What's Your Business?

For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." (Acts 13:47)

When E. Stanley Jones asked an 82-year-old man, "What's your business?" the man responded, "My business is witnessing for Christ." He then told of his conversion to Christianity (from Buddhism) and his ministry to pray for and evangelize everyone he meets.

It's a good question..."What's your business?"

A profound question when you stop to think about it in terms of our whole selves. We often wrap ourselves up in our job titles or name plates or positions within our respective companies (churches). But how often do we stop to consider how our Christian calling plays a role in our business? Or perhaps should be our business?

Why is it our natural tendency to think of what we can do ourselves before we think of about what God can do?

Thoughts?

What Happened to October?

Sorry for my unexpected absence from blogging during October. I have been tweeting, so you can catch up on some of my activities that way if you'd like.

I have something to say now, so I'll post a little later today.

Shift Happens...What Are We Doing About It?

The ways people connect with one another are changing rapidly. How is the church leveraging the shift that is already taking place to connect with those who need to hear the gospel?

Now you know.

HT: Kem

Verb or Noun

I just love this one! The shift from "noun" to "verb" is difficult, but a very necessary one.

(Mis)Alignment and (Mis)Direction

I just have to go on record saying that I have been incredibly encouraged by E. Stanley Jones and his 1954 devotional, Growing Spiritually. I have been reading it for 10 days now and each morning has been a feast of meat to chew on for the rest of the day. Thanks to ChrisY for putting Jones on my radar!

As Jones writes about guidance for a nation (or individual or church) he is trying to explain the importance of mission. A mission is vitally important to the ongoing movement of an organization, nation or individual - without it a vacuum is created and anything can rush in to fill the void.

Jones says, "Individuals and nations [and churches] must not only move; they must move in the right direction under God's guidance" (275). Essentially, alignment must be combined with motion. When an organization has misalignment there are forces pulling the organization in conflicting directions.

Misalignment does more damage and creates more wear and tear on an organization than does misdirection. Misaligned people are only a few degrees off-kilter, but they pull the organization in ways that cause the leadership to be constantly making mid-course corrections in order to maintain the proper direction for the organization.

Misdirected people pull their weight in the exact opposite direction from the organization - they tend to slow down progress, but they do not cause wear and tear on the systems of the organization, just energy drain on the leadership.

What can cure misalignment AND misdirection? A clear, compelling mission. When an organization has a clear, compelling mission, those who are out of alignment see where they need to come back to in order to move the organization in the right direction with less friction, wear and tear. Those who are misdirected see where the organization is headed and can decide whether they want to get on board or get off in favor of one more in line with their priorities. Either way, the organization benefits from having a clear, compelling mission.

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

Daycare Program

Even though we closed our MDO earlier this summer, we are already making plans to open a new program after the first of the year. We realize that MDO was a ministry of the church and that we need to make sure that door is open as much as possible. That program met real needs in our community and it helped many families struggling to make ends meet get childcare that they could count on for a reasonable cost.

We are making improvements to our program and starting small, but we want to make sure that we get back into this ministry opportunity as quickly as possible.

Would you come to a church if "church" was a daycare? Would you invite your friends?

Sports Programs

This video makes me want to start a building campaign so that University could have a gym! What a great way for churches to invite people into the building without the pressure of "dressing up for God" or worrying about "saying the wrong thing" because we're going to worship in the sanctuary. If we could open our doors to a basketball (or soccer or volleyball or football) league for the community, then people who wouldn't normally cross our thresholds are walking in to our church without even knowing it.

I have been part of a church that opened its doors to sports programs and the people flooded in, they couldn't get enough of kids flag football, kids cheerleading, adult softball, etc. It's a door that we need to utilize!

What if we fully took advantage of this opportunity? What if church was a basketball league? Would you come? Would you invite your friends? Would you form a team from the guys at your office and bring them with you?

Prove It

Do you ever wonder if going to church every week makes a difference in your life? What would you say to a church that consistently strives to prove what they say they believe with their lives? Would you come? Would you bring a friend?

In his classic work, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, "Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace."

When the church says one thing on Sundays and does completely another thing the rest of the week, it is preaching "cheap grace." When a church puts its proverbial money where its mouth is, it is preaching "costly grace."

I want to be part of a church that intentionally seeks out ways to preach "costly grace" with our lives.

Closed Door, Open Door

Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,

for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous. (Ps 112.4)

Growing up the moment that dusk began to settle over the neighborhood I knew that it was time to head home. I knew that no matter where I was or what I was doing, I had to be home before dark. The one time I ignored that directive got me totally turned around, lost, confused, and in a state of panic. The darkness closed in quickly and left me with no choice but to retrace my steps and hope for help. I made it home eventually, but not without learning my lesson about the importance of arriving home before the sun set each evening.

In that dark moment, the porch light on my friend's house was a welcomed sight as it opened the door on finding my way home. E. Stanley Jones says, "If we live in God, then the closing of one door means that God is opening a larger one. But often we think only in terms of the closed door. So we weep before the closed doors instead of turning the knob of the larger door" (Growing Spiritually, 271).

The closed doors in our lives (i.e. relationships that end, jobs we lose, opportunities we miss) often drive us to our knees, but not in prayer, only in a pool of self-pity. The closed doors make us wonder about our own ability to live "successful" lives. The closed doors make us doubt God's power instead of dependant upon it.

When we "turn the knob" of a larger, open door God's provision streams into our lives. The hard part for me is that the "turning" is my responsibility. I have to take the initiative to open the door - it won't happen for me - even when God puts the door right in front of me.

How often do I weep for closed doors and end up ignoring an open one? What reminders, triggers, etc. do I need in my life to keep from missing those opportunities?