Looking back - thinking ahead - living now

Caught in Wash - Dry - Rinse - Repeat


It often feels like everything in our lives demands our attention. We are constantly in a flux of self-doubt or self-conceit and the smallest circumstance pulls us deeper in both extremes. Nostalgia plays a big part in the disappointment that we often feel about our lack of involvement or the winding down of excitement in our lives. Fear of the future is another point of contention that drains us of the courage and fortitude to make a sound and lasting impact in our respective communities. There is a better way, we were made for “more than living”. 

There are plenty of things in my past I’m not proud of and there are even more lost opportunities than I can count, but if I allowed those things to dictate my destiny I would accomplish nothing from here on out. In the same way, dread of not accomplishing anything worthwhile hinders my ability to function accordingly in the immediate.

So what do we do?

We consider all things in the past gone, the only thing the past provides is perspective; everyday is different and poses new challenges so what could we possibly gain from filling ourselves with sorrow over things that are “over”. I’m not saying get over it because that is shallow, simplistic, and in a lot of cases not the best answer. Don’t “get over it”, but allow it to be over. Confront it, let it settle, recognize that the past is a part of you but it isn’t all of you unless you allow it to be.

In the same way we must step into the present with fresh eyes; recognize there is no ideal future we can plan for. It doesn’t exist, there are only the decisions we make right now. I’m always interested in the promises that people make to God because they often involve things that we have little to no control over. Behavior is not entirely under our jurisdiction it’s more a matter of self-release than self-control.

Allow God to be God and have jurisdiction over the past where he works, the future he has prepared and the right now where he draws you into relationship with his Spirit.

6 Things I Want to Give Away

Had an interesting meeting with the transit “Family/Student Ministries” team this week. (Lots of really innovative plans coming through, btw.) A question was asked on a specific level that I want to ask on a broad level. Namely: “What are 5 or 6 things you want to pour into others that will be meaningful for the rest of their lives?” On a student level this makes sense because you have a few years of consistent teaching, so it naturally follows that we should focus on a few specific things. In the young adult world this also makes sense. But the thing that got my brain fixated on this idea was the application on those we “do life” with. I asked myself a similar question in theSHIFT, but I think I may have asked too little too late. These things should probably be considered before we are preparing to leave.

My list formed pretty quickly, and now I know to start implementing these insights into the conversation a lot earlier and with more purpose.

1. God isn't about church, God is about us as individuals.
2. There is no substitution for fellowship and accountability
3. Personal devotion trumps collective devotion (every time)
4. CS Lewis knows what he's talkin about
5. We are all called to "go" and "make disciples" (refusal to do so is a blatant disobedience)
6. Relationships are God’s way of training you to be more like Jesus. 

Some things we "DO".

In our sad and clenching attempts to follow God, we so often destroy the very vibrant life and people he came to save.

You see it in churches where guilt and obligation continue to be the driving force of ministry – from smiling but utterly broken group leaders, to sweat drenched parking attendants. From tenured Sunday school teachers to empty offering plates. We must get out of this “made up” mess of “doing church”.

This isn’t my soap box, my concerns lie somewhere else entirely, but this is simple application. The Gospel is a deep exciting life of adventure and actualization. There is nothing stale or empty about it. I’m not questioning whether people are saved I’m questioning whether or not they realize what that means. . .

Simply put: much of the modern church is ill equipped to serve the world and make disciples because we have become full of programs and agendas and empty of life giving power.

Activity cannot substitute incimacy. #DrawClose everything else will take care of itself.

the Holy Catholic Church. . . (Not that one, the other one)

 We are a united people. Our cause and purpose is all the same. We have a reliance on each citizen and an accountability that reinstates that reliance.

We are United at all times. It is a natural inclination to reject the interdependence that fuels all of Christianity, but we must grasp and come to terms with the overwhelming responsibility of standing and falling together. I know the initial reaction to this unity principle is "if they fail then they did it on their own" or even worse "They made those decisions, they deserve what they get!" Holy God, are we saved for such a disgusting spiritual state as the modern church portrays?!?

Here's an example: I recently found out that an old friend got divorced. Apparently there were problems in the relationship for years. For a little background, this friend was a beaming example of what meant to be "radically saved"; his experience literally built my theology of God's power to change everything in a life. Knowing that God had moved so mightily in this couples lives, I was brought to instant brokenness for them. Understand that i wasn't disappointed that they brought yet another failed marriage into the forefront of the minds of unbelievers, nor was I critical of their disregard of Jesus' clear teaching that the Father hates divorce. No, my immediate concern was how have I [and by extension the entire church] failed them. I saw them both once a year for the past 8 years, did I go out of my way to connect with them, to pray with or for them, to give my heart to them. I love them both and when they fail, I fail. 

When you fail I don't want to know so I can condemn you. I need to know because we are "the body of Christ". We fail together and we will rise the same, friend! In the same way, when you triumph I don't want to puff you up or put you on a pedestal. I desperately want to share in victory because the risen Christ has made the difference for us.

There isn't an option here, if you are united with Christ you are united to His people. We can't afford to keep doing it any other way.

Curiosity killed the cat, God brought the cat from death to life. . .

I feel the need to define what it is to be “missional” from a purely one-sided and personal viewpoint. Usually when we talk about missional attitudes or missional paradigms, the discussion leans heavily on the church as a whole and where we hope every disciple ends up (or at least a large community within). But today I just want to say what is pouring out of my heart as it applies to me.

I have inside of me an ever-increasing desire to see God move. And to be perfectly honest it’s 50% selfish ambition, 50% inspired. I’ve lived a life in service to a King, I’ve seen His power manifest through great movements and through the unexpected (maybe even mundane) events of everyday life. These experiences have continually brought me back to a place where I fully admit that I have no idea what He’s up to. And still I seek out His Hand. Now, it’s not my intention to wax poetic, on the contrary, I fully intend to show the practical application of this internal compass.

While I’m under no constraint or obligation to see God “do His thing”, I’m drawn to it. I’m always curious about what He is doing in the lives of others. Not in this monumentally overshadowing (often fictional) thing we’ve affectionately term a “calling”. No, I want to know what He is doing inside of others. For some it may be ministry but in most cases it’s a simple lesson that can be easily explained by open and honest communication. This is where community comes in. If I have truly connected with someone, this process is as natural as commenting on the weather. And I get excited about this stuff. To be more precise I get fueled by this “day-to-day” acting out of what God is doing in us. When I turn the spotlight around and place it on myself in this context I can see God doing the same type of thing in me. He’s teaching me (seemingly) simple lessons by the experiences I go through. In some cases I get it right away and move on to the next, at other [full disclosure=most]times I wrestle with the validity or truth of the thing that God is trying to reveal to me.

Now what does all that have to do with missional. Well, seeing the hand of God move in my own individual life (regardless of the enormity or commonality) births a greater desire to actively give myself to the community God has placed me in, which in turn fuels my passion to promote the Gospel which, of course, compels me to seek out the lost, to heal the broken, give to the poor, and love people. To me missional is this life lived toward others, giving myself away for the promotion of the Gospel. And not the Gospel as a formula, but as a redemptive story lived out by anyone turning away from darkness and embracing the light in any capacity.

That’s how I see it today, it will likely evolve. I’m curious about what it looks like in the actual lives of others.

A Calling Falling. . .

I don’t want to be unfair to those people who feel genuinely “called” to a specific task in the Kingdom. But often when we refer to a “calling” we really mean “the thing we ought to do”. While I fully believe that God has a path laid out for each of us; we are not called to a path we are called to Christ. Put another way Christ is our goal, our milestone, and foundation of the journey (put simpler still He “is the way the truth and the life”). Those things we should be doing are simply ways of getting to him, but even in those there is failure and dependence. In those areas His grace brings the Goal to us.

I feel like the more we over-emphasize the calling the more we exempt people from the things they ought to be doing regardless of calling. This is what brings on responses like:

                “I care about missions, but I’m not called to missions.”

Really? Seriously?!? You're not called to make disciples and give yourself away? My only floored response to that backwards materialistic [reason i rant in the first place] mentality is, “When did Jesus call you to watch TV 4 hours a day, or buy your fourth vehicle? And yet you still manage to accomplish those tasks, hmmm?"

James 4:17 is a serious indictment against this attitude.  Mistaking a calling for a ministry or a position is one of the leading causes of apathy and slothfulness in our modern churchscape. We must cry out, make clear, and teach sensibly that the Gospel frees us from seeking position and status and releases us to do His will and not please men.

The Call to Christ is foremost; everything else is fluxing between what we should do and what we were each individually created to do.

The Big 3

Mission – Vision – Strategy

“The founding of a movement should be organic.” 

A valid statement, for sure, but a little muddy when it comes to the specifics. These are three general ingredients to address on the road to building community. Not 3 steps, or 3 must haves. These pieces will be confronted in the natural process of acting on the call to Christ in you, however, if we define and shape these ideas beforehand, I believe we will be in a receptive position that recognizes and acts on their approach.

Mission – the specific thing we will accomplish (example: Bring salvation to the unchurched population)

Vision – what God gives us to accomplish mission (example: the direction and leading of the Holy Spirit)

Strategy – the plan we apply to the vision to accomplish mission (example: draw ppl to community serve others and weekly small groups)

They may be consecutive in application but they are definitely not consecutive in conception. Sometimes God births a vision that draws you to a mission, sometimes you get mission and nothing else, I’m my case I responded to an opportunity to develop strategy and out of that process I found a mission to invest in and God started to grow a vision in me. If starting the movement or being a catalyst to community or change is in your heart, studying these themes may be extremely beneficial.

We should not become so tied to any of the three that we get them confused with each other or the bigger picture of what God is trying to do in us. We should re-approach them at common intervals to see if we are still “in step” with what God actually wants. I have friends who experienced deep (even tragic) loss that pulled them away from ministry. At the time failure is all anyone could see, but I can say with confidence that the plan of God isn’t predictable and many times the immediate struggle is necessary to get to the place where the right mission can be accomplished effectively.