Church Initiatives and Visions from God
Maybe, you have seen one of these signs in your community? I pass one everyday on my way to the church, but the funny thing is it has been posted by this intersection for over a year and I’ve never seen anyone working near it. They did try once for a couple of weeks, some workers showed up and took down the yield sign for those turning right in the intersection. The problem was taking the sign away made it difficult to understand the intersection and led to some confusion traffic situations. Eventually, the yield sign returned and nobody has worked on the intersection again.
This post is not a political post about Presidential or Congressional policies, but rather about church initiatives. So often we in churches or even our denomination unveils a new grand plan that will reach more people, cause church growth, or disciple more people for example. We roll out the big signs have a big campaign push and talk it up. Eventually, the fanfare fades, people have lost interest and it is off to the next idea. I have seen this done repeatedly, just count the previous evangelism campaigns in recent years.
Here are my thoughts. In churches, there should be the freedom to try new things, to take risks and find what works, however, most of the time these trials are presented as visions from God with a Scripture verse to back it up and when they don’t work out, no one wants to say that the leader was incorrect or more obviously, God didn’t make his vision happen. These projects are then just not talked about, left to die, or like the putting America to Work sign by my intersection, the sign remains but no progress happens. Why don’t we just call them risks or trial runs and see if something develops. If it doesn’t then try something else, but don’t be too quick to declare this as a vision from God unless you are totally sure. In any other business, the research and development group occasionally finds a new product or idea, but often does not. We in the church expect a 100% success rate when it is declared as a vision from God, so don’t label it that unless you’re sure.
I think we need to examine our follow-through, maybe some plans we need to stick with and see them through and others should be scrapped. Sometimes, we may be guilty of giving up on a project too quickly. My thought here is to examine if it is worth continuing with the project, much like Noah continuing to build the ark when it had never rained. He knew that this was a vision from God and if we know for sure that the vision is from God then we must continue to see it through.
Let’s take risks and try new things, but let’s not label them God’s visions unless we know for sure. God’s desires are clear in Scripture but the methods to achieve it often are not. For example, we know that he desires that none should perish but all should come to repentance and salvation is only found in Jesus Christ, but how do you get the gospel to the world, let’s try different methods to engage people. The message is the vision from God, but the method is not. Let’s not mix up message and method.
Palestinian / Israeli Conflict and the Gospel
I just finished reading the book Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef printed by Tyndale House Publishers. It was a book that once I began reading I just couldn’t put it down. The story describes the journey of Mosab, who is the oldest son of one of the founders of the Palestinian group of Hamas. The book details his journey from a child filled with rage against Israelis to someone who began working with them to curtail the violence and terrorism of the region. Along the way, Mosab begins to study the New Testament and is transformed by the teachings of Jesus especially his command to “love your enemies and do good to those who persecute you.”
I have a couple of observations from reading the book. First, the inside account of the history of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis show the difficulty of the political situation. When people have been driven from their homes and forced into refugee camps, should we be surprised when the fight back? Often we only see the Israeli side, when in actuality there is plenty of blame to go around.
Secondly, the book reinforces the power of the gospel and how the words of Jesus can truly change a person. As Mosab begins to study the Bible, the light of the gospel breaks through the years of devotion to Islam. He begins to be confronted by a new ethic, the Jesus ethic, that doesn’t return evil for evil, but overcomes evil with good. He says, “As long as we continue to search for enemies anywhere but inside ourselves, there will always be a Middle East problem. Religion is not the solution. Religion without Jesus is just self-righteousness. Freedom from oppression will not resolve things either….Manipulated by lies and driven by racism, hatred, and revenge, I was on my way to being one of those people. Then in 1999, I encountered the only true God. He is the Father whose love is beyond expression, yet shown in the sacrifice of his only Son on a cross to atone for the world’s sins.”
To find out more about the book, check out the website www.sonofhamas.com
Also, I came across a video produced by Austin Stone Church in Austin, TX that is an interview with a Palestinian Christian and the issues he faces. You can check it out here: Interview with Daoud Nassar
What Do You Really Mean When You Worship?
Saw this video from Church Mag. The real question from the video is what do you mean when you worship? Are the words of your mouth a true reflection of your heart? The video is funny, but I wonder how sadly is this true?
See their article here: Wrong Way to Worship
Courageous – Better than Fireproof
Karen and I got to go see the special preview of the new movie Courageous last night at the Fox. It was a fun time, as we got to walk the red carpet and have our picture made in front of the banner and then proceeded in to get our free popcorn and coke to settle into our seats. The movie was fantastic as there was a main plot with many subplots weaved throughout the story. The main story line revolved around four police officers as they struggle together to deal with the issues of life and fathering. The movie was at times humorous and at others saddening, you definitely feel every emotion during the movie. The message to fathers is unmistakable – the need for fathers to step up and be the men that they are called to be by Scripture. A message that is much needed for today’s society as so many kids grow up in fatherless homes or where their father is more dedicated to other pursuits than raising their children. The movie contains a clear presentation of the gospel, just like the other Sherwood movies. While I enjoyed Fireproof, I thought that this movie was so much better. A professionally done movie, with a great story, lots of drama, and an important message. The Sherwood Pictures team keeps getting better and better. I would encourage you to go out and see the movie when it comes to theaters on September 30th. For more information, check out their website at www.courageousthemovie.com.
Here is the movie trailer:
My Attempt at Being More Reflective…Using Art
One of the things that I really want to get back in the habit of doing is being more reflective. Slowing down to just process life. You know what I mean, sometimes we get so caught up in everything and it gets going so fast, that we just never slow down enough to take inventory of our life. One of the ways that I have found to be more reflective is to spend time drawing. I don’t do this often and I am not the best at it, but it does force me to slow down to focus. You have to examine the object you’re drawing to determine there the light is, where are the shadows, and to fix proportions. I figure that if I can be more reflective in drawing, then this will reinforce the discipline of being reflective about life.
Just like in drawing, where is the light in my life and where are the shadows that the light needs to dispel? We are told in John 1 about Jesus, that “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4-5) To examine the darkness in our lives and to allow the light to penetrate it requires a reflective attitude to slow down, then stop, and allow God to search our lives to uncover the shadows.
Here is a drawing that I did back in mid-January of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. It is from the perspective of looking across the Seine River and cathedral rising above the tree-tops. How do you force yourself to slow down and be reflective about your life?
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France
