My job is to work myself out of a job

Today at BridgePoint I shared a message from Ephesians 4. The key verses were 11 & 12. Here is what they say:

"It was he who gave some to be apostles,

some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,

and some to be pastors and teachers,

to prepare God's people for works of service,

so that the body of Christ may be built up..."

As I prepared for the message I was taken back to an earlier time in my ministry when I was in KY. I was a youth pastor at a fairly good size church. God had blessed and the ministry had really grown. Each Wednesday evening we had a mid-week youth gathering we called "LIFE."

One Wednesday I was in my office gathering materials to head next door to meet with the students. As I was about to leave one of our senior adult ladies walked in to my office and asked for a minute of my time. Her name was Mrs. Nance (all my KY followers will know her well). I was really busy and asked if we could talk later, but she insisted we talk right then. She asked me to take a seat and then leaned over my desk and shared some of the most impactful words I have ever heard.

She said, "I've been watching you and I want you to know you are not doing your job." I must confess I was very offended by her statement. You see, I was working very hard and we were seeing great results. We had the largest and most successful youth program in the city. I responded by reminding her of how far we had come, all that was going on and how hard I was working. I also reminded her that before she came in I was preparing for what I believed would be another great night with the students and that in fact, I was late for that gathering.

She continued undeterred by my protest, "my Bible tells me that your job is to equip God's people to do the work. I see you doing all the work." She then leaned across my desk and with a shaky finger that had touched many a life she said, "don't steal my joy." Without another word she walked out.

I sat there at my desk, stunned. That frail 80 something year old lady had hit me right between the eyes and she was right. I had been working so hard to develop the program that I had forgotten the chief calling of my life. As a pastor my calling is to "prepare God's people for works of service." I was doing all the work but that wasn't what God wanted me to do.

As leaders of His church God wants us to, as I have often said, "work ourselves out of a job" and give our jobs away. When we do that the second part of that Ephesians passage happens, "the body of Christ," is "built up."

I will be forever grateful for Mrs. Nance who, "speaking the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15), helped change the course of my ministry. She taught me what was most important. This week I was reminded again of what I need t o be doing each and every day as I serve Him.

Getting Excited

Something unusual and exciting happened this morning at BridgePoint. As usual, under the direction of Michael, our Creative Arts Pastor, we had a well planned worship experience. He and his team had planned great music, drama, visuals and I had what I felt to be a great message bringing it all together.

After Michael wrapped up his music set we were supposed to take our offering and read one of our www.my1story.com stories. Usually our worship is very fluid with little down time but right after the music there was this very noticeable pause in the service. I and our drama team were just off one side of the stage with Michael and many of our musicians on the other. After quite a few indecipherable hand signals I realized the offering and story had been forgotten. I went ahead and sent the drama team on stage and made my way back stage to meet Michael. When I got to him I asked what happened and his first words were "I got excited."

During his last song set Michael was captured by the power of the words he was leading our congregation to sing and lost track of the script for the day. The irony of the experience is that was exactly what happened in the passage that I was preaching from today.

In Ephesians 3 Paul begins a thought in verse 1 and then gets excited about what he had been telling the Gentiles in Ephesus. He gets side tracked and in his excitement goes back to a previous thought from chapter 2 and reemphasises the point. He concludes his side track with one of the most powerful and pivitol verses of scripture in the entire New Testament. Ephesians 3:12 says:

"In Him and through faith in Him

we may approach God

with freedom and confidence."

Wow! What an awesome verse. What and awesome side track.

Sometimes we make great plans and God through his Spirit redirects us. Paul allowed the Spirit and his excitement for what he was sharing to direct his letter to the people of Ephesus and God shared and awesome truth through it. Today I not only got to share Paul's experience, I got to see God do it in person. Michael's enthusiasm for the truth of what he was singing and his willingness to let the Spirit lead him gave us a picture of Paul's excitement and enthusiasm for what he was sharing.

Thank you Michael for getting side tracked today. Thank you for getting excited. May we all get that excited. We are free in Christ. We have direct access to God through faith in Him. My hope and prayer is that you and I will never get side tracked from that awesome truth!

I'd Rather Be A Nail

There is an old song that says, "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail." Not me, I'd rather be the nail.

Over the last few months I have talked with some of my pastor friends who are struggling with the number of people they see "church hopping." You know those folks that move from church to church looking for the next big thing or that place that will meet their agenda. Part of the frustration I have heard is for those people leaving churches but also those who come through the door from other places. Most of the time those folks are angry, hurt or frustrated and they bring all of that with them.

A number of years ago I shared a message in a youth experience that I believe applies to this struggle. I believe I called it "Nail Night." I got some of the material from a source that I long ago got rid of so if the author reads this forgive me. In that message I shared that it is better to be a nail than a hammer. Here's why.

- A nail sticks in one place.

The most exciting time in the history of the church is recorded in Acts 2. The beginning of that chapter says:

"When the day of Pentecost came,

they were all together in one place."

The believers stuck together and stuck in one place. I believe God is calling us to find that one place and stick there. I once heard that a tumbleweed does not grow. It just blows from place to place, aimlessly wandering. A healthy growing plant puts down roots. It reaches deep into the place it is planted and grows tall and strong. Because of its deep roots it is able to withstand the things that may come against it.

To often today people never give themselves a chance to get rooted. They jump from church to church never giving time to become planted and therefore nourished and strong. Then when the winds of change blow or frustration builds they are like the tumbleweed.

-A nail holds things together

All throughout scripture we see examples of things being held together. In 1 Corinthians 1:10 it says:

"I appeal to you brothers,

in the name of Jesus Christ,

that all of you agree with one another

so that there may be no divisions among you

and that you may be perfectly united

in mind and thought."

God wants us to stick together. Now I know their are times that this is impossible. Sometimes we find ourselves with a group of people who are moving contrary to scripture or who's mission and purpose are not loving God and loving the people he puts in our path. In these cases we need to find a new group of people, a new church, to journey with. But, in a lot of cases these days I am seeing people who leave a church because of much less important things. God wants us to be like a nail. He wants us to hold each other and his church together.

-Weather makes a nail stronger

I've not done a lot of construction in my life but I have talked with some folks who have and one thing the tell me is that the longer a nail stays in the wood the stronger it is. I would have a tendancy to see rusty nails and remove them. That would be the wrong thing to do. You see, the rust on the nail actually makes it adhere to the wood even more. That weathered nail has more grip and is stronger than a new one. Philippians 4:11-13 says:

"I am not saying this because I am in need,

for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances

I know what it is to be in need,

and I know what is is to have plenty.

I have learned the secret of being content in any

and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,

whether living in plenty or in want.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength"

We need to trust God where we are and allow his strength to surpass our capacity to endure any and every situation. We need to get a little rusty and become stronger in him.

As Christ Followers we need to allow God to put us in the church where he wants us. That may not be a perfect place. By the way, if you find the perfect church please tell me where it is, I'd like to visit there. The reality is it doesn't exist. What God wants is for us to find a place where he is at work and get involved. He wants us to plant and root ourselves in one place, using our time there as a chance to grow through the good and the not so good. He wants us to be a part of holding together and building up what he desires, even through the hard times, because we realize that the hard times make us stronger.

I hope you will find the place God wants you to be. A place where you can be a nail. You have a job to do. Drive yourself in deep wherever God has you.

The follow of my heart

On the new Needtobreathe album there is a song entitled "Garden." It's a fantastic song! The chorus says:

Let the songs I sing bring joy to you

Let the words I say confess my love

Let the notes I choose be your favorite tune

Father let my heart be after you

When I first heard the song I thought the final line was "let the follow of my heart be after you." When I heard the song a few more times I realized my mistake. As I have listened to the song over the last few weeks, and I have done that a lot, I keep hearing the wrong words. I know the last line is "Father let my heart..." but I keep hearing "Let the follow of my heart..."  Today I realized why.

To say it has been a tough week would be an understatement. I won't go into all the reasons why but suffice it to say it has not been a good one. Today I probably should have stayed home and let someone else bring the message at BridgePoint. I just was not in the right frame of mind to preach today. Don't get me wrong, God showed up today and I believe some great things happened, but it would only be because of Him. It is amazing how He uses us in spite of ourselves sometimes.

After I got home I didn't feel like doing much except lying on the couch and zoning out with a little football (Favre is amazing), golf and even NASCAR. As I laid there the words to "Garden" kept rolling through my head. Each time I got to the last line of the chorus instead of the right words I heard "Let the follow of my heart..."  Now I am a little slow but give me a little time and even I finally get it. You see, the majority of my struggles this week, and every week for that matter, are a result of "the follow" of my heart. 

When I let my heart follow after the temporary things of this world and that which brings momentary satisfaction I will always struggle. When I let anxiety and worry dictate and control my life, when I stop trusting God and try controlling  my on life and when I let the response of man rule my decisions, I am letting my heart follow the wrong thing. Faith and trust get shoved aside and stress and worry take over.

That familiar verse from Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that the Lord has "plans" for you, "plans" for me. He says the Lord has "plans to give you a hope and a future." Right after that, in verse 13, he tells us that the Lord declares that "you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." That's it! 

While I messed up the words to the song the truth in what I was hearing wasn't messed up at all. What God was trying to get through my thick skull was that when "the follow of my heart" is after Him I will find what I am looking for and when it is not I will struggle. It really is that simple. This week I let "the follow of my heart" get off track. This afternoon I have recommitted myself to seek and follow after Him, with all of my heart. 

How about you? Where's "the follow" of your heart? My prayer is that you also will recommit yourself to seeking after Him. Seeking Him with all of your heart. Jeremiah tells us "'I will be found by you', declares the Lord." What a promise!

By the way, get Needtobreathe, The Outsiders. It's a great album. You won't be disappointed. 

Whatever It Takes!

Tim

Know Him and make Him known.

These words to a chorus have been stuck in my head all week,

"All of life boils down to just one thing

to know Him and make Him known"

I don't know if it is because of the series I am preaching or because I turned 51 this past Friday, but I have really been focused on those words. 

The series is called ONE and has really challenged me with the idea of staying focused on the "one things" that are most important. The opportunities that I have each day to live out those words. Each day God gives me "ones." It might be one touch, one conversation, one encounter or one experience. All designed to give me a chance to know Him better and make Him known to this world. I am most alive when I am allowing myself to be used to reflect Him to the world. That's what I think Paul meant when in Eph. 2:10 he said:

"For we are God's workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance or us to do"

The prophet Jeremiah wrote "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord..." Paul tells us what that plan is. We are here to do good works. What is the good work we are here to do? See the words to the song. 

We are here to know Him and work like crazy to make sure as many people as we can know Him too. How do we do that? By seizing the many "one" opportunities He gives us. It really is that simple.

What about turning 51? The fact is as I get older I realize that my window to achieve the above is getting smaller. After all I am closer to 100 than I am to 0 (that's an ugly thought) and I have fewer years left to do what He has prepared for me to do. I told someone the other day that all I have ever wanted was a chance to win. A chance to make a significant impact. As each year passes I know that my "one" opportunities get fewer. I just want to make the most of each day I am given. I want to make the most of my "ones."

Will you join me in making the most of your "ones?" Make that one call. Take that one step. Have that one conversation. Reach out to the ones He puts in your path that need to know Him. I hope the words to that song resonate in your head and heart like they have in mine. Together we can make Him known, one person, one touch at a time!

Running on Empty

This past Sunday I concluded a series at BridgePoint called Ordinary People Extraordinary Lives. We wrapped it up by looking at a woman in the Old Testament. Her story is recorded in 2 Kings 4. Let me give you the short version.

A lady has lost her husband and inherited a great about of debt. She had no way to pay the debt and her husband's creditor was coming to take her two sons as his slaves as payment. She turned to the prophet Elisha for help. He asked her what she had to pay the debt and her reply was nothing. She was tapped out except for a "little oil." She was running on empty.

I have a feeling, like me, many of you can relate to this woman. We are tapped out, running on empty and just trying to keep our heads above water. We are desperately looking for a way out. We turn to God and God's people looking for answers, looking for help.

What is so interesting about this story is what happened next. Elisha tells the woman to go ask her neighbors for their empty jars. There are three really cool things related to this request. First, by getting the neighbors jars she realizes that she is not alone in her struggle. Not only are her jars empty, her neighbors have empty jars too.

Often times we feel so alone in our plight. It's as if we are the only one struggling. We feel like no one else can identify with us. The reality is that all around us are people who have equal or greater needs. We are not in this alone!

The second interesting thing is that instead of providing a quick exit for the woman Elisha forces her further into her emptiness. By gathering her neighbors empty jars he is asking her to surround herself with more emptiness. Often times in our lives God forces us further into our emptiness before he fills us. He asks that we become totally dependent on him. He wants us to totally trust him. He wants all of us and unless we are totally empty of self he can't fill us.

There is a promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 it says:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond

what you can bear. But, when you are tempted, he will also provide

a way out so that you can stand up under it."

One way to look at that scripture is the promise that as we are sometimes forced further into our emptiness we can take heart and trust that he is "faithful" and has given us the strength to endure and "bear" that emptiness. He also promises that when we can't "bear" it he will "provide a way out."

That leads me to the third truth I discovered in this story. The "way out" Elisha provided may not have seemed like a way out at first. You see, he tells the woman to pour her oil into the empty vessels she has around her. The problem is that the empty vessels he asks her to pour into aren't hers. They belong to her neighbors. Now, they had freely given them to her to help in this time of need, but the reality is that when she poured the oil into their jars she was risking them taking it for their own. After all the jars where theirs. Elisha is asking her to trust and be willing to risk what little she has. She had to trust her neighbors and the process.

Again, God is saying are you going to depend on me? Are you willing to give away what you are hanging on to so that you have nothing else but me? Are you willing to risk it all for me. Instead of running around on empty trying to figure it out on your own God is saying give it to me. Trust me you don't need what you are hanging on to. I will fill you.

Well, the story concludes with an awesome display of God's power, faithfulness and provision. The woman pours the little bit of oil she has in jar after jar and God multiplies that oil until every last jar is full. He provides enough for her to live on and to sell to meet her debts. He meets all her needs and gives more than she asked for.

Great story! By the way, I like to think there was a little oil left in those jars for those neighbors too. What do you think?

Whatever It Takes!

Tim

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