Category Archives: leadership

May 28 2012
1 Comment
Bible, Christianity, Faith, Jesus, leadership

@alanhirsch – ReJesus, session 1 at #nwlc12

What does it mean to be apostolic movements?

What’s common in such exponential impacting movements?

Movement thinking = every believer has the potential for world transformation.

That’s the only way to explain what’s happened in China, when the people of God get to play because the clergy were taken out of the way.

This is latent in us, waiting to be recovered.

We are living in ‘The Age of the Unthinkable’

We have to think like revolutionaries again. We’ve been too complacent and need to think like movements. Across Europe, we’ve seen what happens when the church doesn’t.

LEADERS ARE KEYS

Max DuPree; ‘The first task of a leader is to define reality.’

So, you as a leader set the idea for your people to lock or unlock them. You have the keys of the kingdom! (The Pharisees didn’t use them).

How we see things matters immensely.

We all have paradigms. Reality streams at us, our paradigms help us screen them.

Church has a Christendom paradigm. Paradigms shape the way we see. Choosing one deselects the other. The renewal of the church is first of all a reimagining. We need to dethrone Constantine as the emperor of our imaginations!

The church is on the back foot in every western setting as a result of that thinking. We need to rexamine 4 things.

  1. Our Christology
  2. Our Discipleship
  3. Our Mission

4) Our Structures

1. RE:JESUS 

Christology lies at the heart of the renewal of the Church.

If we’re ever unsure what we’re about- we must always go back to HIM. Christianity must manifest Him. cf. Kinnaman & Lyons – ‘Unchristian.’ People think the church doesn’t look like Jesus. If the church isn’t on about what he is on about – what are we doing?!

To the degree we get Jesus wrong, we create a toxic religion that produces

William Temple: ‘If your conception of God is radically false, the more devout you are, the worse it will be for you, better you be an atheist.’ 

It’s not so much that Jesus is like God – it’s that God is like Jesus.

Andrew says, ‘show us the Father!’ Jesus says, ‘I am the manifestation of Him!’

We are CHRISTian people. If we don’t reflect who he is, our legitimacy is in question.

We must radicalise to missionise!

We need refounding. To go back to our founder.

If you have buttoned up your shirt wrong, you have to undo, then redo again. What do we need to redo?

Are people looking at us and seeing Him?

This is a point for calibration.

X – M – E

Our Christology determines our Missiology which forms our Ecclesiology.

Our problem comes when our Ecclesiology comes to incorporate Jesus into itself. We make Jesus like us and domesticate him. Most churches = only about 2% care about mission.

Jesus has been subverted out of his own religion (Jacques Ellul). A lot of people are coming to church and not finding the Nazarene there.

Jesus and religion don’t mix!

Christianity minus Christ = Religion (what he came to save people from!).

The Pharisees had a lot to commend them. Loved scriptures and searched it. Believed in miracles. Prayer. Identity. Tithed.

AND they were the people most responsible for putting Jesus in the cross.

AND they were most like us evangelicals.

The closest party to what Jesus stood for were most responsible for killing him.

Religion kills us.

What would happen if Jesus came to your church?

Would we kill him again? Or run him out of town?

Pharasaism is a disease of faith. We need to be saved from that.

We re-create God in our own image.

The most common image people have of Jesus – is exactly what he wasn’t! He was divine/ordinary. People think he’s anglo-saxon, spooky, glowing, carrying lambs and cuddling kids or a bearded lady, with his sacred heart in his hand. No wonder people run from him. Who’s going to charge for him? Or he’s just the buddy who wants to take you as you are rather than calls you to die.

or the other guy's saying 'Did you drop this?'

Jesus?? No – I get that a lot… 

Dallas Willard says most of us think Jesus is a nice guy, but not very smart.

So – write down everything he says about money. Then go to the financial adviser and ask what he thinks. Who you will you follow?

We choose the financial adviser and end up with a false god.

We make him like us, to affirm what we think and believe.

Who’s the real Jesus?

He’s so much more than what we’ve made Him!

We are entering into a new day, when the church is going to be in the midst of huge crises, we have to do an audit on this question: Do we really reflect Him?

You’re not Jesus – if you think you are, take your pills. But let’s look like Him.

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May 25 2012
Bible, Faith, leadership, REVIVAL

When people say ‘What’s your plan?’ try this answer, ‘I’m trusting God.’

My notes below from a great talk given yesterday by Gary Clarke,  leader of Hillsong London.

We were hosted in Stoke at Breathe City Church, which is led by my mate the fantastic @mrjamesgalloway

We learn through trial & error.

Church growth isn’t one specific thing & if I keep doing that it will grow.

Rick Warren recently said people think of growing church like this… a small church is like a kitten that over time grows into a big lion.

No, it’s an elephant! A different thing all together! (I could reference you back to our itunes page and my talk on this at Ivy AGM in January about church sizes and cultures). 

Reading – 1 Sam 13;  Jonathan & his armour bearer

The Israelis were in a tight spot with nothing going for them.

Ever felt like that?

How do I get out of that?

We have to have that ‘this is what I can see’ – when nobody else can see it.

We have to have that inside of us, even if nobody else can see it I can. The leaders job = see it and get others to see it

Chapter 14 is when Jonathan steps out:  One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armour-bearer, ‘Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.’ 

We are not supposed to be the ones who just camp out and average . Saul represents the average. There had been thousands in the army but they’d declined back and now hundreds of average were gathered under a pomegranate tree. Lots of people had deserted – some went and hid in caves, and some even went to the enemy.

Jonathan started to have something stir..

Vs 4 – he had to go!

Jonathan said to his young armour-bearer, ‘Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.’

To do what? Not to fight the whole army but to check out the outpost, 25 men . He said, ‘I’m not sitting around waiting for something to happen.’

Notice that very important word - ’Perhaps..’

‘Do all that you have in mind,’ his armour-bearer said. ‘Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.’

His armour bearer was with him ‘heart & soul.’ Ok – let’s go out on a limb. If it works we win, if not, we’re dead.

And they fought & won!

In that first attack Jonathan and his armour-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre…

THEN. Suddenly!! 

God stepped in. There was panic! An earthquake! Victory!

And then Saul and the average guys, and even the ones who had gone to the pub joined in too.

Let’s start at the end – and work back through the story again.

At the end we have revival. The ones who had disappeared came back – because God had done something.

But…

What got God in?? What got God involved?

We are waiting for him to get in – and he’s waiting for us to give him something to get in on!

Notice the motivation here. When Jonathan speaks to his armour bearer, he says ‘God will bring victory to ISRAEL‘ in other words, it’s not about us.

And the armour bearer never gets named. He was willing to take a place where there is no recognition.

The pressure is on to be a name. We have this desire for prominence.

But when we attempt greater things for God it must be, ‘I’m doing this because.. the people need Jesus!’

God saw two people declaring an intent together to do something risky and he stepped in with them.

The people around you will stop you or propel you.

Question: Do you let other leaders know ‘I’m with you – heart & soul.’ ? 

If I’m going to see it happen, I’ve just got to get the right people around me. They’re not driven by their own agendas. Don’t put people around you who have their own agendas!

But here were just two people with unity – taking the same risk, ‘Trust God or die,’ and God said ‘I can do something with that!’ They did something small, but it was big to God, who sees the heart.

Notice also the armour bearer’s response: ’Do what you think best.’

Not, ‘Did you really pray about that?’

‘Did the elders approve?’

‘What does everyone else think?’

The board – were under the tree! This guy was really with him. We have to build these values into our lives.

Notice, Jonathan never said ‘God said’ – that gets bandied around far too much. And then if you got it wrong, God was wrong!?

No. He just said ‘Perhaps… maybe…’ 

‘Perhaps the Lord…’

Based on what? He was Saul’s son, he would know God was the one who parted the sea, trounced the giants etc. He had this personal conviction, ‘I know God and I know how he works. So I confidently take steps.’

Leader – it’s not the words you speak in vision, it’s the quiet confidence that says to others ‘She knows God, and how He works!’ People follow that.

Meanwhile, average is sitting under a tree praying for a revival. But Jonathan took initiative in the face of challenges.

The truth is, what he did wasn’t outlandish -  a 50/50 chance – but it sure looked like a big thing  to average.

The leader takes initiative but we need the right person followers. Will you follow right? We have to find people who can follow our initiative. Not just take their own.

And we don’t have to know everything first to be action oriented. We have to be able to say about some things – ‘that’s God’s problem.’

When people say ‘What’s your plan?’ try this answer, ‘I’m trusting God.’

The only thing we know about the future is ‘He’s in it!’

The only way we got here is that he got us here!

If you look back at what you came through, the mountains you faced don’t seem big anymore – when you look back at them. They go from insurmountable to insignificant.

This is where faith comes in.

As you take the giant on, he becomes food for you to fight the next one. Every step of the way there are giants and mountains to face! But if we can see the other side, take others with us, we’ll see that change only God can bring!

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May 07 2012
Books, leadership

Playing to my strengths

Tomorrow we go away as a staff team. In recent weeks I’ve asked everyone to do the Clifton Strengthfinders test, most of them have come back from it saying it’s ‘scarily accurate.’

Here’s mine – I took the test a few years ago but I don’t think it changes that much so I haven’t redone it.
If you know me, does this sound like me? Have you done the test – or do you prefer others? I’ve done DISC and Myers-Briggs.

I certainly don’t agree with the last sentence of the first one. Anyway, I have to be going…

Activator
People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.

Maximizer
People who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.

Adaptability
People who are especially talented in the Adaptability theme prefer to “go with the flow.” They tend to be “now” people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.

Learner
People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

Achiever
People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

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Apr 21 2012
Bible, Christianity, Discipleship, Faith, Jesus, leadership, Manchester, Men, Religion, Worship

The 5 Questions People Ask Before They’ll Invite A Friend To Your Church

CAN I INVITE MY FRIEND?

Thanks again to Richard Reisling!

Here’s what people ask before hand, before they will ever ask a friend to come along. In other words, if nobody is bringing anyone, here’s why…

Will they feel welcomed? = Hospitality. Whatever your ‘churchmanship/ style’ – the key word would be non -intimidating.

Will they fit in? = Compatibility. People innately pick up on large cultural and social gaps.

Can I feel confident in how the church service will turn out? = Unpredictability. If  those leading the services don’t give some form of consistency (in preaching and worship), I’m not going to invite my friend.

Will my friend get something out of it? = Relevance. How often do your people think, “I wish I’d brought Bill to hear that one…” The more often that happens, the more likely they’ll bring Bill along one week.

Will she understand it? = Comprehension (If an 8 year old can’t understand the sermon, a lot of adults are missing it). That sound too simplistic? Look at the parables – Jesus taught in practical illustrations!

Will anything that can seem strange to the unchurched be explained from scripture? = Interpretation. Are we spiritually sensitive enough that if something happens that would freak people out, some leader the up there will help everyone get a handle on what and why, like Peter did to the Pentecost crowds – ‘This… is that…’

Okay – if you’re involved in leading/ planning church services, give yourself a number on these; 0 —–to ———10. 

Then discuss with others how to improve at least one by a practical change in the next couple of weeks. 

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Apr 20 2012
1 Comment
Bible, Church, Jesus, leadership

What New People Visiting Your Church Need This Sunday

I got a nice hand written (remember that?) letter from Richard Reisling today thanking me for putting his great stuff on my blog based on my thoughts about the notes I took from his visit. Well it’s my pleasure – and I’m not done yet! Here goes…

What new people need:

I NEED DIRECTION. They need someone to have thought about where they go, explain what’s happening with their kids etc. I was walking through Terminal 4 of Heathrow Airport recently and thought, ‘None of this just happened!’ It took SOMEBODY to think how all these people with all these needs, routes, cases, schedules… get around the place. We’re talking about things like signs here.

(I just made up a Christian joke about not having signs that make people wonder, but you have to be a charismatic to get that one).

TREAT ME AS NORMAL.

Like when someone comes to your house. You know how to be hospitable already. Remove the following phrase, ‘Are you new?’ There’s no way to say it without offending someone. Ask instead, ‘How long have you been going to this church?’ Totally different!

BE EXCITED ABOUT ME.

How do you know if someone coming toward you needs encouragement? They’re breathing! So make people feel special. And let them know that they can have more information IF THEY NEED IT. That leaves THEM in control of their situation.

Have you noticed how it doesn’t work to say, ‘I love you and want to marry you’ on the first date? Well over the top gushiness is perhaps only slightly more off putting than grumpiness in welcoming.

Don’t ask them to raise their hand and admit to being a visitor. Don’t make them feel obligated to give their personal data.  Don’t call visitors out or make them do embarrassing things (by the way what I sometimes do is say, ‘If you’re an EXTROVERT here visiting with us, please let us know by raising your hand’. That works!). Don’t give them a hug. Don’t give them a mug. That doesn’t bring them back. If you think it will, you’re the mug. Instead…

Create something worth coming back to, and I’ll come back!

Give me…

MINISTRY I CAN UNDERSTAND.

In your message help them know, ‘ Here’s where you are right now… and here’s a next step challenge.’

RELATIONSHIPS I can connect to;

if I want to. And tell me how.

A VISION of where the church is headed.

Give me a glimpse of that exciting future you believe in (and if you don’t, do your community a favour, don’t open the doors again until you do).

Anything else? What do you think? 

The next blog will look at the questions your people are asking about whether or not they will bring a friend with them next week. Or ever.  You’ll like that one.

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Apr 08 2012
Bible, Christianity, Discipleship, Jesus, leadership

Being Good Stewards – Of People

PROMOTION without successful Connectivity is DESTRUCTIVE.

Richard Reisling, author of Church Marketing 101 told us that most churches should not promote themselves. Why? Because you’ll just get more people to come along and see how unhealthy you are and tell everyone else. Jesus will either be a stumbling block or a stepping stone, but it’s tragic when we become what trips people up.

The PASTOR cannot ‘do’ church alone. Everyone can play a part in welcoming people because everything matters – for example, if the children’s work is rubbish, people are very unlikely to come back. If you’re committed to the church, than you’re also privileged and responsible ‘ – we’re ALL there to deliver on the promise of welcome Jesus extends. If just a few leaders have ‘it’ – that’s a failure of leadership (and Pastor you’re very vulnerable, too because it all depends on you).

In Numbers 13 we read about some more ‘marketing’ in scripture:

God says to Moses, ‘I want you to get some guys to scout out the land, go and see it and find whether the people are strong or weak, many of few, is the land good or bad? Are they spread out in tents or in strong cities? Bring some produce back.’

GOD says, ‘Go and do a reconnaissance run.’ This is the birth of marketing! That’s a demographic study, a market sampling! Go and study the land, the people, the place. And come back with a good report – to encourage everyone about the possibilities. Why? He wanted them all to be intimately involved in the pursuit, of the promised land.

CHALLENGE:  Is your church actively adapting to your community?

That doesn’t mean we become a cannibal to reach one. But we have to think like a cannibal to reach one! Are we relating to not-yet- believers too? What do people need? People need to be loved, and not judged.

Is there a culture of outreach in your church community or is the pressure on just a few? Going back to the stadium analogy from the previous blog – are we connecting on every level or just a few?

All these things are ‘the people test.’ If you have a healthy culture in the church and you deliver on what you say, word of that will get out. If not, it’s a media fraud!

PASSING THE PEOPLE TEST:  Remember it’s all about people. It’s about Stewardship of what is most precious to God – people. If they are willing to try you out, that’s a big deal. It’s certainly a big deal for them! If you have visitors to your church this Easter, you are responsible  for how well you steward them. Are you hospitable?

Principle – If we steward anything well, God will give us more. If you’re faithful with people who are looking for Him, he’ll send you more. It works like this in any area. We give more responsibility to one who has shown themselves responsible. God’s a lot smarter than us! Could this be part of the reason why some churches grow and some don’t?

Do you recognise the VALUE of a visitor? Read Matt 18:12. Who are the 99? They’re the church people. If that’s you – it’s SO not about you that Jesus would leave you to ‘seek and save the lost.’ He said that’s the purpose of His coming. It’s NOT about us.

We can be like a group of people who decide to climb a mountain. After some effort we stop half way at a ski lodge. And it’s nice there to sleep overnight.And then we realise outside it’s going to be colder, and the views pretty good from here, so we stick – half way, where it’s comfortable for us. This is not just about the traditional church. This happens with so many ‘emerging’ churches that never… quite… emerge.

To be the church that reaches people far from God is COSTLY. Don’t settle halfway from being the church you’re being called to be.

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Apr 07 2012
1 Comment
Christianity, Church, Jesus, leadership, Men, Religion Quote

Most people are not ashamed of Christ, but they are ashamed of their church. If you’re begging people to invite their friends, you have to stop and think. If they’re not naturally doing it, why not? We’d better self diagnose.

CONNECTIVITY is the key to church growth.

I’m still detailing some of the learnings from Richard Reisling’s visit here.

He said connectivity is ‘your abililty to connect with me and show me you have something to offer of solutions to what I’m looking for in life.’

Related to the previous post, people will come in and think, ‘What can I learn from them about organising my life and priorities, if they can’t even organise parking?’

The apostle Paul wrote, ‘I became LIKE them, to WIN them.’ What does that mean?

It means, he was thinking, “How do I get into their mindset to connect with them? People who are feeling weak or strong, those who are rich or poor, Jew, Greek.” He owned the connection issue that it’s my responsibility to get into their HEADS – so the gospel can get into their HEARTS. I have to show I understand people in various life settings. (By the way Frank Green did a great job of this yesterday in his Good Friday 20 talks back to back! I’ll be putting some of the content from my notes on that on the blog soon and the talks themselves will be available from the Ivy iTunes podcast feed).

Interestingly, Paul also categorised people – knowing  that people think in similar ways to the groups they’re in. There are common perspectives we hold. And he adapted to meet them, right where they live.

For example – imagine you get invited to watch a football match. (Reisling talked baseball but who knows anything about that?)

You’re not into football. You don’t what to go, but someone asks and eventually you go – initially right up at the back and high up in the cheap seats at the top – to check it out. You’re not going to commit too much (at those prices!). But then by the end of the match you have to admit you kind of liked it enough to go some other time. and you do. Once or twice.

After a while you start to really into it – buy a scarf, and to get a better view and atmosphere you go down a few levels of seats, maybe buy a season ticket. (This is exactly what happened to a friend of mine who ended up joining a cult called Chelsea).

After more time someone notices you’re ‘into football’ and maybe you get invited to play in an amateur football team – because now we like football. We’re committed. We even get on the field!

Church leaders need to ask ourselves, ‘What am I doing today – perhaps especially in the services we put on, to connect to the people out there in the far back seats, just checking this out? What’s going to talk to them? What’s their next step closer to the field of play.’ Don’t talk to everyone like they’re already committed. I was in a device recently where the preacher kept referring to ‘We Christians,’ and I wondered how that would feel to a visitor not yet ready to class themselves as a Christ follower. We don’t connect by having the same message to everyone.

Jesus didn’t preach the ‘eat my flesh and blood’ message to the 5000. He fed THEM bread and fish. Then he  sharpened down the challenge, to those who were ready for it. There were messages for the crowd, the core, the committed.

In churches we have to challenge people appropriately to the level they are at. We have to reach and connect to people at their particular level. We have to have a heart for every level. We need to have a shallow end – graded and going to a deep end. Why? So people know, ‘I can bring someone,’ then trust grows. Connectivity creates the easy invite.

We have to be simple enough to understand – and powerful enough to change lives. Then people will want to tell their friends and we won’t have to ‘market.’ The truth is, if you’ve had a life changing experience with Christ you want everyone to know about it.

Most people are not ashamed of Christ, but they are ashamed of their church. If you’re begging people to invite their friends, you have to stop and think. If they’re not naturally doing it, why not? We’d better self diagnose.

Maybe they’re embarrassed of the pink and lavender decor. The yelling mad lady with the flags? The 2 hour sermons. There are reasons!

So ask, ‘What’s the purpose of this service?’

Ask, ‘Who’s going to be there?’ Shape to fit. Be intentional about what we’re doing. Plan for who God’s going to bring! God will order your steps – IF you have a plan.

So – back to the stadium analogy – how do you minister on the different levels?

Upper stands – you INSPIRE them. CHALLENGE them. When you’ve earned the right. They need… a glimpse of hope. (Yeah, I’ll give that church a try, what’s the worst that could happen?).

Lower stands – TEACHING & TRAINING. How to understand. ‘Here’s how we do this.’  It’s about coaching them into being able to PLAY (not just in church settings, the ‘game’ is the world they inhabit).

Playing the game. DEVELOP. Teaching and coaching so players learn to specialise and play to their strengths.

If we do this, people can then have confidence about what they bring their friends to. We can say, ‘If you want this – come to this. if you want this – this is for you to bring a friend…’ And people will bring their friends along.

You CAN do this in one service. Jesus did it to 5000. You just have to be aware that there are people at different levels and you have to engage at all those levels.

Finally – we get the congregation we preach to.

if you preach to only the ‘DEEP’ people, that’s all you’ll get.

if you connect only to the people on the edge – that’s who you’ll get.

Connect!

CONNECT to GROW

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Mar 28 2012
Christianity, Church, Community, leadership, Worship

God looks at the inside. Visitors don’t!

Continuing the Richard Reising insights…

Marketing is biblical.

At various times it says, ‘Jesus perceived their thoughts / reasoning in their hearts – and said….’

What was he doing? Managing their thoughts. Reshaping them where neccessary.

We have to have a finger on the pulse of what people think about us.

We have to be aware – and adjust. (that’s not ‘people pleasing’).

A great example occurred at Pentecost.

Acts 2 – in the midst of crazy charismania, when people were thinking, ‘What on earth is this?”

Peter stood up to manage their perceptions; ‘We’re not drunk as you perceive, this is what the Bible says, let me explain…’ Peter was sensitive enough to know, ‘I have to manage this perception.’ Result? Thousands were won to Christ that day!

In fact, God is the ultimate marketer. If you’re a Christian, it’s because He did whatever it took to reach YOU. He knew exactly what to do.

Everything the church does ‘markets’ for good or ill.   Someone will quote 1 Sam 15:7 where it says, ‘God looks at our heart.’ Well thanks be to God!

BUT look again.

Where does man look?

The outside.

People coming to check out God at your church won’t know your hearts, they’ll have to evaluate you by the outside.

People will come this Sunday and if they don’t know how to get in the door, and nobody welcomes them and connects, and nobody explains where their kids will be looked after – they will evaluate all that.  It’s what they do. We all do it when we go for a meal or wherever.

Now if you’ve been in the church a while, we let things go (people’s weirdness etc) because ‘we know their heart.’ But newcomers don’t know – so they won’t just let it go like we do.

1 Kings 10:4 tells about the visit to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba (she’s royalty herself so not easily impressed!) but she was impressed by what she SAW – what she saw pointed to the wisdom of Solomon. It wast what she heard. It wasn’t what he said, but what he did. The place. The organisation. The excellence of delivery. How they dressed. Their processes. Even their entrance way and the steps blew her away (the welcome?). It took her breath away.

Her response? ‘Happy are your men and servants.’ that by the way is how to get great teams – run them wisely!

Remember, however much time is spent on the sermon, before the message ever gets preached, our systems have been preaching. What do yours proclaim to the guests God is sending for you to be hospitable to?

So…

If there are no signs anywhere pointing to the loos or the coffee is, that says, ‘We know where things are, and we don’t care that you don’t.’

Inconsistent and poor artwork/ logos on your handouts say, ‘We’re amateurs. We don’t know who we are.’

Do everything with your eyes on the viewpoint of the OUTSIDER. Ask them what they think and be prepared for some surprises. Non spiritual people make NATURAL decisions about church.  You set the tone!

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Feb 23 2012
Bible, Church, Discipleship, Family, leadership, Men

What makes us different?

Here’s my notes on some of the input from Rick Murrill – a great speaker I shared slots at a men’s event with last week. Man went to a men’s conference, heard that he was head of the house. Went home and told his wife. And after that he never saw her for 2 days.

Then… the left eye opened up a little bit.

What’s different about humans? Why are we different to chimps and gorillas? Is it just because we’re tool users? (Lots of men aren’t!). Actually some monkeys have done that. Burying our dead, and Fire are distinctive to humans. But none of that tells us what’s different. Gen 1 tells me twice – I’m ‘made in his image.’

 

That shows us… We’re CREATIVE – because he’s a Creator. Look at all that’s being built. And if there’s a Creator, I’m created as something – not just ‘by chance.’ We’re EMOTIONAL – because God expresses emotions. We’re FORGIVING – because God is a forgiver (no animal does that). These attributes of God are found in humanity. This didn’t just happen. But what actually makes us human? Gen 2;15 – God gave humanity a purpose, to serve the Creator. That’s unique to humanity too, though animals can serve. Jesus said the Greatest commandment is LOVE Mt 22, to God and our neighbour. When Jesus was asked,‘Who is my neighbour?’ He told them about a Samaritan. These are the things that make us unique.

We are his friends, if we love one another. Paul said he was a bondservant. Understanding that you’re a servant will release an understanding of the calling of God in your life. Human ambition = serve myself. That takes the call and brings it back to yourself. Seeking fame, becoming rich maybe- and empty. It will work against you in the end. People end up living a life of suicide. Someone who walks away from Christ, with a great call from God – but it ends up distorting. Cf Whitney Houston. Lived suicidally a long time. Despair because of a loss of value of a human life. Slavers used to value it on the amount of work they could get out of them. People today live as slaves in various ways.

Today we value a person on how much they can contribute to society. That’s not biblical. To base it on a bigger car or house. What do I put the value of my life on? The Bible teaches Ex 21, Mt 19, that we’re valuable from conception. More valuable than sparrows. More valuable than cats! Rom 5:8 – God shows our value here. Christ died for his most valued creation. US! So what is a human? It’s our incomprehensible value to God. We are valuable to God not because we’re better than anyone else. But when we understand how valuable to God, then we know the value of others and can love them (as we love ourselves).

John 13:37 People know HIM, if we love. That’s how we exalt Jesus. Know the value of your worth in Christ. If you don’t know that, you are going to express that. If we understand how valuable humanity is, we will value people.

Rick watched a documentary where an actor dressed like a homeless street person was rolling around and looking like they were in pain. People walked past. Nobody stopped. The same person next day was dressed in a suit, with a briefcase. Did the same. Everyone stopped. How do we value people?

Feb 07 2012
1 Comment
Bible, Christianity, Discipleship, Failure, Faith, Father God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, leadership, Men, Prayer, Sorted Magazine

Beware. This may not build your self esteem.

Is it an insult to be called a Jar of Clay? It’s not the worst thing I’ve been called by a long way, but last week I had the pleasure of speaking three times on the same passage; 2 Corinthians 4, where Paul described himself that way. The deeper I dug into the passage, the more instructive and inspiring I found it in a world where sometimes we feel all too frail and inadequate and others are only too glad to affirm that picture.

Opponents – in the church –  were saying Paul was unimpressive and ugly, a rubbish speaker, manipulative, a deceiver, a false teacher, money grabbing (anyone would think he was trying to do ministry in the 21st century! If you want to see vociferous nastiness like this just google Rick Warren’s name – look what bloggers galore write about him, and the guy’s amazing!).

What was Paul’s response?

Well it wasn’t like mine. I’d step right up to defend myself on every point. I’ve done it before for sure, perhaps because we are taught to defend our image and self esteem at all costs. Now Paul does declare that he has nothing to hide, because integrity matters – but then he also shows that he’s got nothing to prove either. How?

They said, “You’re rubbish!” And we’d want to affirm our self worth etc. but Paul says the most surprising thing…

‘You’re right.’

You’re absolutely right.

‘…we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.’ 

Remember Paul described himself as being the ‘chief of sinners.’ He said at the start of this passage he only had any ministry at all because of the MERCY of God.

The God who puts his treasure not in the best china, but disposable containers.

The greek word he’s using for ‘earthen vessels’  (ostrakinos) denotes not a decorative item but a pot used for dishonourable things, the slop buckets, containers you wouldn’t let the guest see what was in it. The wheely bin.

Cheap, common, breakable, replaceable. Not essential but essentially valueless. The only value they had was the service they performed. Again, this may not build your self esteem!

Paul says, “We have this treasure in a waste basket, in a slop bucket.” In other words, ‘It’s not about me.’

Whole talks I’ve heard about this passage and blogs I read around it etc talk about being ‘cracked pots.’ There’s a problem with that.  It’s not in the text. It doesn’t say anything about the pots being cracked. I wonder whether we want to add that in because we want to make it about US again. The point is not about your cracks. Don’t make it about that.

The point is, the container is NOT the point. It’s what’s inside that matters.

We’re made to contain God! To be containers of God! In Ephesians it says God wants to put his FULLNESS in us. We’re made in his image to carry his glory! This sets us apart from everything else in the whole of creation! We’re meant to carry and contain GOD IN US. That’s why it’s accurate to describe anybody  living without God as living an EMPTY life. Don’t let them fool you. Jung said the world’s suffering “a neurosis of emptiness.” Whatever a person tries to eat, drink, sleep with, sniff, buy or sell to temporarily feel full, will never last or satisfy. They’re empty of what they were made to contain and sometimes some people feel that. Like hollow men and women, dressing up outward shells of busyness – inside resounds echoing emptiness.

Many of us have found that if you ask Jesus, he will give you life to the FULL (John 10:10). You will become a container for God’s glory.  Jars of clay don’t have to be pretty. They’re the most ordinary containers. But there’s something different about them. What? They don’t have TRASH in them but treasure!

That’s how it is with us Christ followers. We’re nothing special filled by Someone Awesome! We have HIM in us who is ‘the hope of glory.’ People may look at us and say, ‘Nothing special…’ But if they take a closer look maybe we can show them what we contain, because we’re containers for God. We’re made in His image to carry his glory! We shine His light! We are valuable – as containers. The treasure inside is priceless!

That’s why the Bible says the Lord didn’t choose many mighty or noble or wise people… (anyone else qualify ?). But it says He chose the lowly and weak, the humble, the despised, the ordinary.

So  they said to Paul…”Give up! Stop trying to make a difference! You’re RUBBISH! You’re weak, ugly and unimpressive, you’re a rubbish preacher, too ordinary, not clever, you didn’t go to the right schools to learn the rhetoric, you’re too old…”

He said, “I know, I know, I’ve gone to pot.” (groan!)

But there’s treasure in the pot.

And when Jesus came looking for containers of his glory and messengers for his message he didn’t chose the brightest, the bestest and the beautifullest!

He bypassed people who thought  they were wisest and wonderfullest; the kings and religious experts, powerful politicians and everyone who was so impressed with themselves. He called peasants, prostitutes and fishermen, tax collectors and so on – clay pots – who knew they were empty – to be filled with him and go for him and do what he wanted to do and what he would do if he was there, because where they went, HE IS!

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