Newspaper

Pastor Maddox writes for a column in the Marana Weekly News. 
Here are some of his articles:

How long has it been for you? October 10, 2007

Well, for those of you that read my column on a regular basis, you would probably expect me to write that I am sitting in a local coffee shop writing my article. Actually this time I am not! One of the parishioners from my church told me I was drinking too much coffee so I thought I would go somewhere else and write this article!
Actually I am out of town taking a retreat for a few days to clear my mind, renew myself and seek God’s guidance for our church. I had realized it had been some time since I took time out for myself and so I decided to take a break for the “Hustle and bustle” of everyday life.
I am not one of those people who can “get away from it all” by curling up every night with a good book. For those of you that can relax that way, I might be just a little envious! For me, I need to disappear for a few days to rejuvenate.
It took me many years before I realized that this was the best way for me to rejuvenate. I tried many different things, but they never seemed to work. Until a couple of years ago, a friend told me to take a retreat – and I feel it is the absolutely best way for me to recharge my batteries.

For many of you, I would assume you already know the best way for you to rejuvenate. But I wonder if some of you might not have found a good way to recharge – or maybe you haven’t had the time to really relax.
The Bible tells us to “keep the Sabbath.” For some, that means don’t work on Sundays, for others it means to take a day off sometimes during the week. Whatever it means for you, I encourage you to deliberately find time where you can do something to recharge. If you are religious/spiritual, some prayer time is important while you are recharging.
If you aren’t religious or spiritual, I encourage you to still take that time off and marvel at the world around us and the beauty it bestows.
Right now I am watching a could formation come over the mountains. As I watch the big fluffy white clouds and their contrast to the deep blue sky on top of the beautiful jagged mountain tops, I wonder just how long it has been since I took the time to notice the beauty in the world we are privileged to live in.
It has been too long for me, how long has it been for you?

Spiritual But Not Religious? September 26, 2007

Well, here I am sitting in our local coffee shop off of Silverbell and I overhear two people, Sam and Rebecca discussing being religious and being spiritual.

I have heard similar discussions to this more times than I can count. This seems to be a growing trend in the past decade, especially in those below the age of 40. For some reason, many people believe in God, or some other supernatural being, but they don’t believe in organized religion.

Believe it or not, I can fully understand. Sure, I grew up with a couple of different denominations, but I didn’t go to church every Sunday growing up. And I am not one of those pastors that went from college to seminary. I worked out in the world for over 15 years before I became a pastor. And no, I didn’t attend church during most of those years.

I did believe in God, but churches scared me. Were they going to condemn me for not going to church all of those years? Were they going to do some strange ritual in church that I wasn’t familiar with and then I would be embarrassed? Are all of the people there going to be “different” from me?

These were the questions going through my mind. I was spiritual, but not religious. Some would say just believing in God makes you religious – but I wouldn’t agree with that position. Believing in something more – believing that we need something more in our lives – getting to the point to trust in something more - that makes us spiritual.

So why do we need religion? What is the purpose? I feel that when people of similar faith come together to worship and to grow in their religion, great things can happen. For those who are still searching, being surrounded by a community of faith can help that person decide for themselves if they are on the right path. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus was the son of God. I believe the Bible was inspired by God. I believe that we are supposed to come together as a community and grow in our faith and try to live our lives following the example Jesus set for us.

I don’t believe it is our job as a Christian to judge others, to think we are better than others, or to think that we don’t make mistakes. It is also not our job as a Christian to think that one Christian denomination is better than another, that there is only one way to worship God, or to be so closed minded that we don’t think others deserve to attend our church. Once we start thinking this way I feel we become the opposite of one who is spiritual but not religious. I feel if we get that attitude we become religious, but not spiritual. Which, in my opinion, is a big step backward.

Don’t leave your brain at the door September 12, 2007

Well, here I am again sitting in the coffee shop off of Silverbell and, as luck would have it, two people, Sam and Rebecca, are discussing religion. This week Rebecca mentioned to Sam that she didn’t feel comfortable with the last church she attended because she asked a deep question during Bible study, and the facilitator told her, “You don’t need an answer, just trust in it with faith.”
For many people like Rebecca, trusting in faith alone isn’t enough. More and more people are asking the hard questions and they are looking for tangible answers. Even I have wrestled with my own faith over the years.
I like to look at my religion (Christian) with a critical eye. I like to ask the hard questions. Maybe I should have been an engineer instead of a pastor.

I believe in today’s world, one that the flow of information is at our fingertips, we can’t simply say “just believe” and leave it at that. I don’t believe someone needs to “leave their brains at the door” in order to believe in God.
In Methodism (the Christian denomination I am a pastor for) we believe that growing in faith comes in three steps (and not necessarily in this order): Believing with your mind – asking the hard questions; Believing in your heart – experiencing God emotionally; Believing with your hands – doing more than just believe, but living one’s life in a way Jesus taught us.
I have heard several stories of people attending a Sunday School class and being told one thing or another and it just didn’t make sense to them. Unfortunately, they weren’t encourage to ask the hard questions.
I am not saying I have the answers to the hard questions, but I do feel that they need to be asked, they need to be worked through with a community of others that have similar beliefs, and they do need to be worked through with God.
Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions and don’t be afraid to look for those answers for yourself in the Bible. As I tell my congregation, don’t take my word for it, look it up yourself – and remember, feel free to bring your brain with you.

When a church doesn’t have a “church” August 15, 2007

As I sit in the coffee shop off of Silverbell, I overhear two people, Sam and Rebecca talking about church. Rebecca had just made a very interesting statement, “I don’t think I could attend one of those churches that don’t have a church.”

It took me a second to figure out what she was saying, but I finally got it. She was wondering how a group of people can worship God without being in a traditional church building. So she was referring to a church like the mine.

I can fully understand the statement she made. As a matter of fact, my wife made a similar statement when I was appointed to be the pastor of this newer church. There wasn’t a building, we had to have our worship services in a school, we had to set up and tear down everything every week and we somehow had to make people feel like they were in a ‘church’. My wife went as far as to say that she would only attend once or twice a month because she thought she needed to attend a “regular church.”

I think many people feel this way. But in our society today, it is extremely expensive and not practical to build a building and say, “Come on in, we are open now.” Many churches today are starting in schools or other community centers as a way to grow the congregation before they buy a building. We have several churches in the Continental Ranch area doing that right now, including the church I lead.

But what about the church experience? Can it really be church? Not realizing it, we really learned the answer to this as kids. Did you ever make two fists, put them together with your fingers interweaved and pointing in? Then the child would say, “Here’s the church (meaning the church building), then put the first fingers of each hand up and saying, “here’s the steeple”, then turning their hands around showing all of the fingers and saying, “look inside and see all the people!” Well, the people are what make a church a church.

A building isn’t required, but people are. In the Bible Jesus did the majority of his teaching outside: on the side of mountains, on a boat, by the water, and the list goes on. Too many times we don’t think we can find God in other places besides the traditional church building, but why would we even try to limit God like that? God is with us wherever we go, even when we are alone in our own homes. But to really come together in a Christian community and experience God with other Christians, that is a true gift. And it doesn’t have to be in a large building with stained glass windows!

Sure, we plan to have a building someday when we are large enough to build one, because having a building will allow us to reach out to even more people in many different ways. But for right now, we are meeting in a school, and do you know what? God is there with us. And my wife, she rarely misses a Sunday at our church as she realized that she can truly worship God in a school and not just in a “regular church.”

With so many religious, doesn’t that prove there isn’t a God? (July 25, 2007)

Well, here I am, once again, enjoying a cup of coffee wondering if I drink too much coffee! Well, anyway, as I sit her, Rebecca and Sam are discussing if there really is a God.
Sam has questioned, “If there really is a God, then why would there be so many different religions? If there was one God, why wouldn’t he just make himself manifest to everyone?” For Sam, the fact that so many people have different “gods,” that proves that there isn’t a God.

I can understand this thinking. At first glance I can see why anyone would question a single deity with so many different religions out there. Most people would say something like, “They can’t all be right” and I would agree with that.

But I actually believe that the fact there are so many religious proves that there is a God. For example, my wife and I typically go to see movies together. Sometimes when we come out of the movie I ask her what she thought about it. After she finishes describing her favorite parts and saying what it meant to her, I simply look at her and wonder, “Did you just see the same movie as I did?” We sat right next to each other, watched the exact same movie, and came out with two completely different views.
Our society and environment help us decide how we interpret things. I came from a relatively poor background, so when I see a movie that deals with some types of poverty, I can relate better than my wife can, and I may come out with a totally different opinion or view about the show.
So how does this prove there is a God? Well I believe through God’s grace, not by our works, not by our social status, not by our location in the world, but simply by his grace, he is reaching out to each and every one of us. The fact that there are so many religions shows how so many people are trying to respond to God reaching out to us. We all respond differently to this “reaching out” depending on our upbringing.

Do I believe every religion is the same? Absolutely not. I believe that there are different religions because people are simply trying to respond to the fact they know there is something more out there. They have opened their hearts and felt God touch them.
So why do I hold to Christianity? Well, that answer is longer than I am allowed in this column, but I encourage you to look into this yourself. Find a church that you feel comfortable attending, actively participate in the worship service, and engage yourself in some Bible studies. Always remember, God isn’t reaching out to us because of something we have done, but because he loves us.

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