What a Christmas it is. We were blessed this week with the most amazing Christmas gift we've ever received. Gabriel Thomas was born 12/20 at 3:47PM. He was 7lbs 9ozs. 20 1/4 inches long and drop dead gorgeous.
Thank you all so much for your prayers throughout the past year. Please continue to pray for strength, health, and most importantly that Gabriel grow to know Christ and His abundance and grace more with each day that passes.
'It is the most ungodly and dangerous business to abandon the certain and revealed will of God in order to search in to the hidden mysteries of God.'
Martin Luther
If you don't have the right to fail and you are constantly being protected from failure, you can never truly succeed.
God does not basically give grace because there is a need, but God gives grace because He is a gracious God. - Johnnie Foglander
My beautiful wife Katie
My gorgeous son Gabriel who I have not yet had the privilege to meet
Wonderful, God fearing parents who weren't afraid to raise a son in the way he should go
Friendship that extends from the past well into the future
Men who stand in my life as mentors and friends who aren't afraid to speak truth
The opportunity to do life together with men and women who seek passionately after the ways of the Kingdom
A life that I do not deserve
A Savior that made it possible to live abundantly now and forever
Joy
Sovereign Hands, that guide, protect, provide, and comfort
The opportunity to speak to my generation
The blessing of knowing that I am His
The freedom to dream
Renewed Vision for my life, my family, my friends, the world
The Church spread throughout the world, living out daily the Glory of Christ
I am thankful, I am undeserving, I am humbled.
Living for others, is a means of grace. We give because of our faith, and it deepens as we give. If we permit ourselves to give casually, we are really teaching contempt.
Did anyone else watch 60 Minutes tonight? Especially the segment on the "Millenials"? My generation is seemingly pathetic. Work ethic seems to have been replaced with entitlement. As a leader I am appalled by my peers, get off your butts, turn off your IPods and get your hands dirty. Future CEO? Hardly.
Fortune 500, please do not hire my generation until it learns to work and enjoy it. Just because an institution, that once held some sense of credibility, gave them a degree in underwater basket weaving, it doesn't tell you how they've led, how they've earned the right to sit at the table, it doesn't even tell you that they know how to do what you're hiring them to do.
Here's a hint when hiring a hipster, we've never been told no. If you want to weed out the worst of us, make us earn the right to lead, don't give it to someone because of their pedigree or how cool they seem. Give them entry level positions and make them work their way up. Don't be afraid to say no.
If someone isn't willing to sweat and sacrifice, I won't follow them, and hopefully no one else will either. If they want to play video games at work they have two options, get a job making video games or move back in with mom and dad.
Oh yeah, take away retirement plans, your generation should be the last to have that travesty thrust upon them. We're lazy enough, we shouldn't mark our calendars with the day we get to become even lazier.
I realize that this sounds a bit critical, that's because it is. You see there are a few of us in the "millenial" crowd who have chosen to focus on becoming real leaders who have dirt under our fingernails and work in a way that our grandparents would be proud of. Don't judge the us all by the standards of the majority. Let those of us who are called to speak into our generation have time make a difference. Don't give up hope, hard workers with intellect and a sense of purpose do exist. But just like in your generation the nut jobs got all the airtime, so it is with ours.
So World, I apologize for my peers on 60 minutes, they don't represent us all.
What a wonderful life. Today we enjoyed a little down time, went to church, hung out with each other, and in a few minutes I'll be watching the Simpsons.
This life God has blessed us with is beautiful beyond description. Our team is not simply coworkers but our best friends. We live, work, make decisions, worship, and have a lot of fun together. This weekend our friends through an amazing baby shower for Katie, while all of us guys had an awesome night of guy time.
Thank you all for sharing this life with Katie and I. We are blessed beyond measure to simply live this life with you.
Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski was invited by the Sioux Chief Standing Bear to carve a memorial to the Indian People. A television documentary covered the progress of the carving of Crazy Horse into a hue granite face of the Yellow Stone Mountains. Clearly this work was going to exceed the life span of the sculptor. He has since died and the sculpture is far from complete. Yet his children continue his work. Current estimates are that it will be completed without federal funding by the year 2050. The sculpture of the warrior astride a stallion will be 563 feet tall. That’s eight feet higher than the Washington Monument and nine times as high as the faces of the four American Presidents carved in Mount Rushmore, just a few miles north of Crazy Horse.
Why go to such effort? In an interview late sculptor said this:
When your life on earth is over, the world will ask just one question.
Did you do what you were supposed to do?
When Michaelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel he was told: Don’t you know you can lose your life?!? His reply? What else is life for?
These two artists from different eras had a similar view of their work. The question to you this morning is this. What is your life work?
Some people do great things, but have no contentment. Others know that they have accomplished what they were created to do. Paul the apostle, and pioneer of the early church said this. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. Yet Michaelangelo had no assurance of his spiritual prospects after death. John Wesley founded a movement that far exceeded his years. His counterpart, Whitfield, did amazing things, and yet even a brief look at his life finds a lack of contentment, he himself said that he had built a rope made of sand. Jesus’ words to His Father was this, I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you have sent me to do.
By contrast Pancho Villa’s last words on earth when the US Military had tried him and sentenced him to death were this. “Don’t let it end this way, Tell them I said something.” How about you, will you be searching for words on your death bed or will you say as Christ said, I have brought you glory, because I have done what you sent me to do?
You say I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. How do I find out?
Well let’s look at a few things, First, there’s your part. ‘
This includes your cooperation in simple steps of obedience that increase your understanding, preparing for and walking into the Creator’s purposes for you. Your availability in God’s hands as he weaves together the tapestry of your life, pulls, knots, and polishes the strands of your being. Submission, Obedience and availability. That’s your part. Do you want to live a life that leaves a mark? Commit your life to making Jesus the central figure of who you are, Submit yourself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and Give yourself to only that which is pleasing to the Father.
So there’s our Part, then there’s the Sovereign Part.
This consists of the deliberate drawing together of those threads, the tapestry that is your life, that have been woven together for as long as you have been alive in a way that reveals your calling. What are the God given passions deep down inside. What has He equipped you to do. What are you weaknesses that when submitted His strength is found. The wonderful thing about the sovereignty of God is that it will always be revealed if we commit ourselves to seeing it.
Your part, the Sovereign Part, The end part.
Listening, understanding, realizing that yes indeed, this thing being birthed within me is what my life is for. It is my divine calling, it is my life’s work.
Leaving your mark is not setting about to do great things. Leaving one’s mark comes through setting one’s face toward a walk of obedience that is carried to completion.
I heard recently a dear friend say that one of the reasons the church isn’t realizing it’s full potential is because we aren’t focusing on the right things, we aren’t focusing on anything consistently.
Why are men not content, because they lost their focus. No longer are our families our focus, but our careers, our money, our position are now our focus. Why are families falling apart? Because we have lost our focus, families don’t even eat together at the dinner table anymore, we’re too busy running off to soccer games or dance recitals. Why are we so tired? Because we think that true rest only comes when we’re on vacation. If we can’t rest in our homes, how dare we think we can rest anywhere else.
Setting one’s face towards a walk of obedience requires focus that will last until the end.
Without vision, the people will perish, how often have we heard this preached. How often have we been told that we must conquer the world. So we set forth with our mighty programs, and ideas of grandeur and we attack hell with barrels blazing only to find that we are carrying water pistols. I think what that verse is saying is simply this, we must have a vision, for our families, for ourselves, and for those we do life together with, and that in and of itself will change the world.
Our focus must be sure, our focus must be consistent, and our focus must centered in Christ.
To leave our mark we must know our purpose, our life’s work. To accomplish that we must obey, and listen. Once we know our life’s work we must commit to it, with our focus never wavering, even if the grass is greener on the other side and there are better offers on the table.
God has given us each the privilege of serving Him. With that He has given each of specific Callings, we are all called to something.
I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith, I have finished my course. Those are the words of a man who knew he had left a mark. What will yours be?
Why do we speak conditionally about permanent truths eternally, bread by a society of faux philosophers who are little more than philistines?
I got this from a friend...wanted to share.
As I sit here and listen to your creation I wonder
How a God could create such beauty and the man he created to protect it would take it in vain as we do.
I here the sound of crickets and frogs sing a chorus of wonder into the starlit night for all who will listen and hear.
To hear that creation itself will sing of your goodness if man will not
That the stars that shine above shine out of your power and light and yet we fail to see your glory as a comet races by
The night is dark, but in the darkest of night creation sings it’s hallelujahs while man is silent
Why would I be silent, if my reason for silence isn’t to listen for the sound of creations song?
Why is my silence screaming so loud that I cannot hear your voice?
What is in my heart that hides my face from your glory and my lips from your praise?
Tonight as I sit under the starlit sky may the light of your glory become so bright that even with eyes closed I rest and soak in your presence
Tonight as I listen to the song of the wild may my lips form the words to praise you my creator and king
Tonight as the cricket sings your lullaby may my life begin to reflect worship that only the maker of all creation deserves?
Who could create such beauty? And who could deny Him His praise?
The rocks have no right to cry out as long as I live
It is my privilege, no my honor to lift my voice in praise and offer my life as a sacrifice of worship on the altar of service before you
No the rocks will not cry out as long as I have breath, it is my calling that the praise of my life be such that all who meet me meet my creator
It is for His service that I was born, it is for His service that I live
All other pursuits are vanity, all other dreams become nightmares
If it does not come from you my king, who makes the stars to conduct this symphony of praise upon my ears, I do not desire it
As the psalmist declares, let the people praise you Oh God, let all the peoples praise you
For then they shall see your glory and join in this chorus that permeates the earth as the waters cover the sea
I like to call it my Cave time...A time when I can simply sit and listen, a time where the chaos is silenced for a time of silent contemplation, a time to listen.
The idea of prayer is powerful concept. However it is often misunderstood. We are taught, or maybe we just hear what we want, that the idea of prayer is an always open petition line between man and God. A time where we boldly come before the throne and tell God what we think we need. And this is true, there is a power in the fact that we have the ability to speak with authority to the creator and make known our requests. But sadly most of us end there. Of course we all know there is more, but in practice, we stop there.
But in the midst of life, in the midst of chaos where is peace? Where is contentment? I believe it is in the voice of God. A voice that is often missed because we fail to be silent. Sometimes this silence is literal, we get alone, we seek God in the quiet place. Other times we must find this silence in the middle of our day when life doesn't allow for quiet contemplation.
Silence isn't always stopping the noise around us, it is simply stopping the noise within. It is allowing the voice of God to be revealed within our being. To hear this voice, to know this voice I think we need to practice the prayer of silence. Where we simply quiet our spirits, knowing that our troubles and cares are in the hands of a soveriegn God, and listening for His leading, His guidance, His comfort.
Some say that silence isn't possible within a troubled spirit...I say that is true unless you believe that a God that can calm the seas can calm our spirit. Chaos and turmoil disrupting our spirit is a matter submission, not of circumstance.
The submitted heart can always find silence in chaos. If circumstances control the attitude of the heart one will never find joy in the silence of prayer, because the prayer of silence requires releasing control and submitting our story to a greater story.
If my people pray...I will hear...I will heal... I will forgive
If my people submit...What would happen?
If my people obey...What would happen?
If my people listen...What would happen?
We just got back from the doctor, where we found out that we're having a BOY!!!!
Please pray for the continued health of baby and momma.
Pray for wisdom and guidance as we bring this little one into the world.
Pray for all those poor little girls hearts who I'm sure he'll break just by looking at them.
Pray that he looks like his mom
Pray that our child will know God in a very real and personal way
Pray that he grows in love for Christ as he grows in stature
We are so excited that God has chosen us to raise this child...We know that it takes an entire community to raise a child in the way he should go, for those of you who share in our lives we are excited that our son will have such an amazing community of faith, family and friends.
Blessings to you all!!!!!
The way a man thinks dictates his circumstances.
The strong cannot help the weak until the weak understands he needs help.
Thinking for other people is hard, thinking for yourself is harder.
The man who thinks rightly, does justly.
The heart that is pure has a mind that has clean thoughts.
Theoretical thinking is worthless without action.
Philosophy is not helpful if not proven.
Knowledge is useless if righteous living is not pursued.
If a vision does not include the souls of man, it is no vision at all.
A man who does not enjoy work, does not understand the will of the Father.
The man who speaks without earning the right to be heard hurts only himself, the men who let him speak hurt all who listen.
Well, life is busy, and God is good, that's why.
I've realized that life is to be lived and then written about, not spoken of in theoretical contexts. Therefore, our writings shouldn't be about what should be or how things could be better, rather they should be about what has been done or how we are actively trying to improve the world we live in. Too often we write as if we are the final authority on life, scripture, theology, etc. Yet when the truth is known, our lives aren't being lived well, our stewardship of Godly gifts is off the charts corrupt and we judge with our writings in a way that we wouldn't dare judge ourselves.
How can I write about the marketplace if I'm not in it? How can a pastor speak to a church about how they should act at work when the only work he did this week was spend 15 hours too long on a sermon about how you should act at work. What right does someone have to speak with authority on things that they are not and refuse to live out?
If I were to write as an authority on a medical condition you would expect me to be a doctor, one who specializes in that field. So where do we come off as pastors, writers, teachers writing on subject matter that we aren't living out. I'm sick of reading books by men who have never worked an honest day in there life and yet they feel as if they have a grip on the real world. So what, you have a degree from a seminary, you have a PhD, that's great, but if you want to write you better have fruit to back it up not pedigree and papers.
By fruit I don't mean a mega church (see previous mega church blog). By fruit, I mean that your life is raw, dangerous, painful at times, hard, but full of joy, peace, abundance, life. The proof is in the pudding, not in the pages of books.
So Mike why haven't you written in a while? Well, I've been making pudding, not wasting time writing about things I have yet to live.
This morning I received news just as the rest of the world did, that my friend, Jerry Falwell had passed away. The emotional tug of war that took place following the call was something not easily forgotten. For the better part of my adult life Dr. Falwell was more than a man on a stage or that conservative nut job. Jerry was my friend.
One of my first "adult" jobs was with Jerry. Riding around in the Suburban I'll never forget the man who impacted my life on so many levels. As years went by and distance separated those rides, my phone rang occasionally with a simple deep voice saying, "How's it goin Mike? I'm proud of you, I'm praying for you."
Our politics never exactly lined up, Jerry being the Neo-Con and I being a strict Constitutionalist, however there was a common bond even in our disagreement, an intense love for this country. Some may disagree, but Jerry was a great patriot leader and our country is better because of his presence.
His sense of humor will always stay with me, whether it was driving on the sidewalk to run down a student or throwing you over the couch with those massive fists, he was always the prankster. To live the life he lived without humor would have been impossible, thank you Jerry for making me laugh.
Jerry's theology was neither here nor there, he had his beliefs and he stood by them. But he had a heart that was always open to change, but only if he was convinced it was of God. From hymns to DC Talk Jerry showed us a side that most of us aren't willing to open up. Thanks Jerry for showing that change is a good thing.
The Jerry I will remember isn't the man who left an empire or a legacy. Everyone else will write about that. The Jerry I remember was a man who simply wanted you to know Jesus.
A friend today said that Jerry was a leader for his day and age. The 70's and 80's needed a man like him to stand with a mighty voice and proclaim a righteous God. The torch has been passed, leadership doesn't look like it did 30 years ago. But one thing remains the same, we have seen that every generation needs someone to stand in the gap. Jerry stood, now it's our turn.
Rest with your Jesus, Jerry. You always said you'd sleep when you died, well sir you have earned your rest. I'll miss you and I'll always know that you were my friend.
What does this mean? What does it mean to go to the ends of the earth? Are we commanded to make converts or is that Jesus' job? If so what does it mean to make disciples?
These questions and many more are large part of the journey we are on. Along with the questions, are values that not only shape but are ultimate goals of the way we live our lives. Are these values Kingdom values? If so, then am I seeking the Kingdom first or do ministry and dreams get in the way?
This path that we are on doesn't lend time to waste, so the choices we make reveal the true character of who we are. Much of my life this hasn't been the case, I could hide behind the sexiness of full time ministry. Today there is no shield to hind behind. And to be quite honest, I've been forced to mature and grow up in ways that would have never happened if I had stayed in the institution.
What would it look like if we took away the shield of ministry and exposed the private lives of pastors and church leaders across America? Would we all go to church on Sunday when we realize that these men are no better than us? That they have no more Jesus than the rest of us.
I am thankful today that the veil has been removed and values have replaced what I once hid behind.
The life we live definitely isn't sexy, but the fruit of today's actions will last much longer than anything accomplished without the values we now hold dear.
Seek first the Kingdom and we'll discover who we are when no one is looking.
And after the fall God cursed work....
Or at least that is how those of us in the West tend to look at it. Fortunately for us this was never God's intention. In fact I believe just the opposite, that work is a source of joy and strength. Labor is the fruit of walking with God and caring for His people. Below, I wrote a one line statement that sums up my thoughts, The harder I work the more fun I have.
For most this statement is absurd. Work for the American is merely a means to an end, a way to support a lifestyle. What I would suggest is that our work is where the character of private lifestyle is revealed. Katie and I are asked rather frequently why we don't receive support as missionaries living here in the city, my response is usually this, why should anyone receive support if they are physically able to work. The idea of brokering breadcrumbs for the advancement of the Gospel is ridiculous. The ability to work is a gift and to live off the work of others is a slap in the face to the one who gave the gift.
God created work for the enjoyment of man; he gave him dominion over the land, to take care of the land and animals, to walk with God in His work of creation. When man fell into sin, only man was cursed with the sweat of his brow and the land was cursed with thorns and thistles, the idea of work was still to commune with the Almighty.
As a child I learned the value of hard work, at an early age I was out on the farm working the garden, mowing the lawn, chopping trees. This ethic of hard work served a dual purpose, at face value it gave me the tools I needed to advance quickly and work circles around those I worked with. On a much deeper level, I now realize, although I didn't at the time, that I was learning the way of God and at a very early age I was introduced to His will for all mankind.
The welfare system exists today because we have learned that God cursed work therefore the joy of God cannot be found in it. We have been shaped by the thought of retirement and a sense of entitlement that is not found in the scripture. I fully believe that God has been at work since the beginning of time and has not thoughts of retirement. Where did we get the idea that working hard for 35 years gives one the right to search the beach for seashells for the final 30 years of life? I agree with Piper when he calls the idea of retirement the greatest tragedy of modern American consumerism.
I believe that the call of this generation is to begin to redeem the value and the joy of hard work. Our community of faith is entrenched in the Joy of work everyday. Together we will take great risks and see great results, but this will never come without the sweat equity of hard work. Without work knowledge and education is futile. The right to set at the table doesn't come from your pedigree or papers it comes from one's willingness to roll up his sleeves and get dirty. That is where we find a great communion with the Joy of God.
Though I try, I cannot come close to describing the joy of sweating and "tilling the soil" with my brothers in the simple pursuit of what God has placed before us. The harder I work the more fun I have, doesn't fit with the American psyche, but then most things of God won't fit in our neat little boxes of entitlement. When we learn that God himself, wanting to walk in communion with us is the greatest gift we realize that work isn't a means to an end, it is simply a lifestyle of Worship.
Over the past few weeks I have been asked many times, what is my dream? I can answer that today without thoughts of grandeur or lofty pursuits. My dream is to work. To serve God, to serve man, to serve my wife, my children. To pursue what has been placed before me regardless of what it is. My dream is to experience the abundance and joy of the Kingdom. My dream is to work harder and have more fun.
In about 11 hours I will be speaking on the missional life. A life devoted to being rather than consumed with doing. As I sit here and prepare my thoughts for tomorrow I am increasingly grateful for the examples of missional living around us. The friends that God has given us are committed to simply being the people of God where they are, not needing to sale themselves to anyone or explain what they're doing to those who ask.
I am humbled by such men and women and long to become such a man. A man who is accountable to his friends and to God. Not controlled by the latest trends in the church or the hierarchy thereof. The impact of the church as a people rather than an institution is sometimes unseen by the physical eye that is trained to look for flashy results and shows that would put broadway to shame. While I know that we could produce a helluva show and attract large crowds easily, it is equally as obvious that that in no way would transform a city, much less an individual's relationship with an almighty God. It is only through lifestyles committed to the simplicity of the gospel and love of Christ that true fruit is produced.
I have never seen a tree produce an apple by screaming, hey look at me, I'm the best tree around, I sway to the breeze just right and I rock out only to the best tweeting birds in town. No, the tree quietly lives its life as a tree and produces fruit. So may the follower simply produce fruit and not long for the recognition of the orchard.
Luke 2:41-49
As we come together this morning we realize that we are here for a purpose. I think we would all agree that each of us has a divine call to follow God and to serve God. Our hearts desire God, I trust that is why you are here this morning. Some of you may be here because this is where you think good Christians go on Sunday mornings, so you’re here out of obligation. Some of you may be here because it would shame your family’s name if you weren’t in church every time the doors are open.
Whatever your reason for coming this morning, I am personally glad that you chose to come today. Not because I think you should be here every time the doors are open, nor because I think you should be here at all. In fact, you all know me well enough to know that I do not hold the four walls of the church any more sacred than the dinner you will have with your family and friends later tonight or more sacred than the job you will do tomorrow.
I’m glad you’re here this morning because we’re going to dive into something that I think we miss all to often, and honestly this topic is a topic of life changing proportion. Not because I’m preaching it, but because this is the basics of faith and calling, and if we don’t get this we might as well pack it up and call it a day.
When Jesus was just 12 years old he did what most 12 year old boys do, he separated himself from what was expected and went off exploring. Three days into his adventure his parents found him in the temple, listening, participating, and teaching the chief teachers.
I can only imagine the distress and even anger that Mary and Joseph had toward Jesus when they found him. Jesus should be glad that he didn’t have my parents because, I got lost for a half hour in Kmart one time and I got the spanking of a lifetime, I can only imagine what they would have done after 3 days.
The words that came from the mouth of Jesus as a 12 year old boy are profound and prophetic, yet overlooked by scholars, theologians, pastors, and teachers. And because they are overlooked by those whom we trust to teach us, they are often overlooked, by businessmen, accountants, lawyers, doctors, construction workers, and wood refinishers.
When Mary and Joseph found young Jesus in the temple the conversation probably sounded a little like this; young man where have you been, don’t you know that your mother and I were very worried, and now we’re very angry, you shouldn’t run off like that. “But mom, dad, don’t you know why I was sent here? Remember those angels? I was sent here to do my Father’s business. It must be done, and you are a big part of that business. I’m sorry I didn’t get your permission, but I have to do my Father’s business.”
The next line in scripture is pretty intense, they did not understand what he was saying, but Mary kept the things in her heart and treasured them. Why would Mary treasure what had worried her? I think it is because she was suddenly reminded of that night when she was told that she was going to be the mother of the Savior of the world. She realized that her part in the Father’s business was big, and to her no other treasure could come close.
This morning, I want us to talk about this thing Jesus was devoted to, doing the Father’s Business. Did you know that the same word used here for business is the same word used interchangeably for business and ministry. There is no difference between the two. Whenever Scripture speaks of business or church ministry it uses the same word, the really cool thing is that this is consistent in the Greek of the NT and the Hebrew of the old. I think there is a significant message for us to grasp.
This past week I had a customer tell me that I didn’t need a platform or a pulpit, she said that my Nhance team had shown more Christ in one day than all the preachers she had ever listened to. That statement, quite honestly, has caused a great amount of grief in my spirit. Why? Because I personally like having a platform or standing behind the pulpit. But her words pierced deep, deep enough to cause me to realize that what I am doing right here and now is of no greater importance than what I do when I scrub floors.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit to you today, once again, that if what we do in here doesn’t spill into the streets out there, then we have no business doing it. If what you do in here doesn’t effect every aspect of your life, your business, out there then stay at home and get the extra 2 hours of sleep, because that is more useful to you than listening to me.
Too often we hold the pulpit to an elevated position. People react one way when I say that I am a pastor, and another when I say that I refinish wood. My customer this week opened my eyes to see that the those of us who lift up the pulpit forget those who have been hurt by the church, we abandon those who are too ashamed to come near a steeple, we judge those who live a different lifestyle. Instead of lifting up the pulpit I suggest that we live as Jesus lived, we together, live our lives working on the Father’s Business.
What is the Father’s Business you ask?
I think we see that answer in Jesus. To be an example for imitation. Jesus never made a command that he had not already lived out in front of his disciples. To be about the Father’s Business is to be an imitator of Jesus Christ and then to be an example for imitation among the world.
Why is it that Jesus said follow me, rather than come to my church on Sunday? It is because he knew the value of apprenticeship and encouraged those who wanted to be about the Father’s business to literally take up their cross and become like Him.
That is what the very word Christian means, Like Christ, or little Christ. I doubt that in my own life I deserve that title most of the time and yet that is what we proudly proclaim that we are.
If we are truly about the Father’s business then we have no need to bestow titles upon ourselves, like pastor, or bishop, or elder, much less Christian. The world would recognize who we are imitating and be compelled to either scoff or become imitators themselves.
The modern era that we have lived in since the 15th century is ending, and with the ending of modernity society inevitably will change with it. What is the Father’s business in this new age of communication or postmodernity? I suggest that it is the same as it was when Jesus first said it, the Father’s business is to be the ultimate example of the Father’s kingdom.
So how do we go about the Father’s business? How do we become imitators of Christ?
I think that we must first recognize the very Spirit of Christ. What was the impelling power that made Christ say, I must be about my Father’s business?
In the first place it was the spirit of obedience. An obedience to do that which he was made to do. For Jesus it was to be the ultimate example of abundant life, to teach us how to live, to teach us how to forgive. For Jesus, his obedience took him to the cross, to the pits of hell, and to the resurrection of life. Jesus was obedient not only in death but in life. His salvation was accomplished not in his death, but in his coming. The forgiveness of the Father happened long before the cross, forgiveness is why he sent Jesus? Jesus came because of the one who sent him. He came out of obedience. Our salvation, quite honestly is secondary to the obedience of the Son to the Father.
We are about the Father’s business when we are obedient to his call. His call to follow his Son, his call to live in abundance, to reject shame, and to live a life of fulfillment. In the book, Pursuit of Holiness, the author suggest that we are about the business of the Father when we reject our self. When we reject sin because it hurts the Father, not because it hurts us. When our actions are based on the call that the Father has given, rather than what we would have for ourselves or for others. Obedience is the fruit of submission to the Father’s call.
What is the Father’s call on your life? Are you walking in it? Or are you pursuing the things that you want, or your family wants?
Going deeper, realize that wherever you are, the Father’s business is primary. If you are at your desk, you are to be an example of the living Christ, if you are not, you are not about you Father’s business. When you go to the market, you are to be an imitator of the Son, if you are not, you are not about the Father’s business. Regardless of your occupation, your ultimate calling is the same, to imitate the Son, to be his disciple, and through your example lead others to the Father.
Christ was compelled to the Father’s business through His obedience and through His call. So should we, through our submission to Christ, be compelled to do the Business of the Father. There should be no better marketer than the submitted servant. There should be no better sales person than the man who cares more for the soul than for the sale. There should be no better student than the one submitted to the greatest teacher.
We are to be about the Father’s business. What I do today is of no more importance than what you do today. There is no higher calling to ministry, all business, all ministry are equal callings. In fact you will reach more people through your personal network in one day than I can reach from a pulpit in a year.
You are all key stock holders in the greatest business ever started. The beautiful thing is that you are not to be silent partners. GO and BE about the Father’s Business.
"You don't need a platform, you did more today than all the preachers I've heard in my life"
I had never heard that before this week. But somehow God placed a customer in our path that overheard an entire day of the Kingdom. Steve and I spent the day as we usually do scrubbing floors and talking theology. Not your father's theology of 'ism's and 'ation's, but life values, biblical principles, and contextualized thought. Monday, Steve and I happened to talk about our "platforms" regardless of it's ministerial context.
We spent the day discussing the gospel matter of factly, thinking that our customer was watching tv or playing with her dogs. We voiced our frustrations with those who cheapen the gospel to a mere western context and those who teach without living out the very values they speak of. Overall, our conversation was another day of deconstructing and rebuilding of our understanding of the church and the kingdom.
Without our realizing it, our customer listened to our entire conversation. At the end of the day as I was closing out with her we talked for quite a while, long enough for my team to call my cell phone to see if everything was ok. The conversation was rich in compliments for our team and our work, which she called art, but more than that she let me know that everything that had been said she had been listening to. She informed me that she wasn't religious, but she said, if more Christians presented themselves as our team did then she might think about it. She went on to make the statement I posted at the beginning. Then she handed me the check, hugged me and walked me to the door.
As I shared the story with the team they rejoiced with me in the fact that God had used something as small as refinishing a floor to touch the heart of 60 something woman. The rejoicing has turned to inward thought and contemplation as I try to process the events of the day. Generally I take about 24 hours to process an event and begin to have an understanding. After some 48 hours I am still perplexed by the events that unfolded Monday evening. God had Steve and I in her house for a reason, and I believe a prophetic word.
We are to be about the Father's business (Thanks Ken) no matter the context of our work or calling. Do we even stop to realize that as a child Jesus said, do you not realize that I am about my Father's business? The greek word used throughout scripture for business is the same exact word used for ministry. There is no seperation between the two. There is no "Higher Calling" Every waking moment we are to be about the Father's business.
There really is no need for a platform or a soap box to live out the gospel in front of people every day. If we have to resort to always using words to share the gospel then we are failingto truly be followers of Christ. Words are used for teaching and instruction, our lives are to be living examples of Jesus Christ. When we do the Father's business the world knows it. When we do the Father's business, people are drawn to it.
Why is it that we seperate ministry and work? Why do people react one way when I say I refinish wood, and react another when I say that I am a pastor? The two are the same, in fact I would argue that what I do when I am in someone elses house is more important to the kingdom than what I say from the pulpit on Sunday morning.
I am increasingly aware of the piety and superficiallity of those who claim the pulpit is of higher calling than those who see ministry as life. The pill that is hard to swallow is that I love to teach, preach, and be behind the pulpit. But just because I can doesn't mean I should. Current sociological patterns would suggest that traditional institutional church is passing away, and the role of the pastor is shifting to a more biblically based version that states the pastor is to care for souls. Scripture never suggests that the role of pastor is behind the pulpit.
Sure there is a context in which we teach and preach, but that context is devoid of the former platform. Discipleship is apprenticing Christ, or becoming His protege. But we have to ask the question, what would happen if pastors released control to the businessman to disciple and train followers within the context of the real world, not the fantasy land we go to on Sunday mornings.
The platform that transform society is one that isn't removed from it, but is an intricate part of it. Why is it that we expect the world to come to the church? Missional life dictates that the church go to the world. What better platform could we ask for than the one already provided, Business?
The church is not bound to four walls, a pastor, deacons, and pot luck dinners. The world will be reached by the example lived out in front of it. The world is our platform and abundant life through Christ is our message. We don't need pulpits, or street preaching. We don't need committees or sessions. You can reach more people today through your network than I ever will from a pulpit or classroom.
Change your platform, Change the world!!!
This past weekend Katie and I enjoyed a relaxing trip out of the city, unfortunately to get out of the city we had to endure a trip through the suburbs. One observation remains at the forefront of my thoughts, the further we got outside the city limits the larger the church buildings got. Initially the thought of a mighty God movement comes to mind, God is alive in the suburbs, or so we think.
Unfortunately the realization soon sets in that the Mega Church movement, which is thankfully beginning to die out in the emerging world, was never an explosion of God's moving, but rather it began solely out of reaction to a cultural shift that clearly was an abandonment of God's plan and purposes for the cities.
Looking back on the history of Mega Churches we would be hard pressed to find a suburban church that was "mega" before the influx of housing developments and strip malls. The churches that we look at and the leaders we idolize are merely a reflection of the churches historic inability to be on the leading edge of cultural shifts.
Please note that I am well aware of the many things God has done through this movement and the lives that have been changed by it. I am only stating the obvious that the church seemingly failed society by falling into a consumerist mindset that allowed the suburban sprawl without a single thought for the negative spiritual impact upon the cities.
The church of the modern American era has been a people of reactive or even passive action to cultural problems. It failed to condemn the theft of land and massacre of native Americans, it failed to call for an end to slavery, it never called for equal rights, nor did it call for Christians to stand in the gap for the cities. The church always seems to react to cultural movements instead of being on the front lines fighting for the very least of these.
I was saddened by the site of these large churches, not because of what God has done, but because of the lack of understanding of what was left behind. The church today stands on the threshold of a new age, we call it Postmodernism, the corporate world calls it the Communication age. Regardless of what we call it, the church has a chance to be proactive rather than reactive. I don't entirely know what that means, but I desire to seek the answer.
This morning I discovered the wonderful world of Sugarlump Coffee Lounge. I came here because I'm taking a part in a discussion
here Thursday night. What I found when I got here was the epitamy of what I thought SF life would be. As I write this I am looking out on the intersection of 24th and Bryant.
This section of the Mission is wonderfully eclectic. Every class and color can and will walk by within any 15 minute time frame. This gives way to an internal prayer that I have not known before. It is a prayer for the city that I don't yet understand. I see emptiness and loss of hope in the faces that walk by, but yet I see a longing for something just out of reach.
Across from me sits a gay couple that are very chatty. I've enjoyed listening to them plan their day and being included in their lives with simple smiles and hello's. My heart goes out to them, not because they're gay, but because I want them to know My Jesus. My dad has always said that the only Jesus most people will ever meet walks around everyday in leather souled shoes. Today I hope they see Jesus through a guy wearing flip flops and ripped up jeans.
There is a little girl running around, her father says she's 13 months. She just hugged my leg and played with the umbrella by the door getting me slightly wet. My prayer is for her. That she know Jesus during her life and that she see him even today at 13 months old. My prayer is for her parents who obviously love her very very much. She seems to bring so much joy to their lives, maybe they see Jesus in her.
I have placed myself far away from the fire because I wanted to be in the corner to work on my book, I wrote a few pages but I am consumed with these people. Hipsters, Bohemians, disfunctional families, beautiful families, color, and differing family roles all seem to make up this little world within a world.
All around me there is talk, talk of real estate, bio medicine, very little politics, except the occasional Bush bashing which I heartedly partake in.
This place is apparently larger than I thought, I've been here for an hour and a half and people are leaving I never saw come in, or was I too consumed with myself to notice.
This place intrigues me, I'll come back, I wish it was everyday, but at least once a week. Hopefully this prayer within me can be birthed. Maybe this place can be a haven of peace for the city, I don't know, but I can dream.
And maybe just maybe someone saw Jesus today, I just hope someone saw him through a guy in flip flops and ripped up jeans.
Today I saw God, I saw Him in my teamates. I experienced life together, and I saw the fullness of God. I just wanted to share that. Take a look at who God has placed in your path right now, that's where you'll see Him. It's in the lives of those around you that you learn what He is teaching and you hear what He is saying.
Today I saw God, tomorrow, maybe you will too....
peace~
Lessons are learned everyday. Life taught me today that being still and knowing must happen in the midst of chaos. I can't run off to my cave, the country, the coffee shop everytime I need to connect with God. Today I learned that "silent retreats" must happen in the course of the day, in the midst of the mess.
When we learn to be still and know in the chaos we can see evidence of God being exalted right in front of us. After all isn't that what it's all about? Or did we forget and make it about us again?
So I got my haircut today, I don't like it. I feel like a televangelist who let Tammy Faye Baker style his hair. I was going to put up a picture, but I'm too embarrassed.
praying that it grows out quickly....
Today I was asked, If I could paint the perfect picture of the next 6 months what would it be? After beating around the bush and half answering the question I gave up. For the first time in my life I don't know what the perfect picture looks like, all I know is who the central characters are. And maybe that's the answer, Who and Why is more important than What and How. Maybe.
Today I watched the Super Bowl with dear friends and realized that this is what Church is suppose to be. When we gather, we are supposed to celebrate together around our lives lived well within a Kingdom perspective. I smoked a cigar, I laughed, I listened, and most importantly, we loved. We were together, sure the super bowl was our excuse to have the party, but the Kingdom was the binding force. How beautiful the worship of God in the context of simple togetherness. I wish that I could articulate the fruit that was shown and the abundance and joy of our lives, but mere words simply can't contain this life together.
Today I worshipped, with my brothers.
On January 15 Berniece Holley, a friend of Katie said her final goodbyes and went home. I never met Berniece but she left behind a legacy that can't be ignored. She introduced everyone she met to the Jesus that she loved.
The following words are her own words, her testimony so to speak. Berniece was a member of the Church of God in Christ and served her community until her death.
"The Lord had to bring me a mighty long way to get me out of the clutches of the devil for he had me wrapped, tied and bound. But one day the Lord came all the way from heaven down to save an undone wretch like me. I was lost one day but thank God for his goodness and mercy.
My family said there was no hope for me. I was into the things the world had to offer which was nothing but death, hell and desctruction. The devil thought he had me but Jesus rewrote my life. He gave me the ming to seek Him right after my birthday of 1958. I began to pray for the Holy Ghost. I didn't grow up in the church so I didn't know exactly what I was asking for. I had a neighbor who belonged to the church but was doing everything I was doing in my sin. I knew I didn't want that, I wanted the "real thing". I knew God was real. I put everything out of my mind but Jesus and I started to pray. I continued to pray day and night.
I made up my mind to attend church. At church I received my blessings from God and I felt good, but I knew something was missing. One night at home on my knees, I felt another presence; someone touched me. I heard a noice as if a big ball was rolling across the floor. The devil didn't want me to give my life totally to God, but praise God, mercy was in action. As I continued to pray I heard a sound coming down from above. I began to speak in another tongue as the spirit gave me utterance. I thought I knew love because I loved my children, but that night-Praise the Lord-I had a different kind of love. I knew Agape love. God's love. Glory be to God. Jesus rewrote my life."
Regardless of theological context, agree or disagree this beautiful lady is now in the presence of God. The beautiful thing about her life is that from 1958 until the day she left this earth she was always in the presence of God. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could all learn the presence of Christ here and now, rather than waiting for a divine appointment in the sky.
Run the streets Berniece, Jesus rewrote your life. May he rewrite mine today!!
I'm tired, my body is sore, it's been a long week to say the least. But is has also been a week of discipline and growth. The Spirit of God is truly moving within me and I am excited as He teaches.
So often I am consumed by future things, but I am learning that God is as much in the now as He is in my dreams and visions, even more so. The last 7 months have been about learning to be still and allow the Kingdom of God to expand within me, and yet I have learned to live life on purpose and with intent. The dreams of tomorrow are just that, for tomorrow. The Kingdom is here now, and it is to be lived now and tomorrow, not just tomorrow.
Call it what you want, Present Kingdom Theology, Heresy, Whatever, I am convinced that the example of Jesus was also the purpose of Jesus, and that was to usher in His Kingdom to the here and now. I am also convinced that true salvation is not simply eternal life, rather, that is the least of definitions in comparison to the salvation of present life and creation. Jesus came to redeem every aspect of life, not just to provide a ticket out of hell. To accept only eternal life is missing the point of Jesus' life. He was not merely born to die, His example of life is also part of His redeeming plan.
To follow Christ is simply that, to follow the way of Jesus.
The Kingdom of God is here, I suggest that we place our allegiance where it belongs and that is to our king and live our lives in abundance because we are His children and this kingdom is our inheritance.
Over the last few days a lot has been said about the death of Saddam Hussein. My friend Beanie posted a great note on his Facebook that really made me step back and think. Why are we celebrating the death and certain eternity of torture for this man? Sure he was responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people, and by all standards he deserved to die. But for all rights and purposes you and I are equally as capable of carrying out the same atrocities. Why would we celebrate the certain judgment he felt the moment life passed from this realm to the next?
I know that the neo conservative, good American, Republican thing to do is to lift a glass toward Mecca, I mean Washington DC and hail our king, I mean president for being such a mighty leader, and Christian to boot. But I personally don't have time for that garbage. As Beanie stated so eloquently and I have stated many times before not so eloquently, my allegiance is to a king and a kingdom who can love an evil man til his death, not to a man impersonating a Christian who takes his country into an unconstitutional war and uses his "faith" to justify it. Nor is my allegiance to a republic that elects in its great uninformed intelligence the worst acting congress in the history of our nation, nor is it toward the religious leaders who deify said leaders all because they agree on issues like abortion and gay marriage.
When did the church become an issues based institution? When did abortion supersede the gospel? When did the spread of democracy become the goal of the church? When did marriage become an issue of the state? I have very strong personal opinions about any issue you want to throw at me, but it will not, nor should it ever, become a topic in the pulpit. Jesus loves the gay married abortion doctor imperialistic murdering dictator just as much as he loves you, deal with it.
What if we don't celebrate, rather we mourn? What would that tell the world? Would we show that Jesus is real in us if we are truly compassionate towards the eternal fate of even the most evil of men?
Celebrate if you must, I suggest we pull out the sackcloth and ashes.
