search terms, and on every possible graphic site I know of. Although I came up with several clever metaphors to use, I just wasn't finding anything. I finally gave up and decided to use the web image I had created (it's not all that great, but it works) in the bottom corner of the graphic set, and I began looking for a red "swoop" type image to add across the bottom of the image. As I began searching for the swoop, I found the perfect image to use for the series set! It wasn't until I gave up on trying to be clever that I finally found what I didn't know I was looking for.

John Piper, a pastor whose wisdom often blows me away, posted this quote last week:

No man can bear witness to Christ and to himself at the same time. No man can give the impression that he himself is clever and that Christ is mighty to save. (Quoted in John Stott, Between Two Worlds, 325)

This week, my friend Jen also shared a scripture passage that had been impacting her. I think God may be using the repeat-it-'till-he-listens method on me with this one! I'll leave you with I Corinthians 2:1-5:

1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^[a] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

Best Fishing

The following is my paraphrase of a story told by Gene Apple of Willow Creek Church at a conference recently. The story illustrates why it is important to endure the difficulties that go along with change.

"My family and I take a fishing trip to the same lake every year. I've been fishing here since I was a boy, and on the lake I have a favorite fishing spot. The problem is, the place where we have to put our fishing boat on the water is 20 miles from our cabin. So we get up early, drive the 20 miles to the lake, and put the boat on the water. Once we're on the water, we have to go to the other side of the lake, dodging skiers, swimmers, and other lake traffic. On the far side of the lake is a little channel. The channel is about 100 yards long and only about 5 feet wide. The water is covered with lily pads, and tall willow trees line both sides of the channel. It is slow going, but our fishing boat just fits through the channel. As we travel down the channel, the water gets increasingly shallow, and we must raise the motor on the boat. And as we go farther along, the water gets even more shallow, to the point where the motor has to be completely out of the water. From there, we use oars to row ourselves along, but eventually the water gets so shallow the boat actually hits ground. The last 50 feet my family gets out of the boat and carries me...no, we all get out, and we actually carry the boat the rest of the way. And it's hard work! By the end of the channel, we're all very tired. But, the lake on the other side is beautiful, and the fishing is good! We always come back with buckets and buckets of great fish. Why don't more people fish this side of the lake? Because, getting there is very difficult. Is it worth it? You better believe it's worth it!

For many of us, the Christian life is much like this. It's a struggle to serve others, it's hard to reach out to people different than us. It takes a lot of work to care about people far from God, and we often get hurt when we make ourselves vulnerable and available. Change is never easy, yet we may need to change our methods, our styles, or our ministry practices to reach out to more people. The deeper we get, the harder the struggles seem to be.

But - is it worth it? Yes! you better believe it's worth it!"