I’m that guy who has to pray for people right then and there because if I don’t, more times than not, I’ll forget.
I’m that guy who is on staff at an amazing Church yet feels so inadequate and undeserving.
I’m a guy who should have a lot better relationship with his family.
I’m a guy that God serves Humble Pie to on a constant basis because of my PRIDE.
I’m a guy who is leading an AMAZING group of young people but is still learning how to lead daily.
I’m that guy who used to wear tight shirts because they make him look like he has muscles… until he saw a picture, then he knows he’s just fat.
I’m that guy who struggles being real with himself, others, and God.
I’m that guy who has made more stupid mistakes with girls than I can count.
I’m that guy who could lose his job at any moment because of making a stupid mistake.
I’m that guy who spends 200 dollars for a pair of Jeans then makes you feel bad for not giving to the poor.
I’m that guy who shaves his head because his hair is thinning.
I’m that guy who is jealous of most people who are more intelligent than him.
I’m that guy who over promises and under delivers.
I’m that guy who talks big about commitment to the local church yet forgets to say thank you to his awesome volunteers as many times as I should.
I’m that guy who never smiles in his pictures because of my teeth.
I’m that guy who is just really learning how to read scripture.
I’m that guy who struggles with lust.
I’m that guy who leaves my computer in my office, not in my house so I don’t look at porn.
I’m that guy who’s still waiting for God to put the “one” (if there’s such a thing) in my path.
But
Despite all of this,
I’m a guy who is going to continue to let God use him, mold him and shape him in spite of all that Jazz.
Because for some reason in spite of all my crap…God is using me and it is only just beginning.
So now that you see how screwed up I am. When are you going to stop waiting until you are out of your “sinfest” and let God use you in the midst of your arrogant, selfish and sinful chaos?
At a well-known company’s national sales convention, a heralded speaker delivered a stirring motivational talk. However, he punctuated his speech with profanity and frequently used God’s name in vain. Finally, a Christian salesman in the audience couldn’t stand it any longer. He rose from his seat, stood on his chair and shouted, “Please leave God out of it.” With that he sat down. The embarrassed speaker cleaned up the rest of his speech. But after the session more people waited in line to shake the hand of the Christian man than that of the speaker.
In your own experience, don’t you find this to be true? In the face of an uncomfortable situation, many people are thinking the same thing. It’s a safe bet that dozens of people in the crowd that day listening to the speaker were sick and tired of hearing the profanity being rained down. But it took one man to make the stand and speak up, leaving others to only wish they would have done the same.
The leaders of the early church displayed even greater courage than this outspoken salesman. In the face of powerful, influential and educated men, these “ordinary” men stood toe to toe with political and religious forces that sought to Kill them. Even after having their lives threatened for sharing the Gospel they didn’t cower, give in or shut up. Instead they did the opposite. In Acts 4:29 they asked God for Boldness to share his word. They stood heroic, astonishing their adversaries, who knew only that these men had been with Jesus.
Living a life that pleases God isn’t always easy or popular. Speaking valiantly for Christ and courageously living a righteous life require living out our convictions and commitments as faithful men. Standing tall for what’s right, despite the foe or odds, exacts a high price. In fact, we face war! We can prepare for the battle only by spending time with Jesus—the unshakable source of courage.
In your life there will be opportunities to speak up and defend what you know to be true. When the next challenge arises, remember that salesman standing on his chair, remember Peter, remember what Paul said in Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”. Resolve today that you will not be like one of those who were content to sit squirming in their seats.
We weren’t called to be cowards! We’re called to stand and follow God at all cost!
“True courage does not consist in the absence of fear but in doing what God wants even when we are afraid, disturbed, and hurt.”
John White
An airplane is meant to fly, a car is built to be driven, and clothes are designed to be worn. You would have very little use for a plane that won’t fly, a car that would not move, or clothes that can no longer be worn.
Why?
It’s simple because their purpose is not being realized. It’s a great frustration to have things that are no longer useful. Sometimes to be honest I feel like God feels that way about me.
We were designed to know Him, not simply to have a comfortable life. We were not created just to get married, have children and a successful career, then grow old and enjoy retirement. These are some of life’s benefits, its “side dishes”, not its purposes.
The tragedy today is that we have taken life’s benefits and tried to make them our main thing. We’re trying to make the “side dishes” the main course. The result is that we often find the benefits very unsatisfactory. Shocker right?!?
So if the purpose of life is not marriage, success, happiness, or any of that, what is it? What were we created for? Answer: we were created to know and worship God with all-consuming passion. That’s it. That’s why Paul tells us to do everything to God’s glory.
Bringing glory to something means to put it on the mantel where it can be admired. I’ll probably never understand this but most women seeks glory when she decorates her home in such a way that guest say, “Wow, where do you get that?” Or women will spend hours cleaning their house making sure everything is perfect before guest can come over. As if the guest haven’t seen a dirty house before. She puts a special treasure on display so that when people see it, they are in awe.
Guys we do this also. If you ever want to hear a guy lie (or most guys) all you have to do is ask him how awesome he was back in High School at sports. He’ll almost promise you that he would of been the starting quarterback but Brett Farve started ahead of him and he didn’t get any playing time. But the truth is he was probably just the tailback. As in “Get your tailback on the bench”. We do this as guys because we feel that we have to protect our reputation.
We want people to be in awe of us. But the truth is we should want to abandon ourselves and live for people to see Jesus inside of us…That way they won’t see us at all.
That’s what we’re supposed to do for God. We’re supposed to display Him in such a way that people are awed by Him. Glorying God means to make him look good, to place Him on display so that when others see our lives, they are in awe of our God.
Even in the everyday stuff, our goal should be to Glorify God in all we do. But I have to be honest, it takes a passionate, Radical, Misfit for Christ to live like that but it can be done!
We just have to help each other, spend time with our maker everyday and go for it with everything we have.
This week I just want to challenge you (along with myself) to be a Misfit for Christ and live Completely Abandoned to yourself for Christ.
This is a video of my Worship Leader Jimmy Farrell singing an original song Completely Abandoned. I think it fits perfect for this post. Enjoy!
I feel like sometimes we miss what worship is.
It’s not just coming into a Church and singing a couple of songs! It’s living a life that’s constantly connected to Jesus! Take a few minutes and check out Kim’s thought’s on Worship
Kim Walker is a joyful, radical lover of Jesus! She lives to worship Him with every ounce of her being. Kim currently leads worship and pastors the worship team at Bethel Church in Redding, California. She has quickly become one of the strongest voices for the current youth revival with Jesus Culture. She is a passionate worship leader with an anointing to bring an entire generation into an encounter with God. All of those who are in a worship service led by Kim will catch her contagious love to worship.
Jesus made it pretty clear in John 13:34-35 as to how the world would know we are His disciples…notice He did NOT say, “They will know you are my disciples…
#1 – By the way you forward really stupid, ridiculous emails to one another…and if you refuse to forward them to everyone you have in your contact list then you don’t love me.
#2 – By the way you yell at people who don’t know me for living as if they don’t know me.
#3 – By your T-shirts and bumper stickers!
#4 – By the music you listen to!
#5 – By the political party you support.
#6 – By the denomination you belong to.
#7 – By the way you protest.
#8 – By the products and companies you boycott.
#9 – By the way you look down on those whom you perceive aren’t as good as you.
#10 – By the way you take from one another!
Nope…John 13:34-35 is clear, Jesus didn’t mix His Words…we are called to live this out.
In 1980 doctors diagnosed Chris, a seven-year-old boy, with leukemia. Chris wanted to be a motorcycle police officer when he grew up. A friend of Chris’s family spoke to a member of the Arizona Highway Patrol about the boy’s dream, and a few days later several motorcycle officers stopped in to meet Chris.
But after the meeting the officers wanted to do more. They arranged for Chris to ride in the department’s helicopter with a local news reporter, who filmed Chris’s dream coming true. Eventually the boy also received a ride in a patrol car, a ride on a patrol motorcycle with sirens blaring, a custom-made uniform and even a battery-powered motorcycle to replace his wheelchair. Later that year, when Chris succumbed to the Leukemia that had ravaged his body, the motorcycle officers granted full department honors to this fallen “officer” who had touched them so deeply.
However, the dreams of this boy didn’t die with him. They live on in the Make-a-Wish Foundation, an organization that helps fulfill the wishes of thousands of children who suffer from life-threatening illnesses.
Its amazing how one person’s quiet suffering could grow into something so gigantic.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers to praise the amazing expansion of their faith. In fact, it wasn’t just their faith that had grown. So had the love they demonstrated toward each other. This increase occurred despite the suffering they were enduring as both Jews and fellow Gentiles persecuted them (Acts 17).
Or did this amazing growth occur because of that suffering and persecution? When we suffer, God remains in control. In good times and in bad, he doesn’t leave us to our own resources. Rather, he provides the strength that allows us to hold on. God sometimes permits us to suffer because by carrying on we gain strength and moral character.
The great C.S. Lewis once said, “God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.”
Are you suffering?
What amazing thing does God have in store for you?
God will walk with you as you struggle through each agonizing step, enabling you to grow in faith and to demonstrate love toward those around you.
Without a test, there is not testimony.
Just one more quote….”They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses.” Martin Luther
First off…
I DID NOT WRITE THIS!
There are some things in this article that I agree with and some that I don’t!
I personally DO NOT drink. But it’s not because I think if a person of age does drink that he’s committing a sin. I’m simply posting this because I would love to hear your opinions on this. That’s all! No arguing. Just your opinions.
Question: Which is better? Fishing with one Baptist or two Baptists?
Answer: Two. If you take one, you’ll have to share your beer. If you take two, you’ll have the beer to yourself, because Baptists won’t drink in front of each other.
I’m not much of a drinker. I didn’t drink alcohol at all until I was 22 years old. And these days, I might have little more than the equivalent of two 6-packs over the course of a year. A Coors or Shiner Bock when I play poker with my brother’s friends. The occasional mixed drink when hanging with another couple from our church. And should I find myself in the Caribbean, I’m man enough to admit I really like banana coladas—not the virgin ones my wife prefers, but the real thing. And that’s pretty much it.
Other confessions: I like to smoke when I go fly-fishing, because campfires are better with a good cigar, and mountain air is fresher after a cigarette. Furthermore, I play cards, invest in the stock market, let my wife manage our family’s finances and used to watch “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” with devoted regularity.
Next time you’re in a church service, fold a paper airplane out of the bulletin, give it a good toss, and chances are you’ll hit someone who thinks at least one of the activities above are sinful. Problem is, none of them are expressly prohibited by anything in the Bible, unless you do tricky things with the language or remove things from context. That’s one of the big struggles with being a Christian in a society two millennia removed from the time the last of our scriptures were written—all the gray areas. Jesus never said, “Disciples, don’t drink alcohol.” He never told any parables about the effects of R-rated movies on his followers. He never chastised the Pharisees for spending too much time playing video games. Of course, he was pretty clear on things like adultery and divorce. And he really got worked up when the religious folks passed judgment on those who didn’t live up to their lengthy lists of societal and religious rules
When Jesus walked around Palestine, the people who most upset him were the Pharisees. Why? Because they focused on their petty, pseudo-religious rules while losing sight of the important stuff like loving God and loving people. We do the same today. Lots of the “rules” of our comfortable Christian subculture are based more on tradition than the Bible. They have more to do with the notion of “being separate” from the world than being made in the image of Christ. And how significant is it that this attitude of separation places great emphasis on some issues of outward appearance (alcohol, smoking, tattoos, entertainment) and not others (unthinking consumerism, gluttony)?
Which brings us to the issue of drinking alcohol. Many readers strongly believe the Bible is clear in its prohibition of alcoholic beverages. Others believe Scripture doesn’t precisely disallow it, but feel it’s best in today’s society to abstain. And there are still others who think there is absolutely nothing wrong with drinking, while recognizing that drunkenness is very much a sinful act.
Some Christians go even further on the issue and don’t condemn drunkenness. A good friend of mine got to spend an evening with the members of a notable hardcore Christian band. After a concert at a local Christian venue, they all proceeded to a local bar and got plastered—the band, their management, the venue’s promoters, everyone. My friend ended up actually escorting the entourage around that evening because she was the only one in any condition to drive. Needless to say, it was a very long, weird night for her. She wondered if her local Christian bookstore would still display their huge cardboard cutout of the band had they known what went on that evening.
That’s all there is to the story. You’re wondering who the band was, aren’t you? Why is that? Is it so you can judge them? Pray for them? Join them? What’s the Christian response to that kind of story?
Let’s leave those questions aside and just look at some of the issues regarding the Bible and alcohol.
Grape Juice
I attend a Southern Baptist church. I’m not much of a Southern Baptist myself, but that’s a long story, and I won’t get into it. Anyway. Whenever a discussion of alcohol comes up among members of my congregation, and someone mentions the story about Jesus turning water into wine for his first public miracle, one point is inevitably made: that the wine back then was watered down so much it had little or no alcoholic content, making it barely more than grape juice.
That sounds good, and it’s an easy way to justify the nearly 50 times wine is mentioned in the Bible as one of God’s blessings. It also helps account for the many times the taking of wine or alcoholic drink is referenced neutrally, as nothing but a common cultural practice. But there are some problems with the “it was only grape juice” argument. How did the communion-takers in Corinth get drunk off of grape juice? Why did the Good Samaritan pour grape juice on the wounds of the assaulted man in Jesus’ parable? Why does Paul warn us not to “be drunk with wine”? Why were the apostles at Pentecost accused of being full of wine when they began speaking in tongues? Is strange behavior usually rationalized because someone’s been sipping the Ocean Spray? Yes, there were several different kinds of wine in the Bible with varying amounts of alcohol — but it was at a sufficient level for drunkenness to be an issue. People got drunk back then just like they do today. My guess is that Bible wine is exactly what it says it is.
Being a Stumbling Block
A more reasonable argument against wine is made based on an interpretation of Romans 14:21: “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.” Based on the context of this verse, causing a fellow Christian “to fall” means causing him to do something that violates his conscience by imitating an action he believes to be wrong. This is how we usually interpret the scenario: I go to Wal-Mart and grab a six-pack. Bob sees me standing in line with my hands full of Coors. Bob thinks to himself, “Hmmmm … I’ve always been taught that drinking beer is sinful, but since Jason’s doing it, I think I’ll give it a try.” And so Bob drinks alcohol, even though he has been taught—and he himself believes—that the action is a sin. Bad for Bob, and bad for me, too.
Abstinence (or, perhaps, sneakiness) makes a lot of sense in this case, but let’s not consider the matter settled yet. There are three specific actions in the verse: 1) Eating meat; 2) Drinking wine; and 3) Doing anything else.
That pretty much covers everything, doesn’t it? And it’s just as clear on meat as it is on wine. Let’s consider our Seventh-Day Adventist brethren, who hold it as a doctrine that the eating of meat is wrong. Many believers have problems with SDA doctrine, but among most they are still considered to be a Christian denomination. So do you also think of Romans 14:21 when you pull up at the Burger King drive-thru? When you fire up the backyard grill? When you’re carrying a couple of steaks through the line at the supermarket?
For those who take the Bible seriously, the proper application of the verse becomes a problem. Because in addition to being a teetotaler, you’d better also be a vegetarian.1
And we haven’t even touched the “doing anything else” part. Keep in mind that almost anything we do in our current culture has been labeled sinful by some aspect of Christianity. The list includes dancing, wearing makeup, women wearing shorts, listening to rock music, swimming in mixed company or buying anything on a Sunday. The list goes on and on. How do we apply Romans 14:21 consistently without living in constant fear that we’re causing a fellow Christian to stumble? How do we faithfully “avoid the appearance of evil” (1 Thess. 5:22) when evil can be almost anything?
To close out this point, remember this: Jesus greatly offended the Pharisees. He certainly spent time with the wrong people, and he drank enough for them to label him a drunkard (Matt. 11:19). It’s pretty clear he did enough to be a stumbling block (1 Cor. 10:32) of some sort to them. After all, they put him to death. Would that qualify for failing to “avoid the appearance of evil”? Jesus didn’t sin, did he?
Considering Our Society
It is estimated that there are more than five million alcoholics in the U.S. alone, and another four million that are considered problem drinkers. The mortality rate is 2.5 times higher among alcoholics than for the general population. Suicide rates are nearly three times higher. Accidental death rates are seven times higher. Up to 40 percent of all traffic fatalities and a third of all traffic injuries are related to the abuse of alcohol. One-third of all suicides and mental health disorders are estimated to be associated with serious alcohol abuse. And that’s just among adult —recent estimates identify more than three million problem drinkers between the ages of 14 and 17 in the United States.2 Clearly, the abuse of alcohol has a devastating effect on our society. It messes people up.Even if the Bible doesn’t condemn wine, wouldn’t we be better off in today’s culture — where it seems more people are likely to abuse alcohol than to enjoy it responsibly — to forgo it completely? It’s a logical argument on the surface, and one Christians have been using since the days of Prohibition. But there’s one problem: it’s pretty much moral relativism.3
Here’s the logic (or illogic): Thirty or forty years ago, our culture as a whole frowned upon things like divorce, adultery and sexual immorality. Why? Because the Bible said they were morally wrong, for one thing. Yet in today’s society, people hardly bat an eye about divorce. Everyone’s having adulterous and promiscuous sex with everyone else, and homosexuality has entered the mainstream. Our culture accepts these actions, but Christians continue to resist them because we believe the Bible calls them sin. And if something was a sin 2,000 years ago, it’s still sinful now. If Scripture is what we say it is, then you can’t eliminate certain parts of it because our society has changed. You can’t rewrite the Bible to accommodate today’s cultural standards. Sins are moral issues, not cultural ones. Got it?
Now, let’s apply that logic to alcohol. If we can’t drop sins from the list for cultural reasons, wouldn’t it be equally wrong to add them to the list for the same reasons? The opposite of the statement in the paragraph above also applies: If something was not a sin in 1st century Palestine, then it can’t be a sin now. And isn’t making ourselves the definers of sin a little too close to saying we’re better than God? At the least, it’s legalistic and Pharasaical. Remember who Jesus kept calling a “brood of vipers”? Here’s a hint—it wasn’t the immoral, the prostitutes, or the drunkards. Nope. It was the churchy people who burdened the above with too many rules.
Judgment and Fear
Let’s think again about the Christian band with whom my friend spent a saucy evening. What was your immediate reaction to that story? I can think of several possible reactions among readers of RELEVANT:
1) Excitement. Who are these guys? I need to know who they are so I can add another celebrity name to my list of Christians who think it’s OK to drink.
2) Anger. Who do these guys think they are? Don’t they know they’re examples to our youth? How irresponsible!
3) Sadness. Why does everything have to be so hard? Why is it so hard to enjoy something without eventually messing it up?
That brings us to the root of the issue. All the arguing about whether or not the Bible says it’s OK to drink really ends up saying much more about the arguers than the topic. I get the feeling that many of those who vehemently defend their rights to be Christian drinkers do so because, well, they’re nervous about being Christian drinkers. As my sister, Micha (a regular RELEVANT contributor), says, “It seems like we have to speak so loudly about why we’re free to smoke and drink because deep down we worry we might be wrong.” Same goes for the teetotalers, who argue and quote verses because they’re afraid to face the ease with which they pass judgment on their drinking brethren.
Both sides make good points, and both sides are wrong. Why? Because either way the focus is on rules. It’s all legalism. Does the Bible say don’t drink? Not exactly, so I can drink. Does the Bible say don’t drink? Not exactly, so I better not drink.
Here’s Micha again, because she says it so well: “It’s hard to tell people to be well-balanced — to drink, but not to drink too much. Because drinking screws people up, and how could Jesus have been a part of something that can turn bad so quickly? The truth is, none of us are very good at identifying and following our conscience. It’s hard to hear that still, small voice, and even harder to trust it. So we would rather have rules. And don’t the rules end up screwing us up just as much in the end?”
So those are the questions we’re left with, and there really aren’t any good answers. I could write that the Bible doesn’t say drinking is a sin (which I believe), but lots of readers will still disagree with me. I could also say that many of the drinkers’ arguments are based on their own fear of being wrong (which I also believe), but those readers will disagree with me, too. I could be angry about the Christian band, or I could feel some sort of kinship with them based upon their penchant for alcohol. But mostly I’m just sad, because it’s so hard to be like Jesus.
That said, I’ll close with two statements I think we all can agree on: Too much drinking does bad things to people. So does too much judgment.
When a young man gets down on one knee; reaches into his pocket; pulls out a small, velvet-covered box and opens it, the wrong response from the young woman before him would be, “Oh! What a pretty box!” If she utters those words, there’s something seriously wrong with her perspective.
The box holding the diamond engagement ring isn’t meant to draw attention to itself. The box exists solely to make the ring look good. You might describe ring boxes as plain and nondescript, yet simple and elegant. Inside, the ring tucks into white satin or black velvet to allow the beauty of the diamond to shine forth.
Paul uses a different object to communicate a similar lesson. When he observes that “we have this treasure in jars of clay” (Verse 7), he’s declaring that we’re ordinary “packages,” not ornate glass vases. Paul urges us not to live in a way that draws attention to ourselves. Instead, we are to seek to showcase the brilliance of the One who lives within us.
These are sobering words in an age in which even some preachers wear diamond studded watches, fly in private jets, arrive in a motorcade of limousines and highlight the vast influence of “their” ministries. The apostle Paul probably wouldn’t have impressed these Christian “celebrities.” What’s attractive about a man who describes himself as “hard pressed,” “perplexed,” “persecuted” and “struck down” (verses 8-9)?
But remember, the apostle Paul existed to make Jesus look good. As he sought to bring people to Christ, Paul didn’t want them to overlook Christ and fall in love with himself instead. What a goal!
I recently attended a Leadership Conference at a Church and the entire Church embodied this mission that Paul is speaking about. It was so refreshing to see a “Mega Church” who was completely humble, have a servants hearts and who were ALL ABOUT PEOPLE MEETING JESUS!
It’s my prayer that we could all learn to function the way that Paul was explaining and that all Church’s could resemble the Love and Grace of the Church I attended.
To live simply as Jars of Clay, desiring only to attract people to the incomparable treasure we hold inside and be completely abandoned to ourselves no matter our situations.
”Humility is the true proof of Christian Virtues; without it we retain all our faults, and they are only covered with pride to hide them from others, and often from ourselves.” Francois De La Rochefoucauld
If you’re a football fan, you know that no one celebrates a touchdown quite like a wide receiver (Chad Johnson). In the past, most receivers simply spiked the ball to add an exclamation point to a reception in the end zone. Then came the dance moves—a shuffle here, a slide—step there. With each passing season the celebrations grew more and more elaborate. Some players even began stashing props in the end zone to incorporate into their touchdown routines.
That’s when the penalty flags began to fly as referees became more willing to call this kind of activity “unsportsmanlike conduct.” If only more of these players had been like Barry Sanders, who in his ten-year career with the Detroit Lions scored 109 touchdowns—and afterward simply handed the ball to the referee and jogged off the field.
Fact is, these elaborate touchdown celebrations ignore some of the other people actually responsible for the touchdown—people like the quarterback throwing the ball, the offensive lineman creating time for the quarterback to throw, the coach calling the play and the assistant coach spotting a defensive weakness to exploit during film sessions the week before the game.
If life were fair we’d see highlight clips of offensive coordinators spiking their clipboards and high—stepping down the sidelines after plays they’d created had resulted in touchdowns! But life isn’t fair. So wide receivers get the glory—not to mention big contracts and product endorsements opportunities.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had somewhat of a wide receiver’s mentality when it came to his kingdom. While surveying his empire from a rooftop one day, the king let his ego get the best of him. “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” he bragged.
Huge mistake. Before the final boastful syllable had left the king’s lips, God pronounced judgment on him. He banished Nebuchadnezzar to the wilderness to live like a wild animal for seven years. God punished the king for trying to steal something that belonged to God—his glory. Nebuchadnezzar had taken credit for God’s accomplishments.
God has defintely been serving me some of my least favorite desert lately to remind me that this life is all about him…And that desert would be Humble Pie.
No matter what we’re good at in life, if we look closely enough we’ll realize that our accomplishments really belong to God. Everything we have we have because he has allowed us to have it. We’re just a vessel he’s using to help bring glory to his name.
Listen and learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s words: “Those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” And, as this ancient king learned the hard way, God often does just that.
Imagine it. A blinding light from heaven. Men falling to the ground all around you. The voice of the risen Christ calling you to a mission that will change the world forever.
Okay, so this drama seems unlikely to take place in your life or maybe it’s just unlikely in my own. But Paul—or Saul as he was known at the time—certainly didn’t expect such a scene either. He set out for Damascus to oppose the Christian movement and returned a spokesman for it. He set out on a mission against Christ and returned the most influential Christian missionary the world has yet seen.
While the dramatic events of Paul’s conversion aren’t likely to happen to us, something similar actually takes places when we’re called to the Christian life.
Consider…
Leah, a Public Speaking teacher at a local high school. But she views her job as a ministry of helping young men and women have the confidence in their speech to go out and share the Gospel.
Mike, a career counselor, advises men in transition. He also affirms their worth and value when they begin to doubt it themselves. He prays for each man with whom he meets.
Mario, a plant manager, wants his company to show a profit. But he also wants his customers to receive quality goods and his employees to find fulfillment in their work and receive fair compensation.
These men and women and others like them realize that their call from God doesn’t mean that they must become a missionary like Paul—or serve as a pastor, or undertake any other full-time “Christian” profession. They understand that their calling means following God’s will in their daily tasks. They approach their work with the same kind of dedication about which
Paul later wrote: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23).
As Christ followers we can’t make the mistake of thinking that reaching the lost is all up to the Pastors/Worship leaders. Most of the people who can have the biggest influence for Christ aren’t the people on stage at Church every Sunday. Everyone has a chance to spread the Gospel we just have to keep our eyes open for the chances.
Those chances could be at your daily job like Leah, Mike and Mario. Those chances could also come from things like bumping into a random person at a store, seeing someone sitting alone somewhere and striking up a conversation with them. There are so many times in our life that we have the opportunity to minister to people and we miss it. We just have to open our eyes, hearts and get out of our comfort zone so that we can allow God to use us despite our fears, failures and faults.
Tomorrow when you go about your day, open your eyes to chances to speak life into people and share the Gospel.
“If you cannot sing like the angels.
If you cannot preach like Paul.
You can tell the love of Jesus
And say he died for all”
“He must become greater, I must become less” John3:30
When you get on a plane to travel, whether across the country or across an ocean, what do you hope will happen? Do you wish for lighting, turbulence and a seat mate who has a nasty cough or horrible gas? No, when you fly, you want a predicable and routine trip. No delays, No hair-raising episodes or near-death experiences–even if those events might later make for a good story at a get-together. No, you seek an uneventful flight. Downright boring suits you just fine. The only thing you hope is exciting is that the food is a party in your mouth!
Some people attend church hoping for the predictable and routine, the uneventful and boring. Author and Pastor Max Lucado writes, “People on a plane and people on a pew have a lot in common. All are on a journey…For many; the mark of a good flight and the mark of a good worship assembly are the same. “Nice,” we like to say. “It was a nice flight/it was a nice worship service.”
Many people go home from church unchanged and unaltered. A few, however, long for something better than “nice.”
Solomon reminds us that when we worship we go on a journey. Worship leads us to encounter and experience the living God. As worshipers, we do our best to prepare ourselves–purifying our hearts, clearing our minds, opening our ears, keeping our promises and humbling our posture before God.
What are a few tactics to prepare oneself for worship?
It could be coming to Church early to pray that people meet Jesus in a strong way during the service. We show up early for Football games and sporting events because we’re expecting an awesome game. Why not show up early for Church to pray and expect a move of God?
It could be getting out of our comfort zones to meet and encourage people in the Church that we’ve never met and that don’t look like us.
Let’s even go a step farther than just worship at Church. What about worship being a lifestyle? Worship is also everything you do throughout your day. It’s how you live your life! In Galatians Paul tells the church of Galatia to watch me as I stand up and have the courage to live for Christ! That’s something I try my beset to remind myself of daily and I think as Christians we should all try to stand up and live our lives in worship to God!
The next time you attend a worship service, remember the admonition of verses 1 through 3. Prepare your heart so that the offering of worship isn’t just so much wasted breath. Focus on the reality that “God is in heaven, and you are on earth,” understanding that you’re entering the very presence of a holy and awesome God who listens, watches and loves to hear our worship. A heart that’s properly prepared for worship doesn’t simply endure the journey. It hopes for the memorable, not the mundane. It prepares itself for a marvelous adventure in the presence of the God of the universe, and it expects and works toward a deeper relationship with the Creator.
After reading Francis Chans first book “Crazy Love” and having my world rocked, I’ve been wanting to dive into his second book “Forgotten God” for awhile now.
I’ve heard tons of great things about this book and after only reading the Intro and Cover section (which is about 3 pages of Francis explaining how the cover came about) I’m hooked! Me and my boy Sam Kidwell are going to be reading through this and we’ll be blogging our thoughts from each Chapter!
One of the first things that I loved was how Francis broke down the difference between Exegesis and Eisegesis! For those of you who didn’t go to seminary like myself and have no clue what the difference is it’s this…Exegesis is an attempt to discover the meaning of the text objectively, starting with the text and moving out from there. Eisegesis is to import a subjective, preconceived meaning into the text.
I had always wondered about that but usually when it was brought up, everyone else in the room seemed to know what it meant and I didn’t want to be the one guy who didn’t! Lame I know but true!
I also love the way that Francis is reminding us that lately some Churches have been seeking attendance rather than a move of the Holy Spirit. Sad but for a lot of Churches I really think that’s true. At times we get caught up so much in stage design, having the “new” series or cool lights with Worship that we forget to rely on the Holy Spirit!
I’m not saying that having nice lights, cool ideas and things are bad and I don’t think Francis is either. But I do believe that when people encounter the Holy Spirit things can be accomplished for God that no lights or other human creation can compare to. That’s why it’s so important to rely on the Holy Spirit to be our guide.
If you look at the Disciples and people through out scripture, there wasn’t anything special about these guys. They were ordinary men who just made a point to walk with Jesus and wait on the Holy Spirit.
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)
A school shooting, and a suicide in the first 15 minutes of the film. A sex scene, drinking games and a keg in the first 20. It doesn’t take long to figure out that To Save a Life (out January 22) is not your typical Christian film.
The good news is, the movie doesn’t have big shoes to fill. From the pure silliness of 1970’s “end times” films to Kirk Cameron’s phoned in performance in 2008’s Fireproof, Christian films are rarely enjoyable, even to the market they’re marketed to. To Save a Life wastes no time setting up the story. Childhood pals Jake and Roger do everything together, until Jake hits the social “big time” with his exceptional basketball skills and sun-bleached hair. When it comes to picking his best friend or the hot girl, Jake goes with his hormones, leaving Roger to limp around school alone, on a leg permanently disfigured from saving Jake from an oncoming car.
For Jake, things are great until senior year, when Roger walks into school, and commits suicide with a hallway full of peers to witness it. Jake’s initial defense is to ignore the situation, but a fight with his girlfriend and pressure from his overbearing father lead to some serious questions about the life he’s leading. After the cops bust a keg party and his girlfriend runs off with his truck, Jake calls a local youth pastor for a ride. Conversations about faith and meaning ensue.
No, Jake isn’t converted on the spot. But the seeds of doubt about the shallowness of his “basketball and beer” existence do lead him to check out church, and to alter some of his decisions.
The most pleasing thing about watching To Save a Life is that it feels like a genuine story is being told, instead of the usual Christian move to make a film where the characters spend a solid hour setting up a Sunday school lesson at the end. Leading man Randy Wanyne (Jake Taylor) and his girlfriend Amy Biggs (Deja Kreutzberg) do act like teens you’d meet at your local high school. Friendly and energetic, even if they do party and engage in casual sex on the weekends. Even the film’s “quirky youth group girl” and the “conniving pastor’s kid” hit pretty close to the mark on how comprable teens in real life would act.
However, for all of director Brian Braugh’s courage to show teenage life as it actually is, he stumbles in a few places. While the writing moves the story along, this isn’t a movie you and your friends will be quoting next year, or even next week. The hip-hop songs used in the party scenes just aren’t very good, and it’s noticeable. There’s a scene that is more or less stolen from the real-life events of social-networking help guru Jamie Tworkowski, founder of To Write Love on Her Arms, that will assuredly make the audience groan at it’s fakeness.
But all the story ultimately shines through the minor scuffs. By the time the movie nears it’s end, binge-drinking, casual sex, cutting, loneliness and the shark tank that is the high school social scene have all been grappled with in an authentic manner. And as the social groups within Pacific High School clash with their own decisions and each other, it becomes very clear that, for once, a Christian film isn’t going to wrap up with an overly simplistic moral lesson. Rather than a story of a bad kid who becomes good, the plot is layered with teens in a variety of social situations who are forced to wrestle with why they act, judge others, and believe as they do.
The biggest question surrounding To Save a Life is not whether it’s a movie worth seeing. It is. It’s by no means the best movie you’ll see this year, but the film does wrap you in a compelling story. The biggest problem the movie faces is whether or not it can gain traction and reach the audience that needs this message. Because of the content (the 10 second sex scene, three swear words, and one beer keg) some Christians have already complained to the Christian radio stations currently supporting it. And teenagers and twentysomethings, even the ones who are in church two or three days a week, aren’t normally going to pay eight bucks to watch a “Christian movie.”
Still, a day after watching it, I can’t shake the feeling that this movie will change something. It’s got the potential to do what Switchfoot and P.O.D. did in music circa early 2003; to show mainstream culture that some Christian-generated media is worth taking seriously.
I love being able to fire off questions to people who are smarter than myself. I really think it’s a great way to learn! So today I thought I’d share with you guys somethings I learned this morning from a guy named Carlos Whittaker!
Carlos Whittaker is an artist, pastor, thinker, experience architect, and Web 2.0 junkie.
Carlos was at Sandals Church in Riverside California where he served for 10 years as the Pastor of Worship and Creative Arts. Sandals Church is an authentic community of believers whose goal is to be real with themselves, others, and God. His passion for leading the church into a relational worship experience each and every Sunday was his hearts goal.
In August of 2007 Carlos and his family made the move from Southern California to Atlanta, GA. Carlos became the Director of Service Programming at Buckhead Church which is one of the three North Point Community Church campuses. He oversaw all the Sunday adult experience and design. He directly oversaw all areas Hosting, Production, Creative, Video, Music, and Programming at Buckhead Church. He also sat on the creative sermon planning team for Andy Stanley.
Recently Carlos signed with Integrity Music to pursue a recording career and to continue to disturb and disrupt the church as a whole.
Carlos and Heather Whittaker make up a blogging power couple in Ragamuffinsoul.com and Whittakerwoman.typepad.com. They have 3 children. In November 2006 Carlos and his wife Heather adopted their son Losiah from Seoul Korea.
Carlos lives for this…
To ignite a movement of authenticity among all generations of Christians that morphs the face of the evangelical church into a place of being real with yourself, others, and God.
T. Rousey ”You’re a very busy guy with tons of things going on. How do you “turn it off” and just relax with your family and God? Or is it
something we can’t turn it off?”
Carlos Whittaker: “Its a challenge. I attempt to unplug from 5-8. At 8 the lady and I have a date on the couch for a half hour to catch up. That seems to work.”
T. Rousey: ”What do you think your biggest weakness is and how are you trying” to turn that into a strength?
Carlos Whittaker: “Biggest weakness is people pleasing which is also one of my greatest strengths because I connect people. Its just a matter of balance.”
T. Rousey: ”You and the Whittaker family are packing up and moving to Chicago to do life with the people of Soul City Church. What excites you the
most about the new venture God has for you?”
Carlos Whittaker: “I’ve always longed for urban life! Just excited about being in community and striving for transformation.”
T. Rousey: ”If you could go back and do one thing differently in your time of ministry what would it be?”
Carlos Whittaker: “Read my bible more. Simple, but the only real answer.”
Los thanks for the time bro! I appreciate you and all you do! Can’t wait to keep learning from you man!
Colt McCoy grew up playing football in the state of Texas!
For those of you who don’t know anything about football in that state I’ll just fill you in by saying…
It’s life!!!
Colt grew up wanting to play and win a Championship for the University as Texas!
On Thursday Jan 7, 2010 Colt got his chance!
National Championship game in beautiful Pasadena California, with world watching!
Colt McCoy gets hit in the first quarter and is not able to play for the rest of the game because of a shoulder injury.
Colt being the leader he is cheers his team on from the sideline but they end up losing the game.
It’s amazing to me at the end of the game how he says…“never question why things happen the way they do” and to “always give God the glory”
That couldn’t of been easy! I know personally I would of struggled to do that!
I just want to give Colt props for truly trusting in God!
Despite the lost on the field, he’s a winner!
