It's been a while since my last blog but the Christmas time seems appropriate enough to do it. Honestly, I feel less like Christmas and more like Thanksgiving at the moment. Maybe it was the huge turkey diner I just had, or the fact that God has been humbling me in a most unique way lately, but I feel extremely grateful right now and I'm not sure why. I am sure though, that I dig it and I hope and pray that God keeps humbling me in the same manner.
On a side note, my life feels so scattered right now. Maybe it's because I am spending the holidays all over the place, and seeing friends and family that I'm not use to. It is possible it's just because I'm physically out of my element. Then again, it's possible that my life truly is being scattered about right now. Some things I feel are good to be scattered around, others I am desperate to hold onto.
Finally, I see the stage being set in so many areas in my life at the moment. I really feel like things are about to either blow my mind or blow up in my face. I'm not sure how I feel about it all to be honest with you.
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
What's it all for?
This is an expansion on a previous post about vision.
Proverbs 29:18a
Where there is no vision, the people perish...
Deep deep down I think the most important thing I can have as a Christian is perspective. A strong sense of perspective is both powerful and laughable at the same time. Ultimately, when compared to God our, sense of perspective is indeed laughable and it's important to realize that no matter how much we think we can see, God sees abundantly more. However, perspective is incredibly important.
Our sense of perspective dictates everything about our ministry and our lives as Christians. A narrow view will result in a very narrow response. A broad view will result in a much more open response. Which is right? It depends on the situation. If your voice reaches a narrow audience, the more targeted your perspective and view, the more directly you can speak into them. If your audience is diverse, a broad perspective will lead to an impact in a majority, but may only get you so deep before you lose your influence with individuals that have a different vision than yourself.
Put it another way. Lets pretend that everyone is represented by colors and shades. If I think red, and everyone around me thinks in reds, pinks, and burgundies, than I have a great chance to impact them, and yet we all miss out completely on everything from orange to purple.
If the people around me are completely mixed up, and I think in "rainbow", then I will have the chance to speak into many lives. But when my blue friend starts to hear about yellow and red, he will probably turn away. Likewise with all my single colored friends. Now, if I can find a few that also have similar thoughts (perspectives, visions, etc), than we can take it much much deeper.
So what the heck does any of this mean? Simply that perspective is vital to vision. When we cast vision to our team, what we are really doing is putting our ministry (or mission) into perspective. We seek to show our place in the grand picture. How big our picture is dictates how deep we can take our areas. If the "big picture" is focused (IE reach a city) than bringing in a bigger picture is counter productive. It prevents us from deepening our influence. If the picture is broad (reach the world) than a smaller perspective can choke.
Anyway, my ADD has completely taken over this blog and I have no idea where all this rainbow and vision/perspective stuff came from. The original point was that perspective is vital and at the root of all we must do. It dictates our response to vision, ministry, people, life, you name it. As such, we all should really spend time thinking about our perspective and ask God if he needs to expand or focus us.
Proverbs 29:18a
Where there is no vision, the people perish...
Deep deep down I think the most important thing I can have as a Christian is perspective. A strong sense of perspective is both powerful and laughable at the same time. Ultimately, when compared to God our, sense of perspective is indeed laughable and it's important to realize that no matter how much we think we can see, God sees abundantly more. However, perspective is incredibly important.
Our sense of perspective dictates everything about our ministry and our lives as Christians. A narrow view will result in a very narrow response. A broad view will result in a much more open response. Which is right? It depends on the situation. If your voice reaches a narrow audience, the more targeted your perspective and view, the more directly you can speak into them. If your audience is diverse, a broad perspective will lead to an impact in a majority, but may only get you so deep before you lose your influence with individuals that have a different vision than yourself.
Put it another way. Lets pretend that everyone is represented by colors and shades. If I think red, and everyone around me thinks in reds, pinks, and burgundies, than I have a great chance to impact them, and yet we all miss out completely on everything from orange to purple.
If the people around me are completely mixed up, and I think in "rainbow", then I will have the chance to speak into many lives. But when my blue friend starts to hear about yellow and red, he will probably turn away. Likewise with all my single colored friends. Now, if I can find a few that also have similar thoughts (perspectives, visions, etc), than we can take it much much deeper.
So what the heck does any of this mean? Simply that perspective is vital to vision. When we cast vision to our team, what we are really doing is putting our ministry (or mission) into perspective. We seek to show our place in the grand picture. How big our picture is dictates how deep we can take our areas. If the "big picture" is focused (IE reach a city) than bringing in a bigger picture is counter productive. It prevents us from deepening our influence. If the picture is broad (reach the world) than a smaller perspective can choke.
Anyway, my ADD has completely taken over this blog and I have no idea where all this rainbow and vision/perspective stuff came from. The original point was that perspective is vital and at the root of all we must do. It dictates our response to vision, ministry, people, life, you name it. As such, we all should really spend time thinking about our perspective and ask God if he needs to expand or focus us.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Psalm 46:10 (NLV)
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
My blog life has sucked recently. Interestingly enough, where my last hiatus was simply because I wasn't spending enough time with God (therefor I fast ran out of things to talk about) my recent blog deficiencies have been a result of busing myself for the Lord.
My job situation has been both a fantastic learning experience in strengthening my faith in the Lord, and an excellent opportunity to serve in a greater roll than I have been able in the past. I've taken on some projects for the church in both the children's and student ministries, as well as been available to poor into the lives of my peers more than ever before. Aside from being broke (and yet still having plenty of money to feed myself and pay bills, go figure) it's been a pretty awesome experience.
With that said, I notice myself swinging the other way. Instead of being too far in the city to see the forest, now I'm in danger of being too close to see the forest for the trees.
So todays blog is to remind myself and the 3 people that still read this thing that we all need to take a break every now and then and chillax for the Almighty.
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
My blog life has sucked recently. Interestingly enough, where my last hiatus was simply because I wasn't spending enough time with God (therefor I fast ran out of things to talk about) my recent blog deficiencies have been a result of busing myself for the Lord.
My job situation has been both a fantastic learning experience in strengthening my faith in the Lord, and an excellent opportunity to serve in a greater roll than I have been able in the past. I've taken on some projects for the church in both the children's and student ministries, as well as been available to poor into the lives of my peers more than ever before. Aside from being broke (and yet still having plenty of money to feed myself and pay bills, go figure) it's been a pretty awesome experience.
With that said, I notice myself swinging the other way. Instead of being too far in the city to see the forest, now I'm in danger of being too close to see the forest for the trees.
So todays blog is to remind myself and the 3 people that still read this thing that we all need to take a break every now and then and chillax for the Almighty.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
If I could...
If I could, I'd invent something that instantly told me what a person was passionate about and what their strengths were. Wouldn't that make life so much easier?
Right now I'm trying to figure out how I can identify a few people to step up into leadership positions in our High School ministry with a very limited understanding of what makes them excited every morning. I wish I had something to tell me "this person is outgoing and loves pouring into the lives of people" so I could plop them into a team leadership roll. Or find another who is "super organized and wanted to work behind the scenes" so they could help with all the planning leading up to events.
The point is, I want to find people who are passionate and plug into that. I don't know much but I do know that a ministry filled with leaders who are passionate about the areas they are in charge of has enormous potential.
Right now I'm trying to figure out how I can identify a few people to step up into leadership positions in our High School ministry with a very limited understanding of what makes them excited every morning. I wish I had something to tell me "this person is outgoing and loves pouring into the lives of people" so I could plop them into a team leadership roll. Or find another who is "super organized and wanted to work behind the scenes" so they could help with all the planning leading up to events.
The point is, I want to find people who are passionate and plug into that. I don't know much but I do know that a ministry filled with leaders who are passionate about the areas they are in charge of has enormous potential.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
One way....
Just about every really good evangelist or preacher that I've heard speak has at one point or another, invited us to test our Christianity. "God isn't scared of your questions" I remember hearing quite a few times throughout my earlier years as a Christian. I think this is a remarkably awesome concept! We should examine who we are in Christ, who Christ is, and why we believe it to be so. The problem I have, (of course I do....) is that the same people that tell you to question your faith get upset if you arrive at answers different than the ones they have.
For example, what if you were struggling with the concept that God was going to send your Muslim friend to Hell because they didn't believe in Jesus. Your friend is a phenomenal person, selfless, gives up their time and resources to help those around you, and frankly, is one of the best images of Christ in your life. You attend church one Sunday, and your (Baptist/Methodist/Lutheran/etc) preacher tells you God isn't afraid of your questions, so you start to question what really happens to your friend. Through that process, you become a sort of Universalist. You hear God tell you that He can and will reconcile your friend in His own way, a way beyond your understanding. You learn that He is in control in a way far more complex and beautiful than you had ever imagined, and you fall more in love with Him than you ever thought possible. Lets all postulate for a moment what you think would happen if you went back to that preacher and told him you were a borderline Universalist. Can you imagine that conversation in his office?! Talk about the hot seat!!
The point of all this is not to pick on Prodistant preachers (Jesus loves them and so do I!) but to illustrate that the Church is quick to tell us to explore our faith, but slow to allow us to stray beyond what is considered "acceptable Christianity".
The whole point of Christianity is to have a PERSONAL relationship with Jesus Christ. Imagine if I introduced you to a friend of mine, then scripted how you must act around him for the rest of your life. I told you what topics were OK to talk about, I told you how to dress around him, how to answer his questions, and what parts of your life you had to change so he would like you more. That isn't a personal relationship, it's a scripted play. To really engage with someone, YOU have to be the one writing the script. My personal relationship with Jesus is going to look different than yours. It has to by definition. I can no more teach you how to develop a grown up relationship with Jesus than I can script your friendships in your daily life.
So what does that look like to step out and explore? Well, for starters we need to start examining what we believe and why we believe it. We need to toss out our ideas of salvation, Hell, the trinity, Heaven, Angels, the devil, .... Jesus, all of it. We need to stop believing what the Church has taught us and start believing what God is teaching us. We need to connect with God and let Him rebuild our faith in a personal way that He and only He is capable of.
I seriously hope that anyone reading this right now is slightly offended or thinks I'm nuts. If you already agree with me than I haven't done a good enough job stating the fact that I CANT SCRIPT YOUR FAITH. This means that even what I'm saying you should question before God. With that out of the way, I hope you all see the danger in this.
What if I stop believing in Jesus?
What if I decide there is no God?
What if I find Christianity isn't right?
In short, what if this very act destroys your faith. Isn't what I'm talking about very dangerous? In truth, I can't think of anything more dangerous than questioning the very fabric of your faith and beliefs. If you desire to know God in this way, you must put your faith on the alter. We do it with our money, our relationships, our jobs, our life (salvation anyone?)...why have we never put our faith on the line for Jesus?
Please understand I don't type this lightly. I have witnessed firsthand what happens when someone questions everything and comes up short. I have seen a close friend fall from the church into a life of uncertainty and confusion. It would be so easy to encourage my friends to simply accept what is around them and blindly follow, but I just don't believe that God wants a bunch of blind sheep obeying the Church without question. I believe that God wants us to risk everything in His name and I believe that my God is sovereign enough to bless those that are willing to do so.
And now the disclaimer. (I can't tell you how much I hate doing these but words on a page are so easy to misinterpret) I think the Church is amazing and I think that Jesus loves it with all his heart!! I think that everyone needs to be taught Christianity just like a 5 year old needs to be taught lessons in school. But just like every child grows past the point of instantly believing everything an adult tells them, we too as Christians, must reach a point where the Church has carried us as far as it can and we need to step out and critically examine the world around us. At some point the Church stops being your "grown up" and starts becoming your partner in service and faith. Also, I am sure (and hope) that people reading this don't agree with me. Like I said, it is all about a personal relationship with Christ and if your path leads you to the conclusion that I'm totally bonkers, than I praise God for your journey and hope you are willing to spark those around you in a similar quest, and support then regardless of the outcome.
For example, what if you were struggling with the concept that God was going to send your Muslim friend to Hell because they didn't believe in Jesus. Your friend is a phenomenal person, selfless, gives up their time and resources to help those around you, and frankly, is one of the best images of Christ in your life. You attend church one Sunday, and your (Baptist/Methodist/Lutheran/etc) preacher tells you God isn't afraid of your questions, so you start to question what really happens to your friend. Through that process, you become a sort of Universalist. You hear God tell you that He can and will reconcile your friend in His own way, a way beyond your understanding. You learn that He is in control in a way far more complex and beautiful than you had ever imagined, and you fall more in love with Him than you ever thought possible. Lets all postulate for a moment what you think would happen if you went back to that preacher and told him you were a borderline Universalist. Can you imagine that conversation in his office?! Talk about the hot seat!!
The point of all this is not to pick on Prodistant preachers (Jesus loves them and so do I!) but to illustrate that the Church is quick to tell us to explore our faith, but slow to allow us to stray beyond what is considered "acceptable Christianity".
The whole point of Christianity is to have a PERSONAL relationship with Jesus Christ. Imagine if I introduced you to a friend of mine, then scripted how you must act around him for the rest of your life. I told you what topics were OK to talk about, I told you how to dress around him, how to answer his questions, and what parts of your life you had to change so he would like you more. That isn't a personal relationship, it's a scripted play. To really engage with someone, YOU have to be the one writing the script. My personal relationship with Jesus is going to look different than yours. It has to by definition. I can no more teach you how to develop a grown up relationship with Jesus than I can script your friendships in your daily life.
So what does that look like to step out and explore? Well, for starters we need to start examining what we believe and why we believe it. We need to toss out our ideas of salvation, Hell, the trinity, Heaven, Angels, the devil, .... Jesus, all of it. We need to stop believing what the Church has taught us and start believing what God is teaching us. We need to connect with God and let Him rebuild our faith in a personal way that He and only He is capable of.
I seriously hope that anyone reading this right now is slightly offended or thinks I'm nuts. If you already agree with me than I haven't done a good enough job stating the fact that I CANT SCRIPT YOUR FAITH. This means that even what I'm saying you should question before God. With that out of the way, I hope you all see the danger in this.
What if I stop believing in Jesus?
What if I decide there is no God?
What if I find Christianity isn't right?
In short, what if this very act destroys your faith. Isn't what I'm talking about very dangerous? In truth, I can't think of anything more dangerous than questioning the very fabric of your faith and beliefs. If you desire to know God in this way, you must put your faith on the alter. We do it with our money, our relationships, our jobs, our life (salvation anyone?)...why have we never put our faith on the line for Jesus?
Please understand I don't type this lightly. I have witnessed firsthand what happens when someone questions everything and comes up short. I have seen a close friend fall from the church into a life of uncertainty and confusion. It would be so easy to encourage my friends to simply accept what is around them and blindly follow, but I just don't believe that God wants a bunch of blind sheep obeying the Church without question. I believe that God wants us to risk everything in His name and I believe that my God is sovereign enough to bless those that are willing to do so.
And now the disclaimer. (I can't tell you how much I hate doing these but words on a page are so easy to misinterpret) I think the Church is amazing and I think that Jesus loves it with all his heart!! I think that everyone needs to be taught Christianity just like a 5 year old needs to be taught lessons in school. But just like every child grows past the point of instantly believing everything an adult tells them, we too as Christians, must reach a point where the Church has carried us as far as it can and we need to step out and critically examine the world around us. At some point the Church stops being your "grown up" and starts becoming your partner in service and faith. Also, I am sure (and hope) that people reading this don't agree with me. Like I said, it is all about a personal relationship with Christ and if your path leads you to the conclusion that I'm totally bonkers, than I praise God for your journey and hope you are willing to spark those around you in a similar quest, and support then regardless of the outcome.
Monday, November 26, 2007
The sense of depth
Perspective is such a vital component in life. Without it, we become two dimensional. Our sense of urgency and duty can become so skewed and we can waste so many resources on such frivolous things.
I'm going to keep up the world focus theme of the blog that has arisen recently and shift focus to Africa today. I remember the first time I heard about the war in Uganda via Invisible Children but it is so easy to lose sight of anything beyond our shores. There are some new videos and such up that we all need to spend some time with today and remember to put things into perspective.
Don't lose sight of the great commission. Don't lose sight of our call to help the poor and suffering. Don't lose sight of our duty as Christians and human beings to wake up and fix the world around us in a real and meaningful way. Use your resources wisely and always seek to deepen your perspective.
Now please watch the human side.
I'm going to keep up the world focus theme of the blog that has arisen recently and shift focus to Africa today. I remember the first time I heard about the war in Uganda via Invisible Children but it is so easy to lose sight of anything beyond our shores. There are some new videos and such up that we all need to spend some time with today and remember to put things into perspective.
Don't lose sight of the great commission. Don't lose sight of our call to help the poor and suffering. Don't lose sight of our duty as Christians and human beings to wake up and fix the world around us in a real and meaningful way. Use your resources wisely and always seek to deepen your perspective.
Now please watch the human side.
Friday, November 23, 2007
More than a feeling....
Early in my walk I couldn't shake the feeling that something didn't line up with my view of God and what the church taught me, although I couldn't say specifically what. I think the feeling was really based on the fact that many things didn't line up from my life experience and what Christianity taught me. So I started asking questions...
As a human, I seek to understand the world by defining in words things around me. Explaining things in tangible, real ways. The problem with exploring God in this way is attempting to define an infinite being in a finite language. The more I asked questions and sought to understand God by defining things, the more my existing definitions started to disappear. In the end, God ended up replacing so much of my explainable definition of who/what He was with simple feelings.
That's what God really is when you get down to it. A sentence can't even begin to define God but a feeling is a passionately emotional thing. A feeling exists in every part of your body, evoking a reaction thought out each and every part of you.
On the other side of that particular journey, God reconciled all of my problems, but I can't explain a single one in a way that makes sense or fits really. All I can say is that God has left me with feelings. I feel what God has instructed me to do, what I know he can reconcile because of his greatness, and I feel who God is. It's so much better than being able to define it!!
As a human, I seek to understand the world by defining in words things around me. Explaining things in tangible, real ways. The problem with exploring God in this way is attempting to define an infinite being in a finite language. The more I asked questions and sought to understand God by defining things, the more my existing definitions started to disappear. In the end, God ended up replacing so much of my explainable definition of who/what He was with simple feelings.
That's what God really is when you get down to it. A sentence can't even begin to define God but a feeling is a passionately emotional thing. A feeling exists in every part of your body, evoking a reaction thought out each and every part of you.
On the other side of that particular journey, God reconciled all of my problems, but I can't explain a single one in a way that makes sense or fits really. All I can say is that God has left me with feelings. I feel what God has instructed me to do, what I know he can reconcile because of his greatness, and I feel who God is. It's so much better than being able to define it!!
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