What we are or what we aren't?
Sometimes I think that I focus too much on what I shouldn't be rather than what I should be. My whole life I've heard that "Christians don't do this, this, this, or that" I preach that people need to see a difference in our lives so we shouldn't do this, this, this or this. My question is why would anyone want to be a part of something when all they hear is what we don't do?
I would never buy a Starbucks of all they did was tell me what they weren't. That isn't attractive at all. Starbucks is contagious. When someone gets sold on their brand, they spread the word like wildfire. My friend Will Kliewer sold me on Starbucks. I hated it. It tasted burnt to me. Then he started to explain what Starbucks was. He showed me that there were over 30 flavors of coffee. He boasted about how Starbucks always hires cheerful people that make you feel like a million bucks. He bragged about how their coffee is a delicate thing and that they throw out their old coffee after an hour. Not once did he slam Tim Hortons. I was sold. He was contagious. He had experienced first hand the beauty of Starbucks and so he could communicate with clarity what it was, not what it wasn't.
I once had a really wise friend tell me at the beginning of this church planting adventure "People don't care what you aren't, they care who you are." That statement revolutionized my thinking about a lot of stuff. The reality is that most people don't give a rip about God or church and so me trying to live my life not doing a whole list of things isn't going to change their mind.
What would happen if we focused on Jesus? What if, instead of telling people what not to do, we encouraged them to become more like Jesus? Instead of not getting angry, we tell them to start practicing long suffering. Or instead of not getting stressed out, we encourage them to practice peace. Or instead of not getting hammered, we say fall in love with Jesus and leave the results up to him.
I look at myself and think that I've become more of a Pharisee than I would like to admit. I like being the guy that decides who's in and who's out. I like pushing morality because it gives me a gauge in which to judge people by. You aren't watching pornography anymore - good. You aren't swearing anymore - good. You aren't drinking anymore - good. Ooops....you slipped. Now you get a detention until you learn your lesson. And I get so caught up in this game that I forget to fall in love with Jesus so nothing else matters in life.
I honestly believe that as I fall in love with Jesus I will love the things he loves and hate the things he hates. My perception on life will completely change. The problem is that there is no way to guage "how in love with Jesus" a person is. So that means there is no need for Pharisees anymore. And if that's true, I either find a new job or I start falling in love with Jesus.
If we were to start being about Jesus and stop being against everything else in the world, I truly believe that we would see a movement of epidemic proportions start to spread. We would be so contagious that nothing could keep from getting infected. So maybe we need to figure out what we are for, stop freaking out about what we are against and let Jesus do what he does best.
I would never buy a Starbucks of all they did was tell me what they weren't. That isn't attractive at all. Starbucks is contagious. When someone gets sold on their brand, they spread the word like wildfire. My friend Will Kliewer sold me on Starbucks. I hated it. It tasted burnt to me. Then he started to explain what Starbucks was. He showed me that there were over 30 flavors of coffee. He boasted about how Starbucks always hires cheerful people that make you feel like a million bucks. He bragged about how their coffee is a delicate thing and that they throw out their old coffee after an hour. Not once did he slam Tim Hortons. I was sold. He was contagious. He had experienced first hand the beauty of Starbucks and so he could communicate with clarity what it was, not what it wasn't.
I once had a really wise friend tell me at the beginning of this church planting adventure "People don't care what you aren't, they care who you are." That statement revolutionized my thinking about a lot of stuff. The reality is that most people don't give a rip about God or church and so me trying to live my life not doing a whole list of things isn't going to change their mind.
What would happen if we focused on Jesus? What if, instead of telling people what not to do, we encouraged them to become more like Jesus? Instead of not getting angry, we tell them to start practicing long suffering. Or instead of not getting stressed out, we encourage them to practice peace. Or instead of not getting hammered, we say fall in love with Jesus and leave the results up to him.
I look at myself and think that I've become more of a Pharisee than I would like to admit. I like being the guy that decides who's in and who's out. I like pushing morality because it gives me a gauge in which to judge people by. You aren't watching pornography anymore - good. You aren't swearing anymore - good. You aren't drinking anymore - good. Ooops....you slipped. Now you get a detention until you learn your lesson. And I get so caught up in this game that I forget to fall in love with Jesus so nothing else matters in life.
I honestly believe that as I fall in love with Jesus I will love the things he loves and hate the things he hates. My perception on life will completely change. The problem is that there is no way to guage "how in love with Jesus" a person is. So that means there is no need for Pharisees anymore. And if that's true, I either find a new job or I start falling in love with Jesus.
If we were to start being about Jesus and stop being against everything else in the world, I truly believe that we would see a movement of epidemic proportions start to spread. We would be so contagious that nothing could keep from getting infected. So maybe we need to figure out what we are for, stop freaking out about what we are against and let Jesus do what he does best.
