Mundane Things
One of the things I have found most troubling in my years of working in ministry is the tremendous propensity people have for holding multiple illogical presuppositions in their mind simultaneously; and holding to each with a ferociously, dogged, illogical, tenacity. You may wonder what I mean by this. One example is the belief that people should support nothing at church, in a financial way, that is not directly related to what they consider to be the core mission of the church (for example only evangelism, benevolence, or foreign mission work). That means they do not wish their contribution to be spent toward utilities, insurance, building repairs, or even local staff salaries. They want it to go only toward what they consider to be pure ministry such as feeding the hungry, evangelism, supporting the care of orphans and foreign missions. To be honest we all should believe and participate in supporting these great things, but where does such a perspective leave the more “mundane things?” Mundane things like utilities, staff salaries, building repairs, and insurance.
In Genesis 2:15 Moses wrote: The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and look after it. In Numbers 4:22-23 Moses is told by YHWH to number the Gershonites, the descendants of the eldest sons of Levi, for their service in the tabernacle. The word used for that holy service is the same root word that is used in Genesis 2:15 of Adam’s service in the Garden of Eden where it is most often translated as “to till.” In Numbers, this same root word is definitely used of what we would call “sacred” service. As a matter of fact the Old Greek Translation of Numbers translates this word using the term “leitourgein (λειτουργεῖν),” which is where we get our English word “liturgy.” This word is used by Christians and certainly by Jews to describe “sacred service” or “worship.”
What “sacred service” did these Levites perform in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple? They performed the “mundane” tasks such as cleaning up the blood from the sacrifices, they performed repairs, swept and mopped, cleaned up after the animals that defecated in the sacred areas and any other task that was needed. They performed what most people would consider the “mundane” things of everyday life. They performed this as their sacred duty to God. For this, the tithe offering supported them, and kept their families alive. They were not permitted to inherit a portion of the promised land and so they were to be supported by the other tribes of Israel in order that they might perform their sacred duty to God.
How many of us are willing, or indeed able to do “pure ministry” without any of the mundane things being done? This is where the lack of logic that I was speaking about earlier comes to the forefront: we can’t, or we won’t. How many of you are willing for us to stop meeting in the church building and instead start meeting in the dirt lot across Main Street, with no shade, no furniture, no staff, no heating, and no cooling? Maybe we should try it and see how that logic really works out. I suspect that attendance for Sunday worship would be reduced immediately and dramatically by such a move. I have heard of churches that decided to get rid of their building and meet in rented facilities or in homes and most of them no longer exist and none that I am aware of have seen great success.
All of this is a lead up to tell you that we need to do some major repairs on our building. The heating and cooling system that we currently have is worn out, and some of it is now obsolete due to government legislation. The freon that our current cooling system uses (R22) is no longer manufactured in, nor can it be imported into, the United States. We had a freon leak in our AC system and though we can get the freon, the cost is astronomically high and even if we were to replace the freon the equipment is still worn out and would be inefficient and likely would, in a short time, spring another leak. We also need to replace the boilers. All of this equipment was indeed replaced in 2004, but that was almost 20 years ago. Many of you are already groaning, because you think we are asking you for money, but you would be wrong. I am writing to inform you regarding what will be done and not to ask for money.
It will cost $598,630.00 to purchase and install the equipment that is needed (3 boilers, 1x300 ton chiller, installation, and control systems). We already have the funds and have already signed the contract for the work to be done over the next year. The money was donated by a very generous and precious family here at Broadway that wishes to remain anonymous. Their generosity, their vision, and their love is without measure. They love you all with the love of Christ.
It will take almost a year to get the equipment here to Lubbock and get it installed. Orders have already been placed more than a month ago. There have been a number of people involved in this project, most notably the members of the Broadway Physical Plant Committee who have given of their time and their expertise: those of special note are Reese Wright and his firm Agnew and Associates, Kelsey Maxwell, who chairs that committee and Lee Flores our Physical Plant Superintendent. These are your Levites, serving in the background out of the spotlight because of their love for the Lord first and foremost, and also because of their love for each member of our church family.
This may be seen by some as mundane, but in the society in which we live today ministry cannot happen in a vacuum, or in a field. We have a great tool in this building that has been used by God in the past to bring many people into the walk of discipleship with Jesus Christ, myself included, and as long as we can, and we will, remain faithful to God this facility can and will continue to be used by God to bring many more to Christ. This building is the place where His community gathers to meet with one another, in His Holy presence. It is truly for me, and for so many others, Holy Ground, because it is a place drenched in the prayers, the hopes, the dreams, the sweat, and the blood of God’s people living out lives of service for the Kingdom.
We are not asking you for additional funds for this project, but what we would ask you to do is to pray that God would continue to use this tool for His glory as a place where people can gather to pray, worship, study, fellowship, get married, remember those who have died, and learn to follow as disciples in the footsteps of Jesus more and more with each passing day.
The “mundane” things of life can become the most sacred of things when they are done because of the love of Christ. In John’s Gospel, chapter 13, there is the account of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. After Jesus finished washing those dirty, smelly feet, He asked His disciples if they knew what He had done for them? He then explains to them the lesson He wants them to learn: 13 ‘You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Then if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example: you are to do as I have done for you. 16 In very truth I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor a messenger than the one who sent him. 17 If you know this, happy are you if you act upon it.
Leaving heaven to come to earth for Jesus was leaving the safety and comforts of that place to come and live amongst the filth, the squalor, the pain, and the sin of humanity. He chose the “mundane” to express the great love of God for all humanity. He washed dirty feet, was beaten, abused, stripped naked, hung on a tree as one cursed by God, all for His love of people. Those who would follow Jesus must learn the lessons He taught. The love of God is expressed in the “mundane,” the everyday things of life and not just in the glorious and the spectacular. God’s love is expressed in His coming in the flesh, His washing of dirty feet, His bleeding and dying for those He loves. Those who would be His disciples will do the same, or else they are not His disciples. Praise be to God for those who have learned this great lesson and live this lesson out each day.
