Everyone loves a good story. One of the best known tales in all the Bible is that of Jonah. But is it just a big fish tale that we learned growing up or is there more to it? Are there greater insights to be gleaned than a big fish swallowed a little man? We began answering those questions during our Gathering this morning. Jonah, in essence, put on a blindfold in the hopes that if God was out of sight he would be out of mind. In the midst of his running from God, he finds himself in the middle of sailors who desperately need to hear about the love of God. Unfortunately, Jonah was silent. Do you ever find yourself in that kind of position - surrounded by people who need to hear the message of the Gospel - and yet you're silent? Why do we do that? Why do we often avoid the situations God puts in front of us daily?
The clock is ticking down toward the crucifixion. Jesus gathers his disciples around him to teach them one last, profound message. John 13 records the washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus. Our focus yesterday was on this phrase: "and having loved them, he now showed them the full extent of his love." In the context of this passage, Jesus connects love with servanthood. In other words, you really haven't loved someone fully until you are willing to serve them.
What is it about serving others that is most difficult for us? Is it that we are lazy? Do we struggle with time management? Do we not understand kingdom values? Is it pride? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts about why there seems to be a gulf between knowing and doing!
On Sunday we spoke about the dreaded "E" word. You know the one I mean. The word that strikes terror in churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike. Evangelism. Most non-churchgoers, when encountering the word, imagine the letters TV in front of it, opening the door for all kinds of negative images. The dominate Sales Basis Approach to evangelism (create need, demonstrate how the gospel fills that need, move for a close through the sinners prayer) has led to many of those negative images.
Jesus' dominate method of evangelism was spiritual conversations. He was a master of asking questions that allowed him to climb into their lives. The number one evangelism tool for the 21st century is the ability to ask leading questions and then actively listen. I asked these questions on Sunday and I would love to get your feedback: "What would it look like for Crosspointe to inject the evangelism model of Jesus into its DNA?" "When was the last time you engaged someone in a spiritual conversation?" What fears to do you have related to evangelism?"
The next phase of our move toward the Austin Ranch area is under way! God has seen to fit to answer our request for a meeting with the developer of Austin Ranch. The meeting is scheduled for 10/10 @ 11 a.m. That is the inspiration for my call for 10 minutes of prayer at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. for the next 10 days.
For many of you, praying for this meeting and now the meeting itself is something that you have been involved in all along. Let me challenge you to consider joining me in a whatever 10 day fast God may lay on your heart. A fast from coffee. A fast from lunch. Maybe even a fast from all food for the next ten days.
Consider sharing your stories of your fast and the results of your times of prayer!
Our focus Sunday was on the power of passion. The word passion has its Latin roots in the word passio which means suffering. As someone passionate about Notre Dame football, I can attest to the connection between passion and pain (for those of you who don't follow college football, the once mighty Fighting Irish have begun the 2007 campaign with four consecutive losses for the first time in their storied history).
I'm interested in your reactions to the power of passion and our model of discipleship summed up in the phrase, be one, make one, for one. Do you connect with the phrase and the accompanying concept of personal responsibility in fulfilling Christ's command to make disciples? Did you participate in the graffiti experience at the end of the Gathering? Did it connect with you? What challenges to you foresee in fulfilling the covenant you made on Sunday?
As I said Sunday, I believe God is positioning us strategically to fulfill our divine destiny. Full possession of that destiny will require courage. Courage that is both counterintuitive and strategic. Courage like that often wanes in the face of obstacles, time and other challenges. Chief among those challenges is our natural tendency to be pulled gravitationally toward the familiar. Breaking free of the gravitational attraction of the familiar may well be our greatest obstacle.
What makes the gravitational attraction of the familiar so powerful? In what ways have you felt that pull throughout this process? What ways have you discovered to break free of this gravitational field?
Researchers at the University of Rochester have shown that people who played action video games for a few hours a day over the course of a month improved by about 20 percent in their ability to identify letters presented in clutter—a visual acuity test similar to ones used in regular ophthalmology clinics. In essence, playing video game improves your bottom line on a standard eye chart. "Action video game play changes the way our brains process visual information," says Daphne Bavelier, professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester. "After just 30 hours, players showed a substantial increase in the spatial resolution of their vision, meaning they could see figures like those on an eye chart more clearly, even when other symbols crowded in."
Wouldn't it be wonderful if each of us could improve our spiritual eyesight as simply as adding a few hours of video gaming to our daily lives? In what areas have you seen improvement in your spiritual eyesight? If you battle a vision problem in your spiritual life, what would it be? Would it be spiritual nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism or tunnel vision? How has your spiritual vision problem been corrected?
Our lives seem to have a common refrain, "I'm so busy!" Author and Pastor Mark Batterson suggests that we wear it like a badge around our neck with no small degree of pride. As if our exhaustion were a trophy and our ability to withstand stress as a mark of real character.
Our challenge Sunday was about creating some space in our lives for "mindful breaths." We spoke of creating margin by observing the 6:1 rhythm of God's creation -six days of work with one day of rest. We also talked about the importance of putting first things first in our lives and creating some sacred space in which God can do some unexpected things.
What are the greatest challenges you face in godly time management? Do you even struggle with creating space in your life? How can the church assist you in that process or is the church part of the problem?
I challenge you to walk through the self-help or business section of your favorite local bookstore and find more than a volume or two on the subject of sacrifice. Books on topics like weight loss, money making and success are a dime a dozen. Why? Very few people are interested in being challenged about sacrifice.
I mentioned Sunday that our culture has mastered the art of costless generosity. We are generous to a fault with things we consider to be "extra" in our lives and donate those items to charity. That is a great thing that demonstrates good stewardship of the resources God has provided for us but it is not to be confused with sacrifice. How are you sacrificing your time, your resources and your life for the cause of Christ? What are the biggest obstacles to sacrifice in our lives?
Life has a tendency to serve up seemingly impossible and insurmountable challenges when we least expect it. Perhaps it's that frightening diagnosis from your doctor, the unexpected call from your boss about company downsizing, or the betrayal of a spouse or a child with whom you are constantly battling. These challenges may not always be life-threatening but they are always life-altering.
How do we deal with these seemingly impossible challenges? We learned Sunday that it begins with admitting that we are in over our head followed by belief that God has a solution to our challenge. We can then catalog our resources before delivering what we have to God. Which of those four steps - admitting, believing, cataloging and delivering - is the most difficult for you and why?
