Every Sunday I teach myself something and this week was no exception.
After last Sunday I will forever be changed in the way I think about something that I do every day. Eph 5:20 instructs us to have an attitude of thanksgiving which I have always tried to do. I also work to teach my boys to say thank you because that shows politeness and good manners. Well, as I studied the idea of thankfulness I was struck by how much more it means to be thankful than simply saying thank you. I guess it all does start there, but how many people are stuck at a 4 year old level of thankfulness?
What I mean is that if I get good at saying thank you I'm just doing what I've taught my 4 year old son to do, and there's a long way for me to go before I achieve what God wants for me in this area of my life. In other languages there are idiomatic phrases that are used instead of "thanks," i.e. "that makes my heart warm," or "may God repay you." In fact, in the very ancient languages you won't find an exact word that is by itself translated "thanks." In ancient Hebrew you will typically see the word "praise" or "bless" which have much more meaning than "thank you."
So, if you want to graduate beyond 4 year old thanksgiving to a more Godly thanksgiving, start doing what I'm starting to do. Stop saying "thanks" and in place of that word substitute,
- I appreciate that you ... (be specific about a quality that made you thankful for them)
- (Brag in front of someone else) I noticed that you always finish the jobs you start and you put a lot of effort into your work!
- (Contribute something of value) You work hard and with such a great attitude - can I take you out for lunch (or give you ...) as a token of my appreciation.
Leave a comment of an example of how you've done this recently.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
The spiritually entitled
In my teen years I grew up in a wealthy part of town and saw many friends who lived very entitled lives. More than ever, that way of thinking has become a liability for people who have never been made to hone a marketable skill that could earn them the salary they expect. Similarly those who feel spiritually entitled are just asking for pain.
We see throughout the Old Testament numerous examples of national pride and individual arrogance tying directly to the Jew’s understanding of their election by God. Even one of our biblical heroes, Joseph, endured much pain for his rash response to receiving the revelation that he himself was chosen by God, and not his brothers.
Paul speaks in Ephesians 1 of our chosen-ness and our adoption as sons into God’s family. I was struck by Paul’s positive and thankful tone that accompanies this teaching. He sounds like someone who is truly amazed and humbled that God would choose him. Paul’s attitude is certainly in contrast to the attitude I’ve observed in myself and other Christians when the topic of election comes up.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Missing out on the opportunity to give
In Exodus 36:6, 7 Moses actually told the people to stop their offerings…they had plenty. I’m asking myself, how might this happen in my ministry? I’m also wondering what affect it would have on people if they knew that their “opportunity” to give to a worthy cause, might in fact have a short life span. In other words, if they don’t give immediately, they won’t have an opportunity to give at all to the project (i.e. the tabernacle will be built without their help.)
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Feast or Fast - Get rid of the E
Electronics and Entertainment consume huge amounts of our time. At what cost? When we take the E out of our life we suddenly free up a huge amount of time we can use for something else more productive - like spending it with our creator. It seems that we all are constantly texting, connecting on Facebook, listening to TV and music, on the phone, instant messaging, going to the movies, etc. etc. Our lives are full and often too full. It's like we're feasting on the E parts of life as if we're at some unending amusement buffet. If we see a small area on our plate that is empty we quickly fill that spot from the buffet. God wants us to demonstrate His importance by carving out time to be with him. We can find time in our busy schedules for God by fasting from food or ending the feasting on electronics and entertainment.
In Matthew 6 Jesus gives instructions about fasting. He says "when" you fast, not "if." Jesus also spent big blocks of time escaping people to be with his Heavenly Father - we can assume without food. We know for sure that at least once he spent 40 days fasting (Matthew 4).
In Matthew 6 Jesus gives instructions about fasting. He says "when" you fast, not "if." Jesus also spent big blocks of time escaping people to be with his Heavenly Father - we can assume without food. We know for sure that at least once he spent 40 days fasting (Matthew 4).
Friday, July 29, 2011
Who decides: the young-uns or the fuddy-duddies?
A question was recently passed along by a ministry friend/mentor. My short answer is that resources are scarce and a church can only accommodate a limited amount of "consumerist needs." Yet this is simplistic and not always the true answer so I've pasted the original question below and then give my longer answer.
___________________________________________________
"I know that there is and always will be some level of tension between generations - even in the church of Christ contrary to His wishes and directions. However, on a philosophical note, I have to ponder, why this tension and adversarial situation seems to be a pretty common thing in the church of our time? How does it develop? How can it be addressed? Is it "normal" and should we just learn to deal with it, or is it against the model of the church Jesus has given to us?
___________________________________________________
"I know that there is and always will be some level of tension between generations - even in the church of Christ contrary to His wishes and directions. However, on a philosophical note, I have to ponder, why this tension and adversarial situation seems to be a pretty common thing in the church of our time? How does it develop? How can it be addressed? Is it "normal" and should we just learn to deal with it, or is it against the model of the church Jesus has given to us?
I just recently returned from an 11 day vacation with five days designated for the family, a transition day, and then five days with just my wife. The two parts of our summer vacation couldn’t have been more different.
We spent the family portion on the Mogollon Rim of AZ, tent camping. We experienced camp fires, smores, fishing, games, reading kids' books, hiking, whittling sticks, chasing wild life, and ducking for cover when the daily monsoon storm came rolling in. We also made sure to break up the routine with trips into town for pizza and one trip to Payson to go bowling. It was good family fun:)
The next week when it was just Tammy and me we used our credit card points to book a nice hotel in Las Vegas. We ate at nice restaurants, walked the strip (side stepping the sex vendors,) shopped, visited the fountains of the Bellagio, watched some gambling, read next to the pool, visited the Spa, took in a spectacular show, and of course there was the part that will have to stay in Vegas. Most of what we enjoyed was not kid friendly, ranging between boring for kids and inappropriate for kids.
The point is that there are times in the family life when the adults do things especially for themselves and there are times when the family needs and interests are the focus. With four young boys we find that the latter is more often our focus. Youth sports, school and school functions, structuring their chores and free time, home education and faith development, etc. etc. require the bulk of our focus. Unity in the home is experienced when the adults work hard at creating a home environment where the children can grow and thrive.
Like in a family, churches also should be places where the environment is intentionally created by the mature/leaders to bring benefit to the young/immature and the unbelievers. We learn to forgo our stylistic preferences and superficial desires because we understand that young ones require sacrifice from adults so that the environment is suitable and even fun for them.
So, my answer to this question is ultimately about creating the right expectations for the spiritually mature people in my church -
1. Affirming them as the true leaders of our church
2. Giving reminders - as leaders they will often be asked to make sacrifices
3.
Teaching them to help safeguard the “substance” of the church (i.e. beliefs, discipline, values) but to let go of stylistic preferences for the benefit the "kids"
4.
Promise them occasional “trips to Vegas” - events and opportunities that challenge the leaders at a high level and include them in adult conversations that would be inappropriate for the young ones
So, the fuddy-duddies (spiritually mature people) win. They get to decide what church will look and feel like. However, if that group of people are truly leaders, they will decide to design a church that appeals to the young-uns, ahead of their own preferences. Of course if the elders/seniors in the church aren't also it's spiritually mature group - then there's a whole other set of dysfunctional issues to worry about that goes far beyond what the church feels and looks like.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Do Something Small that is Huge
We learn an important lesson from the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. Jesus took what was voluntarily offered and although it wasn’t much, he did something great with it! I shared a video on Sunday at Mountain Vista Community Church that introduced Hope Alive. Hope Alive is an effective sponsorship program in Uganda
Monday, May 30, 2011
The Sacrifice of American Heroes
Thank you to our current and former US servicemen and women who have committed to give their lives to protect us and our freedom! So many in the past have paid the ultimate price helping to ensure our continued freedom from oppressive dictators, communistic ambitions, and violent terrorism - we are very fortunate!
Our freedom means so much to us. The obvious benefit is that our freedom allows us to pursue faith and happiness and success within the bounds of reasonable laws. On Memorial Day I trust that all Americans are appreciating those freedoms and honoring those who have preserved them. Today, we can travel anywhere in our country, gather with whomever we wish, worship and believe in the God of our choice, pray for our govt leaders (whom we freely elected), and we even have the freedom to work and earn time and a half if we so choose (so that I can enjoy my coffee at Starbucks while I write this.)
Let's think about the less obvious implications of our freedom. Knowing that my church, like the first church in Acts 2, gives generously and voluntarily and serves God without compulsion, I can conclude that the church is not in some way creating another form of communism (which some of claimed of the early church.) The early church gave freely of what they had because of their concern and love. We love God, we love our church family, and we love those who are lost and hurting and so we give and serve freely because of that love. Communism is about taking from its members, but a free society under God's rule is about those members giving freely - huge difference.
Freedom demonstrates relevance -
Yesterday at our church people put money in the offering basket. Our church is free of government interference and consequently is not supported by the govt (not the case in some European countries & the Middle East). So, our church's ongoing existence and the ministries we do to benefit others comes from the free choice of our members to give...and to give whatever amount they choose. The fact that we continue to exist and to offer significant ministry is a sign that we are relevant and needed (or the income would cease.) In a communist country the church would be highly regulated and supported by the state, so a church's survival is no way to evaluate if a church is relevant and impacting, because the state is notorious for underwriting inefficient organizations.
Freedom demonstrates love -
At our church yesterday we had a team of people who arrived early to set up for church, and to practice music, and to prepare a volunteer breakfast, and to hand out bulletins, and to run the sound system, and to welcome people, and to teach children, and to set up road signs, and to make coffee, and to tear everything down when church was done. Many of these volunteers gave 3-6 hours Sunday morning. Yet, they did this freely - no one was making them work and no one was paying them (how do you pay a vol time and a half for holiday weekend work?) Service by a volunteer done freely, is a demonstration of love. As you serve your family you demonstrate love. As you serve your church you demonstrate love for God and your church family. As we serve our community they know we love them. Without freedom the motivation is unclear.
Our freedom means so much to us. The obvious benefit is that our freedom allows us to pursue faith and happiness and success within the bounds of reasonable laws. On Memorial Day I trust that all Americans are appreciating those freedoms and honoring those who have preserved them. Today, we can travel anywhere in our country, gather with whomever we wish, worship and believe in the God of our choice, pray for our govt leaders (whom we freely elected), and we even have the freedom to work and earn time and a half if we so choose (so that I can enjoy my coffee at Starbucks while I write this.)
Let's think about the less obvious implications of our freedom. Knowing that my church, like the first church in Acts 2, gives generously and voluntarily and serves God without compulsion, I can conclude that the church is not in some way creating another form of communism (which some of claimed of the early church.) The early church gave freely of what they had because of their concern and love. We love God, we love our church family, and we love those who are lost and hurting and so we give and serve freely because of that love. Communism is about taking from its members, but a free society under God's rule is about those members giving freely - huge difference.
Freedom demonstrates relevance -
Yesterday at our church people put money in the offering basket. Our church is free of government interference and consequently is not supported by the govt (not the case in some European countries & the Middle East). So, our church's ongoing existence and the ministries we do to benefit others comes from the free choice of our members to give...and to give whatever amount they choose. The fact that we continue to exist and to offer significant ministry is a sign that we are relevant and needed (or the income would cease.) In a communist country the church would be highly regulated and supported by the state, so a church's survival is no way to evaluate if a church is relevant and impacting, because the state is notorious for underwriting inefficient organizations.
Freedom demonstrates love -
At our church yesterday we had a team of people who arrived early to set up for church, and to practice music, and to prepare a volunteer breakfast, and to hand out bulletins, and to run the sound system, and to welcome people, and to teach children, and to set up road signs, and to make coffee, and to tear everything down when church was done. Many of these volunteers gave 3-6 hours Sunday morning. Yet, they did this freely - no one was making them work and no one was paying them (how do you pay a vol time and a half for holiday weekend work?) Service by a volunteer done freely, is a demonstration of love. As you serve your family you demonstrate love. As you serve your church you demonstrate love for God and your church family. As we serve our community they know we love them. Without freedom the motivation is unclear.
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