Sunday, August 23, 2009

Getting Started

So many times in my life I have failed to accomplish something simply because I failed to start. There have been many things that I could have done if I had only made the attempt. What stops me? I'm sure there are many factors but two really have grabbed my attention over the last few weeks.

The first one is my past. So many times I fail to seize the opportunities that lie in front of me because of past failures, situations and experiences. I think Paul understood this struggle when he wrote this...

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the the prize 
for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus"
Philippians 3:13-14

How many times have I missed out on "the prize" because I couldn't forget the past? You see when I do, Satan has me right were he wants me. If he can keep me looking behind at all of the mistakes I've made, or all the things that didn't succeed, he has me. I'm paralyzed. Stuck looking backward and missing out on what lies ahead.

The second is when the task or goal seems unattainable I often times don't even make the attempt. I think there are a lot people like me and I think that may be one of the reasons so many people have become disconnected from the church and from God. They see the journey with God as unattainable or out of reach so they give up or worse yet don't even make the attempt.

The problem is we in the church have contributed to the problem. So many un-churched and de-churched people feel like they can never measure up. They feel like the expectations of the church and therefore God can never be achieved. I often hear things like, "I've gone too far" or "that's easy for you but..." We have made the journey with God seem out of reach. Therefore they never even start.

This fall we are beginning a focus at BridgePoint we are calling "one." Part of the journey will be to help our people and those we come in contact with, focus on the journey and the process as opposed to the destination. Now don't get me wrong, the destination is important. Scripture tells us that our ultimate goal is to be Christ like. That's the "prize" we are trying to win. In no way am I diluting that goal, but if we never get started on the journey in the first place we never have a chance to "win the prize." 

A few weeks ago I said it this way on Twitter. "Running 100 miles seems overwhelming to me but running 1 mile 100 times seems quite doable." The goal may be to run 100 miles but in order to achieve that goal I have to begin by running 1. I may even need to begin by just running, period. I have to start. I have to be willing to do one thing I haven't done before. Take that one step I didn't take yesterday. 

Our journey towards and with God isn't any different.  If we can create an environment where people can see the journey as doable and achievable then maybe, just maybe, we can achieve our ultimate mission of helping as many people as possible come into a dynamic and growing relationship with God. We want them to see it as a series of "ones." One step, one movement, one conversation and simply walking one day at time with Jesus Christ. Allowing Him to help us become the one he wants us to be.

A great example is the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus in Luke 19. Zacchaeus was a tax collector who  had abused his position and authority. To say he was far from who God wanted him to be would be an understatement. Jesus wanted Zacchaeus to become all he was intended to be and to make things right but He didn't ask him to change instantly. He knew that it would be a process and that process had to begin. How did it begin? What was the "one" step that Zacchaeus needed to make first? It began by climbing down out of a tree. That was it. I have to think that if Jesus had stood under that tree and yelled up to Zacchaeus all the changes he needed to make and what He was going to ultimately ask of him he would have been overwhelmed. He might have even yelled back down at Jesus, "no way, you are asking to much!" and stayed up in that tree. But Jesus knew that and began the journey by making the first step manageable and doable. He just asked him to climb down out of the tree. He could do that and a story of redemption, change and reconciliation began.

What is the "one" thing you need to do to begin the journey with God? What simple move, adjustment or act can you do that will move you a little closer to the ultimate goal God has for your life? For those who are Christ followers what is the "one"  thing you can do to help someone who may feel far away from God move one step closer to Him. It's doable. It's achievable. It's as easy as "one."

I'll write much more on this over the next few months. Let me know what your think and please visit www.my1story.com and join the movement.

Tim

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

I Want To Be The One

About 15 or more years ago I had took a group of students to a summer camp in TN called Centrifuge. That particular week the worship leader was a young musician named Jami Smith. She wrote the great song "Your Love Is Deep."  One night she shared a simple little chorus with us. I'm not sure if she wrote it and if she did, if she ever published it. Here's how it goes...

I want to be the one, that you can count on.
I want to be the one, who's standing tall.
Do what you will, Father until,
I become the one.

Over the last few weeks It have found myself singing that little chorus over and over again. I think God is using it to prepare me for our upcoming worship series at BridgePoint. We are calling it "One." It's really more than a series. We are hoping to birth a movement. 

In the chorus it says "do what you will, Father until, I become the one." The question I am confronted with is am I willing to allow the Father to do whatever He wants with me, knowing that His desire for me is to become who He desires for me to be. Am I willing to make that one move, have that one conversation, take that one step, take that one risk and make that one change that will move me closer to Him and ultimately closer to becoming "the one?" The "one" that He can count on, depend on and use for His glory and purpose. In Ephesians Paul says it this way...

"For we are God's workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do."
Eph. 2:10

I really do want to be "the one." I want God to know He can count on me to be the one "standing tall," no matter what it costs. I want to do the "good works" that God as prepared for me to do but I first I need to become "the one" by making Him the One and allowing Him to do whatever He wills for my life. 

Am I willing? Are you willing? Our journey towards "One" begins with that question.

Tim

PS - Join in the conversation by sharing your "One" story at www.my1story.com .


Sunday, August 16, 2009

She got it!

I just finished sharing a message on Mary of Bethany at BridgePoint Church. We are doing a series called Ordinary People Extraordinary Lives. Today's ordinary person often called the other Mary, has really captured my thoughts. She is such an amazing women. What makes her so is the fact that she got it. She got what Jesus was all about and as a result she responded accordingly.

You see I think the vast majority of us who call ourselves "Christ followers," while we claim to get it, don't, and as a result we spend the majority of our time and energy responding in the wrong way. You see in the 3 recordings of Mary's relationship with Jesus (Luke 10, John 11 & John 12) we find her in the same place, at his feet. She knew who Jesus was and positioned herself in the most appropriate place to respond to him. She was at his feet worshiping.

How many times do I, while claiming to get it, spend my time in less important places, positions and practicing, while good, less important things. Today I am grateful for the picture of Mary of Bethany. She is an ordinary woman who has an extraordinary understanding of what is most important. My prayer is that I and you will spend our time like she spent her time, at his feet.

Tim

Monday, August 3, 2009

Standing with a friend

Yesterday I preached a message in our Ordinary People Extraordinary Lives series on Onesiphorus. He is a man who stood by Paul when he was in prison in Rome. You can read about him in 2 Timothy 1. During the message I shared a story I found on the internet.

Jackie Robinson, the famous baseball player who broke the color barrier in MLB with the Brooklyn Dodgers, was a victim of hate wherever he went. He even had to endure it at his home park of Ebbets Field in NY. Not long after Jackie came into the league he was playing 2nd base during a home game. He made a costly fielding error and the home crowd let him have it. Racial slurs and verbal attacks were hurled from every corner of the stadium. As the volume increased Pee Wee Reese, the much loved shortstop of the Brooklyn Dodgers walked over to 2nd base where the dejected Robinson stood, head down. Pee Wee simply walked over, stood next to Jackie, put his arm around him and faced the crowd. With that simple jester Pee Wee silenced that hostile crowd. Jackie was later quoted as saying that one moment saved his career.

Pee Wee and Onesiphorous have a lot in common. Both of them ignored the risks and in genuine love and concern stood by a friend. I can't help but wonder how much different our world would be if we would reach out to each other the same way. Right now all around us are people who feel alone, rejected and abandoned. What would happen if we would see them as Jesus sees them and respond to them with a simple touch. Just like Paul and Jackie it could be life changing!

Whatever It Takes!
Tim