Making Your Own Shift

          Jerry Harris preaches to a remarkable church in Quincy, Illinois.  In addition, the church has a number of satellite Churches; each one is successful and growing. But, something hit Jerry one day.  He writes about it in his book Shifted: The Crossing Story.

            “If we look out on the faces of our congregations, how many actual disciples do we see? How many are personally convinced that they are disciples but are sorely mistaken? How many of them believe this fallacy because of the bar we have set them? Real Life (Real Life Ministries, led by Jim Putman) chose Matthew 4:19 as their definition of discipleship seeing Jesus calling His own disciples. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” There are three criteria that help define discipleship in this divine statement. Am I genuinely following Christ? (follow me...), being changed by Christ ?(...and I will make you), and living life on mission for Christ ?(...fishers of men.) _This is the question I honestly wasn’t asking myself or confronting others with until this point. ”Are we making disciples”? The difficult truth for me was that with all my education, experience, and success, I really didn’t know how to mobilize a church to make disciples of Jesus Christ. The best I was providing was an environment for them to figure it out for themselves.” Jerry goes on to explain how they developed a Relational Discipleship approach at The Crossing.

            The statement that caught my attention was, “The best I was providing was an environment for them to figure it out for themselves.”

Is the development of a spiritual life solely the job of our preachers and the leadership at our church? Can we blame others because we are not growing?

Churches are constantly exploring new ways to maximize the growth of their members. But you don’t need to wait for the next great program to come along. The reality is that the body of Christ does create an environment where you can develop into a mature believer. There is no reason to sit back and wait for the next program to come along. Take hold of your own spiritual growth. Make the most of every worship opportunity and grow.  How?

            Worship is an art. It takes practice, and an understanding of how to worship is essential. The Art of Worship helps you understand how to make the most of your worship experience. This book is a must read for every believer.

            If you have ever been board with church, wondered if you were missing something, or felt like your faith has gone stale, then The Art of Worship is for you.

            Look for The Art of Worship, at the beginning April from your favorite book seller, and begin to make sense of your worship.

Worship is an Art

            What does it mean when we use the word worship? The answer seems to mean something different depending upon who is using the word. On Sunday mornings in sanctuaries and auditoriums all across America believers gathered for what they called worship. But worship was also taking place in schoolhouses, in the back of biker bars, and in storefronts. Worship services take place on horseback, and in empty fields.  The word worship is often used interchangeably with singing. But there is so much more to worship than just music. Worship is not confined to a single place, or accomplished in a single style. Worship includes so many different elements, and all of them are important.

            The last year of my life has been invested in studying all that the scripture has to say about worship. What things fit into the concept of worship? What behaviors are important to be able to say that worship is taking place? Does worship happen on Sunday only? Can our job be called worship if we aren’t in the ministry? These questions have resulted in a new book, due out early May, called The Art of Worship.

            Those who have previewed the book have called it an essential read for every believer, a textbook for those involved in worship ministry, keys to opening hearts. One of my readers has already assembled a list of people that they are buying this book for.

            Have you ever wondered if something is missing in your relationship with God? Are you putting yourself in the place where God can bless you? The Art of Worship will explain the total worship experience in ways that are easily applied.

           Worship is an art, which takes practice. With practice we grow in our understanding of worship, sharpen our ability to experience worship, and broaden our understanding of what worship means. As a result, our relationship with God grows and we discover deeper aspects of his love.

           What is your worship like? Is it possible that The Art of Worship might make your worship even better? The Art of Worship is coming. Watch for a great pre-order offer coming next week.

The Significance of 38

            Thirty-eight. Not necessarily an important number in this world.  It is, however a very important number for Kim and I. You see, today is our thirty-eighth wedding anniversary. But even with this, one might wonder about thirty-eight.  It is not a paper, silver, gold, silver, or even tinfoil anniversary.  It is mostly overlooked as couples push for a more popular number.

  

          So, why thirty-eight? Because this day, March 14^th marks the date at which Kim and I have been married thirty-eight years.  Still miss the significance?  Ok, let me put it this way. It is important because we have been married 2/3 of our life. Think about it, we have been together twice as long as we were apart. This makes thirty-eight a pretty significant number.

            Our marriage has experienced all of the highs and lows of every marriage.  We have been through financial problems, sickness, disability, raising kids, success, and loss.  We have gained and lost friends, had to move and start over several times.

            But through it all, there has been one amazing constant. Kim and I have remained completely committed to each other. Together, we have focused everything we do on serving the Lord Jesus Christ. For thirty-eight years, two-thirds of our life, we have operated as a team, a couple, two parts of one unit. My successes have happened because she was supporting me.  She is successful because I am in holding her up as a committed partner.

            Roles mean nothing. They have shifted several times throughout our thirty-eight years. We are a team, and it doesn’t matter which part either of us take. We have operated through strengths instead of gender expectations. It works.

            After thirty-eight years, we can safely say we are blessed to have each other

A Christian Book Per Month

            I have often wondered why so many great Christian writers struggle to get their work noticed. A few Christian authors sell well, but go to the used bookstores, thrift shops, and garage sales and invariably there will be several of their books with bindings unbroken.  Yet, in those same locations are hundreds of worn out novels with tattered pages. While reading the book John MacArthur, given to me by a friend, an answer came forward.

            "The role high-quality books play in our lives is absolutely critical. So why do so many Christians find it difficult to apply themselves to books? A.W. Tozer said that 'To enjoy a great religious book requires a degree of consecration to God and detachment from the world that few modern Christians have.' While it takes great determination to form new habits and cultivate our minds through books, even greater are the rewards you'll see in your thought and patterns and your spiritual growth." (John MacArthur)

            It seems that people use books as an escape, not as a tool for learning. But as Tozer reported, and MacArthur restated, believers need to make the decision that they want to cultivate their minds toward spiritual growth. The words that God has placed on the minds of so many writers were given to them for you. Those words explain the scripture, inform believers about discipleship and spiritual growth, give example about how others faced trials, and help believers to understand that we are in this journey together. Yet, if we are not reading, and growing, then all of great the words written are missing their intended mark. 

            There is nothing wrong with escaping from the harsh realities of this world. It can do our minds some good to withdraw and recharge. However, the enjoyment of one does not cancel out the need for the other. Grab a good book about serving the Lord.  I could recommend a few, in fact I have written a few myself. But this is not about me. It is about you, and the God who is calling you to gain a new perspective on his love, and a new desire to seek his face. Christian books are not a substitute for reading the Bible, but they are a great way to begin the process of seeking God.

            Here is a plan that every member of the body of Christ should embrace. Read all you want, but include one Christian book every month. Buy a book a month and suppprt Christian writers. Check out an author you have not read yet. Read a devotional, an inspirational book, or a teaching book.  There are Christian novels, Christ centered poetry books, and books that follow themes you will enjoy. The Christian book market is amazingly wide open. Every believer can find a book that will build him or her up in Christ. Grab a Christian book and get to know the God who has been seeking you all of your life.

Leaning In To Our Trials

            Kayaking is an amazing sport.  While it may look easy to do, it’s really not.  The kayak is long and narrow, and tipping is easy.  Experienced kayakers are able to tip their boat, and turn it back upright without any trouble.  Inexperienced kayakers, however, struggle when they tip. The natural tendency when tipping is to lean in the opposite direction in an attempt to straighten the kayak. Try this and you are guaranteed to end up drenched.  Leaning our upper body in the opposite direction forces our lower body into the tip.  Working against it, actually speeds up the process of tipping over.

           Experienced Kayakers know that leaning into the tip forces the lower body against the tipping kayak. This brings the kayak back toward center. The boater can even slap the face of the paddle onto the surface of the water, which will add force against the tipping boat. The principle to remember when trying to keep a kayak upright is to work with the tipping kayak, not against it.

            A spiritual trial is a lot like paddling a kayak.  Getting started is not that difficult, but when a cross current hits, we struggle.  When struggles come, we feel like we’re going to tip. The natural tendency is to lean away from the trial, to fight it, and stay as far away as possible.  However, God wants us to learn from our trials. He wants us to get stronger, and to learn to stay upright. The key to learning from a trial is to lean into it. Don’t fight it. Work with it. Though it seems counter intuitive, it is actually the only way to restore our spiritual journey.

            James wrote, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).   Leaning in is what brings the perfect results. Don’t fight your trials.  Work with them and you will gain endurance, and ultimately you will become perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.