“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
I believe George Barna has struck a nerve. If you do not know him He is a researcher with his finger on the pulse of western christianity. Through the many polls the Barna Group conducts it seems one core discovery is that in the west there is a great disparity between christian confession and christian practice. In other words many profess to be christian but a vast number of these confessors do not pray much or take the scriptures too seriously. If you are a shepherd and you bring this subject up, you will probably discover that the nerve that Barna is striking is quite raw and super-sensitive to touch.
What if you are the shepherd of a flock (the Pastor) and you happen to be aware of this statistic not from Barna’s research but from your own personal observation? How do you proceed? Your institutional–CEO/Pastor-job requires you to keep the church machinery running which involves numbers and dollars. Your kingdom–shepherd-calling is stirring a great concern in you for 50% of the virgins whose lamps are low on oil. In other words; the things your call demands you to say can put you at cross-purposes with your job.
To serve the at-risk demographic you must share the only message that you know which involves addressing the disparity between christian confession and practice which makes 1/2 (5 out of 10 virgins) very uncomfortable. Your attender-givers who, with their presence and resources, account in large part for the success of the institution do not like it that you allege there is some problem in their lives. How does this play out?
I am not a part of an assembly with a building, budget and pastor so I do not know the answer to my question but I could put myself in their shoes and speculate that this could be quite a challenge. How do I represent the extremely difficult words of Christ that I presume are spoken out of love and concern for the at-risk virgins who are a part of my flock as well as the kingdom equation referred to in this parable? How do I speak the word of God when, in its sharpness, it is touching raw nerves and making the sheep jittery? I suppose I am asking, “How does Pastor simultaneously wear a kingdom hat and an institutional hat?
Currently, wearing no hat at all, with as much concern for for the virgins running out of oil as I am for those who do not even own their own lamps, I can only say with Jesus, Be on the alert! We do not know when the doorway into the kingdom banquet will be closed. Go yourself. Do not depend on another; not the pastor or the elder or the author. Go quickly and get your own oil! It is ultimately up to us, not the CEO/Pastor to fill up our lamps. Go. Acquire at all cost the oil of His Life.
I am deeply concerned that it is those of us attending churches depending on Pastor and his institution’s weekly or bi-weekly oil that Barna’s research and Jesus’ parable have identified as at great risk. While most church’s are focused on the lost outside their institution, I am wondering if God is not as concerned about his lost ones inside the church.
I just don’t understand how one would wear both of these hats without doing disservice to one or the other. How do you serve a radical kingdom and an institution that would prefer this particular nerve just be left alone?
Father, I am grateful my questions are no deterrent to you, that you are going to build your kingdom. I just want to ask you to hear my prayer for those of us who are entangled in this world and religion whose lamps are fading. Teach us to come to you personally and buy oil from you without money. Ween us from the spiritual welfare culture where we have grown dependent on others for our oil. Awaken our hearts to the immediacy of your presence in our lives; in your Word and in your Spirit. Let our personal relationships with you truly become personal. Reverse the findings of the pollster’s research. Let the interviews soon reveal the trends of an awakening Bride to the Groom’s Kingdom invitation into intimacy. So be it.