“Evil”

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The internet has become a great tool to be used by Christians.  But many within the church view it to be a place full of evil.  While much of the content online is questionable, the usefulness is not to be forgotten.
 
The problem here, as is the case in most situations, is perspective. We want to blame the internet for problems because we refuse to look inward.  We refuse acknowledge that if we didn’t desire the things out there, they wouldn’t exist. 
 
People aren’t just putting stuff on the internet with the hopes of tripping followers up.  They put it up there to make money because they have no moral opposition.  They only allow us to reach our desires more easily.
 
If we want the internet to become a more wholesome place then we need to become a more wholesome people. 
 
As a people we need to stop villifying an inanimate object and begin to realize the reason for it’s existence.  Demand justifies supply.  Not the other way around. Prohibition is a prime example of how restricting access to a certain object will not rid the populace of it’s existence. 
 
Personal accountability is and always will be a problem within the people of a church.  We forget that the Bible was written as much to individuals as it was to church.  It’s concepts and applications are commanded of you as well as the whole body of Christ. As a church we create an enemy of tools that could be vital to us.  Like an ostrich with our head in the sand, we just hope it goes away. 
 
I guess the call to action here is to be proactive as to the tools that we can use to further our message.  Realize the full potential of a thing before deciding it’s worth.  Snap judgements are usually wrong and limiting. 
 
Take every opportunity to evangelize.  Utilize all things for the advancement of our message.  Something that is so corrupt can  be turned around in a second by our decision to claim it for a more divine purpose.

So what?

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Over the weekend I heard a great piece of advice.

Think of everything you do within the church in the context of this question.

It begs a question that your potential audience might be asking in their heads.  You personally can see the relevance behind every action and ministry within your church, but not everyone is privy to the knowledge you have.  We need to develop the true relevance behind our actions and ministries.

Make sure to squeeze every ounce of potential from every opportunity.  Someone, somewhere is asking so what.  Be prepared for that.

So often we get caught up in the importance of our message that we fail to realize it may only be important to us until we develop the reason why it is important for others.

Speaking over…

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I keep hearing this phrase “speaking over” someone.  And before you jump to conclusions, it is not what I do on a regular basis when someone else is talking.  In the most traditional of senses it’s the rude interjection to essentially cover up what someone else is trying to say. 

The phrase in the context that I have heard it recently has much more to do with talking about people.  I know I posted about gossip yesterday and today I’m still on this talking about people thing but it bears duplicating posts.

When you speak a something you know about a person, those words contain power.  Studies have shown in the past that a teachers expectation of a student, to some degree, can dictate that particular students achievements.  If you treat them as if they are a success waiting to happen, they are statistically more likely to be successful.  And the converse is true.  People will generally rise, or fall, to the level your expectations.

How does that connect?

If we “speak over” a person as to their inability to do certain things, they may never attain the ability to do those things because the power in our words has influenced them about their own abilities. 

If we “speak over” them about their ability to do succeed at something, they just might achieve it.  This sounds an awful lot like a high school motivational speaker, and maybe this is what it is.  But as a people and as a church we have to be very aware of the things we say about people.  Much more than gossip, truthful matters can be harmful. 

Someones misdeeds of their past can quickly become their future if we tell them thats exactly who they are.  If we take a minute to realize that those misdeeds should not characterize them throughout the rest of their lives, we might be less likely to label them as such. 

We should take a moment to ban the words disorganized, jerk, know-it-all, sarcastic, dumb, etc. from daily use.  We should keep them out of our mouths daily.  Our words can become someones direction.

Gossiping gossipers who gossip…

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I’ll admit that I really like to be in the know about things.  There is some secret pride(yeah I know thats a bad one too) in being the first to know something.  Maybe because it artificially inflates my errant belief that I am smart.  Maybe because it makes me momentarily more sought after for knowledge.  Or maybe it’s because I’m just plain nosey. 

I’m pretty sure we all know how harmful gossip can be though.  We have probably all fallen victim to it and made someone a victim of it in our life.  I heard an interesting thought about hearing gossip the other day.

I listen to sermons from various preachers on my way to work in the mornings.  This particular sermon contained the statement that they would stop people from telling them gossip because of the obvious fact that if the person wanted you to know they would have told you and the lesser fact that does create a momentary sense of pride in ones own actions.  It creates a fleeting sense of judgement.

That however is not the main point I took away.  I had an altogether obvious, but new revelation.  Maybe it’s better that we let the person tell us their story because while as an outsider we may be able to get a grander perspective of the whole situation, listening to their perception of the situation will really enable us to be in their shoes for a moment.  To be more understanding of the how and why of the situation.  If we had the precursoral knowledge, we have already formulated our vision of why what they did was wrong our ability to empathize is limited.  Our relational point is destroyed.  Our ability to listen and respond with an open heart is ultimately ruined.

Hymn vs. Projector

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I noticed this survey on facebook that asked the question as to whether you preferred to sing from a hymnal or a projector. 

Honestly I prefer the projector because I don’t have to flip to the page in a hurry to catch up and the person running the projector can skip the third verse for me.  Let’s sing the first, second and fourth verses. 

Also using a projector illustrates to me some level of preparation for the service.  We aren’t just going to pick up a book and randomly select songs when you are forced to pre-load them to a projection program.  While last minute changes can and are made, there is a certain level of preparation that goes into the constant utilization of the projector. 

Why do people dislike the projector?  Probably because they don’t know what to do with their hands now.  Once you free them from the death grip of a book, the non-charismatic feels kind of like Ricky Bobby in his first interview.  They don’t know what to do with their hands.  This lack of direction at first feels like trying to dribble a football.  Awkward.  But as time progresses we realize the freedom allows us to lift our hands to God during the service.  We can clap along with the song.  We can feel free to kneel and pray without having to worry about our neighbor who was sharing the book with us. 

Sometimes it’s nice to go back to that structure, but realistically that structure can become the point of the worship service, not the movement of the spirit.  And when we let ourselves get distracted by tradition or structure we limit the potential of God to move in our church.

Do everything as if…

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What does that mean?

Preach as if it was your last sermon. 

 
What freedom would come from knowing that you would not be held responsible for the things you said by the people in the church? 
 
Through your counseling sessions you have learned a great deal about the people in your congregation.  As such you might find it hard to deliver certain messages because you know it will directly offend a person.  Maybe even someone you hold close to you. 
 
What happens when you quench the flame God has put in your heart for that message? 
 
It becomes difficult to get a new fire started out wet wet tinder.

Teach as if the people in your class were never going to come back. 

 
What one last lesson would you want them to have? 
 
We spend a great deal of time trying to create these large arcing curriculum of biblical ideas only to find that people will often fall out of interest or come in halfway through the lesson and spend a great deal of time trying to catch up.  It’s great to learn about these big themes, but isn’t there something you can do each week so you don’t have to tell the people, come back next week for the rest of the story.  That kind of call to action is rarely accepted.

Love as if there were never going to be another person for you to ever love. 

 
Would we be more free and open with our emotions? 
 
Would we make apparent how we felt to the person if we knew they were the only person we were ever going to love?

Live as if God is sitting right next to you. 

 
Because he is. 
Simply stated. 
 
Whether we accept it or not, he is right there, watching everything you do.  What would your life really look like if you had a constant reminder that God is right next to you.  Would it be harder to make those bad decisions?

Echo

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Recently during my preparations for our Wednesday night men’s Bible study I developed a question in my mind. It based on the concept of an echo.

  1. ech·o
    1.  a repetition of sound produced by the reflection of sound waves from a wall,     mountain, or other obstructing surface.
    2.  a sound heard again near its source after being reflected.
    3.  any repetition or close imitation, as of the ideas or opinions of another.
    4.  a person who reflects or imitates another.
    5.  a sympathetic or identical response, as to sentiments expressed.

Like many parts of the bible, the following verses echo, or repeat the exact same or similar message. 

Matthew 22:34-40
Mark 12:31
Luke 10:27
Romans 13:9
Galatians 5:14

Why does the bible appear to echo itself so many times?

In school we used repitition to learn our times tables, definitions, etc.  It was a “proven” learning technique to make us smarter. 

As an adult however I have found that if it’s a subject I’m really interested in, I can retain that information after once or twice of reading the information. 

So why doe God use repitition?

Because we are dim witted. 
We need repitition to ingrain it into ourselves. 
If we don’t have repetition from God we can try to trick ourselves into forgetting his commandments.