A Question Of Failure

So far this week, the discussion has revolved around stories. Monday’s post revolved around our church beginning a Bible study series from Zondervan Publishing, called The Story. Yesterday, we heard from a man named Max regarding his story in a piece entitled Your Life Is the Greatest Story Ever Told. In this, he discussed the premise from Donald Miller, “that some of us are not living the right story." This is a fair question to ponder upon for all of us. As was said yesterday, many more questions arise than answers.

In any story, situations in life shape us. Successes, failures, setbacks, unforeseen occurrences; that take the very life away from us. Today, failures in life are the topic. Simply put, we all experience failures of some type. What failures have you experienced? There are many that come to mind; failures in our jobs; personal failures; family failures; relational failures, all of which shape how we view ourselves.

I came across a blog post by Dan Rockwell, a.k.a. @Leadershipfreak, entitled, The Question that Changes You. In his post, he discusses failures as such. Dan puts it this way.

“Failure humbles you by demonstrating your lack of knowledge and ability. Failures, additionally, burst the bubble of perceived control. Failure breaks up old ways of thinking and doing. Failures are followed by nagging questions. What would you do differently? What have you learned? These are good questions but they aren’t life changing.”

He then goes on to say,

“I asked a leader I’m coaching how his recent experiences changed the way he viewed himself. The question that changes you is about “being” not “doing”. Engage in self-reflection by asking – how have my experiences changed the way I think about me.”

Wow! Lots to ponder today when you finish reading. So my question is this, “what about our being?” Where do we find and nurture that sense of "being" that Dan discusses? Can small groups be that nurturing place of “self-reflection” and safe open dialogue (regarding our failures) that connects others in the same place in life? More to come! 

Story #1

I went searching today for a story to write about. If you read yesterday's post, you would know that I am discussing how important each of our personal stories are. After perusing my Twitter feed, I came across a story by Max Dubinsky, found on a website known as People Of The Second Chance. In his personal story, entitled, Your Life Is The Greatest Story Ever Told, he recounts this.

"I’ve been reading Donald Miller’s book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. It’s the story of him editing his life into a story fit to be made into a movie. Miller discusses how hard it is to remember the life you’ve lived, how memories get lost in a few drinks in a few years, and whether life even happened if you can’t remember it.

He believes we all have a story to tell, and that some of us are not living the right story".

Max points out some salient points put forth by Donald Miller. Would each of us, as Miller puts it, "remember the life you've lived..." Would it be possible to recount our story if asked to write a screenplay about our life? How would other actors fit into our story? Tough questions to consider. How would you answer? What would your story look like?

What about his last statement, “that some of us not living right story.” How does that sit with you? Could this mean that we are not living the life God has called us to live? Have we even considered this aspect of our story? Again, lots of questions with answers begging to become known.

So where do we begin? How will our story play out? 

Our Stories

This fall, our church is embarking on a campaign to get our members to begin reading their bibles on a regular basis. As I stated in my previous blog post, "we have got to start somewhere." So this is where we will begin as a church. We are beginning with Zondervan Publishing's, The Story.

As we begin, we have to come together as church to start listening to the story God has given us in his word. In keeping with the idea of God's story, we also have to listen to each others story as well. Our stories define us personally, as a church, and as a community of believers. With that being said, we each need to tell our stories; we also need to hear others stories as well.

As a small group pastor, I am praying that God will send forth those in our church, as well as churches everywhere to start telling their own personal stories of how God has changed their lives. You can even send me your story! I would love to hear it and include it in my blog.

Let the story begin!

We Have To Start Somewhere

One of life's most intimidating things is starting something new. At first, the excitement of beginning a new project really gets your momentum in full swing. Then comes the part where we begin to dream. Once that is past then you have to start. The question is where? That for me is where the intimidation begins.


I write these words as a group of Christ followers begin development of a small groups ministry at our church. We have attempted small groups in the past, however, with little or no success. Currently, we have two small groups who have been meeting once a month for the past two years. We have one small group that just disbanded which lasted three years. As of writing this, we have been blessed with the beginning of two new small groups. We are fervently praying that the two new groups will be a catalyst for more growth this fall. Currently, we are working on implementing a church-wide Bible study/small group study with  Zondervan's Story curriculum. You can learn more about this at www.zondervan.com.

So, for us, prayer is where are going to begin. As we pray, we will be listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit to guide our ministry team in the direction he would have us to go. After that we will begin to chronicle what the Holy Spirit is doing and where he his leading us in this blog.

Like I said, we have to start somewhere.

Our Next 40 Days

Eugene Cho recently asked this question in a blog he wrote concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “Resurrection! So What?” His comments were made in this context; the importance of the sermons we preach after Easter has come and gone. After much wrestling and hand wringing I couldn’t agree more!

After praying on this matter, I was led to the following scriptures in the book of Acts. Here is what Luke had to say.

The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Acts 1:1-3 NASB

 In keeping with Cho’s admonition regarding our sermons, the same can be said for how we carry the message of the resurrection to those we meet on a daily basis. Our sermons even being how we live out our life! The idea being that the message of the resurrection is the cornerstone of the church and our eternal life in Jesus Christ. Radical ideas if you ask me. However, we are called to be radical believers as well! Lets look at each admonition seen in the scriptures below.

“…after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.”

 This is a very important aspect of our walk with Christ. We too have received the Holy Spirit; this means that Christ has given us our orders as well. This very important aspect is witnessed in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit indwelled upon the early church on the day of Pentecost, in the form of “fire” coming to rest upon each of the Apostles whom Jesus had chosen. Each receiving the ability to communicate in a different language. Thus the message of the cross could be spread in a cross-cultural manner. We are no different. We have the same Holy Spirit as that of the Apostles. We are to “Go” as Jesus tells us to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to everyone. Christ chose us with blood shed on the cross!

“To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days…”

Forty days is a significant amount of time. John Polhill has this to say to whet our theological appetites.

“It (the forty days) is a time frame with rich biblical associations—the period in the wilderness, the time Moses spent on Sinai receiving the law, the period of Elijah’s sojourn…most of all it evokes the period of                                                                      Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4:2). Just as it was a time when Jesus prepared for his ministry, so for forty days the risen Jesus prepared his followers.” (Polhill 82)

 This coming and going of Jesus is important; that Jesus found it necessary to continue to demonstrate to them, the miracle of the resurrection in clear and convincing ways, “proofs” if you will. The Greek word “proofs” (tekmeriois) “is a technical term from logic, meaning “demonstrative proof, evidence.” (Polhill) The Bible lists these proofs very emphatically through Luke: the Emmaus road (24:13-32), to Peter (24:34), and to the disciples (24:36-43). This clearly gives us the knowledge that as Jesus was preparing his apostles for the work ahead, the same can be said for us. We too are being prepared for the work ahead. Thus, the thrust of what I am writing about today.

 It has been sixteen days since we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. This means there are twenty-four more days in the forty-day post resurrection day period. My question is this, “are we taking advantage of the forty-day period to prepare for what God is going to ask us to do in 2011?” Are we truly seeking God in prayer, fasting, and meditation on his word? Are we prepared to undertake the calling of a true disciple of Jesus?

 Finally, are we “… speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God” to the culture we inhabit? To our family? Our children? Each other? This is one of the most important aspect of being a follower of Jesus Christ. The end-result of our spiritual journey is heaven, of course. However, the end-result of Jesus’ reign is the unfolding or coming of the Kingdom of God. The time will come when the world as we know it will no longer exist.

 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10 NASB)

 If this is the case, how then are we to act, to prepare for that day. Peter gives us the answer to this as well.

“Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you…” (2 Peter 3:15-15 NASB)

salvific process? Paul says this in this regard.

 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you,                                                                     both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:11-13 NASB)

 This is a lot to take in, in such a short space as this; however, the ramifications of not examining this—our walk with Christ—can’t be over stated or discussed for that matter. A lot is riding on this! Our lives as well as the lives of others. Lets not waste precious time thinking (although we need too); let’s use the time praying, fasting, and meditating on being intentional in the area of what Christ called us to do. Read God’s word! Renew your walk with Christ! Attend church! Serve outside the church!

Most importantly, if you don’t know Jesus as your savior, don’t hesitate; accept him as your savior! Be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins; receive your gift of the Holy Spirit! It’s never too late.

Let us not waste anymore time!

Do We Really Want To Grow?

In our church commons area you will find a bulletin board with a poster that asks the following; “are you ready to grow?” Simple question really; however, the question is loaded with much to ponder and pray about. Of course, the answer to the question will be either yes or no. The obvious question then, is “what do you mean are you ready to grow?” does that mean we must grow numerically and spiritually? Yes! Does that mean we have to get involved? Yes! Like I said earlier, pretty simple!

⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

               When we read Luke’s account of the early church, we see some rather astonishing things taking place in the realm of individual and church growth. These ideas (described by Luke) involve connecting people; serving others; growing in our knowledge and love of the lord; as well as spreading the gospel to our community. All of these combined bring synergy conducive for the Holy Spirit to begin its work.  Then and only then can real and sustainable growth begin.

First, we need to understand that life is to be lived in community, not isolation. People need people. “They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper and shared their meals with great joy…” (Acts 2:46 ESV).  In essence they enjoyed each other’s company! They enjoyed fellowship amidst taking of the Lords Supper as well as eating together. Sounds kind of like the church we are a part.

Our culture, our society if you will, comprises many different individuals existing together. Peter Wagner and Donald McGavran tell us in their book Understanding Church Growth that “People exist not as discrete individuals, but as interconnected members of some society. Normal people are not isolated units but part of a whole that makes them what they are.” The same goes for our church; we are a community of Christ followers. We need people who are dedicated to the Lord to help those outside of Christ to come to know him in a personal and fulfilling way. Thus helping them to become disciples as well.

Secondly, when we worship and study together as did the early church, it comes as no surprise that we begin to serve others. The early church was no different.

³²Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. ³³And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold ³⁵and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. (Acts 4:32-35 ESV)

It goes without saying that serving is a natural extension of the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon those who follow him. The Apostle Paul tells us this in 1 Peter 4:10-11.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

In fact, we will be no different. We will by extension of Christ’s character and sacrifice be the hands and feet of the risen Savior. To, as the scriptures say, find “great grace” upon us to do as the early church did. In “great power” we will give our testimony to whom Jesus is as we serve not only each other but also the community.

Third, as we continue in the path taken by the early church, we will begin to grow in our knowledge of God and come to love him more.  When we go back and look at our original scriptural reference in Acts, we witness the believers worshipping together, much like we do today. Luke writes. “They worshiped together at the Temple each day…” Not only did they worship together on the Sabbath, they worshipped each day. Imagine with me for a moment, if we as a body did the same; not only on Sunday but other days as well. Imagine what would take place as a church; also individually, revival would begin. Imagine if our families did the same; our children would be blessed; our marriages would be strengthened. The body overall would become one.

Finally, the end product of all of the above would be the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ not only to our community but the entire world. The church would increase numerically and spiritually. The simple truth is that “…each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47 ESV).  My question then is “why we wouldn’t want to grow?” Just a thought!

I love culture...I study the culture...I believe in the culture; the amazing culture created by God in the garden. Sadly, that culture fell because of sin. As a result, man had to work within the culture they chose to worship instead of the creator, God “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

(Genesis 3:17‐19 ESV)

Until this very day, our culture remains cursed...full of pain and suffering.

I also love the culture God has allowed us to be part and parcel to. It’s fun! It’s Confusing! It’s where we live! It’s also where we raise our families. With that being said, we must make an effort to understand what is going on.

Webster’s dictionary defines culture as, “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also, the characteristic features of everyday existence shared by people in a place or time.” Alternatively, Andy Crouch in his book Culture Making, says; “culture is what we make of the world.” Both definitions are compelling indeed.

As followers of Christ, we are called to go into the culture (the world) to make it a better place, to reclaim for God his creation. In the original covenant agreement, God called the Israelites to the same mission. In Exodus 19, we hear God telling Moses to tell his people.

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:4‐6 ESV)

Christopher H.J. Wright, in his book The Mission of God, writes,

It is richly significant that God confers on Israel as a whole people the role of being his priesthood in the midst of the nations. As the people of YHWH they would have the historical task of bringing the knowledge of God to the nations, and bringing the nations the offer of atonement with God. (Wright 331)

On the other hand, we must not forget what God announced to Abraham in the same regard.

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and him     who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:3 ESV)

What is important for us to remember is that we are the same— called—to do the same...to be a blessing to the nations; our communities, our culture. We are God’s treasured possession. Peter tells us, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own pos‐ session, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9 ESV).

What is significant—even in today’s culture— is the unfolding of God’s redemptive plan to reconcile the world and its people to himself; the Missio Dei, which translates “sending of God.” In 1934, Karl Hartenstein, a German missiologist, coined the phrase in response to Karl Barth and his emphasis on actio Dei (Latin for “the action of God”).

When kept in the context of the Scriptures, missio Dei correctly emphasizes that God is the initiator of His mission to redeem through the Church a special people for Himself from all of the peoples (τα εθνη) of the world. He sent His Son for this purpose and He sends the Church into the world with the message of the gospel for the same purpose.

According to David J. Bosch, "mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God. God is a missionary God." Jürgen Moltmann says, "It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church. "There is church because there is mission, not vice versa. The Church must not think its role is identical to the missio Dei; the Church is participating in the mission of God.

What is at stake then is the redemption of mankind. It is also the idea that reconciliation must take place. As F. F. Bruce points out: “... the Christian gospel . . . tells how for the world’s redemption God entered into history, the eternal came into time, the kingdom of heaven invaded the realm of earth, in the great events of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. ”

To bring it home, Paul gives us this admonition; how we are to respond to the call of God in His mission for the church.

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to him‐ self and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:18‐20 ESV)

In the final analysis, I see many questions that beg an answer to the idea of wading into the cultural morass. How is this going to take place, is one of many that we can pray about. We can stand idly by any longer with our heads in the sand or hiding behind a wall of fear and separation. We must all collectively come to the table with ideas and ways for all of the above to be achieved. I, myself, look forward to this taking place.

This is deep

I have begun teaching a Sunday Bible study class to a group of adults; with ages ranging from 50 (me) to 65 and older. They are a great group of believers who have been in the church for most of their lives. They are faithful church attendees as well.

Together, we have been discussing how our faith intersects with the culture we all inhabit. That many times our church has missed many valuable opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those living outside our church walls. My intent through this teaching was to demonstrate to them of the need to be "culture makers" as Andy Crouch discusses in his book Culture Making. That we indeed are called by Jesus to influence the culture via the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Last Sunday after our time together, one of the ladies from the class came to me and said, "you are teaching some deep stuff in our class!" I wasn't sure how to take her comments. Was she complimenting or complaining? I asked her what she meant. She replied that "I have never discussed or even thought of the world outside of our church door, or for that matter how much the culture we live in influences us." I might even speculate that many mature churchgoers feel the same sentiment as this wonderful lady, wife, and grandmother. After some further discussion, I pointed out the fact that as a wife and grandmother, she has an important mission; to grow in these areas as a follower of Christ.

This idea that we grow as followers of Christ--even as we mature--is almost a foreign idea to many of those who have been in the church as faithful attenders.  I believe that many of our mature followers of Christ have reverted to the notion that they have learned all there is to learn. With this frame of reference, I can understand why to this lady, some things can seem to be "deep stuff" indeed.

To bring the point home to her, I asked her how old her granddaughter was. She replied, "she is four-years-old." I then offered to her the idea that she has an important task in helping her granddaughter discover Jesus Christ; to help her one day find her own faith.  Her witness to her from her experience is invaluable to say the least. In addition, I also pointed out the effect she could have on her daughter in the same manner. "You know, you're absolutely right," she answered.

As leaders and teachers in the church, we need to be available and willing to point out (in love of  course) to those with the same mindset, just how important growing and maturing in Christ in fact is. We never stop growing. To do so would be disastrous indeed.