When I was the editor of my high school yearbook, I learned a lot about margins. Our editing team was sent to a workshop at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. We learned the ins and outs of making a publication look good. One key to a great publication was not what was ON the page. It was what was NOT on the page. We were taught to make sure there was enough "white space" for the reader. If there was too much clutter, the reader would be overwhelmed, become frustrated, and give up on trying to navigate the content of the page. Margins made for effective communication.
Do you have "white space" in your life? Do you have margins that allow for flexibility, rest, creativity, spontaneity, and deep communion with God? Or are you cramming everything in, running out of time to do what's important, and stressing about how crazy and unpleasant life is?
A few years ago Dr. Richard Swenson wrote a book called "Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives." In it, he highlights the absolute clutter and mire we experience in this broken world. He calls us back to a life that allows God to work His plan for us. Dr. Swenson offers refreshment and restoration.
That's what Jesus did when He summoned His disciples away from the hubbub in Mark 6:31. The Apostle tells us: "Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'"
God created the world and established margins--a rhythm of rest that defined the healthy and soul-growing rhythm of His people. God wants you to be a healthy servant, a shining light of balance and godliness to a broken, fragmented, cluttered, and distracted world.
If you need to grow in discovering good Spirit-led margins, come hear Dr. Richard Swenson speak at the 2010 Professional Church Workers' Conference, November 21-23, 2010 at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, San Antonio, TX. If you're a Missional Worker in South Texas, you can register in the "Emeritus or Vicar" category. Register online or download a registration form at the Texas District, LCMS PCWC conference site. Hotel info is also available at the website.
Find some "white space" on the pages of your life. See what God will do with your margins!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Could Grandpa be a Postmodern?
The phenomenon of postmodernism has been the subject of lectures, books, and many conversations over the last several years. Postmodernism is seen as a reaction against the structures of the modern culture. It is seen as a deconstruction of traditional systems, beliefs, morals, and practices.
Some observers identify the "millennial" generation as postmoderns. Crowd mentality has shifted to individualism. Efficiency has lost its luster, while authenticity has become a priority. Being connected in relationships has superseded the importance of belonging to groups. What is important to "me" shapes life instead of what others say we're supposed to do. Making a tangible difference is more important than making a contribution to a cause from a distance.
I am convinced that this postmodern outlook has saturated the culture and is oozing from every generation. From twenty-somethings to retirees, a postmodern mindset is evident. This has its advantages and disadvantages.
Some disadvantages:
- In some cases, veteran believers are insisting on being comfortable and having their preferences accommodated in the church. Instead of maturing in faith and sacrifice, glad to welcome change in order to reach the lost, these believers are hampering the movement of the church by making that which causes them to feel good the standard of their support.
- Veteran believers, who possess a larger percentage of resources, have veered toward shifting fund allocation away from general ministry support to ministry niches that fit their individual preferences.
- In some cases, veteran believers hold onto ministry leadership positions for long periods of time, viewing these positions as career climbs up the ladder instead of opportunities to mentor and multiply new leaders, giving authority away to new servants for Kingdom growth and development.
Some advantages:
- Veteran believers are moving away from the institutional model of church and mission, becoming involved in personal mission action in the community and around the world.
- Instead of being content to attend church and delegate ministry to professionals, veteran believers are seeking authentic relationships in the church and community in order to be transformed and effect transformation for Christ.
- In some cases, veteran believers are realizing that their experience is a gift to give away as they enter into relationships with willing younger generations, pairing up in some unlikely ways to disciple new believers.
Are you leaning toward postmodern selfishness or postmodern Kingdom transformation? Even grandpa needs to ask that question.
Some observers identify the "millennial" generation as postmoderns. Crowd mentality has shifted to individualism. Efficiency has lost its luster, while authenticity has become a priority. Being connected in relationships has superseded the importance of belonging to groups. What is important to "me" shapes life instead of what others say we're supposed to do. Making a tangible difference is more important than making a contribution to a cause from a distance.
I am convinced that this postmodern outlook has saturated the culture and is oozing from every generation. From twenty-somethings to retirees, a postmodern mindset is evident. This has its advantages and disadvantages.
Some disadvantages:
- In some cases, veteran believers are insisting on being comfortable and having their preferences accommodated in the church. Instead of maturing in faith and sacrifice, glad to welcome change in order to reach the lost, these believers are hampering the movement of the church by making that which causes them to feel good the standard of their support.
- Veteran believers, who possess a larger percentage of resources, have veered toward shifting fund allocation away from general ministry support to ministry niches that fit their individual preferences.
- In some cases, veteran believers hold onto ministry leadership positions for long periods of time, viewing these positions as career climbs up the ladder instead of opportunities to mentor and multiply new leaders, giving authority away to new servants for Kingdom growth and development.
Some advantages:
- Veteran believers are moving away from the institutional model of church and mission, becoming involved in personal mission action in the community and around the world.
- Instead of being content to attend church and delegate ministry to professionals, veteran believers are seeking authentic relationships in the church and community in order to be transformed and effect transformation for Christ.
- In some cases, veteran believers are realizing that their experience is a gift to give away as they enter into relationships with willing younger generations, pairing up in some unlikely ways to disciple new believers.
Are you leaning toward postmodern selfishness or postmodern Kingdom transformation? Even grandpa needs to ask that question.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Social Networking
No doubt, you've heard plenty about Facebook and Twitter. You're probably sick of hearing about social networking sites. But what if you decided to stay locked inside your house, completely disconnected with the outside world? That would make you non-social and non-networking, wouldn't it? You'd be called a recluse or a hermit.
Do you realize that a church can live a hermit existence? Are you aware that it is possible for God's people to become reclusive?
Social networking is nothing new. When Andrew found out about Jesus, he "posted a message" to his brother Peter: "We have found the Messiah!" When Philip started to follow Jesus, he immediately "tweeted" Nathanael and told him the scoop about the One the Scriptures foretold. After the demon possessed man was healed in Luke 8, he made sure the whole town knew how much Jesus had done for him. The woman at the well did the same thing in John 4. After Matthew started to follow Jesus, he got his friends list out and invited all of them to a party with the Savior. It's social networking. It's all about relationships. It's reaching new people who don't know and who aren't included, so they can know and be included. There's no limit to a friends list. No one refuses to allow more Twitter followers. The more, the merrier. If more people are connected, more people hear the news.
Sometimes followers of Jesus forget that they are still on earth in order to be all about social networking. Sometimes the local church forgets that fact, too. Instead of sharing the news with as many people as possible, followers of Christ get comfortable with a finite list of friends. They meet and sit with the people they know, never thinking about who might still need to hear the Good News of Jesus. Instead of actively pursuing open doors of service in the community, a church busies itself with in-house activities and programs, not realizing that new relationships may create opportunities for a great harvest of souls.
Followers of Jesus are called to be--and happy to be--social networkers. With every new encounter, in every new relationship, during every chance meeting, a follower of Jesus thinks, "What might God have planned? How might this lead to an expansion of His Kingdom?" As churches get involved in the community, serve in schools, volunteer at nursing homes, visit hospitals, participate in the chamber of commerce, host community events, and get mixed into the community in a thorough and effective way, they need to be on the watch for new believers, new leaders, and new possibilities for the advance of the Kingdom.
The Church was not created to be a hermit or recluse. It is to be the ultimate social networker. The cascade of relationships resulting from the efforts of God's people will bear the fruit of lives saved for eternity. This is God's will and desire.
How are you and your church social networkers? How are you bringing Jesus outside the walls of the church?
Check out some ideas in the excellent article from Christianity Today.
Do you realize that a church can live a hermit existence? Are you aware that it is possible for God's people to become reclusive?
Social networking is nothing new. When Andrew found out about Jesus, he "posted a message" to his brother Peter: "We have found the Messiah!" When Philip started to follow Jesus, he immediately "tweeted" Nathanael and told him the scoop about the One the Scriptures foretold. After the demon possessed man was healed in Luke 8, he made sure the whole town knew how much Jesus had done for him. The woman at the well did the same thing in John 4. After Matthew started to follow Jesus, he got his friends list out and invited all of them to a party with the Savior. It's social networking. It's all about relationships. It's reaching new people who don't know and who aren't included, so they can know and be included. There's no limit to a friends list. No one refuses to allow more Twitter followers. The more, the merrier. If more people are connected, more people hear the news.
Sometimes followers of Jesus forget that they are still on earth in order to be all about social networking. Sometimes the local church forgets that fact, too. Instead of sharing the news with as many people as possible, followers of Christ get comfortable with a finite list of friends. They meet and sit with the people they know, never thinking about who might still need to hear the Good News of Jesus. Instead of actively pursuing open doors of service in the community, a church busies itself with in-house activities and programs, not realizing that new relationships may create opportunities for a great harvest of souls.
Followers of Jesus are called to be--and happy to be--social networkers. With every new encounter, in every new relationship, during every chance meeting, a follower of Jesus thinks, "What might God have planned? How might this lead to an expansion of His Kingdom?" As churches get involved in the community, serve in schools, volunteer at nursing homes, visit hospitals, participate in the chamber of commerce, host community events, and get mixed into the community in a thorough and effective way, they need to be on the watch for new believers, new leaders, and new possibilities for the advance of the Kingdom.
The Church was not created to be a hermit or recluse. It is to be the ultimate social networker. The cascade of relationships resulting from the efforts of God's people will bear the fruit of lives saved for eternity. This is God's will and desire.
How are you and your church social networkers? How are you bringing Jesus outside the walls of the church?
Check out some ideas in the excellent article from Christianity Today.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Who Are You Trying to Be?
As a worker in the harvest field, you will be confronted with the issues of success, ego, and status. You'll wonder if you're really producing anything, if anyone notices how much you're doing for God's Kingdom, and if your skills are noticed and valued. Once you have entered the harvest field, you will be drawn toward the culture's siren call of stardom. Are you the greatest life-changer ever? Can you pack a building? Will people know you and want to hear more from you?
It's a strange and dangerous trap. You enter into God's service for the purpose of helping people. The lost need to be found. The "least of these" need to be noticed and cared for. The hopeless need prayer and comfort. The straying are in need of the Word that is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. But then you want more. You want recognition. You want wealth. You want to be adored as the expert and authority--so wise and smart.
Paul summed it up well in Romans 7:24 when he said, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
We turn the Gospel into a tool we possess, into a message that makes us the star, into a means for popularity and personal gain. Sometimes this sinful twistedness is blatant. At other times it is in the form of hidden yearning beneath a humble veneer.
What is the answer? Romans 7:25 reveals it: "Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Jesus opens a way through the ego-driven, personal recognition seeking, sinful enclosure we build. Philippians 2:7 reveals Jesus' pathway through the celebrity sensationalizing culture and the prominence enticing church: "[He] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant."
The answer to chasing the call of self-aggrandizement is to know who you are really trying to be.
Are you trying to be a star? Are you trying to be a guru? Are you trying to be popular? Are you trying to get rich? Are you trying to get attention? Or will you follow in the steps of the One who became nothing, taking the very nature of a servant to save you? Who are you really trying to be?
What if you tried to be nothing so that all the ego-rooted worries and inner battles could be stilled and Jesus could be completely seen and glorified in your life and ministry?
What if you gave your ministry your all--every ounce of your energy and dedication--but let ulterior motives and fears melt away into Jesus' great promise, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it" (Mark 8:35)?
What if you became determined to live a mustard seed and leaven life, allowing God to make much of the little you offer without trying to inflate it yourself?
What if you decided to be still before God as you serve Him and let Him make the noise needed in the church and in the world?
It's a strange and dangerous trap. You enter into God's service for the purpose of helping people. The lost need to be found. The "least of these" need to be noticed and cared for. The hopeless need prayer and comfort. The straying are in need of the Word that is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. But then you want more. You want recognition. You want wealth. You want to be adored as the expert and authority--so wise and smart.
Paul summed it up well in Romans 7:24 when he said, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
We turn the Gospel into a tool we possess, into a message that makes us the star, into a means for popularity and personal gain. Sometimes this sinful twistedness is blatant. At other times it is in the form of hidden yearning beneath a humble veneer.
What is the answer? Romans 7:25 reveals it: "Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Jesus opens a way through the ego-driven, personal recognition seeking, sinful enclosure we build. Philippians 2:7 reveals Jesus' pathway through the celebrity sensationalizing culture and the prominence enticing church: "[He] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant."
The answer to chasing the call of self-aggrandizement is to know who you are really trying to be.
Are you trying to be a star? Are you trying to be a guru? Are you trying to be popular? Are you trying to get rich? Are you trying to get attention? Or will you follow in the steps of the One who became nothing, taking the very nature of a servant to save you? Who are you really trying to be?
What if you tried to be nothing so that all the ego-rooted worries and inner battles could be stilled and Jesus could be completely seen and glorified in your life and ministry?
What if you gave your ministry your all--every ounce of your energy and dedication--but let ulterior motives and fears melt away into Jesus' great promise, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it" (Mark 8:35)?
What if you became determined to live a mustard seed and leaven life, allowing God to make much of the little you offer without trying to inflate it yourself?
What if you decided to be still before God as you serve Him and let Him make the noise needed in the church and in the world?
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Big Event
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is in convention this week. We pray that God is glorified and that all the actions of the conventions lift up the name of Jesus and His love. This convention, however, will not be a significant Kingdom expanding occurrence. You read correctly. Sometimes we make the mistake in believing that the big events make big differences, when, in reality, it's the little events repeated over and over for an extended period of time that make the real difference in people's lives.
In 1998 we took our daughters to Disney World. It was a big deal. We saved our money. We read books about how to make the most of the trip. We sought advice. And we had a blast. But twelve years later, even though they were ten and eight-years-old when they took the trip, my daughters have just vague memories of their Disney experience. The big event was fun, but it didn't shape their lives.
What DO they remember? They remember our repeated trips to a humble little cottage in a small town in Michigan. These were not fancy vacations. They were free. There were no attractions. An exciting day meant taking a walk to the grocery store to get some milk and donut holes. But this simple vacation, this little event repeated for many years, transformed their lives.
Significant life memories are connected with their trips to the cottage. They still yearn to be there. They hope to take their families there one day.
Big events, for the most part, do not make a significant difference in people's lives. Little events, repeated over and over for an extended period of time, make the real difference.
So, what really expands the Kingdom of God? How is someone won for Christ? What develops a praying, worshipping, witnessing follower of Jesus? How does someone grow as a self-sacrificial and repentant servant of the King? What facilitates love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in a redeemed soul? How is a spirit of zealous mission developed?
Is it through one big event?
No. It's when you befriend someone, listen to her hopes and fears, and bring her regular doses of Jesus. It's when you pray with your kids and tell them over and over that Jesus cares and that Jesus loves them. It's when you serve steadily in the community as the hands and feet of the Savior, and, over the testing period of time, people take notice, wonder what you've got, and want to be just like you. It's when you read the Word of God day after day and do what it says over the long haul. It's when you join forces with a small band of believers and combine your resources to transform a community and to reach out to the ends of the earth.
It's the little things repeated over and over for an extended period of time that make the biggest Kingdom difference.
That's why you need to be a faithful worker in the harvest field. That's why you need to keep pressing on. That's why you need to remember your first love and not get discouraged by the world's antagonism. That's why you need to realize your value in the Kingdom of God and refuse to stop sharing the Good News of Jesus.
The little things you do over and over again in your small corner of God's Kingdom will change people's lives forever.
In 1998 we took our daughters to Disney World. It was a big deal. We saved our money. We read books about how to make the most of the trip. We sought advice. And we had a blast. But twelve years later, even though they were ten and eight-years-old when they took the trip, my daughters have just vague memories of their Disney experience. The big event was fun, but it didn't shape their lives.
What DO they remember? They remember our repeated trips to a humble little cottage in a small town in Michigan. These were not fancy vacations. They were free. There were no attractions. An exciting day meant taking a walk to the grocery store to get some milk and donut holes. But this simple vacation, this little event repeated for many years, transformed their lives.
Significant life memories are connected with their trips to the cottage. They still yearn to be there. They hope to take their families there one day.
Big events, for the most part, do not make a significant difference in people's lives. Little events, repeated over and over for an extended period of time, make the real difference.
So, what really expands the Kingdom of God? How is someone won for Christ? What develops a praying, worshipping, witnessing follower of Jesus? How does someone grow as a self-sacrificial and repentant servant of the King? What facilitates love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in a redeemed soul? How is a spirit of zealous mission developed?
Is it through one big event?
No. It's when you befriend someone, listen to her hopes and fears, and bring her regular doses of Jesus. It's when you pray with your kids and tell them over and over that Jesus cares and that Jesus loves them. It's when you serve steadily in the community as the hands and feet of the Savior, and, over the testing period of time, people take notice, wonder what you've got, and want to be just like you. It's when you read the Word of God day after day and do what it says over the long haul. It's when you join forces with a small band of believers and combine your resources to transform a community and to reach out to the ends of the earth.
It's the little things repeated over and over for an extended period of time that make the biggest Kingdom difference.
That's why you need to be a faithful worker in the harvest field. That's why you need to keep pressing on. That's why you need to remember your first love and not get discouraged by the world's antagonism. That's why you need to realize your value in the Kingdom of God and refuse to stop sharing the Good News of Jesus.
The little things you do over and over again in your small corner of God's Kingdom will change people's lives forever.
Monday, June 28, 2010
The Real Enemy
At a recent conference, I heard a speaker discredit two popular Christian pastors. The speaker was making a theological point and wanted to make sure we knew where those high profile pastors were going wrong.
During a planning meeting at an area church, a member spoke up and indicated that his church had to get moving if it was going to keep up with two other Christian churches in town that were gaining quite a following.
I couldn't respond to the conference speaker, but I was able to ask a question of the person at the planning meeting: Who is the real enemy?
Too often, we in the Christian Church get confused. We drift toward fighting an easy battle instead of being clothed with spiritual armor for the difficult warfare. In other words, we take potshots at fellow members of the body of Christ instead of unsheathing the sword of the Spirit against the Evil One.
It's important to remember who the real enemy is.
What are some key strategies for workers in the harvest field?
First, your job as a believer is not to cut down fellow believers, but to build them up. We may not see eye to eye on everything, but there is no place for slamming fellow servants of Jesus. Kind and gentle one-on-one conversations may be needed to clear up issues, but speaking the truth in love must prevail. Jesus wanted it that way.
Second, your goal is not to outdo other churches or be in competition with fellow workers in the harvest field. There's simply no need. There is no shortage of people who don't know Jesus or who don't have an active relationship with Him. No one has to worry about running out of people to reach. Give praise to God for successful ministries and try to work faithfully in the corner of the Kingdom God has given you.
Third, your goal is not to exalt your church or ministry. Your goal is to glorify God and build His Church. Your effort is about the big picture, God's Kingdom. Your church or ministry is a tool God has chosen to use for His gracious outreach.
Fourth, you must stay vigilant to use your time, energy, creativity, and resources to fight the real fight of faith and not to become preoccupied by faith in-fighting. The devil is prowling around, seeking someone to devour. May it never be said that you were so busy battling fellow believers that you missed an opportunity to snatch someone from the fires of hell.
Please know that it is very important to work with fellow believers so that our proclamation is faithful and true. There is internal work that must be done. But our time, our conversation, our attention, our study, our practice, and our focused efforts can never be diverted from the real enemy. If they are, he wins.
During a planning meeting at an area church, a member spoke up and indicated that his church had to get moving if it was going to keep up with two other Christian churches in town that were gaining quite a following.
I couldn't respond to the conference speaker, but I was able to ask a question of the person at the planning meeting: Who is the real enemy?
Too often, we in the Christian Church get confused. We drift toward fighting an easy battle instead of being clothed with spiritual armor for the difficult warfare. In other words, we take potshots at fellow members of the body of Christ instead of unsheathing the sword of the Spirit against the Evil One.
It's important to remember who the real enemy is.
What are some key strategies for workers in the harvest field?
First, your job as a believer is not to cut down fellow believers, but to build them up. We may not see eye to eye on everything, but there is no place for slamming fellow servants of Jesus. Kind and gentle one-on-one conversations may be needed to clear up issues, but speaking the truth in love must prevail. Jesus wanted it that way.
Second, your goal is not to outdo other churches or be in competition with fellow workers in the harvest field. There's simply no need. There is no shortage of people who don't know Jesus or who don't have an active relationship with Him. No one has to worry about running out of people to reach. Give praise to God for successful ministries and try to work faithfully in the corner of the Kingdom God has given you.
Third, your goal is not to exalt your church or ministry. Your goal is to glorify God and build His Church. Your effort is about the big picture, God's Kingdom. Your church or ministry is a tool God has chosen to use for His gracious outreach.
Fourth, you must stay vigilant to use your time, energy, creativity, and resources to fight the real fight of faith and not to become preoccupied by faith in-fighting. The devil is prowling around, seeking someone to devour. May it never be said that you were so busy battling fellow believers that you missed an opportunity to snatch someone from the fires of hell.
Please know that it is very important to work with fellow believers so that our proclamation is faithful and true. There is internal work that must be done. But our time, our conversation, our attention, our study, our practice, and our focused efforts can never be diverted from the real enemy. If they are, he wins.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
First Impressions
Bad news from Summer Camp came my way the other day. The first lunch served to hundreds of young people ages 5-10 was "beanie weenies." Yes, it's a soupy mix of hot dog slices and beans. Your mouth may be watering at this point because you love this gustatory delight. But I'm pretty confident that a survey of grade-schoolers' food favorites wouldn't show "beanie weenies" even in the top 25.
Proof of my gut feeling is that several kids wept openly when they found out about the lunch menu. In tears, one growing boy who could probably polish off a whole pizza, decided he would rather subsist on a couple of crackers than torment his taste buds with the dish of the day.
I felt badly for the summer camp crew. The lunch selection wasn't a winner. What really bothered me, however, was that this was the FIRST lunch. Can you imagine the terror in virtually every camper's psyche: "I've got FIFTY more lunches to go!"?
First impressions make a difference.
As workers in God's harvest field, you will make many first impressions. Every day, you have opportunities to give small previews of Jesus and the life He gives. In relationships with others, you show people what the menu of life in Jesus looks like. What impressions will you make?
Peter, the brash and bold apostle who failed many a first impression test, reflected on his life in the book of 1 Peter in the Bible. He spoke about some first impressions harvest workers need to give to people walking in darkness:
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." 1 Peter 1:13-15
"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation." 1 Peter 2:1-2
"Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 2:12
"Live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:8-9
"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15
Will the people God puts in your life be repulsed by the menu you display? Or will they crave the delightful and delicious fare you bring as you represent Jesus? Will they line up for more as they feel hunger pangs for the Bread of Life?
Read Peter's words again and let your first impressions do wonders in the name of Jesus.
Proof of my gut feeling is that several kids wept openly when they found out about the lunch menu. In tears, one growing boy who could probably polish off a whole pizza, decided he would rather subsist on a couple of crackers than torment his taste buds with the dish of the day.
I felt badly for the summer camp crew. The lunch selection wasn't a winner. What really bothered me, however, was that this was the FIRST lunch. Can you imagine the terror in virtually every camper's psyche: "I've got FIFTY more lunches to go!"?
First impressions make a difference.
As workers in God's harvest field, you will make many first impressions. Every day, you have opportunities to give small previews of Jesus and the life He gives. In relationships with others, you show people what the menu of life in Jesus looks like. What impressions will you make?
Peter, the brash and bold apostle who failed many a first impression test, reflected on his life in the book of 1 Peter in the Bible. He spoke about some first impressions harvest workers need to give to people walking in darkness:
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." 1 Peter 1:13-15
"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation." 1 Peter 2:1-2
"Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 2:12
"Live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:8-9
"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15
Will the people God puts in your life be repulsed by the menu you display? Or will they crave the delightful and delicious fare you bring as you represent Jesus? Will they line up for more as they feel hunger pangs for the Bread of Life?
Read Peter's words again and let your first impressions do wonders in the name of Jesus.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)