Authenticity...

In September, much of the Christian world was shocked to hear that highly sought after Speaker, best-selling author, and mega church pastor Francis Chan stepped away from the limelight. He resigned his position at the church he pastored, took his family and left for Asia. There was no infidelity, no financial crisis, no secret sin, no reason to quit at all. Except for one - Chan came to the place where he believed he was not being absolutely authentic to who God made him to be.

It is interesting for me as a pastor and as someone who has been in and around mega churches for nearly 15 years. The idea of success in ministry often gets defined much the way that the world would define it - grow the church large, get noticed because your church is large, get the chance to speak all over the country because your church is large, write a book because your church is large, and everyone knows the testimony of what God did in your life - because your church is large.

Aside: A couple of thoughts - 1. Romans 12:2 says to not be conformed to the patterns of this world; 2. Paul wrote that He had planted, Apollos watered, but God makes things grow. Which would imply that first, our measures of success are not correct. And second, a large church or a large move of God should not give the pastor more exposure, it should only bring glory to God.

So, at the pinnacle of his profession, Chan left everything that we would see as successful to pursue a life that most would shy away from as a life of tragic under use. I think that for me and for you, it bears considering whether we would be willing to do the same. Would you leave a very lucrative career of speaking and writing and influence and recognition to follow the Lord into relative obscurity? And even deeper, how would you know it was the Lord? Or is it some sense of mid-life crisis?

No doubt, people will have all kinds of varying opinions about why and what Chan has done. It is not mine to judge, but what I do think about is God's definition of success. I think that before we define what success is, we need to make sure that it aligns with God's perspective on all fronts. So that, first, we are not conforming to the world's patterns for success, and second, when God does things, He gets the full glory for His work and we take none of it.

As of today, these are my jumbled thoughts on success - and tomorrow, I reserve the right to completely disagree, but I think it helps me keep perspective...

First, God never asked us to be big church pastors, nor conference speakers or writers. God never defined success by the size of the congregation at all. Not that there is anything wrong with big churches. I think too many people are guilty of throwing the baby out with the bath water. "if it isn't about numbers, then we should reject anything with large numbers as unspiritual." No, in fact there are lots of advantages to being in a large church. Multiplied resources, multiplied impact, and multiplied celebration of God's work to name a few. If that is the station God has called you to, then by all means attack it with vigor.

But maybe what Chan did smacks at something deeper. Maybe the issue is that faithfulness to God's design and intent for you is more important than the size of your church. before you readily dismiss this as a trite conclusion, take time to consider how deep this rabbit hole goes in your own life... How much of your life is structured to simply bring glory to God? Or is it to bring comfort or your definition of security to you? Which leads me to my second conlusion...

Bigger is not always better, but it is always more responsibility, more pressure, more critique, more burden. Now, no doubt God makes some people to take ground in these arenas and succeed, but I am not sure that this life is the goal. God's glory should be the sole focus of our life and we can only truly bring glory to Him when we are truly fulfilling our God given design and in our God given environment. And tandem to that, it is quite possible that when we are fully in the center of all that God has for us, only He can be glorified. We could take no glory for ourselves, real or perceived.

Lastly, sometimes, fully bringing glory to God means that we lay down as a choice and a privilege, the glory that people have tried to ascribe to us. Paul and Silas tore their clothes and wailed when people tried to put them in the place of God. I wonder if we would react as strongly.

May we always be fully faithful to the design and tasks that God has laid out for us. May we always believe that His glory is all that matters. And may we willingly lay down our own glory so that the testimony of the church is one of a Great God.

Love Changes things...

I don't have to say much about this video. It is fantastic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_3BEwpv0dM

Copy and paste it in your browser.

Nourishing the soul...

God has me stuck in an interesting spot. I want to share with you an email I got from a good friend - John Samuel...

George Mueller's secret....


"I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord.


The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.


Now what is the food for for the inner-man? Not prayer but, the Word of God".


George Müller learned the secret of walking by the Spirit - have you?




George Mueller was a towering man of faith who cared for thousands of orphans in England in the 19th century without appealing for even a single dollar. He experienced God's provision every single time - and more importantly experienced God presence on a perpetual basis. As a missionary, George Mueller never appealed to anyone for money nor did he even make his needs known to men. He simply prayed. And Prayed. And Prayed. And the Lord provided. For such a prolific person of prayer, I find it particularly powerful that he chooses to say that food for the inner man is the Word of God. May we love the Word as much as George Mueller!

The Kingdom is not a fad!

So we have been in this series on the the Kingdom. We have talked about how Jesus' Gospel, His "Good News," was a Gospel of Kingdom living. This idea possess tremendous importance for us as followers of Jesus. God made us to live under Kingdom principles. As the King in the Kingdom, He gets the right to decide what those principles consist of. And I, as a servant in the Kingdom, get to obey the principles.

But my obedience is more than simple, blind "follow the leader." It comes from a place of trust and confidence in the one who sets the principles to begin with. This reality is critical for us to grab ahold of. We all, at varying levels, struggle to appreciate authority, rules, regulations, and governing bodies. Part of this comes from our need for control and part comes from our need to rationalize and understand everything so that it becomes safe for me to do. There may be other contributing factors as well. But suffice it say that our issues with living under Godly principles have nothing to do with the principles themselves. Our own independence and rebellion decide the issue for us many times.

The goal of this series of sermons is not to give people a theoretical understanding of the Kingdom. Nor is it to "put the church in its place." Our goal is to empower, release, and motivate followers of Jesus to be everything that God intended for them to become at all levels. In order for this to happen, we must gain a value for living, thinking, interacting, embracing, and upholding Kingdom Principles. This gives us new vigor as we read the Scriptures, and as we seek God's heart in prayer. It gives every encounter with someone during the week extreme importance. Who knows what God may be up to.

And as an image bearer of God, and the "temple of the Holy Spirit," where ever I go, God is there and He is up to something. I must tune in enough to be able to decipher God's agenda. I must open myself up to the possibility that God is going to interrupt my day at any moment and that this is not only okay, it is a more favored way to experience the day entirely.

So, today, and every day, may we always be acutely aware of the potential of every interaction with those around us. May we always see the world through the lens of Kingdom Principles. And may we trust in the goodness of the one who gave us those principles so that we can uphold those same principles in a way that brings glory to God and lifts Him up so that He can draw the world to Himself.

The Purpose of Rest...

So God said that we should "Remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy." This is generally taken in our day and age to mean that we should value a regular time of rest. And while we all acknowledge it, we often forget just how true that is. Resting is as critical to our ability to fulfill God's will as working.

In rest, we regain energy, focus, and remind ourselves that God still works even when we don't. That He "never sleeps, nor does He slumber." And it reminds us that we can rest in the grace of a God that more than fills the gaps between our work load and our accomplishments. He gives our work favor and success. Without God, we simply move around in vain because our work can never fulfill any real purpose. And we wind up tired, empty, and feeling no reason to have passion or enthusiasm.

As we enter the Christmas season, we technically take time off of work to celebrate the birth of Jesus with family and friends and this is supposed to give us the chance to rejuvenate our souls and our bodies through rest and relaxation. As someone who has been called a "Scrooge" in the past, I have such a hard time getting through the holidays for the very paradox that I am describing. Though we should rest, relax, rejuvenate, and enjoy God's goodness, we often find ourselves grasping for breath as we slide headlong and stressed out into the holidays that celebrate a beautiful picture of God's goodness and grace to mankind - the very thing that we should be reminded of each time we take a sabbath rest. These times should bring energy, focus, passion and enthusiasm. In other words, the Christmas season offers a time for us to reflect on God's goodness and grace, but it simply provides one more opportunity in a long list of the times that we should remember this all year long.

So, many folks are getting ready to travel, some have family coming here to visit. However, where ever, and with whomever you spend the holiday season, please take with you the perspective that this is ultimately all about rejuvenation of the soul. Christmas reminds us of God's larger plan, of God's love for us, and of the hope and joy we have in knowing that God is still working even when we need to rest and relax.

May you be truly blessed this Christmas with knowing that it is not your working that God needs, nor does your family or friends. They need you to invest pieces of your soul into their lives. And as God knit together the souls of David and Jonathan, may He knit your soul to the souls of those you love. May this Christmas be a time of rejuvenation and not work, may it be a time of rest and not weariness, may it be a time of hope and joy, not fear and tension as family gets together. And may we all remember the value of rest. Remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy. It is Godly to take a nap sometimes. Enjoy the holidays!!