We had a great group continuing to go through the “Gospel Journey” tonight with 47 teens crammed into our little home, intently soaking up the sacrifice Jesus made for each of them. After breaking up into smaller groups in bedrooms, closets, and any other place they could find, they began to head home, while others stayed to ask questions and continue dialogue.
Shortly after everyone left one our students, who is leader and consistent to follow up with students who attended, called me. “It’s too easy!”, he proclaims. “She said it’s just too easy.” We discussed the dialogue he had with one of our seniors who had been a regular attender for a few weeks now. While she believes in Jesus, who He is, and what He’s done, the decision to become a follower of Christ just seems to easy. My student leader didn’t know how to respond, so this was my suggestion:
Go to Staples and get a red “Easy Button”; wrap it up as a gift and give it to her. As you hand it to her, ask “If I give this too you as a gift, but you never accept it, is it still yours?” Then hand it to her and ask how difficult it was for her to accept this gift, with no strings attached. Then as she opens it, lovingly explain that Romans 3:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” It’s a gift when she chooses to accept it. The journey to learn and grow to be more like Christ is the rest of our life after we decide to surrender our entire life to Him.
Continue to pray for this student and the others that are on the journey of discovery of what it means to have a relationship with Jesus!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Surrogates
I recently watched a movie with Bruce Willis called “Surrogates”. The premise of the movie is that technology has advanced so much that each person lives their lives out through a “surrogate” or robot of themselves. Each day the person lies in a chair and experiences life through the computer replica of themselves. The streets are full of people, but they are only imitations of the real people connected to them.
This got me to thinking…
Isn’t this what we as a church have done? We’ve substituted real relationships for “surrogates”. We come to “church” and go through the motions and programs, but are we really connecting with people? The book of Acts describes a new organism called The Church, as a group of people who served one another, sacrificed for one another, grew together, and ultimately shared life together. Does a church in the United States of America in 2009 exist that looks like the New Testament model of church? Or, have we as American Christians built barriers to protect ourselves from others, even at “church”?
In the movie, there comes a point where Bruce Willis’ character has to walk out on the street as himself, not his surrogate, leaving himself vulnerable to injury. It was overwhelming for him, but he says that for the first time in a long time he feels connected. We, as the body of Christ, have to sacrifice our conveniences at times to live the real life God intended, together. In order to feel connected, we have to let our guard down and become vulnerable, just as the character in the movie. We are designed to share life together, not through a surrogate. As a church, I fear, we have become something somewhat artificial. We have produced surrogates for real community. With the expansion of Facebook, twitter, and other social networking sites, I myself feel more connecting in some ways to people than ever before. But, the amount of time I spend with others face to face continues to diminish. We’ve found “surrogates” for real community. We’ve substituted and settled in areas of our life that are designed to be shared in this journey.
Ponder this… are we so connected with our surrogate lives and churches that we don’t know the difference? When are we going to stop living fake, surrogate lives and start living like followers of Christ?
Surrogacy is an addiction, as is portrayed in the movie. It blinds us from the reality of where we’ve been and what we’ve become.
Dear Church, please wake up! Please recognize the reality of our world and our call to share His amazing grace with a world that is blinded.
Unlike the ending of the movie, we are not on our own. We have a living Savior and counselor (the Holy Spirit) living in us, walking with us, every step of the journey! Will you start walking this journey in authentic relationship with others?
This got me to thinking…
Isn’t this what we as a church have done? We’ve substituted real relationships for “surrogates”. We come to “church” and go through the motions and programs, but are we really connecting with people? The book of Acts describes a new organism called The Church, as a group of people who served one another, sacrificed for one another, grew together, and ultimately shared life together. Does a church in the United States of America in 2009 exist that looks like the New Testament model of church? Or, have we as American Christians built barriers to protect ourselves from others, even at “church”?
In the movie, there comes a point where Bruce Willis’ character has to walk out on the street as himself, not his surrogate, leaving himself vulnerable to injury. It was overwhelming for him, but he says that for the first time in a long time he feels connected. We, as the body of Christ, have to sacrifice our conveniences at times to live the real life God intended, together. In order to feel connected, we have to let our guard down and become vulnerable, just as the character in the movie. We are designed to share life together, not through a surrogate. As a church, I fear, we have become something somewhat artificial. We have produced surrogates for real community. With the expansion of Facebook, twitter, and other social networking sites, I myself feel more connecting in some ways to people than ever before. But, the amount of time I spend with others face to face continues to diminish. We’ve found “surrogates” for real community. We’ve substituted and settled in areas of our life that are designed to be shared in this journey.
Ponder this… are we so connected with our surrogate lives and churches that we don’t know the difference? When are we going to stop living fake, surrogate lives and start living like followers of Christ?
Surrogacy is an addiction, as is portrayed in the movie. It blinds us from the reality of where we’ve been and what we’ve become.
Dear Church, please wake up! Please recognize the reality of our world and our call to share His amazing grace with a world that is blinded.
Unlike the ending of the movie, we are not on our own. We have a living Savior and counselor (the Holy Spirit) living in us, walking with us, every step of the journey! Will you start walking this journey in authentic relationship with others?
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Guns, Words, and a Hero on a School Bus
This week in Pickens, MS a high school football player foiled the attempt of a middle school gunman. Shown by the bus’ video camera, a young girl pulled a handgun out of her backpack and proceeded to load the magazine into the gun, right on the bus. She then proceeded to wave the gun around the bus threatening to kill everyone. After being awakened by his sister, the hero made sure to focus’ the girl’s attention on him so that others could exit the bus. In a split second, as she glanced away, he tackled the girl and wrestled the gun away from her.
Why would a young girl do this? Why would she feel desperate enough to take a gun out on a bus with the intent to kill someone? She was tired of being picked on! That’s right; she had been teased and made fun of by another student on the bus.
As our society and culture continues to become more and more self gratified, the issues of teasing, ridicule, and bullying sky rocket at malls, on the ball field, and on school campuses. Cruelty is slowly taking the place for concern of others, which is slowly leaving the fabric of our society.
So why does this matter? How does this affect you?
1- How do you see others? Do you see other people as Jesus sees them, “harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd”? Showing love, compassion, and treating others with respect can make a huge impact on your community. (Matt. 9:36)
2- One action, affects others. This one action by this young girl has caused a ripple effect in her community, her, state and even the nation. The choice to distract and tackle the girl by the football player has had a similar ripple, but with different consequences. The action to tease or make fun of one person impacted an entire community. Do your actions affect more than just you? What you do today, not only affects you, but others around you in your home, your community, ultimately the kingdom of God.
3- How do you respond to those who mistreat you? While Jesus tells us to love each other, including those who we don’t like, those who look or sound different, or those who act different than us, it is often times difficult to refrain from sometimes seemingly harmless expression. However, the words of those who hurl insults, ridicule or harassment still sting. Remember this, these individuals see you different than God sees you. They don’t see the beauty in each area of your life in the same way that our Heavenly Father sees. You were created in His image and formed intricately before you were even born. You are adored by the King of Kings! Honor God by how you treat those who persecute you. (Matt. 5:11-12, Romans 12: 14-21, Psalm 139)
Why would a young girl do this? Why would she feel desperate enough to take a gun out on a bus with the intent to kill someone? She was tired of being picked on! That’s right; she had been teased and made fun of by another student on the bus.
As our society and culture continues to become more and more self gratified, the issues of teasing, ridicule, and bullying sky rocket at malls, on the ball field, and on school campuses. Cruelty is slowly taking the place for concern of others, which is slowly leaving the fabric of our society.
So why does this matter? How does this affect you?
1- How do you see others? Do you see other people as Jesus sees them, “harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd”? Showing love, compassion, and treating others with respect can make a huge impact on your community. (Matt. 9:36)
2- One action, affects others. This one action by this young girl has caused a ripple effect in her community, her, state and even the nation. The choice to distract and tackle the girl by the football player has had a similar ripple, but with different consequences. The action to tease or make fun of one person impacted an entire community. Do your actions affect more than just you? What you do today, not only affects you, but others around you in your home, your community, ultimately the kingdom of God.
3- How do you respond to those who mistreat you? While Jesus tells us to love each other, including those who we don’t like, those who look or sound different, or those who act different than us, it is often times difficult to refrain from sometimes seemingly harmless expression. However, the words of those who hurl insults, ridicule or harassment still sting. Remember this, these individuals see you different than God sees you. They don’t see the beauty in each area of your life in the same way that our Heavenly Father sees. You were created in His image and formed intricately before you were even born. You are adored by the King of Kings! Honor God by how you treat those who persecute you. (Matt. 5:11-12, Romans 12: 14-21, Psalm 139)
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