Opportunity Revealed Through Problems

Opportunity Revealed Through Problems
Jonathan A. Buckland


Acts 6:1-8

Leadership is one of those interesting gifts that many are rarely neutral about. Throughout my years in leadership I have discovered how fickle people can become with leadership. When you are leading the team and your mounting up win’s and motivation is at a high level and volunteers are pumping on all cylinders it appears that the sky is the limit. It is in the seasons of leadership when you are feeling invincible that you feel leadership is the greatest joy in life, but as sure as there are moments when things are going wonderful, inevitably around the corner a problem will either A. slowly arise or B. come out of nowhere. Problems threaten every amount of traction that you have gained up to that moment in your organization. We have probably heard the saying before which goes like this, “Leadership would be great if there were not people involved.” You can’t remove the aspect of dealing with people in leadership. Whenever you have people involved you will always have problems that must be dealt with or else they will destroy everything that has been accomplished and derail you from the vision of what could be done.

Looking at the story of the first church in the book of Acts we find that the early church did not start off slowly and discreetly, but rather started off with a bang. The first message that Peter preached we discover resulted in a growth from 120 people into 3,000 people in a matter of a few hours. Things were popping and excitement was in the air. We even find that a boldness came upon the leaders of the church, partly because of what God had done, but I can’t help but think of the type A personality bleeding through as well for they were feeling pretty confident that they were going to take over the world. As we soon discover, things go from wonderful to tense very quickly when problems started to arise. The massive revival and explosive growth that the church had experienced was now at a crucial moment that would define their future forever. The church was at a major crossroads. I am convinced that we all can look at our stories and find similar moments that define our leadership. A true leader will not run when they encounter a problem, but rather will view a problem as an unprecedented opportunity! Here are a few observations that I have found in how the church leaders dealt with their problem in Acts 6.

1. They didn’t pretend that there wasn’t a problem, but rather defined what the problem was and who the players in the problem were. Many organizations can never move past their problem because they are not willing to define the issue and even more so not willing to admit who the players in the problem are.
2. They built a team of disciples to take the problem head on. They understood that the problem, if not dealt with properly would make the entire organization lose their focus, so they built a team to help them define the problem and be proactive in solving the problem. One senior leader can deal with many problems, but there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. Team building to find answers to problems will always bring creative results.
3. They were wise in their delegating. The leaders of the church did not delegate a task to people that were not able to handle the task, but rather they chose people selectively that could rise to the challenge at hand. If we delegate the task of problem solving to the wrong people the problem will grow, not diminish.
4. Together as a team they found consensus and prayed and appointed the problem solvers in the open. Nothing will hinder progress like giving a task to someone to complete but not giving him or her the authority to complete the task.
5. We find the result at the end of the problem – The Word of God grew and the amount of conversions increased and obedience to the vision became the standard.

The early church turned a major problem into an opportunity for growth. What struggles are we facing at this moment? Have you allowed the problem that is looking at you to cause stunted growth in your organization? Are you scared to admit that there might be a problem? Maybe you have been trying to take on problems by yourself instead of building teams around your problems. Problems will define us one way or another. We can allow our problems to deter us from our dreams, or we can find opportunity in the midst of our problem.

Value in Environment

In the beginning God created…. The power of the message of scripture is the power of story. The story bleeds with creativity, which pulls the reader into the vision of God. Humankind was birthed out of creativity. The crowning moment of the creative week was for God to create mankind in the likeness of His image, but before God could create His purpose He had to create the environment for the purpose to survive and thrive within. There has been a surge of discussion within the body of Christ to define the purpose that we have on this earth. Although I am encouraged by all of the discussion on defining our purpose, we must not approach our purpose with such raw tenacity that we trample and discredit the value that God placed upon the environment that was created on the journey to purpose. Mankind can’t survive outside of the proper environment. The human body requires oxygen to breathe, so therefore in the foreknowledge of God He had to create the air for man to breathe. Mankind can’t survive without water, so God created the ocean and streams to provide for the physical necessity of his purpose. Mankind could not survive without food that would supply sustenance to mankind, so out of this necessity God created the beautiful environment called the Garden of Eden, which would provide fruit and vegetables plentifully for the sustenance of mankind. When we understand the process of God, we begin to realize that God does not have a singular focus upon Purpose, but values the journey on the road to His purpose. The Purpose of God was to create Man, but it required the creative hand of God to form the environment for His purpose to not only survive but rather thrive.

Many churches are so focused upon their purpose, that they forget the value of the creative environment for the purpose (souls added to the kingdom) to thrive. God invested five complete days to prepare and create the environment for what would be birthed in one day, mankind! Although focusing on the purpose is valuable, we must not undervalue the creative capital that is required to allow our purpose to survive. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself this question, What if God graced us with attaining our purpose tomorrow, would the environment that we have right now not only sustain our vision, but allow our purpose to thrive?

Before a child is born into a family there is a natural inclination within an expectant mother called nesting. The nesting instinct is not the purpose of pregnancy, but it plays a vital role in the success of a child. The nesting instinct of the mother is to make sure that the environment of the home is in correct balance for the new baby to thrive. What should happen is that we, as the bride of Christ, should be allowing our ‘spiritual nesting’ instinct to be in full force as we strive to create the environment for where God is trying to take us. Until we realize that what we do today will create the environment for tomorrow, we will never understand why our purpose is never fulfilled. It could be that our purpose never materializes completely because we have not invested the proper time and creative capital to perfect the environment for our purpose to thrive. It is naïve to think that purpose is more important than environment seeing that purpose will not survive without proper environment.
Continue dreaming…….but do not neglect the creativity that God has placed within you to create the environment for your dream to become reality. JAB

A Choice - to Cross or not to Cross?

The evening was perfect. The nervous excitement and anticipation of this event had been played out in my thoughts over and over again until it became a repetition that lived in my mind. I had saved, I had invested, I had dreamed, I had planned…..the outcome of my future would be dependant on this one night and what would happen. I had done what I could and now I was ready to see what would happen. For something of this magnitude the setting would need to be perfect. It must have been something subconscious at the time, because I really did not realize what my future would ultimately hold, but the choice could only be one place, The Charles Bridge in the heart of Prague, this is where I had to propose to my future bride! Thankfully the answer was yes which set in motion a journey that would change my life forever.

It is true, I proposed to Jessica on the Charles Bridge somewhere about halfway out between old Prague and what was once known as the new Prague. The Charles Bridge used to be the only thing that would span the mighty Vltava River and unite the Prague Castle and the Old Town into the newer parts of the city. Of course now when you visit it all appears so old, yet there is a mystique to everything. The Charles Bridge at one time connected the possibilities of peasants and noblemen to cross over into a whole new world. Throngs of people would use this route to open up new doors of opportunity; today things are not much different. The Charles Bridge is one of the top tourist destinations in the entire city because of it’s natural beauty, but also because of the hopes and dreams of the vendors that have chosen this location to peddle their talents, hoping that this bridge will open up a new door in their life and possibly take them into the annals of history with notoriety and fame!

You see, a bridge is beautiful, not only because of what it represents architecturally, but also because of what it represents mentally as well as spiritually! Wherever a bridge exists today reminds us that in the past someone had to overcome an obstacle that they felt was worthy enough to cross over. That could be a river, an ocean, a huge ravine or gully! Whatever it may be something in the heart of the bridge maker realized that if there was just a way to get to the other side new doors could be opened. Therefore a bridge represents a transitional point. You have a choice to either stay on the same side and never cross, or you can explore places and discover dreams that were unreachable before. This is why subconsciously I feel that I chose a bridge to ask the biggest question of my life, because it was a transitional moment in my existence! Little did I realize at the time that I would be dedicating my life to planting The Bridge Church, thereby making my life’s motivation and passion of creating a bridge to new possibilities in people’s lives a reality.

I awake every morning emboldened by the possibility of what a bridge represents! You may think that it sounds so strange to be so enamored with thoughts of a bridge, yet I don’t think so. You see, Christ’s whole mission on this earth was one of bridge building. The cross was nothing more than a bridge. The bridge which the cross represented was a way for the natural man to connect with the supernatural. The bridge of the cross represented a way that had been blocked for the carnal man to enter into relationship with a loving God. You see, a way was paved and a bridge was built that represented years of frustration, but because Christ was willing to create a bridge that would give humanity a choice to either stay on the same side of comfort that slowly deadens the soul or cross over into a whole new world, we now can live in a whole new dimension of life.

Wow! Has my life changed since that day just a little over 8 years ago…… but yet at the same time things have never changed. There is still the exhilaration of the possibility of what bridge building can represent in to humanity! I choose to build bridges rather than destroy the. Whenever I am given the choice of staying who I am based on familiarity or comfort, I choose rather to cross the bridge into the unknown to explore a new world that is waiting to be discovered!

Trusting Truth

The questions have been arising and building momentum. It is almost as if a wave of great magnitude is about to slam against the shore of the church. It would be naive to say that change is not prevalent in the church. In the midst of a turbulent world of shifting paradigms, it is incredible to realize that we can trust and place our belief in the Word of God. A scripture comes to mind when I think of this generational rising with all of the questions and all of the concern that is legitimate as well as irrelevant. The scripture says in Psalm100:5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. KJV It is very apparent to me that we can trust truth, for the word of God promises that truth will endure in every generation. That is why I can place my faith in the next generation..... my generation. I do not become concerned with my contemporaries because I believe that God is raising a generation that is uniquely equipped and prepared to reach their world. Are there some that have erred from the truth, absolutely. Are there some that have made mistakes, yes, but what generation has not had casualties. I trust truth and so therefore I realize that when people are placed in the crucible of life they will come through as pure gold! They will come through being the authentic people that God has called for them to be. When we can sit back and begin to dig through the questions that we have, we can trust that God's Truth will reveal itself! My generation desires open communication. My generation is not arrogant in thinking that they have all the answers, but they realize that culture has shifted and they passionately desire to allow truth to present itself to their generation. There is a cry for truth to be spoken and lived out effectively in this world! One of the most powerful things to note about the scriptures is that it effectively ministers to every age demographic, this happens simply because the Word of God is more than just pen on paper, but it is living and transformational! I believe my generation will effectively steer through the turbulent waters and find themselves in the greatest moments in the church's history! Dream! Cast Vision! Allow God to expand your imagination! Think God thoughts! Don't allow fear to hinder you and steal your God given dreams! Imagine what would have happened if the Apostle Paul would have allowed fear to rule his actions. He would have never left his Damascus road encounter to meet Ananias. He would have never gone to the Gentile world and opened up the door of new ministry possibilities! There were those that had problems with what Paul was doing with the Gentiles, but at the end of the day God proved himself strong. Before we cast judgement, lets remember to trust truth and realize that labels and assumptions cause more division than unity. The scriptures teach that we will know someone by their fruits! I choose to believe that the fruits of this generation will present Truth untainted to a generation that is longing for the truth to reveal itself to them.

Cause and Effect

There is a need for clear articulation surrounding the Cause of Christ in America. The simple fact of the matter is, we can not expect to effect our world unless first we clearly articulate the cause. Cause will always precede Effect. Therefore, if we are unable to clearly identify and personalize the cause then the effect will be scattered at best. The scriptures tell us of David in Acts 19:36 that he served his own generation by the will of God. If there is something that is lacking today it is our ability to serve our "own generation." There are clearly generational differences among us, but I believe if the cause is great enough, then the Lord will allow those to arise that can serve their generation, but first the cause must be stated! Look at the life of David, he was emboldened by the the Cause! He asked as a young man, " Is There Not A Cause?" Whenever he veered off course, the Cause would bring him back, and therefore the effect of his life was one that served His generation by the will of God. We also find in the life of Esther the statement. " I Have Come For Such A Time As This!" Again, Esther was filled with Passion towards the Cause. The Cause clearly gave Esther purpose.

Everyone wants the results without first understanding the cause! The cry of this generation is the desperate scream for a clearly articulated cause. The cause must be greater than, This is how it has always been done, or Do this because it is right. My friend, if we truly believe that the Hope for this World is the Cause of Christ, then we must unleash our creativity and articulate the cause to our generation! Until we do this the effect will be minimal at best! The cause will bring purpose! The cause will bring passion! The cause will bring sacrifice! The cause will build momentum! The cause will carry through the difficult times! This generation is desperately wanting to commit to a cause, but it must be a cause worthy of dedicating ones life to. Unfortunately many of the causes we promote are nothing more than mediocre at best. The most powerful cause must outlive us, but many of our causes are not even large enough to outlive us. We must pray for a vision that is greater than us!

I desire nothing more than to effect this generation by serving them by the will of God! The Cause of Christ is what wakes me up in the morning. The Cause of Christ is what carries me! If I had a prayer, it would be that we would all fall in love with Cause again!

Administering Grace

I am currently reading a book by Eric Geiger entitled, Identity. I would recommend the book to anyone that wants to do a study on our identity in Christ. One portion strongly stood out to me and I want to share it with everyone. -

Identity by Eric Geiger- page 114- 1 Peter 4:10-11 NIV Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

While God's grace is administered through His servants, His grace is administered in various forms. Because we are different, with unique spiritual gifts, God's mercy is expressed in a variety of ways.

One weekend I taught this principle to the people in our church. I emphasized that God's grace is like water: purifying and refreshing. And we are honored to administer His grace. To illustrate a myriad of water dispensers were placed on the platform.

Perhaps God has gifted you to be a sprinkler. You spread God's grace to a lot of people in small ways. Perhaps God has gifted you to be a water pot. You nurture a group of people over time. Or maybe God has gifted you to be a pitcher. You refresh people with hospitality and tangible acts of service. Perhaps God has gifted you to be a pressure cleaner. You bring change and leadership into situations that need a fresh touch of God's grace. Maybe God has gifted you to be a dropper. You think your contribution is small, but your contribution is essential.

Performance or Relationship?

I must admit, I have a chronic disease that I am working through. Unfortunately my normal state of being is stuck in a performance based world, but the Lord is helping me to overcome and enter in to a more healthy lifestyle that is based on relationship. When you step back from everything for a moment you realize that we really do not believe that we are human beings, but rather human doings? We convince ourselves that we are what we do, but there is a much deeper level to life which delves into the depths of our being. Everything we are and everything we do flows from our being. That is why the most beneficial thing that I can do for myself is work on who I am as an individual.

I have met far to many people that have focused all of their energies on being accepted by some sort of specific crowd by constantly doing and trying to achieve, while in the process they have focused on the external and not the internal. When we do this we enter into an invisible cage of other peoples thoughts, expectations, and requirements. A powerful scripture that has been speaking to me is Ephesians 1:6 which says, "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." I am accepted in the family of Christ, not because of my doings or my status among men, but because of my relationship with Christ. I can accomplish many religious goals and fill my day with great causes and tasks, but if this is done at the expense of my relationship with Him what have I truly gained! I am accepted therefore, not because of who I am, but because of who He is! The scripture says in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast."

So, if my works do not save me, why do I get caught up in a performance based world trying to achieve grace or acceptance? One of the greatest lessons to learn is that I am what I am because of my relationship with Him. If I would focus more on the concept of "human being" as opposed to "human doing" I believe that what would flow out of us would be significant. Human doings focus on trying to accomplish the Gifts of the Spirit, whereas Human beings focus on manifesting the Fruits of the Spirit. I heard Bro. Terry Shock mention something that brought my focus back in to alignment, he said, "What our gifts will draw, our lack of fruit will repel!"

I am a pilgrim in progress trying to move from a performance based value system into a relational value system!

Focus

I am convinced that one of the greatest battles that we face in the 21st Century is the fight for focus. There are constant distractions that tend to fight for our attention. I was reading an article last night that really struck me, the average corporate employee receives 200 emails a day. There is such a flood in people's inbox now that there are applications that you can add to Microsoft Outlook that will prioritize your emails for you so that you do not miss what is important mixed in with the unimportant.

When we lose our focus we degenerate immediately into the trap of spending our time on what is urgent as opposed to what is important. We jump from one thing to the next without ever making a difference anywhere. This breeds frustration in our personal lives. What is urgent is rarely what is important. It is learning to see through the constant blur of activity into what is truly important that is difficult.

Spiritually we can lose our focus if we are not constantly prioritizing our lives. We tend to lose focus on what is important, and we tend to flow towards what "appears" urgent. The problem with this is that it is not proactive, but rather reactive. When we constantly prioritize based upon apparent urgency we are always reacting to circumstances and situations. Much of the eternal value in our lives rarely appears urgent, but rather making focused investments into the supposed un-urgent things is of highest priority. The reason this is difficult is that we rarely see results immediately in these investments so we gravitate towards misguided beliefs that what does not show immediate results is not important.

Making deposits into your kids may not seem urgent, but it is eternal. Prayer may not seem what is urgent, but it is the only thing that makes a spiritual difference. Being still and allowing God to be God may seem counter productive, but yet that is many times when God shows up most powerfully. I am challenged daily to focus on the eternal and not chase the urgent.

The Word

I believe that the church is at a pivotal moment in history that could possibly be one of the greatest catalysts to world harvest that we have ever experienced. With all of the different discussions that are going on, I feel compelled to pause and remember one thing. Nothing of spiritual value has ever been accomplished outside of the understanding of the authority of the Word of God! New methods and ideas are wonderful, but let us not forget that methods come and go, ideas are here today and gone tomorrow, but the Word is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Every historically radical spiritual movement has begun with the Word! In Acts 6 the scripture says that the leadership of the church were getting strangled by the intense amount of service that was being done and they realized the necessity to appoint others to those positions so that they could dedicate there time to the ministry of prayer and the Word! These individuals understood that what created the environment for revival had it's birthplace in prayer and the Word! If we think that in the 21st Century we could ever do it any other way, we are selling ourselves short. In the book of Acts 8 we find the when persecution arose in the church, the disciples went everywhere preaching not their philosophy, but rather the Word, and when they did this it created a combustible environment that heated the embers of revival.

In Acts chapter 2 we find that on the day of pentecost Peter preached the word, and the scripture says that they that gladly received the word were baptized. There was a correlation between the reception of the word and the reaction to the word! In John 1:1 the Bible tells us that the Word was God, but when you continue on to John 1:11 the scriptures says that He came unto His own and his own received him not! If Jesus is the Word, then I believe it must be possible for us to call ourselves Christians, yet not be willing to receive Him! In John 1:12 we find that he continues and says, but as many as received Him, or the word, to them gave he power to become the sons of God! Therefore, it is our reception to the Word which determines our inheritance in Christ!

I am encouraged by the wave of people that are so hungry to see God move that we are beginning to think outside of the box and try new methodologies to reach the world. If we do not change our mindset and remove the barriers then we will never affect our world, but we must never become careless to let our passion for the lost remove our passion for the Word! The Word and our Passion for the lost must coexist! If we try it any other way we are presenting a Christless Theology!

God Created

The word genesis means, beginning. At the inception of scripture we find that God is busy doing what He does best, creating. A matter of fact, we call the first several chapters of the Bible the Creation Story. Creativity was so important that you discover that the fifth word that is found in the Bible is the word created, In the beginning God created! So, while thinking about all of this it makes me wonder, How come so much of what we do is mundane and not creative. Why do we enjoin ourselves so willingly to old patterns of thinking and question new creative techniques? I believe that Christians ought to be the most creative people that you can find, for the word Christian itself means Christ Like and everything that God does is a creative and a redemptive work. One avenue of thinking that we convince ourselves of unfortunately is that God is creative, but as a follower of Christ we are not to be creative, we leave that up to God, yet when we look at the scriptures we discover that God wanted to engrain creativity into mankind. The way that God would introduce Adam to valuing creativity was in the command for Adam to name all of the Animal Kingdom. Can you imagine what intense creativity it must have taken for Adam to come up with fitting names for all of the species that God had created? So, in thinking about this year let me begin where God began, Creating! What routines have I fallen into that I have lacked the energy to evaluate to see if there is a creative and new method that can be achieved with better results. Have I pushed my paradigm to think of a different angle to the same problem that I am dealing with, or could it even be possible that I have neglected creativity, and so therefore my thinking is the problem itself! Let this be a year creating and not tearing down! Let me stretch my thinking out of old routine things and allow this to be the year where all things become new.

Action

I have been mesmerized by how many times we get stuck in bad thinking. I have discovered that many of us think that we will be judged by what we think and not by what we do. The old adage says, Actions speak louder than words and although I agree with that statement, I don't think it takes it far enough. I believe that words hold little weight at all in the eternal, rather action is the defining characteristic of us all. Many people get caught up in trying to define who they are, but really the legacy we leave will be based upon the actions that we take in this life. An interesting study on this thought is found in the book of James 2.
Every action that we take is speaking something. We can say a lot without opening our mouths or placing ink on a piece of paper. I pray that I will be slow to speak, but quick to act, for in so doing I display my faith. The true walk of faith is not to discuss how God is good, but to show how God is good. The true walk of faith is not to talk about how God gave, but to be one that gives out of the Love of God. The true walk of faith is not to live in fear of opinions and strap ourselves into a box, but live with the eternal in mind and actively pursue a life pleasing to God! I wonder how my day would change if I could not speak at all, but all I could do was act? What would people say about me if all they knew was what I did, not what I said I believe. A study in this would be to read the book of Acts, or the book of Actions. It is interesting to note that there was never a book written called the book of thoughts, simply because a good thought that is never placed into actions never changes culture!

Innovation

Yesterday while in the car on the long drive from St. Louis to Little Rock I watched as my 3 year old taught me a valuable lesson with his bobble head toy named wobble head. 8-) Reese kept dropping his toy and then he proceeded to try and discover unique ways to reach him to do it all over again. Little did he realize, but he was teaching a valuable lesson on innovation.

There is a statement that says, "Necessity is the mother of all invention." I believe this statement whole heartedly because there have been times in my life that I have discovered things out of necessity, but what I learned on our long trip yesterday in the car was something that I believe takes the step even a little further. If necessity is the mother of all invention, then I believe curiosity and desire are the creators of innovation.

What I have learned from my children, even though they do not know what they are doing sometimes, is that if they truly love something and desire to do something, it really will not matter what the stated rules are, they will find a way to do what they want to do. This immediately began to get my mind to wonder, at what age do we cease to lose our curiosity and desire and we align ourselves with the paradigm that is filled with reasons of why we can't? What would happen if we could stir our God given curiosity and pursue after our passions? What if the words, I can't, did not exist in our language. What innovations would spring up if we could open our minds and value creative ways to accomplish things. In doing this we could quite possibly change our realities through innovation.

I desire more than anything to never lose my curiosity. I hope I never become a part of the party that says that certain things can not be done. I hope I challenge myself to find innovative and creative ways to forge ahead into the 21st century that will spark momentum and passion into peoples lives to fulfill the purpose that God has for them.

The Power of a Question

Have you ever had a question that it just seemed you could not get answered?  We live in a world that no longer struggles trying to find information, but rather the true test of the day is to sift through a plethora of information until you find what you are really looking for.  The struggle is finding what it is that is needed in a fast paced hyperactive world.  The answer lies in something that seems very simple, yet it is more difficult than what one could imagine.  To get the right answer we must be willing to ask the right question.   The scripture says...  You don't have, because you don't ask.  

I feel that many times as leaders it is difficult for us to ask the right question because we are concerned about how we will be perceived.  The facade that we have built around ourselves many times is what we hide behind.  If we ask a question, we are concerned that we will be perceived as not knowledgeable. Unfortunately we end up becoming a slave to ourselves that has not, because we were never willing to ask.  

What is the right question?  One question can open up so many doors in our lives.  Questions have the ability to dig deep into a matter, or they can become surface oriented and leave us wondering.  We learn by asking questions, and if we do not allow questions to be asked we are limiting our potential for knowledge.  When was the last time you put thought into the question you were going to ask?  How quickly could an argument be resolved if we knew what question to ask?  What depths of knowledge could be unlocked if we knew how to arrive at the right question.  

Let me challenge you today, before your next meeting, spend time thinking about what questions you are going to ask.  Think of the power of one question and always remember,  You many times don't have, simply because you didn't ask.

Ambassadors for Christ

Over the last week or so my mind has been in constant thought of the scripture that says, Now then we are ambassadors for Christ...2 Corinthians 5:20 KJV. In order to truly understand what this scripture is saying we have to understand what the word ambassador actually means. According to Webster's dictionary an Ambassador is a diplomatic official of the highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative. Our whole identity and purpose is found in this one word, ambassador.

When Paul says, we are ambassadors, he is speaking directly to our identity in Christ. Ambassador is what we are when Christ views us. If I am truly an ambassador then that means that I am viewed by Christ as an official representative of highest rank. It is so difficult for us to comprehend the value that Christ places in us. The battle that I face on a daily basis is the thought of what I truly am in Christ. So many times we feel unworthy of our salvation, let alone the calling of being an ambassador of highest rank. When we view ourselves as unworthy of being Christ's ambassador then we minimize the work that Christ did on the cross.

I noticed something very impacting in this scripture as well because it says that we are ambassadors FOR Christ. This coincides with the word ambassador in the fact that we have been sent by Him as his mouthpiece and resident representative. We are in this world, but we are not of this world. We reside in this world yet we are not citizens of this world. We have all of the authority to operate on behalf of Christ in this alien land. As a church we must understand that it is not only our right, but it is our obligation to work on behalf of Christ in this earth, for this is the purpose of our existence on this earth. Christ would have immediately translated us into heaven at the moment of our New Birth if He did not have a mission for us to do as His ambassadors on this earth. If we do not operate as his ambassadors then Christ will not have a representative on this earth! Although God could easily do the work by himself, He has chosen men and women to propagate His work on this earth. So, go be an ambassador for Christ! Be His Representative today and know that God is not only with you, but he has empowered you to operate on His behalf. You are Sent as a High Ranking Official by Him who is Sovereign.

The Intercessory Prayer of the World

In the story of Jonah we find a very insightful picture of where I believe the church could be living in this moment. As we set the stage we find that God has called a missionary to go into the city of Ninevah, Jonah 1:2 Arise,go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it.... We notice several things from the outset, first of all, it was God that called Jonah, it wasn't his desire to go. Secondly, we find that God called Ninevah a great city, I believe it is the will of God for us to not shirk away from our responsibility to evangelize our metropolitan areas, but God wants us to move with his calling into the underchurched areas of our world and forge an opportunity for everyone to have a chance to hear the gospel.

As we continue the story we find that Jonah flees from his calling, which is a pretty common thing that we find in the scriptures. Jonah didn't try to talk God out of the calling like Moses did though, instead he just ran away with all of his might. The scripture says in Jonah 1:4 But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Notice that the scripture says that God was the one that sent the tempest into the sea. The sea represents the culture around us. The Culture that we constantly are dealing with is the sea that we have to navigate through as a christian. I believe God allowed this tempestuous storm to arise because of what happened in verse number 5. Jonah 1:5 says Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god.... but Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. You will not find anyone more hardened by the cares of this world than a mariner. They represent the toughest of the tough. I believe that in this story the mariners represent the world and Jonah represents the church.

If my assumptions are correct then we find the story completely reversed! Jonah should be in the bottom of the ship crying and interceding before the Lord for the mariners life as they head through the boisterous sea, but we find the opposite is happening. The mariners began to cry unto their gods... politics, education, money..... because the culture around them was about to destroy them, and we find Jonah, or the church, fast asleep in the most critical hour that the church could be involved in.

You see, I believe that this unprecedented time that we are living in is a chance that God is giving the church to stand up and make a difference in this world! If their was ever a moment to live passionately for God, then today is that day! The stage has been set! God has called the church, God has allowed culture to place people in a place of hunger, the world is crying out for an answer! The scriptures promise that, Whosoever hungers and thirsts after righteousness shall be filled! My friend, there is nothing that can stop the church, but the church themselves. We can allow the culture around us to rock us into a deep apathetic sleep, or we can allow the moment to invigorate us and stir us at the place of our calling as we forge ahead and realize that if God be for us, who can be against us! The World is Crying, Will The Church Awake?

From Spectator to Participator

The United States has now completed an election that has seemed to have lasted for two years. During the campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama there was constant fundraising going on for one purpose, to clearly articulate the vision of their campaign. In America we have the freedom to vote, yet the fact of the matter is, when election day rolls around, there are always a large number of Americans that do not vote. The strategy of the politician is to articulate a message clearly enough that will move people from becoming spectators to becoming participators in the process. I read yesterday that Obama literally spent billions of dollars just on his campaign to ensure that people would be moved enough about the vision to move from viewing something happen to become a part of the agent of change.

One thing that concerns me is that many people never have a vision compelling enough that will move people from spectators into participators. It is the desire of every individual to make their life count in a significant way, but the truth of the matter is, we must engage our culture if we are going to make a difference. If not careful, we become spiritual spectators, expecting God to perform all of the work. Although this sounds noble, it is not biblical. When the children of Israel needed delivered from Egypt, God called a man, Moses to lead the children of Israel. When Goliath was sparking fear in the nation of the Israelites,God called a young man, David to take on the giant facing his generation. When God felt the need to deliver Ninevah, he called a man named Jonah to go and preach the message of repentance to the city. Simply put, God uses men and women that will answer the call of God to get a vision that is big enough to merit the attention of God! The answer to engage this generation and move them from spectators into participating in shaping culture is to dream dreams that spark passion in the hearts of people!

We do not live in a church that does not have a mandate, but unfortunately I feel that many churches are living unengaged because they have lost their ability to dream God sized dreams! many live satisfied on the sidelines as opposed to stepping on to the stage of what God is doing. Is there a cause that God has pricked your heart about that develops instant passion in your spirit? That spark of passion could be what it takes to move you from viewing what God is doing on the sidelines to stepping into the calling that God has for your life. Nothing of significance has ever been accomplished by people standing on the sidelines, but today is the day for a generation to participate in what God is doing!

An Open Hand

An open hand speaks many things. I believe that God has called us as disciples to live lives with an open hand. Living with an open hand may seem simple, yet it is learning to live at a much deeper level than we could ever imagine. There is something that I have discovered about living life with an open hand, and that is that when we have an open hand it is a symbol that we are relinquishing control.

Control seems to be one of the paramount issues that I deal with as well as you. We spend most of our lives trying to control everything around us. As simplistic as it may seem, the fact of the matter is, as long as I am in control it means that God is not. It is so easy to trust in God when it appears that His plan fits your own plan, but when God vears off of the plan that we have for ourselves that is when we begin to tighten our grip on things around us. Learning to release even in the midst of tumultous time takes discipline, yet it is learning to live with an open hand that ensures the flow of blessing will continue.

Blessing flows to those that have an open hand. The only way that you can give is also the only way that you can receive. This equation is typically not one that we like, yet it is impossible to get around. If we want to receive,we must be willing to give. The scriptures teach in Luke 8:38 ... for with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. There is a correlation between our giving and our receiving. We have all heard of the Dead Sea that stagnates because it receives water, but it does not flow and give and therefore the water is not fit for drinking. Our lives should very much be like a conduit of the good things that are given to us.

The scripture says, it is more blessed to give than to receive. This concept seems so difficult for us to understand. It is not difficult to find someone that is excited about receiving, but it is a rare treasure to find someone that is thrilled about giving. Those that have learned the beauty of giving have learned the value of living life with an open hand!

What are you trying to control today by tightening your grip? How can you choose to release your grip to trust in God in your current situation? Do you have a PHD in receiving, but an elementary education in giving? What can you do today to open your hand to become an intentional giver?

A Challenging Thought

I was reading a blog the other day by Mark Batterson and there was a quote that I read that challenged me and I wanted to share the quote with you. R. T. Kendall said, " The greatest opposition to what God is doing today comes from those who were on the cutting edge of what God was doing yesterday."

This quote challenges the assumption that we can contain what God is doing. It is human nature to try to do what the disciples did at the Transfiguration. To erect a tabernacle and try to make permanent what was meant to be temporary. In Joshua 3:3 the scripture tells us that Joshua instructed the children of Israel to watch the ark of the covenant, which represented the presence of the Lord, and everywhere the ark went they were to remove themselves from the place where they were and go after it. One of the worst things that we can do as a people is try to contain His presence. We are not called to contain His Presence, but we are called to pursue His presence. We need fewer people trying to be trendy and cutting edge and more people trying to listen to the voice of the Spirit and pursue what God is doing today.

I believe that the church should be relevant, but the only way to be relevant is to follow after what God is doing. God's Word is a living book that has instruction for today! We can't live on past experience, but we must press forward for direction today!

What About Values?

I wanted to take today to speak about a topic that I feel is extremely important in the life of a leader, values. It is in the genetics of a leader to want to conquest and set out on a journey of exploration. I myself have the personality that is filled with energy when I think about new possibilities and ideas that can be explored. Exploration, conquest, passion are all wonderful qualities in a leader, but we must be careful that before we set off on any great conquest we must be willing to identify some bedrock things that we will not compromise in our life.

Life is ever evolving and ever changing and it would appear to be a difficult process to identify some things that will never change in your life, but I believe that a little bit of work on the front end will help us determine the course of action we take in the midst of a crises. One lesson that I have learned is to identify your values over the course of time, and not in a speedy matter. If we are to hasty in our choice of values then we will choose things based upon our current circumstances. It is far better to have a short list of values, and stick to them as opposed to creating a long list of desires, yet not fulfilling them.

Values will help you identify what is at the core of who you want to be. They become the road map and the guide to decisions in life. We live in a day of relativity. I believe the reason for this moral relativity is because we tend to stay on the surface because we have not identified what is core to who we are.

Although defining values may be a daunting task, it saves time and emotional stress. For example, if staying out of debt is a value of mine, then when it comes to purchases and opportunities that come my way I can clearly determine whether or not those are choices I can make based upon it lining up with my value.

When we leave ourselves open to having to cut through the fog of decisions on the spur of the moment we will never have a clearly defined path to get us to our destination. Values are the road map to get us to our destination. We would never consider going on a long journey without a road map, yet many of us live our lives without the road map of values clearly defined in our lives. Let me encourage you to take this year to define some core values in your life. Then when difficult times come, live out of values and not out of emotions.

Exercising Your Right

I was watching some election news yesterday and the prevailing thought in my mind was simply, I can't wait until this election is over. As much as I would like to think that after the presidential election in a few more days everything would be quiet on the political front for 4 more years, I am not naive enough to believe that. Regardless of who becomes president in this election, there will be a movement to begin a campaign for the election of 2012. One of the things that has puzzled me over the years about America is how many people have never voted in a national election.

When you study history you will find that there have been many people that have given everything that they possess as well as going as far as spilling their own blood and giving their lives for the reason of being able to exercise their right to vote. Their have been strong movements in America to ensure that anybody that wants to vote can, yet their are some that will still not participate in the electoral process. Their have been many that have payed a very high price, yet it appears that their are some of us that feel inconvenienced to find a polling place to go and spend 5 minutes casting a vote. How could one person be willing to die for the right to vote and someone else be so detached to the point that they really do not care? I believe one of the reasons is what value they place in the process. Those that are willing to die for the right feel that the act of them exercising their right will make a difference whereas those that do not exercise their right have bought into the the thinking that their vote does not matter.

Spiritually I have to move myself to understand that my action makes a difference. I have talked to many in the church that have convinced themselves that the world is so far gone that the only thing the church should do is remove themselves from culture and try their best to stay untarnished until Jesus comes back. The problem with this is it goes against the commission in Matthew 28 to go and teach all nations. Their are rights that we have as children of God that have been given to us with a huge price being payed. The price that Jesus was willing to pay for us to exercise our rights as heirs of the promise was significant. In Acts 20:28 the scriptures tell us that Christ spilled His own blood for the church. The rights that we have as children of God were costly and are of much value. I believe that when we as children of God are not pursuing the gifts of the spirit as well as the fruits of the spirit, we are not exercising our rights as christians. When did discipleship end with faithful attendance to church? When this is what we relegate discipleship to we are minimizing the value of the rights that were purchased for us as children of God.

As children of God there is something that we can do. We are given the right to transform things through the avenue of prayer and fasting. When we employ and exercise this right something spiritual begins to transform. According to 2 Chronicles 7:14 the Word of God says If my people which are called by my name would humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. We have the power to turn culture around, but it will not happen without strategic intentionality. The world is relying on the church to exercise our right to open up the heavens to heal our land. We must value our right and exercise our right. I encourage you today to exercise your right as a child of God to make a difference in the world.