Keep Christ at the Center

Isaiah 51.1: "Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the LORD. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug." (NRSV)

It's hard to keep Christ at the center of my life. For the past 15 days I have been at Ruggles Camp, a United Methodist Camp near Tollesboro, Ky. During this time I helped with two youth camps, attended camp meeting, and closed out the time with a meeting of area United Methodist Men. My life has been blessed by this experience, however I am left wondering how I keep Christ at the center of everything I do. It is very easy to keep Christ at the center when you are "away from the world," but now I am back and faced with the same problems that I left a couple of weeks ago.

Now you might think that being a pastor it would be easy to keep Christ at the center of my life, but I struggle with it all the time. Sometimes I wonder if pastors should struggle with this issue more because our job can appear more Christ-centered on the surface but in reality can be just as empty and self-serving as any vocation. It reminds me of a quote that I came across one time that said: "Nowhere is a soul more in danger than the pastor's study." This may sound odd but I see the truth in this statement. Pastors are often busy doing "ministry" that they forget about keeping Christ at the center. Ministry in our world often entails the latest business techniques, leadership strategies, setting goals, learning how to measure your achievements, and the list goes on. Is this ministry? Is this what it means to be a part of the Kingdom of God?

In our stressful, high performance world, Isaiah 51.1 reminds us that we need to go back to the source of our faith. Christ needs to be at the center of all that we do. Camp meeting is but one way God helps me to realign my life and put him back at the center. Are you looking to the rock from which you were hewn? Keep Christ at the center.