Periodically I make a journey across the mountains into Kentucky and Indiana to see extended family members. I watch the odometer to check distance between towns and so measure my progress. After many such trips I am also measuring my progress by the roadside crosses that I pass.
Most have a name, full or nickname. Some have a picture, some elaborate, some sketched, at least one imprinted on a now faded tee shirt. Many have flowers, usually artificial, but some are fresh and seem to be replaced on a regular basis. We know each represents some terrible tragedy that in the blink of an eye took a loved one or ones from a family.
Those crosses are placed so that others will remember and never forget.
During the most recent trip, my elder son and I spent some time in the Cave Hill Cemetery of Louisville, KY, taking pictures of designs and inscriptions. The newer sections resemble most others in our current trends. The older sections, however, reminded me of the pictures of cemeteries in London, England or our own New Orleans. The monuments to the deceased were elaborate, ornate, imaginative, and many were BIG!
Statements of love and compassion adorned many. Statues illustrated the heroic aspects of the human spirit. Mausoleums were designed to appear as churches or small homes. Wealth was turned into stone to express the grief or pride or both in the loss of husband or wife, son or daughter. One thirty-foot monument even had the last will and testament concerning the material possessions of the deceased cut into it to insure there would be no doubt about his intents after his death.
The monuments were placed there so that others would remember and never forget.
One individual in the past made his memorial a living one. He expressed his desire not to be forsaken and forgotten while being crucified. He expressed his desire to the Son of God who was dying on the cross next to him. His cry of "Remember me" has lived down through the centuries as the cry of all of us as we turn our faces to God in our hours of greatest need (Luke 23).
"Remember me!" None of us want to believe that at our deaths our lives will become only as dust in the wind, blown away and never noticed again. We want someone somewhere to acknowledge that our lives had meaning and value, and that somehow something about this world is different because we lived. Did anyone notice that we passed by?
I believe that all such cries are remembered. Will our passing receive headlines? For most of us the answer is no. Few of us will ever be mentioned in a history book. Unless some future family member is big into genealogy, there is a good chance that your name will not be recognized by your own kin after about four generations. Yet our need to be remembered will not be ignored.
God doesn't forget anything (except our forgiven sins). In multiple passages in the Bible, we are reminded that God has taken steps to insure we are not forgotten. Yes, the Bible uses the very human terminology of books, but how else can we sinful mortals illustrate the fact that God will not forget us (Hosea 8; Malachi 4; Revelation 20)?
The response of Jesus to the thief on the cross is the answer we all long to hear. We will not be forgotten. We will not be ignored. We do not need to build huge monuments to ourselves to keep from being lost in history. "This day you will be with me in paradise." Such assurance need not be prophetic as to the time of our reunion with Christ. It is sufficient in that it reminds us that we will be united at some point. When is not important, only that we will be remembered.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Got Sweat?
In a recent marriage enrichment retreat, the keynote speaker emphasized how much work it took to create a healthy and growing marriage. After nearly 35 years of marriage myself, I can identify. Or at least I can imagine how much work it took for my wife to tolerate me all this time and refrain from making herself a widow. As one minister said to a young couple in the midst of premarital counseling, "When you wake up each morning and look at your wife in curlers, you have to tell yourself again you love her. She'll have to say the same thing each day as your stomach expands and your hairline retreats!" Love comes out of the commitment, and commitment takes work. Got sweat?
Marriage isn't the only thing that takes work to keep the commitment strong. Keeping a church on track in fulfilling its purpose and mission takes work. It takes cooperation. It takes personal sacrifice. It takes humility. It takes honest acknowledgement that the body of Christ is not made up of one part, but rather many parts, and they are all important (Romans 12; I Corinthians 12). Every contribution made by a church member in the name of Christ for the sake of the Kingdom of God is valuable and is to be honored.
Giving honor to others when you'd like some is work. Working when others get the honor takes humility, patience, and perseverance. Making the effort to get the job done regardless of whose responsibility it might be takes work. Doing all things for the glory of God and as if you were doing it for Christ himself may be rewarding, but it is still work. Making sure you are effective (that's doing the right thing) instead of being dominated by doing things right (that's being efficient) takes hard work. Yet it is the only way a congregation will find itself obedient before God.
The one supreme purpose of the people of God is give him glory and honor. Everything else that might be named is a method by which we can do that. The first and greatest commandment is to love God (Matthew 22). No one shows love by sitting on their anatomy all day. Ask any wife who has to look at her couch-potato husband. He could show a lot more love by mowing the yard and painting the house, or better yet, vacuuming the carpet and washing the clothes. That's love! It's also work.
The church honors and glorifies God best when it in obedience goes into the fields of the world where souls are ready to be harvested and loves those souls as God loves them (John 4). In those fields the church will work up a sweat feeding the hungry and providing a roof for the homeless. The church will visit the sick, the elderly, and the imprisoned. The church will offer a hand to the weak and friendship to the lonely. The church will provide hope to the hopeless and the path of salvation to those who are dying while trying to make it on their own (Matthew 25). The church will do it all in the name of Jesus Christ. That may be joyful, but it can turn into hard work.
You cannot exempt associations and conventions. They have responsibilities before God as well. They too will be held accountable for putting feet and hands to the love they are supposed to be showing their God. As they support the local church in its efforts to fulfill the Great Commission, they are doing the work for which they were created. As they provide resources which can only be provided as churches work together, they are accomplishing their purpose. Associations and conventions cannot be successful holding meetings and talking about the terrible condition of the world. They must be at work and that will create sweat.
It is the rare thing of value we find in this world that can be gained without work and personal investment. Most often they require a great deal of effort. They require personal sacrifice. Marriages, friendships, freedom, these require work and effort and sweat whether physical, emotional, or mental. One thing that stands out from all these is the love of God and the grace for eternal life we find in it. No amount of work can earn it. No amount of personal sacrifice will make us good enough to have it. It's free (Romans 6:23). The sweat we save for the life of obedience that says thank you.
Marriage isn't the only thing that takes work to keep the commitment strong. Keeping a church on track in fulfilling its purpose and mission takes work. It takes cooperation. It takes personal sacrifice. It takes humility. It takes honest acknowledgement that the body of Christ is not made up of one part, but rather many parts, and they are all important (Romans 12; I Corinthians 12). Every contribution made by a church member in the name of Christ for the sake of the Kingdom of God is valuable and is to be honored.
Giving honor to others when you'd like some is work. Working when others get the honor takes humility, patience, and perseverance. Making the effort to get the job done regardless of whose responsibility it might be takes work. Doing all things for the glory of God and as if you were doing it for Christ himself may be rewarding, but it is still work. Making sure you are effective (that's doing the right thing) instead of being dominated by doing things right (that's being efficient) takes hard work. Yet it is the only way a congregation will find itself obedient before God.
The one supreme purpose of the people of God is give him glory and honor. Everything else that might be named is a method by which we can do that. The first and greatest commandment is to love God (Matthew 22). No one shows love by sitting on their anatomy all day. Ask any wife who has to look at her couch-potato husband. He could show a lot more love by mowing the yard and painting the house, or better yet, vacuuming the carpet and washing the clothes. That's love! It's also work.
The church honors and glorifies God best when it in obedience goes into the fields of the world where souls are ready to be harvested and loves those souls as God loves them (John 4). In those fields the church will work up a sweat feeding the hungry and providing a roof for the homeless. The church will visit the sick, the elderly, and the imprisoned. The church will offer a hand to the weak and friendship to the lonely. The church will provide hope to the hopeless and the path of salvation to those who are dying while trying to make it on their own (Matthew 25). The church will do it all in the name of Jesus Christ. That may be joyful, but it can turn into hard work.
You cannot exempt associations and conventions. They have responsibilities before God as well. They too will be held accountable for putting feet and hands to the love they are supposed to be showing their God. As they support the local church in its efforts to fulfill the Great Commission, they are doing the work for which they were created. As they provide resources which can only be provided as churches work together, they are accomplishing their purpose. Associations and conventions cannot be successful holding meetings and talking about the terrible condition of the world. They must be at work and that will create sweat.
It is the rare thing of value we find in this world that can be gained without work and personal investment. Most often they require a great deal of effort. They require personal sacrifice. Marriages, friendships, freedom, these require work and effort and sweat whether physical, emotional, or mental. One thing that stands out from all these is the love of God and the grace for eternal life we find in it. No amount of work can earn it. No amount of personal sacrifice will make us good enough to have it. It's free (Romans 6:23). The sweat we save for the life of obedience that says thank you.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
You Got Two Options. Choose Wisely.
At a recent conference I attended, that was the extent of the choices given to today's local churches. The local church was faced with the need for dramatic and deep change or it would die. I have to elaborate and say that goes for the individual Christian, the local association of churches, and the conventions on the state and national level. Of course we hear that a lot from a variety of directions. The problem arises when we are forced to decide what to change and to what extent both in our personal lives and in the arena of these larger collections of relationships.
Relevancy is a key concept in this, and it can and should be separated in content and methodology. While content can remain relevant for eternity, methodology may need to change on a regular basis. Relevancy reveals importance, value, and applicability. Relevancy is often lost when the communication methodology is muddled, and only reappears when the methodology is changed.
The human body must change if it is to remain healthy. It will grow. It will change form as well as size. Changes will take place that are both apparent and hidden. The process of maturing will bring about loss in some areas and gains in others, some of course we would like to avoid. Change is inevitable in living things. The only option is the radical change caused by death itself.
So what's new about this revelation? People have been writing on the subject for years. Change or die. We live with it. We recognize its own relevancy as a concept for our lives. So what's new?
Perhaps it is the idea that even though it is being repeated over and over, no one is listening. In far too many cases either no change is being considered or the change is cosmetic. Deep change is being avoided. Substance remains the same. Change that would guarantee a healthy future is not happening.
On the personal level people must eat right and get enough exercise and rest. People must stretch their minds through activities that involve something besides television and video games in ways that will develop abilities in analysis, evaluation, and application. People must seek to grow in ways other than girth. We find it easy to see what needs to be done in our personal lives. The public media is telling us that all the time!
State and national conventions must look not only at what will be new in how they do their ministries, but also what will renew the foundations that provide the resources for those ministries. Who is providing the material resources for advances in missions? Who is training the leadership for these advances? From where will the next generation of leaders come?
The local church must step forward to answer these questions. State and national conventions look to the local church to provide the funds and the leaders for our mission and ministry efforts. The health of the local church will determine the health of all those institutions that depend upon it. Right now the 20th century church is having a hard time keeping its head above the water in the 21st century. It must change or it will die, and if it does, it will take a significant portion of those institutions that depend upon it with it.
Church, and association, renewal must move beyond repeating the old methods at a faster and more desperate clip. Relevancy in renewal must focus on how effectively we are communicating the unchanging content. Relevancy in renewal must focus upon finding and using the languages of our cultures. Relevancy in renewal must focus upon understanding those we are trying to reach and do so in a way that insures what we are saying is understood by those we are urging to listen.
Change or die. We can change. We don't have to die - as churches, associations, or conventions. If we don't change in a healthy and intentional way, however, death remains our only option.
Relevancy is a key concept in this, and it can and should be separated in content and methodology. While content can remain relevant for eternity, methodology may need to change on a regular basis. Relevancy reveals importance, value, and applicability. Relevancy is often lost when the communication methodology is muddled, and only reappears when the methodology is changed.
The human body must change if it is to remain healthy. It will grow. It will change form as well as size. Changes will take place that are both apparent and hidden. The process of maturing will bring about loss in some areas and gains in others, some of course we would like to avoid. Change is inevitable in living things. The only option is the radical change caused by death itself.
So what's new about this revelation? People have been writing on the subject for years. Change or die. We live with it. We recognize its own relevancy as a concept for our lives. So what's new?
Perhaps it is the idea that even though it is being repeated over and over, no one is listening. In far too many cases either no change is being considered or the change is cosmetic. Deep change is being avoided. Substance remains the same. Change that would guarantee a healthy future is not happening.
On the personal level people must eat right and get enough exercise and rest. People must stretch their minds through activities that involve something besides television and video games in ways that will develop abilities in analysis, evaluation, and application. People must seek to grow in ways other than girth. We find it easy to see what needs to be done in our personal lives. The public media is telling us that all the time!
State and national conventions must look not only at what will be new in how they do their ministries, but also what will renew the foundations that provide the resources for those ministries. Who is providing the material resources for advances in missions? Who is training the leadership for these advances? From where will the next generation of leaders come?
The local church must step forward to answer these questions. State and national conventions look to the local church to provide the funds and the leaders for our mission and ministry efforts. The health of the local church will determine the health of all those institutions that depend upon it. Right now the 20th century church is having a hard time keeping its head above the water in the 21st century. It must change or it will die, and if it does, it will take a significant portion of those institutions that depend upon it with it.
Church, and association, renewal must move beyond repeating the old methods at a faster and more desperate clip. Relevancy in renewal must focus on how effectively we are communicating the unchanging content. Relevancy in renewal must focus upon finding and using the languages of our cultures. Relevancy in renewal must focus upon understanding those we are trying to reach and do so in a way that insures what we are saying is understood by those we are urging to listen.
Change or die. We can change. We don't have to die - as churches, associations, or conventions. If we don't change in a healthy and intentional way, however, death remains our only option.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Freedom Of and From
Franklin Delano Roosevelt sought to provide Americans with a country in which they would appreciate their freedom of speech and worship and their freedom from want and fear. His dream was to get Americans to realize that all they had to fear was fear itself, his goal from his first inaugural address in 1932. Freedom of and freedom from have defined our country from its earliest days.
From the chaotic and turbulent days of 1776, we as Americans have proudly and loudly proclaimed our freedom. It didn't matter that not everyone within our borders was free. We knew it was an ideal, that we had not reached it yet in its purest form, but we were willing to hold freedom up as a goal toward which we would work, live, and die to make real for everyone. Martin Luther King, Jr. said as much in his words, "America is essentially a dream."
Since those days of the signing of the Declaration of Independence 236 years ago, we have sought to make that dream a thing of reality for all that we could. For some we failed miserably with never the possibility to undo what was done. For others freedom has come in name only, and they still seek the fulfillment without man made hindrance of being able to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
Freedom isn't free we tell ourselves. Freedom isn't easy to maintain either by government or by individual. Freedom is like muscle tone: use it or lose it. Freedom is fragile. Treat it with care.
We have so many ways to express our concern for our freedom, the value of our freedom, and the importance of freedom itself for all people everywhere. We know with only a moment's thought that freedom is more than fireworks on the 4th of July or parades or flags of stars and stripes hanging in our yards.
Freedom is people going to vote. Freedom is people marching in the streets. Freedom is a strong multi-party political system. Freedom is the right of free speech and a free press. Freedom is the right to worship without the fear of hand grenades and machine guns. Freedom is carrying a Bible or any other book openly in the street or reading it in your home without fear of police or soldiers.
Such freedom can be lost in a moment. There are other kinds of freedom, however, freedoms that endure regardless of governments or laws or guns or the opinions of men. There is one freedom especially that is independent of all these and is even independent of this life altogether. It is the freedom of the soul.
In the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus lays the foundation for this eternal freedom (John 8:31-36). He who says the truth will set you free calls himself the Truth (John 14:6). He who says it is the Son who can give you true freedom is himself the Son (John 3:16).
The Apostle Paul in Galatians, his great letter of Christian freedom, begins the fifth chapter with the words, "For freedom Christ has set you free." We are intended to be free, not from the guidance that comes from an understanding of the will of God, but from the penalty that comes with our failure to follow that will.
We are free only in Christ. In all other ways we live under the delusion of freedom when it is slavery to the tyrants of this world that we are experiencing. A flag with stars stands for our freedom in this life. A flag with a cross stands for our freedom in eternity. Does your freedom extend beyond the bars of death?
From the chaotic and turbulent days of 1776, we as Americans have proudly and loudly proclaimed our freedom. It didn't matter that not everyone within our borders was free. We knew it was an ideal, that we had not reached it yet in its purest form, but we were willing to hold freedom up as a goal toward which we would work, live, and die to make real for everyone. Martin Luther King, Jr. said as much in his words, "America is essentially a dream."
Since those days of the signing of the Declaration of Independence 236 years ago, we have sought to make that dream a thing of reality for all that we could. For some we failed miserably with never the possibility to undo what was done. For others freedom has come in name only, and they still seek the fulfillment without man made hindrance of being able to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
Freedom isn't free we tell ourselves. Freedom isn't easy to maintain either by government or by individual. Freedom is like muscle tone: use it or lose it. Freedom is fragile. Treat it with care.
We have so many ways to express our concern for our freedom, the value of our freedom, and the importance of freedom itself for all people everywhere. We know with only a moment's thought that freedom is more than fireworks on the 4th of July or parades or flags of stars and stripes hanging in our yards.
Freedom is people going to vote. Freedom is people marching in the streets. Freedom is a strong multi-party political system. Freedom is the right of free speech and a free press. Freedom is the right to worship without the fear of hand grenades and machine guns. Freedom is carrying a Bible or any other book openly in the street or reading it in your home without fear of police or soldiers.
Such freedom can be lost in a moment. There are other kinds of freedom, however, freedoms that endure regardless of governments or laws or guns or the opinions of men. There is one freedom especially that is independent of all these and is even independent of this life altogether. It is the freedom of the soul.
In the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus lays the foundation for this eternal freedom (John 8:31-36). He who says the truth will set you free calls himself the Truth (John 14:6). He who says it is the Son who can give you true freedom is himself the Son (John 3:16).
The Apostle Paul in Galatians, his great letter of Christian freedom, begins the fifth chapter with the words, "For freedom Christ has set you free." We are intended to be free, not from the guidance that comes from an understanding of the will of God, but from the penalty that comes with our failure to follow that will.
We are free only in Christ. In all other ways we live under the delusion of freedom when it is slavery to the tyrants of this world that we are experiencing. A flag with stars stands for our freedom in this life. A flag with a cross stands for our freedom in eternity. Does your freedom extend beyond the bars of death?
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
I Have Spiritual ADD
It's confession time. I have Attention Deficit Disorder. I have never seen a doctor about it. I have never been diagnosed with it. I have never had anyone stand up and accuse me of ruining a project because they discerned that was the critical problem. No, this is a matter of self-diagnosis.
Recently High Point University hosted Malcolm Gladwell on their campus for a series of lectures and discussions. Gladwell has written four books and is currently on his fifth. They are Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw. I have read the first three and hope soon to begin on the fourth. They are an excellent read, all non-fiction.
Enough of the commercial for Gladwell's books. In an on-stage discussion, Gladwell made the comment that his father, a mathematics professor, was not a driven man putting in eighteen hour work days. Rather he was a focused man who made the most of every minute he was involved in a project. He might work two hours, take a brief break, work two more hours, and then take another break. During those two hour sessions, not even screaming in his ear could destroy his concentration. He was focused.
Oh, to be so gifted! A car drives by on the highway outside my office and I get distracted. I hear the phone ring in my administrative assistant's office and I get distracted. My mind wanders to my calendar suddenly, and I wonder if I have forgotten an appointment or a phone call I was to have made. I have no focus!
This holds just as true for my spiritual life as for my office work. I call it PADD, Prayer Attention Deficit Disorder. I know I am not alone in this having heard other people's confessions on the subject, but it's still my problem. The world has a way of distracting me from focusing upon deepening my relationhsip with God. The aching in the soul gets lost in the growling of the belly. I lose focus.
Jesus had a word of encouragement for those seeking focus that's recorded in the sixth chapter of Matthew, verse 33, "As a priority desire to possess His Kingdom and His righteousness..." (my translation) The Kingdom of God was the favorite topic of Jesus in his preaching. When he said that obtaining it was to be THE priority in the life of one of his followers, he was not only teaching it, he was also living it. Focusing upon the Kingdom of God was to be the priority for every believer.
Focusing upon the Kingdom must be the priority of every believer and every church and every association of churches as they seek to be faithful in their obedience to their divine calling. Nothing can become more important than living out the priorities of the Kingdom of God. Its nature and calling must be at the heart of every proclamation, shape every effort of ministry, and become the goal of every spiritual seeker. To be distracted from this is to lose sight of why Jesus came, died, and was raised from the dead.
The individual believer focuses upon living out the Kingdom in this world by living out the two Great Commandments (Matthew 22). The local church focuses upon living out the Kingdom by using its resources to make the love of God real in its community and to the extent it can around the world. The local association of churches must use its resources to strengthen its members in their efforts to fulfill their God given calling.
Focus keeps the main thing the main thing. Focus allows us to direct our energies to the real priorities of life. Focus allows us to work toward goals and see progress being made. Making the effort to focus helps overcome ADD whether in the secular or spiritual realm. Focus under the control of the Holy Spirit can change the world.
Recently High Point University hosted Malcolm Gladwell on their campus for a series of lectures and discussions. Gladwell has written four books and is currently on his fifth. They are Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw. I have read the first three and hope soon to begin on the fourth. They are an excellent read, all non-fiction.
Enough of the commercial for Gladwell's books. In an on-stage discussion, Gladwell made the comment that his father, a mathematics professor, was not a driven man putting in eighteen hour work days. Rather he was a focused man who made the most of every minute he was involved in a project. He might work two hours, take a brief break, work two more hours, and then take another break. During those two hour sessions, not even screaming in his ear could destroy his concentration. He was focused.
Oh, to be so gifted! A car drives by on the highway outside my office and I get distracted. I hear the phone ring in my administrative assistant's office and I get distracted. My mind wanders to my calendar suddenly, and I wonder if I have forgotten an appointment or a phone call I was to have made. I have no focus!
This holds just as true for my spiritual life as for my office work. I call it PADD, Prayer Attention Deficit Disorder. I know I am not alone in this having heard other people's confessions on the subject, but it's still my problem. The world has a way of distracting me from focusing upon deepening my relationhsip with God. The aching in the soul gets lost in the growling of the belly. I lose focus.
Jesus had a word of encouragement for those seeking focus that's recorded in the sixth chapter of Matthew, verse 33, "As a priority desire to possess His Kingdom and His righteousness..." (my translation) The Kingdom of God was the favorite topic of Jesus in his preaching. When he said that obtaining it was to be THE priority in the life of one of his followers, he was not only teaching it, he was also living it. Focusing upon the Kingdom of God was to be the priority for every believer.
Focusing upon the Kingdom must be the priority of every believer and every church and every association of churches as they seek to be faithful in their obedience to their divine calling. Nothing can become more important than living out the priorities of the Kingdom of God. Its nature and calling must be at the heart of every proclamation, shape every effort of ministry, and become the goal of every spiritual seeker. To be distracted from this is to lose sight of why Jesus came, died, and was raised from the dead.
The individual believer focuses upon living out the Kingdom in this world by living out the two Great Commandments (Matthew 22). The local church focuses upon living out the Kingdom by using its resources to make the love of God real in its community and to the extent it can around the world. The local association of churches must use its resources to strengthen its members in their efforts to fulfill their God given calling.
Focus keeps the main thing the main thing. Focus allows us to direct our energies to the real priorities of life. Focus allows us to work toward goals and see progress being made. Making the effort to focus helps overcome ADD whether in the secular or spiritual realm. Focus under the control of the Holy Spirit can change the world.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Stuck in Spiritual Molasses
A saying with which I grew up in rural Kentucky was "As slow as molasses in winter". I knew what someone meant even if I didn't like molasses. The best molasses were thick and flowed slowly off the spoon. If it got cold as in the winter, then it didn't flow at all. As a boy there were times I was accused of working at a speed comparable to cold molasses.
What about a Christian's pace of life? What about a church's? In honesty we have to admit there are things, forces, people that slow us down while trying to accomplish what we know we need to be doing especially in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Even if there is a deadline hanging over our heads, we still meet hindrances that don't outright stop us but slow us down to the point we wonder if we will ever reach our goals. Maybe some of these are familiar to you.
Confusion. I can think for two weeks about what the first step ought to be. I can worry for a month about which option is best. I can lose sleep night after night wondering if I really understand what I'm facing. In the meantime nothing is getting done.
Distractions. My energy and focus on this project may be directly proportional to my interest in it. If the interest level is low, a lot of other ideas will want to crowd in and take my attention away.
Fear. If I mess up on this idea, my goose is cooked! If I delay long enough or go slow enough, something else might bail me out and the consequences won't be nearly as bad.
Ignorance. I don't know what to do and I'm not sure where to get the answers to my questions.
Lack of assurance. It might not be outright fear, but there is enough uneasiness about what is supposed to happen that caution reigns and action proceeds at a snail's pace (or cold molasses).
Lack of resources. The project could have been done in one tenth of the time except for having to gather scattered resources, proper tools, and trained personnel.
These hindrances are just as true of a church and an association as they are of an individual in the effort to carry out the Great Commission both as a task and as a lifestyle. Oftentimes we will use the same kind of excuses to get ourselves off the hook, just on a larger scale.
Distractions have to be handled. Proper prioritization can minimize distractions. Determining realistic deadlines and holding to them will minimize the damage of distractions. Being able to say "no" to non essentials is one of the best ways to keep distractions from hindering the work of the Great Commission.
Confusion, fear, and lack of assurance often go together. Many leadership gurus will say that some of the best learning takes place through failing. You may fail on that first step; that is not failure. You have eliminated one of the options. Now start again with this new knowledge. Tell those people who laugh or criticize when you fail to get in there and help or get out of the way!
"Ignorance is curable, while stupidity is forever" is one of my favorite proverbs. Ask the necessary questions up front, get the information you need, and then full steam ahead. If information is all you lack, the masses are waiting to provide it. Most people are ready to cheer on a hard worker.
A lack of resources is a challenge, not a problem. Before you start, as an individual or a church or an association, get a good idea of what you need. Put it together, whether it is material or a team, and then start. Accept the fact that adjustments will have to be made while progress is being made, just work to keep the progress from stopping.
Another name for all these hindrances might at times be procrastination. Don't let cold molasses destroy a good idea and your efforts to fulfill the Great Commission!
What about a Christian's pace of life? What about a church's? In honesty we have to admit there are things, forces, people that slow us down while trying to accomplish what we know we need to be doing especially in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Even if there is a deadline hanging over our heads, we still meet hindrances that don't outright stop us but slow us down to the point we wonder if we will ever reach our goals. Maybe some of these are familiar to you.
Confusion. I can think for two weeks about what the first step ought to be. I can worry for a month about which option is best. I can lose sleep night after night wondering if I really understand what I'm facing. In the meantime nothing is getting done.
Distractions. My energy and focus on this project may be directly proportional to my interest in it. If the interest level is low, a lot of other ideas will want to crowd in and take my attention away.
Fear. If I mess up on this idea, my goose is cooked! If I delay long enough or go slow enough, something else might bail me out and the consequences won't be nearly as bad.
Ignorance. I don't know what to do and I'm not sure where to get the answers to my questions.
Lack of assurance. It might not be outright fear, but there is enough uneasiness about what is supposed to happen that caution reigns and action proceeds at a snail's pace (or cold molasses).
Lack of resources. The project could have been done in one tenth of the time except for having to gather scattered resources, proper tools, and trained personnel.
These hindrances are just as true of a church and an association as they are of an individual in the effort to carry out the Great Commission both as a task and as a lifestyle. Oftentimes we will use the same kind of excuses to get ourselves off the hook, just on a larger scale.
Distractions have to be handled. Proper prioritization can minimize distractions. Determining realistic deadlines and holding to them will minimize the damage of distractions. Being able to say "no" to non essentials is one of the best ways to keep distractions from hindering the work of the Great Commission.
Confusion, fear, and lack of assurance often go together. Many leadership gurus will say that some of the best learning takes place through failing. You may fail on that first step; that is not failure. You have eliminated one of the options. Now start again with this new knowledge. Tell those people who laugh or criticize when you fail to get in there and help or get out of the way!
"Ignorance is curable, while stupidity is forever" is one of my favorite proverbs. Ask the necessary questions up front, get the information you need, and then full steam ahead. If information is all you lack, the masses are waiting to provide it. Most people are ready to cheer on a hard worker.
A lack of resources is a challenge, not a problem. Before you start, as an individual or a church or an association, get a good idea of what you need. Put it together, whether it is material or a team, and then start. Accept the fact that adjustments will have to be made while progress is being made, just work to keep the progress from stopping.
Another name for all these hindrances might at times be procrastination. Don't let cold molasses destroy a good idea and your efforts to fulfill the Great Commission!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Handling Being Second
The story is told that years ago a car race was held between a Russian and an American. These were the only two cars involved. The end result would be a first place and a second place finish. How that sounded depended upon the reporter. The American won and was announced as the winner with the Russian coming in second. From a different perspective another newspaper account reported that the Russian had come in second and the American next to last. Both were true, but the feelings with which you were left were considerably different.
Perspective can make a tremendous difference in the way you handle coming in second, or next to last, or behind a crowd of one. Sometimes we need to be assured that coming in second is okay. You don't have to be first to feel good about your effort. Coming in second in a race of two should be as positive as coming in second in a race of a thousand. Yet we often find it hard to accept the fact that we are not the best, not the first to finish the race, that our efforts have not surpassed those of a multitude. We will not come in first every time. Somewhere we have to learn to accept the position of second place.
The crown prince plays second fiddle to the king. The vice president has to wait his turn behind the president. The second son has to wait for the first born to choose the preferred inheritance. There is an actor or actress, an understudy, that is always waiting in the wings just in case they are needed if the lead is unable to perform. The first one to the ferry gets on and others have to hope there is still space.
Is being second any worse than being third or fifth or tenth? Do we see the only possible option as being first? Do we consider everything else as the equivalent of losing, and who wants to be a loser? Ultimately it does come down to a matter of perspective. Not coming in first leaves you a loser, or being second to the best. The position is the same, but there is a world of difference in your perspective of yourself.
In the New Testament a man once made the statement with pride that, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30) He was John the Baptizer and he was speaking of Jesus the Messiah. John knew from the beginning of his ministry that he was to play a secondary role. The One who was to come after him was to have the preeminent position. John carried out his responsibility without regret or envy. He came first but he was to become second.
The number two position is the support position. You back up the person in front of you in case they need help. Yet you are not recognized unless needed. Your name is not listed with the credits beside the star. You have to know all the lines and be ready to step in on a moment's notice, but the glory goes to the name at the top of the showbill. The show can go on with confidence because you were waiting in the shadows.
The Apostle Paul made a big deal out of being content in a secondary position in his letter to the Roman church, chapter 12. Three times he mentions the need to keep ourselves in proper perspective as we consider our relationship with others. Don't think more highly of yourself than you should. Outdo one another in showing honor to others. Never be conceited (vv. 3, 10, 16). In our relationships with others, we honor our relationship with God by lifting others above ourselves.
There is no better place to do this than in the family of God. In this context we reveal the workings of a heavenly family that is operating on earth. All members are brothers and sisters of Christ and of each other. Each member exists to promote the welfare of others and help them fulfill their spiritual potential as a child of God. Promotion of others can only occur when self takes second place.
The same must be said of associational work among churches. The association must come second. Its priorities must come second. Its demand upon the time and resources of the individual churches must come second behind the priority of the local church in fulfilling its divine calling from its Creator and Lord. The Church is a divine creation coming into existence at Pentecost (Acts 2). The association of churches has been created by man to assist the local churches fulfill their Great Commission (Matthew 28). That means the association will often have to make do with less. Its schedule will be at the mercy of local church calendars. Its leadership will be called upon to give their priority time to the local church and not to the association.
I can live with being second as an associational missionary when I know the winner, the one taking first place, is bringing the greatest glory to God and our Lord Jesus Christ. When you are second behind the best, there is no shame.
Perspective can make a tremendous difference in the way you handle coming in second, or next to last, or behind a crowd of one. Sometimes we need to be assured that coming in second is okay. You don't have to be first to feel good about your effort. Coming in second in a race of two should be as positive as coming in second in a race of a thousand. Yet we often find it hard to accept the fact that we are not the best, not the first to finish the race, that our efforts have not surpassed those of a multitude. We will not come in first every time. Somewhere we have to learn to accept the position of second place.
The crown prince plays second fiddle to the king. The vice president has to wait his turn behind the president. The second son has to wait for the first born to choose the preferred inheritance. There is an actor or actress, an understudy, that is always waiting in the wings just in case they are needed if the lead is unable to perform. The first one to the ferry gets on and others have to hope there is still space.
Is being second any worse than being third or fifth or tenth? Do we see the only possible option as being first? Do we consider everything else as the equivalent of losing, and who wants to be a loser? Ultimately it does come down to a matter of perspective. Not coming in first leaves you a loser, or being second to the best. The position is the same, but there is a world of difference in your perspective of yourself.
In the New Testament a man once made the statement with pride that, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30) He was John the Baptizer and he was speaking of Jesus the Messiah. John knew from the beginning of his ministry that he was to play a secondary role. The One who was to come after him was to have the preeminent position. John carried out his responsibility without regret or envy. He came first but he was to become second.
The number two position is the support position. You back up the person in front of you in case they need help. Yet you are not recognized unless needed. Your name is not listed with the credits beside the star. You have to know all the lines and be ready to step in on a moment's notice, but the glory goes to the name at the top of the showbill. The show can go on with confidence because you were waiting in the shadows.
The Apostle Paul made a big deal out of being content in a secondary position in his letter to the Roman church, chapter 12. Three times he mentions the need to keep ourselves in proper perspective as we consider our relationship with others. Don't think more highly of yourself than you should. Outdo one another in showing honor to others. Never be conceited (vv. 3, 10, 16). In our relationships with others, we honor our relationship with God by lifting others above ourselves.
There is no better place to do this than in the family of God. In this context we reveal the workings of a heavenly family that is operating on earth. All members are brothers and sisters of Christ and of each other. Each member exists to promote the welfare of others and help them fulfill their spiritual potential as a child of God. Promotion of others can only occur when self takes second place.
The same must be said of associational work among churches. The association must come second. Its priorities must come second. Its demand upon the time and resources of the individual churches must come second behind the priority of the local church in fulfilling its divine calling from its Creator and Lord. The Church is a divine creation coming into existence at Pentecost (Acts 2). The association of churches has been created by man to assist the local churches fulfill their Great Commission (Matthew 28). That means the association will often have to make do with less. Its schedule will be at the mercy of local church calendars. Its leadership will be called upon to give their priority time to the local church and not to the association.
I can live with being second as an associational missionary when I know the winner, the one taking first place, is bringing the greatest glory to God and our Lord Jesus Christ. When you are second behind the best, there is no shame.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)