Saturday, December 26, 2009
Shifting Our Thinking - Part 3
Continuing on through the three shifts highlighted in the book Missional Renaissance by Reggie McNeal, I am up to the second shift, from program development to people development. This shift seems very subtle at first glance, but once you fully grasp this concept you will see that this is a monumental shift in current church thinking and actions. "The key idea is moving away from a program-driven church culture... [where] the church takes its measure from the quality of its programs rather than the quality of its people... In the program-driven church, you begin with programs and look for people to make them happen. In a people development-driven culture, you begin with people and then use established programs or whatever else it takes to help them grow."
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Shifting Our Thinking - Part 2
Last time I introduced the subject covered in the book Missional Renaissance by Reggie McNeal. I highlighted the 3 shifts that he says people and churches are going to make if they are going to join the missional movement that is spreading across the world. This time I want to introduce the first shift: from an internal to an external ministry focus.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Shifting Our Thinking - Part 1
I've been reading a book by Reggie McNeal called Missional Renaissance that is absolutely awesome! I would love to claim that he plagiarized me, but most of what he has published I never wrote down, it just kept swirling around in my head. As my kids used to say, maybe he has E-S-P-N. Anyway, I'm not very far along in the book, but he addresses a few issues that really struck a chord with me and I wanted to pass them along to you. My apologies to Reggie if I use so many quotes that you decide not to read the book for yourselves.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Making Sense or Making Sents?
Right up front I have to give credit to a couple of people. First to Dawn for drawing my attention back to the question, "How is this supposed to work?" How is it supposed to look serving others instead of leading (lording) them? What does it look like to "be the church" instead of just "going to church?" Those are great questions and they don't have easy answers, or at least they don't have one-size-fits-all answers. I also have to give credit to my friend Jason who has done are really good job expressing what I believe are the answers to many of those questions. Jason has written a book called "Live Sent" and I have mentioned him and his ministry many times before. If you are looking for a good book to plunge you into this discussion, then I recommend reading his book first.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Thoughts on Leadership - Part 2
Well I didn't intend on waiting a month between these posts, but as you know, stuff happens. The good news is that I've had more time to think and reflect and learn new things about Leadership since the last post.
In the past few months I have had one particular statement and theme repeat itself quite a few times. Just a few days ago it was repeated again. Eric Voelz was a guest at our local Reproducing Churches gathering here in Ocala. Eric is a missionary Bible teacher who lives in Sweden. One statement he made was that we (church leaders) tend to find natural leaders and try to make them into servants, but what Jesus did was to call servants into leadership. Neil Cole said something very similar at the Live Sent Conversation. My paraphrase of what he said: We look for leaders who will serve, but God looks for servants who will lead.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Thoughts on Leadership
This entry is way overdue, but better late than never, right? The Live Sent Conversation was a great time of refreshing and recapturing my attention on issues relating to living our faith among the people we interact with daily.
One theme that was repeated by many speakers throughout the Conversation was Leadership, specifically within the church. For the sake of a shorter blog and limited time I am going to include some of the thoughts that I wrote down about leadership as I listened to various speakers. Then, in part 2, I will comment on some of those thoughts. Just in case it isn't clear, these are not quotes, but paraphrases.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Slavery to Self
My personal time with the Lord this morning was dominated by one theme, slavery. I hate to admit it, but this summer has been a rough time for my personal times with God. I fell into a pattern of coasting by on second-hand intimacy and memories of past encounters. This morning the Lord emphatically chastized me for this and brought to my attention over and over again how this relates to slavery.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Roots
A couple of weeks ago I had a great conversation with some pastors from different cities in FL. These guys are walking Jesus in their communities and planting the Kingdom around them. Really good stuff. As we were meeting together one of these pastors (check out his blog) told a story that was funny, sad, and profound all at the same time. I'm not going to retell his story, but I do want to share some of my thoughts since hearing that story.
Have you ever taken a potted plant and planted it in the ground? I have on occasion, but recently my wife planted some marigolds, both from seeds and from pots. Initially the potted marigolds looked much better than the ones planted from seeds because they had already had flowers and there was no waiting involved. After a while the seeds sprouted up and they caught up to the potted marigolds in size and beauty. Then we didn't get rain for a while and the marigolds didn't get watered. Guess what happened? The formerly potted marigolds quickly withered in the sun and almost died completely. The planted marigolds struggled as well, but took much longer to wither and recovered as soon as they received some water. At this point, the planted marigolds are big and beautiful again and the formerly potted marigolds are dead. What do you suppose is the reason for the difference? Simply put... the roots.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Spiritual Gardening
I live an unbelievably blessed life. God has been so much more faithful to me than I to Him, and I really have no idea why. I would like to think that my heart means well, but I know myself well enough to know that isn't always true. For the past year and a half I have spent a lot of time sharing with and praying for my neighbors and looking for opportunities to walk Jesus among them and plant the Kingdom of God right where I live. I have been very intentional about it at times, but the past few months have opened my eyes to something new.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Prayerwalking Story
I've been promising stories and I finally have the first of hopefully many. This is from Ronnie Walker, the pastor of a local church. I hope you are challenged and encouraged by this story.
During the fall, 2008, First Baptist Church Belleview engaged in 40 days of prayer walking. An area within a five mile radius of the church campus was mapped out, with that large geographical “pie” divided into 8 pieces or zones. Eight zone leaders were enlisted, and they in turn were challenged to enlist 10 other people to join them in prayer walking their respective zone. The enlistment system worked well and 80+ people were enlisted.
The strategy involved prayer walking on at least two given dates with the intention being to pray solely for the purpose of asking God to show us how and where He might be working in the zones we were covering. We wanted to hear from Him by way of seeing things which might prompt us to recognize Him at work in the neighborhoods. Our teams came back with refreshing reports as to how God showed them some “indicators” where He was at work, or in many cases some “indicators” or “prompts” which He used to guide our intercession. For example, many empty homes were discovered, and many homes with for sale signs. The implication was that many people are in transition, and by that, in some sort of crisis due to relocation. There was a sense of heaviness in many neighborhoods. This all came from observations and impressions given by the Holy Spirit. In no case did we engage people in conversation on this phase of the prayer walking effort.
Then, in the spring we engaged in a 40 day period of prayer using a prayer guide titled “Seek God for the City” distributed by Waymakers ministry. This 40 day period ran from February 25-April 5. During this 40 day period we did a prayer walk (covering our respective zones again) with the intention to ask the Lord to let us engage people and pray with them as He provided the opportunity. Those in my zone had great experiences and several opportunities to pray with, and before, people. In our portion of our zone, Alice (my wife) and I had several occasions to pray with entire families. Several of these were families having yard sales for the purpose of just trying to “make ends meet” during the tough economic times. In one instance, the Lord directed us to stop and introduce ourselves to a man and his children. As we did we discovered that he directs a Christian recovery program for men being released from prison. It was a very definite Divine appointment!
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of our prayer walk however, was our asking God how He would use us to invest in the zone; how we might personally connect with a family for a longer period of time and disciple them toward the Lord. As we prayed for that, the Lord placed a young family on our hearts…a family living in the zone we were prayer walking, though we had not engaged them during any of the walks. We knew this family from prior contacts through the parents of the young man. With them on our hearts, we went to their home. We told them openly that the Lord had put them on our hearts as a result of praying in their neighborhood. We further asked them to join us for lunch on a given Sunday, and at lunch we asked if they would be interested in doing a seven week structured Bible study, offering to come to their home every two weeks in order to cover the seven sessions. They agreed. We began going, and to our blessed surprise they are soaking in our efforts to invest in them by way of very elementary Bible study and discipleship.
During our most recent time with them (Alice had baked them a cake…always a good way to “sweeten” a relationship) they were clearly attentive and appreciative, stating at the end of our session with them, “we recognize that God put you in our lives.” We acknowledged to them that we recognize that God had put them into our lives as well, and that it was all a direct result of prayer walking their neighborhood. Further, we have told them that they are now responsible for their entire neighborhood, and that we will walk with them in the effort to reach their neighbors for Christ. We expect to do some things with the neighborhood children during the summer, and perhaps just simple hamburger cookouts to assemble other families and connect with them In any case, the entire connection has come about as a result of simple prayer walking…walking with Jesus through a neighborhood asking Him to show us where He is working and allowing Him to make the connections.
Awesome! A great book on prayerwalking is called "Follow Me: Becoming a Lifestyle Prayerwalker" by Randy Sprinkle. Another free resource is this pamphlet called "Prayerwalking Made Simple" by Chris Scofield.
Blessings,
Shiloh
During the fall, 2008, First Baptist Church Belleview engaged in 40 days of prayer walking. An area within a five mile radius of the church campus was mapped out, with that large geographical “pie” divided into 8 pieces or zones. Eight zone leaders were enlisted, and they in turn were challenged to enlist 10 other people to join them in prayer walking their respective zone. The enlistment system worked well and 80+ people were enlisted.
The strategy involved prayer walking on at least two given dates with the intention being to pray solely for the purpose of asking God to show us how and where He might be working in the zones we were covering. We wanted to hear from Him by way of seeing things which might prompt us to recognize Him at work in the neighborhoods. Our teams came back with refreshing reports as to how God showed them some “indicators” where He was at work, or in many cases some “indicators” or “prompts” which He used to guide our intercession. For example, many empty homes were discovered, and many homes with for sale signs. The implication was that many people are in transition, and by that, in some sort of crisis due to relocation. There was a sense of heaviness in many neighborhoods. This all came from observations and impressions given by the Holy Spirit. In no case did we engage people in conversation on this phase of the prayer walking effort.
Then, in the spring we engaged in a 40 day period of prayer using a prayer guide titled “Seek God for the City” distributed by Waymakers ministry. This 40 day period ran from February 25-April 5. During this 40 day period we did a prayer walk (covering our respective zones again) with the intention to ask the Lord to let us engage people and pray with them as He provided the opportunity. Those in my zone had great experiences and several opportunities to pray with, and before, people. In our portion of our zone, Alice (my wife) and I had several occasions to pray with entire families. Several of these were families having yard sales for the purpose of just trying to “make ends meet” during the tough economic times. In one instance, the Lord directed us to stop and introduce ourselves to a man and his children. As we did we discovered that he directs a Christian recovery program for men being released from prison. It was a very definite Divine appointment!
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of our prayer walk however, was our asking God how He would use us to invest in the zone; how we might personally connect with a family for a longer period of time and disciple them toward the Lord. As we prayed for that, the Lord placed a young family on our hearts…a family living in the zone we were prayer walking, though we had not engaged them during any of the walks. We knew this family from prior contacts through the parents of the young man. With them on our hearts, we went to their home. We told them openly that the Lord had put them on our hearts as a result of praying in their neighborhood. We further asked them to join us for lunch on a given Sunday, and at lunch we asked if they would be interested in doing a seven week structured Bible study, offering to come to their home every two weeks in order to cover the seven sessions. They agreed. We began going, and to our blessed surprise they are soaking in our efforts to invest in them by way of very elementary Bible study and discipleship.
During our most recent time with them (Alice had baked them a cake…always a good way to “sweeten” a relationship) they were clearly attentive and appreciative, stating at the end of our session with them, “we recognize that God put you in our lives.” We acknowledged to them that we recognize that God had put them into our lives as well, and that it was all a direct result of prayer walking their neighborhood. Further, we have told them that they are now responsible for their entire neighborhood, and that we will walk with them in the effort to reach their neighbors for Christ. We expect to do some things with the neighborhood children during the summer, and perhaps just simple hamburger cookouts to assemble other families and connect with them In any case, the entire connection has come about as a result of simple prayer walking…walking with Jesus through a neighborhood asking Him to show us where He is working and allowing Him to make the connections.
Awesome! A great book on prayerwalking is called "Follow Me: Becoming a Lifestyle Prayerwalker" by Randy Sprinkle. Another free resource is this pamphlet called "Prayerwalking Made Simple" by Chris Scofield.
Blessings,
Shiloh
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Catching Up
It's been almost a month since I updated this blog, so I have a ton of things to say, but I am going to keep it short and sweet. There are two main things that need to be updated. First, I want to share a bit about the Exponential Conference and then I want to share some of the great things that are happening in my neighborhood since Easter and the last blog entry.
Unfortunately I didn't get to stay for all of Exponential, but the days that I was there were absolutely great. I spent the first day and a half with two guys Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, authors of the Tangible Kingdom and co-pastors of Adullam in Denver. Really good discussion on "Missional Practices" that was relevant to local churches and church planters. I also heard from other great speakers like Erwin McManus and David Ferguson, but the main reason I went to Exponential was to spend time with Hugh and Matt. I've got a ton of notes and highlights, but I want to share a few of them with you.
First, I took a bunch of notes about the idea of faith communities and churches. I wrote that faith communities are groups of people who are exploring spiritual issues together. Many of them may even be following Jesus, but many may not. A church is a group of people who are committed to following Jesus together; who are committed to God, to each other, and to being an expression of Jesus to the world together. A faith community needs Christ followers to give direction and Truth to the spiritual journey that those in faith community are on. People are seeking spiritual guidance from each other, the internet, and many other places. The Church should be committed to becoming part of faith communities so that each community can become part of the Church.
Another thing we talked about was the difference between being a believer in Jesus and being His apprentice. Apprenticeship is learning by doing, not just watching or listening or reading. Apprentices are apprentices because they are in process of becoming like their Master. Jesus chose His disciples because He intended for them to become just like Him. Are our churches doing a good job of making apprentices?
I guess that's a pretty good transition into what's going on in my neighborhood. Easter was a major transition point for us. Before Easter we were a friendly bunch of neighbors who appreciated each other and occasionally shared spiritual things together. Since Easter we have been a faith community. My neighbors are great people, but not many of them are "church people." They have relationships with God, but they're still exploring what that means exactly. The great part is that we have begun exploring that together. Just this weekend, one of my neighbors asked if we can discuss how to "keep the faith" in difficult times. Another one asked if I could give him some reading assignments and meet to talk about it weekly. He takes his spiritual journey seriously, but just doesn't know where to begin.
I am so thrilled that these men and women have included us on their journeys. I pray that I would be an encouragement to them and that Jesus would use Kim and I to help them become apprentices of the Master. What an honor and privilege. Maybe one day down the road we will be a group of people committed to loving God, loving others, and living sent together.
Blessings,
Shiloh
Unfortunately I didn't get to stay for all of Exponential, but the days that I was there were absolutely great. I spent the first day and a half with two guys Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, authors of the Tangible Kingdom and co-pastors of Adullam in Denver. Really good discussion on "Missional Practices" that was relevant to local churches and church planters. I also heard from other great speakers like Erwin McManus and David Ferguson, but the main reason I went to Exponential was to spend time with Hugh and Matt. I've got a ton of notes and highlights, but I want to share a few of them with you.
First, I took a bunch of notes about the idea of faith communities and churches. I wrote that faith communities are groups of people who are exploring spiritual issues together. Many of them may even be following Jesus, but many may not. A church is a group of people who are committed to following Jesus together; who are committed to God, to each other, and to being an expression of Jesus to the world together. A faith community needs Christ followers to give direction and Truth to the spiritual journey that those in faith community are on. People are seeking spiritual guidance from each other, the internet, and many other places. The Church should be committed to becoming part of faith communities so that each community can become part of the Church.
Another thing we talked about was the difference between being a believer in Jesus and being His apprentice. Apprenticeship is learning by doing, not just watching or listening or reading. Apprentices are apprentices because they are in process of becoming like their Master. Jesus chose His disciples because He intended for them to become just like Him. Are our churches doing a good job of making apprentices?
I guess that's a pretty good transition into what's going on in my neighborhood. Easter was a major transition point for us. Before Easter we were a friendly bunch of neighbors who appreciated each other and occasionally shared spiritual things together. Since Easter we have been a faith community. My neighbors are great people, but not many of them are "church people." They have relationships with God, but they're still exploring what that means exactly. The great part is that we have begun exploring that together. Just this weekend, one of my neighbors asked if we can discuss how to "keep the faith" in difficult times. Another one asked if I could give him some reading assignments and meet to talk about it weekly. He takes his spiritual journey seriously, but just doesn't know where to begin.
I am so thrilled that these men and women have included us on their journeys. I pray that I would be an encouragement to them and that Jesus would use Kim and I to help them become apprentices of the Master. What an honor and privilege. Maybe one day down the road we will be a group of people committed to loving God, loving others, and living sent together.
Blessings,
Shiloh
Monday, April 13, 2009
Awesome Easter
I hope your Easter was blessed. My Easter Sunday was one of the best I've had in a long time. For the second year in a row we celebrated Resurrection Day with our neighbors. Last year was great, but this year was even better.
We started the day off by hiding some eggs all over our cul-de-sac and releasing our egg-hunters to scavenge and collect as many eggs as they could. The kids had a blast and the parents had an even bigger blast watching them move from yard to yard like a swarm of locusts. Then we had everyone over for a potluck brunch at our house. Great food, great fellowship, and everyone was there. We noticed last year that no one in our immediate neighborhood went to church on Easter Sunday. That surprised us, so this year we invited everyone to our house and we literally had everyone show up (around 30 of us).
After brunch we rounded up all the kids, sang a couple of songs, and Kim shared the Easter story using Resurrection Eggs. Very cool. If you've never seen them, check out this website. Then we kicked the kids out and plugged in a short video that compared our relationship with God to musical instruments that are either in tune or out of tune. Very simple, very profound, and a very good discussion starter. We ended up spending the better part of the next two hours sharing what a relationship with God looks like, feels like, smells like, sounds like, etc. And not just a relationship with a god, but with Jesus, the Risen One.
We shared our doubts, our failures, our confidence and peace, both those of us that are intentionally following Jesus as His disciples and those who are on a spiritual journey, but not exactly sure about the details yet. The raw reality of life unmasked among neighbors and friends was very refreshing and encouraging. We all experienced a small glimpse of what heaven on earth can look like.
My prayer is that each of our lives are in tune with Jesus. May the sweet, sweet song of our Savior be clear in our minds and in our hearts.
Blessings,
Shiloh
We started the day off by hiding some eggs all over our cul-de-sac and releasing our egg-hunters to scavenge and collect as many eggs as they could. The kids had a blast and the parents had an even bigger blast watching them move from yard to yard like a swarm of locusts. Then we had everyone over for a potluck brunch at our house. Great food, great fellowship, and everyone was there. We noticed last year that no one in our immediate neighborhood went to church on Easter Sunday. That surprised us, so this year we invited everyone to our house and we literally had everyone show up (around 30 of us).
After brunch we rounded up all the kids, sang a couple of songs, and Kim shared the Easter story using Resurrection Eggs. Very cool. If you've never seen them, check out this website. Then we kicked the kids out and plugged in a short video that compared our relationship with God to musical instruments that are either in tune or out of tune. Very simple, very profound, and a very good discussion starter. We ended up spending the better part of the next two hours sharing what a relationship with God looks like, feels like, smells like, sounds like, etc. And not just a relationship with a god, but with Jesus, the Risen One.
We shared our doubts, our failures, our confidence and peace, both those of us that are intentionally following Jesus as His disciples and those who are on a spiritual journey, but not exactly sure about the details yet. The raw reality of life unmasked among neighbors and friends was very refreshing and encouraging. We all experienced a small glimpse of what heaven on earth can look like.
My prayer is that each of our lives are in tune with Jesus. May the sweet, sweet song of our Savior be clear in our minds and in our hearts.
Blessings,
Shiloh
Monday, March 23, 2009
Living Sent in Okeechobee
I had such a great time this past weekend. I was invited to go down and spend some time with a few of the pastors of Okeechobee as they got together with a church planting coach. I was also invited to spend Sunday morning with the folks of Everglades Baptist Church and shared some of the journey that the Lord has taken me and my family on over the past few years.
I was so encouraged by what the Lord is doing in and through these pastors and through the people of Everglades. Everglades has four priorities that it emphasizes: High View of Scripture, Kingdom Families, Spiritual Multiplication, and Church Planting. They have been using the resources of Church Growth International and are seeing God do awesome things in the communities surrounding their church. For example, they have been giving out a workbook called Good News For You to their members and ecouraging them to begin leading their neighbors through the workbook with the intention that their neighbors would begin a relationship with Jesus and would begin following Him. They have seen a tremendous response to this and are now in the process of preparing to plant new churches among these new believers and within neighborhoods that have few Jesus followers. Please keep this church and these new believers in your prayers that they would continue to be bold with the Gospel and that they would see entire communities transformed by Jesus.
For more information about this method of church planting you can visit the Church Planting Institute Online for details. Please continue to keep these pastors and others in the Okeechobee area in your prayers.
Blessings,
Shiloh
I was so encouraged by what the Lord is doing in and through these pastors and through the people of Everglades. Everglades has four priorities that it emphasizes: High View of Scripture, Kingdom Families, Spiritual Multiplication, and Church Planting. They have been using the resources of Church Growth International and are seeing God do awesome things in the communities surrounding their church. For example, they have been giving out a workbook called Good News For You to their members and ecouraging them to begin leading their neighbors through the workbook with the intention that their neighbors would begin a relationship with Jesus and would begin following Him. They have seen a tremendous response to this and are now in the process of preparing to plant new churches among these new believers and within neighborhoods that have few Jesus followers. Please keep this church and these new believers in your prayers that they would continue to be bold with the Gospel and that they would see entire communities transformed by Jesus.
For more information about this method of church planting you can visit the Church Planting Institute Online for details. Please continue to keep these pastors and others in the Okeechobee area in your prayers.
Blessings,
Shiloh
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Family Leaders
This post is the third and final continuation of Priests and Pastors.
In some ways it may have seemed like I left a leadership vacuum at the end of my last post. How can churches exist without clear leadership? Even leadership teams still have one person that they eventually answer to, right? They can't; and yes they do.
I am absolutely not against leadership within the church. Jesus was never against leadership, just bad leadership. My main points in the last two posts were simply that every one of us has been given the privilege of being a priest/minister/ambassador for our Lord and King and we shouldn't neglect that or even worse abdicate it to someone else, and Christ's Church wasn't intended to be lead by one man (pastor or otherwise) who gets completely overwhelmed by everyone dumping every responsibility on him.
A very good analogy for the Church is a family. We are a family of believers, God's family. I'm not going to take the time to point out all the reasons and references why this is a good analogy, but if you are wondering, start looking in Scripture for words like mother, father, children, and family and see how many times it refers to God and His relationship to His people. Okay, so let's say that the Church is God's family. Just like any other family (especially really big families) there are roles that each person plays in the family, and there are disputes and squabbles and times for discipline and correction, and there are times when decisions must be made for the entire family. So what are the Scriptural guidelines that show how families are to resolve those disputes and make those decisions, etc?
The roles of fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, daughters, sons, grandparents, widows, and so on are all reasonably explained in Scripture. All of us are created equally, but each of us has a unique place and role and function within our blood family as well as within God's family. First-born males have very different roles from their sisters or younger brothers. There are three main points that I believe come out of this that are crucial to understanding leadership within God's family.
First, mothers and fathers have the duty and responsibility to love, nurture, raise, and train their children until those children have families of their own. This is true physically as well as spiritually. In fact, at some point it becomes the responsibility of the children to take care of their own children and their parents who have raised them. Simply stated, there are seasons of leadership within every family. Let's not neglect our appointed time to lead, or reject the leadership of others when it is their time.
Secondly, not all people are able to lead in the same way. First-born males are given responsibilities that others in the family aren't ever given. Husbands are given responsibilities that wives are never given (and wives are given responsibilities that husbands are never given for that matter). Apostles, pastors, deacons and others who have been called and chosen by God are given responsibilities that others will not be given. To me it makes perfect sense that Paul would tell Timothy, "If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?" Exactly!
Moses was an amazing leader of God's people, but it took his father-in-law to point out that he was leading in the wrong way (see Exodus 18). He had become "the man" and took all responsibility upon himself for leading God's family. Jethro pointed out rightly that "The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone." He told him to "select capable men from all the people - men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain - and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens." Not all of these men were appointed to serve thousands, some were appointed only to serve ten, and some were not appointed at all.
Here's my final point. In God's family we have only one Father, and there is only one First-born Son. Between them, they have ultimate responsibility for appointing leaders, for choosing the seasons for their leadership and how many they will serve, and for making decisions for the Family. Each of us has a role and function within the Family. Those that are called on to serve as leaders must ask the Father who they are to lead and for how long. And if any significant decision needs to be made, it is not theirs to make, but only to follow the decision of the Father.
Leadership in God's family is a wonderful thing. Each of us have been chosen to lead others in some way for some season. May we all be faithful to the responsibilities we have been given and truly bless and respect those that have been given greater responsibilities within God's family.
Blessings,
Shiloh
In some ways it may have seemed like I left a leadership vacuum at the end of my last post. How can churches exist without clear leadership? Even leadership teams still have one person that they eventually answer to, right? They can't; and yes they do.
I am absolutely not against leadership within the church. Jesus was never against leadership, just bad leadership. My main points in the last two posts were simply that every one of us has been given the privilege of being a priest/minister/ambassador for our Lord and King and we shouldn't neglect that or even worse abdicate it to someone else, and Christ's Church wasn't intended to be lead by one man (pastor or otherwise) who gets completely overwhelmed by everyone dumping every responsibility on him.
A very good analogy for the Church is a family. We are a family of believers, God's family. I'm not going to take the time to point out all the reasons and references why this is a good analogy, but if you are wondering, start looking in Scripture for words like mother, father, children, and family and see how many times it refers to God and His relationship to His people. Okay, so let's say that the Church is God's family. Just like any other family (especially really big families) there are roles that each person plays in the family, and there are disputes and squabbles and times for discipline and correction, and there are times when decisions must be made for the entire family. So what are the Scriptural guidelines that show how families are to resolve those disputes and make those decisions, etc?
The roles of fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, daughters, sons, grandparents, widows, and so on are all reasonably explained in Scripture. All of us are created equally, but each of us has a unique place and role and function within our blood family as well as within God's family. First-born males have very different roles from their sisters or younger brothers. There are three main points that I believe come out of this that are crucial to understanding leadership within God's family.
First, mothers and fathers have the duty and responsibility to love, nurture, raise, and train their children until those children have families of their own. This is true physically as well as spiritually. In fact, at some point it becomes the responsibility of the children to take care of their own children and their parents who have raised them. Simply stated, there are seasons of leadership within every family. Let's not neglect our appointed time to lead, or reject the leadership of others when it is their time.
Secondly, not all people are able to lead in the same way. First-born males are given responsibilities that others in the family aren't ever given. Husbands are given responsibilities that wives are never given (and wives are given responsibilities that husbands are never given for that matter). Apostles, pastors, deacons and others who have been called and chosen by God are given responsibilities that others will not be given. To me it makes perfect sense that Paul would tell Timothy, "If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?" Exactly!
Moses was an amazing leader of God's people, but it took his father-in-law to point out that he was leading in the wrong way (see Exodus 18). He had become "the man" and took all responsibility upon himself for leading God's family. Jethro pointed out rightly that "The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone." He told him to "select capable men from all the people - men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain - and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens." Not all of these men were appointed to serve thousands, some were appointed only to serve ten, and some were not appointed at all.
Here's my final point. In God's family we have only one Father, and there is only one First-born Son. Between them, they have ultimate responsibility for appointing leaders, for choosing the seasons for their leadership and how many they will serve, and for making decisions for the Family. Each of us has a role and function within the Family. Those that are called on to serve as leaders must ask the Father who they are to lead and for how long. And if any significant decision needs to be made, it is not theirs to make, but only to follow the decision of the Father.
Leadership in God's family is a wonderful thing. Each of us have been chosen to lead others in some way for some season. May we all be faithful to the responsibilities we have been given and truly bless and respect those that have been given greater responsibilities within God's family.
Blessings,
Shiloh
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Pastors
This is a continuation of the last post on priests, so if you haven't read that one you might want to start there.
As I stated in a comment in the last post, pastors are a very important part of the Church. They are one of the five groups of people listed in Ephesians 4:11 that were given to the Church by God "so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Sounds pretty important to me.
A quick study in the New Testament on pastors might surprise you though. In most translations the word pastor or pastors is actually only used once (in Eph 4:11) and literally means "shepherd." There are other words that people assume mean the same thing as pastor, like bishop or overseer, but even if you include them, they are only mentioned a handful or so times to describe a person other than Jesus.
Perhaps most surprising of all, I have yet to come across a passage of Scripture that identifies any individual (other than Jesus) as any of those things, pastor, bishop, or overseer; and I have yet to see anything that would indicate that every local church had a pastor. In Revelation, the messages to the seven churches never include a single word about pastors, though there is a mention of false apostles. In Acts 13, the church at Antioch had prophets and teachers, and five of them were named, though Paul and Barnabas were set apart and sent to others. Even the church at Jerusalem had a council made up of apostles and elders (see Acts 15).
Can I make a statement that may seem a bit heretical? During the first days of the Church, I don't think every church had a pastor, certainly not as the leader of the church. I think leadership was usually done with a team approach, utilizing apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders, and deacons. I don't think every church had all of these people, but I don't think a church was supposed to have one man in leadership of a local church either, no matter what title you give him.
I think we have done a great disservice to pastors. They have a very special place and role in the Church, but we have elevated them far beyond where they are supposed to be. We have almost completely neglected our responsibility as priests and ambassadors and have decided to pay pastors to do almost everything for us. Is it any wonder that we are seeing so much turmoil among our pastors? For example (as cited in Death by Church by Mike Erre):
As I stated in a comment in the last post, pastors are a very important part of the Church. They are one of the five groups of people listed in Ephesians 4:11 that were given to the Church by God "so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Sounds pretty important to me.
A quick study in the New Testament on pastors might surprise you though. In most translations the word pastor or pastors is actually only used once (in Eph 4:11) and literally means "shepherd." There are other words that people assume mean the same thing as pastor, like bishop or overseer, but even if you include them, they are only mentioned a handful or so times to describe a person other than Jesus.
Perhaps most surprising of all, I have yet to come across a passage of Scripture that identifies any individual (other than Jesus) as any of those things, pastor, bishop, or overseer; and I have yet to see anything that would indicate that every local church had a pastor. In Revelation, the messages to the seven churches never include a single word about pastors, though there is a mention of false apostles. In Acts 13, the church at Antioch had prophets and teachers, and five of them were named, though Paul and Barnabas were set apart and sent to others. Even the church at Jerusalem had a council made up of apostles and elders (see Acts 15).
Can I make a statement that may seem a bit heretical? During the first days of the Church, I don't think every church had a pastor, certainly not as the leader of the church. I think leadership was usually done with a team approach, utilizing apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders, and deacons. I don't think every church had all of these people, but I don't think a church was supposed to have one man in leadership of a local church either, no matter what title you give him.
I think we have done a great disservice to pastors. They have a very special place and role in the Church, but we have elevated them far beyond where they are supposed to be. We have almost completely neglected our responsibility as priests and ambassadors and have decided to pay pastors to do almost everything for us. Is it any wonder that we are seeing so much turmoil among our pastors? For example (as cited in Death by Church by Mike Erre):
- 80% of pastors believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively
- 90% feel they are inadequately trained to cope with ministry demands
- 50% of pastors' marriages will end in divorce
- 70% constantly fight depression
- 23% confess inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in the church
- 1500 pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches
- The majority of pastor's wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry
Maybe it is time to seek the Lord and seek the Scriptures to find out what the leadership of the Church and of local churches is supposed to be. Maybe it is time for the followers of Jesus to be the Church, the body of Christ. Maybe it is time to show our pastors that we are done being spectators and bench-warmers and that we are really going to seek the Lord and do what He says. I can't think of anything more encouraging to do for our pastors than that. What about you?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Priests
I have a Jewish friend that recently told me I was his Rabbi. That totally humbled me, but it was really encouraging to hear. He told me that about the same time a particular theme kept coming up in my reading and in my personal times with the Lord. That theme was the priesthood of common people.
Have you ever thought about how we pay people to "do ministry" today? In general most people don't share their faith with others, or go to visit people in hospitals or prisons (unless they are family members), or teach others about God or the Bible. That's what we pay pastors and missionaries to do. For whatever reason we expect pastors, reverends, priests, missionaries and maybe elders and deacons to do those things, because that is their job after all, and we can choose to help if it fits into our schedules.
I was reading in Exodus 19 a passage of Scripture that blew me away. God told Moses to tell the rest of the freed slaves (the Jews), "'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Awesome! God set these people free in order to make them priests.
Rob Bell comments on it this way in the book Jesus Wants To Save Christians:
"Priests? A priest mediates the divine. To mediate is to come between. A priest comes between people and a god or gods. A priest shows you what his or her god is like. When you go to a temple or shrine and you see the priest there - what they do, what they say about it, the rituals they perform - you get a sense for what their god cares about, who their god cares about. So when God invites the people to be priests, it's an invitation to show the world who this God is and what this God is like."
So the Jews were chosen to be messengers, ambassadors, witnesses, priests of who God is to the rest of the world. And guess what... so are we! Peter wrote a letter to Jesus followers scattered all over the world, and he said, "you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God."
Have you ever thought about how we pay people to "do ministry" today? In general most people don't share their faith with others, or go to visit people in hospitals or prisons (unless they are family members), or teach others about God or the Bible. That's what we pay pastors and missionaries to do. For whatever reason we expect pastors, reverends, priests, missionaries and maybe elders and deacons to do those things, because that is their job after all, and we can choose to help if it fits into our schedules.
I was reading in Exodus 19 a passage of Scripture that blew me away. God told Moses to tell the rest of the freed slaves (the Jews), "'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Awesome! God set these people free in order to make them priests.
Rob Bell comments on it this way in the book Jesus Wants To Save Christians:
"Priests? A priest mediates the divine. To mediate is to come between. A priest comes between people and a god or gods. A priest shows you what his or her god is like. When you go to a temple or shrine and you see the priest there - what they do, what they say about it, the rituals they perform - you get a sense for what their god cares about, who their god cares about. So when God invites the people to be priests, it's an invitation to show the world who this God is and what this God is like."
So the Jews were chosen to be messengers, ambassadors, witnesses, priests of who God is to the rest of the world. And guess what... so are we! Peter wrote a letter to Jesus followers scattered all over the world, and he said, "you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God."
The people of God are people who make up a Kingdom of priests. Each of us has been called out of darkness and into light and each of us shows the rest of the world who God is. Paul put it this way, "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." We are appealing to others on Christ's behalf to be reconciled. Isn't that what we pay our pastor to do? Even if that were true, are you willing to pay someone to do something that He has chosen you to do? I hope not.
If you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God, then you are a priest. And with that comes the responsibility to show the rest of the world who God is, what He cares about, who He loves. If we call Jesus, "Lord," then we ought to be ready to stand in the gap between Him and those who don't know Him and introduce Him to them.
May every citizen of the Kingdom live this life as a priest of the Living God, presenting Him to the world as Savior and Lord.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Gut Check
About a month and a half ago my family started going through one chapter a week of the Gospel of John using a DVD Bible. The way we do it is we listen to the entire chapter and then talk about it a bit, especially if we have any questions. Then we go through it again stopping every time we have a question or comment. Then after we have gone through it a second time we share our favorite part and the part that we think is the most important. I have thoroughly enjoyed these times with my family. Yesterday we went through John 6 and I saw something that I've never really put together before.
In the beginning of John 6 Jesus felt compassion for the people following him around and decided to bless them with a meal since they were in a remote place. His disciples didn't know what to make of it since there were thousands of people and the disciples weren't sure where they were getting lunch either. The point is that Jesus treated a whole bunch of people to a free lunch.
The next day Jesus and His disciples were in a city across the lake so the crowd followed them hoping for another free lunch. Jesus chastised them for it and told them to do God's work instead. So they asked what God's work was and Jesus told them "to believe in the one He has sent." So then they proceed to tell Jesus that they need proof that He really is the One, and they specifically mention proof that involves... you guessed it, food. They were still looking for a free lunch. In fact, not only were they looking for one more free lunch, they implied that they wanted a free lunch every day (see vs. 31).
Jesus was undeterred, but also determined to test the sincerity of these "followers." So He begins to tell them about the bread of life. He declared, "I am the bread of life," and they began to grumble. He clarified for them, "This bread is my flesh," and they began to argue. He said to them, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." This horrified them. I don't know about you, but I've never heard a pastor proclaiming the benefits of cannibalism and vampirism from the pulpit before (He was teaching in a synagogue). I have to think that some of them literally got sick to their stomachs. Every mediocre Jew knew that they weren't allowed to drink blood, and here the Rabbi is telling them that they have to drink His blood to have life. It's no wonder some of them thought He was demon-possessed.
It says that from that time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. I guess so! Jesus blessed them with a free meal. They liked it and wanted more. Jesus wanted to give them much more, but not literal food. He wanted to give them eternal nourishment and eternal life, but He knew their motives and caught them in their own snare. After many left He asked His chosen twelve if they wanted to leave too. Peter answered for them, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" They probably didn't understand what Jesus was talking about any more than the others, but they understood that they had no other Lord to follow.
Here's the gut check. Why do we follow Jesus? Is it because He blessed us with a material blessing and now we want more? Is it because He healed us and now we want more? Is it because the crowd around us was going so we tagged along for the show? Is it because we heard about Jesus and were curious to see if He was the real deal? All of those are good reasons to start following Jesus. But we can't hang on to those motives for following Jesus. At some point we have to move to the point where we say, "I don't understand and I don't know what's going on. It feels like you are asking me to leave (vs. 67), but I don't have anywhere else to go. I am following You because there is no one like You. Only You have the words of eternal life."
Am I looking for a free lunch, or am I seeking the Bread of Life? May you hunger for the Bread of Life that satisfies every hunger for all eternity.
Blessings,
Shiloh
In the beginning of John 6 Jesus felt compassion for the people following him around and decided to bless them with a meal since they were in a remote place. His disciples didn't know what to make of it since there were thousands of people and the disciples weren't sure where they were getting lunch either. The point is that Jesus treated a whole bunch of people to a free lunch.
The next day Jesus and His disciples were in a city across the lake so the crowd followed them hoping for another free lunch. Jesus chastised them for it and told them to do God's work instead. So they asked what God's work was and Jesus told them "to believe in the one He has sent." So then they proceed to tell Jesus that they need proof that He really is the One, and they specifically mention proof that involves... you guessed it, food. They were still looking for a free lunch. In fact, not only were they looking for one more free lunch, they implied that they wanted a free lunch every day (see vs. 31).
Jesus was undeterred, but also determined to test the sincerity of these "followers." So He begins to tell them about the bread of life. He declared, "I am the bread of life," and they began to grumble. He clarified for them, "This bread is my flesh," and they began to argue. He said to them, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." This horrified them. I don't know about you, but I've never heard a pastor proclaiming the benefits of cannibalism and vampirism from the pulpit before (He was teaching in a synagogue). I have to think that some of them literally got sick to their stomachs. Every mediocre Jew knew that they weren't allowed to drink blood, and here the Rabbi is telling them that they have to drink His blood to have life. It's no wonder some of them thought He was demon-possessed.
It says that from that time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. I guess so! Jesus blessed them with a free meal. They liked it and wanted more. Jesus wanted to give them much more, but not literal food. He wanted to give them eternal nourishment and eternal life, but He knew their motives and caught them in their own snare. After many left He asked His chosen twelve if they wanted to leave too. Peter answered for them, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" They probably didn't understand what Jesus was talking about any more than the others, but they understood that they had no other Lord to follow.
Here's the gut check. Why do we follow Jesus? Is it because He blessed us with a material blessing and now we want more? Is it because He healed us and now we want more? Is it because the crowd around us was going so we tagged along for the show? Is it because we heard about Jesus and were curious to see if He was the real deal? All of those are good reasons to start following Jesus. But we can't hang on to those motives for following Jesus. At some point we have to move to the point where we say, "I don't understand and I don't know what's going on. It feels like you are asking me to leave (vs. 67), but I don't have anywhere else to go. I am following You because there is no one like You. Only You have the words of eternal life."
Am I looking for a free lunch, or am I seeking the Bread of Life? May you hunger for the Bread of Life that satisfies every hunger for all eternity.
Blessings,
Shiloh
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The Anti-Jesus Question
The Lord has been rocking my boat for the past few weeks and I am going to attempt to gather some of these thoughts and give them enough order and structure to make sense. If I fail at doing that I'm sorry. Bear with me and join in the conversation.
I've recently been thinking about some of the things that Jesus was "against," and therefore some of the things that were against Him. I've had a lot of help, so don't think that I'm coming up with all this on my own. Some of the books that have contributed to this discussion I'm having with the Lord are Jesus Wants To Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden, Kingdom, Grace, Judgment by Robert Farrar Capon, and The Jesus of Suburbia by Mike Erre, as well as some messages by Ronnie Walker of FBC Belleview.
Some of the things that were "anti-Jesus" were the evil one, the Roman empire, and the Jewish kingdom. The evil one is obvious. Even before Jesus entered the public spotlight He was tempted by the evil one to take the easy route, opt out of God's plan, and corrupt Himself in the process. One of His chosen disciples was lured away by the evil one and betrayed Jesus into torture, humiliation, and death for just a few coins. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
Jesus was also against the Roman empire. I doubt I can do justice to this discussion in this short summary, but everything about Jesus was anti-empire. Caesar was the incarnation of power through intimidation, fear, and domination. Jesus was the incarnation of power through humility, love, and submission. The Jewish people were waiting for a Messiah who would come and destroy their captors and restore Israel to an eternal empire, conquering the rest of the world. Jesus was the Messiah who entered the world in a manger, and conquered the world through His own death. He told His disciples, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them. But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life —a ransom for many."
Jesus wasn't anti-kingdom, but He sure was against the established religious kingdom of the Jews. Some of Jesus' harshest language is directed at the religious leaders of His people. He flipped tables and chased people with whips. He did things (like heal on the sabbath) and said things (like call God "my Father") just to aggravate the religious leaders. In fact, in one passage in Matthew, Jesus called the religious leaders hypocrites, sons of hell, blind guides, dirty dishes, whitewashed tombs, descendants of murderers, and snakes. That's harsh.
But Jesus subjected himself to the temptations from the evil one, to the laws of the empire, and to execution at the hands of the religious leaders. He was subject to them, but He was also sanctified, set apart, sacred in spite of them and within them. He was subject to them, and yet totally subverting them at the same time.
And that is where we live. Subject to temptations and attacks from the evil one, to the laws and culture of the empire, and to the hypocrisy and blindness of religious institutions. None of us are exempt from these forces around us. We can try to ignore them, but that changes nothing. The real question is one of whether we are going to follow Jesus, or whether we are going to follow an anti-Jesus. If we submit where Jesus subverted... if we live this life subject to, but not set apart from... we are choosing an anti-Jesus over the real Jesus.
If we find ourselves constantly giving in to temptation, over and over, again and again, we have chosen the evil one, an anti-Jesus. If we love our country, our economy, and American Idol more than Jesus, we have chosen the empire, an anti-Jesus. If we are so busy doing things at a church building that we don't have time to spend with our families or with our neighbors who don't know Jesus, we have chosen the religious kingdom, an anti-Jesus.
Maybe this doesn't rock your boat as much as it does mine. My boat is being ravaged by this storm and is just about to be swamped and I'm trying to wake Jesus to calm the storm, but I realized He is out there walking on the water and beckoning me to come with Him. Will I follow? Will you?
Shiloh
I've recently been thinking about some of the things that Jesus was "against," and therefore some of the things that were against Him. I've had a lot of help, so don't think that I'm coming up with all this on my own. Some of the books that have contributed to this discussion I'm having with the Lord are Jesus Wants To Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden, Kingdom, Grace, Judgment by Robert Farrar Capon, and The Jesus of Suburbia by Mike Erre, as well as some messages by Ronnie Walker of FBC Belleview.
Some of the things that were "anti-Jesus" were the evil one, the Roman empire, and the Jewish kingdom. The evil one is obvious. Even before Jesus entered the public spotlight He was tempted by the evil one to take the easy route, opt out of God's plan, and corrupt Himself in the process. One of His chosen disciples was lured away by the evil one and betrayed Jesus into torture, humiliation, and death for just a few coins. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
Jesus was also against the Roman empire. I doubt I can do justice to this discussion in this short summary, but everything about Jesus was anti-empire. Caesar was the incarnation of power through intimidation, fear, and domination. Jesus was the incarnation of power through humility, love, and submission. The Jewish people were waiting for a Messiah who would come and destroy their captors and restore Israel to an eternal empire, conquering the rest of the world. Jesus was the Messiah who entered the world in a manger, and conquered the world through His own death. He told His disciples, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them. But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life —a ransom for many."
Jesus wasn't anti-kingdom, but He sure was against the established religious kingdom of the Jews. Some of Jesus' harshest language is directed at the religious leaders of His people. He flipped tables and chased people with whips. He did things (like heal on the sabbath) and said things (like call God "my Father") just to aggravate the religious leaders. In fact, in one passage in Matthew, Jesus called the religious leaders hypocrites, sons of hell, blind guides, dirty dishes, whitewashed tombs, descendants of murderers, and snakes. That's harsh.
But Jesus subjected himself to the temptations from the evil one, to the laws of the empire, and to execution at the hands of the religious leaders. He was subject to them, but He was also sanctified, set apart, sacred in spite of them and within them. He was subject to them, and yet totally subverting them at the same time.
And that is where we live. Subject to temptations and attacks from the evil one, to the laws and culture of the empire, and to the hypocrisy and blindness of religious institutions. None of us are exempt from these forces around us. We can try to ignore them, but that changes nothing. The real question is one of whether we are going to follow Jesus, or whether we are going to follow an anti-Jesus. If we submit where Jesus subverted... if we live this life subject to, but not set apart from... we are choosing an anti-Jesus over the real Jesus.
If we find ourselves constantly giving in to temptation, over and over, again and again, we have chosen the evil one, an anti-Jesus. If we love our country, our economy, and American Idol more than Jesus, we have chosen the empire, an anti-Jesus. If we are so busy doing things at a church building that we don't have time to spend with our families or with our neighbors who don't know Jesus, we have chosen the religious kingdom, an anti-Jesus.
Maybe this doesn't rock your boat as much as it does mine. My boat is being ravaged by this storm and is just about to be swamped and I'm trying to wake Jesus to calm the storm, but I realized He is out there walking on the water and beckoning me to come with Him. Will I follow? Will you?
Shiloh
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
the discipling continuum
Hey guys,
You may already browse through the links I have listed for other blogs that I regularly read, but just in case you don't I wanted to encourage you to check out the latest post at Jason Dukes' blog, "as i live sent daily". He's got lots of good stuff on his blog, but this latest one called "the discipling continuum" is a really good one. I encourage you to check it out.
Blessings,
Shiloh
You may already browse through the links I have listed for other blogs that I regularly read, but just in case you don't I wanted to encourage you to check out the latest post at Jason Dukes' blog, "as i live sent daily". He's got lots of good stuff on his blog, but this latest one called "the discipling continuum" is a really good one. I encourage you to check it out.
Blessings,
Shiloh
Friday, February 13, 2009
Where is Your House Built?
One of the interesting things about living in Florida is that houses here are by and large built on sand. Yes, they do pour concrete slabs on top of the sand and that does help, but it is very common for sink holes to open up near or even under your home and mess everything up. Even if a sink hole doesn't swallow you, every home I've ever lived in here in Florida has settlement cracks proving just how stable that foundation really is.
Case in point, my wife and kids all go to the same school which is relatively new (this is the third year it's been open). The stress of the first week of school this year was heightened when two sink holes opened up on the school grounds. One was in a retention pond and another was in the parking lot. Ever since then our school parking lot has looked like a cross between a crime scene and an oil-drilling expedition. Needless to say it has been an adventure getting the kids to and from school this year.
Anyway, back to where our homes are built. You probably remember Jesus talking about being careful about the type of soil to build your house on. In Matthew 7:26, Jesus says that a foolish man builds his house on sand. Now I'm not trying to make a commentary on building practices here in Florida, but I do want to comment on the comparison that Jesus made here and in Luke 6.
You see, I don't know what I used to think about this parable, but recently something jumped out at me. Both the wise and foolish builders are hearing the words of Jesus. The difference is that the wise man is actually doing what Jesus said to do. The difference is obedience.
There are a lot of good people who listen to the words of Jesus today and have absolutely nothing to show for it. They are living in houses built on sand. Jesus said in Luke 6:46, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" That's a really good question. Do you think that there may be people in our churches today who hear the words of Jesus and call Him "Lord" that are going to end up in complete destruction? I sure hope not.
James says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." There is a really big difference between hearing Christ's words and doing Christ's words. Psalm 112 says, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands." It goes on to talk about everyone else who is blessed by someone who hears the Lord and obeys Him; his chidren, his household, the upcoming generation, the poor. "Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever... His heart is secure, he will have no fear."
Why is his heart secure? Because he was wise enough to build on a firm foundation. A foundation of hearing the words of Jesus, and then doing what He says. May God bless your house as you build on a foundation of hearing Jesus and doing what He says.
Shiloh
Case in point, my wife and kids all go to the same school which is relatively new (this is the third year it's been open). The stress of the first week of school this year was heightened when two sink holes opened up on the school grounds. One was in a retention pond and another was in the parking lot. Ever since then our school parking lot has looked like a cross between a crime scene and an oil-drilling expedition. Needless to say it has been an adventure getting the kids to and from school this year.
Anyway, back to where our homes are built. You probably remember Jesus talking about being careful about the type of soil to build your house on. In Matthew 7:26, Jesus says that a foolish man builds his house on sand. Now I'm not trying to make a commentary on building practices here in Florida, but I do want to comment on the comparison that Jesus made here and in Luke 6.
You see, I don't know what I used to think about this parable, but recently something jumped out at me. Both the wise and foolish builders are hearing the words of Jesus. The difference is that the wise man is actually doing what Jesus said to do. The difference is obedience.
There are a lot of good people who listen to the words of Jesus today and have absolutely nothing to show for it. They are living in houses built on sand. Jesus said in Luke 6:46, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" That's a really good question. Do you think that there may be people in our churches today who hear the words of Jesus and call Him "Lord" that are going to end up in complete destruction? I sure hope not.
James says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." There is a really big difference between hearing Christ's words and doing Christ's words. Psalm 112 says, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands." It goes on to talk about everyone else who is blessed by someone who hears the Lord and obeys Him; his chidren, his household, the upcoming generation, the poor. "Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever... His heart is secure, he will have no fear."
Why is his heart secure? Because he was wise enough to build on a firm foundation. A foundation of hearing the words of Jesus, and then doing what He says. May God bless your house as you build on a foundation of hearing Jesus and doing what He says.
Shiloh
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Spiritual Reproduction: The Kingdom is Spreading
In case you didn't know, I've been working on a "workbook" describing spiritual reproduction for the past few months. Most of the material in this workbook comes from the 15-week long 2x2 Training that I take members of local churches through. It isn't exactly a companion workbook though. I've had a few requests for material from people who can't come to these training sessions either because of proximity or time constraints and so I decided to try to put the training in a stand-alone format.
I'm at the point now where I feel comfortable sharing this workbook with others who are interested in reading it, exploring it, using it, and sharing it with others. I wouldn't say that it is finished, but it is ready to be consumed, digested, and edited based on feedback. Therefore, there is no copyright at all. It is completely open for use, reproduction, propogation, etc. Use anything you want from this workbook and if your conscience allows you can even take credit for it.
All that I ask is that if you read it, please send me feedback. If you use it, please, please send me feedback. If you like it, please share it with others. And if you don't like it, please let me know why. You are my editors and I really appreciate your input.
So how do you get a copy of the book? Email me at FellowshipProject@gmail.com and I'll send you a copy. Many blessings,
Shiloh
I'm at the point now where I feel comfortable sharing this workbook with others who are interested in reading it, exploring it, using it, and sharing it with others. I wouldn't say that it is finished, but it is ready to be consumed, digested, and edited based on feedback. Therefore, there is no copyright at all. It is completely open for use, reproduction, propogation, etc. Use anything you want from this workbook and if your conscience allows you can even take credit for it.
All that I ask is that if you read it, please send me feedback. If you use it, please, please send me feedback. If you like it, please share it with others. And if you don't like it, please let me know why. You are my editors and I really appreciate your input.
So how do you get a copy of the book? Email me at FellowshipProject@gmail.com and I'll send you a copy. Many blessings,
Shiloh
Friday, February 6, 2009
Balance & Alignment
It's hard to believe that a month has passed since I was in Chattanooga and got to enjoy being with my former supervisor, some close friends that I don't get to see very often, and many staff members from churches all over the southeastern US. I enjoyed this trip for a whole bunch of reasons, but one of those reasons was that I got to share about what I am doing now and how it has its roots in what God taught me while I was preparing for and living in Africa. What I am sharing here is a synopsis of what I shared with them a month ago.
I have learned as a follower of Jesus that there are two critical areas to keep an eye on when it comes to a personal journey with God and intimacy with Christ: balance and alignment.
Balance is about keeping things in perspective and in order - a healthy balance - and it involves all sorts of things like time, money, excercise, study, prayer, family, work, and on and on. If my life is out of balance in one area, everything else is affected.
Alignment is going in the same direction as God's will for my life. As God reveals Himself and His plans and purposes for my life, I have to choose to align myself with His will, or be in a constant struggle against Him.
The decision to go to Africa was one of alignment. I felt like my life was fairly balanced at the time and Kim and I knew that it was God's will for us to go, but it took a lot of prayer and determination to keep aligning ourselves with His plan over the course of time that it took for us to actually be on our way. What I didn't realize at the time was that I needed more than an alignment. I needed a whole new set of tires! In the years of 2005 and 2006 God took off my old tires and gave me a new set, and plenty of opportunities to balance and align them with His will.
My old set of tires took me on a journey that focused on church activities for myself, my family, and the people that I met and spent time with. My new set of tires took me on a journey that is all about intentionally bringing Christ into all of the normal activities that me and my family and friends and neighbors are already involved in. There's nothing wrong with church activities, but if that's the only place to find Jesus, then we're in big trouble.
The journey I'm on now still needs balance and alignment just like before, and still requires corrections just like before, but the journey looks and feels a whole lot different. For example:
I have learned as a follower of Jesus that there are two critical areas to keep an eye on when it comes to a personal journey with God and intimacy with Christ: balance and alignment.
Balance is about keeping things in perspective and in order - a healthy balance - and it involves all sorts of things like time, money, excercise, study, prayer, family, work, and on and on. If my life is out of balance in one area, everything else is affected.
Alignment is going in the same direction as God's will for my life. As God reveals Himself and His plans and purposes for my life, I have to choose to align myself with His will, or be in a constant struggle against Him.
The decision to go to Africa was one of alignment. I felt like my life was fairly balanced at the time and Kim and I knew that it was God's will for us to go, but it took a lot of prayer and determination to keep aligning ourselves with His plan over the course of time that it took for us to actually be on our way. What I didn't realize at the time was that I needed more than an alignment. I needed a whole new set of tires! In the years of 2005 and 2006 God took off my old tires and gave me a new set, and plenty of opportunities to balance and align them with His will.
My old set of tires took me on a journey that focused on church activities for myself, my family, and the people that I met and spent time with. My new set of tires took me on a journey that is all about intentionally bringing Christ into all of the normal activities that me and my family and friends and neighbors are already involved in. There's nothing wrong with church activities, but if that's the only place to find Jesus, then we're in big trouble.
The journey I'm on now still needs balance and alignment just like before, and still requires corrections just like before, but the journey looks and feels a whole lot different. For example:
- I don't "go to church" any more. I take Christ with me wherever I go and if there are others who know Him gathered together, we are the church in that place.
- I don't evangelize people any more. I take the Presence of Jesus with me and look and listen for God-ordained opportunities to share Jesus with people through my prayers, presence, actions, and words.
- I don't rely on books or classes to disciple people any more. I look for people who are hungry for Jesus and His Word and I invest myself in them and invite them into my life, knowing that together we will grow more and more like Him and can help each other when we fail.
There are many believers, pastors included, who are flying down the highway totally oblivious to the fact that they are out of balance and out of alignment. They are numb from the constant vibration and tired of pulling the wheel one way while God is trying to steer them off the highway and into a service station. Some know something is wrong, but have no idea what to do about it. Many are awakening to that feeling all across the US.
The Fellowship Project is an invitation to followers of Jesus to pull off the highway and into the service station. It is an invitation to get a new set of tires that will allow them to see the Church and the world differently and will allow them to naturally reproduce their faith in others and to see God's Kingdom expand as a byproduct of that.
Is your relationship with the Lord out of balance? Is it out of alignment? Are you ready for a new set of tires for this journey with Jesus? If so, pull into the service station today.
Many blessings,
Shiloh
Live Sacred, Live Sent
This article was written Adam Hammond, a staff member of FBC Belleview. The Lord is doing some great things among the people there and I loved what Adam wrote here. It really challenged me and stretched my thinking about what living sent means. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Shiloh
Living Sent, at its core, is about expanding the kingdom of God by bringing glory to the Father. When Jesus walked the earth, His mission was to do the will of the Father, to be obedient to the point of death. ("I glorified Thee on the earth having accomplished the work which Thou has given me to do." Jn 17:4) Thus, if we are to use Jesus as our example, we must first understand our objective. Jesus said in John 17:18-19 "As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth."
The important point here is to notice that Jesus does not send us out "any ole way." The word "sanctify" in verse 19 means to hallow, to treat as holy. Jesus understood that He was from the Father sent to do the Father's work... His instruction and holiness lay in His oneness with the Father. We receive our instruction as verse 19 says, in truth. This truth is what sanctifies us, it is what sets us apart in holiness. It is truth that sanctifies us and enables us to live sent.
Living Sent is not about going anywhere. It is about "walking Jesus" among whoever and wherever you are. It is not a program or prayerwalk, as good as those things may be. It is about Christ in you. We cannot live sent if we are not living set apart. We cannot look to culture for was to witness to others, we must look to Christ. He is the difference that others are looking for and in Him you get the opportunity to display the Holy among the profane. Jesus will draw them, you just follow Him. Live Sacred, Live Sent.
Adam
Shiloh
Living Sent, at its core, is about expanding the kingdom of God by bringing glory to the Father. When Jesus walked the earth, His mission was to do the will of the Father, to be obedient to the point of death. ("I glorified Thee on the earth having accomplished the work which Thou has given me to do." Jn 17:4) Thus, if we are to use Jesus as our example, we must first understand our objective. Jesus said in John 17:18-19 "As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth."
The important point here is to notice that Jesus does not send us out "any ole way." The word "sanctify" in verse 19 means to hallow, to treat as holy. Jesus understood that He was from the Father sent to do the Father's work... His instruction and holiness lay in His oneness with the Father. We receive our instruction as verse 19 says, in truth. This truth is what sanctifies us, it is what sets us apart in holiness. It is truth that sanctifies us and enables us to live sent.
Living Sent is not about going anywhere. It is about "walking Jesus" among whoever and wherever you are. It is not a program or prayerwalk, as good as those things may be. It is about Christ in you. We cannot live sent if we are not living set apart. We cannot look to culture for was to witness to others, we must look to Christ. He is the difference that others are looking for and in Him you get the opportunity to display the Holy among the profane. Jesus will draw them, you just follow Him. Live Sacred, Live Sent.
Adam
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
In, but not Of...
I know this is a subject that has been discussed over an over again for millenia, but just in the past couple of weeks I have entered the discussion with some of those in my circle of "churched" friends. (Yes, I know I am slow; and yes, I do still have a few "churched" friends.) Actually, we weren't really talking about being in the world, but not of the world. We were talking about whether it was more important to be culturally relevant or Biblically relevant. We came to the conclusion that we as followers of Jesus must be culturally sensitive, but Biblically sound. We walk the way of Jesus, as revealed to us through Scripture and the Spirit of God, but we should do so in a way that can be understood by the culture around us.
"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth." Psalm 86:11 That should be our priority, but it should be done in such a way that it penetrates and influences the culture around us. Unfortunately, it seems that too often we have switched the order around and we have elevated cultural relevance to the point where we have become Biblically sensitive at best. Too often we order our lives around the cultural norms and then check with the Bible or our pastor to see if that lines up with Scripture instead of ordering our lives around Scripture and then checking to see how that lines up with culture.
I am pointing a finger at myself here, so don't feel too offended. But since I'm already offending some, I might as well take the next step. I hear Christians from more traditional churches bash "contemporary" or "emergent" or "seeker-sensitive" churches for doing this very thing. They claim that they water down the Gospel and the preaching in order to attract more people into their churches (cultural relevance) and have abandoned sound Biblical doctrine in the process. In some cases, they are right and it is a shame. But on the other hand, some of the traditional churches that I have visited have supplanted Biblical doctrine with tradition as their highest standard. Their church culture has become more important than Scriptural commands and they have done the very thing that they accuse other churches of doing. "We've never done it that way before" takes priority over clear Biblical commands.
A mentor of mine shared with me a long time ago, "There are a lot of things in the Scriptures that aren't in our churches, and there are a lot of things in our churches that aren't in the Scriptures." Why is that? Is it because we have followed cultural norms even in our churches without checking to see what the Lord had to say about it?
Now, I know I've offended some of you so let me offer you a blessing and my prayer. May each of us seek God's Way first. May we have the courage to follow His Way only. May we challenge others around us to seek His Way and follow it with us, no matter whether they come from a pagan culture or a churched culture. May we never stop seeking His Way.
Blessings,
Shiloh
"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth." Psalm 86:11 That should be our priority, but it should be done in such a way that it penetrates and influences the culture around us. Unfortunately, it seems that too often we have switched the order around and we have elevated cultural relevance to the point where we have become Biblically sensitive at best. Too often we order our lives around the cultural norms and then check with the Bible or our pastor to see if that lines up with Scripture instead of ordering our lives around Scripture and then checking to see how that lines up with culture.
I am pointing a finger at myself here, so don't feel too offended. But since I'm already offending some, I might as well take the next step. I hear Christians from more traditional churches bash "contemporary" or "emergent" or "seeker-sensitive" churches for doing this very thing. They claim that they water down the Gospel and the preaching in order to attract more people into their churches (cultural relevance) and have abandoned sound Biblical doctrine in the process. In some cases, they are right and it is a shame. But on the other hand, some of the traditional churches that I have visited have supplanted Biblical doctrine with tradition as their highest standard. Their church culture has become more important than Scriptural commands and they have done the very thing that they accuse other churches of doing. "We've never done it that way before" takes priority over clear Biblical commands.
A mentor of mine shared with me a long time ago, "There are a lot of things in the Scriptures that aren't in our churches, and there are a lot of things in our churches that aren't in the Scriptures." Why is that? Is it because we have followed cultural norms even in our churches without checking to see what the Lord had to say about it?
Now, I know I've offended some of you so let me offer you a blessing and my prayer. May each of us seek God's Way first. May we have the courage to follow His Way only. May we challenge others around us to seek His Way and follow it with us, no matter whether they come from a pagan culture or a churched culture. May we never stop seeking His Way.
Blessings,
Shiloh
Friday, January 23, 2009
Walking Jesus
A good friend of mine sent this to me a couple of days ago and agreed to let me share it with the rest of you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Shiloh
Over the past few weeks I have been reading a book by John Eldredge called ‘Walking with God’. The author talks about 3 levels of a believer’s walk: 1) being a believer 2) being an obedient believer and 3) having an intimate relationship with God. During my reading I began to think about this and I believe that in my life being an obedient believer must be further defined or divided. At first we learn to be obedient to His Word, following his commandments. Second, we learn to be obedient in spiritual things and spiritual decisions of our lives after seeking and hearing from Him. But there is a third step or level of surrender. Not just surrendering to God’s will that is made known to us in His Word, or even His will that is made known to us about spiritual decisions, but to be completely yielded to our Father, to be a living sacrifice, we must also seek his will in the rest of our lives – even the parts that seem to be mundane or normal, like what are we going to do this weekend or on our next vacation. This changes our mindset from seeking Him in preparation for and while we are doing Work, to seeking him always. Obviously as we yield more and more of our lives becoming more obedient, we become more and more intimate with our Father.
I have realized something since being back in the states about walking Jesus. Overseas your entire life is ministry because every time you step out of your door you are in the middle of lostness. Going to the store or to dinner you are walking Jesus among the lost. Overseas you are more focused and more dependent on God, but here in the states it is so easy to separate or segment our lives – now I’m doing my to-do list and running errands versus now I’m doing ministry. I’ve been guilty of not walking Jesus at all times, and I’ve realized that this is a part of my life that has not been yielded to Jesus.
Some quotes of John Eldredge about knowing God:
“An intimate conversational walk with God is available and is meant to be normal.”
“Intimacy with God is the purpose of our lives.”
“The goal of our existence is to know God, love Him and live our lives in an intimate relationship with Him.”
Leroy Light
Shiloh
Over the past few weeks I have been reading a book by John Eldredge called ‘Walking with God’. The author talks about 3 levels of a believer’s walk: 1) being a believer 2) being an obedient believer and 3) having an intimate relationship with God. During my reading I began to think about this and I believe that in my life being an obedient believer must be further defined or divided. At first we learn to be obedient to His Word, following his commandments. Second, we learn to be obedient in spiritual things and spiritual decisions of our lives after seeking and hearing from Him. But there is a third step or level of surrender. Not just surrendering to God’s will that is made known to us in His Word, or even His will that is made known to us about spiritual decisions, but to be completely yielded to our Father, to be a living sacrifice, we must also seek his will in the rest of our lives – even the parts that seem to be mundane or normal, like what are we going to do this weekend or on our next vacation. This changes our mindset from seeking Him in preparation for and while we are doing Work, to seeking him always. Obviously as we yield more and more of our lives becoming more obedient, we become more and more intimate with our Father.
I have realized something since being back in the states about walking Jesus. Overseas your entire life is ministry because every time you step out of your door you are in the middle of lostness. Going to the store or to dinner you are walking Jesus among the lost. Overseas you are more focused and more dependent on God, but here in the states it is so easy to separate or segment our lives – now I’m doing my to-do list and running errands versus now I’m doing ministry. I’ve been guilty of not walking Jesus at all times, and I’ve realized that this is a part of my life that has not been yielded to Jesus.
Some quotes of John Eldredge about knowing God:
“An intimate conversational walk with God is available and is meant to be normal.”
“Intimacy with God is the purpose of our lives.”
“The goal of our existence is to know God, love Him and live our lives in an intimate relationship with Him.”
Leroy Light
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Proselytes vs. Disciples
I had a great time with the Lord this morning and I just had to share something that came up. I have been reading through a book called "Lead Like Jesus" and there is a story in there by Avery Willis that struck a nerve with me. He describes a time when he was president of a seminary in Indonesia when he was convicted of his leadership attitude. He read through Matthew 23 and heard the Lord correct many things that he was doing poorly or wrongly. Verse 15 jumped out to me when Jesus said, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert (proselyte), and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are." Really strong words from our Lord.
Avery shared his own personal convictions of how he had been making converts instead of disciples and that concept struck a nerve deep within me. Am I any different from the Pharisees here? Are you?
There are many similarities and overlaps, but there is a significant difference between proselytes and disciples. Proselytes change from one set of "rules to live by" to another; they change religions. Disciples don't follow rules, they follow a Person. So what's the difference, what's the application? In our attempts to "win people to the Lord" are we giving them a set of rules to live by, or are we giving them Jesus to follow?
Another way to look at it is like this. If someone decides to become a Christian and all we give them are teachings about Jesus, then we have missed the boat. Satan and his angels know much more about Jesus than most people in church on Sunday mornings. We must know Jesus personally and decide to trust Him with everything and follow Him anywhere, no matter the cost. There is a big difference between knowing about President Obama and knowing President Obama personally. There is an even bigger difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus closely enough to follow Him.
Do you think the first disciples knew what they were getting into when they heard, "Come follow me?" Maybe not, but they knew enough to leave everything and follow Him. What are we following? A set of rules to live by, or a Savior? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not _____________?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matthew 7:21-23) What will I fill in the blank with? What will you fill in the blank with?
Am I making disciples, or simply making converts to another religion? Am I giving people a Lord to follow, or a set of rules to live by? Am I showing others the way of Christ with my life, or talking about Jesus like I would a Hollywood star? What about you?
Blessings,
Shiloh
Avery shared his own personal convictions of how he had been making converts instead of disciples and that concept struck a nerve deep within me. Am I any different from the Pharisees here? Are you?
There are many similarities and overlaps, but there is a significant difference between proselytes and disciples. Proselytes change from one set of "rules to live by" to another; they change religions. Disciples don't follow rules, they follow a Person. So what's the difference, what's the application? In our attempts to "win people to the Lord" are we giving them a set of rules to live by, or are we giving them Jesus to follow?
Another way to look at it is like this. If someone decides to become a Christian and all we give them are teachings about Jesus, then we have missed the boat. Satan and his angels know much more about Jesus than most people in church on Sunday mornings. We must know Jesus personally and decide to trust Him with everything and follow Him anywhere, no matter the cost. There is a big difference between knowing about President Obama and knowing President Obama personally. There is an even bigger difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus closely enough to follow Him.
Do you think the first disciples knew what they were getting into when they heard, "Come follow me?" Maybe not, but they knew enough to leave everything and follow Him. What are we following? A set of rules to live by, or a Savior? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not _____________?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matthew 7:21-23) What will I fill in the blank with? What will you fill in the blank with?
Am I making disciples, or simply making converts to another religion? Am I giving people a Lord to follow, or a set of rules to live by? Am I showing others the way of Christ with my life, or talking about Jesus like I would a Hollywood star? What about you?
Blessings,
Shiloh
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Gather Round the Bus Stop
Over the past several years we have noticed there are several school bus stops in our area of Ocala where a vast number of children of all age groups gather to await their busses each morning. We first made this discovery when our nearby church was attempting to build a youth group. At that time we discussed ways in which we could interest these young people in participating with our church youth group and the best we could come up with was to invite them. This approach failed.
Recently Linda mentioned that she believed God was burdening her to pray with and for these parents and children and told me that she was determined to visit these bus stops weekly, preferably on Mondays. During each visit she would simply ask both parents and children if she could pray with or for them and, if they had any specific needs or concerns needing prayer. As Linda explained this ministry to me I heartily agreed and immediately thought of our phase one 2x2 Fellowship training “saturate the land with prayer.” I suggested that she contact Shiloh immediately and ask him to circulate her idea among the faithful in hopes of uniting many believers in a concerted prayer for its success.
Linda has outlined the following process for this ministry:
- Locate and select target bus stops (SE 56th Street Ocala, FL)
- Set a launch date
- Engage other believers to saturate this ministry with prayer
- Humbly approach these bus stops weekly asking adults if we could pray for their children – or children if we can pray for them specifically
- After a “yes” response, pray for:
Childs safety on the bus and at school For children to make good choices through the week For children to do their very best in school For specific requests
Possible opportunities that may develop as friendships are built and prayer needs arise:
- Prayer expands to multiple bus stops over a larger area
- Mom’s Bible studies
- Children’s Bible studies
- Couples Bible studies
- Introduction of family worship times
- Summertime fellowship activities including,, block parties, puppet skits, back yard Bible Clubs w/ storying
Once these weekly prayer times are established at specific bus stops, we begin praying for a “Prince or Princess of Peace” to carry it forward so we can move onto a new bus stop and reproduce, again, and again.
Children as well as parents living in today’s world encounter problems associated with broken homes, peer pressure, teachers, financial stress, and so much more. Our hope is for the bus stop prayer ministry to offer hope and peace in these areas with the ultimate goal of people coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and then reproducing similar ministries everywhere.
Please join us in prayer,
Daniel & Linda Draime
Way Behind
It's been a while since I blogged so I am way behind. I have all sorts of things to share, but I have been convicted recently of sharing too many of my stories and prayer requests and not enough stories from others that are walking in this faith experiment called Fellowship Project with me.
So, I am going to be catching up by sharing their stories as well as mine. I hope you enjoy.
Blessings,
Shiloh
So, I am going to be catching up by sharing their stories as well as mine. I hope you enjoy.
Blessings,
Shiloh
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