Feeling better, thinking it through...
Well, my post last night was very real, but after I spent some time pondering what was really bothering me, I found more questions at the heart of it for which I am not sure I know the answer...God's answer at least.
Does it matter how we serve God? Can we do something outside our gifts and talents and still authentically pass the message to others about striving to be who God made us to be? Is it ok to do "whatever" as long as we do it with enthusiasm? What role do leaders (this applies inside and outside the church I believe) have in helping people say "no" (or "later") to things which the leader observes the person is apparently not gifted/skilled/trained to do? I was very excited by the way Andy Stanley worked through it in his book, "The Next Generation Leader". He expressed the idea that to be able to serve God the way God gifted him to do, he needed to find the 20% of all his tasks that most aligned with his gifts and talents and spend 80% of his time on them. Andy also referenced to John Maxwell's thesis that to lead a person, you must be "ahead" of them on the leadership learning curve in order to facilitate helping someone grow in their area of calling. How should this be handled in the local church when *most* people are meaning good, and serving for at least one apprpriate reason (such as stated in studies like Network: 1. The right person, 2. The right place, 3. the right reason)?
My thoughts? I believe these "details" matter to God and we potentially compromise our autheticity when we don't first look to God and say "Is this what you have made me to do? Is this the place/time you want me to do it? And finally, is my heart totally in tune with you God?
Do we all step outside these steps? I believe so. Have I done it? Yes. Is this a conflict with our communion with God? maybe.
What do you think?
posted by Sandy Mc @ 6:11 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Christians are just pawns of big business and drug dealers.
Hi Noah,
I may be a pawn of big business (and if not drug dealers, drug companies for sure), but not because I am a Christian. I learned this from watching these same entities you mention cause similar experiences in all my pagan, wiccan, and other non-Christian friend's lives.
BTW, are you my daughter's friend, Noah? If so, *waving* "hi, Noah!"
Hi Noah!
Sandy
I've been super busy, but I wanted you to know that I've been thinking about your questions.
First off, thank you so very much for dinner the other night. It was very relaxing to hang out with another family. We have so much to talk about, I hope we get to do it again.
Here are some of my thoughts: Does it matter, yes: our motives matter, or better stated, our heart matters.
Can we do something outside of talents, etc. : I certainly hope so. If I can only do the stuff I know I can do, I'll slit my wrists from boredom. Biblically speaking, nobody asked themselves if what God wanted them to do was their gift or not. In fact, more often then not, God asked them to do something they stunk at...ex. Moses, Gideon, Barak, Jonah, Jeremiah, etc. etc. It makes God look better...or more churchily stated...it glorifies God best to use nimwits to accomplish His purpose.
This is how I've begun to think of things: Nobody has it all together. Instead of thinking of Leaders in a hierarchy of some being above and some being below on some kind of chain of holiness/effectiveness (which I don't want to equate: Donald Trump is effective, but not holy), I have begun to think of the church community as a web...Some people have more influence...touch more points of intersection, while others are on more remote places in the web. Each contributes something, and each is missing something that they need from someone else. (For example, I have a lot of Bible knowledge and experience in church, but you are delightfully humble and hospitable in serving your family and guests) The Bible uses the body and buildings to illustrate this point.
We have always taught people to do what they want to do. If they don't know what they want to do, do something until an idea comes to them that they want to do. God's will is like a big back yard...go where ever, play whatever, try whatever, so long as it in the yard. Maybe that is a simplistic approach based on being in a small church, but I was part of church of 800 growing up, where people just did what they liked to do. There was a lot of freedom.
Certainly, we should ask God if what we are doing is what He wants us to do, and we should check our hearts but sometimes, like housework, we just have to do it whether our hearts are in it or not...it cultivates our character and stretches us.
Relax, Hon. Andy Stanley is neither God nor a woman...so there are things he doesn't know and cannot address.
God is pleased with you not because of what you do or don't do, but because you love Jesus and trust his holiness for your relationship with God. People will become followers of Jesus not because we are so effective but because He is so great, they cannot help but be drawn to Him.
Does that make sense? And does it speak to your questions at all?
You are such a sweet person.
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