Content copyright . Zuchelli. All rights reserved.
November 9, 2011
To Pastor Cindy and the Dear Folks of MC/GF (you know who you are),
On the back cover of one of his
books (Velvet Elvis if I’m not
mistaken), Rob Bell wrote these words:
We have to test
everything. I thank God for anybody
anywhere who is pointing people to the mysteries
of God. But those people would all tell
you to think long and hard about what they are saying
and doing and creating. Test it. Probe
it. Do that to this book. Don’t swallow it uncritically. Think about
it. Wrestle with it. Just because I’m a
Christian and I’m trying to articulate a Christian worldview doesn’t mean I’ve got it nailed. I’m
contributing to the discussion. God has spoken, and the rest
is commentary, right?
Well, I didn’t write a
book. But I DID arrive at your places of worship and preach four simple
sermons. And I would like you to
consider those sermons the way Rob Bell wants you to consider his books. They are NOT
the final word, but hopefully they contributed to your ongoing discussion.
As we struggle to be “Christian,”
we continue to be seekers throughout life’s journey. We have found THE TRUTH (or more
appropriately stated, HE has found US). We believe that truth to be embodied in our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Ever
since then, however, we’ve been on a constant search for the way that truth
plays out in our daily lives (at least, I hope we’re doing that).
My time with you was
awesome. I mean that in the most literal
sense. I went there to make you laugh,
to make you think, and to convey to you a sense of celebration. One of my regular lines is, “No one has more
fun than Christians.” I believe that,
and I believe it because there is a supernatural element in the enjoyment we
share. Christians can have fun doing
things no one else thinks is the slightest bit entertaining. That’s not natural…it’s supernatural.
Above all else,
however, I wanted to shed some light on the Scripture for you. In my lifetime, some of the greatest moments
have come when the Lord showed me something in His Word that I had never seen or
understood before. He almost always uses
others to do that for me. It was my
desire to do that for you if the Lord would allow. And if it happened, even a little bit, it was
worth the trip.
That, of course, is
only the beginning. We can learn all the
cool truths in Scripture and avoid building them into our daily lives. That’s when the rest of the world gets to
legitimately call us “hypocrites.” I
don’t know about you, but I hate when they do that (especially when it’s true). Please don’t give them a legitimate
opportunity to call you that. They’ll do
it often enough without you giving them any excuses. Be to them what Jesus is to you. (I’ll let Pastor Cindy flesh that one out for
you.)
I
don’t know if we accomplished all we set out to do in that short forty-eight
hour period I was with you. But I do
know this...I went to be a vehicle of renewal for you, and the Lord used you as
a vehicle to renew me. I love it when He
does that. He’s an extravagant,
generous, compassionate God. He gave you
just what I needed, and you gave it to me.
Keep
on makin’ that wine!
Dave Zuchelli
“My whole intent in living here is to
make God smile.” --Gianna Jessen