I was talking to a guy at work today about his life and he told me he "wasn't the best in school."
Here's a guy who's a hard worker, easy to get along with, good at math, and other things, but because he had trouble with some reading skills, his school experience was negative.
Obviously there are different kinds of smarts. Most public schools only test and reward book smarts, or even more specifically, English smarts. Thankfully there are some that have intense art, computer, music, and shop classes to develop children according to their own skill set.
What does this have to do with church? Too many times, the leaders in the church are the book smart or people smart. More and more I see that God has put so many people together in very different ways, and then the Holy Spirit comes along and gives different gifts to people. For instance, how great would it be for a church to have an encouragement ministry, or a media ministry that goes beyond DVD's and electric guitars? How cool would it be to have real art inside the church? I know some people that just like to meet new people and socialize all the time. Certain types of people get upset at these social butterflies because they don't get many tasks done, or do they?? I would love to have a church full of people that just want to make friends and make people smile.
Of course the church is more than a social club, but with our society's high mobility and the breakdown of the family, we really need a place where you can be yourself, help others, and learn about the nature of God in more tangible ways than just listening to a preacher. What some would call mere "socializing," I call deep fellowship. Again, different people have different gifts and skills.
Everyone in a church should have the feeling that they are making a valuable contribution to the life and health of the church body, even youth and young adults.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Visioneering -1-
One of the main reasons I wanted to start blogging was to get my ideas and vision and whatnot for church planting out on the web for all to see ("all" meaning the 20 people who will read this). So two months into this thing, I guess it's about time.
Purpose and Mission
I see my personal purpose in life as reaching the next generation for Christ. Basically, I want to give people all the stuff I never had. I want to invest myself in others, mentor them, find opportunities for them to use their gifts, encourage them, and turn them into the kind of people who will do the same things for others. Basically, I want to do everything I can to make people successful (though in more of the spiritual and relational sense as opposed to financially).
Another mission of mine is to treat everyone like they matter to me, because they do. I crave personal time and attention, yet nobody has it to give. I want to be the kind of person that if I can't personally help you do something, I will send you to the person who can. People matter to me, because they matter to God. Bill Hybels claims this too, but not in the same way that I do. In such an impersonal society, the church needs to be much more intentional and proactive in connecting people to other people, and providing an environment for friendship to bloom and flourish. Bottom line for me, mission is NEVER about tasks, but it is ALWAYS about people. It's a shame that in so many churches people don't have time to connect because they're too busy doing stuff. Thank God for bean counters, but they better be counting beans with others for others.
Lastly, but most importantly, I want to have and to instill in others a passion for Jesus. Jesus is worth getting excited about. He's big enough to build and govern the universe, yet close and personal enough to give total attention to us whenever we call (and many times when we don't). Jesus loved me personally enough to save me out of a sinful lifestyle, he promised to be with me through the tough times and work in them for my good, to give me the ability and desire to do good on earth, and finally to rescue me from death and take me to be with him forever when my life is over.
These values and philosophies govern much of what I do (I wish it was all, but I am not perfect yet). Wherever I go, whatever I do, I take these principles with me. It makes me sad that so many others don't have these values, but God uses all kinds of people at all different stages of maturity. I praise God for the diversity in the universal church and look forward to every opportunity I may have to be a partner with Jesus in building his kingdom in this world.
Purpose and Mission
I see my personal purpose in life as reaching the next generation for Christ. Basically, I want to give people all the stuff I never had. I want to invest myself in others, mentor them, find opportunities for them to use their gifts, encourage them, and turn them into the kind of people who will do the same things for others. Basically, I want to do everything I can to make people successful (though in more of the spiritual and relational sense as opposed to financially).
Another mission of mine is to treat everyone like they matter to me, because they do. I crave personal time and attention, yet nobody has it to give. I want to be the kind of person that if I can't personally help you do something, I will send you to the person who can. People matter to me, because they matter to God. Bill Hybels claims this too, but not in the same way that I do. In such an impersonal society, the church needs to be much more intentional and proactive in connecting people to other people, and providing an environment for friendship to bloom and flourish. Bottom line for me, mission is NEVER about tasks, but it is ALWAYS about people. It's a shame that in so many churches people don't have time to connect because they're too busy doing stuff. Thank God for bean counters, but they better be counting beans with others for others.
Lastly, but most importantly, I want to have and to instill in others a passion for Jesus. Jesus is worth getting excited about. He's big enough to build and govern the universe, yet close and personal enough to give total attention to us whenever we call (and many times when we don't). Jesus loved me personally enough to save me out of a sinful lifestyle, he promised to be with me through the tough times and work in them for my good, to give me the ability and desire to do good on earth, and finally to rescue me from death and take me to be with him forever when my life is over.
These values and philosophies govern much of what I do (I wish it was all, but I am not perfect yet). Wherever I go, whatever I do, I take these principles with me. It makes me sad that so many others don't have these values, but God uses all kinds of people at all different stages of maturity. I praise God for the diversity in the universal church and look forward to every opportunity I may have to be a partner with Jesus in building his kingdom in this world.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Naming the Elephants, part the first
In my conversations with people, I am amazed by all the reasons people have for following certain religions: "Jesus Christ will give you peace in your life," "Judaism meets my spiritual needs," "Meditation helped me be a better person," "Satanism is for people with brains," "I just try to follow my heart," and many more.
One guy I talked to said, "I shouldn't matter if what we 'believe' is true or not, as long it helps you be happy and a better member of society."
Frequently, people will cite the ancient Indian proverb about the blind men and the elephant, (one blind man feels the trunk and says "an elephant is like a snake." Another blind man feels the leg and says "an elephant is like a tree" and so on and so forth...) saying that all religions are trying to describe God, but every religion itself is incomplete and needs to learn from others in order to have a more informed view of God. There is some truth to this. However, three religions on earth make the claim that the elephant already told us what he is: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. So disregarding these, all other religions are indeed blind and groping around a dangerous animal.
If we are honest, we will realize that most religions (though not all) teach very similar points of morality, such as don't kill, don't steal, and help those in need. This points to the fact that there may be something transcendently unifying in all of us humans--perhaps our creator?
All this is to say, Christianity is not a self-help religion, although it does help people. Christianity is about being restored to God because of the life and death of Jesus. My sins and your sins are acts of treason against our Creator, and Jesus paid the death penalty in your place.
Christianity is not about man's attempt to find God, it's about God's attempt to find you and rescue you and make you into something new and beautiful!
One guy I talked to said, "I shouldn't matter if what we 'believe' is true or not, as long it helps you be happy and a better member of society."
Frequently, people will cite the ancient Indian proverb about the blind men and the elephant, (one blind man feels the trunk and says "an elephant is like a snake." Another blind man feels the leg and says "an elephant is like a tree" and so on and so forth...) saying that all religions are trying to describe God, but every religion itself is incomplete and needs to learn from others in order to have a more informed view of God. There is some truth to this. However, three religions on earth make the claim that the elephant already told us what he is: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. So disregarding these, all other religions are indeed blind and groping around a dangerous animal.
If we are honest, we will realize that most religions (though not all) teach very similar points of morality, such as don't kill, don't steal, and help those in need. This points to the fact that there may be something transcendently unifying in all of us humans--perhaps our creator?
All this is to say, Christianity is not a self-help religion, although it does help people. Christianity is about being restored to God because of the life and death of Jesus. My sins and your sins are acts of treason against our Creator, and Jesus paid the death penalty in your place.
Christianity is not about man's attempt to find God, it's about God's attempt to find you and rescue you and make you into something new and beautiful!
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