I think there are two basic kinds of Christians; (1) those who look back and live to keep the church (regardless of brand) as it always has been and (2) those who believe the things of the past were imparted to cause us to look ahead for more development. These two create a significant rub.
I fit in the latter.
Because I fit there, this causes personal grief for many whom I dearly love remain in the former. For one, it causes me great stress that I cause them such consternation. They are lovely people. And, I still want to be liked.
May I introduce a strange twist?
I don't think either group has enough grasp of God's truth to be deeply divided. When I take inventory of my faith coupled with action, it misses the mark of Jesus (his death, burial, and resurrection) by a mile x 1000. I am a failing believer.
Why?
Jesus' style remains so different from yours/mine/ours. He spent days with the Father while I talk about the keenness of such an approach. He lived with nothing in a world that offered a lot. Yet, we make donations and contributions to good causes while keeping much of the good stuff for ourselves. He gave it all and ask us to give it all....and the early church did.
We (both 1 and 2) come along and teach we are the original New Testament church but practice very little of what they did. We have Americanized the church to the extent we don't have to give it all, including our lives, but we basically want to keep a healthy step ahead of the dark world.
America, let alone the rest of the world, is in deep trouble. Jesus is the answer. Our old patterns are only developing dying churches whose saving word is developing a faith that they are on the narrow road; thus "few" is the operative word. Our newer patterns are shedding a few of the traditions except those which serve us well; keeping our church buildings, our houses, and all the contents of both.
The world of Jesus was incredibly unique. He gave his life while he lived; nowhere to lay his head. Then he actually shed flesh and blood. Few of us do.
So what shall we do brethren? Well...we think we've responded to that question in being baptized. However, the rest of Acts 2 leaves groups 1 and 2 in the identical boat. Neither has anything to brag about from 2:41-47, do we?
Here's the clinker. Each group (1 & 2) pats themselves on the back for not being like the other. Big mistake. We have mistakenly lived comparing ourselves to ourselves instead of the Christ who desires to reign. When we class ourselves by ourselves or compare ourselves to ourselves, God says we are without understanding (II Cor. 10:12).
The point? I've got more growing to do.....onward and upward.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
INJURY'S INSISTENT WAY
Is there an invisible and unspoken rule out there? Don't bump me? The truth seems to be that few will stick around long if feelings get hurt. Oh, we'll survive an offense or two.
This kingdom life we promote and engage has a very strange twist. Suffering is of the essence. Take the cross for example. No. Just take the cross. Is not Isaiah 53 all about the Injured Servant?
I came to town in 1977. One of the things my elders harped at me most was about how thin-skinned I was. Not surprisingly....that hurt my feelings. I didn't like it. I don't like suffering to this day; but I've learned its monumental, often unnoticed, value.
Offense is a vital part of the Lord's way. It is Him. Past or present, evaluate any of the good shepherds among us and you'll always find the lineage of suffering throughout their years. Some want to lead from book knowledge; others from simple ego. But real leaders are the highly pained ones?
Why is that? Pain identifies and sympathizes with the pained. And guess what? God is ramping up His glorious efforts to reach a pained world.
The Injured Servant called us to follow him. We cannot spend our days pouting (as I did), getting even (as I tried), or running (as I wanted to). We must use pain as one of our great and beneficial instructors. I know of no greater teacher. The root word for endurance is pain....so to speak.
In nearly every Bible text using the word purpose the context will be one of suffering. Injury insists it is the style of the believer. We must not run from.....but to the cross-likeness of His personal ministry.
Recall Peter impulsively urging Jesus to rescind his comment about dying? Jesus' response was abrupt, Get behind me Satan. Very harsh...meaningful...important words. So listen to the embarrassed one, the injured one named Peter when in his first book he wrote,
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
The only way to bring healing to a people is to suffer; leaders' wounds heal others. Injury's insistent way is that all leaders' effectiveness is directly tied to their willingness to suffer in the midst of their ministry.
This IS the nature of the Wounded Healer.
This kingdom life we promote and engage has a very strange twist. Suffering is of the essence. Take the cross for example. No. Just take the cross. Is not Isaiah 53 all about the Injured Servant?
I came to town in 1977. One of the things my elders harped at me most was about how thin-skinned I was. Not surprisingly....that hurt my feelings. I didn't like it. I don't like suffering to this day; but I've learned its monumental, often unnoticed, value.
Offense is a vital part of the Lord's way. It is Him. Past or present, evaluate any of the good shepherds among us and you'll always find the lineage of suffering throughout their years. Some want to lead from book knowledge; others from simple ego. But real leaders are the highly pained ones?
Why is that? Pain identifies and sympathizes with the pained. And guess what? God is ramping up His glorious efforts to reach a pained world.
The Injured Servant called us to follow him. We cannot spend our days pouting (as I did), getting even (as I tried), or running (as I wanted to). We must use pain as one of our great and beneficial instructors. I know of no greater teacher. The root word for endurance is pain....so to speak.
In nearly every Bible text using the word purpose the context will be one of suffering. Injury insists it is the style of the believer. We must not run from.....but to the cross-likeness of His personal ministry.
Recall Peter impulsively urging Jesus to rescind his comment about dying? Jesus' response was abrupt, Get behind me Satan. Very harsh...meaningful...important words. So listen to the embarrassed one, the injured one named Peter when in his first book he wrote,
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
The only way to bring healing to a people is to suffer; leaders' wounds heal others. Injury's insistent way is that all leaders' effectiveness is directly tied to their willingness to suffer in the midst of their ministry.
This IS the nature of the Wounded Healer.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
THE MAGNIFICENT PRISM
Have you ever wondered why it is such an ultimatum that we fix our eyes on Jesus? The text of Hebrews 12:1-3 is clearly one of endurance; endure the race set before you...endured the cross...endured such hostility. It is my conclusion that fixing our eyes on Jesus directly ties to sticking with the faith system.
Why Jesus? Why is he to receive our focus?
Jesus is the only person who was both God and man. When one looks at him, both God and man are seen.
If we should look upon God without the prism of Jesus as our lens, we are likely to conclude we cannot do enough to please Him. Jesus, however, assures us of our acceptance by the Father. After all, he is the way.
If we should look upon the community without peering through the prism of Jesus, we are quite likely to reach the end of our frustration rope. Husbands disappoint. Wives misunderstand. Businesses can be unfair. And, society has an ability to be biased. Jesus, however, calls us to never give up on one another since he endured the cross for people...us.
Jesus holds the heart together because he is both the fulfillment and completion of God and man. When we look at life through him we see hope, possibility, and creative ideas. He grants an exciting new reflection of potential. The prism of Jesus gives us such a vast array from the Prodigal Son to the Prodigal's Father.
The brother on the back porch is precisely a picture of one viewing life without the prism of Jesus. He was doing all the right things but unhappy with the two main elements of life: God and humanity. That brother griped and complained his way into giving up. Wrong move. Unnecessary move.
How will the prism of Jesus impact your walk? You may strain and struggle or hope and celebrate....but you'll never give up! The magnificent prism….is a secret to loving life right now.
Why Jesus? Why is he to receive our focus?
Jesus is the only person who was both God and man. When one looks at him, both God and man are seen.
If we should look upon God without the prism of Jesus as our lens, we are likely to conclude we cannot do enough to please Him. Jesus, however, assures us of our acceptance by the Father. After all, he is the way.
If we should look upon the community without peering through the prism of Jesus, we are quite likely to reach the end of our frustration rope. Husbands disappoint. Wives misunderstand. Businesses can be unfair. And, society has an ability to be biased. Jesus, however, calls us to never give up on one another since he endured the cross for people...us.
Jesus holds the heart together because he is both the fulfillment and completion of God and man. When we look at life through him we see hope, possibility, and creative ideas. He grants an exciting new reflection of potential. The prism of Jesus gives us such a vast array from the Prodigal Son to the Prodigal's Father.
The brother on the back porch is precisely a picture of one viewing life without the prism of Jesus. He was doing all the right things but unhappy with the two main elements of life: God and humanity. That brother griped and complained his way into giving up. Wrong move. Unnecessary move.
How will the prism of Jesus impact your walk? You may strain and struggle or hope and celebrate....but you'll never give up! The magnificent prism….is a secret to loving life right now.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
HOW "PIPO" AND "MIMO" AFFECT CHURCH GROWTH
Attention Deficit Disorder is a most stifling dilemma among us these days. It is tough for some to stay with the program...whatever the program is due to short attention spans.
Randy Harris made an astute comment during his third class at Pepperdine. He referenced a section of a book by Shane Claiborne and John Perkins (Follow Me to Freedom) in which young Claiborne was discussing the need to get on with an urgent social project. Perkins, an aged Civil Rights leader, responded with the estimate it will first take ten years to engage such a pertinent move. Randy's point was we suffer from ADD to the extent we really struggle to give anything ten years.
I believe Perkins' ten years is the light side of the guestimate. It would seem twenty to thirty would be more in line....my opinion, of course.
Back in my beginning days of preaching, the exhortation in school was to try to last two years; three would be better. If you can make it five, you may then want to move to your next congregation. In a local work it takes about ten years to pull the weeds and remove the stumps from the congregation. It takes an additional ten years (twenty in all) to do the same with the preacher. After twenty years, elders-preachers-members alike begin to catch on that except for the grace of God we are all toast.
The church suffers from it past practice of PIPO (Preacher In/Preacher Out) as well as MIMO (MembersIn/MembersOut) over brief periods of time. One of the reasons this has been nearly our destiny is because we have refused the Holy Spirit among us which bears the fruit of what? Love, joy, patience, etc; the very things needed to pull off decades of effective and opportunistic ministries.
Without Him we cannot bear such fruit on our own. Thus, we are instead compelled to rid ourselves of each other for the next impatient idea-mongers.
It takes ten years, young leader, to discover where both of your feet are. Settle down. Chill out. Open up. There is a great solution to the church growth question and you/we aren't it. He is. It took me about twenty years to run out of my great ideas. After that, so much wonder began to happen.
God really is amazing. What fascinates me is how willing He is to engage in His own work. We are far too pressed by our hurry-upness to pull off the kind of seed-sowing, kingdom-resulting work our communities truly need.
The work will get done....by Jesus. It is our job to believe him....John 6:29. Learn to wait. It won't kill you; but it might kill off a bunch of your own nasty weeds.
Randy Harris made an astute comment during his third class at Pepperdine. He referenced a section of a book by Shane Claiborne and John Perkins (Follow Me to Freedom) in which young Claiborne was discussing the need to get on with an urgent social project. Perkins, an aged Civil Rights leader, responded with the estimate it will first take ten years to engage such a pertinent move. Randy's point was we suffer from ADD to the extent we really struggle to give anything ten years.
I believe Perkins' ten years is the light side of the guestimate. It would seem twenty to thirty would be more in line....my opinion, of course.
Back in my beginning days of preaching, the exhortation in school was to try to last two years; three would be better. If you can make it five, you may then want to move to your next congregation. In a local work it takes about ten years to pull the weeds and remove the stumps from the congregation. It takes an additional ten years (twenty in all) to do the same with the preacher. After twenty years, elders-preachers-members alike begin to catch on that except for the grace of God we are all toast.
The church suffers from it past practice of PIPO (Preacher In/Preacher Out) as well as MIMO (MembersIn/MembersOut) over brief periods of time. One of the reasons this has been nearly our destiny is because we have refused the Holy Spirit among us which bears the fruit of what? Love, joy, patience, etc; the very things needed to pull off decades of effective and opportunistic ministries.
Without Him we cannot bear such fruit on our own. Thus, we are instead compelled to rid ourselves of each other for the next impatient idea-mongers.
It takes ten years, young leader, to discover where both of your feet are. Settle down. Chill out. Open up. There is a great solution to the church growth question and you/we aren't it. He is. It took me about twenty years to run out of my great ideas. After that, so much wonder began to happen.
God really is amazing. What fascinates me is how willing He is to engage in His own work. We are far too pressed by our hurry-upness to pull off the kind of seed-sowing, kingdom-resulting work our communities truly need.
The work will get done....by Jesus. It is our job to believe him....John 6:29. Learn to wait. It won't kill you; but it might kill off a bunch of your own nasty weeds.
AT LEAST THROUGH PAGE 79
Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and you felt you were reading/watching yourself? That has happened to me on occasion and it's happening right now.
I am reading Kingdom Come (Hicks/Valentine). It is absolutely thrilling. If you want to read a book that looks back at you and says, I've put into words what you believe precisely about the Holy Spirit, you will love this book.
I love what God has done for, with, and through these two authors. We believe that Scripture is Spirit-breathed. We believe that the word should be read more not less. But if Churches of Christ are to take the Bible seriously then we must take what it say about the Spirit seriously. Perhaps we have been asking the wrong question. Perhaps the question is not, "Does the Spirit operate separate and apart from the word?" but "Does the word work separate and apart from the Spirit?" (cf. 2:Cor.3:6). The word is an implement of the Spirit not the other way around.
If the Churches of Christ are going to be in step with the Holy God we will never find any avenue other than the path of the Spirit to walk upon.
"KINGDOM COME".....get the book! It is terrific....at least through page 79!
I am reading Kingdom Come (Hicks/Valentine). It is absolutely thrilling. If you want to read a book that looks back at you and says, I've put into words what you believe precisely about the Holy Spirit, you will love this book.
I love what God has done for, with, and through these two authors. We believe that Scripture is Spirit-breathed. We believe that the word should be read more not less. But if Churches of Christ are to take the Bible seriously then we must take what it say about the Spirit seriously. Perhaps we have been asking the wrong question. Perhaps the question is not, "Does the Spirit operate separate and apart from the word?" but "Does the word work separate and apart from the Spirit?" (cf. 2:Cor.3:6). The word is an implement of the Spirit not the other way around.
If the Churches of Christ are going to be in step with the Holy God we will never find any avenue other than the path of the Spirit to walk upon.
"KINGDOM COME".....get the book! It is terrific....at least through page 79!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
YOU ARE IN A CHURCH THAT WANTS TO GROW
Ministry can be discouraging. At times preaching colleagues at other churches would say to me from envy, I wish I could preach for a church that wanted to grow.
A couple of things confused me regarding such a statement. When the comments were made, I was just beginning at MD. Such a location wasn't as easy as the commentors assumed. Too, I pondered that surely their congregations did want to grow.
I'm not naive. I know somewhat their intent when saying such. Yet truth be known, all churches want to grow. Basically, none of us know how to go about it. We think by organizationally connecting the right dots increase is bound to happen. May be.
Here's how I see it. From front to back and top to bottom we are clueless. Count on it. From Richland Hills' success to Po Dunks' misery we are all fundamentally the same; if God doesn't cause it and do it, it ain't gonna happen.
I should know. I tried hundreds of ideas and concepts. I read books and attended seminars. I went to Christian and secular meetings trying to find the secrets to this and the keys to that. I remained stranded...as well as frustrated.
I spent about 18 years at Memorial wishing I was somebody else and wishing Memorial was like some other church. I spent about five years wondering why we existed as a church or if we should divvy up the members and move off into other congregations.
When I reached the conclusion I was clueless and God was not, things began to dramatically change. The church wanted to grow; it hadn't known how. As one of her leaders I was too self-conscious, too judgmental, and too brash to contribute. This had to go....and it didn't/wouldn't go without a fight within myself for I was also highly defensive.
Yet by the grace of God it seemed cluelessness was a valuable admissional tool. Once He heard me confess it there seemed to be a snow-balling effect where others in leadership reached a similar personal conclusion simultaneously.
All churches want to grow. Many are clueless as to how this could be. A secret for others may be what is now the theme of our elders as well as the staff. It is not Lead, follow, or get out of the way...as we once paraded. No. Our goal now is more fine-tuned. We now know for the church to grow we as leaders must get out of the way.
A couple of things confused me regarding such a statement. When the comments were made, I was just beginning at MD. Such a location wasn't as easy as the commentors assumed. Too, I pondered that surely their congregations did want to grow.
I'm not naive. I know somewhat their intent when saying such. Yet truth be known, all churches want to grow. Basically, none of us know how to go about it. We think by organizationally connecting the right dots increase is bound to happen. May be.
Here's how I see it. From front to back and top to bottom we are clueless. Count on it. From Richland Hills' success to Po Dunks' misery we are all fundamentally the same; if God doesn't cause it and do it, it ain't gonna happen.
I should know. I tried hundreds of ideas and concepts. I read books and attended seminars. I went to Christian and secular meetings trying to find the secrets to this and the keys to that. I remained stranded...as well as frustrated.
I spent about 18 years at Memorial wishing I was somebody else and wishing Memorial was like some other church. I spent about five years wondering why we existed as a church or if we should divvy up the members and move off into other congregations.
When I reached the conclusion I was clueless and God was not, things began to dramatically change. The church wanted to grow; it hadn't known how. As one of her leaders I was too self-conscious, too judgmental, and too brash to contribute. This had to go....and it didn't/wouldn't go without a fight within myself for I was also highly defensive.
Yet by the grace of God it seemed cluelessness was a valuable admissional tool. Once He heard me confess it there seemed to be a snow-balling effect where others in leadership reached a similar personal conclusion simultaneously.
All churches want to grow. Many are clueless as to how this could be. A secret for others may be what is now the theme of our elders as well as the staff. It is not Lead, follow, or get out of the way...as we once paraded. No. Our goal now is more fine-tuned. We now know for the church to grow we as leaders must get out of the way.
Monday, May 17, 2010
THE SPIRIT OF UNREST IN THE CHURCH
Unrest isn't new in the church. On one hand, that's a very good thing. Believers are still ambitious. However, it can be a bad thing if zeal is not garnished in patience of the Holy Spirit. Patience, vision, contentment, hunger....all are kingdom traits. We are constantly challenged from pedal to brake as to the correct speed of the Spirit at any given moment.
We are experiencing increase of church productivity when we couple need with opportunity. Consider the lack in the church. Then consider those who feel the disappointment of not being involved deeply enough. Perhaps we are staring at a leadership opportunity instead of a crisis when we introduce the two to one another.
Memorial has been fairly inefficient with ministry for the college/young professional age. It isn't that we haven't tried. Nor is it that we have always failed. We don't seem to come up with a long-term solution. We continue to weigh this work for there is continued interest from many of us. Somewhere buried within our network of unfulfillment and frustration lies the secret combination to unlock this ministry puzzle.
Self-ambition on the part of any is never even a short-term solution. No, we want to strike at the Spirit leadership of this very good unrest in the church. It is a good thing that members of the body want more. When we temper desire with patience, we often see God invest Himself with us in strong efforts.
Spirit of unrest in the church where you are? When we love each other we will be diligent to seek His will among us. In the meantime, our search will include plenty of praise for Him. If not, we have an unrest that comes from darkness rather than doses of meaningful spirituality.
We are experiencing increase of church productivity when we couple need with opportunity. Consider the lack in the church. Then consider those who feel the disappointment of not being involved deeply enough. Perhaps we are staring at a leadership opportunity instead of a crisis when we introduce the two to one another.
Memorial has been fairly inefficient with ministry for the college/young professional age. It isn't that we haven't tried. Nor is it that we have always failed. We don't seem to come up with a long-term solution. We continue to weigh this work for there is continued interest from many of us. Somewhere buried within our network of unfulfillment and frustration lies the secret combination to unlock this ministry puzzle.
Self-ambition on the part of any is never even a short-term solution. No, we want to strike at the Spirit leadership of this very good unrest in the church. It is a good thing that members of the body want more. When we temper desire with patience, we often see God invest Himself with us in strong efforts.
Spirit of unrest in the church where you are? When we love each other we will be diligent to seek His will among us. In the meantime, our search will include plenty of praise for Him. If not, we have an unrest that comes from darkness rather than doses of meaningful spirituality.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
HOW TO HANDLE THE "C" WORD
Young Josh Patrick asked me at Pepperdine last week, So what should I try to do in my first five years of my new work? My first response was to learn to turn criticism into fuel.
Criticism is a vital nerve of the Jesus body. Few accept it. We usually fight it. We are blessed by it.
Yesterday's post drew this comment; Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "TEACHING AND PREACHING: WHERE WE GET THE CONTENT": Interesting post today. Especially after I was listening to the podcast last week of your sermon. I felt like it was more about Terry's book and problems of me, my and I than on God. May I suggest you listen to your own sermon. Preachers should not use that many examples of self because it appears they are before the cross.
I screen every comment and held the option to reject this one. I chose not to for it is a very significant part of ministry life. What do we do with this? How do we handle it? I give you my opinion and you keep what part serves your ministry best.
First, never take seriously a note from "Anonymous". Just don't.
Anonymous has to be a good person; but such is a cowardly and immature behavior. Disregard all information of "They said" or letters and notes which arrived "unsigned". Don't take it personally or seriously. You have someone who has an axe to grind; but if that person doesn't have the courage to put his or her name to it, we are not to respect such weakness....period.
When criticism comes with a name to it, pay attention. It takes courage for such a one to approach you. Yes, some will still be off-base. Others, though, will be carrying information we would do well to heed. We need criticism; yet it is the least favorite part of our work.
Second, do realize criticism is not an attack; but is a vital help. It is God's anvil where He hammers the impurities out of us. One of those will be ego. Paul expressed in II Cor. 12 that he had received a message from Satan to keep himself from exalting himself. He regarded that message as a thorn in the flesh. That thorn was criticism; Paul was being questioned at several turns as to his authentic apostleship. He needed such clamor to keep him from beginning to believe the wonder going on with and around him was his doing. It never was. It was always God's.
Third, criticism will be in your lap for more than just learning to stay humble. It will be a constant part of your life to test whether you will love those whom you will naturally be tempted to believe are your enemies. Keep in mind that even anonymouses are not our enemies. Until you pass this test, you will be perpetually confronted. While we are to realize that many of our critics have a deeper agenda, they are desperately loved by God....and us.
The "C" word is not your enemy. It is your blessing; another backward trait of God's system. No, no one loves this time of being ripped. Those who guide children's homes, write many books, preach for churches, and serve in the secular world.....all face the tough stuff of criticism. We will not escape it. If we do we are aborting the discipleship process.
Jesus went through it and cautioned us when all men approve of us. We are in a serious position which insists we will be disliked. This is tough for us for, of all things, we want people to like us.
Finally, enough cannot be said regarding the value of the "C" word. It is an essential element of developing into an effective leader. It is called "Suffering 101" and this course cannot be regarded as an elective. Many good men and women have faded into the averageness of getting by because they refused to take the hammering kingdom life will provide.
The "C" word....it is for our benefit.
Criticism is a vital nerve of the Jesus body. Few accept it. We usually fight it. We are blessed by it.
Yesterday's post drew this comment; Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "TEACHING AND PREACHING: WHERE WE GET THE CONTENT": Interesting post today. Especially after I was listening to the podcast last week of your sermon. I felt like it was more about Terry's book and problems of me, my and I than on God. May I suggest you listen to your own sermon. Preachers should not use that many examples of self because it appears they are before the cross.
I screen every comment and held the option to reject this one. I chose not to for it is a very significant part of ministry life. What do we do with this? How do we handle it? I give you my opinion and you keep what part serves your ministry best.
First, never take seriously a note from "Anonymous". Just don't.
Anonymous has to be a good person; but such is a cowardly and immature behavior. Disregard all information of "They said" or letters and notes which arrived "unsigned". Don't take it personally or seriously. You have someone who has an axe to grind; but if that person doesn't have the courage to put his or her name to it, we are not to respect such weakness....period.
When criticism comes with a name to it, pay attention. It takes courage for such a one to approach you. Yes, some will still be off-base. Others, though, will be carrying information we would do well to heed. We need criticism; yet it is the least favorite part of our work.
Second, do realize criticism is not an attack; but is a vital help. It is God's anvil where He hammers the impurities out of us. One of those will be ego. Paul expressed in II Cor. 12 that he had received a message from Satan to keep himself from exalting himself. He regarded that message as a thorn in the flesh. That thorn was criticism; Paul was being questioned at several turns as to his authentic apostleship. He needed such clamor to keep him from beginning to believe the wonder going on with and around him was his doing. It never was. It was always God's.
Third, criticism will be in your lap for more than just learning to stay humble. It will be a constant part of your life to test whether you will love those whom you will naturally be tempted to believe are your enemies. Keep in mind that even anonymouses are not our enemies. Until you pass this test, you will be perpetually confronted. While we are to realize that many of our critics have a deeper agenda, they are desperately loved by God....and us.
The "C" word is not your enemy. It is your blessing; another backward trait of God's system. No, no one loves this time of being ripped. Those who guide children's homes, write many books, preach for churches, and serve in the secular world.....all face the tough stuff of criticism. We will not escape it. If we do we are aborting the discipleship process.
Jesus went through it and cautioned us when all men approve of us. We are in a serious position which insists we will be disliked. This is tough for us for, of all things, we want people to like us.
Finally, enough cannot be said regarding the value of the "C" word. It is an essential element of developing into an effective leader. It is called "Suffering 101" and this course cannot be regarded as an elective. Many good men and women have faded into the averageness of getting by because they refused to take the hammering kingdom life will provide.
The "C" word....it is for our benefit.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
TEACHING AND PREACHING: WHERE WE GET THE CONTENT
As we begin to fill the role of verbal communication, I imagine many sense the same call as I....do your best to fill up the time. Yes, we have adequate instruction in homiletics, hermeneutics, and volleyball. Still, our main fear is we won't have enough stuff to fill up the time.
This battle for something to say creates bad habits because our most urgent mission is to hunt, as in Easter eggs, those quotes and ideas which will....fill up the time. Due to such a self-salvaging process we forget a couple of significant items; God and the hearers. Both desire to participate.
Unintentionally the preaching/teaching process can drift from people hearing from God to all about us and our classy delivery. Thus, the people and God suffer....and so do we. In this age of elaborate media tools at our disposal, the threat is even greater. God may be left out and the hearers dulled by endless chatter which basically says nothing other than we have given it our best shot to fill up the time. Still?
So what do we do about it? First, we simply realize this is going on. I fervently struggled with this for my first couple of decades of preaching. That's a long time to grapple; a very frustrating time. Maybe now I can share a slight crack of hope upon our dilemma; the church's dilemma whenever this scenario would be a part of the teaching scene.
This isn't about how many notes we use. It is about how much we listen for God in our preparation. Our busyness and scramble for the Saturday night deadline can exempt God from participation. We want to know root words, Hebrew and Greek identities, and check out what Barclay and Rick Warren have said.
An important question is, What is God saying now? I can't wait for tomorrow's sermon. Study? Yes, every day I study. I read God and I read authors. I love it. A difference now is I wait on God to participate in my preparation. I listen for His input.
This morning I was pondering Jesus' temptation to turn the stones into bread. It occurred to me (that's all I know to describe God talking to me....He gives me His ideas for I don't possess them) that Jesus refused to turn stones into bread and yet as 5000 sat in need of food he turned bread into bread. He turned a little bit into a lot (of which second graders know). Yet, how it fits the sermon excites me. My contagion will build contagion because God mixes in with the teacher/preacher as well as the hearers.
From our presentations more than English words are heard. Do you get that? We hear heaven coming to earth and landing in the caverns of our very own eardrums. Enormous and abundant translation takes place from the time our ears move the product of God's system from our ears to our lips. By the time that split-second Word reaches a new set of eardrums (by our preaching and teaching) which causes ignition of their lips....the word multiplies. Yet another set of ears hear the perpetuated and vibrant message which began by us listening for God.
And the Word of God kept on spreading; and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem. The Word continues to spread as we intentionally leave room for God to participate in all of our learning procedures.
Where do we get the content for our classes and our sermons? From the Living Word and from the Living God as both interact with all of our other preparatory processes. Don't block Him out. He causes the messages to live.
This battle for something to say creates bad habits because our most urgent mission is to hunt, as in Easter eggs, those quotes and ideas which will....fill up the time. Due to such a self-salvaging process we forget a couple of significant items; God and the hearers. Both desire to participate.
Unintentionally the preaching/teaching process can drift from people hearing from God to all about us and our classy delivery. Thus, the people and God suffer....and so do we. In this age of elaborate media tools at our disposal, the threat is even greater. God may be left out and the hearers dulled by endless chatter which basically says nothing other than we have given it our best shot to fill up the time. Still?
So what do we do about it? First, we simply realize this is going on. I fervently struggled with this for my first couple of decades of preaching. That's a long time to grapple; a very frustrating time. Maybe now I can share a slight crack of hope upon our dilemma; the church's dilemma whenever this scenario would be a part of the teaching scene.
This isn't about how many notes we use. It is about how much we listen for God in our preparation. Our busyness and scramble for the Saturday night deadline can exempt God from participation. We want to know root words, Hebrew and Greek identities, and check out what Barclay and Rick Warren have said.
An important question is, What is God saying now? I can't wait for tomorrow's sermon. Study? Yes, every day I study. I read God and I read authors. I love it. A difference now is I wait on God to participate in my preparation. I listen for His input.
This morning I was pondering Jesus' temptation to turn the stones into bread. It occurred to me (that's all I know to describe God talking to me....He gives me His ideas for I don't possess them) that Jesus refused to turn stones into bread and yet as 5000 sat in need of food he turned bread into bread. He turned a little bit into a lot (of which second graders know). Yet, how it fits the sermon excites me. My contagion will build contagion because God mixes in with the teacher/preacher as well as the hearers.
From our presentations more than English words are heard. Do you get that? We hear heaven coming to earth and landing in the caverns of our very own eardrums. Enormous and abundant translation takes place from the time our ears move the product of God's system from our ears to our lips. By the time that split-second Word reaches a new set of eardrums (by our preaching and teaching) which causes ignition of their lips....the word multiplies. Yet another set of ears hear the perpetuated and vibrant message which began by us listening for God.
And the Word of God kept on spreading; and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem. The Word continues to spread as we intentionally leave room for God to participate in all of our learning procedures.
Where do we get the content for our classes and our sermons? From the Living Word and from the Living God as both interact with all of our other preparatory processes. Don't block Him out. He causes the messages to live.
Friday, May 14, 2010
SEE MY NEW CHAIR
Recently I took it apart, sanded it, stained it, varnished it, and had it reupholstered. Ah, Jana Fowler and her sister did a great job installing the fabric.
It now is a new chair....same chair just new! It has a new personality and a new presence...still a chair...but really new in its world.
This is what we get to do as the body of Christ. Together we find old broken-down people and we take them to the Refinisher. They just never get over how He changes their presence.
An amazing thing about the Refinisher is He paid more than $1. He gave His life that we might one day have the authentic hope of experiencing newness. I encourage you to live as if you have been born again...brand new...ready for a new life in a tired world.
If you haven't been reborn, remade, and restarted, don't be discouraged. This is something everyone desires...to start life over. You can do it. You don't have to become someone else. You as yourself are just fine. You will (as we all do) need the Refinisher to sand you down and dress you up for you have many years of great life ahead of you.
We will make a difference because we are now different ourselves! Hats off to the Refinisher!
THE EVER-INCREASING LEAK OF KNOWLEDGE
Faith causes a slight problem with knowledge. It causes it to begin a slow leak. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies, Paul asserted. Strangely, we have to know this about knowledge.
Knowledge absolutely fits in the kingdom. A factor of importance is to beware it is not the apex of Christianity; love is. Therefore faith becomes a most necessary, as well as tricky, element of kingdom life. Some knowledge tends to want to know facts when faith will lead us to know Christ. When knowledge desires to be the chairman of spirituality, it will eventually begin a slow leak for it does not belong in such a position.
John Mark Hicks and Bobby Valentine wrote in KINGDOM COME this important concept. Trust is the key word. Our response to God's sovereignty is faith rather than pride; dependence rather than self-reliance. This child-like trust does not understand everything. (Notice the leak beginning?) Quite the contrary, faith seeks understanding rather than understanding grounding faith. We live by faith, not by sight.....The more we understand, the more we know we don't know. We live by faith, not by sight. (The leak in knowledge increases.)
The more we understand, the more we "know" we don't "know". Why? Knowledge has a necessary leak in it. It cannot grasp the faith world in its fullness. It surely participates for we are to know God, know mercy, know our Bibles, etc. Yet, knowing will not/cannot serve as our complete formula to experience God's mysterious style. Faith will. We will see by faith; not by explainable terminology.
The more we understand, the more we "know" we don't "know". Do you "know" what this does for us? It lets us touch a freedom to explore the rich universe of God's vineyard! It sets us alaunch for tasting actual nuances of His glory that no man has thought to even wonder about...let alone know about! The more we understand, the more we know we don't know.
Knowledge has a slow leak. Eventually we will admit we don't know as much as we had once assumed. Then.....then maybe we will seek to know Jesus over knowing rules and regulations about religion. Possibly then we will awaken to His incomprehensible, fuller-than-full creation.
Abundance of God. By faith we seek it.
Knowledge absolutely fits in the kingdom. A factor of importance is to beware it is not the apex of Christianity; love is. Therefore faith becomes a most necessary, as well as tricky, element of kingdom life. Some knowledge tends to want to know facts when faith will lead us to know Christ. When knowledge desires to be the chairman of spirituality, it will eventually begin a slow leak for it does not belong in such a position.
John Mark Hicks and Bobby Valentine wrote in KINGDOM COME this important concept. Trust is the key word. Our response to God's sovereignty is faith rather than pride; dependence rather than self-reliance. This child-like trust does not understand everything. (Notice the leak beginning?) Quite the contrary, faith seeks understanding rather than understanding grounding faith. We live by faith, not by sight.....The more we understand, the more we know we don't know. We live by faith, not by sight. (The leak in knowledge increases.)
The more we understand, the more we "know" we don't "know". Why? Knowledge has a necessary leak in it. It cannot grasp the faith world in its fullness. It surely participates for we are to know God, know mercy, know our Bibles, etc. Yet, knowing will not/cannot serve as our complete formula to experience God's mysterious style. Faith will. We will see by faith; not by explainable terminology.
The more we understand, the more we "know" we don't "know". Do you "know" what this does for us? It lets us touch a freedom to explore the rich universe of God's vineyard! It sets us alaunch for tasting actual nuances of His glory that no man has thought to even wonder about...let alone know about! The more we understand, the more we know we don't know.
Knowledge has a slow leak. Eventually we will admit we don't know as much as we had once assumed. Then.....then maybe we will seek to know Jesus over knowing rules and regulations about religion. Possibly then we will awaken to His incomprehensible, fuller-than-full creation.
Abundance of God. By faith we seek it.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
WHAT IT'S LIKE BEING ME
Before one would conclude I am about to brag or complain, I write of neither.
Rather I address leaders of every tenure (some just beginning/others who have been at it a long time) about what it is like to be in ministry 35 years and at one place for well over 32. Why? Because I believe some of you may want to consider a perplexing mood we each may encounter along the way.
I'm going through a very curious time. I feel awkward; as in nearly out of touch. People are too good to me, so I'm not feeling neglected. I love God, so I'm not sensing doubt. My problem is I don't know what I'm doing....still.
While this feeling isn't negative, it is confusing to my spirit. As I grow in Jesus, I find myself literally decreasing to the point I just feel flat weird. I seem to have no plans. I am crazy about my job but I seem nearly directionless....yet I don't desire cumbersome direction as a cure.
I work. I love the work. I don't feel out of touch.....but I don't feel like I know what's going on. Wonderful, delightful things go on all around me;even with me. I keep thinking, Huh?
The reason I say this is that many who begin ministry feel the day is coming when you will turn some designated corner and sense somewhat of a grip on your work. I say to you that it won't get better. You'll love ministry; but you won't reach a day where you grasp the kingdom labor, for God works so oppositely of our assumed approach.
I say we are wonderfully learning that the work we thought was ours is turning out to be mistaken; it really has been His all along. I have waged inner war with my need to control, to direct, to manage, and to perform. God continues to unravel this self-centered appetite. While this is all good....it is really different than how I thought ministry would go.
Perfect? Complete? Far from both. But the process is what I alert you to. You will not find yourself becoming more; more effective, more affluent, nor more in control. Your experience...if in Jesus...will likely be the opposite. Don't be surprised. And, don't think there is something wrong with you. There isn't. There is something right going on.
God is moving in and about your ministry. He remains bursting with surprise and mystery. For us to connect to His work, this procedure will hopefully leave us hungering for more instead of dispensing platitudes of grand self-accomplishment. This....is a good thing.
In essence this post is really about what it may be like to be you.
I remain in kindergarten in the kingdom.....and I absolutely enjoy the challenge of being clueless.
Rather I address leaders of every tenure (some just beginning/others who have been at it a long time) about what it is like to be in ministry 35 years and at one place for well over 32. Why? Because I believe some of you may want to consider a perplexing mood we each may encounter along the way.
I'm going through a very curious time. I feel awkward; as in nearly out of touch. People are too good to me, so I'm not feeling neglected. I love God, so I'm not sensing doubt. My problem is I don't know what I'm doing....still.
While this feeling isn't negative, it is confusing to my spirit. As I grow in Jesus, I find myself literally decreasing to the point I just feel flat weird. I seem to have no plans. I am crazy about my job but I seem nearly directionless....yet I don't desire cumbersome direction as a cure.
I work. I love the work. I don't feel out of touch.....but I don't feel like I know what's going on. Wonderful, delightful things go on all around me;even with me. I keep thinking, Huh?
The reason I say this is that many who begin ministry feel the day is coming when you will turn some designated corner and sense somewhat of a grip on your work. I say to you that it won't get better. You'll love ministry; but you won't reach a day where you grasp the kingdom labor, for God works so oppositely of our assumed approach.
I say we are wonderfully learning that the work we thought was ours is turning out to be mistaken; it really has been His all along. I have waged inner war with my need to control, to direct, to manage, and to perform. God continues to unravel this self-centered appetite. While this is all good....it is really different than how I thought ministry would go.
Perfect? Complete? Far from both. But the process is what I alert you to. You will not find yourself becoming more; more effective, more affluent, nor more in control. Your experience...if in Jesus...will likely be the opposite. Don't be surprised. And, don't think there is something wrong with you. There isn't. There is something right going on.
God is moving in and about your ministry. He remains bursting with surprise and mystery. For us to connect to His work, this procedure will hopefully leave us hungering for more instead of dispensing platitudes of grand self-accomplishment. This....is a good thing.
In essence this post is really about what it may be like to be you.
I remain in kindergarten in the kingdom.....and I absolutely enjoy the challenge of being clueless.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
HUB-BUBILISM; WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?
Time does what, church? Flies...we say. In the what of an eye? A blink. In the blink of an eye our kids are grown or our time is up...whatever the discussion. We live in a grand-scaled, race-paced society that is so tricky we often don't know what we now believe for moments ago we just absorbed new and crucial information. We live at hub-bub speed.
When one is six or seven is seems like Christmas will never arrive. Remember? Can't sleep? Can't wait? Somewhere we turn an adult corner and life's engines rev and we begin to race in a constant blur.
What is it all about?
I think it is about distraction. We dart from one meeting place to another. This concept and dilemma is nothing new and we don't need extensive explanation. We do need to be aware that frantic movement is dangerous in that it does not provide connecting with the breath nor breadth of God.
God has much to say. He didn't deliver it all in the Word; although that in itself can be disconnected due to our racetrack pace. God also speaks to us; especially regarding wisdom exchanges for which He invited us to make requests and promising He would send it in.
Do what you can to stand against the free-fall of hub-bubilism. Its nature is harmful. Its intent is to rob you of noticing God. He is in our world. Let us praise Him....let us take the time to praise Him....often.
When one is six or seven is seems like Christmas will never arrive. Remember? Can't sleep? Can't wait? Somewhere we turn an adult corner and life's engines rev and we begin to race in a constant blur.
What is it all about?
I think it is about distraction. We dart from one meeting place to another. This concept and dilemma is nothing new and we don't need extensive explanation. We do need to be aware that frantic movement is dangerous in that it does not provide connecting with the breath nor breadth of God.
God has much to say. He didn't deliver it all in the Word; although that in itself can be disconnected due to our racetrack pace. God also speaks to us; especially regarding wisdom exchanges for which He invited us to make requests and promising He would send it in.
Do what you can to stand against the free-fall of hub-bubilism. Its nature is harmful. Its intent is to rob you of noticing God. He is in our world. Let us praise Him....let us take the time to praise Him....often.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
GOD SEEMS TO HAVE LIFE COVERED!
I love imagination. I'm even a better imaginer as an adult and I was pretty good at it as a kid!
God challenges us in Ephesians chapter three to think tall, think high, and think far, and He will exceed the bar.
How much is that? Well....take a good look at Genesis, finish in Revelation, and tell me how many times the impossible just happened. Count the ways. Count the impossible ways!
God's entire charter is one of man can't but God can...and does. This is thrilling! We are never at a loss because loss only creeps us closer to victory. Romans 8:37....we overwhelmingly conquer in "all these things". The "up" things and the "down" things. The "life" things and the "death" things. The "past" things, "present" things, and "future" things. Folks...God just about has life covered!
So wake up and smell the coffee. We are winners everywhere we turn. Romans 5:1-5: if it goes right it goes right and if it goes wrong it goes right because of the Holy Spirit poured out upon us. God has life covered!
How much more is "more than we can imagine"? Well....try as we will, we just can't imagine that high. As good of a hand as we hold, God can always trump us.
Hurray for us....and thank you God!
God challenges us in Ephesians chapter three to think tall, think high, and think far, and He will exceed the bar.
How much is that? Well....take a good look at Genesis, finish in Revelation, and tell me how many times the impossible just happened. Count the ways. Count the impossible ways!
God's entire charter is one of man can't but God can...and does. This is thrilling! We are never at a loss because loss only creeps us closer to victory. Romans 8:37....we overwhelmingly conquer in "all these things". The "up" things and the "down" things. The "life" things and the "death" things. The "past" things, "present" things, and "future" things. Folks...God just about has life covered!
So wake up and smell the coffee. We are winners everywhere we turn. Romans 5:1-5: if it goes right it goes right and if it goes wrong it goes right because of the Holy Spirit poured out upon us. God has life covered!
How much more is "more than we can imagine"? Well....try as we will, we just can't imagine that high. As good of a hand as we hold, God can always trump us.
Hurray for us....and thank you God!
SPREAD THE WORD
Mark this new website: http://www.tulsaworkshop.org/
Spread the word on the theme and dates. Get ready for the March reunion!
"LET THE CHAINS FALL AWAY"
March 23-26, 2011
Spread the word on the theme and dates. Get ready for the March reunion!
"LET THE CHAINS FALL AWAY"
March 23-26, 2011
Monday, May 10, 2010
GOD SEEMS TO BE STRONG UNTIL....
Consider Joseph in the pit. Marvel ensued.
Note the Israelites fleeing from the armies. The Red Sea marched to God's drum.
Ponder the 5000 unannounced for dinner. Leftovers were invented.
Look into the imposing grave. Jesus is missing.
God seems to be so strong....abundantly strong....if not for two areas; really two desperate areas. We seem to suspect His ability when it comes to equipping us and when it comes to saving us.
We are wowed by His superior style....until it gets to us. In that zone we tend to let confidence slip. However, we will do well to realize the first four examples are built into the story to give us courage regarding the latter two questions.
God is not weak....ever. Our faith is.
Let God do for us what we can't ever do on our own. Let Him provide His suit of armor for our work and believe Him that we are thoroughly saved.
Note the Israelites fleeing from the armies. The Red Sea marched to God's drum.
Ponder the 5000 unannounced for dinner. Leftovers were invented.
Look into the imposing grave. Jesus is missing.
God seems to be so strong....abundantly strong....if not for two areas; really two desperate areas. We seem to suspect His ability when it comes to equipping us and when it comes to saving us.
We are wowed by His superior style....until it gets to us. In that zone we tend to let confidence slip. However, we will do well to realize the first four examples are built into the story to give us courage regarding the latter two questions.
God is not weak....ever. Our faith is.
Let God do for us what we can't ever do on our own. Let Him provide His suit of armor for our work and believe Him that we are thoroughly saved.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
OKAY. I'M HAVING A REALLY BAD DAY
I wrote Wednesday that when something goes badly, I would write it in honor of Rick Atchley for he kids me about being so encouraging it discourages him. How funny.
But already something negative has hit. So I write to let you in on it. Just last Sunday I told Memorial Drive and then in a class at Pepperdine the same marvelous story of God working.
Basically, I've been trying to get a book published over the past three years that I can't seem launch. Ten days ago...and with quite odd circumstances, coordinations, and connections...I learned a publishing company in Chicago had picked up my manuscript (MVP; Why You Are Most Valuable in God's Eyes) with enthusiastic plans to publish it. Yippee!
When I returned home from Pepperdine I had an email awaiting from the publishing company explaining that due to finances they would not be doing the book. Sorry.
So could I tell you this bit of information is significantly discouraging? It is.
However, this is only a step in the waiting and enduring process. I have no idea what God is up to; yet such is the key to our hope! When we have no idea we also have no restrictive framework from which we opt to work under. We are open to God's talent.
Abram made a big mistake when he thought God's promise was an assignment. Hagar was not Abram's assignment. We do what Abraham eventually did. We wait on God and when He is ready the actuality will be bigger than our intention.
Now.....that's pretty encouraging and I'm not really having a bad day. I just said it to get your attention.
But already something negative has hit. So I write to let you in on it. Just last Sunday I told Memorial Drive and then in a class at Pepperdine the same marvelous story of God working.
Basically, I've been trying to get a book published over the past three years that I can't seem launch. Ten days ago...and with quite odd circumstances, coordinations, and connections...I learned a publishing company in Chicago had picked up my manuscript (MVP; Why You Are Most Valuable in God's Eyes) with enthusiastic plans to publish it. Yippee!
When I returned home from Pepperdine I had an email awaiting from the publishing company explaining that due to finances they would not be doing the book. Sorry.
So could I tell you this bit of information is significantly discouraging? It is.
However, this is only a step in the waiting and enduring process. I have no idea what God is up to; yet such is the key to our hope! When we have no idea we also have no restrictive framework from which we opt to work under. We are open to God's talent.
Abram made a big mistake when he thought God's promise was an assignment. Hagar was not Abram's assignment. We do what Abraham eventually did. We wait on God and when He is ready the actuality will be bigger than our intention.
Now.....that's pretty encouraging and I'm not really having a bad day. I just said it to get your attention.
Saturday, May 08, 2010
PEPPERDINE.....IT WAS THAT GOOD!
I am back from the Pepperdine Lectures. Thrilling! Amazing! Marvelous moves of God! I loved it all.
Jerry Rushford and his ant-farm team did a profound job of putting together one of the most complete packages of "encouraging experiences" I have ever encountered. From the early morning moments of being greeted by the ocean's breeze on my way to breakfast to the last bit of pie and coffee waaay past bedtime (CDT)...what a boost to my spirit! What a boost!
The keynoters were right on. Randy Harris broke open the Word for me in a way I am still reeling as I try to grow up to the level of his absolute revelation from Acts 2, 8, and 10. So good.
One of my favorite things about the past week was something not on the program. It really caught me off guard to the extent I didn't realize what was going on until about the third day. I had so many young men and women seek me out privately to weigh problems and approaches to their ministry.
It became apparent that lunches, dinners, and Coke breaks were much more than friends being with friends. Constant counsel...ongoing....there is so much wonder to ponder in His vineyard! We were highly engaged in kingdom concepts and opportunities. How fun is that?
We have a brilliant group of young, committed, faithful leaders coming over the horizon. A thing I love about God is that because He is faithful we are all the same age in the kingdom....brand new every day (II Cor. 4:18)! I may look older than them.....but I am in kindergarten beside them. What a privilege for me.
It was special, too, to room with one of my sons, Dusty. I have such admiration for his insight and connection to the God of creation. Plus...we did get the giggles maybe too many times. That boy is funny!
Jerry Rushford.....job so well done it will carry us on to greater faith as we learn to continue to speak of The Hero of the Story.
Jerry Rushford and his ant-farm team did a profound job of putting together one of the most complete packages of "encouraging experiences" I have ever encountered. From the early morning moments of being greeted by the ocean's breeze on my way to breakfast to the last bit of pie and coffee waaay past bedtime (CDT)...what a boost to my spirit! What a boost!
The keynoters were right on. Randy Harris broke open the Word for me in a way I am still reeling as I try to grow up to the level of his absolute revelation from Acts 2, 8, and 10. So good.
One of my favorite things about the past week was something not on the program. It really caught me off guard to the extent I didn't realize what was going on until about the third day. I had so many young men and women seek me out privately to weigh problems and approaches to their ministry.
It became apparent that lunches, dinners, and Coke breaks were much more than friends being with friends. Constant counsel...ongoing....there is so much wonder to ponder in His vineyard! We were highly engaged in kingdom concepts and opportunities. How fun is that?
We have a brilliant group of young, committed, faithful leaders coming over the horizon. A thing I love about God is that because He is faithful we are all the same age in the kingdom....brand new every day (II Cor. 4:18)! I may look older than them.....but I am in kindergarten beside them. What a privilege for me.
It was special, too, to room with one of my sons, Dusty. I have such admiration for his insight and connection to the God of creation. Plus...we did get the giggles maybe too many times. That boy is funny!
Jerry Rushford.....job so well done it will carry us on to greater faith as we learn to continue to speak of The Hero of the Story.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
I'M A NAME STANDER
You know how some people are name-droppers? They met Brad Pitt or they talked with the President of the United States or some great moment like those? Well...I one-upped name-dropping today. I name-stood.
Name-standing is a new concept I created just for me. I saw Randy Harris, Randy Lowry, and Rubel Shelly standing together outside in a mall area of the Pepperdine campus mid-morning.. I thought, "how neat." What a great group of guys...so I walked over and stood with them. I didn't know the topic and was never drawn in. But as people passed by they could not help but notice the "four" of us standing having a mutual (?) chat of some sort about a world matter that I feel sure impressed the many passers-by.
After awhile they moved on. I did mention to Rubel my apology for not being able to accept the position of being President of Rochester Christian College. I hope he understands....I have this blog to write...and other important matters.
Pepperdine? My favorite one so far! No joke! Really awesome!
Name-standing is a new concept I created just for me. I saw Randy Harris, Randy Lowry, and Rubel Shelly standing together outside in a mall area of the Pepperdine campus mid-morning.. I thought, "how neat." What a great group of guys...so I walked over and stood with them. I didn't know the topic and was never drawn in. But as people passed by they could not help but notice the "four" of us standing having a mutual (?) chat of some sort about a world matter that I feel sure impressed the many passers-by.
After awhile they moved on. I did mention to Rubel my apology for not being able to accept the position of being President of Rochester Christian College. I hope he understands....I have this blog to write...and other important matters.
Pepperdine? My favorite one so far! No joke! Really awesome!
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
DAY TWO @ PEPPERDINE
Ah, what a day! I heard a new young couple from Littleton, CO in one of the classes this morning. I've heard about Colin Packer for awhile...and he and his wife are impressive. I enjoyed listening to someone different from my usual favorites.
My class went really well. I spoke opposite Walling and Rubel and 4900 other classes and managed to siphon off somewhere under 6000 attendees for my small place!
Tonight was Jonathan Storment's introduction to the spotlight. He wowed the packed Firestone Fieldhouse. I'm glad I got to watch his entrance onto the stage of meaningful stirring and proclamation. He makes all of us a bit richer because he is connected to the Resurrected One! Ya dun good, son!
Early this morning Dusty and I were joined by Rick Atchley and Chris Seidman for breakfast. Rick ask how I was doing and I responded that I was doing super good. He immediately quipped he reads my blog daily and would just one time like to know I wasn't doing so good.
He said I am so encouraging that it discourages him.
The next time I have a rotten day I'm going to write all about it in detail and honor Rick with it! I dearly love what Rick does for God among us. We need him. I need him.
Finally, I sure am really helping out Jerry Rushford. I've alsready signed several speakers up for Pepperdine next year. He's so busy he has no idea....I've almost got next year's program completed.
Boy! Will he ever be surprised!
My class went really well. I spoke opposite Walling and Rubel and 4900 other classes and managed to siphon off somewhere under 6000 attendees for my small place!
Tonight was Jonathan Storment's introduction to the spotlight. He wowed the packed Firestone Fieldhouse. I'm glad I got to watch his entrance onto the stage of meaningful stirring and proclamation. He makes all of us a bit richer because he is connected to the Resurrected One! Ya dun good, son!
Early this morning Dusty and I were joined by Rick Atchley and Chris Seidman for breakfast. Rick ask how I was doing and I responded that I was doing super good. He immediately quipped he reads my blog daily and would just one time like to know I wasn't doing so good.
He said I am so encouraging that it discourages him.
The next time I have a rotten day I'm going to write all about it in detail and honor Rick with it! I dearly love what Rick does for God among us. We need him. I need him.
Finally, I sure am really helping out Jerry Rushford. I've alsready signed several speakers up for Pepperdine next year. He's so busy he has no idea....I've almost got next year's program completed.
Boy! Will he ever be surprised!
PEPPERDINE: HOUSTON, WE HAVE LIFT OFF
Ken Young and Hallal ripped open the Pepperdine Lectures with their usual stirrings of the worshipful spirit. They were so good they reminded me of what it is like to have that sort of worshipful leadership from Shane Coffman and the Memorial Singers Sunday after Sunday. I am most blessed to get to be around true worshippers.
And then...oh my goodness...and then lanky Shon Smith strode to the pulpit and pleaded for life to be allowed back into the church...the life of the Holy Spirit. He wasn't arrogant nor was he belligerent. He simply stated the Holy Spirit isn't dead, we have the same Holy Spirit the apostles did, and He is really very active in our walk. It was such a simple delivery and yet so needed.
Needless to say....I was impressed.
I've got three classes to deliver and the first one is up this morning. I can't wait. The Spirit is among us...and He is working!
And then...oh my goodness...and then lanky Shon Smith strode to the pulpit and pleaded for life to be allowed back into the church...the life of the Holy Spirit. He wasn't arrogant nor was he belligerent. He simply stated the Holy Spirit isn't dead, we have the same Holy Spirit the apostles did, and He is really very active in our walk. It was such a simple delivery and yet so needed.
Needless to say....I was impressed.
I've got three classes to deliver and the first one is up this morning. I can't wait. The Spirit is among us...and He is working!
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
UNDERWEAR IN A KNOT
Last week I received one of those brotherhood sheets that firmly stands for their concept of truth. It was touting their integrity and high standard while hammering once again all the change agents among us. Criticism of anyone not like them was hell bound. Just the day before I had received a shiny new magazine with similar urgencies....but I'm not sure the two papers would accept one another except for the strong stances against us.
Here's my observation. All of us who write are a group of very plain men and women often overestimating our assumed wisdom and underestimating our energetic God.
Here's an oddity; the intricate God makes life simple and the ignorant us causes life to be wearyingly difficult. Go figure. We still tend to place heavy loads upon the shoulders of each generation without noticing God seems to be letting us continue our frantic pace. Our underwear gets tangled in a knot over some of the silliest stuff.
As we edge into the waters of God's operation, the tempest seems to smooth out. Because we are humans, the kingdom challenge is ever before us....but we seem to be more relaxed as we seek His ways and not the frantic paces of pages and leaders of our past.
I encourage you to be still and know that He is God...Ps. 46:10. It is not up to our franticism nor our expertise....it never will be. It is always up to Him....Rom. 9:16.
Relax.
Let go.
Really....let God.
Here's my observation. All of us who write are a group of very plain men and women often overestimating our assumed wisdom and underestimating our energetic God.
Here's an oddity; the intricate God makes life simple and the ignorant us causes life to be wearyingly difficult. Go figure. We still tend to place heavy loads upon the shoulders of each generation without noticing God seems to be letting us continue our frantic pace. Our underwear gets tangled in a knot over some of the silliest stuff.
As we edge into the waters of God's operation, the tempest seems to smooth out. Because we are humans, the kingdom challenge is ever before us....but we seem to be more relaxed as we seek His ways and not the frantic paces of pages and leaders of our past.
I encourage you to be still and know that He is God...Ps. 46:10. It is not up to our franticism nor our expertise....it never will be. It is always up to Him....Rom. 9:16.
Relax.
Let go.
Really....let God.
Monday, May 03, 2010
SECURITY, STABILITY, AND PEACEFUL LEADERSHIP
I've made ministry too difficult it would appear. In the names of position and responsibility, I have failed more than succeeded because I stood in the way; in the way of progress, in the way of God.
God doesn't need my input as much as my faith that He has the input. While His labors are marvelously mysterious, God has them designed for work among and for His children.
The longer I get to work in the kingdom I especially notice one consistent trait; God takes care. He did it with Moses, Abraham, Peter and Paul. He does it with Rick, with Randy, with Liz, and with Lisa. God takes care.
The less I organize; but the more I trust...He seems to provide. The less I plot and fret, the more God seems to deliver. The less I strain, the more He ushers results. The more I credit Him, the more God gives me to credit Him.
I now know He is working....even when I can't see it or prove it....He is! I know it. I'm sure of it.
Whether opportunity or dream or dilemma or discouragement, you can take it to the bank. God already has the solution enacted. Because you can't necessarily touch it or see it, bring into focus your heart-eyes of Eph. 1:18. You'll see everything from a new perspective....and it will cause you to have security, stability, and peaceful leadership.
God doesn't need my input as much as my faith that He has the input. While His labors are marvelously mysterious, God has them designed for work among and for His children.
The longer I get to work in the kingdom I especially notice one consistent trait; God takes care. He did it with Moses, Abraham, Peter and Paul. He does it with Rick, with Randy, with Liz, and with Lisa. God takes care.
The less I organize; but the more I trust...He seems to provide. The less I plot and fret, the more God seems to deliver. The less I strain, the more He ushers results. The more I credit Him, the more God gives me to credit Him.
I now know He is working....even when I can't see it or prove it....He is! I know it. I'm sure of it.
Whether opportunity or dream or dilemma or discouragement, you can take it to the bank. God already has the solution enacted. Because you can't necessarily touch it or see it, bring into focus your heart-eyes of Eph. 1:18. You'll see everything from a new perspective....and it will cause you to have security, stability, and peaceful leadership.
Sunday, May 02, 2010
MIND OVER DISCOURAGEMENT
I lived in perpetual discouragement during my first church work of one year, my second church work of two years and maybe my first eighteen years here. I know being down.
God showed me something in the Word that changed my pattern. He showed me my thinking was displaced. I was operating on conditions; conditions of others' responses or non-responses to me, how circumstances evolved, and of course, results of efforts.
I was a terrible friend to anyone because my mood depended on what I got from them. I was a lousy leader for my enthusiasm depended on whether I was getting my way.
But God showed me a better way. Philippians 4:4-9 changed my world. I could choose to think of what I didn't like if I wanted to, but those thoughts would not bring me peace. Or, I could live thankfully for every thing I could think about....and peace would begin to blend into my daily routine.
God was right. No surprise. When I practiced (:9) thinking about the good things going on, my world bloomed like garden flowers. Everything shifted. I learned about everything--EVERYTHING--being a "Yes"....II Cor. 1:18-20.
It wasn't a seminar that upset my world for good. I shifted from being a moody, pouty grown man by rehearsing everything in life which has or is or will gone/go right! Guess what! God knows His people. Our hope is not dependent upon what the elders permit or what the contributions allow. It is dependent upon what goes on between our ears.
When we decide Jesus' resurrection can afford us the same power....II Cor. 13:4....we begin to experience a new world order. Discouraged? People nor circumstances are the real issue. They can surely cause an edginess to our walk. But the ultimate fact is we can select a host of matters gone right...and find perfect peace.
I must share that to begin this wasn't easy for I simply wanted others to change their ways. They didn't. I had a choice; be happy or be depressed. He has a way for us to experience His wonder! Think on it!
God showed me something in the Word that changed my pattern. He showed me my thinking was displaced. I was operating on conditions; conditions of others' responses or non-responses to me, how circumstances evolved, and of course, results of efforts.
I was a terrible friend to anyone because my mood depended on what I got from them. I was a lousy leader for my enthusiasm depended on whether I was getting my way.
But God showed me a better way. Philippians 4:4-9 changed my world. I could choose to think of what I didn't like if I wanted to, but those thoughts would not bring me peace. Or, I could live thankfully for every thing I could think about....and peace would begin to blend into my daily routine.
God was right. No surprise. When I practiced (:9) thinking about the good things going on, my world bloomed like garden flowers. Everything shifted. I learned about everything--EVERYTHING--being a "Yes"....II Cor. 1:18-20.
It wasn't a seminar that upset my world for good. I shifted from being a moody, pouty grown man by rehearsing everything in life which has or is or will gone/go right! Guess what! God knows His people. Our hope is not dependent upon what the elders permit or what the contributions allow. It is dependent upon what goes on between our ears.
When we decide Jesus' resurrection can afford us the same power....II Cor. 13:4....we begin to experience a new world order. Discouraged? People nor circumstances are the real issue. They can surely cause an edginess to our walk. But the ultimate fact is we can select a host of matters gone right...and find perfect peace.
I must share that to begin this wasn't easy for I simply wanted others to change their ways. They didn't. I had a choice; be happy or be depressed. He has a way for us to experience His wonder! Think on it!
Saturday, May 01, 2010
LIVE IN THE LIGHT....FROM THE TOP OF THE HILL
He said it. We are to be a perched people. We aren't called to hide under a bushel basket. We aren't designed to be camouflaged by the thick under-brush of minding-our-own-business so no one will notice. We are called to live out front and up high.
Therefore, my friends, I encourage you to move out from the shadows of doubt, timidity, and fear. He has not given us such a spirit. No longer hide in confusion. Drop the nagging nuisance of worry. Step up! Step out!
We tend to withhold our presence in the name of humility. If it were authentic humility, that would be one thing. But more often it is pride; a pride of self-protection so we don't risk looking bad....or even failing.
Stand tall! Stand bright! Communities are growing dim and it isn't because of the failing world economy; but rather the ailing church economy. Too many of God's children have elected to go underground with their belief system.
I really believe America and all other countries are not in need of better leadership management as much as they are poised first for the body of Christ to actively and visually continue to roam the earth. He arose. Don't be a part of returning him to the grave for hiding.
Live in the light....from the top of the hill!
Therefore, my friends, I encourage you to move out from the shadows of doubt, timidity, and fear. He has not given us such a spirit. No longer hide in confusion. Drop the nagging nuisance of worry. Step up! Step out!
We tend to withhold our presence in the name of humility. If it were authentic humility, that would be one thing. But more often it is pride; a pride of self-protection so we don't risk looking bad....or even failing.
Stand tall! Stand bright! Communities are growing dim and it isn't because of the failing world economy; but rather the ailing church economy. Too many of God's children have elected to go underground with their belief system.
I really believe America and all other countries are not in need of better leadership management as much as they are poised first for the body of Christ to actively and visually continue to roam the earth. He arose. Don't be a part of returning him to the grave for hiding.
Live in the light....from the top of the hill!
Friday, April 30, 2010
WHAT PEPPERDINE DOESN'T HAVE THAT THE TULSA WORKSHOP HAS
I leave Tuesday for the Pepperdine Lectures.
I look forward to soaking in Jerry Rushford's labors. So many think I (Terry Rush) am him and he is me. Because of that I promise a lot of strangers they can be on the Pepperdine program next year.
The Tulsa Workshop aftermath continues to experience good feedback. See the note below.
The first year I attended the Tulsa Workshop was in March of 2003. I will never forget that weekend for so many reasons. It was a week where political, personal and spiritual factors all came together at the same time. That was the weekend the U.S. military invaded Iraq. I remember that because my brother was on the front lines. That all added up to make for a very emotional and vulnerable week for me. It also meant I was in a lot more prayer than usual. I think God really used that backdrop to open up my ears, my heart and my soul to the events of that weekend. I am indebted spiritually to the Tulsa workshop, Terry Rush, and the dozens (probably hundreds, really) of people who were a blessing to me in Tulsa.
I would highly recommend the Tulsa workshop as a place to get equipped, encouraged, re-tooled, and ready to both be more who God wants you to be and better know how to do what He wants you to do. I hope that each and every one of you will make it a part of your schedule to be in Tulsa in 2011. Bring someone with you. There is nothing like traveling to something like this with people you know and having others to discuss the classes and keynotes with on the ride back home. If the depictions of heaven in the book of Revelation only had book vendors, I would say Tulsa comes as close as it gets this side of heaven. Thanks to Terry and Shane for putting on such a quality event.
Matt Dabbs
These represent only two of our wonderful events across this nation. Add to that Elder-Link, Quest, Stream in the Desert, Lipscomb, ACU, the Northwest Workshop....on and on the list of top-level kingdom expansion continues. God has much going on!
Tell me of some of the great events in your zone. We should be amazed at the intensity of improved discipleship training among us.
If the Tulsa Workshop only had an ocean! Oh well, Pepperdine doesn't have the Driller statue!
I look forward to soaking in Jerry Rushford's labors. So many think I (Terry Rush) am him and he is me. Because of that I promise a lot of strangers they can be on the Pepperdine program next year.
The Tulsa Workshop aftermath continues to experience good feedback. See the note below.
The first year I attended the Tulsa Workshop was in March of 2003. I will never forget that weekend for so many reasons. It was a week where political, personal and spiritual factors all came together at the same time. That was the weekend the U.S. military invaded Iraq. I remember that because my brother was on the front lines. That all added up to make for a very emotional and vulnerable week for me. It also meant I was in a lot more prayer than usual. I think God really used that backdrop to open up my ears, my heart and my soul to the events of that weekend. I am indebted spiritually to the Tulsa workshop, Terry Rush, and the dozens (probably hundreds, really) of people who were a blessing to me in Tulsa.
I would highly recommend the Tulsa workshop as a place to get equipped, encouraged, re-tooled, and ready to both be more who God wants you to be and better know how to do what He wants you to do. I hope that each and every one of you will make it a part of your schedule to be in Tulsa in 2011. Bring someone with you. There is nothing like traveling to something like this with people you know and having others to discuss the classes and keynotes with on the ride back home. If the depictions of heaven in the book of Revelation only had book vendors, I would say Tulsa comes as close as it gets this side of heaven. Thanks to Terry and Shane for putting on such a quality event.
Matt Dabbs
These represent only two of our wonderful events across this nation. Add to that Elder-Link, Quest, Stream in the Desert, Lipscomb, ACU, the Northwest Workshop....on and on the list of top-level kingdom expansion continues. God has much going on!
Tell me of some of the great events in your zone. We should be amazed at the intensity of improved discipleship training among us.
If the Tulsa Workshop only had an ocean! Oh well, Pepperdine doesn't have the Driller statue!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
KINGDOM LIFE UNNOTICED
I really enjoy what little I see of the kingdom. I think I see more than I realize for I feel certain that while I am looking right at kingdom action, most likely I'm not recognizing it.
Philip asked Jesus when he had ever seen the Father. Jesus told him he had been looking at him for several years now.
Martha was in a scurry to do kingdom stuff that mattered and Jesus responded with a compliment toward the other sister for catching on.
Rhoda was aware of prayers being offered for imprisoned Peter; yet, never recognized it was him at the gate awaiting entry.
I believe God's people get more done than they realize because the very small matters count. If God notices each sparrow, do you think He doesn't catch it when you are courteous? Merciful? Generous? Attentive?
Yes, there was a long period in my life where I wanted to be like the big people. I strove to accomplish the big stuff. Big stuff is good for the big people, but it was out of my range and I spent too many years in envy; maybe jealousy.
When it registered that God was letting me in on a huge secret that power is perfected in weakness, I began to see the entire kingdom landscape shift. I was in. Furthermore, I was enough. I wasn't everything, understand. But I was acceptably....enough to be used by God.
I believe it today; but I fear some of you don't. Start. The small stuff in the corner of servanthood counts. Notice it. Capitalize on it.
Does a child ever approach you to buy a product for their school or their pack? Do you not realize the purchase of that candy or that popcorn (because you are in the kingdom) is a kingdom moment? That it counts?
Has a person ever responded to the invitation song and you went down front to hug them? Do you not realize this is an essential moment of kingdom expression?
At our place we have members who bake communion bread while others fill the trays. Others carry out trash while, yet others, clean out closets. Some host showers and others have babies. All of this combined activity coupled with hundreds of other casual events make up who we are....a people highly engaged in kingdom life.
It may be unnoticed by some....but not by Him. He sees the sparrows, the hairs, and the stuff we do over in the corner which goes unnoticed!
Philip asked Jesus when he had ever seen the Father. Jesus told him he had been looking at him for several years now.
Martha was in a scurry to do kingdom stuff that mattered and Jesus responded with a compliment toward the other sister for catching on.
Rhoda was aware of prayers being offered for imprisoned Peter; yet, never recognized it was him at the gate awaiting entry.
I believe God's people get more done than they realize because the very small matters count. If God notices each sparrow, do you think He doesn't catch it when you are courteous? Merciful? Generous? Attentive?
Yes, there was a long period in my life where I wanted to be like the big people. I strove to accomplish the big stuff. Big stuff is good for the big people, but it was out of my range and I spent too many years in envy; maybe jealousy.
When it registered that God was letting me in on a huge secret that power is perfected in weakness, I began to see the entire kingdom landscape shift. I was in. Furthermore, I was enough. I wasn't everything, understand. But I was acceptably....enough to be used by God.
I believe it today; but I fear some of you don't. Start. The small stuff in the corner of servanthood counts. Notice it. Capitalize on it.
Does a child ever approach you to buy a product for their school or their pack? Do you not realize the purchase of that candy or that popcorn (because you are in the kingdom) is a kingdom moment? That it counts?
Has a person ever responded to the invitation song and you went down front to hug them? Do you not realize this is an essential moment of kingdom expression?
At our place we have members who bake communion bread while others fill the trays. Others carry out trash while, yet others, clean out closets. Some host showers and others have babies. All of this combined activity coupled with hundreds of other casual events make up who we are....a people highly engaged in kingdom life.
It may be unnoticed by some....but not by Him. He sees the sparrows, the hairs, and the stuff we do over in the corner which goes unnoticed!
WHY OFFENSIVE ELDERS WORK WELL
And...how does the title strike you? Offensively? Ah, but read the rest of the story.
I watched our four shepherds lead a class last night as they fielded questions and made remarks about the work within the flock. I enjoy watching them work.
Something occurred to me that really makes them wonderfully who they are. In turn, this trait is reflected upon the entire staff and flock. Our guys operate from offense, not defense. These guys are learners; not defenders. They are tryers; risk-takers. They are promoters; visionaries. They are empowerers; not territorialists.
I saw something definitive about them as they spoke. These four in complete unison are like children in their interest and hunger for the Word. They want to know what else! What else does God think? What else does He want? What else does He have to say? Our shepherds live wide opened to taking in God's direction. They don't live defensively afraid of what the church might think....locally or area-wide. They aren't smug, understand, but their faith is not based on what they fear. Their leadership isn't expressed with hints of trepidation.
Our elders lead out offensively. We are blessed because of it. We are really blessed. To them...they regard themselves as mere men. To us, we see them as great leaders who fear God more than our quirky comments or momentary whims.
We have very offensive elders...and we love it!
I watched our four shepherds lead a class last night as they fielded questions and made remarks about the work within the flock. I enjoy watching them work.
Something occurred to me that really makes them wonderfully who they are. In turn, this trait is reflected upon the entire staff and flock. Our guys operate from offense, not defense. These guys are learners; not defenders. They are tryers; risk-takers. They are promoters; visionaries. They are empowerers; not territorialists.
I saw something definitive about them as they spoke. These four in complete unison are like children in their interest and hunger for the Word. They want to know what else! What else does God think? What else does He want? What else does He have to say? Our shepherds live wide opened to taking in God's direction. They don't live defensively afraid of what the church might think....locally or area-wide. They aren't smug, understand, but their faith is not based on what they fear. Their leadership isn't expressed with hints of trepidation.
Our elders lead out offensively. We are blessed because of it. We are really blessed. To them...they regard themselves as mere men. To us, we see them as great leaders who fear God more than our quirky comments or momentary whims.
We have very offensive elders...and we love it!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
TESTIMONIES IN THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
Witnessing was a central part of the New Testament church. Believers traveled about giving testimony to the working of the Living God. It was a powerful trait. It is needed today.
When one, anyone, shares how God has and is working, faith is built. We should encourage all of our people to give repetitive testimony as God works in our lives day by day.
If the church could hear of the wonder He commits among us, I believe we will be destined to only hear more of the glorious works He performs. Life is about God; not us. When we rehearse how He has blessed, confidence builds.
I urge you to start the ball rolling. Build the faith of others. Provide time in classes, sermons, small groups, etc. for believers to testify as to how amazing God is. May this begin a fire that consumes a doubting land as well as dying churches. May both be refreshed to the dew of His marvelous touch!
When one, anyone, shares how God has and is working, faith is built. We should encourage all of our people to give repetitive testimony as God works in our lives day by day.
If the church could hear of the wonder He commits among us, I believe we will be destined to only hear more of the glorious works He performs. Life is about God; not us. When we rehearse how He has blessed, confidence builds.
I urge you to start the ball rolling. Build the faith of others. Provide time in classes, sermons, small groups, etc. for believers to testify as to how amazing God is. May this begin a fire that consumes a doubting land as well as dying churches. May both be refreshed to the dew of His marvelous touch!
WHEN WE HAVE SO MUCH TO DO
If you are anything like me, you hunger to do more, be more, and accomplish more than possible. I want to impact the world for good for generations to come.
Such desires can cause one to feel to be merely the size of a pinhead. The world is too large. Time is too far. And, personal skill is too lacking.
Enter the Spirit of Jesus.
Read again Eph. 3:14-21. Note the lavish exaggeration of God's emphasis of His Spirit working in completely plain us. Notice His daring challenge that He can trump anything we can imagine. Because of God's wonderful involvement with simple us, we can expect marvel and mystery from our shoes.
With all you have on your plate, don't forget to believe God. The Spirit of Jesus fills his present and highly functioning body. We are a part of the plan...the big picture.
Live like it!
Such desires can cause one to feel to be merely the size of a pinhead. The world is too large. Time is too far. And, personal skill is too lacking.
Enter the Spirit of Jesus.
Read again Eph. 3:14-21. Note the lavish exaggeration of God's emphasis of His Spirit working in completely plain us. Notice His daring challenge that He can trump anything we can imagine. Because of God's wonderful involvement with simple us, we can expect marvel and mystery from our shoes.
With all you have on your plate, don't forget to believe God. The Spirit of Jesus fills his present and highly functioning body. We are a part of the plan...the big picture.
Live like it!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
IS JESUS IN THE MIX?
Today I am reminded of the importance of operating around the person, the presence and the name of Jesus. He is our life....our hope....our model....and our Savior.
I was reading a very upscale brotherhood magazine this morning with article after article emphasizing the church; its pattern and its evangelistic call. Jesus---his story and his pattern---are missing. It made/makes me sad. At first it made me sad for the effort which this magazine surely multiplies without firm reference to him. And then it made me sad at wondering just how much of my life and ministry revolve around the minors instead of the majors; the ministry gnats instead of the life-giving Christ.
We are so prone to serve from the flesh. The church leans toward being its most intensely attentive during a church fight than over drawing the poor to the Master. The Bible and the Pattern and the "way to do church" has long overridden the essential basic of loving the Son of God. He has become a mere passenger in our great cargo of Bible knowledge and doctrinal core which we both promote and protect.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Not the church's organization. Not the church's leaders. Not the depth of knowing Greek meanings. Jesus the man; he is the way, the truth, and the life.
For me, I will do well to continue to reach for him more than I reach for approval among men. He knows stuff. He does stuff. He is the way, the truth, and the life. While we tend to be a people committed to the right church I would encourage us that in order to truly be right we must be a people growing in love with Jesus who is building his church.
In all we do...Jesus must be in the mix for he is the main thing.
I was reading a very upscale brotherhood magazine this morning with article after article emphasizing the church; its pattern and its evangelistic call. Jesus---his story and his pattern---are missing. It made/makes me sad. At first it made me sad for the effort which this magazine surely multiplies without firm reference to him. And then it made me sad at wondering just how much of my life and ministry revolve around the minors instead of the majors; the ministry gnats instead of the life-giving Christ.
We are so prone to serve from the flesh. The church leans toward being its most intensely attentive during a church fight than over drawing the poor to the Master. The Bible and the Pattern and the "way to do church" has long overridden the essential basic of loving the Son of God. He has become a mere passenger in our great cargo of Bible knowledge and doctrinal core which we both promote and protect.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Not the church's organization. Not the church's leaders. Not the depth of knowing Greek meanings. Jesus the man; he is the way, the truth, and the life.
For me, I will do well to continue to reach for him more than I reach for approval among men. He knows stuff. He does stuff. He is the way, the truth, and the life. While we tend to be a people committed to the right church I would encourage us that in order to truly be right we must be a people growing in love with Jesus who is building his church.
In all we do...Jesus must be in the mix for he is the main thing.
JUST A MONEY MANAGEMENT IDEA
I know how it is trying to make the month and the money match; especially if you have children still at home. I developed a simple idea when my kids were small. It occurs to me some of you might like the idea.
Let's say for easy calculation's sake you give $100 per week to the church. The annual amount would then come to $5200. I determined I needed to hit seven weeks where I didn't give a check to the church. Seven from fifty-two leaves forty-five weeks of check writing. But I still want to remain faithful to the $5200 commitment. I divided $5200 by 45 (weeks) and the amount I would write my check for each of those weeks would be $115.55.
By raising my contribution $15.55 each of those forty-five weeks I would have seven FREE SPACE weeks. Four of those would be applied to the four times car insurance came due. The other three would be applied family vacations.
I've done this now for about 30 years and all I can say is...it works for me!
Let's say for easy calculation's sake you give $100 per week to the church. The annual amount would then come to $5200. I determined I needed to hit seven weeks where I didn't give a check to the church. Seven from fifty-two leaves forty-five weeks of check writing. But I still want to remain faithful to the $5200 commitment. I divided $5200 by 45 (weeks) and the amount I would write my check for each of those weeks would be $115.55.
By raising my contribution $15.55 each of those forty-five weeks I would have seven FREE SPACE weeks. Four of those would be applied to the four times car insurance came due. The other three would be applied family vacations.
I've done this now for about 30 years and all I can say is...it works for me!
Monday, April 26, 2010
TAKE THE BACK SEAT IN KINGDOM VENTURES
Ambition runs high among many of us for life in the church. We yearn to see it grow. Marvelous ideals bid for the "main thing" in the work of the Lord. We want in on it....and we often believe if others could only see church life the way we see it, the church would be far better off.
That would be one of our first mistakes.
The longer I am in the body of Christ the more I believe we strand ourselves on the island of independence and self-provision. Our understanding is terribly and radically disoriented. We have made effort to reduce the Living God to a Manageable Manager. Too, a Golden Calf of pet doctrines has submarined our effectiveness by trusting our heritage more than our Bibles.
I don't speak in terms of you or they....but of we. I'm one of the major violators of good church approach. Yet, I am highly encouraged at what I get to experience among so many. The kingdom is properly expanding and growing. As usual, such is because of the working of God. Our work is to believe Him (John 6:29).
We will always be challenged to yield, to listen, to plan to grow in Christ and his church for we are but very small humanilistically as well as visionally. When I take the back seat in kingdom ventures, it seems the church vehicle travels farther.
That would be one of our first mistakes.
The longer I am in the body of Christ the more I believe we strand ourselves on the island of independence and self-provision. Our understanding is terribly and radically disoriented. We have made effort to reduce the Living God to a Manageable Manager. Too, a Golden Calf of pet doctrines has submarined our effectiveness by trusting our heritage more than our Bibles.
I don't speak in terms of you or they....but of we. I'm one of the major violators of good church approach. Yet, I am highly encouraged at what I get to experience among so many. The kingdom is properly expanding and growing. As usual, such is because of the working of God. Our work is to believe Him (John 6:29).
We will always be challenged to yield, to listen, to plan to grow in Christ and his church for we are but very small humanilistically as well as visionally. When I take the back seat in kingdom ventures, it seems the church vehicle travels farther.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
THIS IS MY FOURTH TRY TODAY
I've now written three blog posts this morning with nothing to show for it. I wrote one at the office only to have it melt away when I hit "publish post". I wrote a second...different topic....hit "publish post" and it too melted before my eyes.
I dropped the effort.
Later I came home to try from this computer and had a terrific post going about God being the Holy Houdini. I could hardly believe it, but as I was wrapping it up a window popped up to tell me windows would be shutting down and restarting...without my permission.
Sooooo....this post says nothing. NOTHING! I merely want to see if it will make it as a survivor when I hit "you-know-what".
I dropped the effort.
Later I came home to try from this computer and had a terrific post going about God being the Holy Houdini. I could hardly believe it, but as I was wrapping it up a window popped up to tell me windows would be shutting down and restarting...without my permission.
Sooooo....this post says nothing. NOTHING! I merely want to see if it will make it as a survivor when I hit "you-know-what".
Friday, April 23, 2010
PRECIOUS MOMENTS
I have had a few ask about what to say when with one near death. This is an interesting moment that I have too often let slip by without attention. I have wondered, though, if our combined efforts to keep everything "light" among those of us visiting simultaneously in the room of the patient has left them rather "stranded" from the real matters at hand.
By that I mean I have wondered if the dying wish we would address this topic in order to help them make the transition; but instead we avoid the subject fearing they will pick up we will think they are dying. They might know they are approaching the end and may need us to drop the small-talk. What do you think?
With my friend last week, here's what I gaged. I thought he was near death. I wanted to approach the subject. I simply ask him if he was dying. His response would either cause me to laugh off such a silly question (should he laugh at me) if he didn't think he was or I would know to follow the theme.
His response was an immediate "yes". I asked if he was afraid. "No." Then I shared with him how this process would probably go down.
I reminded him of the 23rd Psalm where the victim was sitting at a picnic table highly and comfortably enjoying a feast spread before him. Threats from enemies were all around and yet the one feasting was oblivious to all. He simply was having a picnic.
That's the way it is for a believer's death. The Shepherd is so aware of us that perfect security shields us at death. We can be at extreme peace as if at a banquet; oblivious to all threats and fears. His provision is so exacting in comfort that death does not have the fangs to wage war. It will not distract us from continual living! We simply slip through without concern how to work it, how to manage it, or how to approach it. The Shepherd deals with all of it and ours is wonderfully a role of enjoyment.
When you don't know what to say to a dear one dying, maybe this will give you a concept to develop.
Blessings as you encounter these very precious moments.
By that I mean I have wondered if the dying wish we would address this topic in order to help them make the transition; but instead we avoid the subject fearing they will pick up we will think they are dying. They might know they are approaching the end and may need us to drop the small-talk. What do you think?
With my friend last week, here's what I gaged. I thought he was near death. I wanted to approach the subject. I simply ask him if he was dying. His response would either cause me to laugh off such a silly question (should he laugh at me) if he didn't think he was or I would know to follow the theme.
His response was an immediate "yes". I asked if he was afraid. "No." Then I shared with him how this process would probably go down.
I reminded him of the 23rd Psalm where the victim was sitting at a picnic table highly and comfortably enjoying a feast spread before him. Threats from enemies were all around and yet the one feasting was oblivious to all. He simply was having a picnic.
That's the way it is for a believer's death. The Shepherd is so aware of us that perfect security shields us at death. We can be at extreme peace as if at a banquet; oblivious to all threats and fears. His provision is so exacting in comfort that death does not have the fangs to wage war. It will not distract us from continual living! We simply slip through without concern how to work it, how to manage it, or how to approach it. The Shepherd deals with all of it and ours is wonderfully a role of enjoyment.
When you don't know what to say to a dear one dying, maybe this will give you a concept to develop.
Blessings as you encounter these very precious moments.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
WONDER-FULL YOU
Let me set the stage. I don't mean to sound critical for I really don't feel such. I do want to point out that it is possible we are missing the point in living. We are not aware of the wonder of now...in each other.
How strange to live in a world that picks at us day in and day out. How much can one take of being informed of our most minute failures? Yet, this is what neighbor to neighbor tends to do...as a way of life.
In the church it is often the same. The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way.
We are forming our own suffocation of life by failing to build upon the wonder of each other. Yes, we are all freaky and flawed to some degree. But have you ever noticed all of the goodness in all of the people? It is a remarkable, and often untold, story.
This is our calling. Awaken to your calling. We must learn to verbalize the good stuff about us. We all have it. We appear prideful to point out our own good qualities. But we are so appropriately acceptable to point out the greatness of others. That's our job. Give our lives for others....and life will come back to us!
Awaken to the wonder of you by pouring out your applause to others. And when you encounter one not so applaudable? Look deeper. Look deeply into their world for applause-worthiness is surely there....as it is about yourself. May others have the motivation to look deeper into you and awaken....to the wonder in you.
Do you know why? Because you really are wonder-full!
How strange to live in a world that picks at us day in and day out. How much can one take of being informed of our most minute failures? Yet, this is what neighbor to neighbor tends to do...as a way of life.
In the church it is often the same. The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way.
We are forming our own suffocation of life by failing to build upon the wonder of each other. Yes, we are all freaky and flawed to some degree. But have you ever noticed all of the goodness in all of the people? It is a remarkable, and often untold, story.
This is our calling. Awaken to your calling. We must learn to verbalize the good stuff about us. We all have it. We appear prideful to point out our own good qualities. But we are so appropriately acceptable to point out the greatness of others. That's our job. Give our lives for others....and life will come back to us!
Awaken to the wonder of you by pouring out your applause to others. And when you encounter one not so applaudable? Look deeper. Look deeply into their world for applause-worthiness is surely there....as it is about yourself. May others have the motivation to look deeper into you and awaken....to the wonder in you.
Do you know why? Because you really are wonder-full!
Monday, April 19, 2010
GOD'S STYLE....SO FASCINATING AT SO MANY TURNS
I am experiencing that terrible and wonderful mixture humans possess in enduring the death of a friend. My closest friend in college...my roommate who shared outrageous laughter...died of cancer Sunday. He had been battling this disease since Thanksgiving and was scheduled to return to Mayo's last Friday. However, he became ill a few days back resulting in being admitted to a local Quincy, IL hospital. The doctor's goal was to get him well enough to make his Mayo appointment.
He didn't get well and for some unknown reason, he was sent instead to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. Ah...the city of which I was headed at the same time to attend a couple of Cardinal games with one of my sons.
So I went to see my friend. He had that look that he had received a memo that none of his family or friends fathomed. I've seen that look before. He was more than ill...I could tell. I asked if the family minded if I could speak to him alone. They obliged.
My dear friend of 44 years very weakly reached for my hand and said Talk to me. We both broke out crying; neither able to speak. Then I asked if he was dying. He said he was. I asked if he was afraid. He wasn't. Then I shared with him how I thought his death would go down.
When I finished he said, Thanks. I needed someone to tell me that. Then we cried, held each other, cried much more as we shared how much we meant to the other one. It was such a heart-wrenching and moving moment. We cried so hard we were both shaking as our tears mixed while I hugged his neck. I loved my friend.
But he had the memo and he read it correctly. Unexpectedly, he turned for the exit ramp suddenly Saturday evening and passed from this life into the next early Sunday morning. I'll attend his funeral and feel sure I'll shed a few more tears. But I'll always celebrate the wonderful gift God gave us both when the doctors sent my friend south to St. Louis instead of north to Mayo's.
It was perfect timing. It was one more time just like God. He has so many ways of fascinating us. While I will miss my friend, I will never forget the day we saw God work through the telescope of our own tears.
He didn't get well and for some unknown reason, he was sent instead to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. Ah...the city of which I was headed at the same time to attend a couple of Cardinal games with one of my sons.
So I went to see my friend. He had that look that he had received a memo that none of his family or friends fathomed. I've seen that look before. He was more than ill...I could tell. I asked if the family minded if I could speak to him alone. They obliged.
My dear friend of 44 years very weakly reached for my hand and said Talk to me. We both broke out crying; neither able to speak. Then I asked if he was dying. He said he was. I asked if he was afraid. He wasn't. Then I shared with him how I thought his death would go down.
When I finished he said, Thanks. I needed someone to tell me that. Then we cried, held each other, cried much more as we shared how much we meant to the other one. It was such a heart-wrenching and moving moment. We cried so hard we were both shaking as our tears mixed while I hugged his neck. I loved my friend.
But he had the memo and he read it correctly. Unexpectedly, he turned for the exit ramp suddenly Saturday evening and passed from this life into the next early Sunday morning. I'll attend his funeral and feel sure I'll shed a few more tears. But I'll always celebrate the wonderful gift God gave us both when the doctors sent my friend south to St. Louis instead of north to Mayo's.
It was perfect timing. It was one more time just like God. He has so many ways of fascinating us. While I will miss my friend, I will never forget the day we saw God work through the telescope of our own tears.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
OUR ORANGE BARREL PRIVILEGE
I'm crazy about road construction! If ever passing through Tulsa, welcome to the land of orange barrels! We've got 'em and we're obviously proud of 'em!
Yes, I know road construction is a hassle, interruption, and a pain. But what hope!
Other than city streets being torn up en route to whatever part of Tulsa you would wish to travel, the I-44 centerpiece is in huge disarray as it is being widened from 41st St. to the river. Yippee!
You should see the mess. Bridges are going down that bridges can go up. Buildings are coming down right, left, and center. Temporary roads divert irritable drivers (that would me many of us) while big machinery crawls up one hill and down another slope. How fabulous!
Why the sheer enthusiasm? For what all of this will one day be.....brand new and beautiful!
So don't get discouraged with all of your orange barrel friends or your orange barrel life. It is under huge construction for God is building something new. He isn't adding a skill or taking away a flaw. He is starting over and widening your capacity to live brand new and beautiful!
Don't be discouraged. The street that passes by our church is full of ragged potholes and deep ruts. If I'm sad about that street it is because it has been left to deteriorate without attention. The day the orange barrels go up will be the day I will shout with joy. Finally orange barrel life will come to my street!
You have an orange barrel moment? Don't fight it. Don't wait until the project is completed to get happy. Love it right now! New life is definitely in the process. You are one of the lucky ones!
Yes, I know road construction is a hassle, interruption, and a pain. But what hope!
Other than city streets being torn up en route to whatever part of Tulsa you would wish to travel, the I-44 centerpiece is in huge disarray as it is being widened from 41st St. to the river. Yippee!
You should see the mess. Bridges are going down that bridges can go up. Buildings are coming down right, left, and center. Temporary roads divert irritable drivers (that would me many of us) while big machinery crawls up one hill and down another slope. How fabulous!
Why the sheer enthusiasm? For what all of this will one day be.....brand new and beautiful!
So don't get discouraged with all of your orange barrel friends or your orange barrel life. It is under huge construction for God is building something new. He isn't adding a skill or taking away a flaw. He is starting over and widening your capacity to live brand new and beautiful!
Don't be discouraged. The street that passes by our church is full of ragged potholes and deep ruts. If I'm sad about that street it is because it has been left to deteriorate without attention. The day the orange barrels go up will be the day I will shout with joy. Finally orange barrel life will come to my street!
You have an orange barrel moment? Don't fight it. Don't wait until the project is completed to get happy. Love it right now! New life is definitely in the process. You are one of the lucky ones!
Friday, April 16, 2010
TO POWER OR NOT TO POWER
The movement from power through strength to power through powerlessness is our call.
Henri Nouwen
No matter how much we consider this truth, we tend to first assume the opposite is what will work. It won't. The great secret of getting to work with God in His lush vineyard is to keep hammering away at the fact our call is gaining momentum when our calculation and organization dips in understanding.
I spent some time with one of my best friends ever yesterday in a St. Louis hospital. He is dying of cancer unless God should reverse the trend. We sat alone and cried like children over our deep friendship of 46 years. We talked openly about the walk through death. I left exhausted and privileged. What a conversation...a rich moment with one so dear.
Our call is powerlessness. Exhaustion would fit such a scheme. Perplexity would, too. Yet, there is something God has always told us in both Old and New Testaments; He will do the work if we will trust Him. Ask fatherless Abram, dinky David, or troops director Gideon. Their call was powerlessness.
Don't give up on God. I believe many of you get bumped, attacked, and injured. The world of darkness beats upon you. Insults are a vital part of our walk. If not for the negatives we might begin to believe we run the schemes of the vineyard....not.
Hold on. You are enough. Your work is glorious....because your God is chomping at the bit to be called upon for action!
Henri Nouwen
No matter how much we consider this truth, we tend to first assume the opposite is what will work. It won't. The great secret of getting to work with God in His lush vineyard is to keep hammering away at the fact our call is gaining momentum when our calculation and organization dips in understanding.
I spent some time with one of my best friends ever yesterday in a St. Louis hospital. He is dying of cancer unless God should reverse the trend. We sat alone and cried like children over our deep friendship of 46 years. We talked openly about the walk through death. I left exhausted and privileged. What a conversation...a rich moment with one so dear.
Our call is powerlessness. Exhaustion would fit such a scheme. Perplexity would, too. Yet, there is something God has always told us in both Old and New Testaments; He will do the work if we will trust Him. Ask fatherless Abram, dinky David, or troops director Gideon. Their call was powerlessness.
Don't give up on God. I believe many of you get bumped, attacked, and injured. The world of darkness beats upon you. Insults are a vital part of our walk. If not for the negatives we might begin to believe we run the schemes of the vineyard....not.
Hold on. You are enough. Your work is glorious....because your God is chomping at the bit to be called upon for action!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
I SEEK YOUR IDEAS
We are in Workshop 2011 mode! I have been working on it since the conclusion of the March 2009 event. I love it. I love thinking about it, dreaming about it, wondering about it, and planning it. But I could use some help and you just might have some innovative ideas.
One of the things I believe needs attention is its PR. We aren't getting the word out. I've already begun to pick the brains of John Dobbs, Trey Morgan, and Matt Dabbs regarding this need.
What do you believe would be good move as far as promoting/advertising the Tulsa Workshop? We put ads in the Christian Chronicle, send out several email blasts to those who have registered, and a blog (mine and some of yours) here and there will discuss it. What great ideas might you possess that would go beyond that small box?
I believe some of you are promotional gurus. I don't want to waste your brain-power by letting it sit idle when it could put out incredible new concepts. Let's hear them. Would you email me at trush@memorialdrive.org with your ideas? I think we can do a better job than we have been doing; but I think it will begin by hearing from some of you.
One of the things I believe needs attention is its PR. We aren't getting the word out. I've already begun to pick the brains of John Dobbs, Trey Morgan, and Matt Dabbs regarding this need.
What do you believe would be good move as far as promoting/advertising the Tulsa Workshop? We put ads in the Christian Chronicle, send out several email blasts to those who have registered, and a blog (mine and some of yours) here and there will discuss it. What great ideas might you possess that would go beyond that small box?
I believe some of you are promotional gurus. I don't want to waste your brain-power by letting it sit idle when it could put out incredible new concepts. Let's hear them. Would you email me at trush@memorialdrive.org with your ideas? I think we can do a better job than we have been doing; but I think it will begin by hearing from some of you.
THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT: ROCK OR SAND?
Could I share something with you which seems to be important to each reader's heart? Could we talk about the church for a bit? I don't wish to raise the ire of any. I do hope to share an idea which would continue fervent hope in the Church of Christ for it is His glory.
When I began my journey with us I was completely enthralled with the Restoration Movement concepts. What a grand move to take all who would follow back to the words of the Word. Too simple.
While the concepts remained as powerful as ever, it wasn't long until it became apparent the Restoration Movement had become footings of sand. Yet, the Word insists we build upon the rock. There is an immediate glitch in the RM system. Do we believe Jesus is still building his church or do we believe he built it, completed it, it was lost, and now we are restoring it? One goes forward. The other looks back. One is built on the rock; the other on sand.
The Restoration Movement began with great hope. But as anything with the hands of man involved in formation, it became the goal of many to keep the Golden Calf of the Church of Christ living by restoring the Restoration Movement. At that point we slipped. The Word was overridden by hammerings of the loudest debaters.
Soon the efforts to restore the New Testament church were side-swiped by the sandy footings of personality agendas. Clarions imposed the message to look back as in putting our hands to the plow. Wrong direction says the builder of the New Testament church. He would have us lift our eyes to mystery and possibility...all based on the teachings of the rock-solid Word.
The church has suffered over time for many reasons. Guys like me do a lot of damage in the process of growing up. Strong signals of hope are arising day by day and year by year. Those marks will always be when believers untangle themselves from a movement and grow closer to the Man.
There is a lot of good about us and with us. None of it can be credited to what we have organized or structured. Our entire hope remains in the remaining builder of the church....Jesus the Lamb.
If your commitment is to restore the Restoration Movement then at a least three things might be present:
One is Rock. The other is sand.
When I began my journey with us I was completely enthralled with the Restoration Movement concepts. What a grand move to take all who would follow back to the words of the Word. Too simple.
While the concepts remained as powerful as ever, it wasn't long until it became apparent the Restoration Movement had become footings of sand. Yet, the Word insists we build upon the rock. There is an immediate glitch in the RM system. Do we believe Jesus is still building his church or do we believe he built it, completed it, it was lost, and now we are restoring it? One goes forward. The other looks back. One is built on the rock; the other on sand.
The Restoration Movement began with great hope. But as anything with the hands of man involved in formation, it became the goal of many to keep the Golden Calf of the Church of Christ living by restoring the Restoration Movement. At that point we slipped. The Word was overridden by hammerings of the loudest debaters.
Soon the efforts to restore the New Testament church were side-swiped by the sandy footings of personality agendas. Clarions imposed the message to look back as in putting our hands to the plow. Wrong direction says the builder of the New Testament church. He would have us lift our eyes to mystery and possibility...all based on the teachings of the rock-solid Word.
The church has suffered over time for many reasons. Guys like me do a lot of damage in the process of growing up. Strong signals of hope are arising day by day and year by year. Those marks will always be when believers untangle themselves from a movement and grow closer to the Man.
There is a lot of good about us and with us. None of it can be credited to what we have organized or structured. Our entire hope remains in the remaining builder of the church....Jesus the Lamb.
If your commitment is to restore the Restoration Movement then at a least three things might be present:
- You find yourself easily irritated ( I did).
- You can't prove your faith from the Bible nearly as well as you have convinced yourself you can ( I couldn't).
- You don't pray much (I didn't).
- You love people better than you once did.
- You see your own flaws as more glaring than anyone else because you compare yourself to Jesus.
- You no longer live in constant fear and resentment.
One is Rock. The other is sand.
Monday, April 12, 2010
GOOD NEWS ALL AROUND US
We have to be careful that we not get distracted from the Red Sea moments of God going on about us day after day. Marvel and mystery move among us like air waves. Wonder and awe are vital mainstays of the church today; so much so we can't begin to notice but only a small part of them.
Are you aware of blood cells oxygenating while corpuscles expand or contract? Do you sense the cleansing power of atoms and molecules racing through your body and equilibrium partners with muscle tissue; all assisting in making your maneuvers for lunch schedules more accommodating? I didn't think so.
So it is in the body of Christ. Much is going on while we see a few of the external moments. By faith we believe the massive cooperation of body elements which pull off amazing works of wonder.
Sunday morning our David Combs (new Community Outreach Minister) did his solo flight as he preached his first sermon since being added to our staff. Yahoo! What a terrific...stupendous...magnificent message he delivered! It was thrilling.
All he did was tell about God working in so many people at Memorial. He filled his delivery with testimony of God working in so many places in so many people with so many servants. The good news is that when he got done he had only begun to tell about our God among us.
That is precisely the way it is where you live. You think you see what's going on because you can add the number attending or count the dollars in the plate. But oh how far that misses the mark.
The casual greetings of acceptance, the dollars handed to the needy day after day, the deliveries of furniture to others, the food distributed...hasn't even approached the notes written and the phone calls made....hasn't begun to take into the consideration the laundry done for others and the rides to the doctors...hasn't yet noticed the time spent by hundreds in prayer who've never met one another...and on and on the stories go of God working.
Good news is all around us....God is alive, active, and sharp as ever! Take it in....and then rejoice a lot!
Are you aware of blood cells oxygenating while corpuscles expand or contract? Do you sense the cleansing power of atoms and molecules racing through your body and equilibrium partners with muscle tissue; all assisting in making your maneuvers for lunch schedules more accommodating? I didn't think so.
So it is in the body of Christ. Much is going on while we see a few of the external moments. By faith we believe the massive cooperation of body elements which pull off amazing works of wonder.
Sunday morning our David Combs (new Community Outreach Minister) did his solo flight as he preached his first sermon since being added to our staff. Yahoo! What a terrific...stupendous...magnificent message he delivered! It was thrilling.
All he did was tell about God working in so many people at Memorial. He filled his delivery with testimony of God working in so many places in so many people with so many servants. The good news is that when he got done he had only begun to tell about our God among us.
That is precisely the way it is where you live. You think you see what's going on because you can add the number attending or count the dollars in the plate. But oh how far that misses the mark.
The casual greetings of acceptance, the dollars handed to the needy day after day, the deliveries of furniture to others, the food distributed...hasn't even approached the notes written and the phone calls made....hasn't begun to take into the consideration the laundry done for others and the rides to the doctors...hasn't yet noticed the time spent by hundreds in prayer who've never met one another...and on and on the stories go of God working.
Good news is all around us....God is alive, active, and sharp as ever! Take it in....and then rejoice a lot!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE PERSON IN YOUR CHURCH
If you had three wishes from the Magic Genie...well let's say just one big one...and you could change one person in your congregation, who would it be? Would it be the preacher? One elder? Two? A song leader? An old bitty whose pointy finger delightfully wags in your face? You have one moment of magic to spend. Who would you change for the good of the church?
I have good news for you. You have that power. I have bad news for you. There isn't anyone to be on your list higher than you.
Ah, say it ain't so!
Ah, it is.
Therefore you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. And do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:1-4)
God sees something flawed about each of us that we don't. Others do. It is clear to all. But never to self. We just can't see it.
When we complain we are guilty of that which we complain...in some form. How many of the shepherds believe their problem is the preacher? How many preachers believe it is an elder? How many members believe it is both?
We just don't get it. No one in our circle misses the mark of the principles of God like self does. Period.
Congregations will begin to shift for the healthier once the blame-game closes its casino. The world keeps driving by us and they don't care about our miffs and beefs. And we.....we have majored in minors for so long we have renamed minors as majors. No to be.
I know. I lived as the preacher for years believing it was others who needed to make severe adjustment. While I may have been on target that some needed to change, I was clueless as to my own frailty as well as failing grades. No one needed to grow up as badly as me. No one.
I now believe a secret to Paul's effectiveness was he continually worked from the premise that he was the chiefest of sinners. Paul never met me. I'm a chiefer sinner than Paul. From this base we have the gratitude of goodness and the thrill of glory for we see ourselves as nothing. This truth forces us to look for Him to be all. And....He surely is.
If you are set on believing life would be better when another improves, you are beside me in just beginning the maturity in Christ process. Welcome to the surprising world of change that needs to take place in the church...and no greater location is mandatory than the blind region of self.
I have good news for you. You have that power. I have bad news for you. There isn't anyone to be on your list higher than you.
Ah, say it ain't so!
Ah, it is.
Therefore you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. And do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:1-4)
God sees something flawed about each of us that we don't. Others do. It is clear to all. But never to self. We just can't see it.
When we complain we are guilty of that which we complain...in some form. How many of the shepherds believe their problem is the preacher? How many preachers believe it is an elder? How many members believe it is both?
We just don't get it. No one in our circle misses the mark of the principles of God like self does. Period.
Congregations will begin to shift for the healthier once the blame-game closes its casino. The world keeps driving by us and they don't care about our miffs and beefs. And we.....we have majored in minors for so long we have renamed minors as majors. No to be.
I know. I lived as the preacher for years believing it was others who needed to make severe adjustment. While I may have been on target that some needed to change, I was clueless as to my own frailty as well as failing grades. No one needed to grow up as badly as me. No one.
I now believe a secret to Paul's effectiveness was he continually worked from the premise that he was the chiefest of sinners. Paul never met me. I'm a chiefer sinner than Paul. From this base we have the gratitude of goodness and the thrill of glory for we see ourselves as nothing. This truth forces us to look for Him to be all. And....He surely is.
If you are set on believing life would be better when another improves, you are beside me in just beginning the maturity in Christ process. Welcome to the surprising world of change that needs to take place in the church...and no greater location is mandatory than the blind region of self.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
TRY NOT TO WASTE YOUR LIFE IN ANGER AND MISERY
Bitterness is a bitter root. Frustration over people can be a daily irritant. Do your best to bypass these detrimental routes.
Living is for the living. Much of our living is lost in mentally rehearsing personal injuries and attacks. Haven't we all seen or been involved in ugly relationships? A real killer is that most get over it at the funeral.
If we can get over it at the funeral, why can't we get over it at the kitchen table? Why can't we get over it driving down the highway? Why must we waste our lives wasting our lives?
Do what you can to forgive. Mercy is a marvelous kingdom secret. It forgives when forgiveness has not been sought. We can be merciful anytime and anywhere we want. So do it.
Try not to waste your life in anger and misery. This is a self-imposed cancer to your own spirit. You don't like it. You don't need it. So....do what you can to cure yourself from such ailment. Forgive with lavish mercy. Live again!
Living is for the living. Much of our living is lost in mentally rehearsing personal injuries and attacks. Haven't we all seen or been involved in ugly relationships? A real killer is that most get over it at the funeral.
If we can get over it at the funeral, why can't we get over it at the kitchen table? Why can't we get over it driving down the highway? Why must we waste our lives wasting our lives?
Do what you can to forgive. Mercy is a marvelous kingdom secret. It forgives when forgiveness has not been sought. We can be merciful anytime and anywhere we want. So do it.
Try not to waste your life in anger and misery. This is a self-imposed cancer to your own spirit. You don't like it. You don't need it. So....do what you can to cure yourself from such ailment. Forgive with lavish mercy. Live again!
Friday, April 09, 2010
TALK AND WALK LIKE A WINNER!
As creation danced upon its newly decorated stage in the beginning of time, those who study their Bibles are pretty aware that original sin stained the spell-binding tapestry. The recipe for essential joy was shattered like a broken mirror tossing humanity into 7 trillion (eternal) years of bad luck. Such seems now to be the destiny of every individual; religious or not. Beginning in a mess, we press against the day's window to see if good fortune might be making a delivery on our street; perhaps at our door?
Hold up!
News better than winning the lottery is here! Mankind did not begin with original sin but with original glory. We were created in, with, and for extravagant beauty. All were ideal.
John Eldredge wrote, I daresay we've heard a bit about original sin, but not nearly enough about original glory, which comes before sin and is deeper to our nature. We were crowned with glory and honor. Why does a woman long to be beautiful? Why does a man hope to be found brave? Because we remember, if only faintly, that we were once more than we are now. The reason you doubt there could be a glory to your life is because that glory has been the object of a long and brutal war.
You need to be informed there is something directly wonderful about you....really. It may be buried deeply within; but it is present. There is a major power to your character (when too often we obsess over a major flaw). You possess a strength inbred from original glory. Jesus knows exactly how to shine the light on your light.
You are an original in glory. Begin to think like it, talk like it, and walk like it. You are a winner!
Hold up!
News better than winning the lottery is here! Mankind did not begin with original sin but with original glory. We were created in, with, and for extravagant beauty. All were ideal.
John Eldredge wrote, I daresay we've heard a bit about original sin, but not nearly enough about original glory, which comes before sin and is deeper to our nature. We were crowned with glory and honor. Why does a woman long to be beautiful? Why does a man hope to be found brave? Because we remember, if only faintly, that we were once more than we are now. The reason you doubt there could be a glory to your life is because that glory has been the object of a long and brutal war.
You need to be informed there is something directly wonderful about you....really. It may be buried deeply within; but it is present. There is a major power to your character (when too often we obsess over a major flaw). You possess a strength inbred from original glory. Jesus knows exactly how to shine the light on your light.
You are an original in glory. Begin to think like it, talk like it, and walk like it. You are a winner!
WHITEY-TIDY CHURCH
I guess there will always be continual debate as to church style. Conservatives and liberals, in the name of our viewpoint is most accurate, gee and haw over how the church should be and what it should believe. Meanwhile the communities continue to drive by us unaware of our existence.
After a few years on the stages and in the trenches, I toss in my opinion as to what helps us be the church Jesus is building. We must leave our padded pews and our diner lunches for the messy world of the broken-hearted....and touch them.
This is as clear and discernible distinction. Many claim to "go by the Bible". Far fewer dare traipse out into the corners of delinquency and danger to bandage the shattered hearts and minds of the neighborhood. Enemies of Jesus sit upon their pious conviction that this congregation is the best one and that one is the worst one while their best kingdom motion is to sit, sip, and contribute when the plates pass by.
Comments and opinions are abundant. Going by the Bible is forte. Yet, to actually wade into the world of a homeless person, put them into one's car (stink and all), and drive them for a meal is.....well it hasn't happened for some in the church for 40 or 50 years. There just wasn't anyone in need. But give us that sermon on the Good Samaritan and we have heard the Bible preached one more time!
Jesus isn't establishing a whitey-tidy church. All congregations and all believers will find the real world of God's kingdom open when our comparative evaluation of religion diminishes and exercise of feeding, clothing, and housing the poor escalates.
Wanna see a church come alive? Invite the poor. Sit with the poor. Love the poor. There one will find the Spirit of Christ....right where he has always been.
After a few years on the stages and in the trenches, I toss in my opinion as to what helps us be the church Jesus is building. We must leave our padded pews and our diner lunches for the messy world of the broken-hearted....and touch them.
This is as clear and discernible distinction. Many claim to "go by the Bible". Far fewer dare traipse out into the corners of delinquency and danger to bandage the shattered hearts and minds of the neighborhood. Enemies of Jesus sit upon their pious conviction that this congregation is the best one and that one is the worst one while their best kingdom motion is to sit, sip, and contribute when the plates pass by.
Comments and opinions are abundant. Going by the Bible is forte. Yet, to actually wade into the world of a homeless person, put them into one's car (stink and all), and drive them for a meal is.....well it hasn't happened for some in the church for 40 or 50 years. There just wasn't anyone in need. But give us that sermon on the Good Samaritan and we have heard the Bible preached one more time!
Jesus isn't establishing a whitey-tidy church. All congregations and all believers will find the real world of God's kingdom open when our comparative evaluation of religion diminishes and exercise of feeding, clothing, and housing the poor escalates.
Wanna see a church come alive? Invite the poor. Sit with the poor. Love the poor. There one will find the Spirit of Christ....right where he has always been.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
CAN LEADERS BE LONERS?
Not only can leaders be loners....we must be.
This is a stunning revelation to me; one who felt compelled to always be with people. Once again, God had to remodel my approach. Loneliness just feels so....lonely. But....
....when you watch Jesus one can't help but note the amount of time he spent alone with the Father. In the wilderness, on the sea, at the garden; time after time Jesus was alone. Why? In that zone leadership is constructed, fueled, and launched.
Calvin Miller makes an astute observation referencing leaders often are recluses. Are they not slow social mixers? Yes, all too often leaders are loners. Lincoln, it is said, walked at midnight and in his loneliness grieved American division and plotted reunion. We can see in the life of Jesus that Gethsemane was more than the garden of his passion. It was a daily principle. Jesus Himself withdrew because only as He created loneliness did His life among people have any content.
Must it always be this way? I think so. A friend of mine once said that you cannot help people if you're always with people.
Once again God strikes the reality chord which sounds out of tune to the flesh ear. Glad-handers and pep- talkers aren't leaders unless each has first spent time...significant time....alone in Spirit listening to the Father. Shallowness plagues all of us who desire to lead if our emphasis is upon popularity of the people rather than a pension for His insight.
Can leaders be loners? From experience as well as study I am convinced we can't be an effective leader without it.
This is a stunning revelation to me; one who felt compelled to always be with people. Once again, God had to remodel my approach. Loneliness just feels so....lonely. But....
....when you watch Jesus one can't help but note the amount of time he spent alone with the Father. In the wilderness, on the sea, at the garden; time after time Jesus was alone. Why? In that zone leadership is constructed, fueled, and launched.
Calvin Miller makes an astute observation referencing leaders often are recluses. Are they not slow social mixers? Yes, all too often leaders are loners. Lincoln, it is said, walked at midnight and in his loneliness grieved American division and plotted reunion. We can see in the life of Jesus that Gethsemane was more than the garden of his passion. It was a daily principle. Jesus Himself withdrew because only as He created loneliness did His life among people have any content.
Must it always be this way? I think so. A friend of mine once said that you cannot help people if you're always with people.
Once again God strikes the reality chord which sounds out of tune to the flesh ear. Glad-handers and pep- talkers aren't leaders unless each has first spent time...significant time....alone in Spirit listening to the Father. Shallowness plagues all of us who desire to lead if our emphasis is upon popularity of the people rather than a pension for His insight.
Can leaders be loners? From experience as well as study I am convinced we can't be an effective leader without it.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
ANOTHER GUEST WRITER....REGARDING THE TULSA WORKSHOP!
“Hi, my name is Trey, and I’m addicted to the Tulsa Workshop.” Wow, I’m glad I got that off my chest.
I’ve been attending the Tulsa Workshop since I was a teen, and I find it amazing that it only gets better every year. The Workshop is one of the “don’t miss” highlights of my year and here are a few reasons why …
* The speakers are top-notch. There are such a wide variety of speakers who come to challenge me, encourage me and point me in the direction of the cross. When it comes to choosing a class, there is always something for everyone. In fact, the hard part is trying to choose between 4 or 5 really good classes and speakers that are all going on at the same time. The lessons that the speakers provide give me the spiritual feast and encouragement I need.
* The worship is heavenly. Wow, it’s hard for words to describe the worship that takes place during evening sessions in the Pavilion. I love hearing thousands of people lifting their voices in praise to their Father in heaven. I often think to myself during this worship time, “Wow, if our worship can be this amazing on earth, just think how amazing it’s going to be in heaven.” I love our worship at the Workshop, and I love being led to the Father during this powerful worship.
* The fellowship is priceless. I’m amazed every year at the Workshop just how many of my old friends show up. I know that I’m going to get to spend four days hugging necks, visiting and rekindling old friendships with people that I only get to see in Tulsa. It seems that the workshop has become “the place” to gather from all over the planet for a week of fellowship with old friends, and I wouldn’t miss that for the world.
If you haven’t been to the workshop in a while, I suggest adding it to your calendar for next year. Once you do, it will quickly become a “don’t miss” highlight of your year too. Before you know it, you’ll also be confessing, “Hi, my name is ____________, and I’m addicted to the Tulsa Workshop.”
I’ve been attending the Tulsa Workshop since I was a teen, and I find it amazing that it only gets better every year. The Workshop is one of the “don’t miss” highlights of my year and here are a few reasons why …
* The speakers are top-notch. There are such a wide variety of speakers who come to challenge me, encourage me and point me in the direction of the cross. When it comes to choosing a class, there is always something for everyone. In fact, the hard part is trying to choose between 4 or 5 really good classes and speakers that are all going on at the same time. The lessons that the speakers provide give me the spiritual feast and encouragement I need.
* The worship is heavenly. Wow, it’s hard for words to describe the worship that takes place during evening sessions in the Pavilion. I love hearing thousands of people lifting their voices in praise to their Father in heaven. I often think to myself during this worship time, “Wow, if our worship can be this amazing on earth, just think how amazing it’s going to be in heaven.” I love our worship at the Workshop, and I love being led to the Father during this powerful worship.
* The fellowship is priceless. I’m amazed every year at the Workshop just how many of my old friends show up. I know that I’m going to get to spend four days hugging necks, visiting and rekindling old friendships with people that I only get to see in Tulsa. It seems that the workshop has become “the place” to gather from all over the planet for a week of fellowship with old friends, and I wouldn’t miss that for the world.
If you haven’t been to the workshop in a while, I suggest adding it to your calendar for next year. Once you do, it will quickly become a “don’t miss” highlight of your year too. Before you know it, you’ll also be confessing, “Hi, my name is ____________, and I’m addicted to the Tulsa Workshop.”
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
RESURRECTION POWER
Have you ever wondered how Lazarus felt upon his grand return? Fearful? Choking on words so fast he could not get his thoughts out? Did he talk incessantly about his experience or was he more mellow with few chosen expressions?
I think we know how he felt. We feel the same way when we get to start life over day by day. That "day by day" thing of being renewed isn't a slogan for children. It is for His grown up children.
How many times I sit with colleagues stumped by the day's stresses among us. Not only is it difficult; sometimes it seems impossible. Enter resurrection power...ours....II Cor.13:4.
Why would we need resurrection power directed toward us? Would it be because we live among the deadest and deadness of effort and exertion? Could it be we far too often run out of our own steam?
Hold on. Hang in there. Life isn't up to us. It is up to Him...Romans 9:16. The brother on the back porch was stumped by the move of the Father toward the Prodigal. No one (on the back porch) would have figured. But the Father knew about something we back porch people don't yet fathom; resurrection power.
Be highly encouraged; especially when you can't figure. God can do for us, to us, and with us what we would never dream of on our own. You are not finished...regardless of how stymied you feel about the church. Resurrection power....something we sometimes forget is at our disposal.
I think we know how he felt. We feel the same way when we get to start life over day by day. That "day by day" thing of being renewed isn't a slogan for children. It is for His grown up children.
How many times I sit with colleagues stumped by the day's stresses among us. Not only is it difficult; sometimes it seems impossible. Enter resurrection power...ours....II Cor.13:4.
Why would we need resurrection power directed toward us? Would it be because we live among the deadest and deadness of effort and exertion? Could it be we far too often run out of our own steam?
Hold on. Hang in there. Life isn't up to us. It is up to Him...Romans 9:16. The brother on the back porch was stumped by the move of the Father toward the Prodigal. No one (on the back porch) would have figured. But the Father knew about something we back porch people don't yet fathom; resurrection power.
Be highly encouraged; especially when you can't figure. God can do for us, to us, and with us what we would never dream of on our own. You are not finished...regardless of how stymied you feel about the church. Resurrection power....something we sometimes forget is at our disposal.
A GUEST WRITER--RE: THE TULSA WORKSHOP
Tulsa Workshop is epic in my spiritual journey. For over twenty years I have made my way to Tulsa for spiritual renewal, inspiration, and fellowship. Each of these years I have encouraged others to participate in this event so that they could experience what I have been enjoying for so long now.
I am certain that there so many things happening behind the scenes that I will never know. My appreciation for the workshop remains immense. It takes a financial commitment that would make the faithless shake in their boots! I do not take the Tulsa Workshop for granted.
There were some logistical changes this year that I thought were an improvement. Beginning the workshop on Wednesday and letting Friday night be the final evening assembly were great changes. The schedule was filled with godly men and women sharing great information. The worship times were energetic and uplifting. I enjoyed hearing some new voices this year. There is a generation of young intelligent articulate speakers that God is growing, and that encourages me. Those who have a little more grey in their hair (or a little less hair) are reminding me that age does not wither faith - it can make it vibrant.
Something tells me, though, that this is not the real heart of the workshop. The workshop needs those things. It's hard to talk about the workshop without talking about these elements. But there is something else that brings it all together.
There is a synergy about the collective of people brought together by such an event. Every person there wants to be there. Every Christian is on a mission to learn more about THE mission! We embrace those we know and love to see them. In unexpected conversations with 'strangers' we share ideas and information around a booth in the Expo. We end up at the dinner table with people we've just met, but with whom we will live forever. Friends introduce us to other friends. Folks we have only known in FaceBook land and Blog world are now flesh and blood! We remember those who are no longer with us. And we leave knowing that our part of God's kingdom is vibrant, alive, interested, smart, and meaningful.
Forget all this talk about the church being irrelevant. Sorry. I just spent a week with some enormously bright people on fire for God. These are the people who make good things happen in their home congregations. These are the people we wish would move to our town and populate our own congregations! These are the people who will sacrifice and give and sweat to see others come to know the Lord.
The Church of Christ is made up of some awesome people!
The surroundings, lessons, worship were great... but the people... wow. You can count on me, Lord willing, to be at Tulsa Workshop in 2011! That's a group of people with whom I always want to be associated.
John Dobbs
Monroe, LA
http://johndobbs.com/
I am certain that there so many things happening behind the scenes that I will never know. My appreciation for the workshop remains immense. It takes a financial commitment that would make the faithless shake in their boots! I do not take the Tulsa Workshop for granted.
There were some logistical changes this year that I thought were an improvement. Beginning the workshop on Wednesday and letting Friday night be the final evening assembly were great changes. The schedule was filled with godly men and women sharing great information. The worship times were energetic and uplifting. I enjoyed hearing some new voices this year. There is a generation of young intelligent articulate speakers that God is growing, and that encourages me. Those who have a little more grey in their hair (or a little less hair) are reminding me that age does not wither faith - it can make it vibrant.
Something tells me, though, that this is not the real heart of the workshop. The workshop needs those things. It's hard to talk about the workshop without talking about these elements. But there is something else that brings it all together.
There is a synergy about the collective of people brought together by such an event. Every person there wants to be there. Every Christian is on a mission to learn more about THE mission! We embrace those we know and love to see them. In unexpected conversations with 'strangers' we share ideas and information around a booth in the Expo. We end up at the dinner table with people we've just met, but with whom we will live forever. Friends introduce us to other friends. Folks we have only known in FaceBook land and Blog world are now flesh and blood! We remember those who are no longer with us. And we leave knowing that our part of God's kingdom is vibrant, alive, interested, smart, and meaningful.
Forget all this talk about the church being irrelevant. Sorry. I just spent a week with some enormously bright people on fire for God. These are the people who make good things happen in their home congregations. These are the people we wish would move to our town and populate our own congregations! These are the people who will sacrifice and give and sweat to see others come to know the Lord.
The Church of Christ is made up of some awesome people!
The surroundings, lessons, worship were great... but the people... wow. You can count on me, Lord willing, to be at Tulsa Workshop in 2011! That's a group of people with whom I always want to be associated.
John Dobbs
Monroe, LA
http://johndobbs.com/
Sunday, April 04, 2010
DID YOU THINK YESTERDAY'S QUESTION RATHER FUNNY?
I wanted to hear from two kinds of readers; those who could read the print and those who couldn't. At this writing the score is 14 to ?. The score isn't 14-0. It is 14-?. If a person can't read the blog they can't read my question to answer it.
So....I feel pretty good that 14 can read it. I am an amazing fact finder. I could take political polls, don't you think? Ah, I move ahead.
Why will so many go to church today that don't much throughout the year? I think it is a sign of the magnetism of God. Embedded in mankind is a deep faith that Jesus was and is. But why display it basically once a year?
Could it be that churches in general have veered from the Jesus path of commitment, sacrifice, and service? Have we become more of a club to see who fits and who doesn't? Could it be that those who attend irregularly don't realize it; but their spirits were built for more than attendance and they never got the message of God's real call?
While I (and a religious world of others) have been critical of the two-time-a-year attenders, it could be that our programs as well as ritualism have dulled their good senses. I just might be that the reason these masses aren't with us Sunday after Sunday is their spirits crave a deeper relationship than what churches offer. Maybe, too, they just don't know what ought to be....but feel church isn't it.
For certain, believers will come out of the woodwork this morning and I, for one, am thrilled. May they serve as a reminder that there is much faith upon our land. May we awaken to a new sobriety as to how to connect these believing hearts to authentic kingdom activity.
Happy Easter!
So....I feel pretty good that 14 can read it. I am an amazing fact finder. I could take political polls, don't you think? Ah, I move ahead.
Why will so many go to church today that don't much throughout the year? I think it is a sign of the magnetism of God. Embedded in mankind is a deep faith that Jesus was and is. But why display it basically once a year?
Could it be that churches in general have veered from the Jesus path of commitment, sacrifice, and service? Have we become more of a club to see who fits and who doesn't? Could it be that those who attend irregularly don't realize it; but their spirits were built for more than attendance and they never got the message of God's real call?
While I (and a religious world of others) have been critical of the two-time-a-year attenders, it could be that our programs as well as ritualism have dulled their good senses. I just might be that the reason these masses aren't with us Sunday after Sunday is their spirits crave a deeper relationship than what churches offer. Maybe, too, they just don't know what ought to be....but feel church isn't it.
For certain, believers will come out of the woodwork this morning and I, for one, am thrilled. May they serve as a reminder that there is much faith upon our land. May we awaken to a new sobriety as to how to connect these believing hearts to authentic kingdom activity.
Happy Easter!
Saturday, April 03, 2010
TALK TO ME
Dear reader,
I have heard from one that this new blog design leaves the article itself unreadable.
Would you do me a favor? Click on "comment" and tell me if you can or can't read the script clearly.
Thanks much,
Terry
I have heard from one that this new blog design leaves the article itself unreadable.
Would you do me a favor? Click on "comment" and tell me if you can or can't read the script clearly.
Thanks much,
Terry
Friday, April 02, 2010
FAILURE: YOURS, MINE, AND OURS
We have a very big problem. It is us!
While ambitions run high and desire to do well runs deep, we constantly bump and bruise one another.
Disappointing others, to me, is much tougher than being disappointed. Ah, and I've had so much practice.
My old life was one of pouting, not speaking, or maybe both. I was my own ferocious and unforgiving enemy. I could not drop it...I would not drop it. The rewind button was forever at my disposal so "Play the sorry tape again, Terry" would be obliged.
But forgiveness came along. Forgiveness, just in case you wondered, is an ideal fit for failure; yours, mine, and ours. It has an elasticity which is remarkably ideal. Marriages are saved by it. Churches recover with it. And, friendships survive because of it.
Forgiveness is the Jesus-word that sabatoges failure. It sinks the titanical press to refuse to drop all charges; yours, mine, and ours.
The next time you catch yourself enraptured in the process of worshipping God, be sure to thank Him for that replacement word....for you, me, and us.
While ambitions run high and desire to do well runs deep, we constantly bump and bruise one another.
Disappointing others, to me, is much tougher than being disappointed. Ah, and I've had so much practice.
My old life was one of pouting, not speaking, or maybe both. I was my own ferocious and unforgiving enemy. I could not drop it...I would not drop it. The rewind button was forever at my disposal so "Play the sorry tape again, Terry" would be obliged.
But forgiveness came along. Forgiveness, just in case you wondered, is an ideal fit for failure; yours, mine, and ours. It has an elasticity which is remarkably ideal. Marriages are saved by it. Churches recover with it. And, friendships survive because of it.
Forgiveness is the Jesus-word that sabatoges failure. It sinks the titanical press to refuse to drop all charges; yours, mine, and ours.
The next time you catch yourself enraptured in the process of worshipping God, be sure to thank Him for that replacement word....for you, me, and us.
THE ENORMOUSLY HUGE TEAM
I once worked from my Terry-island. My world was small; I'm speaking as a minister in the church. Operations consisted upon what I could see and what I had the energy to exert.
But Jesus has radically upset that old world. I've learned the hard way that others know much more than I. It has been clear that God is quite capable of working without my assistance; but I have no effort that will stand the stress of effectiveness unless He opts to be involved.
As Jesus said, so am I....without the Father I can do nothing.
The new world is so much more exciting because God can/is doing what I don't have the capacity to acknowledge. This truth has helped me to relax. I can be at ease with my own failures by stepping up with confidence for the next project without beating myself down. God runs the show. I only thought I did...and I was wrong.
We are a part of an enormous team. God calls it His body. Works go on throughout all seven continents by His mercy and grace. I am wowed...simply wowed...that I get to be a part of the body that radiates light to all the world!
Good for us! Good for God! Partners...just like He said...II Corinthians 6:1.
But Jesus has radically upset that old world. I've learned the hard way that others know much more than I. It has been clear that God is quite capable of working without my assistance; but I have no effort that will stand the stress of effectiveness unless He opts to be involved.
As Jesus said, so am I....without the Father I can do nothing.
The new world is so much more exciting because God can/is doing what I don't have the capacity to acknowledge. This truth has helped me to relax. I can be at ease with my own failures by stepping up with confidence for the next project without beating myself down. God runs the show. I only thought I did...and I was wrong.
We are a part of an enormous team. God calls it His body. Works go on throughout all seven continents by His mercy and grace. I am wowed...simply wowed...that I get to be a part of the body that radiates light to all the world!
Good for us! Good for God! Partners...just like He said...II Corinthians 6:1.
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