The Right Desire

While reading this week, I came across this prayer from Thomas Merton, an influential American monk. I connect with his transparency and the way he is able to communicate his raw emotions. I think this kind of authenticity is appealing because it helps to know that we all struggle through different phases of this life.

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

Housekeeping

Early in our married life my wife and I were terrible slobs (thankfully that is no longer the case.) We didn't really have the discipline to keep a tidy house and allowed our schedules (and laziness) to keep us from cleanliness. Eventually we would reach a mutual point of disgust (and lack of clean dishes) that would force us to stop pretending things were clean. We could no longer hide piles of newspapers under the couch or dirty clothes behind a closed laundry room door. Things had to be dealt with or the situation was never going to get any better.

I think we can do the same thing with the spiritual health of our life. We don't have the proper habits to keep things in order so they slide into disarray. While we might be uneasy about the state of things, we also realize we can hide it for a while if we're careful. Eventually, the mess will become more noticeable in our relationships, our attitude, and our overall health and we'll be forced to do something about it.

I don't want to pretend that spiritual health is supposed to be neat and orderly. In fact, I think it's the exact opposite. An authentic spiritual journey has rough edges, is far from perfect, and doesn't always flow smoothly according to everybody's expectations. The key to keeping things moving forward is to be free to call it for what it is as we keep working on it. Pretending that things are neat and clean because we are hiding the truth doesn't benefit anyone. Be willing to admit we are all messy while pursuing God's best in our lives. That's the quality of a genuine life headed in the right direction.

The Biggest Risk

What if I’m honest with you about who I am and you don’t like me? Then I’ve been real and my real self has been rejected. Is that a risk we are willing to take? That’s why we don’t practice transparency. If you criticize a false image of me, you haven’t really hurt me even though it might sting a little. This leaves us with a choice to make: hide who we really are in an effort to protect ourselves or be real and hope for the best. We might feel safer with the former choice, but we’ll never engage in a relationship of significance unless we choose the latter.

Authentic community doesn’t happen without the risky step of being who we really are.

Be Real

Yogi Berra, the Hall of Fame Yankees catcher, turned 90 years old yesterday. He is famous for his "Yogi-isms", his affable nature, and his incredible playing career. He is the owner of 10 World Series rings and was also named Most Valuable Player three different times in his career. Yogi is regarded as one of the best catchers to ever play the game and also had a solid managerial career. He is an individual that is loved by many people and is still respected today.

I have always been an admirer of Yogi and appreciate his contribution to the game, but that isn't the best part of who he is. I heard a sports journalist share yesterday that Yogi Berra is an American treasure because he is exactly who he appears to be. There is no pretense, falsehood, or self aggrandizement in his nature. He is genuinely kind, gentle, humorous, and personable.

I don't share this to overestimate him, but to point out how attractive the quality of authenticity is. I think that we struggle with that concept in our own lives, but also in seeing it in other people. We tend to believe that "he can't be for real" because we aren't used to seeing authenticity in others. It's attractive because we actually desire it and seek it even if we aren't used to it.

Being real is what we should aspire to in our own lives.

It's a Risk

Most of us fear rejection. We don't like to take a risk and then be summarily dismissed. It can be an intimidating prospect to be rejected for a job, a date, or an opportunity. It's much more painful if we feel that action is directed specifically at our identity.

John Powell wrote in his book, Why I Am Afraid To Tell You Who I Am?, "I am afraid to tell you who I am, because, if I tell you who I am, you may not like who I am, and it's all that I have." We avoid personal honesty & transparency because that puts us at tremendous risk of injury if it isn't received well. While we might feel that constructing a facade to hide our true selves behind will keep us safe, it will also ensure the lack of real relationship & community. We won't ever be able to enjoy depth in our most personal relationships and will become increasingly isolated.

I'm not suggesting that we need to rent a billboard to advertise our true selves or spew all of it out via social media. Instead we make an intentional effort with a select few people to share who we really are. It's a risky endeavor, but one that brings depth in its rewards.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

There It Is

The story of three guys from the Bible who stood up to cultural pressure (Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego) is fresh on my mind since I just preached on it yesterday. These three men have the opportunity to do what everybody else is doing, but resist the pressure of those around them and take a stand. This comes with consequences as they are thrown into a fire, but they are not consumed as God saves them. The king who vehemently opposed them calls out to them, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" His tone changed from one of direct opposition to now recognizing the God that they served.

That brings up a tough personal question: can people see God working in us even if they don't share the same belief system? Can people say about us, "I don't believe in your God, but I can clearly see that you do!" This is the passionate authenticity the world is desperate for and will be curious about when they witness it in action.

The Real Deal

Our life group was talking about the growth of Northridge and how God is continuing to do big things. We talked about things that brought us all to the church and for each of us the reason was different. It included moving from out of state, being invited by a friend, growing up in the church, and settling there after doing some "church shopping." The one characteristic that people said helped to keep them there was that the leaders of our church were real. There was never any feeling of putting on a show or creating a facade of having it all together. People feel that the leaders of the church are able to admit their struggles and that this helped to create a sense of belonging as we all worked to move forward on this journey of faith.

That's what God wants His Church to be. It should be a safe place to be transparent about our weaknesses--not to boast about them, but to highlight our desperate need for God's strength and grace. When the Church is willing to be that genuine it will attract people who are tired of artificial substitutes for living faith.

Out of the Spotlight

It's much easier to lead people from the platform than it is in the trenches. Time on the stage is always limited and focused--the spotlight is only on for a short amount of time. It's the leading that is done alongside staff members and shareholders that reveals depth of character, level of integrity, and true leadership potential. Daily interaction in positive & negative situations will highlight who a leader is when they aren't working to impress someone. It reinforces John Wooden's quote, "Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there."

To be an effective, respected leader more time should be spent in the daily discipline of maintaining integrity than establishing an impressive stage presence.

Contender or Pretender?

I was sitting in barber's chair watching ESPN baseball scores last week & saw teams that were hot in the 1st part of the season (including my beloved Mets) but have now faded as reality has settled in. They appeared to be contenders, but their lack of depth, immaturity, and dearth of talent has been exposed. They were able to fake it for a while, but didn't have what was necessary to make it all the way through.

The same can be said about leaders. People can begin with a great personality and a powerful sounding vision that motivates and inspires. The passing of time however will reveal a lack of work ethic, an inability to make decisions, and flaws in character. These are especially highlighted in trials, tension, and conflict and will doom a team's hope for success.

Remaining a contender as a leader is never accidental, but requires a dedication to character development and humble submission to God's authority. It must be a personal daily focus of making the necessary adjustments to ensure long-lasting leadership.

Get Real

I was looking at a blog this morning that was simply pictures from a week of camp hosted in my hometown of Daytona Beach. It was from NewSpring Church's summer camp, "Gauntlet" and the 2600 campers & volunteers that were part of the week. I sat with tears in my eyes watching pictures roll by of young people being baptized in the ocean, engaging in worship, laughing with each other, and sitting under powerful teaching. It inspired me in so many ways to see their reactions to all of their experiences.

I wondered why it impacted me so much until I realized it was because what I was seeing was genuine. There is something about authenticity that is so attractive it stirs up our emotions and engages our curiosity. It is the pull of a magnet that we almost can't describe--a feeling deep within us that makes us want what we are seeing. 

It is the reason that we are struggling to see Christ as the Lord of this city. We have to strip away our carefully constructed facades and admit that we are struggling people who desperately need grace and recognize that it comes through Jesus Christ alone. When we mobilize people who are passionate about this and willing to be honest we will start to see a revival in our city unlike anything this region has witnessed before. Are we willing to be that humble? 

Full Disclosure

God desires a relationship with us that is fully engaged. We are the ones that tend to compartmentalize and keep parts locked away in our brain & spirit in an attempt to hide from Him. Theologically speaking this is impossible, but we still convince ourselves that we achieve it. It doesn't prevent God from knowing us, but it will prevent us from completely knowing Him. 

We become fully exposed to God when we humbly engage Him at every level and area of life. This changes our interaction with Him by making our faith commitment more authentic. We struggle with this total surrender because we believe the lie that we can control/limit our sin to parts of our existence. We fail to surrender because we are ashamed of the sin that has entangled us and don't want to relinquish it or don't believe that God can heal us from it.

Removing our mental & spiritual barriers leads to a familiarity with God that will transform our opinion of His desire to be engaged in real life with us. It will open us up to a relationship that is deeply powerful and genuinely intimate. It becomes a force that we live with in all of our life environments and not just a convenient stop-gap on Sunday mornings or when life gets tough. 

Full disclosure leads to full engagement.

Broken Hallelujah

Music speaks to our souls and is a reflection of the intense passion we feel for life and ultimately for God. It is a way that we express our need for Him and recognize His constant presence and provision.

Our devotion, however, is imperfect. We lift our hands in surrender to the King as our spirits painfully stretch to communicate with His Holy Spirit. Our voices strain in honest moments of worship as we battle the confinements of physical life. It is not always fueled by a heart overflowing with happiness, but it is rooted in a desire for joyful understanding of His abiding love. 

There is something beautiful and sweet in the fragmented hallelujah of our flawed worship. God is able to take the meager portions that we offer to Him from our wounded insecurities and transform it into glorious perfection. He takes delight in the murmurings of honest praise from broken people.

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.

HFFA

There is a phrase that used to describe something that looks better from a distance. It may not be the kindest of statements or phrases, but it is certainly applicable in certain situations. It is abbreviated by the letters HFFA and stands for "Hot From Far Away." It is not something that I would like to have said about me and honestly would be a little crushing to the ego if it was used to describe me.

What if this phrase was used to describe Christians-not in our physical appearance, but in our dedication to Christ? How would it make us feel to have someone say that we appeared to be committed to the cause of Christ from a distance, but once they got up close it just wasn't the same?

That type of inauthentic belief is what keeps us from pursuing Him fully and causes the rest of the world to accuse the church of being full of hypocrites. When we pursue authenticity and are honest about the journey of following Christ we start to be real enough that people might want to experience Him for themselves.