Love Unknown
“Love Unknown”
John 3:14-21
There comes a time in almost every young adult’s life in which they begin to realize they may have been wrong. A time in which their understanding of how something they’ve believed since they were a teenager may have been a mistake. A realization which could lead to a variety of emotions: anger, shame, affection, sorrow, just to name a few.
It’s a realization which will profoundly change how they remember things, and also how they begin to look forward to the rest of their life.
Of course, I am talking about when young adults realize that maybe their parents might actually know something. That just maybe all the life instructions they been telling you for the past 10 years might not be a bunch of hot air, but may actually be useful advice.
This is a tough pill to swallow for young adults. After all, they’ve been fighting with their parents for years about what is right and what is wrong. There have been fights over who are the right friends to have, where good places to go are, and what is the best use of time. And darn it, yes, the parents were more right than we’d like to admit. read more…
Leadership and Change, Let’s Get Going!
This week I’ve had two interesting articles shared with me about leadership and change.
The first was “The Problem with Blowing Things Up” which talks about the wisdom about how to initiate change.
So often we are tempted to “blow things up” and start all over. Some might call this the Mythbusters’ approach to leadership. But like in the post above, is this something we should really be considering?
Sure, in some cases it might be what is needed. It may just be the right point in time to restart from scratch, to begin all over again. But is it in all cases?
In the context of the church, I would say the option to “blow things up” should be used in only the rarest of occasions. (Actually, you could probably say that for most situations where change is not only desired but required)
The approach to invoking change is to create a movement within the organization you are wanting to change. To create an excitement, an emotional response, that will help move things forward. It will give people something to buy into, it will help them feel like they are part of the process (whether they really are or not is up to them, but at least they feel like a contributor). It’s a grassroots movement where people can get excited and renewed in their passion for community.
The other article I received this week was “Overcoming Resistance to Change: Top Ten Reasons for Change Resistance”
In this article we read of the common anxieties and/or reasons people resist change. I’m sure you have experienced a number of them.
I have some serious concerns about the future of… well… society in general. We’re so focused on the individual. “What’s in it for me?” is our dominant mantra that echoes everywhere. And nothing seems immune. Our governments, our schools, our businesses, our public services, our news stories, even our churches all seem to be focused on maintaining and protecting what we have for our own sake.
As leaders, or perceived leaders, we need to begin to show a better way. Our churches need to show that it’s not about us who gather in the building, but rather what happens in the community. Our governments and businesses need to show that it’s not about golden handshakes or power, but rather how the weakest in our societies are treated. Our schools need to show it’s not about how many kids are in the class, but rather how these children grow into being productive members of society with the skills they learn.
This is not an overnight change. This is a change that is going to take some time because it requires a drastic change of attitude. It means letting down our guards that we hold so tight and getting open and vulnerable to the stories around us.
For the church, this should be our instinct. Why?
Because it’s how Jesus lived his life.
It’s how he asked us to live our lives.
The church was once the great leader in the community. The community focal point, the place where everyone looked for leadership and guidance. We can still be that place. We can still be places where people know they can be helped by people who are willing to be vulnerable with them. We can still live out the Gospel message we claim to use to direct our lives. We can still love our neighbours. We can still clothe the naked and feed the hungry.
All things Jesus commands us to do.
This change in public attitude needs to start somewhere, so that our whole society can go with it.
Why not start in the church?
Why not start today?
Photo from http://www.sxc.hu/photo/250321Flirting with the Forbidden – A review
I’ve recently begun reviewing books sent to me by Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
The first book I received was Flirting with the Forbidden: Finding Grace in a World of Temptation by Steven James.
Often when you pick up a new book you might look to see who has endorsed the book so far. The endorsements on the back of the book are from “generic” reviewers, certainly no big recognizable names. So, to be honest I didn’t have a high expectation for this book.
But don’t I love to be surprised! James takes us on a journey through the eyes of biblical characters, giving us some insight into their lives as they struggle with temptation and acting faithfully. Some of the characters he chooses may surprise you, as they are sometimes only mentioned in passing in scripture.
Tying the actions of these people with our current lives, James offers us new insight into what it means to face temptation in the world and the grace we need from our God.
If you are one who finds yourself in need of grace over and over again, and maybe you feel you just can’t see hope, you should read this book. It certainly has given me lots to think about.
Stephen James is a fine storyteller who will take you on a journey into the hearts of men and women from the Bible, showing how grace is needed, and also that grace is offered.
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
How Sweet That Sound!
“How Sweet That Sound”
Romans 3:21-30
Imagine a young man, pushed to enter into the Navy, becoming a sailor. Furthering his career by working on boats participating in the slave trade. He was well known for his attitude upon the boats. It’s no secret that the language and actions of sailors can sometimes be a little… rough… for Christian tastes, but this young man was often reprimanded for his language, using words that were too strong even for other sailors’ ears! Deciding that maybe the words he was using wasn’t bad enough, he made up his own, much to the disgust of those around him. This young man was a serious trouble-maker.
Believe it or not, his mother was raising him to be a minister! But she died when he was only 6, and was raised by his step-mother while his father worked on the seas himself, and treated poorly at boarding school. It was at the age 11 when he joined his father on the boats. Learning the craft at a very young age, and no doubt this early influence had major implications on his growing up to be the salty sailor he became, even to the point of denouncing his faith. After deserting the Navy, he hid by finding work in the slave trade, and began his new career for creating obscene poems and songs to pass the time at sea.
He was so poorly respected on the boats that he himself even ended up chained along with the slaves they were trading. His life spiralled downward to the point where he found himself working on a plantation in Sierra Leone. read more…
Numbers
The other day this article made the rounds on Facebook. It raises some interesting questions about our approach to church budgets. Now I’ve never been part of a church that looks for “pledges” to help set the budget for the year, but I can see the value in them. And asking for it before the budget, it even makes some sense.
However, the article also brings up an issue for me. We place so much focus on the “numbers.” The numbers in the budget, the numbers in the pews, the numbers in the offering plate, numbers, numbers, numbers. Our whole vision of success is based on numbers!
Did we have an increase in offering last year? Is the budget in the black, or the red… again? How many baptisms did we do? Confirmation? How many kids in the Sunday School? Numbers, numbers, numbers…
I get it all over. I meet a new pastor somewhere… what’s one of the first questions I get asked… “How big is your church?”
How about we make a deal… no more numbers.
Did Jesus focus on numbers? Did he have a budget that he had to get passed by the disciples every year to determine what ministry he would do? No, Jesus did what he was called/led/compelled to do to change people’s lives on the streets.
You want to measure success? You want your church to be the best it can be?
Then stop measuring it by earthly standards of dollars and cents.
Start measuring by lives changed.
Those are the only numbers that really count.
*Photo from http://www.sxc.hu/profile/thiagofest