Category: Christianity (Page 15 of 23)

I’m so Fortunate.

April 8, 2015 / / 0 Comments

PovertyMy son has recently decided to join a team going on a mission trip to Haiti this summer. I was pretty excited for him when he told me because this will be his first. After he told me I started thinking about what God might do to his heart through this trip. My prayer for him leading up to it, appropriately picked from the book of James (my son’s name is James), is that he would visit and help and care for widows and orphans in their affliction  and need and that through that he would remain unstained by the world. Haiti seems like a good place for that to happen.

Before I go any further, full disclosure, I’ve never been on a mission trip. I know I’m a bad Christian. But, I’m living on mission right now, so that works, right? With that confession out-of-the-way, I also thought about how I’ve heard people respond when they return from mission trips. I feel like one of the most common responses is, “I saw how little the people had and it really made me appreciate how much I have. It helped me realize how fortunate I am and how much God has blessed me.”

WHAT? No, just no. On the surface, that’s a harmless, possibly even a good realization. But really what’s being said is, “Thank God I don’t have to go through what they are.” If a statement or realization like that isn’t followed up with something like, “So I decided to do something about that. Since then I’ve used the blessings that God has poured out on me to…fill in the blank” then the point of the entire mission trip is lost. I’m certain that the point of a mission trip to a country, like say Kenya, is not so that we can do them some big favor, like build a school and to remind us how fortunate we are so that we can go home and rest easy in our comfy bed knowing that we did our due diligence as a good Christian and that we’re well blessed for it.

I’m not saying that having stuff is bad. I’m not even saying that we ought to sell all we have and give it to the poor (Jesus said that, I didn’t). What I am saying is that if our response to seeing people hurting and in need is not to give out of our abundance, then maybe we missed the part of Jesus’ ministry where He said, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Maybe we don’t take serious the early churches example when they “were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Maybe we’re so content in our blessing that we’ve forgotten that God’s abundant supply is intended for us to abound in every good work. That we are blessed to distribute freely to those in need.

I’m years into my walk with Jesus and I’m just learning to do this. I don’t pretend to have it figured out and I’m not pointing fingers at anyone, before I point it at me. We are so fortunate in our country. Many of us don’t go to bed hungry. We don’t have to walk to get our water. We feel safe in our homes. We have cars and money and flat screens and iPhones. And there’s nothing wrong with any of that. But our trips to third world countries or poor neighborhoods in our own cities shouldn’t draw us to relief, it should move us toward Jesus with an urgency to remedy those needs that God has enabled and equipped us for.

My wife and I recently decided to add a generosity line item into our budget. Our desire is simply to find opportunities to be generous and fill a need. I’d love for you to join us in that. Because I’m a Twitter and Instagram glutton I would love to see people tweets and instagrams of people being generous, but I don’t want to make this some crazy social media circus. Not that there’s anything wrong with sharing that stuff as testimony, with our community and close others that will be blessed and benefit from the word of it. In addition to that I want to honor Jesus’ instruction to “not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.” So, we’re not going to do that, but we can share ideas for generosity and blessing others out of our blessing in the comments, so…

How are some ways we/you can bless others? #FortunateForOthers

If you found this article helpful or enjoyable (or both), please do me a solid and click one of those share buttons.

Thanks.

My Kingdom Come, Not Yours God

April 6, 2015 / / 0 Comments

used from http://christinaammerman.com/why-you-cant-make-more-money/

I’ve been on a little bit of a John the Baptist kick the last couple weeks. My favorite thing about John is his dedication and faithfulness to his call to prepare the way for Jesus. In addition to that, I love the humility that comes with his faithfulness. His whole ministry revolves around him decreasing so that Christ can increase. I hope to be half that type of leader and follower. There have been times, while leading various ministries that I have had to stop and check myself to make sure that I wasn’t trying to build my kingdom, over God’s Kingdom. In those times I would reflect on John the Baptist to help baseline what I was doing and to check myself before I wrecked myself. I am truly sorry for that, but it was necessary.

In that baseline, there were a few measures that I used as filters to help determine whose kingdom was being built. Obviously this isn’t all inclusive, but they were helpful. Here’s three ways that know that your pastor/church leader is more concerned about building God’s Kingdom, rather than his.

1.  He points people toward Jesus, rather than himself.

The most important thing that John knew to be true was that nothing was about him. He knew that he existed for one purpose and that was to point people to Christ. He spent his life preaching the coming of The Christ and that rattled and frustrated the religious leaders. There was a lot of speculation that he might be the Messiah, or Elijah or the Prophet of old, but John was quick to confess, “I am not the Christ.” In fact, John was very clear in what his purpose was. He said that he baptized with water “that he [Jesus] might be revealed to Israel.” Everything John said pointed people to Jesus. 

I heard a story at work last week about a lady that said she was surprised at how much they talked about Jesus during an Easter Sunrise Service. I’m not going to mention how ridiculous that statement is. The point is, that should never be anyone’s response to our churches. Even if the only thing an unbeliever knows about Jesus is His name, they should not be shocked to hear it over and over in our churches and dare I say our everyday life. As Christians in general, everything we do; the way we talk, work, interact with others, lead, follow, serve, love, everything, should point toward Jesus. That requirement is increased with church leaders and pastors because their positions only exist to point people to Jesus; and yes that includes preparing people to work in His ministry. Leaders that talk about their accomplishments more than what God is doing, are probably more concerned about their kingdom.

2.  He prepares goers.

Even before Jesus commanded His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations,” John the Baptist was preparing disciples to follow Jesus. John explained himself as “the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” He saw himself a person called to prepare people to follow Jesus. He knew his task, his calling, was to prepare people for Jesus’ arrival, identify Him once He had come and then move out of the way. A leader that is concerned with building God’s Kingdom prepares people to follow Jesus and equips them to go “do the work of the ministry.” Leaders and pastors are preparers; they are equippers. If a pastor doesn’t understand that, then they don’t understand their role in the body and they’re likely to be less concerned about building God’s Kingdom and more about building one around them.  The other side of that coin reveals a leader’s willingness to release people as they’re prepared. Not only did John prepare people to go with Christ, he didn’t stop them when it was time for them to leave. That brings us to our last point.

3.  He doesn’t discourage people from leaving.

John the Baptist was a pro at this; you might miss it if you don’t read carefully. John 1:35-37 says, “The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.” John was so pro, he didn’t even say anything to the two disciples; he just let them go. They knew what they were called to and they followed, with no objection from John and both stayed with Jesus. John had been preparing people for Jesus’ arrival and that included his disciples, who he obviously expected to eventually leave him so that they could follow Jesus.

I once heard a pastor say, “The right way to view your congregation is to consider every person, sitting in every pew a church planter.” The point he was making was that Jesus didn’t make any of His followers exempt when He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” and “…you will be my witnesses…to the end of the earth.” All His followers received the Great Commission and we’re all obligated to building His Kingdom. Of course that doesn’t mean that every congregant will plant some huge mega-church, but everyone is gifted to contribute to building The Kingdom in some way. When I’ve had the opportunities to lead, I always tried to encourage an atmosphere of “Yes”. If someone came and said they wanted to start something new, my first response was “Yes.” That didn’t mean I led it, funded it or even resourced it, but I absolutely encouraged them, spent time cultivating the passion for it and providing guidance and counsel as I was able. If it didn’t work, ok, try again next time. If it did work then sweet. While discernment is a gift and wholly important, I struggle with the idea that a leader can or should tell someone that they’re not called or meant to lead or minister in a certain area or way. It almost places your vision higher than what God may be calling them to and because we’re not able to see how God works in another’s heart, I’d rather say yes, than be the roadblock to God doing what He wants.

I never wanted to lose people, I loved them and moving on sucks, but if they came to me and felt like God was calling them to something new, I didn’t try to make them stay or discourage them from what they felt God was saying to them. As a leader it wasn’t my place to define God’s call on them. Instead, I was called to equip them to leave. When you view it that way, it becomes far less about your ability and kingdom and completely about God’s infinite ability and The Kingdom. 

Building our kingdom is about adding. We add until we overwhelm an area. We add until we’re confident we have enough to be a “major player” in whatever game we’re in. It rarely involves multiplying. It may involve duplication, because we can still control that because it’s simply and extension of the same. But, multiplication is different than duplication. (To be clear and before any pastors flip out, this is not a dig on churches planting campuses. I attend a church with seven campuses and they have a heart for sending and it’s evident that the lead pastor is wholly concerned with building God’s Kingdom.) Multiplication is not “more of the same” and brings the very real and almost assured element of change. There may be similarities, but multiplication in God’s Kingdom, surrenders human control to divine control and allows that new thing to be what God has called it to be, for the sake of His Kingdom. Not everyone will go, but as leaders our commission it to prepare everyone as if God is going to call them to go.

What are some other ways that might show a leaders heart for building God’s Kingdom?

If you enjoyed this post, do me a solid and click one of the share buttons. Thanks.

In Memory of Jesus

April 1, 2015 / / 0 Comments

empty tombWe’re approaching that time of year when the obligation of a years worth of missed church prompts us to put our family in sundresses and slacks, load them into the car and head to the nearest, often most popular, church. It’s the time of year when even small churches get to experience an attendance boom. It’s the time of year that a lot of pastors focus a lot of attention on preparing for because of the potential for congregational growth. This Sunday, pastors will preach their hearts out about the death and resurrection of Jesus in an attempt to draw people into Jesus and eternity. It’s Easter!

Last week there was a knock on my door and when I answered it a lady in a nice spring hat, the kind of hat that you expect to see in a country church in Georgia, handed me a flyer. As she handed it to me she said, “We’d like to invite you to a memorial service for the death of Jesus.” At the time what she said didn’t even register and I said, “Thanks, I already have a church, but have a good day.” After closing the door and looking at the flyer, I saw that they were Jehovah’s Witnesses and what she said clicked, “a memorial service for Jesus’ death.” I think that’s how most people, especially those that aren’t Christians or even the “Christians” that only attend on Christmas and Easter, look at Easter; a memorial service for Jesus’ death.

I get to work at Arlington National Cemetery. I say “get” because it’s a really cool place to work. Aside from the honor of getting to work in a place where so many heroes have their final resting place, it’s steeped in history. Anyway, I get to work there. Every year they host an Easter Sunrise Service at the amphitheater at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It’s this gorgeous, all marble, amphitheater on the back of the tomb. The service is huge, something like 2000 attendees. People come from all over the to attend. A few days ago my boss told me that last year he had spoke with a woman that traveled from Buffalo, New York to attend. He said she told him that the service was nice, but she “didn’t expect there to be that much ‘Jesus’ in the service.” WHAT? It’s a church service, on Easter. If there are ever a time you should expect to hear the name Jesus in church, aside from all the time, it’s on the days of His birth and His resurrection. But there it is. People don’t expect to hear Jesus in church anymore. Side note: that’s one of the reasons I’m convinced that church is for the believer. If people do come expecting to hear about Him, it’s in the form of a memorial service. For Christians, we have to be careful to not treat it as a memorial service. Easter is not a memorial of his death. Easter is the day that we acknowledge His resurrection & celebrate of His victory over death.

That’s not to say His death is inconsequential. On the contrary, the cross is essential to our faith. Without it there is no forgiveness of sin. It was on the cross that Jesus took on all of sin for all eternity. It was on the cross that sin was crucified and the debt of it was paid. It was on the cross that we we’re freed from our bondage to death. The cross is crucial, but it isn’t the end all. Likewise the tomb was important in the process. But, neither is it the focus of our faith. While the empty tomb plays an important role in our faith, it is not the center of it. The tomb was simply a launching point for the greatest event in all of eternity. It was the stage that would showcase a phenomenon that would change history forever. So, we ought to simply pause at the tomb. We pause to marvel and awe at the wondrous miracle that took place there. Then we are to run from it, but not in despair. We run in glad celebration. We run to other believers so that we can celebrate the splendor of the Good News that the tomb lay empty. We run to tell others that haven’t heard, so they might be brought into celebration with us.  Our faith has little to do with the tomb and everything to do with why it’s empty.

It’s empty because He lives. The cross without the resurrection is, essentially, the same thing that the Israelites had been doing for millennia; simply a sacrifice for sin. It’s the resurrection that changes everything. Forgiveness of sin is inconsequential if the end result is the same. Going to the grave without sin is still going to the grave. But, it’s the resurrection that changed that and that’s what we’re celebrating. On Easter we celebrate that “the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” is made available to us. I’m actually glad that people feel obligated to attend church on Easter. It provides the opportunity for them what Easter is really about and provides us the opportunity to explain that to them. I still believe that the church gathering is intended for the believer, to prepare them for the work of the ministry (i.e. living life with others), and to celebrate Jesus, but I also know that we can’t get around the fact that unbelievers will come this Sunday and we should be prepared to preach the cross, Him crucified and why His resurrection matters.

Here’s links to the Easter story:

Jesus’ Trial
Jesus’ Crucifixion
Jesus’ Burial
Jesus’ Resurrection

If you found this post helpful, please share the love and click one of the share buttons. Thanks.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 BrucePagano.com

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑