Monkey see monkey do. We're surrounded by people (including Christians) who are leaning on their own understanding, so we end up doing it too!

All Christians ask this question.  Most of you right now are desperately seeking an answer to this question.  Whether its about marriage, buying a house, finding a job, leaving a job, finding a church, befriending something, going overseas for missions, or whatever the question at hand might be.

Here’s the truth:  God is speaking to you.  I’ve written previously on “How do I know if God is speaking to me?” (go read it, its a popular post).

The problem is:  you’re not listening.

I know this because every time I’ve wrestled with one of these big questions, I’m trying to seek my own will and asking God to do it for me rather than listening to God and doing His will.  Until we are following God’s will generally for us, we cannot hear from God any specific direction, mainly because God is more concerned with our heart and faith in Him rather than specifically what we do.  So our first task is to be abiding in God through following His will.

So what is God’s will for us?  God’s will is for us to allow Him to work through us by the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul makes this very clear in two passages of 1 Thessalonians:

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

(1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)

The first thing the Holy Spirit does is draw us to holiness (hey he’s the HOLY Spirit right!).  God’s will is to draw us away from indulging the flesh, loving the world, and being enslaved by Satan’s lies.  God’s will is for us to yield to the Spirit, who desires to do these things in us.  We cannot do them on our own, but the Holy Spirit can and will do them, as it is the will of the Father.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)

The second thing the Holy Spirit does is draw us to God.  So first He draws us away from ourselves, this world, and all that is evil (especially Satan) and then draws us TO God.  Three outward directions of that are rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving.  The Holy Spirit in His perfect union with the Father already rejoices in God, communicates (prays) to God, and expresses thanksgiving to God, and He brings us to join Him in that.  Quenching the Spirit is when we follow our own will and choose to be angry or upset rather than rejoice, to fear or be self-focused rather than pray, and to be demanding and selfish rather than thankful.  We cannot do this on our own.  We cannot be thankful for cancer, rejoice in suffering, or pray with all the world’s distractions, but the Holy Spirit can and will do it in us.

So what is God’s will for you?  HAVE FAITH in Him.  Yield to the Holy Spirit.  Have the faith to allow the Spirit to permeate through your life, to sanctify you by replacing sin with rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving.  Once you are in that place of trusting God, the path forward (with your job, with your spouse, with your house, with your life, etc.) will suddenly make sense.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.

(Proverbs 3:5; Proverbs 3:6)

Luke as a Fireman. He's not smiling because he's had candy and he's tired.

A week ago I wrote a post on “Is it okay for ‘boys to be boys’“?  In it, I detailed how our culture declares that violence is the way of boys and men but that God declares otherwise (also as I’ve written previously, God hates violence).

So here’s a question for you:  would it be okay to dress up our boys as Hitler for Halloween?  Maybe not now, but let’s say… in like 200 years, long past the time anyone could remember the atrocities.  Would it be okay then, in 2211, to dress up a 3-year-old as the Nazi dictator?  He could do cute goose-marches and have a fake Hitler mustache.  Would that be cute?

Or is that an appalling notion, to dress up a child and allow him to pretend to be one of greatest murders in human history?  I think it is.

Should we dress up 3-year-old boys as Crypt gang members?  How about as Ted Bundy, the serial murder?  Or how about as a child molester?  Or how about as Al Qaeda terrorists?

Why then, do we dress up our boys as vikings, who were murdering, pillaging, and raping villains who terrorized villages, raped nuns, burned churches and monasteries, and killed thousands of innocent people?  We laugh when they blow the viking horn, yet thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters in years past would have run in terror, knowing their children will be killed, their wives raped, and their possessions stolen.  Or why then do we dress up our boys as ninjas, who are essentially hired murderers?  Or why do we dress up our boys as pirates, glorifying thievery, murder, and selfishness.  Thousands of people in our world today still experience the terror of pirates, especially in the Arabian sea and even still in the Caribbean.  Vikings, Ninjas, and Pirates have been glorified and “toned down” by our culture.  That does not make what they did or what they represent any better.

Will dressing them up as a viking make them a murderer later in life?  Probably not.  Will it lead them away from following God’s will for them in the future?  Possibly.  Does it dishonor God right now?  Absolutely.

A Better Vision For Our Boys

We should shepherd our boys in their play as well as in their make-believe dress-up times.  We want them to make-believe to be men after God’s heart, men who are “not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money” (1 Tim. 3:3).  We want men who are “well thought of by outsiders”, not men who are a danger to all those around them.  We want our boys to be men who are “hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined” (Ti. 1:8).  Our boys should not seek to do violence against the “bad guys” (sending them to hell) but rather to instruct them in the trustworthy word of Jesus Christ.  When we are dressing our children up and shepherding them through imagination and play, let’s us always consider how to use those opportunities to paint a better vision for them than what our culture is offering!

I’ve actually already written about how Overpopulation is a Myth.  Its a good article, go read it.  I’m a big proponent of obeying God, especially his command to “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28).  Beyond being Biblical, its really fun too.

Tonight I also came across a great website that drives home the point that Overpopulation is a Myth.  I LOVE their tagline:

Overpopulation is a myth. This myth has caused human rights abuses around the world, forced population control, denied medicines to the poor, and targeted attacks on ethnic minorities and women.

Check it out: http://overpopulationisamyth.com/

Maybe we should make a “Keep your Lies off my body” bumper sticker.

An article by Saul Kaplan on the HBR Blog lists five reasons companies fail at business model innovation.  These five reasons were intensely practical for the Church as well.  Below I’ve edited his content, replacing business language with ministry language; for instance, we’ll change business model to ministry model, products to programs, CEO to pastors, technology to innovation, and companies to church.  I’ve also added comments in parenthesis.  My changes are all in red, the rest is all from Saul Kaplan.

————————————————————————————–

Ministry model innovation is the new strategic imperative—by now, this is becoming more generally acknowledged (examples: the Willow Reveal Study, the Missional movement, and Organic Church movement). But churches routinely fail at self-reinvention because they are so busy pedaling the bicycle of their current ministry models they leave no time, attention, or resources to design, prototype, and test new ones. Even where investments are made in innovation, those efforts are focused on new programs and services delivered through today’s ministry models and on making the current models operate more efficiently. These are important to do, without doubt. But they are hardly sufficient in the highly networked 21st century, when ministry models don’t last as long as they used to and incumbents increasingly face the risk of disruption.

Having watched many churches over the years as they recognize the imperative to change, yet somehow stay stuck in their old grooves, I’ve noted some patterns in their experience. Here, I think, are five important reasons that churches fail at ministry model innovation:

Pastors don’t really want a new ministry model.
The most obvious reason churches fail at ministry model innovation is because Pastors and their senior leadership teams don’t want to explore new ministry models. They are content with the current one and want everyone in the organization focused on how to improve its performance. The clearest indication that a church and its leaders aren’t interested in ministry model innovation is when any discussion about emerging ministry models and disruptive innovation is viewed and treated solely as a competitive threat (or as theological error).

Program is king. Nothing else matters.
The lines are blurring between program and service (in other words, blurring between Church programs and parachurch “service” ministries). Ministry models that are exclusively focused on programs are vulnerable to being disrupted by models that blend both program and service to significantly change the value proposition. Think iPod. Apple didn’t bring the first mp3 player to the market. It changed the way we experienced music by delivering on a value proposition that bundled product (iPod) and service (iTunes). Industrial era thinking and NAICS industry codes reinforce the habit of characterizing a ministry model as being either program or service focused, but this is a false choice constraining ministry model innovation (as in, the church does “X” and not “Y”, parachurch does “Y” and not “X”). Sometimes a proud program heritage can get in the way.

Cannibalization is off the table.
Part of the thinking by line executives in most organizations goes like this: “the last thing we want to do is risk any of our current ministry. It’s hard enough being at war with the competition in a battle for market share (of people’s attention and time). Why would we want to compete against ourselves?” These sentiments tend to be voiced whenever new ministry model ideas threaten to cannibalize existing programs. When pastors look at new opportunities they see them through the lens of the current ministry model and view them as competing with the current way the organization creates, delivers, and captures value. Organizations fail at ministry model innovation because they blindly take cannibalization off the table even if a new ministry model may have significant upside potential.

ROI hurdles are too aggressive for fledgling models.
There’s no easier way to prevent ministry model innovation than to assess potential new models using the same economics and financial metrics as projects to improve the performance of the current ministry model (in other words: butts in seats, numbers in small groups, take-in with offering, baptisms, meals served, etc.). Financial metrics utilized to assess alternative projects to improve the current ministry model reflect the cost structure and required returns to sustain and grow in the context of today’s model. New ministry models are likely to have very different economics and must be assessed in that context (such as: number of those being actively discipled, number of people sharing Christ, number of people fully helped out of poverty). Most new ministry models will be dismissed out of hand if judged by the economics and constrained by the ROI requirements of the current model. Churches fail at ministry model innovation because they apply the wrong financial lens in assessing the attractiveness and feasibility of new ministry models.

Rogues and renegades get no respect.
Many organizations fail at ministry model innovation because they shoot their renegades (apostolic leaders, prophetic voices, and evangelists). Or, if they don’t shoot them, they wear them down until they leave (and go into parachurch ministry). Ministry model innovators go against the traditional church grain. They see entirely new ways to create, deliver, and plant the Gospel. If those that are tasked with sustaining and growing today’s ministry models are allowed to reject those with the perspective and insight to help design the next one, ministry model innovation efforts will fail. Churches must learn to celebrate and support people within the organization who are willing to challenge the status quo, to bring totally different perspectives on delivering value to the table, and to take experimental risks to explore new models.

(All credit given to Saul Kaplan for this article and the Lord Jesus Christ for inspiration to change a few pieces of it.  There, of course, are limits to all of these statements but I found it helpful as a way to think about our church paradigms.)

Books I highly recommend on this subject of church model innovation:

Launching Missional Communities: A Field Guide

Price: $499.00

(7 customer reviews)

2 used & new available from $499.00

Deliberate Simplicity: How the Church Does More by Doing Less (Leadership Network Innovation Series)

Price: $12.91

(6 customer reviews)

66 used & new available from $2.35

Church 3.0: Upgrades for the Future of the Church (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series)

Price: $16.46

(12 customer reviews)

45 used & new available from $13.36

AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church (Exponential Series)

Price: $12.78

(22 customer reviews)

53 used & new available from $4.99

The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church

Price: $13.26

(42 customer reviews)

69 used & new available from $7.60

Satan is the father of lies.  But there is something that Satan regularly tells us that is true that we can embrace.  Satan regularly tells us that cursed are those who cannot abide by the Law of God.

He’s right.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” (Galatians 3:10)

Let us embrace this truth. Satan wants to use this to destroy us. We embrace this and flee to Jesus!

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)

Watch this wonderful music video with Shane and Shane’s song “Embracing Accusation”!  This really struck me this morning.

Here's our guys playing marching band! Luke thought up the hats and our neighbor Pete gave us the feathers.

I hear the phrase a lot:  ”well boys will be boys”.  It almost always refers to boys doing something foolhardy or violent.  I had a conversation with a pastor about why his pre-school sons play with fake guns, knives, and swords.  He said, “boys will be boys, if we don’t give them guns they will just make them out of sticks or something else”.  It is a cultural assumption that boys only want to play with weapons and be violent.  All because our culture only offers violent role-models to our boys and churns out innumerable ways to make-believe violence does not make it right or pleasing to God.

Is violence okay?

I’ve already written about how God hates violence.  Let me reiterate:  God HATES violence.  Read the first six chapters of Genesis.  Chapter 1 screams out like a beautiful symphony “it is good!”.  God loves his creation and saw it as “very good”.  But then 6 chapters later God DESTROYS all of it.  With a great flood He kills all the birds. animals, and people he said were “good”.  Why?  It tells us plainly:  ”Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.”  (Genesis 6:11 ESV).

God hates violence so much that he is willing to decimate his entire beloved and “good” creation in order to wash away that corruption from the earth.  (Oh what must God think of the world today!  Thank the Lord for the covenant symbolized by the rainbow!)

How should we instruct our boys?

I think Bibically we should instruct our boys like Solomon instructed his son:

Do not plan evil against your neighbor,

who dwells trustingly beside you.

Do not contend with a man for no reason,

when he has done you no harm.

Do not envy a man of violence

and do not choose any of his ways,

for the devious person is an abomination to the LORD,

but the upright are in his confidence.

(Proverbs 3:29-32 ESV)

Rather than allowing our sons to pretend “planning evil”, mimic “contending”, and role-play being the “man of violence”, we should be instructing them in ways of righteousness.  We want our sons to be “upright” men, not “devious persons” who are an “abomination to the Lord”.  We wouldn’t let our boys make-believe playing “rapists”, “prostitutes”, or “idol-worshippers”, why would we let them make-believe playing murderers?  Yes it is just make-believe, but their imaginative play informs their real life and we cannot forfeit the opportunity to help shepherd them in that.

Our son loves playing with swords.  He especially liked to pretend to be David fighting Goliath.  We let him for quite awhile, as I bought into the “boys will be boys” lie that Satan has sown among God’s people.  Now we instruct him to be a peacemaker and talk about how Jesus is the “Prince of Peace”.  We talk about loving our enemies and returning evil with good.

A Better Vision for our Boys

I think we should both instruct and model a better vision for our boys.  A vision of trusting God and loving our neighbor.  A vision of being men after God’s heart who work hard, are responsible, are respectful, serve heartily, listen graciously, honor others, share Christ boldly, and put God as first in their life.  We need to instruct our boys on the reality of eternity, teaching them to tell the “bad guys” about Jesus so they can go to heaven rather than trying to kill them (which would just send them to hell).

By God’s grace, we’re trying to paint this vision for our son.  Instead of role-playing being a warrior, he now most often chooses more constructive make-believe professions like worship leader, preacher, construction worker, bus driver, and restaurant owner.  As I write right now he’s in the bath playing fisherman, imagining he’s out fishing with Jesus and Peter.

Let’s together point our boys to a better vision for our boys, a vision of being like Jesus Christ.

“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?" (Luke 6:39)

My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. (Prov. 1:10)

This verse brought out a whole series of experiences in my life.  Sinners try to entice.  That’s why even the most innocent google image searches will result in some sort of porn, even with the strict filter on.  I’ve also noticed that friends of mine who don’t love Jesus make a very specific point of trying to get me to sin.  Some examples:

-  I was driving in a friend’s car.  It is a nice car and can go quite fast.  He kept goading me to speed through town to catch red lights and kept telling me to go faster and drive recklessly.
-  Another friend of mine always tries to put on movies or tv shows that he knows will push my comfort, especially in terms of language and sexually explicit material.  He especially likes to laugh loud at the most offensive parts and look at me, nudge me, or ask me if I heard that.
- I had a friend send me pornographic links after I had come to Christ and made a clear stand against porn.
- I was hanging out with a group of guys having some drinks.  The one guy there who knew me well (and knows I am a Christian) came over.  He started using explicit language and trying to bait me into using it.  ”They are assholes right?  You think they are assholes?  You gotta say they are assholes man.”  Oddly enough, everyone else in the conversation also stepped up their language.  (Saying that word is not necessarily sin, but it reflects a heart of judgment and hatred and the language usage opens up a host of other sinful paths).

I know this is true because I have done this.  Before coming to Christ, I tempted many Christian friends to drink too much, to lust after women, or even to smoke pot.

What I have also found to be interesting is how I have friends who are Christians who also try to get me to indulge in their sinful pleasures.  It is never the explicitly sinful things, its the idolatries Christian culture has found acceptable, like consumerism and self-centered entertainmentism.  I have had people tell me they feel sorry for me for not loving watching sports.  I’ve actually had someone tell me I will be a poor witness for Jesus because I don’t love football but everyone else does.  I’ve had Christians tell some quite dirty jokes that I’m ashamed I laughed at (see Eph. 5:4).  And – this is the most common – I’ve had lots of people gossip to me and lure me into the gossip circle.

I know this happens because I do it too.  When God confronts me in an idolatrous path, I can look back and see how I had tried to bring others into it.  I apologize for anyone I’ve led astray and praise God that He is the one in control!

Here’s the reality:  we’re all evangelists.  Why?  Because we’re all worshipers, and our worship is always more meaningful when others do it with us.

So again, listen to the wise words of Solomon (who should have followed his own advice!):

My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. (Prov. 1:10)

Or as Jude says:

And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. (Jude 1:22-23)

Steve Jobs quoted at his resignation. The quote is probably even more appropriate now.

In the last day since he died many have been trumpeting praise for Steve Jobs, looking back on his life and declaring it was one of the most influential and important lives of our age.  Many honor him as an innovator but also an evangelist for technology and a new way of looking at life by emphasizing man’s ability to achieve and make beautiful things.  I want to interview Steve to get his reflection on his life now that he’s on the other side of death.

Now, granted Steve Jobs most likely believed he wold die and become no more (see his Stanford Commencement Address).  But the Bible says we are eternal creatures and either go to heaven – based not on our merit but on faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross – or we go to hell and receive the punishment for sin, wrong, and evil we’ve done in our lives (John 5:25-29).  I’m not sure where Steve’s heart was when he died, so I’ll interview him both from heaven and hell to get his perspective either way.

In Heaven

Paul: Hi Steve, I’m Paul Ireland, I’m here to interview you about your life’s great accomplishments, especially at Apple.

Steve: (Looking glassy eyed) Oh hello Paul.  Isn’t He glorious?!  Isn’t He wonderful?!?  Look at all He has created!  Look at all He has done!  Look at Him!!  I had no idea!  Are you seeing this?  Do you see how great our God is?

Paul: Um Steve… I’m here to talk about your life.  How do you look at it now that you’re dead?

Steve: (Looking Surprised) Wait, what?  MY life?  Oh Paul, Solomon said it best:  its all Vanity.

Paul: But Steve, your work has transformed a whole industry and created whole new markets.  You’ve revolutionized the world’s understanding of product design.  People wait in long lines to get your products.  People practically worship you and what you’ve created.  And you’ve made heaps of money along the way.  Surely you must have something to say about it?

Steve: (Looking more serious now)  Paul, you should know better than that.  Everything made is from God’s hand.  Look at what He has done!  My life is only worth what Glory it gave to God.  Paul, if you tell people anything, tell them that.  Tell them about how Holy and Glorious and Beautiful our God is!  Tell them about how wonderful is the love of God in Jesus Christ!

In Hell

Paul: Hi Steve, I’m Paul Ireland, I’m here to interview you about your life’s great accomplishments, especially at Apple.

Steve: (looking anguished and distraught) Oh He is so Holy.  Woe!  Woe is me!   (looking surprised to see me)  Oh!!!  Do you have any water?  I am so thirsty.  I need water.  So much thirst.  So much burning.  Can you get me out of here!?!  Did you come here to take me away?!?!  Please take me out of this place!?!

Paul: Um… no.  I’m here to interview you about your life.  Tell me, how do you look at it now that you’re dead.

Steve: (Looking intensely desperate)  You must go back and warn them!  You must tell people!!!  I had no idea it would end like this.  I had no idea what I was doing.  I lived all my life for myself and it is now… all… meaningless.  It was all vanity.  Woe!  Oh woe is me!!!

Paul: But Steve, your work has transformed a whole industry and created whole new markets.  You’ve revolutionized the world’s understanding of product design.  People wait in long lines to get your products.  People practically worship you and what you’ve created.  And you’ve made heaps of money along the way.  Surely you must have something to say about it?

Steve: Paul, promise me that you will go tell them.  Warn my family!  Warn my friends!  Tell them about this place!  Tell them not to follow in my path!  Tell them not to put their trust in money or in their technology or in themselves!  Please tell them.  Don’t let this happen to them.  Please I beg of you.  Forget my life; save theirs!  Tell them how Holy God is.  PLEASE TELL THEM!

Vanity

The great wise man, Solomon, has much to say about this.

Steve Jobs will be remembered as a visionary, a dreamer.

For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear. (Ecclesiastes 5:7 ESV)

Steve Jobs will be remembered as a man who made loads of money building successful companies.

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.(Ecclesiastes 5:10 ESV)

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.  (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 ESV)

My prayer is that your life will not be lived in vain.

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.  (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 ESV)