Wondering about beauty...

So, the other day Grant & I were sitting at the breakfast table and looking out the window.   Over the crunch of my spoon and the slurp of his soggy one, 


he whispered "Mom!  Look at that cardinal!"  


Sure enough, there was a cardinal couple flitting around the yet dormant tea roses.  The daddy was bright red and very, very busy, prancing around the mama who seemed anything other than interested.  

It reminded me of the spring dance scene in Walt Disney's Bambi, when the Owl talks about spring time making everyone "twitter-pated."  It was a a great way to finish off the boring bowl of granola that morning.  


I watched the cardinal couple for the past few days and it got me to thinking....


About things.....


About the way God created the animal kingdom & how the mating practices of animals are similar to that of men,  but so very different....


As far as I can see, from my very limited and amateur perspective, it seems as if in the animal kingdom, it is them males who are the most beautiful, the most elaborate, the most visual, while the females are muted, demure, & more camouflaged.    


For example, our cardinal on our back wall. 
The lion in the Sahara,

The peacock from Asia, 

The mallard duck in North America.

In all of these couples, it is the males who are the most ornate, decorated, elaborate, for the purpose of attraction, primarily, of their lady counterparts.  They puff up, bristle, flaunt and even flounce to make sure that the ladies see them.


Once they have a mate, that process doesn't end either.  These males use their beauty to ward off danger, to protect their families, to simply grace the world with their beauty, and they embrace their role.... as much as an animal can.


But that's very different than they way we humans operate.  Some where along the way, something got messed up.  


Maybe it was the fall of man.  


You know the story.  Adam & Eve in The Garden.  She is created so that he doesn't have to be alone.  There are some trees for food and some trees that are off limits, per the One who gave them this perfect place to live.  But, perfection isn't enough for them when they think they are missing out on something.  Together, they decide to compromise.  Just one bite.  One for her. One for him and trust is broken.  


So, here is my wonder for the evening.....I wonder about what life was like in The Garden before the bites that broke the trust, and brought the curse.  Was Adam the one who was most concerned with impressing Eve?  Was his stance one of beauty, bristle, flaunt... in order to impress & protect her?  Was she the one who was permitted the peace that comes with not having to impress?  Was she allowed the protection of simply being all that God designed her to be without effort? 


Was it that bite of deception that turned our existence upside down?  There is the report of the curse women & men as well endure because of that culinary choice, but how much is not revealed in the Word?  Without speculating, we simply don't know.  


This is what we do know.  Mankind is certainly different than the animal kingdom when it comes to courtship.  Men are not responsible for attraction at all.  Yes, yes, for the most part men at least are interested in smelling clean, looking nice, & presenting well but nothing to the extreme of their animal counterparts or even women for that matter!  


When Dave & I were dating his ritual for date preparation consisted of little more than a shower, shave &  a clean t-shirt, 20 minutes & done.  Meanwhile, I would begin my preparation for the evening at least an hour or so before his arrival.   It included shower, hair (just right), make-up (coordinating), outfit (perfectly planned for the evening's events), shoes, jewelry, outerwear, perfume, accessories, and the list goes on.... I was exhausted before he even arrived.  One of Dave's favorite sayings then, and even now a dozen years later is "Man, I'm glad I'm a man."


He's got it easy, him & most other men on the planet.  It is women who seem to have assumed the responsibility of primping for the purpose of attraction.  There is little else we use beauty for.  I can't help but wonder if beauty was meant for so much more... more than simply attracting a man.  Proverbs 31 reminds us that "beauty is fleeting" but Psalms talks about "the beauty of the Lord."  


I can't help but wonder if The Fall has even affected our perspective of beauty, it has effected everything else, literally.


I am, however, thankful that I have a husband who loves a blank canvas and I may have created a bit of an animal so to speak.  After years of refining, he now takes longer than me to get ready to go anywhere.  He is "twitter-pated" and I must admit, it is so much easier to relax and be myself..... Blank canvas that I am.  

But maybe that is the way that God intended it to be anyway.  


In the meantime, staying close to the dust of the Rabbi, until I can ask Him myself, 


~Christy 

Ministry Philosophy

This may be completely boring to some, well let's be honest probably every one. HOWEVER....... I had a request from a potential employer to define my ministry philosophy, and while I am very aware of how I operate, I never actually defined it, until now.  


So, in case you are wondering about my ministry philosophy, 
In case you know of someone who is looking to add staff, 
In case you have an open position needing filled, 
In case you are looking for a retreat speaker, 
Or in case you are simply totally board and have nothing better to do with your time ;) 


Here the the Ministry Philosophy of Pastor Christy L. Pittman........ 
*Drum roll, please* (Where is the daughter's boyfriend when you need him?)

My ministry philosophy is not easily defined and while I believe every sliver of my philosophy is founded in scriptures it may not necessarily be welcomed by traditionalists in the church.  While I am quite fine with those critics, I trust that God has created me for a body of believers who will accept and embrace my unique approach to ministry. 

First and foremost, coming to Christ later in life has given me a heart to reach out to the lost and unbelieving.   I think that this must be done in the most practical of ways.  We must first be willing to meet the needs of the lost before we can expect to be given the right to speak to their spiritual condition.  With the exception of one instance in the Gospels, Jesus addresses the physical needs of those he came in contact with before healing their souls. (Matt 9.1-6)  We should take our example of evangelism from our Lord, by meeting the practical needs of those we minister to, i.e., food, shelter, clothing, before we offer them the free gift of salvation. (Matt 25.35-36)   It was by this kind of practical love that Christ reached me when I was a homeless single mother, and it was through His gifts given by His children I understood His love for me.

Along those same lines, we have been created in the image of God for community.  God has always existed in community (John1.1-4) and while this culture teaches something quite different as far as in the importance of independence, the church is to be in this world but not of it.  Therefore, I believe that we are to be the essence of community within the communities’ we serve.  Jesus said we will be known by our love. (John 13.35) We must love one another & love those outside of our doors so that we will be seen as a light in the world we live in.  That is not always an easy task but it is not impossible.

Secondly, as we walk this path of life, we are never alone.  There is always someone who has gone on before us and there is always someone behind us following.  It is the responsibility of each believer to link together with those in front of and behind them in order to navigate this journey we are on, this is the essence of discipleship. (Titus 2.1-9)  It is our responsibility to seek out those in front of us to help guide us through unknown territories, just as it is our responsibility to seek out those who we can help through the areas we have already trod.  Just as God sent Moses back into Egypt to lead Israel out of Egypt, He too will send us back to shadows of our past to help others find the light we have.  (Exodus 14.19) Our lives are a constant journey, and one in which we should be linked together with past and present to ensure an easier passage. (Hebrew 12.1)

Furthermore, this leads straight into the idea of leadership training, and while that idea may scare some it is necessary for continued Kingdom growth.  Regardless of where we are or what our role is in the body of Christ, we must be intentional about the training of further generations of leaders.  We are but merely dust and to assume that we are indispensable in the role, ministry or occupation that God has given us is very dangerous.  Therefore, it is our responsibility to ensure that we are identifying, training, and equipping those who are gifted and passionate to serve the Lord, regardless of where that may happen.  (Acts 6.1-7)

Gifting is the next area of ministry that I simply must discuss.  This is an area in which I feel the church shrinks from because of the mystical air surrounding the Holy Spirit.  First of all, the scripture tells us that upon accepting Christ, each believer is gifted by the Holy Spirit.           (1 Corinthians 12)  Jesus Himself tells us that if we are not diligent in using the gifts he has given us they will be taken from us.  (Matt 25.14-30) Therefore, it is our responsibility to assist believers in identifying their gifts and then utilizing them appropriately, at any age.  The “SHAPE” we find ourselves carved in is an excellent barometer not only for ministry but for learning as well.  By the process of identifying giftedness, we are able to eliminate ineffective leading and replace it with passionate, sold out, energetic servants for the Kingdom.  (1 Corinthians 12.15-17)   However, that is not to say that we shirk responsibility due to lack of specific giftedness.  Servant leadership is a non-negotiable. (John 13.1-17)  Jesus was the ultimate servant leader and we as his body of believers simply must not accept anything less than leading through service ourselves. 

I believe that Jesus took the timeless message of salvation and delivered it to an unbelieving generation in a new & fresh way.  (Matthew 5.17-20)  As the church I believe that we are entering a new era of ministry.  This culture is taking humanity to place we have never been before, if the church intends to remain relevant to this changing culture then we must be willing to do church in a way it may never have been done before.  This can be done without changing the gospel, but what we do need to change is our delivery if we are to reach a new and fluid generation.  We have the unchangeable Christ living within us; He is the one thing that this world needs most desperately.  I think we should make the introduction!

So, That is it.  That is why I embrace being covered in the dust of my Rabbi, and while I don't always get it right, I am staying as close as I possibly can.   

Romans 10.15 "Beautiful are the feet of those who bring the Good News!"

In HIS dust~

Christy