I’m an Apostle Not One-of-the-Boys

[Read: Galatians 1:1-2:10]

Paul goes to some pretty extreme lengths in this letter to form and support the fact that he is a genuine apostle. His whole argument culminates in 2:8 where he says, “For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an Apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the gentiles.” Chapter 2 verse 8 is the climax, but check out these verses leading up to it: 1:1; 1:12; 1:15; 1:17.

Paul is building a case for his authority and his leadership; and he’s doing it boldly and unashamedly!

I used to play basketball in a church league and I had a local Pastor on my team. After one of the games (as a side note: we were completely slaughtered) we were outside debriefing and this Pastor said, “Hey guys, thanks for letting me be one-of-the-boys”. Here’s the thing, he was not “one-of-the-boys”. He was a pastor! God had chosen him, set him apart, and set him up with a platform of leadership and a voice so that he could proclaim His truth and lead His church!

Now, I know what he meant and the statement itself wasn’t really a problem in the context but let me attack the philosophy for a second. We can’t escape from God’s call on our lives unless we chose to live in disobedience. Let that sink in for a second, or for more proof, check out these verses (Proverbs 3:5; 8:22-24; 16:3, 9 and 33; Jeremiah 1:5 and Galatians 1:15). If God has called you to a task or a position He didn’t do it for you, He did it for the people that He is planning to reach through you. If God has set you apart in your job, family, or community and trusted you with a position of influence then fight for it and leverage it for His purposes.

To be continued…

I’m Not a Fake

[Read: Galatians 1:11-24]

If you really read this passage you’re probably wondering the same thing I am right now, "why does Paul spend so much air time defending himself in this letter?"…

Some people have accused Paul of being arrogant which is completely asinine. God wouldn’t use someone that thought more of themselves then they thought of Him. In other words, if God was pleased to use Paul as his spokesman for a third of the New Testament then who am I to second guess God… But it is, however, a little weird that Paul spends so much time defending his apostleship in these verses.

Here’s my perspective: Paul understood just how significant his apostleship was. He knew who he was representing and therefore understood just how important it was for him to be credible.

In our modern courts if you want to win a case one of the best ways to do so (at least in the movies…) is to discredit the witness. An “expert” in the medical field who is proven to have received his medical degree in six weeks from a degree-by-mail night program doesn’t carry much weight. Therefore, the person that this “expert” was a witness for is up a creek!

In the same way, if the people who are fighting against Paul are successful at discrediting him then they have not only hurt Paul, but they’ve damaged the case. Since Paul is testifying to Christ it is essential that Paul is a credible witness so he is fighting for it.

Here’s my question for us, are we a credible witness. If we had enemies that wanted to dismiss our testimony could we write a letter to everyone that knows us and defend ourselves as a witness to Christ? Check yourself! There are a lot of people watching us and making their assessment about our Lord by the way we live.

Next Post: “I’m an Apostle not One-of-the-Boys”

Be Eternally Condemned you Freakin’ Liars

[Read: Galatians 1:1-10]

I guess my title may have been a little too harsh. But then again, that’s pretty much what Paul said, so I guess I’ll let myself off the hook.

In Galatians 1:8 and 9 Paul eternally condemns anyone that preaches a Gospel other than the one that he is preaching. He doesn’t just say it and move on, he says it twice, back to back. Paul isn’t trying to win an argument with people who see things differently then him. He isn’t trying to persuade a few people that he’s right and they’re wrong. Paul is SO convinced that what he is teaching is right that he condemns anyone who disagrees with him to an eternity in hell.

One of the funniest verses in the Bible is Galatians 1:10 where Paul asks, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men?” Yeah Paul…uh…actually, no! You just condemned a bunch of people to hell, it’s pretty clear that you’re not in it for popularity.

Here’s what I believe, this passion is missing from most of our lives. Jesus isn’t some pretty little caricature who makes nice Sunday afternoon conversation over lunch. He’s not Mr. Rogers or a political statement. He’s the Lord over all things and as Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

In other words, Paul is right. People who preach another Gospel are condemned. I ask myself the same question that Paul asked in verse 10, am I trying to please men, or God? Where do you fall? There is only one Gospel and we, as Christians, carry it to those that don’t know about it. You should take a stand; it is LITERALLY a matter of life and death!!!

Next post: “I am not a Fake”

Overview of Galatians

The book of Galatians is an interesting book. Well, actually, it’s not a book, it’s a letter that Paul wrote to some people he had helped out that were turning their backs on him. If you read it carefully, you can tell that Paul is actually pretty angry throughout the whole letter.

This letter was one of the first letters that Paul wrote and it therefore, has a lot of stuff crammed into it. As I have become more familiar with the Scriptures as a whole I have come back to Galatians on a occasion and noticed that most of what Paul writes in Galatians is covered in other letters that Paul wrote (Romans, Ephesians, Corinthians etc…). For that reason, Galatians is a good letter to read; it provides a nice overview of the basic arguments that Paul addresses at length in other places, but it is short so you can get through it in one sitting.

Before you come back to read the next entry, the assignment is to read the entire book of Galatians. It’s only 6 chapters! The reason you should read it in one sitting is it’s a letter. If your spouse or “special friend” wrote you a love letter and you only read the first paragraph you would probably not have a complete understanding of what they were trying to say to you, right? Letters are written to be read in one sitting – Galatians is no different. So read Galatians and then check back for the next post.

Next post: “Be Eternally Condemned you Freakin’ Liars”

Galatians

Warning: I am going to hijack my blog indefinitely to go through the book of Galatians. I'll let you know when I'm done...

Why Go Through Galatians on my Blog?????

1) I would like to focus my blog writing energy on the Scripture, the only words that have any power to change lives – including my own.

2) I’m bored talking about me and/or the things I’m doing!

3) There is a lot of really good stuff in Galatians that I think needs to be highlighted.

4) And, I’m the Ministries Pastor of a thriving and dynamic church and I’m passionate about the stuff God says in His book; particularly through Paul in Galatians.

So, if you’re interested in going through the book of Galatians with me, then go subscribe to bloglines and put this blog at the top of your list.

If you’re not interested in going through the book of Galatians with me, then you should check your heart and figure out if you really love God. Just kidding! If you don’t want to go through the book of Galatians with me that’s fine, just make sure you’re going through something without me…

Next post: Overview

Humility Redefined (Part 3)

This whole rant started when I went to Starbucks the other day. I tend to enjoy a cup of coffee, and I have a particular weakness for Starbucks' coffee.



Over the past 4 months I have frequented the same Starbucks near my house and I always go in rather than use the drive through line for this reason: God has gifted me with an ability to build relationships - I'm good with people. I see it as my calling to reach out to people and make connections, so I intentionally put myself in situations where I can leverage (and hone) that gift.



So, over the past 4 months I have built a relationship with the Barista at this particular Starbucks named Kim. When she found out the other day that I was a Pastor at Elevation church this is what she said, "Oh, I'm so glad to hear that. You have such a nice way about you, and I'm glad that you are a pastor."



Here's is what I heard her say:



"John, you have faithfully represented Jesus Christ to me. I have served dozens of 'Christians' who have been selfishly curt and disrespectful and after 4 months of enjoying seeing you come in it makes me excited to know that you represent Him. Because, you see, I haven't been in church in a really long time, but I'm searching. In fact, I really want to believe that Jesus is who He says He is and the way that you have carried yourself has really helped. Thank you!"



Now, I know she didn't actually use these words, but as I found out, she has visited Elevation and loved it. But in talking with her, it became clear that she is overwhelmed with the idea of getting back to church. The fact that I was a nice guy REALLY helped her. I expect she will be coming to Elevation soon where Christ will have ample opportunity to touch her life.



Use your gift! God has plans that extend beyond what we can see. We need to give people every conceivable excuse to try out Christianity and get to know our Lord and there just isn't time for us to down-play our gifts. Use them to their fullest and start representing Christ well!



If you promise to read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 with this newly established filter, then I think I'm done now...

Humility Redefined (Part 2)

Let me continue the rant that I started here...


Imagine you were trapped in a foreign country. You can't speak their language. You can't read their signs. You don't know anyone. You can't figure out their financial systems and you're broke, your Visa has expired and you're lost, lonely and confused. In a last ditch effort to try to get help and get back home you manage to find the American Embassy. When you walk in and flash your North Carolina ID and ask for help. The person looks back at you and says, "Well, I actually really like this country. In fact, I think the language is great. Why would you want to go back to America anyway? I think you should just stay here."


Isn't this exactly what we do with the gifts and talents that God has given to us? He causes us to be good with people, but in situation that really matters we disregard and disrespect God's gift in our life. People are visiting our churches and they don't get it, they don't know the language, and they're lost, lonely and confused and we give them the cold shoulder.



WOULD SOMEBODY STAND UP AND SAY,


"I'm good with people, let me stand at that door."


Or, "I am freakin' awesome with spreadsheets! I can't stand at that door, but dang it, I can create a spreadsheet that will walk to your house and make sure you're there."


Or, "I'm good with people, but I'm a much better leader. Let me lead the people who can stand at the door."


Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20 that we are Christ's ambassadors but check out what he says before that in verse 12:


"We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than what is in the heart..."


In other words, If we don't show them who Christ is, no one else is doing it. Therefore, we need to polish our proverbial shoes, put on our best clothes, and get our speech right. God is looking to us to use the gifts He has bestowed on us for His glory and His kingdom. Quit poo-pooin' around and get on it!

Humility Redefined (Part 1)

I have always known that the Scripture taught humility. My problem has been that I have misunderstood what humility is and I would bet you're the same way.


We think that to be humble we have to under-sell what we can do and play-up what we can't. I had a guy tell me once, "John, you're a really good worship leader, but don't ever think you are."


First of all, I'm not a good worship leader, I can play the guitar pretty well, and I can sing, but I am not gifted at leading people, through music, to experience Christ in worship. When I was leading, I was too fixated on the clock and the chords.

The other part of the statement that's just not right is, well, the rest of it - "don't ever think you are."


Here's the problem with this line of thinking, If you are really good at something, it doesn't do anyone any good for you to pretend like you're not. If you can sing, then sing! Refine your gift, practice, listen to other singers, memorize songs, expose yourself to the greatest training you can and leverage your gift for all it's worth. Then, when people walk up to you and say, "Man, you're a really awesome singer", and you rightfully give credit to God, He won't be misrepresented by your underdeveloped, and insecure performance in the name of humility.


Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20 that we are Christ's ambassadors. What good is an ambassador who doesn't represent well?


I've left this unfinished, because I'm not done with it yet. Check back again for the next installment.

Make it Sticky

I posted this on Access Elevation but because I haven't posted at all this week and it is my original content I wanted to put it here as well. Besides, I think it's a good post! Check it out.

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I read a book about 5 months ago that has really been helping me out recently. The book’s title is “Made to Stick” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The basic premise of the book is that it is our responsibility to make the ideas we want to communicate sticky.

Here’s an example of a sticky idea that Chip and Dan point out:
The candy-tampering Halloween criminals, that every parent fears, who slide razor blades into apples and poison candy bars…Yeah, they don’t really exist. Well, maybe they exist now, but the whole thing started because of an inaccurate and unfounded rumor surrounding a kid that overdosed on his uncle’s heroine stash around Halloween in the 60’s.

The reason the rumor didn’t get squashed and eliminated is because, frankly, it’s sticky. There are elements of the story that we all want to believe and it sticks to us.

I’m being challenged right now, because somehow I’ve got to figure out how to make the things I need to communicate stick like the candy-tamperers. In other words, it is our responsibility to make sure that the message we are trying to communicate sticks.

So if I’m trying to encourage my small group leaders with a milestone we have just crossed in our small group numbers I have two options:

1) I can give it to them straight:

"We have 1,000 people in groups."

2) Or, I can make it sticky:

"We have 1,000 people in groups. Last year at this time we only had 1,000 people in our whole church."

"At 1,000 people in groups, we now have 10 times the number of people in groups as we had last year at this time."

"If each person enrolled in an Elevation small group were to walk a mile the collective distance covered would span from Raleigh, NC to Tulsa, Oklahoma…1,000 people goes a long way to accomplishing our vision of initiating and sustaining life change through community."

You get the idea – that is, if I made it sticky enough…