People Helping People

As the pastor of a church, I am often asked by members what they can do to help the church. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not a traditional thinker.  This trait has certainly carried over into my ministry as well.  But I digress.  When people ask me what they can do to help the church, I usually tell them to do whatever makes them come alive.  The scripture puts it this way: 

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another.  Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.  Do you have the gift of helping others?  Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.  Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.”  1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT

God didn’t create you to fill a gap or serve in a position.  He created each of us to be an originals.  Simply filling a ministry need at a local church just because it needs done won’t be nearly as satisfying or effective as asking yourself:  What am I excited about?  What can I hardly wait to do?  What do I wish I got to do a lot more of?  The answers to these questions will likely point you to your destiny.  And your destiny (which means divine plan) won’t look like anyone else’s, nor will it likely be a cookie cutter, out of the box thing.  Ask yourself, What am I good at?  What do I like to do?  What do people compliment me for?  Doing these things for the benefit of others and the glory of God is your ministry.  I believe it’s time we start taking ministry back from the organization and start returning it to the people.  God didn’t create organizations, He created individuals.  Individual followers of Christ coming together is what we call church.  You will find that when given the freedom to do so, these individuals can and will minister to their hearts' content and their maker's design in a way that brings health to the body and life to the community, not to mention tremendous fulfillment to the individuals themselves.  Let’s make this the year of people doing ministry wherever, whenever, and however they feel led. This points to one of our SCC core convictions:   PEOPLE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT.  A church is supposed to do what is best for the growth of the people, not the people doing what's best for the growth of the church.  It’s a subtle shift with a powerful effect.  

Lend Me Your Ear

As residents of a free nation, we have come to appreciate and maybe occasionally take for granted the right to privacy which our Constitution provides for us.  The right to keep your business “your business” is a foregone conclusion to most.  Ironically, in this social media driven age of ours, we often post things in the virtual world that we would not write on a sign in our yards, but one thing is for sure:  we all need somebody to be real with.  There are things which all of us tend to keep to ourselves, and certainly when it comes to disclosure of your most intimate thoughts, feelings, and dreams, discretion is a must; but having someone to share with is essential for emotional and spiritual health.

One passage of Scripture puts it this way: “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed." James 5:16-18 MSG

Certainly not all of our thoughts are sinful, but if you look at it through one definition of sin which is "to miss the mark", many of my thoughts miss the mark on a regular basis.

Talking to someone about the thoughts that keep playing over and over in our heads is a great way to find balance in life and to still our sometimes restless souls.   A trusted friend, family member, or spiritual mentor can often point out the lies, assumptions, and falsehoods for what they are.  Relationships are supposed to make our lives better, so don't live your life alone.  And being around people is not necessarily the opposite of being alone.  Many people are social (being around people regularly) but never take the time to develop the close friendships necessary for a healthy life.  Let’s all take the time to be a friend and benefit from having real friends, too.  Let's make 2016 the year we open up our hearts, lives, and homes to others.

Simple Jesus, Boiling Down Your Religion Without Watering Down Your Faith

I hope you enjoy this unedited release of the introduction to the book which I have been writing for some time now.  I'm five chapters in and I am releasing this snipet as a motivation to myself to continue the work I have started until  it's completeion.  God Bless.

SIMPLE JESUS

Boiling Down Your Religion Without Watering Down Your Faith 

PREFACE

This book seeks to illustrate the inconsistencies that I have noted between the simple powerful example of Jesus and His first followers and the complicated web of modern day christian practices.  The discrepancy between the two is profound and seems only to be matched by the seeming unwillingness do something about them.  

These inconsistencies are at best ironic and at worst create a religion whose form lacks the simple lasting power to change lives.  In addition this book seeks to motivate the reader to a thought provoking soul searching quest for a simple faith laser focussed on relating to God and others the way he designed us too. 

I'm not coming at this topic from a theological or ecclesiastical perspective although I have a bachelors degree in Biblical studies and Pastoral Ministries.  Instead I am doing my best to come at the topic from a simple common sense perspective that seems to be congruent with the message and life of Christ.  

I consider myself to be a follower of Christ, but more accurately a friend of Jesus.  I have spent the last five years looking for, discovering and developing a relational faith with the Living Lord.  I hope to share with you some of what I have discovered.  

INTRODUCTION

While simple as an adjective make conjure up images of uneducated or unintelligent people, by definition it is much more of a compliment than a put down.  Simple reflects a lack of complication.  Complication in most of our lives takes on the form of drama and simply speaking drama drains the soul.  Simplicity reflects peace, solitude and tranquility.  Who among us doesn't need more of these? Simple in one sense can mean having a singular purpose and a narrow focus.  

In another sense it can mean free from vanity, guile, or ostentation. Both seem reflective of the nature and character of Christ.    Jesus by this definition was simple and I Believe that the path he walked and calls his followers to walk is meant to be one of simplicity. Not the "lets sell everything we have and move to a commune to reduce our carbon footprint" type of simplicity but a uncomplicated narrowly focused faith. One dedicated to the things which Jesus held to be most important.  

THE JESUS PROJECT

A few years ago in this very galaxy,  I took up the "extra church" practice of journaling.  I use the term "extra church" practice because journaling was not one of the things on the church I attended's list of "what you should be doing if you are really a good Christian".  I have noticed over the years that different churches have different expectations for their members. There are expectations of conduct, attendance, appearance, involvement, support, and the list can go on and on. But I digress. I took up the practice of journaling because I had started to notice an abundance of thoughts and feelings running the halls of my mind.  I had heard of the practice of journaling while reading one of the couple dozen books I was researching while I was the Adult growth director of the church where I ministered.  I wondered if the practice would help me get some of my excess thoughts and feelings out of the way so I could get back to the important things in my life. What I found was that when I dedicated the time to write them down,  the thoughts and feelings started to organize themselves into a series of themes.    As I started to concentrate on them, these themes had some serious familiarity to them.  I realized that there was an undercurrent of these thoughts and feelings that had been running through my head and my heart most of my life. An undercurrent which was meant to prompt me toward a different kind of life.  

In one of my three times a week, hour long journaling sessions (yes that used to make me feel like one of those super Christians) I was struck by a thought that provoked ovewhelming feelings of truth, purpose, and direction.  JESUS WAS CALLING ME TO A MINISTRY OF SIMPLIFICATION. In the moments that followed I was overcome with the desire to start a one-month long exercise that I eventually came to call the "Jesus Project". 

The gist of the Jesus Project was to spend thirty days only focussed on doing the things which I had found to be directly beneficial to developing a better relationship with Jesus.  All other things no matter how spiritual they might seem, or how prominent a role they had been playing in my life, would be set aside regardless of the expectations of others.  Now let me clarify I'm not independently wealthy so I'm not talking about a 30 day trip to the mountains to meditate and pray. I still went to work, played with my kids, and spent time with my wife and friends. It was the other "supposed to" sort of stuff and the time stealing habits of my life that I set aside.  What I discovered during the process changed my life forever and is the essence of Simple Jesus.  I hope it challenges your assumptions, solidifies your beliefs, and helps you tear down walls constructed by yourself and others that may be hindering your own spiritual growth and all that Christ wants to do in your life.  

Now I'm not a disillusioned, backslidden (if you theology permits) Christian seeking to bring others down but a simple reformist looking to lift others up with the hope inspire that there is an abundant life in Jesus that's not well represented by "Christianity".    I would challenge you at this point in the book to ask the Lord to guide and direct you in the pages to come. To cement to your heart truths that you need to grab ahold of and to help you let go of and lay down anything that may be holding you back from a deeper relationship with Christ.  Hold onto your seat because here we go!

BACK OF THE BOOK

If you have picked up a copy of this book and are starting to read this back cover, chances are you're already searching for something more or something less or at least some more clarity on what the "Christian life" is all about. Maybe you've had a relationship with the church that went south or have had an up close and personal encounter with the modern-day Pharisee. Maybe your experience with Christianity Seems far from Christ's promise of "my burden is easy and my yoke is light".  The good news is God wants this relationship with you far worse than you want it with him.  The fact that you're reading this right now suggests that you've already taken the first steps into a deeper walk with Christ.  And I pray right now that if you will continue reading this book that Christ will reveal himself to you in a way you've never known before a way that will change your life forever.