Disunity: The Us vs. Us Mentality

"Disunity" by Wojtek Kowalski

I am saddened today by Christian "brothers" and "sisters" that point at other church bodies around them and tell others not to attend there because they have heard this or that about them.  I have to use quotes around "brothers" and "sisters" because I'm not so sure they consider me a brother if they think it necessary to dissuade others from attending the church Body that I am part of.

I am of the mind that if you believe in Jesus, God's only son, for your salvation, and you are seeking Him, you are my kin.  I don't care what you think of all the other doctrinal issues in our world.  I don't care if you are pre-tribulation, post-tribulation, Calvinist, Armenian, Wesleyan, Methodist, Four Square, Catholic, Assembly of God, Church of Christ, Non-instrumental, Baptist, Lutheran, Open Bible, etc.  But, I am continually reminded that there are those in this world who are arrogant enough to believe that their way of thinking and interpreting the Bible is the only way and will continue to bad-mouth the Body of Christ, His Bride, until the day He returns.  

I am reminded of Jesus' prayer for us recorded in John 17.  I continue to pray this over myself, over you, over the Church universal.  May we get it!  May we continue to grow in unity and love until Jesus returns.

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  John 17:20-23 (NIV)

God, forgive me for when I have bad-mouthed your bride.  Help me to love Your Church the way you love Your Church.  Continue to work in us compassion, understanding, and love.  May there never be competition or envy.  May those who cause strife and division be silenced.  In Jesus' name! 

What Life Are You Waiting For?

In reading from Axiom by Bill Hybels, in the chapter, "What Life Are You Waiting For?" Bill penned this:

Many years ago I shared a conference stage with Joni Eareckson Tada.

Joni Eareckson Tada

She did a Q&A session following one of her talks, and someone in the audience asked her how she kept going - how she kept leading and serving and creating - despite her obvious physical challenges.

I'll remember her answer for a long, long time. She said, "This is the only time in history when I get to fight for God. This is the only part of my eternal story when I am actually in the battle. Once I die, I'll be in celebration mode in a glorified body in a whole different set of circumstances. But this is my limited window of opportunity, and I'm going to fight the good fight for all I'm worth."

 Joni got it right at the conference that day, and I came away from the event more resolute than ever that if I'm waiting for some other life to be courageous, then I'm kidding myself.

Then later at the end of the same chapter Bill writes,

This is the only leadership life I get, my one and only shot at following God the way I feel him prompting me to do so. This isn't some pregame warm-up. It's the game, and the clock is ticking!

 What life are you waiting for?

It's a good question and truth for me to ponder.  I am one that has allowed fear and doubt to control me. I have allowed those fears and doubts to become bigger in my mind than my God.  And I know the truth of the matter, that He is more than able and when I am weak, He is strong.  I need to walk according to those beliefs and be a good steward of this life I've been given to "fight the good fight for all I'm worth". 

Reading Thoughts- November 12, 2012

In reading today there were two concepts that spoke to me.  One is John the Baptist's words in John 3:30, "He must become greater; I must become less."  The other is in John 4:34, "'My food', said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.'"

Both verses really point to the same issue within me; selfishness.

If I am going to be a disciple, I really need to get these concepts down.  God must become greater in my life.  His will, rather than my own, needs to become the driving force in my life.  

God, I submit to your authority and lordship.  I lay down all I have, and claim to be, at your feet to be used for your purposes.  I confess my selfish thoughts and pursuits, and desire your Spirit to transform my thought and pursuits in order that your kingdom be furthered through me.  May Your will be done.

An Excuse To Use Creativity

"It's the most wonderful time of the year."  So goes the tune inside my head as I think about this time of year.  No, I'm not talking about the "Christmas in July" sale happening at your local mattress store, but I'm talking about preparing for Fantasy Football Season.

I suppose I'd still be considered a newbie, but this is my fourth year playing fantasy football and I am hooked.  My love of fantasy football even drove me to watch the actual NFL draft this year follow closely every move made in free agency.  Today I rejoiced as Matt Forte and Ray Rice signed long-term contracts, because I had already drafted them in a couple of my early-draft leagues.  

Part of the process of fantasy football is coming up with the right name.  A lot of times a name will have something to do with current issues in NFL football or it will be a play on a certain players name.  I like to add a bit of humor in with some of them myself.

So, all that to say, I want to share my 2012 team names with you.  Ready?  Here goes:

1. Hoomanawanui To You Too- not much of a back story on this one other than this particular Rams tight end has a crazy name that barely fits on his jersey.
2. The Bountiful Vilmas- you have to have lived under a rock to not hear about the bounty scandal with the New Orleans Saints this year.  Jonathan Vilma is one of the players that has been suspended for the year because of his alleged involvement in the bounties.
3. 1K4A Cart Off- this one is in regards to the above mentioned bounties where players were supposedly offered $1000 to hit someone hard enough that they would have to be carted off the field.
4. Scoblo Beefy Boyz- this is a result of me being lazy and not being creative with my name.
5. Scoblo Blackshirts- this name isn't too creative either, but it fits with the league.  The league is a Nebraska Cornhusker league, so I wanted to rep the community and have the team name tie in with something Husker.
6. The Yellow Perils- here is another example of a league dictating the name.  This team is in a Green Lantern league.  The Green Lantern is a comic book character.  I had to do a little research to get creative with this one.  I researched villains of Green Lantern over the years and in different spans of the comic books existence and came up with this one.
7. The Harbaugh Backslaps- last year there was an incident between two coaches during an after game handshake.  Jim Schwartz of the Detroit Lions and Jim Harbaugh of the San Francisco 49ers met in the middle of the field for the "good game" handshake and good ol' Harbaugh got a little zealous with his handshake and gave Schwartz a little shove.  It turned into a little yelling match and if Schwartz would've had his way they would've thrown down right there.
8. APs Off-Duty PoPos- derived from Adrian Petersen's recent run-in with some off-duty officers moonlighting as security officers in a night club in Texas.
9. Tannehill?  TannYerHyde!- is just a clever little play on words inspired by the 8th overall draft pick by Miami Ryan Tannehill.
10. Weeden Out The Bad McCoys- is another play on a couple names in a tricky situation.  Brandon Weeden was the new QB drafted in the first round this year to come in and replace Colt McCoy who hasn't been doing a stellar job in leading the Cleveland Browns.
11. Manning's Last Nerve- is an homage to my favorite team, the Denver Broncos, and their acquiring of this season's hottest free agent, Peyton Manning.  He had sat out last year with the Indie Colts because of neck surgeries and nerve damage that was not allowing him to have control over his arm like he needs to have.  Here's to hoping that problem is solved and we'll see the Broncos in the Super Bowl this year.
12. The Wilfork TD Machines- is probably my favorite name this year.  It is in honor of Vince Wilfork, a massive defensive lineman with the New England Patriots.  The great thing about this 350 lb machine is that he had several interceptions last year, of which I can think of two, that he ran back for touch downs.  It does my heart good to see a big man like this running for his life toward the end zone.
13. Scoblo Shank-O-Potamus- in another ode to laziness possibly.  It was derived actually because I saw the logo first of the outline of a hippos head with a little knife and it said "Shank-O-Patamus" along the bottom.  I instantly fell in love.

So, there you have it.  A piece of my nerdery.  This is part of why it is such a wonderful time of the year.  I am waiting just a little impatiently for September when all the action of games start.

If you haven't tried fantasy football and are thinking about it, don't be afraid to plunge right in.  It's cheap and easy and provides hours of entertainment.  It also provides you with in depth understanding and studying of America's most-loved game.

Creativity and Christian "Artists"

I'm going to take a minute here for a little rant. I know I haven't blogged in a while now, but this snapped me out of my unblogging fog. Ready for a rant? Here goes...

Some friends borrowed my FM transmitter for my iPod this weekend so I have been reduced to listening to the radio. I tuned in to KLove, which for those of you who aren't Christian, or just don't know, KLove is a contemporary Christian music station. As I was driving back to the office after lunch I heard a familiar guitar riff from a great song called, "Overcome", written by Jon Egan and featured on a worship album called "Counting on God" from New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Only this wasn't that version. It was, according to the radio announcer, the latest song from Jeremy Camp. Disappointed I was. (Yes, I just threw in some Yoda-nese for y'all) Instead of playing the original version, written and performed by the original artist, they pawned off yet another song onto another one of contemporary Christian music's poster boys. Jeremy Camp didn't even bother to try to make it his own, except for adding his gravelly, nu-metal voice to it.

That scenario brings me to the real crux of this blog, the lack of creativity from the "artists" that seemed to be pushed so hard by the contemporary Christian music scene and contemporary Christian radio. KLove is filled with songs being performed by people doing less creative versions of songs than those that originally wrote and recorded the songs. Third Day, Phillips Craig and Dean, and now Jeremy Camp, are some of the worst offenders.

Come on Christian artists, producers, record execs, radio managers...quit spending so much time ripping off other people's songs and write your own, record something new, take a chance on the original writers and performers and push them as hard as you push all your poster children.

I'm done with my tirade for now. :) If you like the song "Overcome", I encourage you to check out the original version and go to youtube.com to check out the back story on the song and why it was written. Oh, and familiarize yourself with the writer, Jon Egan, and his body of work with New Life and the Desperation Band.

Am I Simon the Sorcerer?

I recently went to Catalyst, a conference for Christian leaders. I enjoy these types of conferences because they can energize you and give you some new ideas. This one was no different. The theme was "Take Courage" and I am at a place in my life and ministry where I need to hear that message. I was in need of some energy and fresh life in my soul. It provided that.

Today, in reading in Acts 8, I came across the story of Simon the Sorcerer. He practiced sorcery and boasted that he was someone great. When Philip came to town, Simon was amazed at the miracles he was performing. Then when Peter and John came to town and prayed and laid hands on the people so the Spirit would come on the people of Samaria, Simon tried to buy the gift. Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God."

There was the "Ouch!" in my soul.

I just spent $500 out of pocket to go to a conference hoping that in some way it would help bring about the work of the Spirit to the Body here at WestWay. I hoped that in some way the miraculous work of leadership displayed by Andy Stanley, Mark Batterson, David Platt, etc., could be passed on to me and I would be able to do these amazing things.

I feel like I spent $500 and 5 days seeking the wrong things. Mind you, this is just me talking. I'm sure many leaders attended and do attend with right hearts that are fully set on Christ and relying on His power. I could have stayed home, completely immersed myself with the Word and prayer and then maybe come away with what God wants for this ministry here and how He plans to accomplish it.

There is a lot of talk here on the leadership team about working according to the Spirit. What is of God and what is of me? To tell you the truth, it's really hard for me to differentiate. It's a hard area for me to figure out. I have a good handle of what is of God from a Scriptural point of view, but to be led by His Spirit, it's hard for me to grasp, or feel, or know the specifics of that. On the other side of that, obviously there has to be some sort of effort on our part as far as ministry and Kingdom work go.

All this to say...make sure your heart is right before God. One of the encouragements we received from the conference was from Mark Batterson. He said this, "Don't worry about working for the miracles. All you can control is whether you are living a life consecrated to Jesus Christ."

That'll be $500 please. :D

Catalyst Labs- May 11

I'm in Dallas, TX this week for a leadership conference called Catalyst. This is my second time in Texas that I can remember. I am here with three friends; Mike Andrews, Jon Arnold, and Ted Grant.

We had the pre-conference labs today and already there are lots of ideas flowing and swirling around in my mind. One of the issues I always have with these conferences is how do I take what I'm hearing and apply it to real life, life in western Nebraska with the Church Body at WestWay? I don't have all the right answers for that at this point, but at least I'm thinking right?

Our friend Rodd Hall has informed me that I'm not tweeting my conference finds enough today, so I write this blog to make up for that. Here are some of the things I heard today.

1. Let scripture, not culture, dictate your relationships.
2. Don't build a city in your city. Engage it!
3. Push back the darkness where your life exists. (in connection with rehabilitating your city)
4. Transformational leadership always requires significantly more than you have because God wants to restore His wonder in you.
5. Every opportunity that you face has an expiration date...and often missing out will cost you more than messing up.
6. What if the church set an expiration date for itself? Self-preservation would not be an issue. We would be free to set out and do what we set out to do.
7. Transformational leadership requires God-sized obedience, not me-sized solutions.
8. A leader's job is to reveal possibility. Other people are always defining reality.
9. Transformational leadership does not rely on answers, but on God's promises.
10. Does your vision add up? If it does, it is too small.
11. Don't let budget determine your vision.
    
12. If you want God to come out of nowhere and do the miraculous, consecrate yourself and continually submit yourself to seeking and being obedient.
13. Don't worry about working for the miracles. All you can control is whether you are living a life consecrated to Jesus.

There are some of the thought morsels and nuggets I took away from the pre-conference labs. I'm excited to see how God will work through some of these things.