A believer. A husband. A father. A pastor.
Last month I had the opportunity to go to two conferences. I’m grateful for the opportunity and I wanted to take a moment to share some nuggets from the incredibly gifted speakers that I heard. I hope that they translate to you as well as they did to me:
- Prayer – why do we spend 30 seconds on the one thing that’s needed for everything?
- Whenever you have opportunity, watch out because you will have opposition
- God has a plan and it starts with one man
- Jesus went from the top to the bottom to bring us from the bottom to the top
- Leverage everything for evangelism
- Meek used to mean gentle and obedient. We need to be meek like a warhorse not meek like a wallflower. (I’m stealing this one)
- Be the church of the God idea not a good idea
- We want him to be in constant communication with us but sometimes God only speaks at the turns in the road.
- Jesus appeared to his disciples after his death but one wasn’t there. So Jesus came back. He came back for Thomas. He came back for the one.
Aren’t those good?
Heard an advertisement on a local Christian radio station this week that was touting a “pristine Christian event.” Pristine Christian event? What??? What is that?
Translation: This event is for Christians only. Non-believers need not apply. You will be turned away. We don’t need any women at the well. We don’t want any tax-collectors. All of you adulterers, alcoholics, skeptics, doubters, stay away. In fact we don’t want any sinners to attend this at all. This is for saints only! All others stay away!!!
Now did this advertisement mean to say anything that I’m implying? Of course n…. er, I hope not. But COME ON GUYS! That’s what’s wrong with Christianity today in our culture. It’s for us and nobody else. Did you know that, on average, a regular church attender within five years stops socializing with anyone outside their church circle. Makes me scream! and I’m guilty of it as well but YOOHOO has anyone read the NT lately. Jesus avoided the religious crowds. He chose to ignore the “righteous” so that he could focus on those who needed healing, spiritual healing. In short, Jesus didn’t attend any “pristine Christian events.”
Back to the ad, do you think anyone who has yet to accept Christ would hear that ad and say “wow, I want to go to that.” No chance. In fact, I cannot help but believe any person seeking truth but not yet taking the step would hear that ad and be turned off by the “you don’t belong attitude.”
Let me put it another way, this event was touting that it was specifically for Christians. A safe place for Christians to spend their vacation. Hear me on this: Only in our western (American?) culture would you hear anything that ludicrous. Do you think that the thousands of believers in Asia and Africa give a hoot that we’re promoting a safe environment for Christians? No chance. They live life on the edge, knowing that at any moment they may be questioned about their beliefs and pay the ultimate price. Yet Christianity is growing there and on the decline in America and Europe. Why? Because those Christ-followers are living it out. Let me say it again… they are following the pattern that Jesus modeled. Instead of hanging around each other, and only each other, these Christ-followers are living and sharing their faith. God, may we learn to be more like them.
It’s time to stop playing it safe! It’s time to break up the holy huddles. It’s time to get our hands dirty. I don’t know about you but the only “pristine Christian event” that I’m interested in is the one I’ll attend when I’m dead.
What do these three items have in common?
- First off, golf represents everything we do as HOBBIES.
- Remember safety zones? We used them as children when we grew tired of running away from the chaser in the all-time great child’s game of tag. Safety zones represent SAFE PLACES.
- A crutch represents illness, infirmity, injury… SICKNESS.
So what do they have in common? They’re the way we use God! We like to categorize God. We like to keep him in a nice safe box somewhere in our lives. Maybe he’s a little more prominent with you than others but really, don’t we all keep God where he is convenient?
For instance, some of us treat God as a hobby. We may go to church on the weekends. Some of us are really good about it. We may never miss a weekend. Some people even go multiple times or even to multiple churches. We know we’re supposed to, or maybe our hubby or wife wants us to, or we do it because our parents took us as kids so now we take our kids. But that’s it! Monday starts and we have no more time for God until Saturday or Sunday rolls around. He’s a hobby. Something to do with our spare time.
Others treat God as a safety zone. Just like in the game of tag, when we get tired, or we do something really stupid, we cry out “God help me.” Maybe we’re in danger of losing our jobs, or we’re getting ready to get on a plane, or we’ve done something wrong and fear that we’re about to get caught. Whatever it is, at the moment of crisis, we say “God, help me!” He’s our safety zone. Somewhere to escape to until we’re ready to venture out again. But when we go out… Where does God go in our lives?
Similar to the safety zone is the God crutch. When we’re sick… I mean really, really sick, we come to God asking for healing for ourselves or someone we love. After all the Bible calls God the Great Physician and we’re told that he can do anything. So heal us God, we need you. Right now, we really need you. Of course, when the illness is past, we move right back into our old patterns or worse if healing doesn’t happen then we blame God for not being there for us when we really really needed him.
Be honest with yourself, doesn’t that cover what we use God for most of the time? Check this out: In Mark 12:30 Jesus says “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” We’re commanded to love God with everything. Everything! He wants you on Sundays. Absolutely. But not as your hobby. He wants your whole life. Mondays. Tuesdays. Wednesdays. He wants it all. He wants you to think of him as your safety zone but he also wants to be there when you feel safe. And yes, he is the Great Physician and he wants you to come to him when you’re not well but he wants the healthy you too.
Get this: God doesn’t want Pastor Nate. He wants Nathan! He wants a relationship with me. God doesn’t want Suzy Homemaker, who’s trying to figure out how to get everything done. He wants Susan, that precious daughter that he wants a relationship with. God doesn’t want Sammy Sales Guy. He wants Sam. All of him.
God doesn’t want a part of you. He wants all of you!
Just spent time at two conferences this past week. I’ve got all sorts of stuff to share but here is the main thing that I heard at both places.
God is more interested in you than in your ministry!
Say what? God is more interested in me than my ministry? That’s what I heard. Not just in what speakers were saying but in my study time. My quiet time. My prayer time. My alone time (and with over 20 hours of driving there was a lot of that). God was and is screaming to me that he wants me more than he wants my ministry.
See, we’ve got to get it through our thick skulls that God doesn’t need us. Let me type that again. GOD DOES NOT NEED US!!!
God wants all our mind, our soul, our strength. He wants our heart. Then and only then are you something that he will truly use.
You and I can’t hide behind excuses like “God, what I’m doing is important.” “Jesus, don’t you want a new successful church in SW Florida?” “God, I don’t have time for you right now, I’ve got my ________ right now in front of me.”
I’ll say it again, God does not need us, he wants us. Let’s face it, Jesus himself appeared to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus. He can do that anytime he wants. Now who do you think is gonna be more successful in leading someone to Christ? You/me or Jesus himself. He doesn’t need us. Only when we have all of our being focused on him first and everything else afterwards will he truly use us.
God first. Not our wives. God first. Not our husbands. God first. Not our kids. God first. Not our parents. God first. Not our careers. God first. Not our hobbies. God first.
God doesn’t need you, he wants you. All of you.
He’s more interested in YOU than in anything you’re doing.
I grew up in an era where when you went to church, you would often hear terms like “soul-winning” “backsliding” and “silent witness.”
I hate those terms. Strongly dislike them. Have no use for them but that last one, hmmmmmmm:
Soul-winning: What it means is to lead somebody to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Great concept and done the world over by thousands and thousands of believers but when the term “soul winning” is used, I always visualize Bible thumping preachers spreading hate from the pulpit, Christians leaving horribly out-dated tracts (another term) along with a 5% tip for the waitress, and people knocking on my door unannounced at dinner-time to share their beliefs with me. For the record, soul-winning is what we’re supposed to be doing! I just have never cared for the term.
Back-sliding: My favorite term to hate. What does it mean? The term references someone whose life was changed at some point in time but has since returned to whatever destructive old patterns they used to have. In the church world it means someone who didn’t use to come to church, started coming to church and has since stopped coming. It’s a term often used by preachers whose congregations are dwindling and he has no answer for why. Is the term accurate? Yes, but if your church is truly filled with a healthy mix of believers, brand-new babies in Christ, and people seeking for the answers, can you imagine a more off-putting term to 2/3 of your audience.
Silent Witness: I used to hear this one a lot. It means, I’m uncomfortable sharing my faith but when people see me, I want them to see a nice person who lives life different and maybe they’ll ask me why I’m different and maybe, maybe I’ll tell them what I believe. I never cared for the term. To me, a silent witness was just that silent. You didn’t hear from them and don’t give me that stuff about people seeing you differently. When you’re silent, others don’t see you differently, they don’t SEE you! Phooey!
But waitaminit! The more I’ve been thinking about that term, the more I’ve been wondering: Have churches turned their people into silent witnesses? I had dinner with a friend the other night and he reminded me of how for years he never invited people to his church. Not until he started attended a church that was “cool.” What he meant was that he now attends a church where it’s easy to invite people to come. He doesn’t have to be silent anymore because he’s not worried that he will be embarrassed that the person he invites will see a place that is stale, a message that is irrelevant, and worship that is …. well not worshipful. He’s found a church that has helped him not to be silent any longer. WooHoo!
I still don’t like the term silent witness but my challenge is to first make sure that this silent witness has a church that will support them when they step out and provide them with a place where they can freely and joyfully invite their friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to come and see why they’re different.
What about you? What terms do you strongly dislike or hate?
Robin and I are here in Dallas for the C3 2010 conference this week and we’re learning a lot. I’ll be blogging about some of that later. But one great thing about the South is you can always find a place that serves sweet tea. Always. Except Dallas, TX. Apparently Dallas missed the memo. First restaurant we visited, no sweet just iced tea. Sacrilege. The next restaurant ran out “right before” we got there. Unbelievable. The next restaurant where we ate had the worst sweet tea ever. Whatsamatterwithyouguys!?!
Sweet tea is one of God’s gift to humanity. And here’s the deal. It’s so easy to make.
Want the recipe? No prob…
Take a 3 qt pan & fill it with water. Don’t worry about the exact amount. Just make it mostly full.
Bring the water to boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and add 2 cups of sugar (a little less is okay but don’t mess with the magic). Stir until dissolved.
Add 4 family size tea bags and let sit for 20 minutes.
Remove the bags and pour God’s nectar into a gallon jug. Add cold water to make it full but leave a little bit of room for a couple squirts of lemon juice.
Gotta be careful with the lemon juice though. If the tea is too hot, you’ll cook the juice and get floaties. Now floaties in an Arnold Palmer is okay but sweet tea? No way! So make sure and add the cold water first.
That’s it. Add ice and enjoy.
By the way, Dallas has one more place for me to check out before I declare it a disaster zone. I’ll let you know how I make out.
There are 7 e’s that Accelerate Church is working towards as we gear up:
The message must be
- Engaging – the message must be relevant to those that are listening. Jesus spoke to people through what they knew and understood. He related to them. That’s why so many of his stories are about fishing and shepherding, the industries of the day. If he were here today, I’m sure his message would be the same but his examples would be vastly different.
- Encouraging – Salvation is all about hope. Give people hope. Make sure that everyone knows that everyone is important to God. He wants a relationship with each of us.
The music has to be
- Energetic – if your worship team isn’t bringing their best towards God, no one listening will either. I’m not talking about style here. That will continue to change as we move forward. I’m talking ENERGY, no matter what song, chorus, or hymn you’re singing…. BRING IT!!!
- Exalting – Newsflash: wherever the church is meeting, in a home, an auditorium, a traditional building, it is ultimately there to worship God. If you’re not praising God, whaddya doin’? That’s what we were made to do.
The children’s program must be
- Entertaining – adults need to hear a great message but so do the children AND it’s got to be packaged in a way that makes them want to come back. A church’s children’s ministry is successful if mom and dad say “let’s go to Disney today” and the children say “but what about church?” That’s a lofty goal but I’ve seen so many churches where the worship center looks great, the lobby looks fantastic and yet the children are sent into a room with shabby to no furniture and they get “story-time” for an hour. Think about what resources children have today and make certain that they don’t leave church bored.
- Enticing – As entertaining as the children’s message must be, it also must entice the parents in such a way that they want their kids to hear this message. Imagine a child sitting in the back seat of the car on the way home not being able to wait to tell about what they learned today. That’s letting mom and dad know that there kids are getting something out of church.
As good and necessary as these three ministries are, there is one more ministry that is a MUST for Accelerate Church. We’re calling it the IMPACT team. Who will be on the Impact team? Everyone involved with the ministries already mentioned but also those that are involved with making an impression on whoever walks through the doors of Accelerate Church. I’m talking the individuals who are responsible for making a clean and comfortable environment. I’m talking those that meet people at the door and make them feel welcome. I’m really talking about anyone and everyone that serves at Accelerate Church.
The IMPACT team must have the 7th E and they must have it in spades. What is the 7th E? Probably the most important E of them all:
- Enthusiasm – it’s contagious, it’s positive, it’s disarming and it’s absolutely necessary for success. Who are the best at what they do? Those who have enthusiasm. Teachers, bus drivers, janitors, doctors, politicians, professors, homemakers, truckers, athletes, and everyone else. You may have knowledge and skill but if you don’t have enthusiasm, get out! Can’t use you! Don’t want to! Paul says in I Cor 13:2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. Love what you do and if you love what you do, you’ll be enthusiastic.
Those are the 7 e’s!
I know that the 23rd Psalm is probably the most well known chapter in the Bible but check this out.
Psalm 100: A Psalm for giving thanks.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Is that not absolutely beautiful? One of my all time favorite passages of the Bible.
Two big events in the sporting world happen today, just one week after the “Big One.” Neither event is anywhere near as big as SuperBowl but both are tremendously popular.
The Daytona 500 is enormously popular with racing fans, oddly enough, as it’s the first race of the NASCAR season and not the “championship” race. Perhaps that makes sense as the winner of the Sprint Cup is often determined before the end of the season.
The other event today is the NBA All-Star game. It’s time for the “best” players in the NBA to get together and play absolutely, positively, not a whit of defense for 4 periods while every coach and general manager prays that their players don’t get hurt.
So which one will you be watching: The race, the game, neither, both? Or will you forego sports today to do that other thing? What was it again?
Oh yeah, Valentine’s Day: the day to spend with your sweetheart. Of course, if your sweetie is a sports fan, I suppose you’re all set. 
Things aren’t always as they appear. Two incidents come to mind:
- When Kate was little (I’m thinking 2 or 3) there was one night that she just wouldn’t stay in bed. Multiple times we checked on her and she would be up playing or looking out the window. I finally got very upset with her. Now I wasn’t bright enough to pick up on the fact that she was a little angel and never did that sort of thing. The next time I opened her door, there she was in the middle of the floor crying and holding her head with her hand. By this time, her fever was evident and come to find out she had a serious ear infection and lying down was causing her discomfort. Brilliant move, Dad. Things aren’t always as they appear.
- Recently we had an incident at dinner time where Joshua was on the floor screaming at Buster, one of our dogs, who was under the table eating something. I was furious because Josh is always dropping food and the dogs have learned that often they will get a nice little treat if they hang around the boy’s chair. As I barked at Josh to get back in his seat, I noticed that he was crying and still yanking Buster away from underneath the table. Torn between frustration that my son was fighting the dog over spilled food and confusion as to why the spilled food was cause for tears, I demanded an explanation from my boy. With chest heaving and tears streaming down his face, he told me “it’s chocolate Daddy and I don’t want Buster to die.” Reality slapped me in the face that my son’s motives weren’t disobedience towards me and frustration towards the dog but he was trying desperately to save our pet’s life (Josh had learned that chocolate can be harmful to dogs). Things aren’t always what they appear.
So just a reminder when you see something happen or hear a story about someone else, just remember, Things aren’t always what they appear.
