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JP Morgan spoke at the River in February, 2008. He made some good points during the sermon that I thought I would blog.
- You are a spiritual being looking for a human life. That is, if you're dead to your old life. If not, you are a human being seeking comfort and trying to look good in front of other people--keeping up appearances.
The single biggest factor in determining your effective tone (the atmosphere you create around you) is your thinking. Your mental preoccupation. What we need is a new default setting--what you think about when you're not doing anything. The goal is to see and think about things from HIS perspective. Essentially, this new default setting is what the bible talks about when it says, "Set your mind on things above."
- 1st mental preoccupation: Who am I in Christ? I am His disciple.
- 2nd mental preoccupation: How am I growing in my character? How am I exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit?
- 3rd mental preoccupation: What are my missions and giftings in life? What is my calling/purpose? How can I live out my calling, my unique Kingdom role?
We want to be the best at what we do. We become the best because we are serving Christ.
"A man is dying, and as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he suddenly finds himself outside his own physical body. He watches himself being resuscitated by the hospital staff, he can see and hear what’s happening around him - but other people can’t hear him or see him. He’s in a state of emotional turmoil.
Soon other things begin to happen. He feels he’s moving very rapidly through a long dark tunnel towards a brilliant loving light. This ‘Being of Light’ shows him a panoramic playback of his life. At some point he approaches a barrier or border – where he sees the spirits of his dead relatives and friends. He’s overwhelmed by an intense feeling of joy and love, he wants to stay where he is, yet he’s told that he must go back, as his time has not come yet. Reluctantly, he goes back to his body.
Later he tries to tell other people what happened to him, but he can find no words to describe it – the experience is ineffable. He also finds that people don’t believe him – so he stops talking about it. Still, the experience affects his whole life profoundly – he completely loses the fear of death. In fact – he knows that death does not exist."
Moody makes several observations:
- Because of the similarities in stories, Moody believes that annihilation is simply not possible. Therefore, atheists are wrong when they say that life simply ends.
- Christian believe that the Being of Light is either Jesus or an angel, though none see a physical form.
- No one says they see heaven or hell.
- The light does speak to some of the people. It is non-judgmental, doesn't speak audibly, but communicates directly via thoughts.
- The Light indicates importance in these questions. "What relationships did you make while on earth and what did you learn?" Doing and being.
- No one saw heaven or hell, was judged, or saw pearly gates, etc.
- He admits that he cannot PROVE that life after death exists. All of his subjects did not ultimately die, they all came back.
Assuming these things are true, people will draw a few conclusions:
- Everyone goes to heaven, regardless of how they lived or;
- Everyone has eternal life. You can't get to heaven or hell until you're judged and you won't be judged until you actually, ultimately die. The fact that you came back, either by choice or design means you weren't ready to enter eternity.
Does it provide any comfort for the death of my 17-year old daughter? Not really. It's interesting to think of her floating over her own body, then having a conversation with Jesus about whether she could come back to life or not. I suppose if she was offered to come back, but she would be a quadriplegic vegetable,
Rick Howard starts the book off with a recounting of a dream where he was taken to heaven and allowed to see several people at the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment seat is where people receive their eternal rewards for works done while on earth (not salvation). Rick saw a college buddy lose his potential rewards because he chose not to follow his calling to the mission field, but instead married the trophy wife and stayed home.
The book has many chapters about Christian living that touches on many subjects. I thought the chapters were OK, but did not connect back to the original dream, which dramatically emphasized an eternal perspective.
The appendix includes the The Vision of William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army. This vision is vivid and detailed. Booth gets to witness the absolute approval of many of the saints who were obedient to the Lord while on earth. When Booth finally looked at Jesus face to face, he did not receive a look of approval or rejection, but was told, "Go back to earth. I will give thee another opportunity. Prove thyself worthy of My name. Show to the world that you possess My Spirit by doing my works, and becoming, on My behalf, a savior of men. You shall return here when you have finished the battle and I will give you a place in My conquering train, and a share in my Glory." Booth went on to start the Salvation Army, which now does humanitarian work in 110 countries. Clearly, Booth was driven by his vision of eternity and desiring above all else to be a good and faithful servant.
Howard's chapter on Developing a Servant's Heart was my favorite. Howard says we develop a servant's heart by:
- Casting our cares on the Lord. In particular, trusting God's will for your life to the point where you don't worry about it. You truly trust God.
- Focusing on the interests of others. You serve the Lord by serving others. You count others more important than yourself. This is the cure for so many of life's problem.
- Boredom. God has called you and me to a higher purpose: to live with the same mindset as the One who "came not to be served, but to serve." (Matt 20:28). When I am bored, the opposite is true of me. I am seeking not to serve, but to be served. I am here to be entertained. To free ourselves from boredom, we must begin to love and serve others. Only then do we discover a life of purpose, adventure and significance. And as God uses us to build His Kingdom, boredom becomes a thing of the past.
- loneliness is also cured by focusing on other and asking ourselves, "Who can I serve today?"
4. Stage Fright. Make love your goal. Concentrate on the individuals with needs, on how you can help them, on how you can best love them. And in this way you will be pleasing in God's sight.
If we want to be people God can use, we must walk through the door of humility. If our secret motive is to exalt ourselves, the Holy Spirit wants no part of it. If our motive is to benefit people, on the other hand, then the Holy Spirit will help our preparation and our presentation as well.
At the Judgment seat of Christ everyone's motives will be revealed. It should be an interesting day!
Opportunity Enablers article by Morris Rudick
This is a prophetic word for Opportunity Enablers by Morris Rudick. I particularly like the closing paragraphs:
The Opportunity Enablers
The unique characteristics, of those bearing the mantle of generational change, begin with an authority that challenges the status quo. They operate outside the box. They prevail. They exhibit a maturity that judges righteously, with a father's heart. When change yields, they become the opportunity brokers. Joseph was an opportunity broker. Opportunity brokers are equippers and community-builders. They are enablers and dispensers.
In other words, opportunity enablers operate uniquely to build community; to facilitate, mobilize and equip others. Enablers bear the mark of the highest calling among leaders. They don't build institutions that serve to perpetuate their own existence. Their organizations are outward-driven or integrated into the broader community. They flow with a modus operandi that is consistently serving to extend opportunity to others.
Long ago, there was a pivotal tribe of Israel known as Issachar, who understood the times and knew what to do. They were a comparatively small tribe among the twelve, yet extremely potent in their function. They stood at the point of change, knowing what to do. Within the same context, Jesus admonished us to understand the times and seasons.
The status quo is the enemy of opportunity. Flashpoints of fire will bring change. Change rightly responded to yields opportunity that advances the Kingdom of God.
On October 29, 2007 I heard Rick Warren speak about the P.E.A.C.E. plan. If you are not familiar with concept, click on this link to watch the video. Rick states that the church is the world’s largest organization with over 2.8 billion members, the only organization large enough and growing fast enough to combat the effects spiritual emptiness, poverty, disease, illiteracy, and corrupt leadership.
However the church can’t do it alone. Rick believes it will take a partnership of the Church, business and government to make a dent on the problem. Rick feels called to release the pent-up, latent energy in the church–to turn spectators into participators. To make a lasting difference in the world.
The P.E.A.C.E. acronym stands for Promoting reconciliation, Equipping servant-leaders, Assisting the poor, Caring for the sick, and Educating the next generation. Rick believes it’s the same plan Jesus used, so it’s time tested. I believe it’s a good framework and the kind of vision that will spark the imagination of Christian leaders worldwide. It’s the kind of idea that can get people out of their comfortable pew and look outward to see how they might make a real difference in the lives of others outside of their comfort zone.
I’m working with another organization, Halftime, founded by Bob Buford. Like Rick Warren, Bob is called to awaken the latent energy in Christianity, especially those that have had a measure of success in corporate America. If Rick represents a catalyst in the Church, Bob represents the catalyst in the business community. I have personally seen many people experience a Halftime and are actively pursuing Life 2.0 with a renewed and passionate vision to change the world in some way. Lloyd Reeb, the director of Halftime says, “One of my jobs is to rescue people from the golf course.” There’s a truth to that statement.
The PEACE plan is a logical next step from his popular book, Purpose Driven Life. First, you need to realize you have a unique purpose. Once you figure out your unique purpose, you need to go do it. If your purpose involves solving one of the BIG problems in the world, it would be nice to not have to go it alone. If your church is doing PEACE, you can surround yourself with some expertise and experience, multiplying your efforts. If this happens on a global scale, we might make a dent in the world's problems.
I believe the major purpose of PEACE is to equip the church to become the efficient distribution network for the world's philanthropy. If even a fraction of the 2+ billion Christians got involved in this effort, it would be the largest distribution network in the world.
Habits are hard to change. Yet, as we watch this video, we realize how fast things are changing.
The burning question is this: How do you take advantage of the technology and culture changes that will dramatically impact your life over the next 20 years?
Even bigger question? Will you sit on the sidelines while this change happens, or will you get in the game and be involved in the most exciting times the world has ever known?
Shift happens. What are you going to do about it?
I just read the Reveal Study by
- Page 53 - "..they still want the church to help keep them on track..A tool like a personal spiritual growth plan might address some of those needs. But they also seem to want a personal growth or spiritual mentor."
- Page 54 - "..the responsibility for their spiritual growth belongs to them."
- Page 59 - "We hope to be able to understand, in depth and in detail, the impact of things like Internet-based products and services on people's spiritual lives, as well as different approaches to prayer, journaling, solitude and other personal spiritual practices."
- Page 66 - "..one of our new initiatives is to create a tool everyone can use to assess the current state of their relationship with Christ ('spiritual fitness"), and then to recommend a customized growth or "workout" plan that provides direction for their next step spiritually. We believe it is essential for us to help everyone answer the question, "What's next for me?" THIS TOOL IS CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT.
- Page 73 - "..we discovered that we had NO ministry that trained people in personal spiritual disciplines. It's a huge miss we are in the process of addressing."
- Page 103 - "More than half of those surveyed said that they used the Internet at some point in the last year to advance their spiritual growth."
After reading Reveal, I came away with a sense that you were working on an Web 2.0 type tool that would:
- Acknowledge, educate, and encourage the concept that the individual is responsible for their own spiritual growth and the church is merely a coach.
- Use social networking to connect people with similar interests (virtual small groups) and provide a platform for mentoring/coaching
- Provides a blog-like tool that allows someone to Journal--allowing for privacy controls (i.e. myself only, mentor, friends, church, public, etc.)
- Facilitates self-assessment along the 4-stages of their growth
- Provides assessment and suggestion for the next step in their personal journey. This needs to cover faith, fitness, family, finance and friends with specific and measurable goals (short term and long term) and assigned accountability partners who can read their goals and keep them accountable.
- Facilitates ongoing learning via podcasts, vcasts, and webcasts.
- Facilitates virtual mentoring via Video conferencing. Supplements face-to-face interaction.
- For those in stage 4, the tool needs to help them in their specific calling by surrounding them with encouragement, networks, and knowledge.
I wanted to give these verses to you. I think the
depict your life and ministry:
2 Corinthians 9:9 - 15 In the
Amplified, of course ;)
As it is written, He (the benevolent person)
scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and
kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever! (Ps. 112:9)
And
(God) Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and
multiply your (resources for) sowing and increase the fruits of your
righteousness (which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and
charity). (Isa. 55:10; Hos. 10:12.)
Thus you will be enriched in all
things and in every way, so that you can be generous, and (your generosity as it
is) administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God.
For the
service that the ministering of this fund renders does not only fully supply
what is lacking to the saints (God's people), but it also overflows in many
(cries of) thanksgiving to God.
Because at (your) standing of the test
of this ministry, they will glorify God for your loyalty and obedience to the
Gospel of Christ which you confess, as well as for your generous-hearted
liberality to them and to all (the other needy ones).
And they yearn for
you while they pray for you, because of the surpassing measure of God's grace
(His favor and mercy and spiritual blessing which is shown forth) in
you.....(think of those praying for you/us at Vikasithia, in India and in
Africa?!)
Now thanks be to God for His Gift, (precous) beyond telling
(His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift)!
That's
it!!!
I love you Honeymoppers and I am proud of you!
Keep
racking up those rewards in heaven!
me
KEY POINTS IN THE BOOK:
- Are you serious about looking for such a purpose? How many people do you know who just can't wait to get to work on Monday because they're so fired up about what they're doing? Nobody? When you meet people that are that passionate about their calling, it's contagious. Find your calling.
- There is no call without a Caller.
- Reality reminds us that all the will in the world will not make us what we want to become.
- Calling in the Bible is a central and dynamic theme that becomes a metaphor for the life of faith itself.
- Calling gave to everyday work a dignity and spiritual significance under God that dethroned the primacy of leisure and contemplation.
- Calling gave to humble people and ordinary task an investment of equality that shattered hierarchies and was vital impulse toward democracy.
- Calling gave to such practical things as work, thrift, and long-term planning a reinforcement that made them powerfully influential in the rise of modern capitalism.
- Calling gave to the endeavor to make Christ Lord of every part of life a fresh force that transformed not only churches but also the worldviews and cultures of the Reformation countries.
- Calling gave to the idea of "talents" a new meaning, so that they were no longer seen purely as spiritual gifts and graces but as natural and a matter of giftedness in the modern sense of the term.
A sense of calling should precede a choice of job and career. Instead of, "You are what you do," calling says: "Do what you are."
No follower of Christ is without a calling, for we all have an original calling even if we do not all have a later, special calling. And, of course, some people have both. Those in modern societies who are middle class or higher can probably find such a fulfilling match between calling and work. But for many others today, and probably for most people in most societies, there is no happy match between work and calling. In many cases a clear sense of calling comes only through a time of searching, including trial and error.
Life is lived forward, but understood backwards.
The Puritans lived as if they had swallowed gyroscopes; we modern Christians live as if we had swallowed Gallup polls. The imitation of Christ that is integral to following Him means that, when he calls us, he enables us to do what he calls us to do. Answering the call by its very nature is a stepping forward to responsibility. Responsibility is obedience by another name. What we do then, when no one sees but God, is the test of our responsibility.
Para-church. The business of "the little church" is to put itself out of business by feeding its wisdom and concern back into "the large church" and so contribute to the reformation of the one body that is central to God's purpose for all time.
The reverse side of calling is the temptation of conceit. People who are called are especially vulnerable to pride because of the very nobility of calling.
When Jesus calls, he calls us one by one. Comparisons are idle, speculations about others a waste of time, and envy as silly as it is evil. We are each called individually, accountable to God alone, to please him alone, and eventually to be approved by him alone. If ever we are tempted to look around, compare notes, and use the progress of others to judge the success of our own calling, we will hear what Peter heard, "What is that to you? Follow me."
Capitalism, having defeated all challenges, such a socialism, now faces its greatest challenge--itself, because it devours the very virtues it needs to thrive. Calling, which played a key role in the rise of modern capitalism, is one of the few truths capable of guiding and restraining it now.
The problem is that money can assume an inordinate place in our lives until it becomes a personal, spiritual, god-like force that rules us--Mammon. When John D Rockefeller was asked how much money it takes a man to become happy, he replied, "Just a little bit more." As such, Mammon is a genuine rival to God. First, calling means that, for followers of Christ, there is a decisive, immediate, and moment-by-moment authority above money and the market. The choice between Masters has been made. Second, we make the choice to do in life because we are called to it rather than because we get paid for it. Ironically, we eventually cannot afford what we most desire--deep relationships. For if "time is money" and people take time, then the "opportunity costs" of relationships (the gain that we would earn by doing something else) will be prohibitive and intimate friendships will be few. "Spending" time with friends is costly; we could "invest" in better elsewhere.
Probably the worst of all combination of a midlife crisis that pivots on failure. For few things are more ignominious than failing at something that was not worth doing in the first place. At that point many people jump to the opposite extreme where another frustration looms. They go wrong in thinking that "success" failed to satisfy because it was secular whereas "significance" will be fulfilling because it is religious. That is actually the "Catholic distortion" again. Careers that express calling are as fulfilling as careers that contradict calling are frustrating.
The modern world has scrambled things so badly that today we worship our work, we work at our play, and we play at our worship. The problem with Western Christians is not that they aren't where they should be but that they aren't what they should be where they are.
Grand Christian movements will rise and fall. Grand campaigns will be mounted and grand coalitions assembled. But all together such coordinated efforts will never match the influence of untold numbers of followers of Christ living out their callings faithfully across the vastness and complexity of modern society.
Once we have been called, we literally "have no choice." As we make our contributions along the line of our gifts and callings, and others do the same, there is both a fruitfulness and a rest in the outcome. Calling is a reminder for followers of Christ that nothing in life should be taken for granted; everything in life must be received with gratitude. Calling is an essential part of the timing that characterizes a successful life. Unlike anyone before or since, Jesus' awareness of his calling from God burst the bounds of human thinking.
THE BIG IDEA
God calls men and women who will be committed to their life tasks with no reservations, no retreats, no regrets. They are therefore free to turn from their own affairs and to center their lives on the priorities of their questing. In pursuit of this quest, no pettiness is so petty that it disturbs their meaning. No task so immense that it daunts the courage of their calling. They engage in the world on the world's terms, yet they are never diverted from their quest because they always have an eye to interests and ideals that are invisible to the eyes of others. Such people are always found "in the gap." They are the ones prepared "for such a time as this." People after God's own heart, they are ready to read the signs of the times and serve his purpose in their generation.
FINISHING WELL
Calling is central to the challenge and privilege of finishing well in life. It is important to finishing well because it helps us with three of the greatest challenges of our last years of life:
- It keeps us journeying purposefully to the very end of our lives.
- It prevents us from confusing the termination of our occupations with the termination of our vocation. We may at times be unemployed, but no one ever becomes uncalled.
- It encourages us to leave the entire outcome of our lives to God. If you know you are in God's calling, its up to Him. If you bear the entire brunt of your significance, the results are up to you. Perhaps you are frustrated by the gaps between your vision and your accomplishments. Make no judgments and draw no conclusions until God ultimately judges your work.
