What is the Church?

Mark Driscoll's talk on "What is the Church?" is a tremendous resource. As a leader, what he says concerning about church discipline and about growing churches is great advice. While I'm not a Calvinist I tend to agree with Driscoll far more than I disagree. And in this case I'm 100% on board.

Difficulty in ministry is not an oxymoron

I wonder why peoeple think ministry is supposed to be soooo good. I wonder why we expect things to always go their way. I wonder why we think that just because we are willing to be obedient that we should be rewarded immediately. If anything we should expect God to ask us to do things like wait, and do it for a long time.

Yesterday I read Ezekial 4. I mean God, in an effort to return Israel's hearts back to God, commands Ezekial to be an example of the eventual siege of Jerusalem. Doesn't sound too bad, but it required that Ezekial be bound laying on his left side for 390 days. Then he gets to turn over and lay on his right side for an additional 40 days.

After experiencing about 21 days of sitting on my butt with out much ability to do anything I can't imagine what being tied up for 390 days would be like. I mean how does one go to the bathroom or eat laying on their side bound by ropes for 390 days. Who is their right mind would sign up for that kind of abuse?

Yet somehow an aire of entitlement has settled on many who are entering or are in ministry, and they just aren't willing to undergo that kind of abuse on behalf of God and for the sake of unrepentant people. It is not supposed to be a real glorious job of book signings, and six figure salaries, and news interviews, and conference speaking engagements. Many of us may be asked to lie on our sides for a while.

Gotta Listen

I can't take props for this. Perry Noble pointed me to it on his post today. But if you listen to any podcast this year you could not go wrong in listening to Matt Chandler's talk at Advance 09. I haven't listened to the rest of them, because I'm listening to Matt now for the second time. I may need to add him to the regularly scheduled podcasts. May God lead us to repentance of doing anything but lift up the name and character of Jesus Christ as leaders of His church - even if it costs us everything.

Matt's the lead pastor at The Village.

Silly Slap Them in the Name of Christ | Evotional.com

Here's another post by Batterson that I would hope every preacher would believe and practice. If you can't muster the passion then let someone else do the work. Silly Slap Them in the Name of Christ | Evotional.com

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It's because of Wickedness

I stumbled across Deuteronomy 9:4-5 this morning during my scripture reading.

" 4 "After the Lord your God has done this for you, don't say in your hearts, `The Lord has given us this land because we are such good people!' No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way.5 It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are about to occupy their land. The Lord your God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness, and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.""

Just before Israel is to cross into the Promised Land God reminds them that they really did nothing to get this opportunity. In fact, they did a lot of stuff as a nation up to this point that really disqualified a vast number of people, including Moses, from actually getting this opportunity.

I find myself in the Israelites position often. I need reminded that the Promised Lands of my life are not there because of anything I have done. Much of the reason I am given these Promised Lands is because of the wickedness of people.

Look at our adoption process as one example. One child we are to adopt lost her father and is losing her mother to AIDS. I'm not sure how they transmitted the disease, but something tells me it was promiscuity. The other two lost their father, and their mother lives in a desperate situation. While I was in Uganda in 2007 there were headlines detailing how wealthy the cabinet of the government was becoming. I also saw how a little cash can go a long way with government officials. Yet the only option for this mother was to give her children away because the one responsible for protecting her and providing for the family was no longer alive. That all sounds pretty wicked, doesn't it?

I need to keep in perspective that no matter how long it takes us to finally realize the dream of raising these children, that we are only getting this opportunity because of the wickedness of the world, and because God is entrusting us with the responsibility to redeem a little piece of that.

As a leader in the church I have to also keep in perspective that the only reason I get to preach, teach, etc. is because there is a wickedness that needs to be redeemed. It is far less because I am gifted to do either of those things. For if the world was without wickedness, then all we'd be doing is worship.