On the Go

I had the privilege of speaking at a local high school FCA breakfast (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) this morning and it reminded me of teaching high school, working in youth ministry and the fondness I still have for those times. Even after leaving the high school itself I spent many hours on campuses building relationships and visiting youth and adults. This is still an area of enjoyment for me even though it isn't my primary calling anymore. I enjoy the energy level, raw passion, and creativity of teens and it reinvigorated me to walk in their hallways this morning.

The bigger principle at work here is one that I always held firm as a value in reaching others. We have to leave the church grounds and spend time on the turf of people we want to influence if we are going to be effective. It's actually part of Jesus' commission to His Church-the simple command to GO. If we are going to lay claim to following Jesus we have to find ways to go into areas as His disciples.

A church that isn't on the move really isn't a church at all.

What Are You Growing?

If you have an orange tree in your backyard eventually you will probably see oranges grow. You can choose to paint the oranges a different color and you can even tie different fruit onto the branches to make it look like other fruit grew there. None of that changes what that tree is-it is still an orange tree.

We fall victim to the same thing in the church. We focus so intently on changing the outward appearance of things that we have forgotten the most important detail of changing our root structure. It is easy to put on a shirt with your church name on it and walk the halls on Sunday declaring how awesome God is. It is simple to pray out loud for the right things in a group of Christians. It is not a difficult thing to sing loudly when the worship music starts up and even lift a hand or two when we get to the chorus of the song. Without a change of heart (our root structure) you are still what you were before you knew Christ. Your true fruit (not just what others see inside church walls) is who you are.

I am thankful for the power of the Holy Spirit to change my roots. My daily prayer is that I would not be the same man tomorrow that I am today.

If It Makes You Happy

Isn't it an interesting little paradox that many of the people walking around in this world that have this great hope in Christ actually act the most miserable? I've often thought it ironic when we profess this confidence in Christ and in God's plan for our lives and yet don't act as if we believe it to be true. Every time I hear Sheryl Crow's old song it rings true-"if it makes you happy, why the heck are you so sad" (edited here for children's sake).

If we truly believe that our souls are saved and that we need to share that truth with others in the world, we should probably share the joy that comes with it.  Having that peace that Jesus describes means maintaining our attitude through good & bad times-that we are consistent in our joy. Kind of hard to convince others of the right way of life if we don't act like we believe it either. 

"Rejoice. And again I say-rejoice." Philippians 4:4