How Faith-based is Your Organization?

What a strange descriptor for organizations! How can I really call my organization 'faith-based'? What would really qualify it as such? Does my organization... - have assurance of things it hopes for - have a conviction for things we cannot actually see - have a relentless trust in God that goes beyond our projected goals and budget - trust more in God's providing than its own talents, gifts, and leadership - say "God's grace and gospel are sufficient for me" before saying "insufficient funds" - trust the Holy Spirit is accomplishing great things with or without us - take risks that can only be described as faithful - step out on nothing to land on something - come to the end of things with an awe that it actually happened the way it did - give more credit to God than the team

How "faith-based" is your organization?

2 Lies We Believe About Ourselves

There are two lies we come to believe in our belief system, and because we believe them, we react in ways that are destructive to us. 1 The Lies People Tell Us The first kind of lies we believe are those that are projected onto us by others; most often by those who are authority figures and those closest to us. There is no defense against these lies when you are younger. Those sorts of lies are the ones which cut right to the heart and become the 'truths' we allow to run our lives. If you were told you were bad, you believed you were bad. If you were told you were ugly, you believed you were ugly. If you were told you were dumb, you believed you were dumb. If you were told you were too dramatic, you believed you were too dramatic. Get the point??

The result can be an inability to tell the difference between what you did and WHO YOU ARE!

2. The Lies We Tell Ourselves The other sort of lies we believe are those we tell ourselves in order to survive. These are crafted by ourselves in circumstances when we were abused or neglected. These are moments when our true needs are not met. We grow less and less vulnerable because of this. We did not want to get hurt any longer; so we became less vulnerable in order to avoid getting hurt. We start to believe things (lies) like, "I don't need anybody," "Nobody really cares what I think or feel anyway."

We begin to believe things like this and grow more and more numb; less and less vulnerable. The problem with this is that refusing to be vulnerable may actually be less painful for the moment BUT it undermines our ability to have good and healthy relationships in the future.

We have to begin the process of disproving the lies (projected and survival) we have come to believe as truth, because those beliefs are tearing us down.

You're Welcome: Eliot Rausch

Every once in a while you come across a website that just steals your attention right from under you. You may not even know why, but you find yourself just mindlessly clicking through because you just have to see one…more…post. These will be things I find to share with you; things before you thank me for showing, I’ll just say, “You’re welcome!”

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A friend of mine shared a short film with me entitled O Night Divine! I followed the link and immediately found myself in the world of Eliot Rausch. This director and editor has several stunning projects he has posted for people to enjoy online. I have attached a spotlight shown on Late Night with Carson Daily. Within the spotlight there is reference to one of his short films entitled Last Minutes with Oden. This thing will rip your heart out in a redemptive way.

I could not stop watching Eliot's films on his website. Take some time to watch as much as you can. My recommendations, in order, are: Last Minutes with Oden, Eds Story, O Night Divine

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/23510840 w=400&h=300]

Eliot Rausch on "Last Call" with Carson Daly from Eliot Rausch + Phos Pictures on Vimeo.

4 Spiritual Eating Disorders

Many Christians engage the discussion of "being fed", and I began to think of the following eating disorders in the church when it comes to "being fed": OBESITY: Only attend church so we can "be fed". "If I they don't feed me there, I'm leaving for another church with a better buffet." Always eat; no exercise. Constantly being fed but doing no work with the spiritual food taken in. Doing nothing outside the walls of the church. These are obese Christians!

ANOREXIC: do not need or want to be fed. never take the time to be nurtured spiritually. end up losing the strength and spiritual nutrition the spirit needs. ends up weak and despondent. ends up destroying and killing the spirit once it has gone too far. These are anorexic Christians!

OVER-EXERCISED: looks similar to the anorexic Christian, but a significant difference. often your Church leaders; obsessed with ministry. go hard all the time. never take the time to rest in connection with the heart of God. rarely fed, but going all the time...."but its fine because its ministry, right?" These are overexercised Christians!

BULEMIC: Often characterized by a binging of spiritual input. ends up expelling everything in an apathetic forgetfulness. goes to the church, gets fed (sometimes a lot), but forgets everything once it hits the door.

HEALTHY: ?

Restoration: n

res*to*ra*tion [res-tuh-rey-shun]noun 1. act of renewing or reviving 2. a state of being restored/returned to original 3. a restitution of something lost or stolen 4. recreated setting, as in a historical house 5. repair or replacement

re*store [ri-stawr, -stohr] verb 1. to bring back, as to use or good condition 2. to give back

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This is my word of the year. I want these things in my heart, soul, life, and world. I want this for me. I want it for those close to me, and I want it for strangers.

Identity Control and other thoughts on who I am

The truth is that when I am in control of my own life, I end up being very destructive to myself and others. This is why it is very important for my life to be directed and controlled by God. But the problem is that I give control over to other things and people when I allow other things and people to determine WHO I AM! I realize in my head that these things cannot make me who I am intended to be, but I still find myself living differently. These things may change who I am on the outside, but they have nothing to do with who I really am. What I do comes out of who I am. How much do I realize God's love for me? God loves me and cares about me. He has a plan and purpose for my life; all the other things I use to determine who I am are false. All the other things I have attached "my self" to are "idols". I have attached my identity, "who I am", to other things than God and have, in so doing, created idols.

My true identity, who I really am, is God's beloved. I have to claim my identity solely with that realization. IF I were able to do that perfectly, I would have given God complete control of my life...

...IF...

4 Hopes Students Have for the Church

I read an article this week interviewing college students about their hopes for the future of the Church. As one who spends his life not only trying to reach this generation of the church but also listening to them, I thought it important to share some of these hopes.

It is important because it is a bit overzealous to jump to the conclusion that college students are leaving their faith all together when many of them are simply leaving your churches. It is important to reveal their HOPES in the shadow the ASSUMPTIONS we commonly have about them. If we were really concerned with why they were leaving, we would listen to THEM.

4 Hopes Students Have for the Church:

Community and relationships become vital Relationship, relationship, relationship. This generation is far more focused on getting to know people's stories before being concerned with converting them. They hope for a church that is driven by being a community and serving its community. This is a church that is outrageously generous and hospitable. This is a church that does not compartmentalize the rest of their lives, but understands church is how we live not part of me I engage on Sundays. 

Unity over separation This generation vehemently resists the separation mentality, and they will not participate in a Church which maintains that mentality. They resist the separation people 'different' from one another. They not only resist, but are simply baffled by the separation of church from church. Believe it or not, they resist separation of old and young.

There is hope in this generation for a church where the younger are engaged by and with the older, but there is a very important realization here that most of your churches are drastically missing. This means much more than just wanting to be discipled by someone older. This means this generation wants to be and needs to be engaged in the direction and vision of the church. This means, practically, your elders should want to hear from them. They should be a part of the church, not simply have Church dictated to them...which comes a large deal out of the next hope...

Lighten up a bit They hope to see a Church not so worked up over a rigid structure. They hope for Church to provide space for questions and ways to help translate theology into practical and understandable methodology. Listen, this generation IS excited about the gospel and truth, but they want to really think, pray, and study instead of simply being told what gospel and truth is...so yes, this generation DOES have a huge hope for...

Outreach and Evangelism They are excited about the gospel and seeing the gospel realized in this world. Understand that they look at scripture and they see beyond redemption to restoration. They desire to see restoration of what is broken with each of us and within this world. This generation hopes for a focus not only on "the decision" but also past the decision to follow Jesus. Again, relationships become vital here. They are more concerned with relationships than converts, because as you come to really know someone, they can speek the true restoration of the gospel into people's true stories and lives.

Overall, it is important to realize that I am not speaking here about 'the church of tomorrow'. I hate that phrase nearly more than any other. No body has future parts; neither does the body of Christ. This generation realizes this and is tired of being treated like future parts.

You're Welcome: one word 365

I was catching up on my list of blogs, and my friend, Malisa shared this website and challenge today.

One Word 365

I think it is a great way to look into a new year. It is a great way to make movements toward truly seeing things grow in the right way within and around us.

The one word website describes the challenge this way:

"One word can change everything. Forget New Year’s Resolutions. Scrap the long list of goals that you won’t remember three weeks from now anyway. Choose just one word. One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live or what you want to achieve by the end of 2012. One word that you can focus on every day, all year long. It will take hard work, and will require intentionality and commitment. But if you let it, your word will shape you and your year. It will guide your decisions and help you grow."

My word for this year will be: RESTORATION

What would your word be for this year?

Top 5 Ragamuffinpc Posts of 2011

5. All is Grace [Review] 4. 3 Reasons Your Pastor's Sermons Stink

3. Quick letter to my female students

2. Why Ted Williams is Unwelcome

1. 5 Reasons your Introverted Pastor does not hate you

* I guess my readers love them some lists. Noted!

The wrong Golden Rule

"Do for others what you want them to do for you; for this is the law and the prophets." - Matthew 7:12 Easy enough! The Golden Rule! I mean even non-Christians believe this one. We've been ingrained with this rule since we were all sitting on carpet squares and drinking chocolate milk from a small carton, right? Does our world look like one ingrained with this rule?

Not only do non-Christian people believe the Golden Rule, but most all religions will have something to its effect in their scripture. But there is commonly one difference in the Golden Rule as it is often portrayed in places other than the Christian Bible.

In most cases, the Golden Rule is written, read, or quoted as:

"Don't do to others what you don't want done to you."

There is a significant difference between this Golden Rule and the one Jesus gives us in Matthew.

What is the difference?

Jesus' Golden Rule is proactive. Most other examples of the Golden Rule are in a negative and defensive standpoint. That is not the Golden Rule Jesus has placed before us. In fact, it is almost entirely different. He certainly made it more difficult.

Its not all that hard to simply refrain from doing bad things to people, but it is often very difficult to take initiative to be intentional about doing something good for others. This is a foundational law God has give us, and it is not the Golden Rule you may have in your mind all the time.

Jesus' Golden Rule is proactive.

The Great Irony of Control

One of the things which keeps us from being closer to the heart of God or from healing from the things that inhibit us is CONTROL.  We are always running after and holding on to control.  We desire to control everything.  We want to control everyone.  Then we realize we cannot control everything and everyone and it is devastating to our personal world. It is for this reason that we do not really want to be broken.  It is for this reason we are unable to really be what God wants us to be: whole.  It is for this reason we feel like our lives are actually "out of control".

It is a great irony.

In scripture, God is continually calling us into the desert place.  There is healing in the desert; if we would only go.  But the desert is terrifying.  Some part of us knows if we go into the desert, we will be forced to journey, and in a journey you do not control what happens.  You are alone in the desert, and that means you are your own company.  Most of us could think of no worse company, because when we are alone we have nobody to impress or control.  We have to look at ourselves and deal with things we typically avoid by directing our attention and focus on other people.

The desert has healing and peace that await us, but we do not really want desert healing because THAT healing requires us to relent our control of our world.  We can no longer grasp on to the things we have always controlled (or tried to).  In the desert, if we choose to go, we have to let go of all the things we try to control and look at ourselves.

The true control is that which those things within have over you.  The hurt, the pain, the addictive behaviors, the selfishness, the anger, the bitterness, the fear, the jealousy.  All of these things and more are within us, and in order not to feel or deal with those things we react...with control.  As long as we can control our world around us, we will never have to look at or reveal those wounds within.

Then like a pathological liar, our life begins to get out of control as we attempt to control things we, in actuality, cannot control.  The great irony!

Real healing...real peace will happen when we give up thinking we can or trying to control things and people around us, and begin to live a life of trust and healing.  Our worry is only an attempt to control our world and those things within it.  We cannot control things and people which is why our lives seem so out of control.