Pre-Conceived Ideas

"Happy Easter Eve!" That was the greeting I received while entering the auditorium to attend Easter celebration services....on Saturday night. We planned to attend with Nancy's family and the majority decided that attending on Saturday night would be the better option for the weekend. I believe there were several reasons for doing so including the idea that there would be more room for someone else on Sunday morning if our whole family didn't take up an entire row. A valid response I suppose. 

For me, I was having a hard time thinking about attending an Easter service on a day other than Easter. Is it really an Easter service that way? What if they do something different than they would do on Sunday morning? What if we miss something cool? What if I miss seeing someone I would normally see on Sunday morning? What if I missed the point?

I think it's easy to get caught up in traditions. It's easy to get caught up in our own pre-conceived ideas about what something in particular should look like. We are all guilty of that. I am guilty of that. Did I turn something so significant as the Resurrection of Jesus Christ into something based on tradition, perception, or, something that shows up on the calendar?

The point is, something as monumental as the Resurrection cannot be contained to one day. Sure, we set aside a certain day to remember it and celebrate it. But, the reality is, we get to celebrate that everyday. Jesus sacrificed His life for us. But it didn't end with His death. He arose and He's asking us to live with Him. How will we respond to that? What will we do with that? Will we set aside one day to remember that or will we be involved everyday?

It's not about one particular day on a calendar. It's about living our lives for Christ and celebrating the fact that He has risen and conquered death. 

So.....Happy Easter Eve. Happy Easter. Happy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday . . . . you get the point.

Application

Photo from www.northpoint.org

I listened to the first message of a new sermon series going on at North Point Community Church titled "Life Apps." I encourage you to check out this particular message from Andy Stanley here. One of the things that stood out to me that Andy said was this: "Believing is fine; intending to is fine; application and what you actually do is what makes all the difference!" 

This is something I've been contemplating in my own life. I've been trying to determine what my "application" should look like on a regular basis.  The opening scene from the video mentioned above is a montage of different "apps" one can download on their phone in an attempt to seemingly make our lives easier. The point was made though that none of these apps actually make us do anything. They may encourage us or assist us in something, but we actually have to decide to partake of that activity before it can be accomplished.

This correlates to our spiritual lives. There are "apps" to teach, train, equip, etc. But, if all we're doing is studying, believing, and intending to, then we may be missing our opportunities for application. Application not only in our own lives, but in others around us who need to know Christ.  Don't get me wrong; we need to continue to learn and refresh. But, we have to balance our input with output.

This is pretty easy for me to talk about but much harder to apply!

Old Vinyl

I just read an article in the newspaper about a trend among teenagers with collecting and listening to old vinyl records on actual turntables. They were talking about how the sound was so much better and that earlier music was never meant to be digitized. 

I'm one that is easily caught up with new technology. I love the stuff. It intrigues me and interests me. But, I wonder, what is the cost of "Out with the old and in with the new?" A colleague at work today was telling me about a story he heard on the radio this morning. They were discussing that people hardly need to know anything anymore in the era of the internet. If one doesn't know or can't figure something out,  it's Google to the rescue.

I got to thinking about the church. I again am one that loves progress in the church. I like the new music and modern technological advances. It works for me. It sets a certain atmosphere for me. But, I wonder what things we've left behind that were also beneficial.  What if that is not "working" for someone else? Are we missing our opportunity to share Christ? What can we learn from the "old guard" that we can put into practice today? What methods worked for them that we can use today? What if those ways become the new "trend?" Will we be too involved in our new technology to respond?

Ecclesiastes 1:9 (New International Version, ©2011)

⁹ What has been will be again,
   what has been done will be done again;
   there is nothing new under the sun.

Devo

In my last post I talked about having accountability partners. These are the people that you've given permission to keep you on track spiritually, physically, etc. For this post, I'm thinking specifically of being held accountable to a daily devotion time. This is an area where, honestly, I've struggled for most of my life. I have never found this easy to do. It takes focus and discipline, dedication and commitment. There are times when I've stayed faithful in making that time and other times where I'm completely lazy and inactive in this area.

I've never really determined why this has been so hard for me to be consistent with. I desire to deepen my relationship with God. I've seen and experienced the benefits of being in the Word and having that knowledge. I like to read. I want it to be a time of growth and reflection and not just something I check off my daily to-do list.

So, what's the deal? I know and understand the need for this in order to continue to mature in my faith. I have people in place to ask me how I'm doing. Yet, I'm not where I want to be or need to be.

How about you? Is this something that comes easy for you or is this an area you really have to work at like me? If so, why do you think that is? Is this another area where the enemy is attacking, or, are we just lazy? I don't think we're going to Hell if we don't read our Bibles everyday. But, I do think it's necessary for us to grow and mature in our faith; to enhance our relationship with our Father; to be obedient to our Savior.

Thoughts?

Accountability

I think it's important to have accountability partners. Those people that you've given permission to call you on whatever, smack you around and get you back in line! Sometimes it's surprising when they actually step up and say something. That takes courage. That's true friendship.

I've been under some stress lately for various different reasons and have let it at times affect my attitude in a less than positive way. While meeting with a friend for lunch at work a couple weeks ago, I was expressing my current "frustrations." Blah, blah, blah....on and on I went. And then she said, "Rodd, have you prayed about it? How's your devotional time?" 

Honestly, it kinda sucks right now. I've let other things get in the way of my relationship with God. I try to fit Him into MY schedule and on MY terms. The problem is, it doesn't really work out so well for me. Every time I try to do something on my own, I fail. It's only when I'm in right relationship with Him that I can succeed. And here's the thing, I know that. I've experienced that. I desire that.

So, why is it so hard to maintain that discipline? I'm reminded of the words of Paul in Romans 7:

¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

 ²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

I know this: I'm glad He's faithful, even when I'm not. And, I'm thankful for friends who will step up and remind me. 

Youth and Technology

Dominic Nahr / Magnum for TIME

I recently read an article in TIME magazine entitled, Why There's No Turning Back In The Middle East by Fareed Zakaria. The article discusses the recent revolutions and protests taking place in the Middle East in an attempt to overthrow the corrupted regimes of their societies. The article describes how youth and technology have played a vital part of the success of these protests and that a large part of the population is under the age of 30. 

This got me to thinking about youth and technology in the church. How are we leveraging both youth and technologies in our churches today? The youth of today is the church of tomorrow. The technologies we provide to them today will be the foundations of the technology they use in the future. I wonder if the church is largely ignoring our youth and their potential?

I believe that the youth of today not only are the church of tomorrow, but, they are also a part of the church here and now. They have something to offer now. We need to mentor them and be a part of their lives. We need to give them the training and resources they need to be good leaders, not only today, but equip them to handle what's to come and the changes that will occur as a result of their influence.  

Take some time to get to know some of the youth around you. Maybe you'll learn something. I'm sure they know more about technology than you or I do. Maybe they have some insights on following Jesus that we aren't aware of either. 

Driscoll

Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll is the founder and teaching pastor at Mars Hill in Seattle. He spoke at Catalyst West Coast last year. He's probably one of my favorite pastors to listen to. The group that went to #CatWest last year recently gave a little overview of the trip to some of our Pastors and Elders. As I was going through my notes, I was reminded of a couple of thoughts from Mark that had stood out to me. They are;

"For whatever reason, sometimes the things we want are not God's will for us." 

"If He has not opened an opportunity for you, it's because it's not good for you."

These two quotes resonate with me. It seems that whenever I perceive that there is a possibility for advancement in my career, the door is swiftly closed. I wonder if I've placed too much emphasis on my career and not enough on my calling. I'm wondering if the two can intertwine but at the moment, I feel they may be worlds apart. 

Maybe I'm not looking at it through the right lens though. Around the time I found out of my denial to interview for the "opportunity," a friend at work sent me an IM about coming to church. It was out of the blue. She specifically said she needed Jesus and wanted to come and check it out and was going to bring a friend.  

Maybe those worlds can intertwine. Maybe I'm figuring out what real opportunity looks like . . .