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The Incessant Whisper

September 19, 2011 in Spiritual Growth with 22 Comments

I think most of us begin our Christian journey with this simple truth.

I’m broken. I need Jesus. The end.

However as we launch out on this new journey it doesn’t take long before we begin to hear this growing and incessant whisper that says, “Try harder, do more.”

Sing more.
Memorize more.
Journal more.
Preach more.
Pray more.
Evangelize more.
Serve more.

This approach can look quite spiritual to those around us; however, it’s often rooted in a inner conviction that our worth as a Christian is dependent upon our ability to outperform those around us. Behind this spiritual facade is a fragile and insecure heart desperately attempting to get God to love us more.

The cross isn’t something we start with and then move on from. The cross isn’t just the starting line of our faith, it’s the centerpiece. Grace isn’t something we need just for salvation, it’s like air for the believer.

So today when you hear that whisper in your head that says “Try harder, do more,” go back to this.

I’m broken. I need Jesus. The end.

My Biggest Mistake In Ministry

September 9, 2011 in Leadership, Spiritual Growth with 54 Comments

Probably the most asked question I get in interviews and by pastors I’m mentoring is, “If you could go back and change anything in your ministry, what would you change?”

Usually I’m thinking, You don’t have enough time for me to actually answer that question. I’d change tons of things.

However, at the very top of the list would be my driving desire to be “loved” at all costs.

I have a lot of friends in ministry that are addicted to this pride-swelling choice as well.

For most of my life and certainly all of my ministry, I’ve been addicted to pleasing everyone. It didn’t matter if it cost me my personality, my family, or even at times, my vow to speak truth. I just wanted to be “loved.”

I would ignore the sincere compliments of others to be obsessed with the few critics.

I would abandon my boundaries and go above and beyond to “help” someone while ignoring my family.

I would put off the tough leadership decisions trying to keep all sides content.

Why? Simple. I wanted to be “loved.”

But let me tell you something. Leading with a desire to be loved is dangerous. Parenting with a desire to be loved can be destructive. And if you spend your life trying to be loved instead of being loving, it’s going to lead you to all kinds of unhealthy extremes.

Part of learning humility for me is to understand I simply can’t please everyone. Not everyone is going to like me, love me, or think I’m great. They’re just not.

I feel like I’m growing in this area. I’m learning the freedom that comes along with seeking to love, instead of always desiring to be loved. The first leads to meaning and significance while the latter is an emotional black hole that can never be filled.

I pray you will learn to live in the Kingdom and be freed from the sheer stupidity and vanity of going through life trying to make sure other people think the right things about you. If you depend on other people loving everything you say or do, you will end up doing and saying nothing. I pray you’ll receive the fact that you are loved in the eyes of God in such a way that you can then go out to lead and live, seeking to truly love the people around you.

Enough about me. Does anyone else struggle with this?

Top 5 Ways To Not Be A Jerk Online

September 6, 2011 in Spiritual Growth with 32 Comments

Last night I was with my friend, Jon Acuff. The guy truly amazes me. I don’t know anyone who can be as consistently funny online and make fun of so many people (including me) without being a jerk. It’s a true gift.

He recently wrote an article for Relevant Magazine which he’s uniquely qualified to write entitled “How To Not Be a Jerk Online.” Here’s a snippet of his points, but you should CLICK HERE and read the entire article.

1. Don’t publicly announce you’re unfollowing someone on Twitter.

This is the middle finger of Twitter. The person who you are unfollowing gets punched in the face and you look far more spiteful than you really intend.

2. Don’t argue with someone anonymously.

I once heard a pastor say that “hate mail that’s signed by nobody is worth nothing.” He’s right. If you’ve got a strong opinion about something someone else did or said or wrote online, don’t be a coward.

3. Don’t be someone else online.

We’ll tweet things we’d never say to someone’s face. We’ll comment on Facebook statuses in ways we’d never do in “real life.” We’ll push buttons and pick fights on comment threads and message boards. We’ll gossip and tear down people as if maybe “Love your neighbor” actually says, “Love your neighbor, except if you’re online.”

4. Don’t Jesus Juke

What’s that? A Jesus Juke is an idea I came up with to describe the moment when you’re having a normal conversation and someone jukes in some Jesus out of nowhere. For example, I once tweeted that I was at the Conan O’Brien live tour and it was sold out. Someone responded, “If we held a concert for Jesus and gave away free tickets, no one would come.” Sad trumpet, whaaa, waaaa. A Jesus Juke is the Christian version of the Debbie Downer moment.

5. Don’t mock people.

You know what no one has ever said in the history of mankind? “Remember that time you viciously mocked and made fun of other Christians? That helped me start a lifelong relationship with Christ. Thank you for using the spiritual gift of mockery in the service of the Kingdom.”

I thought Jon did a great job with the five he listed. Obviously there are a lot of jerks (maybe all of us at one time or another) online these days. Hoping this list helps all of us grow up a bit in our online interactions.

Which one of these five are you most tempted to engage in?

Is there one you would add to the list?

The Heart of the Story

September 2, 2011 in Spiritual Growth with 59 Comments

Thanks so much for your participation, our winners have been selected!!

Hope you guys are getting ready for a great Labor Day weekend. Even though it’s going to be around 100 degrees we’re going to brave the elements and go camping. If we don’t sweat to death, I think we just might have a blast.

Going into this weekend I wanted to tell you guys about a fantastic book that’s just now releasing by one of my all time favorite pastors, Randy Frazee.

The Heart of the Story will open your eyes to God’s master plan unfolding in the lives of the Bible characters – and in your own life. Discover the heart of God’s story and the joy that comes as you align your story with God’s.

To understand the Bible, says Randy you need bifocal lenses, because two perspectives are involved. The Lower Story, our story, is actually many stories of men and women interacting with God in the daily course of life. The Upper Story is God’s story, the tale of His great, overarching purpose that fits all the individual stories together like panels in one unified mural. My prayer for you is not complicated. It’s real simple. I desire that you won’t let another day go by without taking hold of this precious life that God has made available for you. I hope you find what’s shared here full of practical ideas and the courage you need to seize the day.

Randy Frazee is senior minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to his role at Oak Hills, he served as the teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church and spent 15 years as the senior pastor at Pantego Bible Church in Fort Worth Texas.

I’m so thankful for this book and for Randy’s heart and passion for serving God’s people. The Heart of the Story will prove to be an amazing resource for you and your church. As you breathe in and fully comprehend the intricate, masterful design of God for all of mankind, and see how it’s illustrated continually throughout all of Scripture, your view of God will be forever enlightened and transformed.

God cares infinitely more about who we’re becoming than where we’re going. This book has the potential to take you to the next level in who you’re becoming. The more we understand the heart of God’s Story, the more we understand our own. Purchase your copy here.

We’re giving away 5 Free Copies of Randy’s book today. Just leave your name and city in the comments and you’ll automatically be in for the random drawing.

Minimizing Distractions In Worship

September 1, 2011 in Spiritual Growth with 76 Comments

Last night I read an interesting article in Christianity Today called “Should Churches Try To Minimalize Distractions?” This debate has been raging in the church for years.

As a speaker there are very few things that actually distract me. Maybe it’s that I do a great deal of my sermon prep on the weekend with 3 extremely loud boys running all around me, or maybe it’s that I’m just in the “zone” but few things throw me off. Well, there was the Sunday a lady sat on the front row and took some 75 continuous flash pictures of me over and over and over, but in general I notice very little.

In the past couple years it seems more and more churches have added policies such as limiting the auditorium to “adults only” and shutting doors once the message starts, just to name a few.

As a church attender what are some of the biggest distractions you face in worship? Do you think the church should play an active role in helping eliminate these distractions, or does it really matter?

The 6 Biggies

August 30, 2011 in Spiritual Growth with 66 Comments

If you know anything about me or my ministry you know I have a real desire for the church to work together instead of tearing one another apart. I’m done with the finger pointing and cheap shots. However, if there is ever going to be unity we do need to be aware of the issues that divide us and be committed to talking through our differing opinions in Christ like ways.

I read an interesting article on Relevant.com that identified the six things that divide Christianity. You can read the entire article HERE but they were…

1. Homosexuality. This is an explosive issue and is only going to get more explosive within the Christian church in the years to come. It’s the single biggest challenge facing the Church…

2. Universalism. The recent blow-up over Rob Bell’s Love Wins is just the tip of the iceberg on this one. Shortly after Justin Taylor’s first “shot heard round the world” post about “Universalist?” Rob Bell, theologian Scot McKnight wrote on his blog that “Universalism, or at least the prospect of it, is the single most significant issue running through the undercurrent of evangelicalism today…

3. Politics. The hyper-partisan atmosphere (fueled by a media that feeds on divisiveness) of contemporary politics has already wreaked havoc within Christianity, where Christian leaders and many churches seem to be more vocal about aligning with one or the other side of the political spectrum…

4. Evolution. This has been a divisive issue for a long time, and continues to be…

5. Women in Ministry. Evangelical writers and students like to talk about this issue in terms of “egalitarian” vs. “complimentarian,” but essentially it’s a debate about the role of women in church. Can they be leaders? Pastors? What kind of pastors? Are there distinct roles for men and women, both in the married relationship and in the church…

6. The Internet. This may seem like a strange thing to blame for divisiveness, but I’m more and more convinced that the Internet and its accompanying glut of niche communities, insular blog networks and an almost requisite mode of mud-slinging discourse has caused all sorts of fragmentation and dissension in the Church…

Thoughts? Would you add anything to the list?

Being Fully Present

August 25, 2011 in Spiritual Growth with 11 Comments

I was reminded the other day of something I had read in The Shattered Lantern by Ronald Rolheiser. He said…

The original sin of Adam and Eve, the prototype of all sin, is presented as a failure to be receptive and grateful.

Just think about it for a second. God creates Adam and Eve and places them in the garden where they are surrounded by unmistakable beauty and all the goodness of life. They are experiencing the fullness of life, the way it was intended to be and are promised it will continue…under one condition. Just don’t eat the fruit of a certain tree.

However, we all know they would eventually fail to receive life as a gift and instead try to seize it as if it were owed to them.

When I think of my own life and the sin that often creeps in, it usually begins with my failure to see life as a gift.

My lust.
My pride.
My anger.
My lack of forgiveness.

It’s all the overflow of a heart which begins to believe that something is “owed” to me and it keeps me from being fully present and appreciative of what I have.

I’m wondering how different today would be for each one of us if we seek to go through this day to day viewing our life, our circumstances, our relationships, and yes, even our hardships and challenges as gifts. As opportunities to be the men or women God has created us to be.

Today I seek to be receptive, grateful and simply present.

As you know I’m a huge fan of the Catalyst Conference and all God is using them to accomplish. This year’s Catalyst Atlanta conference, Oct 5-7, has an amazing theme of “Be Present.” I can’t wait to see how these two amazing days help us learn to “be present” in our lives and ministry. Today, August 25th, is the early bird deadline for Catalyst conference so if you haven’t already, jump over there and register today.

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