i was reading an article this morning and there was a line in it that caused me to pause. the line wasn't earth shattering or revolutionizing but it was a great reminder of some Biblical truth. here's the line:
Christianity is a team sport, not an individual event - on any given day, every Christian needs help and every Christian has some help to give. We have all failed as solo disciples for a very simple reason: Jesus doesn't have any solo disciples. Nate Larkin
last week was an interesting week. i wrestled with the same tension that the apostle paul spoke about in Romans 7:14-25
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
have you ever been there? you find yourself doing things, thinking things, saying things that you know are wrong....yet do them, think them, say them anyway? i realize nate larkin's line wasn't pulled straight from scripture but the overall thought certainly finds credibility in the scripture. we tend to fall more frequently when we walk alone.
somewhere along the way christians have been duped into believing perfection is rewarded. if we will just hide our hurts and our failures then people won't know....and we will be perceived as flawless illustrations of God's ______________. i'm tempted to put grace in the blank but if there are no struggles/failures/issues then there really is no need for grace.
i'm in no way suggesting we sin so that grace might increase (paul had something to say about that as well). as i wrestle through these thoughts, albeit scattered thoughts, i know we need other believers to do more than simply correct and rebuke. the church has gotten very good at those 2 things. i think what the church needs to develop is a spirit of accountability among its people. a spirit of community.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
transfer of power
i was amazed on tuesday as i watched the inauguration of barak obama. regardless of which side of the aisle you find yourself everyone must agree that it was truly an historic event. inaugurating a new president always begins a new chapter in our american history a new opportunity to leverage our influence around the world. even the most volatile of obama's opposition must have paused and caught a glimpse of what was happening.
as america's first black president (and I know he is actually only half black so please don't e-mail me any corrective responses) it should help to set a new tone across the america's diverse landscape. those from the african american community will certainly know that whatever sins our forefathers may have committed against their forefathers is now in the past. the office of the presidency is no longer a post reserved for a white man. america has always been known as the melting pot of the world and tuesday went a long way to help free an entire race from past, in many cases even present, oppression. i think it was a good day for america....not so sure the next 4 years of liberal policy will be best but it was for many other reasons a great day for america.
i'm not a fan of barak obama. truth be told i would have liked to have seen mike huckabee standing on that podium but that wasn't the way the thing went down. so, what is my new responsiblity? as an american how should i try to support my president even though i disagree with him on most fronts politically? time will tell and hopefully my convictions will show me when i need to fall in line and follow his lead but one thing i know i must do....not only as an american but as a christian and that is pray for him everyday. pray that God would give him the conviction, mercy, vision, grace and moral clarity to lead our nation.
p.s. i love the speech W gave when he landed in midland on inauguration day. i will paraphrase his words below:
you may or may not agree with many or most of the decisions i made as president and that is fine. but you need to know that when i walked out of the oval office this morning i left with the same values and convictions i had 8 years ago when i walked into it for the first time as president. i never took opinion polls to help me determine what i thought was right. sometimes what I did wasn't popular. But that's OK. I always did what I thought was right. when I get home tonight and look in the mirror, I am not going to regret what I see--except maybe some gray hair.
as america's first black president (and I know he is actually only half black so please don't e-mail me any corrective responses) it should help to set a new tone across the america's diverse landscape. those from the african american community will certainly know that whatever sins our forefathers may have committed against their forefathers is now in the past. the office of the presidency is no longer a post reserved for a white man. america has always been known as the melting pot of the world and tuesday went a long way to help free an entire race from past, in many cases even present, oppression. i think it was a good day for america....not so sure the next 4 years of liberal policy will be best but it was for many other reasons a great day for america.
i'm not a fan of barak obama. truth be told i would have liked to have seen mike huckabee standing on that podium but that wasn't the way the thing went down. so, what is my new responsiblity? as an american how should i try to support my president even though i disagree with him on most fronts politically? time will tell and hopefully my convictions will show me when i need to fall in line and follow his lead but one thing i know i must do....not only as an american but as a christian and that is pray for him everyday. pray that God would give him the conviction, mercy, vision, grace and moral clarity to lead our nation.
p.s. i love the speech W gave when he landed in midland on inauguration day. i will paraphrase his words below:
you may or may not agree with many or most of the decisions i made as president and that is fine. but you need to know that when i walked out of the oval office this morning i left with the same values and convictions i had 8 years ago when i walked into it for the first time as president. i never took opinion polls to help me determine what i thought was right. sometimes what I did wasn't popular. But that's OK. I always did what I thought was right. when I get home tonight and look in the mirror, I am not going to regret what I see--except maybe some gray hair.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
sleeping bags and barbies
tonight my 6 year old daughter is having a friend spend the night. for the last week or so she has been asking us "how many more days before peyton is coming over?" she has really been looking forward to today. this moment. she is absolutely giddy.
i have been sitting back and relaxing a little this afternoon but can't escape the sound of two 6 year old girls living in community. you heard me.....they are fleshing out what it looks like to thrive in community. i would guess that within the next 12 hours we will have laughing, crying, arguing, playing, eating, movie watching and a bunch of other stuff. add all that up and you get community.
a few days ago a friend of mine and I were talking about this thing called community. in many ways it is the new buzz word in church circles. as we carried on our conversation we realized that even though we talk about the need for community, understand the potential impact of community and the real dangers of living outside of community we really don't know how to define this cultural phenomena. try as i might i just can't seem to squeeze the vast reality of community into a small little box that i can use in a message on sunday mornings. it is too organic....too complex.
this afternoon God has helped me to get a little clearer understanding of community by listening to two 6 year old girls play with their barbies. how so? well, i know after they play, eat, sleep, fight, cry, argue and laugh together they will be closer friends than they were yesterday. the matrix that is their lives intersects and they establish a new bond....one that is not easily broken.
need community? yes....
i have been sitting back and relaxing a little this afternoon but can't escape the sound of two 6 year old girls living in community. you heard me.....they are fleshing out what it looks like to thrive in community. i would guess that within the next 12 hours we will have laughing, crying, arguing, playing, eating, movie watching and a bunch of other stuff. add all that up and you get community.
a few days ago a friend of mine and I were talking about this thing called community. in many ways it is the new buzz word in church circles. as we carried on our conversation we realized that even though we talk about the need for community, understand the potential impact of community and the real dangers of living outside of community we really don't know how to define this cultural phenomena. try as i might i just can't seem to squeeze the vast reality of community into a small little box that i can use in a message on sunday mornings. it is too organic....too complex.
this afternoon God has helped me to get a little clearer understanding of community by listening to two 6 year old girls play with their barbies. how so? well, i know after they play, eat, sleep, fight, cry, argue and laugh together they will be closer friends than they were yesterday. the matrix that is their lives intersects and they establish a new bond....one that is not easily broken.
need community? yes....
Saturday, January 17, 2009
purple cow
google is taking over the world. it is really unbelievable when you start to discover how much power and influence google has acquired/earned in the last few years. when it comes to the digital world they are large and in charge.
what is it that sets them apart? they are full of purple cows. what is a purple cow you might ask....
bestselling author seth godin wrote a book entitled 'purple cow." the premise of the book is simply add distinction to avoid extinction. if you are driving to work and see a brown cow you probably won't tell anyone about it when you arrive at the office. if you are driving to work and see a purple cow grazing in a pasture you would definitely talk about it at work. he suggests that businesses need to be creators of the purple cows.
back to google: a few of their purple cows include google maps, streetview, google docs, voice and video chat in gmail, and the list goes on and on. when people first experience the street view feature of google maps they look up every address they know, tell others and wonder how in the world they made the feature possible.
as i think about purple cows i can't help but wonder why the church isn't the creator of more purple cows. certainly there are some churches out there that are doing some great things. one example would be the youversion Bible. but the larger church community is all too comfortable maintaining status quo and only utilizing tools after someone else has made created them.
so here's the question: what idea has been rolling around in your head that you have been scared to share with anyone? what vision do you have for something new that you refuse to mention out of fear that it will not be possible?
let's do something new....let's dream big....let's step out on a ledge and see what God may birth out of the ideas He has given us.
send me your ideas......let's see what's next!
what is it that sets them apart? they are full of purple cows. what is a purple cow you might ask....
bestselling author seth godin wrote a book entitled 'purple cow." the premise of the book is simply add distinction to avoid extinction. if you are driving to work and see a brown cow you probably won't tell anyone about it when you arrive at the office. if you are driving to work and see a purple cow grazing in a pasture you would definitely talk about it at work. he suggests that businesses need to be creators of the purple cows.
back to google: a few of their purple cows include google maps, streetview, google docs, voice and video chat in gmail, and the list goes on and on. when people first experience the street view feature of google maps they look up every address they know, tell others and wonder how in the world they made the feature possible.
as i think about purple cows i can't help but wonder why the church isn't the creator of more purple cows. certainly there are some churches out there that are doing some great things. one example would be the youversion Bible. but the larger church community is all too comfortable maintaining status quo and only utilizing tools after someone else has made created them.
so here's the question: what idea has been rolling around in your head that you have been scared to share with anyone? what vision do you have for something new that you refuse to mention out of fear that it will not be possible?
let's do something new....let's dream big....let's step out on a ledge and see what God may birth out of the ideas He has given us.
send me your ideas......let's see what's next!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
the B-I-B-L-E
yesterday i was engaged in a conversation concerning the Bible. the discussion was birthed out of a voiced concern that many Christians don't have a good working knowledge of the scripture. many can quote some verses and even articulate some of the major truths communicated through the scripture but all in all there seems to be a complacency among believers when it comes to knowing the Word, the history of the Word and God's ultimate purpose for the Word.
i suppose there is a different line for everyone when it comes to how much knowledge we need as it relates to scripture. a history buff would argue that knowing the historical background of the scriptures is vital to a proper understanding of God's character as it has been demonstrated throughout history. an academician would argue that it is vital to know how the books of the Bible came to be and the process by which we arrived at these specific 66 books. an evangelist might argue that the specific verses that speak to God's grace and mercy and judgment are the most important. it seems to be a moving target....at least from a human perspective.
i wonder what makes us stand at an arms length to really knowing the Word? here are a few thoughts i have come up with as to why many believers don't KNOW the Word:
we need to know the WORD. it is one of the strongest ways God reveals Himself to us. spend some time with the verses below and pray God develops a hunger in your soul for more than a surface level, superficial, basic understanding of himself....i'm just guessing He will blow your mind in the process.
Eph. 6:12.....our struggle isn't with people it's with spiritual forces
Prov. 29:18.....the Word helps us
James 1:22-25....just knowing the Word isn't enough
2 Timothy 3:16-17....the Word is useful and we didn't make it up
2 Timothy 4:2....it's hard to preach what you don't know
Psalm 119:105....never drive at night without your lights on
*****THE CAUTION***** there is a tension between knowing the WORD and living out the truth of the word. just having knowledge isn't the goal. knowing God and living in a way that honors Him is the goal.
be blessed.....
i suppose there is a different line for everyone when it comes to how much knowledge we need as it relates to scripture. a history buff would argue that knowing the historical background of the scriptures is vital to a proper understanding of God's character as it has been demonstrated throughout history. an academician would argue that it is vital to know how the books of the Bible came to be and the process by which we arrived at these specific 66 books. an evangelist might argue that the specific verses that speak to God's grace and mercy and judgment are the most important. it seems to be a moving target....at least from a human perspective.
i wonder what makes us stand at an arms length to really knowing the Word? here are a few thoughts i have come up with as to why many believers don't KNOW the Word:
- laziness: we just don't carve out time to really invest ourselves in the scripture
- apathy: we just don't care....can't see an immediate pay off
- fear: we worry what we might discover/what God may change in us/what God might call us to if we really knew Him
- ignorance: we have just convinced ourselves it doesn't matter/we already know enough
we need to know the WORD. it is one of the strongest ways God reveals Himself to us. spend some time with the verses below and pray God develops a hunger in your soul for more than a surface level, superficial, basic understanding of himself....i'm just guessing He will blow your mind in the process.
Eph. 6:12.....our struggle isn't with people it's with spiritual forces
Prov. 29:18.....the Word helps us
James 1:22-25....just knowing the Word isn't enough
2 Timothy 3:16-17....the Word is useful and we didn't make it up
2 Timothy 4:2....it's hard to preach what you don't know
Psalm 119:105....never drive at night without your lights on
*****THE CAUTION***** there is a tension between knowing the WORD and living out the truth of the word. just having knowledge isn't the goal. knowing God and living in a way that honors Him is the goal.
be blessed.....
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