Where is the Urgency?

Are you in front of something? When you look behind you do you see a group of people who are looking straight at you and apparently waiting for your next move so they know what their next move is going to be? If you find yourself in that awesome position, then you have woken up to find yourself in a position of leadership.

Are you a positional leader? Are you by job description or title a leader? Does your position in your company or business necessitate that you are in from of people, but when you look around are you straining your eyes to see where all the followers are?

In the business world this lack of follower-ship can be problematic to your company's bottom line - if you are a pastor then this lack of follower-ship can mean eternal death for hundreds if not thousands of people. We live in a time when the population of the world is growing and the population in our churches is decreasing - Houston, we have a problem!

We do not have a lack of church locations, but yet we have a lack of growth of the Christian faith. How can this be the case? How can we in America have a surplus of churches and yet still have a deficit of Christianity? How have we missed the boat? Why are we in the position we are in? How are we going to get out of it?

Where is the urgency in the church? Where is the passion in the leadership of the church that compels us to give everything we have to reach those around us with the Good News? When did we swallow the lie that it is ok to be the church 'for us', but it is not ok for us to be the church for 'those people out there'? Why do we believe that 'those people out there' need to change to be more like us before they can join us? Do we seriously think that people are dying to flood into our churches and fill our pews all by themselves?

Houston, we really do have a problem - it just isnt going to happen.

We need to allow the Lord to change us and transform us to a people of URGENCY - a people who have heard the alarm bell ringing and understand that when the alarm goes off it means only one thing - FIRE!

We need to allow ourselves to accept change and new things readily and to not get stuck in the rut of 'this is how we have always done it'. We need to recognize that the cheesy-Left Behind series movies may not have all the Hollywood razzamataz, but they have one vital element - the TRUTH. Whether you enjoyed the cinematography of any of those end of the world type movies is not important - the truth that people have one life to live and if they die without knowing Christ then they are dead forever.

When will we wake up to the alarm that is ringing loudly at the minute and 'be strong and courageous' and simply invite our friends and neighbors to come to church?

When?

Please let it be soon.


Do you hear me Jason? The time is now!

GO!

My Little Pony - Its a Man Thing

This week has been one of those weeks when it seemed like I was out every night, or working every night in preparation for what was a busy weekend. Friday daytime was spent putting the boat back together again followed by small group and a late night preparation time to get ready for Bowiefest on Saturday.

Saturday morning we were up and at em early and after picking up a few bits and pieces from the church at 8am I was off to Allen Pond to set up our booth for what promised to be a day of connecting with the great people of this city. Saturday was hot - from the moment I left my house it was hot. It was one of those days when being hot and sweaty was the common feeling of the day. I dont think that changed at any moment during the day to be honest. The band were due to play at 11:30am but that was never going to happen because the sound engineer who had all of the sound gear in his truck overslept and only arrived at Bowiefest at 11am. To say they were slow setting up their rig was an understatement, but by noon, JD and the gang were belting out worship tunes across the whole venue. It was awesome to walk through the vendors and stalls and see people tapping their feet to the music. I wonder if they really knew it was a worship set?

The rest of the afternoon was spent talking to people about StreetReach and what we were trying to achieve with our summer outreach. There were a number of great conversations and we will see what comes from the seeds that were planted.

Saturday night was spent enjoying the beauty of Justin and Jackie's wedding. It is always great to see friends fulfill their dream of getting married and to be a part of the beginning of their new journey together. Ending the evening with final preparation of this morning's message.

This morning went well, at least I felt it did, but it is always difficult to know how you are heard. The response seemed to be good. We will see what the week brings.

When I got home from gassing up my truck in preparation for the week, Emma was in the toy room yelling for her mom. I went in to see what the issue was that was evoking the screams. "Would you play with me daddy?" came with a little forlorn look. I was instantly met with my own message this morning - I had a choice to make. Was I going to make some selfish excuse about being tired and go sit down, or was I going to fight for my family and sit down on the floor to play with My Little Ponies. There wasn't really a choice to make. So little purple brush in hand I was designated as the head groom and had to brush all the  ponies. Once the stable was completed we moved on to Barbies and the doll's house. For a little under an hour or so Emma and I played with her toys, doing the things that she wanted - and it felt fantastic. I need to keep making the right choices - regardless of how tired or busy I think I am.

Fight for your family, not with them.

Self-importance leads to self-impotence

I sat in a  meeting today in work, my university work, and read an e-mail informing us that one of our faculty colleagues lost her battle with cancer this week. We didnt stop our meeting, take a pause or even acknowledge the loss of a friend and co-worker. Those who read the e-mail made a few "That's sad" comments but little else. we returned to our business in an effort to complete our tasks and get finished for the day as early as possible.

I was struck by how self-absorbed this act truly was. It has set me to think today about the selfish things that we instinctively do and how so often we seem to think that somehow our selfish actions or desires are perfectly justified. we are full of our own self-importance. The refrain from the parody of that Christian song came to mind, "It's all about ME, really, and all this is for ME ...." (sung to the tune of Its all about You, Jesus). Why do we fail to look around us at the world we live in and fail to think of others above ourselves? Why is it always about us, about our desires, about our wants, about our needs?

As followers of the Way, we must have a different mindset. We must have the mind of Christ, who being in very nature God, who was made of the very same stuff that God is made of, who was equal to God the creator of the universe in every way, yet He humbled himself - ahh, there it is. He HUMBLED himself, He - the creator, the maker of all things He HUMBLED himself, He lowered himself, He wasn't lowered by someone else, He wasnt forced into it, He HUMBLED himself. And as He did that He took on the very nature of a man, the Creator became a created being. He became finite, the infinite was contained. He HUMBLED himself.

Could the simple truth be that easy? Could it really be a matter of us recognizing that regardless of our gifting or ability or position, for us to be like Christ then we must do as He did. We MUST HUMBLE ourselves. We must fight against the world as it attempts to elevate us, and we must fight against ourselves as we attempt to elevate ourselves. We must resist the urge to raise our heads above all others and we must take on the very nature of a servant. We must force ourselves to seek out a life of service, a life where we look to raise others up, a life where we spend all of our energy in exalting others and leading them to the Savior.


HUMBLE yourselves therefore, under God's mighty hand, that HE may lift you up, in due time.

YAY - BOO - how is your week going?

Flying to Orange conference with Dione on Wednesday morning - YAY
Getting the call that Julie's granda had passed away - BOO

Getting inspired about reaching the family for Christ through Orange - YAY
Booking separate flights to Belfast for my wife and I to be with her family - BOO

Having local parents (Mine) who love to care for my kids - YAY
Being in Atlanta while my wife flies to Belfast - BOO

Being able to purchase a ticket to Belfast to support my wife's family - YAY
Having to wait until I could get my passport renewed to be able to fly - BOO

Having a very nice passport office worker get my passport in 5 hours - YAY
Condensing 5 days work into 5 hours to try to get everything done before leaving - BOO

Getting a call that my wife's car keys have been found after being lost for 1 week - YAY
Getting rear-ended by some guy not paying attention and crashing into... me - BOO

What's next? Tomorrow is another day

Has It Really Been A Month?

Dear Blog,

Has it really been a month since I last spoke to you? Has it really been so long? I guess I have neglected you for 'the other woman' so to speak! I started my second blog with my 210 in 2010 Challenge and have put more emphasis into that site than this one.

As I write that I can't help but think about the message I just heard at the Orange Conference here in Atlanta. Doug Fields was on stage talking about how every day we have to make choices. Every day we only have 24 hours in which to accomplish all the things that we deem important. Every day we all have the same amount of time to fulfill our to-do list. What aspect of your life gets your priority? What part of your to-do list ALWAYS gets the best of your time, the pick of your energy, the quality of your day?

For many of us we struggle between a choice of giving the best of our time between one of two life arenas - our jobs and our families. So which one wins in your life? When push comes to shove and you have things left on your to-do list, do you go home only to still be at work? Do you grace your family with your physical presence only to rob them of your actual presence? When you switch off from the office, is the ride home little more than a moments respite from log-in sessions?

When you finally retire and they give you that gold watch - will your kids resent the career that stole their dad so much that they wont wish to share in the excitement of the presentation?

Let's change the scenario and swap work for CHURCH. Will you continue to argue that 'this is the Lord's work' and therefore is more important than your family? Will you weep when you sit all alone in your chair, abandoned by your kids who resent you and the 'mistress' that stole your time, 'their' time with you? How long will you neglect your family for some 'higher' calling? When will you realize that there is no higher calling than being the best dad you can be? When will you realize that the meetings will continue, even if you are not present, the discussions will go on without your input and the problems will be resolved without your assistance? When will you realize that your daughter will never dance at another 'first dance recital', that your daughter will never have another 'first soccer practice', that your daughter will never have another 5th birthday party?

Well Jason, how long will it take you to realize that the greatest call that there is on your life is to be dad. to those precious gifts that God has given you - Julie your wife, Cara and Emma your daughters.

Don't let it be long. Create habits today that will produce a family that is strong and secure. Set in place a pattern of living where you are HOME when you are home. Take time to switch off from work, to unplug from church and to focus every ounce of your being on pouring your heart and soul into your family.

That's God's call on your life.


Now go LIVE IT!!

Books of the Bible - Galloshans!

This week is an important week for my precious 5 year old. This week is the week that she needs to remember the books of the bible so she can achieve her goal in AWANA and get an invite to the Achievement Party. It was suddenly my responsibility to make sure she had it all correct – at least that was what she told me.

So I sat with Cara and her AWANA book – “Matthew, Mark, Luke …” the first group rolled off the tongue relatively quickly, although she did seem to lose Romans a lot of the time. I thought, “There are a number times that I seem to forget Romans too, or at least some of the things it says in it.” We finished that first group and moved to the epistles – a little tricky for a 5 year old, but she is a smart kid and I am confident that she can do it. She steadied herself and began, “Galatians, Ephesians, Philipians, Galloshans…” I paused her for a moment and enquired what that last book was again – “Galloshans! Daddy.”

She was so close, and yet so far away from the truth. I must say that my first thought was that of Dora the Explorer's little buddy, Boots, and maybe he went to the church of Galloshans. Then I had mental images of what the Veggie Tales people would do with the concept of Paul writing a letter to the church of the Galloshans. When I snapped back to my seat at the kitchen table, I realized that the most amusing thing was that she was sure she was right – and she would today believe that Paul wrote to the Galloshans, had I not helped her see the little pen stroke that makes a C into a G wasn’t actually there.

How often do we do the very same things? How often do we believe something, and believe it strongly, only to find out that our understanding is not 100% accurate, and often it is only the smallest of pen strokes, or most innocuous of things that makes all the difference. As I reflected on this incident this morning in my commute, I was struck by how many times we draw a line in the sand and defend a position that is indefensible, if only we saw all of the facts as they were and not as we perceived them. We believe that we are right, yet we have missed one vital detail. There are even times when we have inserted a pen stroke where none existed, we have inserted information where there should not be any. We have taken our understanding of a subject and defend it as strongly as any proven truth. Yet, we are wrong.

What do you do in those times? Is saving face more important than acknowledging our error and our weakness?

What should we do at those times?

Why are those two things different?

Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones, Words Can Break My Spirit

I know this is not how the famous little saying goes, but recently I have been wondering if the rhyme may be less than accurate. I have been considering the things that we say, and the way that we say them, and the power that is conveyed through our words. 

The bible says in James 3:5-10,

“⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.  ⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  ⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”

The tongue is a very powerful weapon, yet how often we choose to carelessly use it, and cause considerable harm in the process. There is a fine line between challenging and chastising. This became tremendously apparent last week when I was preparing dinner at home while Cara and Emma were sitting at the table. Julie had left some things on the table that the girls really didn’t need to be playing with, so I asked them to put them aside and not play with them. The first request went unheeded and so the same request was made a second time. It was at that point that my 5yr old (going on 40) said under her breath, “We were just looking at them”. This is a new phase for her – a new boundary she is learning, but this was one muttered piece of back-chat that pushed the wrong button. I turned on my heel, and using nothing but words reduced my beautiful sweet angel to tears. Through my tone, and my inflection I used the same tongue that earlier had conveyed love, to now chastise. She got the point, but I fear there may be more moments of correction before we are free of this boundary checking.

This incident set me to think that the bible is true (fancy that) and the way that we use our tongues is incredibly powerful. There are times when I stand before the congregation and try my best to issue a challenge, but after listening to the podcast later I question whether I brought more chastisement than challenge. Oh how I wish I had the wisdom to get that one right in real time. One thing I have learned though is that what may come across to one person as a challenge may be considered as chastisement by the person sitting beside them. It is a very fine line to tread.

So how do we learn to tame the only muscle in the human body with one end unattached? I think we can do no more than follow what the Lord has instructed us to do in His word. Psalm 34:13 says, “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies” – we need to exercise control. 

When it comes to bringing a challenge, we need to exercise control and only bring that challenge that comes from the Lord, not add our own ideas to what the Lord has given us. I think we step across the line into chastising when we don’t control our words. I pray that as we continue to grow as a body together that we will be patient with one another, holding each other up and being gracious to each other. I pray that as a family together we will use our tongues to edify and not to destroy. When we find ourselves feeling that we have been chastised, then maybe we can show grace and help the speaker understand how we feel, without making them feel the same way. When we feel that we have been challenged, then maybe we can take seriously the challenge that was made and not selectively pick out single words or phrases which we then use to disqualify ourselves from what was said. 

I suppose when it comes to controlling the tongue we need to do everything that we can to keep our speech pure, and maybe we should learn to believe the best from the speaker and trust that even though their ‘challenge’ may have felt more like chastisement, it wasn’t intended to come across that way. Then we can show grace and mercy with our tongue, and edify. 

I know I have a lot more to learn on this, and I hope that as we grow together you will graciously help me in that process.