The Discipline of Confession is such a scary topic to discuss. I mean, think about the true depth of confession. Laying on the table all the junk of our lives. I sit here and wonder to myself if there is a statute of limitations on confession. Think about it, does there ever come a time when it's safe to confess. Confession to God is easy because we can lift up our prayers and sins at anytime and suffer no immediate effects. But what about loved ones, spouses, relatives?
You see, when we confess our sins to the Lord we are given forgiveness. Now, keep in mind that I believe there will still be consequences for our sin, but the consequences are often not as immediate or noticeable. But when we face the decision to confess sin to a loved one, the consequences could be dire. This is a quandary because there may be past un-confessed sin in your life that could potentially ruin a relationship. So the question becomes, do we confess, or do we hide? I have actually had to face this question myself when giving someone advice about revealing a portion of their life that might bring some sort of devastation to a loved one.
Thus, the reason I write. Tell me your thoughts on this subject. When it comes to confessing our past when our confession could potentially ruin a loving relationship, do we confess, or do we hide?
Randy
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Cross Training - The Inward Discipline of Confession
Ask anyone to define what they think confession means and I would dare say that most would connect confession to a deliberate action of sorrow for something they did wrong. Now, that sorrow could be because they hurt another human being, or that sorrow could be because they got caught, and if they got caught, then their deliberate action was probably coerced. Whatever the case may be, confession is never enjoyable. True confession leaves us vulnerable and transparent. No one every truly wants to say they're sorry.
The bible is filled with great passages concerning confession. One that truly reminds me of the power of confession comes from 1John 1:8-9 -- "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."
This passage can be broken into 4-sections:
• Our Responsibility – “If we confess our sins…”
• God’s Promise – “He is faithful and just…”
• God’s Provision – “…to forgive us our sins and purify us…”
• Our Roadblock – “…from all unrighteousness.”
Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline says this about the topic of confession and why we are so apprehensive - "Confession is so difficult a Discipline for us partly because we view the believing community as a fellowship of saints before we see it as a fellowship of sinners. We come to feel that everyone else has advanced so far into holiness that we are isolated and alone in our sin. We could not bear to reveal our failures and shortcomings to others. We imagine that we are the only ones who have not stepped onto the high road to heaven. Therefore, we hide ourselves from one another and live in veiled lies and hypocrisy."
This is so very true of our culture today when it comes to being transparent with others about our own weaknesses. Foster goes on, however, and makes, to me, a very unnerving statement - "But if we know that the people of God are first a fellowship of sinners we are freed to hear the unconditional call of God's love and to confess our need openly before our brothers and sisters." Zoinks!! Not sure that is the most healthy way to incorporate the discipline of confession into your life habits.
Confession within the hallowed walls of the church I believe is amazingly healthy when done within the context of trustworthy people. Maybe Foster meant for this to be the case, but he made it sound like the discipline of confession involved using a megaphone so your neighbor was aware of your sin. Not so healthy.
We are so blessed to know that our Savior listens to our pleas for forgiveness and redeems us when we confess our sin. We are doubly blessed when we can call a believing patriot into our lives that understands the power of confessing to one another. One of these blessings is the awareness we recieve in knowing that someone else struggles with sin just like we do.
Second, we become aware of the power of accountability. When a believing friend comes alongside us in the midst of our struggles what Solomon shared in Ecclesiastes 4:12 becomes that much more real - "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." A community of three - Myself / My Friend / The Holy Spirit. All three together in community assisting each individual in their search for forgiveness. Give it a try.
The bible is filled with great passages concerning confession. One that truly reminds me of the power of confession comes from 1John 1:8-9 -- "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."
This passage can be broken into 4-sections:
• Our Responsibility – “If we confess our sins…”
• God’s Promise – “He is faithful and just…”
• God’s Provision – “…to forgive us our sins and purify us…”
• Our Roadblock – “…from all unrighteousness.”
Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline says this about the topic of confession and why we are so apprehensive - "Confession is so difficult a Discipline for us partly because we view the believing community as a fellowship of saints before we see it as a fellowship of sinners. We come to feel that everyone else has advanced so far into holiness that we are isolated and alone in our sin. We could not bear to reveal our failures and shortcomings to others. We imagine that we are the only ones who have not stepped onto the high road to heaven. Therefore, we hide ourselves from one another and live in veiled lies and hypocrisy."
This is so very true of our culture today when it comes to being transparent with others about our own weaknesses. Foster goes on, however, and makes, to me, a very unnerving statement - "But if we know that the people of God are first a fellowship of sinners we are freed to hear the unconditional call of God's love and to confess our need openly before our brothers and sisters." Zoinks!! Not sure that is the most healthy way to incorporate the discipline of confession into your life habits.
Confession within the hallowed walls of the church I believe is amazingly healthy when done within the context of trustworthy people. Maybe Foster meant for this to be the case, but he made it sound like the discipline of confession involved using a megaphone so your neighbor was aware of your sin. Not so healthy.
We are so blessed to know that our Savior listens to our pleas for forgiveness and redeems us when we confess our sin. We are doubly blessed when we can call a believing patriot into our lives that understands the power of confessing to one another. One of these blessings is the awareness we recieve in knowing that someone else struggles with sin just like we do.
Second, we become aware of the power of accountability. When a believing friend comes alongside us in the midst of our struggles what Solomon shared in Ecclesiastes 4:12 becomes that much more real - "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." A community of three - Myself / My Friend / The Holy Spirit. All three together in community assisting each individual in their search for forgiveness. Give it a try.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Inward Discipline of Celebration / Worship
What an amazing discipline to study!!! That's all I have to say!! Actually, no it's not, but it should be. This discipline has been so "eye-opening" to me, both individually and from the experiences that have been shared with me of those within the body of Christ. All I can say is WOW!
This discipline is such a delicate one to target because in order to develop the discipline in our personal lives we must put our own personal celebration under a microscope and disect it and evaluate the pieces that hold it together. For me personally, what I see when I look into that microscope is a multitude of tiny particles, one that has a picture of ME, and another that has a picture of CHRIST, all connected together to look like a DNA double-helix. An erector set you might say, of what I have put together over the years to be the makeup of my celebration.
Obviously, I would hope that all of the pieces would reflect Christ in the double-helix, but the true reality of it is, no one really knows what that looks like, because our own celebration double-helix is so intertwined with our own personal experiences, and likes and dislikes of celebration. What eventually is contructed over time is really a mosaic that resembles confusion - no direction, no support, no target. True celebration in worship is the discipline of constantly pushing Christ forward in our worship partcipation and in our daily walk. You see, celebration in worship is more then our "Sunday morning" experience. It is the beginning and ending of our time with Christ. As we walk with him our worship becomes an expression of our journey with Him, sometimes to thank Him, sometimes to question Him. That is the ending. The beginning is Christ's reminder that he is journeying with us always.
Celebration with worship to me can be summarized in one word - partcipation. Christ has already taken on the task of partcipation as it relates to our personal lives, now our celebration with worship takes on the task of participation in Him, that's discipline. That discipline takes sweat and it moves us outside our comfortability into a new reality of who Christ is and what He demands of us.
There is no form or right way to worship and celebrate Jesus, but there is a right way to examine whether our celebration double-helix is "online" with who Christ is and what He has done for us. I think Isaiah 6 shares four simple truths of what we should experience in celebration - 1) The Goodness and Greatness of God; 2) The Promise of Redemption; 3) The Promise of Forgiveness; 4) The Call. Hopefully, as you examine the makeup of your own double-helix you will find it constructed with these truths.
Love to hear from you.
This discipline is such a delicate one to target because in order to develop the discipline in our personal lives we must put our own personal celebration under a microscope and disect it and evaluate the pieces that hold it together. For me personally, what I see when I look into that microscope is a multitude of tiny particles, one that has a picture of ME, and another that has a picture of CHRIST, all connected together to look like a DNA double-helix. An erector set you might say, of what I have put together over the years to be the makeup of my celebration.
Obviously, I would hope that all of the pieces would reflect Christ in the double-helix, but the true reality of it is, no one really knows what that looks like, because our own celebration double-helix is so intertwined with our own personal experiences, and likes and dislikes of celebration. What eventually is contructed over time is really a mosaic that resembles confusion - no direction, no support, no target. True celebration in worship is the discipline of constantly pushing Christ forward in our worship partcipation and in our daily walk. You see, celebration in worship is more then our "Sunday morning" experience. It is the beginning and ending of our time with Christ. As we walk with him our worship becomes an expression of our journey with Him, sometimes to thank Him, sometimes to question Him. That is the ending. The beginning is Christ's reminder that he is journeying with us always.
Celebration with worship to me can be summarized in one word - partcipation. Christ has already taken on the task of partcipation as it relates to our personal lives, now our celebration with worship takes on the task of participation in Him, that's discipline. That discipline takes sweat and it moves us outside our comfortability into a new reality of who Christ is and what He demands of us.
There is no form or right way to worship and celebrate Jesus, but there is a right way to examine whether our celebration double-helix is "online" with who Christ is and what He has done for us. I think Isaiah 6 shares four simple truths of what we should experience in celebration - 1) The Goodness and Greatness of God; 2) The Promise of Redemption; 3) The Promise of Forgiveness; 4) The Call. Hopefully, as you examine the makeup of your own double-helix you will find it constructed with these truths.
Love to hear from you.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Inward Disciplines - Solitude & Silence
I found the definition for the words Solitude and Silence, here they are...
Silence = “The voluntary and temporary abstention from speaking so that certain spiritual goals might be sought.”
Solitude = “The discipline of voluntarily and temporarily withdrawing to privacy for spiritual purposes.”
I was never a big Simon & Garfunkel fan, but I was reminded of a "song of silence" that they penned many moons ago. Do you remember?
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
Now that is some groovy stuff let me tell you. I'm not sure S & G had any real spiritual goal in mind, but what they wrote seemed to have a subtle connect to the importance and value of silence, especially since we are trying to incorporate the discipline of silence with inward spiritual growth.
We live in a noisy world! There is actually a Noise Awareness Day if you can believe that. I think for some of us, noise is an addiction. My best educated guess for why this seems to be true is because noise tells us that we aren't alone. That is comforting to us - a door slamming, someone driving a car in our driveway. It can also be a little discomforting, for instance, at night when you should be alone and then you hear a door slamming.
Some people try and escape through noise. We crank the music in our headphones so we can't hear the outside world. Truly, however, what we think is escaping is nothing more then moving from one prison cell to another. You see, we live in a world that believes the brighter the sign or the louder the advertisement, the greater the response will be, so everyone keeps attempting to outdo the other and what we have is this tsunami of noise coming at us and pretty soon we lose the power to even think and hear clearly.
Our Creator didn't make us to respond in this way. The creation account of humanity states that God walked with man in the garden. Why? Because God is a God of community and relationship. God wants to have a relationship experience with us. NOISE gets in the way of that relationship. It really comes down to the importance of priorities. Noise in our lives means that we have things going on that occupy our senses, namely our hearing - people talking, TV blarring, employers demanding. All of these things occupy our lives and often leave little room for the Lord to even be a dim thought in the corners of our mind. God wants more then that. He wants your undivided attention and he has the right to make those demands
I like what Donald Whitney says - "Perhaps you need to be alone with God and deal with some doubts and questions. Maybe you have come to a crisis of faith that needs time for prayer, deep thinking, and much soul searching. There's too much at stake to neglect the matter or to deal with it superficially. If your body had an emergency, you would take the necessary time to deal with it. Don't do any less for an emergency of the soul."
Silence = “The voluntary and temporary abstention from speaking so that certain spiritual goals might be sought.”
Solitude = “The discipline of voluntarily and temporarily withdrawing to privacy for spiritual purposes.”
I was never a big Simon & Garfunkel fan, but I was reminded of a "song of silence" that they penned many moons ago. Do you remember?
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
Now that is some groovy stuff let me tell you. I'm not sure S & G had any real spiritual goal in mind, but what they wrote seemed to have a subtle connect to the importance and value of silence, especially since we are trying to incorporate the discipline of silence with inward spiritual growth.
We live in a noisy world! There is actually a Noise Awareness Day if you can believe that. I think for some of us, noise is an addiction. My best educated guess for why this seems to be true is because noise tells us that we aren't alone. That is comforting to us - a door slamming, someone driving a car in our driveway. It can also be a little discomforting, for instance, at night when you should be alone and then you hear a door slamming.
Some people try and escape through noise. We crank the music in our headphones so we can't hear the outside world. Truly, however, what we think is escaping is nothing more then moving from one prison cell to another. You see, we live in a world that believes the brighter the sign or the louder the advertisement, the greater the response will be, so everyone keeps attempting to outdo the other and what we have is this tsunami of noise coming at us and pretty soon we lose the power to even think and hear clearly.
Our Creator didn't make us to respond in this way. The creation account of humanity states that God walked with man in the garden. Why? Because God is a God of community and relationship. God wants to have a relationship experience with us. NOISE gets in the way of that relationship. It really comes down to the importance of priorities. Noise in our lives means that we have things going on that occupy our senses, namely our hearing - people talking, TV blarring, employers demanding. All of these things occupy our lives and often leave little room for the Lord to even be a dim thought in the corners of our mind. God wants more then that. He wants your undivided attention and he has the right to make those demands
I like what Donald Whitney says - "Perhaps you need to be alone with God and deal with some doubts and questions. Maybe you have come to a crisis of faith that needs time for prayer, deep thinking, and much soul searching. There's too much at stake to neglect the matter or to deal with it superficially. If your body had an emergency, you would take the necessary time to deal with it. Don't do any less for an emergency of the soul."
Monday, March 7, 2011
Inward Disciplines - Solitude
My 3rd Grade teacher at Potterville Elementary School and I never saw "eye-to-eye." I still remember her calling my parents in for a "special Parent/Teacher meeting." Oh yeah! You know what I'm talking about don't you. It's the kind of meeting where you have to wait after school, after everyone else is gone, in a classroom with just you and your angry Teacher, until your parent can make it in. Awkward!! It seemed like an eternity of waiting. I mean, really, what are you to do while you wait amidst the awkward silence - "Hey, Ms H., can I clean the chalkboard as an act of kindness because you are my favorite teacher even though you called my parents in for a meeting because you hate me." Or better yet, "Hey, Mrs H., can I clean the chalkboard so I can smack the erasers together over your head and powder your face."
After my mom showed up, I found out what my teacher's issue was with me. She informed my mom and I that I was not a "good listener." Strangely enough, she was correct. I could place blame in many areas, but the reality of her statement actually rings very true today - I'm not a good listener. The occupation of ministry tends to frown on individuals who are not good listeners, but that is not where I am going with this article. I want to look at another kind of listening that calls us to the discipline of silence and solitude.
Most of the disciplines target an activity such as, reading God's word, or praying or serving. Solitude targets being quiet with a purpose and the purpose is developing the discipline of making Christ center-stage.
What I find to be most true about times of solitude is how the time of silence opens up a doorway for the Lord to address problem areas, specifically our attitudes. I spoke on this Sunday and used the story of Elijah on Mt. Horeb in 1Kings 19. I loved the question God asked Elijah following Elijah's 40-day trek to the mountain. The Lord asked him a very pointed question - "What are you doing here Elijah?" Now keep in mind, this is not the Lord asking a question out of ignorance. He is asking Elijah a question examining a problem area. What is so amazing to me was not that fact that the Lord spoke to Elijah, but how the Lord prepared Elijah to hear his voice. 40-days Elijah treked to Mt. Horeb. I am sure in the quietness of his journey Elijah was being prepared to listen to the God of the "gentle whisper."
Our lives are noisy aren't they? Kids screaming, spouses talking and/or complaining, bosses directing, people in general demanding our time and ear to listen to them. All of this monopolizes our time and ability to just chill. You see, no one demands our time more then God. He might be the Creator of the universe but he still demands uninterupted, one-on-one time with us, and he is not willing to scream above all the rest of the noise to get our attention, we have to make time. That time is where the discipline of silence and solitude are spent just listening to hear the Lord's voice, to feel his gentle nudge, to read his word and meditate on it and let it soak into the deepest part of our soul.
This discipline might be the most difficult one yet for you. It may even take longer then 28-days.
Can't wait to hear from you.
Randy
After my mom showed up, I found out what my teacher's issue was with me. She informed my mom and I that I was not a "good listener." Strangely enough, she was correct. I could place blame in many areas, but the reality of her statement actually rings very true today - I'm not a good listener. The occupation of ministry tends to frown on individuals who are not good listeners, but that is not where I am going with this article. I want to look at another kind of listening that calls us to the discipline of silence and solitude.
Most of the disciplines target an activity such as, reading God's word, or praying or serving. Solitude targets being quiet with a purpose and the purpose is developing the discipline of making Christ center-stage.
What I find to be most true about times of solitude is how the time of silence opens up a doorway for the Lord to address problem areas, specifically our attitudes. I spoke on this Sunday and used the story of Elijah on Mt. Horeb in 1Kings 19. I loved the question God asked Elijah following Elijah's 40-day trek to the mountain. The Lord asked him a very pointed question - "What are you doing here Elijah?" Now keep in mind, this is not the Lord asking a question out of ignorance. He is asking Elijah a question examining a problem area. What is so amazing to me was not that fact that the Lord spoke to Elijah, but how the Lord prepared Elijah to hear his voice. 40-days Elijah treked to Mt. Horeb. I am sure in the quietness of his journey Elijah was being prepared to listen to the God of the "gentle whisper."
Our lives are noisy aren't they? Kids screaming, spouses talking and/or complaining, bosses directing, people in general demanding our time and ear to listen to them. All of this monopolizes our time and ability to just chill. You see, no one demands our time more then God. He might be the Creator of the universe but he still demands uninterupted, one-on-one time with us, and he is not willing to scream above all the rest of the noise to get our attention, we have to make time. That time is where the discipline of silence and solitude are spent just listening to hear the Lord's voice, to feel his gentle nudge, to read his word and meditate on it and let it soak into the deepest part of our soul.
This discipline might be the most difficult one yet for you. It may even take longer then 28-days.
Can't wait to hear from you.
Randy
Inward Disciplines - Service Pt. 2
Of all the disciplines, the discipline of Service has to be the most manipulated. What do I mean by that? The discipline of Service characteristically has a primary focus that wavers between the primary recipient: Me or Christ. The discipline of service is one that requires as well the discipline of focus, because it is so easy to divert our attention from the proper recipient - Jesus Christ - and gravitate towards ourselves.
It is also very easy to become "self-seeking" in regards to rewards when it comes to the discipline of service. Most people like to be recognized for service, or at least they like to see results from their service. But what if neither of these were ever promised. I read this story recently that made me think a lot about my own service and my personal rewards.
On an ordinary winter day in 1961, an MIT meteorologist named Edward Lorenz ran some routine experiments and found some unusual results. Lorenz discovered that seemingly tiny and insignificant changes in his data could produce huge differences in the final result. At first, Lorenz and other scientists in the field of chaos theory called this "the sensitive dependence on initial data." Fortunately, later on Lorenz used a simpler term—"the butterfly effect." In 1972, Lorenz presented a scientific paper entitled "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set off a Tornado in Texas?" According to Lorenz's theory, the butterfly's wing-flapping doesn't actually cause a tornado, but it can start a chain reaction leading to giant changes in world-wide weather patterns. In others words, even tiny, insignificant movements or actions can produce huge changes that affect millions of people.
What if the butterfly effect was also true of our service? Though we would never know the immediate impact, what if our tiny acts of kindness set off a firestorm of activity that may never even happen in our lifetime? That's what I find so amazing about God's sovereignty. He can take our tiniest act of service and use it in amazing and powerful ways, ways which we may never see come to fruition, we are only called to be obedient. You see, Christ is always the recipient of our service. Paul reminded the Phillipian church of their target.
13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. 14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you.
Philippians 2:12-15 (NLT)
It's truly amazing what can happen to our service when we stop looking inwardly at the effects of our service on "US," and begin examining instead the effects of our service for Christ as it reaches out towards others. This attitude will dramatically change how we serve on Sunday at church, at work and at home.
Love to hear from you.
Randy
It is also very easy to become "self-seeking" in regards to rewards when it comes to the discipline of service. Most people like to be recognized for service, or at least they like to see results from their service. But what if neither of these were ever promised. I read this story recently that made me think a lot about my own service and my personal rewards.
On an ordinary winter day in 1961, an MIT meteorologist named Edward Lorenz ran some routine experiments and found some unusual results. Lorenz discovered that seemingly tiny and insignificant changes in his data could produce huge differences in the final result. At first, Lorenz and other scientists in the field of chaos theory called this "the sensitive dependence on initial data." Fortunately, later on Lorenz used a simpler term—"the butterfly effect." In 1972, Lorenz presented a scientific paper entitled "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set off a Tornado in Texas?" According to Lorenz's theory, the butterfly's wing-flapping doesn't actually cause a tornado, but it can start a chain reaction leading to giant changes in world-wide weather patterns. In others words, even tiny, insignificant movements or actions can produce huge changes that affect millions of people.
What if the butterfly effect was also true of our service? Though we would never know the immediate impact, what if our tiny acts of kindness set off a firestorm of activity that may never even happen in our lifetime? That's what I find so amazing about God's sovereignty. He can take our tiniest act of service and use it in amazing and powerful ways, ways which we may never see come to fruition, we are only called to be obedient. You see, Christ is always the recipient of our service. Paul reminded the Phillipian church of their target.
13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. 14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you.
Philippians 2:12-15 (NLT)
It's truly amazing what can happen to our service when we stop looking inwardly at the effects of our service on "US," and begin examining instead the effects of our service for Christ as it reaches out towards others. This attitude will dramatically change how we serve on Sunday at church, at work and at home.
Love to hear from you.
Randy
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Inward Disciplines - Service
Read this story and then ask yourself about the seriousness of the inward discipline of Service.
The Pony Express was a private express company that carried mail by an organized relay of horseback riders. The eastern end was St. Joseph, Missouri, and the western terminal was in Sacremento, CA. The cost of sending a letter was $2.50 an ounce. If the weather and horses held out and the Indians held off, that letter would complete the entire 2,000-mile journey in a speedy 10-days, as did the report of Lincoln’s Inaugural Address… The Pony Express lasted from April, 1860 – Nov. 1861… Being a rider for the Pony Express was a tough job. You were expected to ride 75-100 miles a day, changing horses every 15-20 miles. Other than mail, the only baggage you carried contained a kit of flour, cornmeal, and bacon. In case of danger, you also had a medical pack of turpentine, borax and cream of tartar. In order to travel light and to increase speed of mobility during Indian attacks, the men always rode in shirtsleeves, even during the fierce winter weather… How would you recruit volunteers for this hazardous job? An 1860 newspaper printed this ad for the Pony Express: “Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18. Must be expert riders willing to risk daily. Orphans preferred.” The Pony Express never had a shortage of riders.
I love this story and the reason I love it is because it tells a story about sacrifice. I don't have Webster's in front of me currently so I can't give you a "real" definition of sacrifice, so let me give you my own. Sacrifice to me is the willingness to completely invest in something greater then us. Sometimes it's an investment in something that does not provide a final chapter. You know what I mean? An ending that is visible. We are very willing to invest in something that provides an "end in sight," but not so much when we can't see the final outcome.
Now take the inward discipline of Service and mix it with Sacrifice and what you get is Sacrificial Service. Sacrificial Service inside and outside the church should be regarded as that pearl in Matthew 13. It was of such great value that the person purchasing it sold everything else in order to obtain it. I find that service should be valued in the same way when we connect our service to Christ. It then becomes sacrificial not just enjoyable. You see, far to many people today serve the kingdom because they find it enjoyable instead of sacrificial.
This last weekend I went back to a church I served for many years. It was an enjoyable reunion to see all of the faces of people I had the chance to work with and serve with, and to see all the kids who are now having their own kids. What I noticed more then anything, however, was the faces of leadership. The people who once were fans, now were participants, servants, leaders.
I am sure there have been times that they found their service not so enjoyable, but understood that the mission of Christ takes into account sacrifice. Sacrifice that desires to see the power of Christ to transform. Most of us don't serve sacrificially because very little sacrifice went into our own transformation in our relationship to Christ. So, we don't serve with the same energy that might be needed to transform our neighbor who desperately wants to see and meet Christ in a transformational and incarnational way. Sacrificial service will ask us to push aside our own enjoyment and be reminded of Whom we are serving, and while we diligently serve be reminded of Christ's power to diligently use some really sorry seed that we lay down. I know, sounds a bit harsh, but I too need to be reminded that Christ is the audience in everything I do and I am only the servant caring out his plan in a way that lies beyond my own imagination.
Can't wait to hear from you.
Randy
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