Lose or Gain?

I recently received an email announcing a new book from Leafwood Publishers. It trumpeted their latest book release, The Fulfillment Principle by Bob Westfall. It sounds like an interesting book and I am sure it has many helpful tips for life in Christ.

Drawing on the challenge of one of Jesus’ most powerful parables, The Fulfillment Principle is packed with stories, encouragement, and motivation to help readers discover and pursue their God-given gifts in order to experience the joy of a lifetime—for a lifetime.

What struck me is how many books with a similar idea you can find in a Christian bookstore. The blurb reminds me of the focus on the verse about abundant life in John 10:10.

Some titles that came to mind were Your Best Life Know and The Purpose Driven Life.

Without reading the book my guess is I would agree with the author. There is great joy and fulfillment in being who God made you to be. My thought has nothing to do with the validity of the book but instead the principle that has shaped this idea. A simple Google search of “Abundant Life” will confirm its popularity.

No, my question is about motivation. What motivates people to change? The idea of a better life or way seems prevalent in American Christianity today.

You see I’ve been reading another book, one by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein, and it is called Nudge. I was reading a part about positive and negative influence and their effectiveness. I believe we have so many books like The Fulfillment Principle because we believe gain, a better life, is the way to get someone to think about following Christ.

Here is the deal. The book says that isn’t true. The example that really hit me is one about energy conservation (pg. 37). They gave two different information campaigns. In one people are told if they use energy conservation methods they will save $350 per year. In the other test people were told that if they do not use energy conservation methods they will lose $350 a year. Framing the idea as a loss was a more affective way of inspiring change.

So maybe you can see where this took me. We seem in many ways to be attempting to show people Christ through gain, a better life, more fulfillment, etc. This got me to thinking that maybe this isn’t the best way.

People don’t like to change. If you tell someone hey you can have a better life they may say I like my life just fine. The other problem is that what is better often wouldn’t be considered better by most people in our culture today. John the Baptist chose a better way and yet living as an outcast eating bugs and getting beheaded probably doesn’t fit many American ideas of abundant living.

The idea of being lost has gone out of style in many churches today. Unchurched, away from God, or any number of phrases have replaced the idea of being lost. Maybe that idea isn’t such a bad one after all. Thoughts?

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10

Difficult?

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure. Helen Keller, US blind & deaf educator (1880 – 1968)

Is it supposed to be hard? Is following Christ supposed to be difficult? In one place Jesus says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:25-30). But the same Jesus who says these words also shares others during his ministry on earth.

“And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:19-22

The same Gospel that shares that the burden is light also tells us that the cost of following Jesus is great. What gives? Which is it?

I think it has something to do with the situation. In Matthew 11 we find the context to be about the fact that many who consider themselves wise are not. He gives thanks for the children who will come. Secondly, you will find that he is dealing with people who are working hard but exhausted. What also at times get missed is the willingness to take on the yoke of Jesus. That yoke means that Jesus will be guiding that persons live.

Contrast this with the man coming to Jesus in Matthew 8. He comes saying he wants to follow but it seems to me he is self-serving. I have a feeling he expected a pat on the back for being a scribe. Why doesn’t Jesus say great because my yoke is easy and my burden is light? Did Jesus think he didn’t really want to follow him? Was he trying to scare him away?

I’m not sure, but it makes me wonder. In Matthew 11 right before the famous passage we all know Jesus is rebuking unrepentant cities. Certainly nothing to them about easy yokes or light burdens.

Is Jesus burden light and easy? Yes, but it comes with a willingness to be guided by Jesus and grow. This blog gives a great description of what an ox yoke did. It isn’t, “have an easy burden so that you can have an easy life.” It is, “you are a hard worker and you need rest and you will find it in me.”

Moses and Bitterness

Moses became bitter and it caused him to sin. He became bitter because the people didn’t want to follow his leadership.

Was his leadership God ordained? Without question, who can deny a burning bush? Was he being guided by God? There is no question, a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. Did the people want to go where Moses said they needed to go? Not a chance. Not even a little. In fact if you read the Exodus story you will find a recurring theme of people who don’t want to follow.

It is easy to blame the people, to be angry with them but look what that did for Moses. In Numbers 20:2-13 we see the consequences for Moses the leader.

Moses was angry. He was tired. If you read the story surely you will understand his frustration. The people are never satisfied. What God is doing is never enough. They want food, God gives them food, and the food isn’t good enough.

The Bible says the people are arguing with Moses. Can’t be a joyous place for a leader. God tells Moses to give them water, probably the first inclination that while God doesn’t like their attitudes he understands. God gives them water and tells Moses how it is going to be done. Call out to the rock and they will have water.

That is not what Moses does. He strikes the rock twice. In the text you can hear Moses frustration with the people. The way he addresses them. What he calls them. Moses takes their actions personal and yet the God who called him and is guiding them offers water.

God is not happy with Moses. God still gives them water but look what he says to Moses. “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

So think about it. The very people who show disrespect and complain. The very people who don’t want to listen or be led. They have the opportunity to see the promised land while Moses and Aaron don’t.

Moses anger and frustration got the best of him. They failed to honor God. Their focus was on their frustration instead of God. Their concern was to make a point to the people who didn’t want to follow instead of to make a point to the God who faithfully brought them out. God was going to get what he wanted done whether the people were on board or not.

It is a good reminder for me. Leadership focused on the people is destined to fail. Leadership focused on honoring God can never go wrong. It doesn’t mean it won’t be hard or that you won’t become frustrated but it does mean you are trusting God.

May I focus on God.

How Much Love?

When I tell the kids to eat their vegetables they always ask how much. They want to know what size a serving is and often times they try their best to eat as little as possible. Kind of reminds me of the story about the Good Samaritan.

The expert of the law came to Jesus and wanted to know what a follower of God was about. As I mentioned in my previous post, he understood it was love God, love your neighbor. But here is what I find interesting. After the answer that he gives, he isn’t satisfied. He asks one thing more. “Who is my neighbor?”

Like my kids with vegetables, who are you talking about? Can you give me a short list? People on my street? Close friends? Who is my neighbor?

I also love the fact that it is the religious on their way to worship God that simply pass the man by. Religious people wanting to keep the laws of God but to busy to stop and help. They probably had hit their help quota for the month. Helped someone last week. This week is for my family.

People think I get a little obsessed with this love your neighbor thing. They are right, I do. I see injustice and I say what can God’s kingdom do. No I’m not trying to earn my way to heaven by helping others, it is the very fact that I am not asked to that compels me to be a light for the character of God.

How about you, how much is enough? A turkey around Christmas and Thanksgiving? How much neighbor love is enough?

Love God, Love Your Neighbor

Pretty straight forward really. Over two thousand years ago it seems that the people of God had no problem distilling what God wanted for his people down to these two basic concepts. Love God and love your neighbor.

Does that still stand? Luke 10 records an exchange between an expert of religious law and Jesus. The question is what do people do who have eternal life.

The man responds with love God and love your neighbor. Jesus says that if you do those two you will live. So what is so wrong with focusing on those two things as a church?

I really don’t know what to do. Love God and love your youth group? Love God and love your children’s ministry? Love God and love the preaching? Love God and love the technology? Love God and love the building? I don’t know.

Jesus says that these two bring life. Is it wrong to focus only on these two commands? If a teacher could distill God’s truth to these two why can’t we? Paul repeats this idea in Romans 13:8-10, and Galatians 5:14. James repeats the refrain in James 2:8 and explains what this love means.

I have been told that people don’t listen because we are a small church in the old part of town in a building that needs repair. I hear all of that but why aren’t Jesus words enough? What do I have to prove? I have actually had people reject our fellowship because they say we don’t focus on the Bible and the Holy Spirit. How is it that this teacher of the law can distill the Bible down to two commands, the ones we focus on, and yet we are not Bible based or Spirit-led?

If you don’t want to be a part of our fellowship that is fine, just please don’t attack what we are trying to accomplish and belittle our efforts because it is actually all about loving God and loving your neighbor.

‘Where are the Video Games?’

That is the question a recent visitor had at our church. I’m not 100% sure if he was referring to Xbox360, PlayStation 3, or the Wii but since we have none it probably doesn’t matter.

I am thankful that his parents shared what he said. I suspect he is not the first child to ask that question.

“Where are the video games?”

We I thought as we prepare for our Back to School day that I might try to shed some perspective on the video game thing. I can get a low-end Xbox 360 for $200 but let’s face it, you really need a Kinect. That will run you another $100. So we are talking about $300.

Our Back to School day is coming up August 3. We are investing a little over $10,000 to show the love of Christ to people in our area who have a need. This includes school supplies, backpacks, socks and underwear, dental work, and eyeglasses for children.

That would be over 30 Xbox 360’s with Kinect. So if you do visit New Heights Church and your child wonders where the video games are, you can let them know we gave it away to to be light in darkness and to bring glory to God.

Summer of Fun: Undercover Angel Returns

It is back! A Summer of Fun New Heights style. That means we spend the summer enjoying looking for ways to impact our community in positive ways. I know, always that crazy thinking of others stuff.

One that went very well last year that will have a return engagement is our Undercover Angel. The idea behind this is to look for people who are going above and beyond the call of duty at their workplace. Specifically those who might be working at a low income job who do it with pride. We want to encourage excellence in our culture and believe it is something we have lost.

So we send our members out to find people who are hard working. We ask them to get their name and nominate them. Then at the end of the summer we go out to present an award along with a gift. Nothing big but you should see the faces of the people who receive the award. They receive them like they just won the lottery.

It is something easy to do so keep your eyes open and become an undercover angel.

Water

She offered me a cup of cold ice water. I looked at her and then her house. Looked at the house again and declined. Even though it was hot and I was thirsty I told her I didn’t need a drink.

I was working in her yard. She had contacted Owasso Community Resources with a need. The man who usually helped her with her yard was ill and couldn’t help her like he usually did. She needed someone to come mow her lawn and help with some free range trees that were growing up around the yard.

When we arrived I noticed that her bushes were also out of control. I set about trimming bushes and cutting down small trees in her flower beds. We started early in the morning but it was already hot. The woman is a disabled senior and it shows in her yard. She doesn’t have what it takes to keep it up. I trimmed while my son mowed the lawn.

So as she turned to go back into her home I started to think, why did I have such an aversion to her water? Why did something inside me say you want nothing to do with this water? I didn’t know her and had never drank her water before. Her water comes from the same place as mine. So I took a second to try and figure out why I responded so viscerally that you don’t want to drink the water.

It took me a minute but it came to me. When I was a kid growing up during the summer my mother would drag us around to many elderly women’s homes. She would go to visit shut-ins from the community and church. She would take us and we would help them with different projects around the house and yard.

I remembered doing that and I also remember drinking their water. I’m guessing that since they were seniors and didn’t have much company that the ice was a little old. Probably freezer burned because when I thought about taking a glass of this woman’s water my mind reacted. It remembered all those people we helped and their nasty tasting water.

It actually took me back to their homes and as I thought about it I could even see the glass of water. Converted jelly jars. Then it really hit me. Here I was with my son repeating the process. Well repeating the helping part, he had a bottle of water.

It made think about why I am the way I am. Could it be that my mother instilled this in me growing up? That you help people in need? That you visit the widow and help her around the house? Here I was with my son passing this valuable lesson along.

I worry that we are not training our children up today. How do we expect them to become servants if we don’t develop it? How are they going to see the value when they think they are the center of the world? Here I was not wanting a glass of water because when I helped people with my mother you didn’t want to drink the water.

Pass it on people. Don’t think by sending your children to fun youth group activities that they will somehow know to flip a switch some day to become servants. Don’t expect them to enjoy it. I don’t remember ever looking forward to going to these homes as a kid. I dreaded the experience. Start today, just make sure you bring your own water.

We think it is great but…

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that one. Every time someone said, “I wish our church did something like that,” or even, “We would like to be a part of that but…” and then you can fill in the blank. Fill in the blank with the music isn’t right or the drums are too loud or the youth program is too small. Any of them would work because I have heard them all over the years.

At first I didn’t understand. I remember within the fist month of my arrival a woman came to my office one day to discuss our church and what she felt God was calling her to do. She had a burden for hurting people in our community. I shared the story of our church and what we were trying to do, being the hands and feet of Jesus, and she loved the picture.

I remember her saying, “I wish my church would do more of this.” The “this” being our community impact ministry. Healthcare for the uninsured, tutoring for children in need, the list could go on.

Over the months she came by my office many times, always with the same refrain. “I wish my church did more of what you do.” Don’t get me wrong. The church she attended was very active in mission work around the globe. They did a great job of celebrating and supporting missionaries. I’m not writing this to point a finger at them wondering why they didn’t do more of what we do. It seems to me that this wasn’t their calling. They had one for global missions, we have one for local work.

The reason I bring it up is because if she had a heart for local missions she was in the wrong place. All of the things she dreamed of doing, felt called to do, she could have done them at New Heights Church. All of them. We would have been open and we would have gotten on board. Why? Because it is our mission, our calling. I invited her to join our efforts. We talked about how her mission could play out at New Heights Church.

Guess what, she wouldn’t come. Don’t miss this, I am not a sheep stealer and I have no interest in growing a church that way. That wasn’t why I suggested she come. I suggested because of her calling and the fact that it matched our church.

She never did. Eventually she stopped coming around all together. She told me that her husband loved the worship music where they were and the kids really liked the youth program. She just couldn’t leave them behind.

She was just the first of many. We love what you do but we don’t want to leave what we have behind. All of the other stuff we love. What they don’t realize is the very fact that they won’t leave it behind guarantees that they will never do what we do. Why would they? In the end what they are doing attracts the people. An outwardly focused event from time to time, that will be good enough.

In the end they will never experience what deep in their hearts they know they need and are called to do. Until churches start growing because of community impact instead of all of the programs offered to the people nothing will change. Their inability to leave guarantees that nothing changes.

As someone recently pointed out, the rich young man was asked to sell all he had and give to the poor and he probably went home thinking I wish our church did more of that….

Jorge

He needed a ride. Jorge is a part of our English as a Second Language class. He needed to be in Oklahoma City for a court appearance. He asked me if I could drive him. I told him sure and gave him my phone number. That was Sunday and he needed to be there on Tuesday. I told him to give me a call on Monday and let me know what time he needed to leave.

At 4:52 a.m. on Tuesday Jorge called. It seems he had trouble finding my phone number. He told me he needed to be there by 8:30 a.m. and so I told him we would get going. I tried my best to explain that he should meet me at our church building. You see communication with Jorge can be hard. He is working to learn English. He understands it is something he needs to do to be a part of our culture, to get better jobs and make it in the U.S.

We arrived a little after eight in the western part of Oklahoma City just north of the airport. We pulled into the Office of Homeland Security parking lot and lined up with all of the others who were gathered.

As you might have guessed, Jorge was there because he is not legally in our country. He was there because he was arrested and could not verify legal residency. I waited all morning. It was a very interesting experience being in a place where the majority of conversations take place in a language other than English.

Finally Jorge came before the judge and was told the process he needed to follow to live legally in our country. We left and I took Jorge to eat catfish at the Steak & Catfish Ranch in Edmond just off I-35. (Thanks Food Dude for the picture and the information that the place wasn’t open when I was in college at Oklahoma Christian. I was kicking myself for missing it. P.S. I went to school with the Food Dude and was in his wedding, just an FYI.)

We had some miscommunication along the way. I thought for sure he had access to a Pike Pass. Guess not. It took some effort to find the restaurant, I wasn’t exactly sure of the address. Jorge kept pointing to signs that said Tulsa thinking I had lost my way. It was hard to explain that I wasn’t looking for Tulsa. I also learned about what brought him to the U.S. and that the money he makes goes to family back home, or at least I think I did.

You might be trying to figure out what you think about the entire situation. I don’t and I didn’t. Jorge needs to be in our country legally and I am doing what I can to help. He is in the middle of the process and I’m trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus to him.

I think we error when we feel some obligation to decide what our government should or shouldn’t do. As a part of God’s kingdom I know what I need to do. Show him the love of Jesus Christ. Turn a blind eye to law breaking? I’m not doing that either. I am helping. Our church is helping. That for me is all I need to know and do.

What place does God’s Kingdom have in fighting for a wall or more border patrols? For a kingdom not of this world we seem a little preoccupied. I find it fascinating that in the book of Acts there is a constant theme that the Roman government has nothing to fear when it comes to God’s Kingdom. We are not interested in taking your power. Fast forward 2000 years and it seems all consuming on both sides of the debate.

I am called to love. Does the government need to secure the border for the safety of the people? Yes, but we shouldn’t miss that this has no bearing on love or a trip to Oklahoma City for court.