I learned a few years ago that I tend to be a very bad person to talk with. If you engage in a conversation with me in a crowded room, I am almost guaranteed to be looking all around while you're talking to me. I'm still listening to you, but my brain likes to distract me. If we are talking in my house or office, I usually try to multi-task while we're talking. Usually, I just walk away mid-sentence. I learned a few years ago to let people know I was still listening because it got awfully annoying when people stopped talking to me as I walked away.....
Then, there is the particularly unique way I listen intently to people. Usually, when I am being explained something deeply important, I stare at the ground. The only thing I can figure is that I'm starving my brain of stimulation so that it has to intensely concentrate on what I'm hearing. Kind of like whispering so that the people around you have to concentrate. I hate listening. I am not an auditory learner.
Last week Pastor Furtick pulled me on stage during the third service. I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but before I knew it I was literally a foot away from him as he was preaching. Believe me when I say that he was bringing it too!! I did the first thing that came to mind, I looked straight down and tried to focus on what he had to say. The next thing he said was "look at me!" I wish I had a picture of my face. I was probably horrified.
I was thinking about this today some more. A lot of times I feel like I'm having a conversation with God, but He isn't even looking in my direction. And, it seems the more I scream and insist He looks at me, the more His focus is elsewhere. Of course, the reality of the situation is much different. Just because He isn't responding to me in the way I expect, I think he isn't listening but that just isn't the case. God is always listening and He loves me intensely each and every day and I am grateful for it.
And Pastor Steven, I just wanted you to know how incredible it was to stand next to you as you preached the word of God. The calling on your life is a very real thing and it was a huge honor to stand in your presence during that time. I haven't looked at my Bible the same way since.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
My need
The last two days have been very heavy. I have spent 13 hours at a conference, 8 hours in conversation about changes and challenges, a few hours wrestling with my calling and God's positioning of my life, and gotten through about half of "Making Vision Stick" by Andy Stanley. I made it home around 9PM tonight, and just hung out in front of the TV for a bit to unwind. When my movie was over, I reached for the book again so that I could finish it up before going to sleep.
That's when I looked at it for a minute, and put it down. Instead, I picked up my Bible and turned to Nehemiah; because what I don't need any more of tonight is another outsider to speak into me. What I need tonight is for God to move within me and for me to just listen.
That's when I looked at it for a minute, and put it down. Instead, I picked up my Bible and turned to Nehemiah; because what I don't need any more of tonight is another outsider to speak into me. What I need tonight is for God to move within me and for me to just listen.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Beyond Limits (part 3)
Please read Beyond Limits part 1 & part 2 before this or it probably won't make much sense.
In part 1 we talked about the difference between a limitless God and the limitations of humans. Part 2 talked about the comparison we often make between ourselves and others, when the only one that matters is the comparison between us and God. For part three, we're going to talk briefly about capacity.
Let's forgo the numbers for a moment and use water as an analogy. We'll call God all the oceans in the world since it is a fairly large concept (even though God in infinitely larger). Let's say that we, as creatures with limits, have containers that vary in size from cups to swimming pools. Still with me? Ok, I'm holding a cup of water. In that cup are all my issues, all my strengths, all my abilities and problems. If I were to take that cup to the beach and pour it into the ocean, how much bigger would the ocean get? Even if every molecule of H2O spread out, would the ocean even rise one molecule? For all real purposes, the ocean would be totally unaffected. Imagine the same scenario with a swimming pool. Would all the molecules spread all over the globe and raise the oceans? Most likely not.
So then why do we hesitate sometimes to bring our issues to God? Other people can only handle us to a certain extent. Enough cups of water and you'll fill a swimming pool. Get two people together with cups and they are very limited in what they can take from us. But if you see God as an infinite ocean that can always take everything we put on Him, maybe we'll be more likely to turn to Him right away instead of hesitating. He'll never fill up. He can always take everything from us and be ready for more.
Now, reverse the scenario. How much smaller does the ocean get if you take out a cup of water? The coolest thing about God having infinite capacity is that He has infinite supply. He can fill my cup, your swimming pool, and everyone else's and still be just as infinitely huge as ever. Moreover, I can only pour so much of myself into other people (look at part 2 for why we need to pour into others) before my cup is empty. God, can pour enough into my cup that it overflows and I can never run out. Through God, I can tap into an infinite supply and pour into others with more to spare. He will never run out, and will never reach a limit. We need to connect to that source and trust in it.
In part 1 we talked about the difference between a limitless God and the limitations of humans. Part 2 talked about the comparison we often make between ourselves and others, when the only one that matters is the comparison between us and God. For part three, we're going to talk briefly about capacity.
Let's forgo the numbers for a moment and use water as an analogy. We'll call God all the oceans in the world since it is a fairly large concept (even though God in infinitely larger). Let's say that we, as creatures with limits, have containers that vary in size from cups to swimming pools. Still with me? Ok, I'm holding a cup of water. In that cup are all my issues, all my strengths, all my abilities and problems. If I were to take that cup to the beach and pour it into the ocean, how much bigger would the ocean get? Even if every molecule of H2O spread out, would the ocean even rise one molecule? For all real purposes, the ocean would be totally unaffected. Imagine the same scenario with a swimming pool. Would all the molecules spread all over the globe and raise the oceans? Most likely not.
So then why do we hesitate sometimes to bring our issues to God? Other people can only handle us to a certain extent. Enough cups of water and you'll fill a swimming pool. Get two people together with cups and they are very limited in what they can take from us. But if you see God as an infinite ocean that can always take everything we put on Him, maybe we'll be more likely to turn to Him right away instead of hesitating. He'll never fill up. He can always take everything from us and be ready for more.
Now, reverse the scenario. How much smaller does the ocean get if you take out a cup of water? The coolest thing about God having infinite capacity is that He has infinite supply. He can fill my cup, your swimming pool, and everyone else's and still be just as infinitely huge as ever. Moreover, I can only pour so much of myself into other people (look at part 2 for why we need to pour into others) before my cup is empty. God, can pour enough into my cup that it overflows and I can never run out. Through God, I can tap into an infinite supply and pour into others with more to spare. He will never run out, and will never reach a limit. We need to connect to that source and trust in it.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Beyond Limits (part 2)
Sorry for the delay. Bonfires, race cars, church, and everything in between seemed to get in the way.
This is a continuation of Beyond Limits (part 1)
So the cool thing about finite creatures and infinite God is the amount of metaphors that come from this. We already saw briefly how impossibly small we are compared to God. Billy Graham may be 10 trillion, and I may only be 50, but when compared to an infinite God, we are both impossibly small.
So why then do some of us spend our lives trying to grow in knowledge? Well, there are things that knowledge is good for. For starters, as finite creatures with a limited capacity, knowledge helps us to understand God within the capacity of our own selves and possibly our micro-universe. I say possibly because limited knowledge can be misleading if God is acting on an infinite scale in the world around us. (we'll get into this point another time) Secondly and probably most important of all, the knowledge that God blesses us with is a wonderful tool for helping those around us. If an infinite God pours bits of himself into us, we are then able to touch those around us with a piece of infinite resources. We'll go deeper with this topic in part 3.
Unfortunately, some of us pursue knowledge for wrong reasons. If we seek to learn more about God just to be smarter, what is the point? If I spend my whole life growing from a 50, to 10 trillion, how far away am I still from true knowledge? You guessed it, still infinity. I can spend my whole life learning, seeking, and growing, but at the end of my life, I am still impossibly far away from the truth. My life has been spent chasing an impossible task. I can never know the answers. I might know some of them, but in the end I would be like a little boy trying to scoop up handfuls of sand so that I can carry the whole beach.
Seek knowledge so that you can grow closer to God. I pray that He will reveal the parts of himself that we need most to accomplish our tasks in this life. I pray that he will use us and our capacity to make a difference and that we will spend our lives impacting those around us.
This is a continuation of Beyond Limits (part 1)
So the cool thing about finite creatures and infinite God is the amount of metaphors that come from this. We already saw briefly how impossibly small we are compared to God. Billy Graham may be 10 trillion, and I may only be 50, but when compared to an infinite God, we are both impossibly small.
So why then do some of us spend our lives trying to grow in knowledge? Well, there are things that knowledge is good for. For starters, as finite creatures with a limited capacity, knowledge helps us to understand God within the capacity of our own selves and possibly our micro-universe. I say possibly because limited knowledge can be misleading if God is acting on an infinite scale in the world around us. (we'll get into this point another time) Secondly and probably most important of all, the knowledge that God blesses us with is a wonderful tool for helping those around us. If an infinite God pours bits of himself into us, we are then able to touch those around us with a piece of infinite resources. We'll go deeper with this topic in part 3.
Unfortunately, some of us pursue knowledge for wrong reasons. If we seek to learn more about God just to be smarter, what is the point? If I spend my whole life growing from a 50, to 10 trillion, how far away am I still from true knowledge? You guessed it, still infinity. I can spend my whole life learning, seeking, and growing, but at the end of my life, I am still impossibly far away from the truth. My life has been spent chasing an impossible task. I can never know the answers. I might know some of them, but in the end I would be like a little boy trying to scoop up handfuls of sand so that I can carry the whole beach.
Seek knowledge so that you can grow closer to God. I pray that He will reveal the parts of himself that we need most to accomplish our tasks in this life. I pray that he will use us and our capacity to make a difference and that we will spend our lives impacting those around us.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Beyond Limits (part 1)
It's time for a math lesson.
Oh Crap! Did he just say ....... MATH!?
It's ok, you should be able to stick with this one easily enough.
Lesson 1:
What is greater, 50 or infinity?
OK, I hope you said infinity.
Lesson 2:
How much bigger is it?
Infinity times bigger right? Makes sense. If the number "50" cannot go beyond it's fixed limit, and if the number "infinity" keeps going and going and going, it makes sense that it is infinitely times bigger.
Now which is bigger, 1 million or infinity? Again, "infinity" is larger. How much larger? Infinity times larger. What about 100 trillion and infinity? Again, the same result. The fact is simply that nothing with limitations, boundaries, or definition can ever out-pace something that is infinite, without boundaries or limitations. And it doesn't matter how much bigger the number on the left is, the difference is always infinity.
It's important to realize that God is infinity. He is beyond limits, beyond definition, beyond boundaries. We, as finite creatures can never measure up by definition. We will always be impossibly small compared to an infinite God. Stay tuned for the conclusion of this point tomorrow and to see a few other neat points about this lesson.
Oh Crap! Did he just say ....... MATH!?
It's ok, you should be able to stick with this one easily enough.
Lesson 1:
What is greater, 50 or infinity?
OK, I hope you said infinity.
Lesson 2:
How much bigger is it?
Infinity times bigger right? Makes sense. If the number "50" cannot go beyond it's fixed limit, and if the number "infinity" keeps going and going and going, it makes sense that it is infinitely times bigger.
Now which is bigger, 1 million or infinity? Again, "infinity" is larger. How much larger? Infinity times larger. What about 100 trillion and infinity? Again, the same result. The fact is simply that nothing with limitations, boundaries, or definition can ever out-pace something that is infinite, without boundaries or limitations. And it doesn't matter how much bigger the number on the left is, the difference is always infinity.
It's important to realize that God is infinity. He is beyond limits, beyond definition, beyond boundaries. We, as finite creatures can never measure up by definition. We will always be impossibly small compared to an infinite God. Stay tuned for the conclusion of this point tomorrow and to see a few other neat points about this lesson.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
One concept in management is the importance of setting goals. They need to be challenging yet attainable in order to challenge us to achieve them without discouraging us from giving our best. They also need to be clear and measurable so they are understood and so we can gauge how well they have been met.
The reason we set goals in management is because of an underlying concept. We must be moving towards a goal. There needs to be a direction and it needs to be in line with the overall goals of the organization.
Once goals and directions are in place, you can examine you systems to determine how effective they are in achieving your goals.
This was all driven home for me now that I am helping out with Pulse, our high school ministry. When I came on board, we had no staff members casting vision or giving a direction for the ministry. Now that Phillip McCart our family pastor is here, we are rooting out the direction of Pulse, and we have clear goals that our ministry needs to achieve. Unfortunately, this Sunday it was very evident that our current volunteer system is not accomplishing that goal. It's partly frustrating to me because we've spent 3 months building this model and we're going to have to change it again, but at the same time encouraging because the new system will really allow us to better utilize our amazing group of volunteers.
I'm sure that we're now moving in the right direction and I'm grateful for the leadership of Phillip and the outstanding group of volunteers that are dedicated to serving Jesus and forming relationships with our students.
The reason we set goals in management is because of an underlying concept. We must be moving towards a goal. There needs to be a direction and it needs to be in line with the overall goals of the organization.
Once goals and directions are in place, you can examine you systems to determine how effective they are in achieving your goals.
This was all driven home for me now that I am helping out with Pulse, our high school ministry. When I came on board, we had no staff members casting vision or giving a direction for the ministry. Now that Phillip McCart our family pastor is here, we are rooting out the direction of Pulse, and we have clear goals that our ministry needs to achieve. Unfortunately, this Sunday it was very evident that our current volunteer system is not accomplishing that goal. It's partly frustrating to me because we've spent 3 months building this model and we're going to have to change it again, but at the same time encouraging because the new system will really allow us to better utilize our amazing group of volunteers.
I'm sure that we're now moving in the right direction and I'm grateful for the leadership of Phillip and the outstanding group of volunteers that are dedicated to serving Jesus and forming relationships with our students.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Importance
I'm slowly learning things that I should already know, but am slow to pick up on. This week at Elevation was informative to me because I realized how unimportant we all really are. We were missing a few key people Sunday morning, but things went on as they always do. I started to reflect on that fact. How important am I really?
I like to think the job I do matters, and that I do it in a way that no one else could, but in the end, how important am I really? I realized that deep down, the church doesn't need me. Sure, if I disappeared tomorrow I would be missed (I hope so anyways), but the world would keep on spinning.
But even more important is that no one person at this church is vital to it. Even Pastor himself can take a week off, and things would continue. Does that mean he isn't important? Absolutely not. Every person volunteering and serving at church is important and is living out God's calling in their lives, but they aren't more important than the Church. That's the key. Jesus Christ is the one and only person that needs to show up every Sunday for this thing to work.
I like to think the job I do matters, and that I do it in a way that no one else could, but in the end, how important am I really? I realized that deep down, the church doesn't need me. Sure, if I disappeared tomorrow I would be missed (I hope so anyways), but the world would keep on spinning.
But even more important is that no one person at this church is vital to it. Even Pastor himself can take a week off, and things would continue. Does that mean he isn't important? Absolutely not. Every person volunteering and serving at church is important and is living out God's calling in their lives, but they aren't more important than the Church. That's the key. Jesus Christ is the one and only person that needs to show up every Sunday for this thing to work.
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