destabilization

As I learn from the life of Jesus and allow Him to impact me more fully, I have become aware of what I call the "ministry of destabilization". It seems as if everywhere Jesus went, He destabilized the established systems and thought processes. (i.e. - touching untouchables, overturning money tables, teaching with authority, healing on the Sabbath, redefining the family, challenging the paradigms of the religious.) Jesus spoke of the destabilizing effect of His life when He stated that He did not come to bring peace but a sword. I am convinced that true followers of Jesus will have the same effect today. We are a living prophetic example that brings destabilization to both people and institutions.

Every time God does a new thing, it is birthed in the midst of chaos. While this is true historically, it is also spoken of in the current/future sense in the book of Hebrews. (12:25-28)

See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven." Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

If we are to participate with God in His work in the world, we must participate in His "shaking ministry" that destabilizes the established ways to reveal them for what they really are. If we are to walk with God, we must submit to His shaking in our own lives, a shaking that reveals much about the true nature of our motives and actions. I regularly hear Christians refuse to wrestle with the difficulty of God, choosing instead to live in the safety of their established view of God. We must allow God to shake us, to destabilize us in order to discover what cannot be shaken. We must also embrace the destabilization ministry that results as we pursue God practically. This frequently puts us at odds with our own need for validation from people as well as with the people being destabilized.

There is another ministry, a ministry contrary to the ministry of destabilization in which we engage. I call it the ministry of preservation. In the ministry of preservation, we attempt to preserve the status quo. I am convinced that a very large percentage of the church engages in the ministry of preservation. We put much effort into maintaining ministries within the church. Let an elder suggest that the time for having a children's church program is over and therefore it needs to be ended! Let a pastor suggest that God is sending the entire church out into the world to expand God's kingdom and therefore the church will no longer meet on Sunday morning. The very suggestion of these things will bring out the ministry of preservation in a hurry!

We cannot be involved in both the ministry of preservation and the ministry of destabilization/shaking. We embrace one and resist the other. We cannot be motivated by the need for things to run smoothly. Each of us must realize that the ministry of preservation is rooted deeply in us. Yet if we are to be involved with God today, we MUST embrace the shaking spoken of in Hebrews. In the shaking we find the things that are the eternal realities that come from the heart of God.

The proliferation of stupidity

The writer of the Proverbs gives the following insight - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. The word fear is not an unhealthy fear that immobilizes people but rather it implies a healthy respect.

If these words are true then the opposite is true as well. If there is no reverence/respect for God, if there is no acknowledgement of Him there is no wisdom and understanding. To put it more bluntly, if there is no God consciousness or God awareness there is much stupidity!

One of my observations has been that there seems to be a proliferation of stupidity recently. One of my clients faces financial disaster and makes decisions that create even more difficulty. He has no God-awareness. Instead of seeking God's wisdom for his situation, he makes decisions based on his self-centered desires. As a result, stupidity abounds.

The stupidity is not just limited to the world "out there". I find it in the church world as well. Christians say and do stupid things under the guise of godliness. However, they have no God-awareness. When crisis arises, they panic instead of watching for the hand of God. In the place of panic they say and do stupid things that only magnify the crisis.

If we choose the way of self over the way of God, we are doomed to stupidity.

transformation of the mind

God’s ways and methods are incomprehensible to the natural mind. Perhaps the most difficult of all transformations is the transformation of the mind. Every inclination of the natural mind rebels against transformation.

The transformation from living from natural mind to being Christ-minded (I call it being God conscious) requires a great deal of submission to the ways of God. Walking in harmony with Him feels unnatural and dangerous to the natural mind. At the point of these feelings arising, we have a choice to make – will we subdue our feelings and trust that God knows what He is doing or will we take matters in our own hands in order to feel better?

When we decide to take matters in our own hands, we are choosing independence from God. To mask our desire for independence from God, we create a façade that looks godly. We sit in the place of God putting ourselves forth as God. In other words we live from the natural mind but call it God. In our own mind, our thought processes and actions are justified if we attach God to them.

During a gathering of church leaders, there was debate over how to handle a situation. One of the leaders spoke rather emphatically the following words. “We can do things Glen’s way and wait for God to move or we can take care of it ourselves.” These words came from the natural mind, a mind that was unwilling to wait on God. The inclination of the natural mind is to forge ahead in action since God seems to be absent at the time. Scripture repeatedly tells the stories of people who took matters into their own hands and acted independently of God. Every one of those stories ends in disaster.

For me, the greatest transformation of my mind occurred, not on some mountaintop, but in a several periods that I call my valleys of the shadow of death. Even though I had been a pastor and a church planter, yet my mind was still primarily operating in a state of self-consciousness. God began to invite me to walk and live in a different way, not according to my thought patterns but according to His paradigms. For a time, I felt like He was my enemy as He targeted my natural mindsets. He took aim at what I had become as I had followed the dictates of the natural mind. However, Each time I have walked through one of the valley periods, I have emerged transformed.

As you enter your own valley of the shadow of death, allow the transformation of your mind by living according to the invitation of God. Resist the urge to take matters into your own hands. As you find yourself in the depths of despair, resist the urge to give up on God. When you finally feel like you cannot go on, look up, breakthrough is near. The entire journey through the valley of the shadow of death will transform your mind.

I'll try

The greatest battle in this life is not a struggle between God and the devil but a battle between myself and God. Everything within me wants to live independently of God, to make my own decisions, to determine my own version of right and wrong. The self-god attempts assert itself, creating a god in our own image.

I've recently noticed one of the manifestations of the self-god recently in conversations with people. A common phrase I hear is "I'll try..." I'll try to forgive. I'll try to love. I'll try respect. The starting point of "I'll try" is self.

Notice that scripture never tells us to try to love or to forgive. The expectation of God is that we love, that we forgive. Now I realize that we frequently feel like God demands the impossible and truly it is impossible to love from a center of self. Yet in the expectation of the impossible we become faced with our inability to to do the expected. In that place of inability, we can either draw close to God and allow Him to work the impossible into us or we can try to do the impossible in our own strength.

Unfortunately we do not possess the wherewithal to be what God expects. Quit trying and allow Him to transform you!

demonization, shunning and an apology

Perhaps the greatest learning opportunities are not found in a school, but rather in the observation of the world around us. I have learned more by keeping my eyes and ears open and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach me in whatever circumstance I find myself. Additionally, much can be learned from the experiences of others, in hearing their story.

One of the observations I have made over the past several years has to do with religion and religious mindsets. Unfortunately, religion in general frequently goes hand in hand with control. Just like in Jesus day, religious people today use control techniques to attempt to keep people (and God) within the accepted boundaries.

The stories of numerous people align with my own experience in this. When one chooses to step outside the institutionally accepted parameters to follow Jesus, almost immediately an uproar ensues. If one does not quickly step back into line, they will be demonized by the religious crowd. That demonization will justify all sorts of ungodly behavior by the religious even though the demonization is not even based on fact. If none of this works to bring a person in line, then they are shunned. Religious people will warn others not to associate with the "deceived" person. They will refuse to interact in a healthy way.

I have discovered the church world to be much more savage than the business world. Very good people began to act out of character as their religious paradigms are threatened. Nice, gentle people will spew venom toward the one perceived as a threat; they would be aghast if they really saw how they were acting. In their protection of a religious system, they engage (and feel justified in doing so) in behaviors that are far from godly.

All this grieves my heart. Malachi speaks of the hearts of the fathers being turned toward the children and vice versa. When the fathers (leaders in the church) begin to control and manipulate people, then a curse comes on the land. If you have been wounded by controlling religious leaders attempting to make you conform to their perspective of God, I apologize to you. If you have been shunned by "Christians" because you think outside of the box, I apologize to you. What was done to you was wrong. God forgive us!

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Blessed are you...

I think I must be the most blessed man on earth! This past weekend Bev and I spent several days at our lakefront property in Upstate NY. I had some time to reflect on my life in general while I was away from the busyness of everyday life. The goodness of God toward me caused a deep sense of gratefulness to arise in my heart.

I have a better wife than I deserve. After almost 24 years of marriage, I love her more deeply than ever. We truly are best friends. Middle age has brought a depth to our marriage that carries into every aspect of our relationship - spiritual, emotional, and sexual. I am still in awe of her, of her beauty. (I'll just let it at that!)

My children bring me a great deal of joy. They are living in the purpose for which they were created. Justin is teaching and going to grad school at Clemson University. The academic world fits him perfectly at this stage in his life. He gets to do two things he loves deeply at Clemson - teach and learn.

After a season ending ACL injury last fall, Heidi is playing soccer again for Eastern University. Several times this season I have seen her play like never before. She is following the God-given desires of her heart at Eastern. Since this is her senior year, she will be student teaching this year. Her excitement about teaching is evident.

Karisa left for northern India two weeks after graduation for high school. While she is halfway around the world, we are still able to connect and talk on the phone. Her joy at being involved in the redemptive plan of God comes through in every conversation. Her own discovery of God's goodness causes Bev and I immeasurable joy.

Sarah is a senior in high school. She has much favor with her friends and is a quiet leader. Academically she excels. Relationally there are always a group of friends around her. Bev and I are Momma and Pappa Peach to her friends. What a privilege!

And then the other stuff...The dreams I relinquished to follow Jesus fifteen years ago, God is restoring. Not only are the dreams of the distant past being restored, the dreams of the more recent past are being fulfilled as well. For a time, God took me/us through a season when He seemed to be our enemy as He vigorously attacked what we had become. On the other side of the dark night of the soul, He has showered us with His goodness.

Because of the call of God on our lives, Bev and I are the object of frequent personal attacks. In light of the goodness of God toward us, these attacks are nothing more than bumps in the road of life, bumps that help in the humility department. Jesus told us that we would be blessed in the midst of personal attacks.

And so I am blessed...blessed beyond measure!

gambling, alcohol, church and emptiness

Last week I spent some time in the Midwest for continuing education with the company for which I work. Thursday evening a group of us decided to go out for the evening. Since I drink only moderately, I was the designated driver. I made some startling observations during my time on the town.

Our first stop was at a new casino just several miles from our hotel. We arrived at the door, declining the valet parking. We were greeted by well-dressed greeters that opened the doors and welcomed us inside. The interior decor was rather elaborate. The lobby area had absolutely beautiful and wonderfully comfortable leather sofas and easy chairs. I watched as people played various games of chance, slots, roulette, poker, and more. Every once in a while a voice announced a big winner.

I began to look closer, to observe those playing the games. I saw elderly people, people in wheelchairs, and several people on oxygen tanks. While not everyone playing the games were elderly, the vast majority appeared to be old enough to collect social security. As I looked closer, past the feverish tempo, I saw empty people. People whose eyes were tired as they pursued the high of winning.

We left the casino to go the the grand opening of a sports bar complex. The atmosphere there was much more relaxed. The pretty bartender shouted a greeting as we walked inside. As the evening progressed, more people showed up and mingled. A band (not a very good one!) played music. My co-workers began to hit the alcohol, drinking non stop. People began to gradually show the effects of the alcohol. I had several conversations with complete strangers, for that moment in time we were friends.

Once again, I began to see past the alcohol, the inferior music, and the laughter. I saw people desperately trying to have a good time. I saw middle aged women desperately trying to recapture their teen years again. Overweight middle aged men strutted like body builders. Alcohol causes people who can't dance think that they can. And yet, just like in the casino, there was a great deal of emptiness behind all the noise.

As I sat at the bar and watched people, I realized several things. First, I felt somewhat out of place. It didn't have anything to do with either gambling or drinking. Rather, the entire atmosphere in both places was set by people attempting to fill a deep void with external activities. At the casino, the hope for happiness hinged on winning the jackpot. At the bar, people slowly lost their inhibitions in search of a feeling of community and happiness.

The second realization struck most forcefully. I realized that I felt the same way that I frequently do when I am "in church" or with people who profess to be Christians. I am not sure that there is much difference between people in the bar or the casino and people in church on Sunday morning. We try some external activity hoping it will bring us happiness and fulfillment. We busy ourselves with activities and noise, yet in the end we feel empty. Unfortunately our emptiness drives us to drink more, gamble more, or engage in more religious activities.

True fulfillment comes not from winning the jackpot, losing ourselves in alcohol, or increasingly busy church activities. The fulfillment for which we yearn comes only as we are reconciled with God deep in our heart. We will never satisfy our God-yearning with any external activities.