Goodness, my last post stirred up more comments than anything I have ever posted. What's up with that? My thanks to Jeff, Alex, Scott and Ron for your comments, all of which I see as harmonizing well with what I am trying to say (with perhaps a few tiny adjustments :-)).
Anyway, since this generated so much comment, I sensed that I needed to add a few more thoughts about this. Hopefully as I do so I will in some way respond to last week's responses, but if I don't, my primary purpose is not to respond but add more thoughts.
First, let me point out that I am still learning how to practice this myself. It has taken over four years for me to get to a place where I even felt comfortable writing about it, and I am still learning a lot. The past two days I have been aware of anxiety creeping up on me--something that led to extra time with Papa this morning (whenever the peace leaves, as Smith Wigglesworth said, I have "missed the plan," I have dropped back into a wrong view of God or me or both or whatever). I don't feel bad about having to learn this, though, because even the great Apostle Paul wrote of his anxiety over the churches (2 Corinthians 11:28) and later in life wrote that he had "learned" to be content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13). So as far as I can tell, only Jesus lived this out perfectly. Having said that, however, I do believe that it's possible, desirable and necessary to live and serve from a place of peace!
Why is this so important? Because if we don’t live in peace, our demeanor, body language, etc., denies the very message we proclaim! Also, if I am filled with anxiety (fear), how can I take the time to stop, like Jesus did to focus on a little child, or a woman who had just been healed in a crowd? If I am not peaceful, how can I feel free to focus completely and totally on the person right in front of me, like Jesus? How can I be authentic in my announcing a “gospel of peace” if my own life is a constant denial of it?
Please don’t start feeling guilty or defensive on me! God wants this for you more than you do—both because of His sheer love for you and because He wants us to be authentically validating His message of love and peace by being people who exude love and peace. (I very often ask God to make me one of the most loving, joyful, peaceful and dangerous-to-the-darkness people on the planet!). Listen, dear ones, at the heart of this for me is the end of pretense and the end of doing things on my own initiative. Only when I am able to say, for example, that I cherish and love my wife the way Jesus loves the church do I have authenticity. But even here I am not suggesting that a brand new believer cannot share, even in his/her less than mature condition. Scott's example of the demoniac healed by Jesus reminds us that the bottom line is to hear Jesus and do what He says. But what about those of us who have walked with Jesus for a while? Men, do you pray for your wife the way Jesus prays for His Bride? Authenticity would suggest to us that we are heading in that direction in earnest, I think.
It's not that good things cannot come from human effort or initiative, folks. Any act of kindness is good, and Paul said that he was glad even for those proclaiming the Good News for the wrong motives (see Philippians chapter 1). Rather, the question centers around the effectiveness of what we are doing and the effect it has on us. In Matthew 7 those who were healed by the false ones did indeed benefit from the healing, ☺but the end result for those who didn't know Jesus was not good!
My concern here is that many believers don’t seem to grasp the truth that because God is so very, very good, we can enjoy the journey with joy and peace, even while we follow Him into “mission.” Only you can answer the question (or perhaps your spouse, too) as to whether you live a life that exudes peace, kindness and joy (in a way that fits your personality and uniqueness). My point here is that "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control" are the normal qualities of a life lived following Jesus. And as I have learned to live full of God's Spirit, surrendered in a way I never thought possible, overwhelmed with His peace and delight in a myriad of ways, then those qualities are indeed becoming more and more predominant in my life. Try it, you will (and those around you) will like it!
Also, surrender and truly gazing upon God’s beauty, His goodness, are keys that cannot be ignored. But I will need to write about that later, I guess.
Enough for now. I am sure I have stirred up more stuff again. But for those of you who know me, tell me, friends, do I live this out or not? My words are empty if others cannot see evidence (I am not looking for validation here, just reassurance that I am a "trustworthy witness" so that my challenge to everyone rings true!).
Have a wonder-filled Christmas season,
Tom, Abba's little boy
2 comments:
Hmmm ... I agree that it is hard to articulate what many of us are experiencing Tom. It is almost such a fine adjustment that unless Father is in the process of making the adjustment in you, it does not really click. What I try to express to people is that this intimate, day by day level of relationship with the Father does not downplay the reality of mission and the Kingdom message. Even a cursory reading of the NT makes it clear that Jesus was there to make the Kingdom tangible! But even yet, was this reality that even He modeled of "I do nothing of my own initiative, but I only do what I see the Father doing." What cute words, we say to ourselves - but looking back I can see how much of my ministry training was about having a good strategy and taking initiative. I don't think Jesus was kidding when He said these words folks. I look at John 15 now as well. And see how true fruitfulness and how mission flows in context of continual abiding in Christ. If I could draw a diagram, it would flow something like this I suppose: abiding > active response in love > fruit > Father is glorified > mutual joy. Notice too that not only is this a continual cycle, but each flows over the top of the other we abide in love, love is also the fruit, but the fruit of a life of love lived out is also how the Father is revealed and glorified before people, and when this is taking place we experience to joy of knowing and being a part of His work. Is this not exactly how Jesus ministered and spread the Kingdom? He was abiding continually with the Father through the indwelling Spirit, lived in active response to what the Father would initiate, always responded with compassion, that Father is glorified, and Jesus expressed joy at His work. And now He gets to do this in us! I love how the Trinity operates!
All of us have come from different backgrounds in terms of ministry and life, and each unique background shapes how we think and act. Our present lives (respectively) are representations of what we agreed with in and disagreed with in our background, and we consciously and unconsciously act on our beliefs. The things I love, I live out now and try to grow in – I value these things and want my life to represent these things. There are things I disliked, and inevitably there is sort of a back lash against those things and a conscious adjustment to not become those things myself.
The irony of coming into a place of a more simple life and a very much more simple church structure is that it didn’t come out of a response to a overly busy life of “what have you done for me lately” ministry. I tasted to a small degree and heard about that, but never lived it out in spades as others have.
For many that I have personally come into contact with, transitioning to a simple church/ house church/ organic church was (although they would not readily admit it) a response to having lived a “mission heavy” life in an overly busy church and life – they had to have something real and authentic because their faith was becoming a meaningless series of meetings built around attendance and budgets.
For us, we started toward a more simple life and ministry and I had my “come to Jesus” moment and it revolved very much around mission. This is an over-simplification of why, but I realized busy people don’t share the Gospel. The “model” of church that had been happening ran people in spiritual circles, did not create authentic faith that sparked heart felt mission, and kept people so busy that they were not useful to the God when He did call. If I’m completely honest, I really believe that a more simple “model of church” is a better way to reach people – period – because it facilities and, in some ways, forces authenticity. A person can’t hide behind a guitar or a pulpit or a title. They either is or they isn’t.
The great irony of this discussion is that we are largely talking about the same things, but I am approaching this truth from the west and you are coming from the east. We are coming from different backgrounds and some of the reasoning we are have for coming to the truth is actually opposite.
My response to seeking authentic mission comes partly from seeing an overly inward, selfish, consumer-based, “it’s all about my own experience,” and “what do I get out of it,” and “if I don’t like it or enjoy it, then I’m not going to do it,” or “It’s not my gifting to help people or share my faith” kind of faith. So, you can understand my difficulty processing much of the simple church/house church thought process because much of the “lingo” sounds very selfish and inward.
I can’t put words in your head, but it seems that you are wanting authenticity and true joy in mission because you might be responding to a ministry culture that valued results and agenda over relationship, and maybe drove people to act regardless of their heart and pushed them regardless of whether there was any joy in the process. I am not trying to play arm-chair psychologist – I am merely guessing and really, truly trying to understand you and love you through listening.
The reality is that I am the weird one in this situation and I say that with confidence and humility at the same time, knowing that I’m different but happy that God made me me, and also equally happy that God made you you. I’m sincere in this statement. I come to simple church on a path that, as I am discovering, not many came to on: it is a better way to share the Gospel and a better way to train people to share the Gospel. I am, at the heart, a committed evangelist.
I’m putting my heart out there on this one, and I’m going to be honest, and also ask you to be honest by answering a question that I will answer first. Your answer will be completely different than mine, but I am secure to be honest if you are, knowing full well that it’s completely possible that we are from different planets.
The question (and please Tom, Alex, …and others if possible): What makes you the most joyful in life?
1. The knowledge of being accepted by God, and the confidence to be creative and bold which comes from that love and acceptance
2. The love of my wife and family regardless of results
3. Sharing the Gospel with thousands of people in front of the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas (evangelism, as I am realizing, comes from the very base of who I am – I literally daydream about people receiving the Gospel of Jesus)
4. Training and discipling a small group of people (I can’t imagine not having these relationships)
Tom and Alex, I want to understand you guys because I have much to learn. And so I started with complete, utter honesty….
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