If you don't find yourself in a compelling story you'll be captured by a lesser one.

Problem Solvers Need Not Apply

April 26, 2012 by 13 Comments
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I bet 9 out of every 10 resumes have “problem solver” listed on them.

Employers love problem solvers, and employees make good livings off of being good problem solvers. The more complex problems you can solve, the greater asset you become. Because of that, one of the most marketable skills to have is that of a problem solver.

However, this presents a problem when it comes to our faith in God. God isn’t necessarily looking for problem solvers to fill His Kingdom. He’s looking for a certain type of follower and “problem solver” isn’t the greatest skill He’s concerned with. God is looking for faithful, available, and teachable men and women who humbly admit they can’t solve all the problems.

Try telling a group of professionally bred problem solvers that the most important thing in their lives is something they’ll never be able to solve.

Their brains will explode while they spend their lives exhausted and worn out trying to solve only what God can solve.

We must be careful not to present Christianity as a club of problem solvers who use Jesus as a tool right along side of pie charts, spreadsheets, and matrix diagrams. Rather, we must present a vision of life with God that is far greater and fulfilling than anything we can do for God. He doesn’t need us, He surely doesn’t. But He wants us!

It’s one thing to work for God, it’s another thing entirely to work with God. 

We are invited to be active participants in the Kingdom of God (which includes solving problems). We can either be a participant with God or try to solve it all instead of God. With, or instead of… I choose with. 

Are you a problem solver? 

Filed Under: Discipleship, Humility, Kingdom of God Tagged With: , , ,

What are you seeking?

October 31, 2011 by 6 Comments
seeking a harbor

 

What are you seeking ?

If you’re not sure, the next wind that blows will feel like the right one.

Yet, don’t follow your feelings—for they change as often as the wind—but seek that which is constant and you’ll know which wind to let fill your sails. 

 

Filed Under: Kingdom of God Tagged With: , , , ,

Regular vs. Decaf

September 21, 2011 by 16 Comments
decafcoffee

Jesus frequently used parables and stories about plants, fruit, seeds, etc. to describe the kingdom of God. If he ever had the chance to use the coffee bean as an illustration I’m sure it would have something to do with comparing regular to decaf. He would probably equate drinking decaf to the way people use the feel, taste, aroma, and style of drinking coffee but remove the power, to the way people use God but without His power.

People have been repeatedly doing this with Jesus and the Church. They take the feel, taste, aroma, and styles of Christianity but without the true lasting power of the gospel. Decaf Christianity is a powerless counterfeit just like decaf coffee. You can go through the motions, simply navigating the Christian life, and never experience the true power and presence of God. Just look at the older brother from the prodigal son story. He was a socially-acceptable, hard-working, outwardly-obedient son, but lacked what his dad wanted to share with him most – the power of communing with the Father.

Tragically, because the Church is full of those suffering from “older brotherism” it is failing to display the true power of God to the world. The Church becomes a compelling parade marching through culture when they display and proclaim the true power and grace of what God desires for us all. That is the kind of parade that people want to see and need to see.

God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. Don’t settle for decaf.

Question: Do you like coffee? Do you drink decaf?

Filed Under: Compelling, Kingdom of God Tagged With: , , , ,

On Earth as it is in Heaven

September 6, 2011 by 3 Comments
giant_redwood_sherman

There are some exceptional comments on last Thursday’s post about the Kingdom of God. I encourage you to go and read them in their entirety even though I will be summarizing some of the comments here with a few additional thoughts. 

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Have you ever wondered what a giant redwood tree looks like when it’s just a seed dropped at random on the forest floor? Just imagine the enormous weight and towering height of the Sequoia Gigantean starting as something small enough to hold in the palm of your hand. From that one seed is grown enough wood to build several hundred homes! Now imagine that the kingdom of God has infinitely more potential than this if, like the mighty redwood, it has the right environment to grow. 

Jesus talked about the kingdom more than he talked about anything else. Plus most of the times he was talking about money….he was really talking about the kingdom. Money has a way of capturing our heart because it can provide what we believe to be most important–security, status, protection, provision, etc. The kingdom provides these things as well, except they come in a way utterly contrary to worldly thinking. Money isn’t the currency of the kingdom. God already owns all the money in the world. However, God is concerned with people’s hearts and He doesn’t have everyone’s heart yet and the heart is exactly where the Kingdom starts, like a small seed.

If there is a kingdom, then it is implied that there is a King. That should be the single most important aspect of the kingdom. Tony Alicea commented that “the rule of a king is distinct and his kingdom takes on his personality…it is God’s culture.” As subjects in the kingdom our mission is to seek out that culture, spread it, proclaim it, and let it erupt from that small seed into a powerful and unstoppable force. I really like Tony’s comment and how he alluded to the fact that Christ followers and their homes are like embassies for the Kingdom. We’ve been sent out like ambassadors, apostles, and representatives of His kingdom and we have “the authority of the king to bring his culture.”

If we’re asking questions about the kingdom and what it’s culture is like, there are so many aspects that this single blog post would not and could not do it justice. Arny Sanchez listed several aspects of the kingdom in his comment including, ”heaven, inexpressible joy, eternity, hope,” and my favorite, “the cross that bridges the gap between heaven and earth.” You might not have considered that there is a bridge between heaven and earth, but this is exactly what Jesus tells us to pray in Matthew 6:10 – that “His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is heaven.” We are literally supposed to pray for the kingdom to come to earth. This is a reality that we experience by coming into communion with Christ and the gospel. Through him, and him in us, the kingdom is alive inside our hearts. This is where it starts and it is poised to explode outwardly from there. This truth means the Apostle Paul was right when he said God can do immeasurable more than we could ever ask or imagine! (Eph 3:20)

We can glean one more important truth about the kingdom from Jesus in Matthew 6. The primary thing we do in relation the kingdom of God is “seek” it (Matt 6:33). We don’t build it, create it, establish it, or own it – we seek it. We really need to let this truth marinate our heart and soul. When we constantly attempt to build, create, and own God’s kingdom we end up with our own kingdom. And if we have our own kingdom, it means we are the king and not God. We must seek it, and never try to think we can build it. This mindset is completely opposite to every thing we encounter in the world and this is why it seems so foreign.

The kingdom of God came in such an unexpected way, subtlety and graciously, therefore, we can easily blow it off or ignore it. This is why the kingdom of God makes perfect sense to the humble, the poor, and the broken and it makes no sense to the powerful, religious, and the rich. When this takes hold in communities it will, like Russell Schaeffer commented, “forcefully advance… in a flowing expanding community.” Doesn’t that give you the picture of a forest of giant redwoods?!

I want to end with a compelling statement from Russell’s comment. He said, “only God’s Word and the Holy Spirit could ever make this idea real to me.” We must have teachable hearts like Russell’s. We need to seek out the kingdom of God in Truth and Spirit in a way that doesn’t seem possible to us in our current situations and circumstances. I want the kingdom to be unexplainable, uncommon, and radical compared to this world, don’t you?

Look for the small seeds of the kingdom. Find them and let them grow into a mighty, uncontrollable, invading power.

There is so much more to the kingdom of God….

Do you have anything to add to the conversation?

How have you experienced the kingdom advancing? erupting? moving? growing?

What ways have you experienced heaven coming to earth?

 

Filed Under: Compelling, Kingdom of God, Questions I'm afraid to ask Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Questions I’m afraid to ask, part 2: the Kingdom

September 1, 2011 by 8 Comments

This might be a dumb question but…what is the Kingdom of God? Is it heaven or is it just a style of language Jesus used to communicate to the culture during that time?

Where is it? When will it be here? What will it look like?

Being an American I don’t know much about kingdoms, but everyone seems to be talking a lot about the Kingdom of God. When I think about a kingdom I imagine walls and formalities and royalty and those guards who stand like statues outside of Buckingham Palace.

Will I be able to get into God’s Kingdom?

I need to know. I want to know, but I’m too afraid to ask…

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This is the second installment in a series called Questions I’m too afraid to ask which takes aim at several questions Christians are too afraid to ask openly. The first question we looked at had to do with the Holy Spirit and it’s power.

These types of questions remain unasked and ultimately unanswered because of fear–fear that someone will look down on them for not already knowing the answer. When they are asked they typically start with, “This might be a dumb question but...”

More often than not, these are the questions we NEED to ask. If our communities are asking these types of questions, then we’re probably right where God wants us to be!

If you’ve ever pondered these kind of questions about the Kingdom you’re in good company because every true follower of Christ has searched and is searching for these answers. Today, I want to open it up to the comments for responses and thoughts about these questions or anything and everything related to the Kingdom of God. I will sum up the comments and share a few thoughts in a follow-up post.

So, what is the Kingdom of God? What do you believe about it, and why?

How have you experienced it? Have you seen it?

What does it look like? How does it operate?

 

Filed Under: Church, Kingdom of God, Questions I'm afraid to ask Tagged With: , , ,

The Crowds

July 27, 2011 by 25 Comments
crowd_sunset CC Kema Keur (2)

Today, I have the priveledge of hosting Moe Vivas on the Compelling Parade. Moe is a coffee-drinking, Kingdom-seeking, New Yorker who blogs at BetaChristian and tweets from @Moe_NYC.  Moe’s passion is to reveal the perfection of God in the imperfection of His sons. Be sure to visit his blog and and follow him on twitter. But first, read this amazing post about how the crowds were amazed.

 

Everywhere He went, things changed. His name became popular. His works were known by the community. It didn’t take very long for the crowds to find Him. This simple man. A son of a carpenter, who didn’t do things to be seen of men. His prayers were simple, yet powerful. He didn’t enlarge the borders of his garment or love the uppermost room at feasts. He didn’t covet the chief seats in the synagogues or desire to be called rabbi by men. Yet the crowds were amazed.

In truth, He was the Son of God. He spoke with authority, had the rights to the chief seats, he was a rabbi, he was the promised Messiah. But He didn’t come for that. He came for something much bigger. He came for us. The simple people, the sick, the sinners. He came as a servant. Yet the crowds were amazed.

His fame grew and he begat a following. But out of all those who followed Him, only a special few got it. Mingled within the crowds were the Pharisees, the curious, the disciples, and the sick and neglected. They made up the crowd and they were amazed.

Who were these people?

  • Pharisees: The religious authority, the ones who represented God before the people. They weren’t in the crowd to experience Jesus. They thought they knew it all. They were there to criticize, to gossip, to trick Him and to shake their heads in disagreement. They didn’t get it.
  • The Curious: These were the ones who just loved a good story. They were the ones that talked about what happened, spread the news and liked to be where the excitement was, but rarely did they listen and learn. They didn’t get it either.
  • Part of the “crew” (disciples): These are the ones that were near Him. They had a special bond, but they were more concerned about being part of the crew than to understand what He said. Often times they failed to capture what He was doing and the purpose of it. They also functioned as “spiritual bodyguards”. They thought since they were close to Him, He needed to be protected. They didn’t get it either (until much later).
  • The Sick, the simple and the neglected: These are the ones who had no status or right in society. They were often sick, judged as sinners, the ones with very little going for them. The ones with no identity. But these are the ones who were thirsty and hungry for truth. They got it!

In the crowd, they were all witness to what He was saying, doing, prophesying, but not all of them got it. He didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword. He didn’t come to reward the religious, but to turn their tables and doctrine upside down. He didn’t come to make the temple bigger and more glorious, but to introduce a better temple, one made of flesh and blood. He didn’t come to choose a denomination or the right place to worship. No, He came to show that true worship of God is in Spirit and in truth, not buildings or locations. He didn’t come to create spiritual hierarchy, but to show that we all should be subject one to another and be clothed with humility, because God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.

When evening came and all went home, the pharisees went home angry, the curious went home gossiping, the disciples went to sleep proud for being part of the “crew”, but the sick and the neglected… they went home changed. They went home healed and they went home with a new hope. They went home with a name in their hearts. Emmanuel… God with us.

Today is no different. In the crowded scene of Christianity, do you get it? Are you the religious person? Perhaps just curious? Are you so proud that you are so very close to Jesus that you fail to see others? Or maybe, just maybe, you are the simple person, the sick and the neglected who understands that you have every right to call out to Him and He will stop and come to you?

There is a large crowd in our communities, our places of worship, our social networks. What is your message: Church? Religion? Theology? Dogma? or Jesus?

Photo credit: Kema Keur (Creative Commons)
Filed Under: Church, Compelling, Guest Blogging, Kingdom of God Tagged With: , , , , ,

Washing off the dirt

July 18, 2011 by 5 Comments
duststorm

After my softball games last night I stood in the shower and watched the dirty water run down my legs, swirl around my toes, and flow down the drain. There was so much dirt it almost turned to mud in the bottom of the tub.

I remembered back to my high school and college baseball days when I judged whether or not I had a good game by the amount of dirt that needed washed off afterwards. If mud formed in the bottom of the tub, I had not only given it my all on the field, but had brought some of the field home with me.

Mud was forming in the bottom of the tub last night. It was a good game.

This ceremonial cleaning of sorts must also take place daily with my heart and mind. Everyday I gather the dirt and dust of human opinions, worldly pursuits, and self-righteousness but God’s words are like the water that washes and purifies my heart and mind.

Our world is the field we walk in everyday. Living in the world but not of world is the tension all believers encounter. As we live out the mission of God in the world as the Church it is inevitable that we’ll gather the dirt and dust of the mission field. it can be very unhealthy if we lose sight of the need to wash and purify ourselves with God’s Word. Scripture has a way of being relevant and alive in a way that breathes life into our souls.

As ambassadors for the King in the world we will without a doubt bring some of the dirt and dust home with us as we give it our all out in the world. God never expects you to be perfectly clean – He only expects you to let Him clean you with His perfection.

Stand in the perfect streams of His grace and mercy. Let them wash off the dirt.

And tomorrow, do it again.

Have you ever been so dirty that mud formed in the bottom of your bathtub? What is the passage of Scripture that is your “go-to” for washing of the dirt?

Filed Under: Kingdom of God, Scripture, Worldliness Tagged With: , ,
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