Before we get started... I AM DONE WITH DIVINITY SCHOOL!!!!!!! Okay, I had to get that out of my system. But it is actually a pretty good segue for what I am talking about today. In the midst of wrapping up my divinity school career and in light of the easter season, I have been thinking a lot about the trials that we go through... and no. I am not trying to liken myself to Jesus, no worries =)
This final semester in school has been horribly tough for me. Between getting sick, injured, my computer crashing, my car breaking, identity theft, and trying to do two jobs, ministry, and three classes, I about crashed a few times. Especially last week when my thesis was due. I could have done my job, ministry and school no problem, but everything else seemed to come out of no where and it happened in a freakishly weird fashion.
This makes me wonder: What is it that causes trials in our lives? Is it God testing us? Is it Satan testing us? Is it a natural course of events? Is it a result of our own sin? Is it all of the above? It is difficult to answer.
So when I look at the life of Jesus, he HAD to die for us. Yes, he willingly took it upon himself, but as he prayed in Matthew 26:39 in the garden of Gethsemane it was obvious that he did not like the idea. I also think of how his disciples (with exception to John) were executed for their faith. It was not like they were doing anything truly heinous, they were helping the hurting, healing the sick, casting out demons, etc. So why did they face trials if they were righteous? The truth is, that often times it is doing God's will that draws the wrath of Hell.
A professor shared with our class a few weeks ago that often times you can tell the magnitude of an event by the amount of spiritual warfare involved with the circumstance. I am paraphrasing what she said, but it gets the point across. In my life, I have had a significant amount of spiritual warfare lately. The reason why I received it is because I was doing what was right. I realized these past few years it has been the same way. When I became a chaplain candidate, it took 13 months when it should have been a two month process... and yes, I received a lot of negativity for my pursuit.
I also had to think back to Easter eight years ago. It was probably the darkest year of my life. I had a lot of things go wrong (enough to overwhelm a normal human) and I about gave up on my faith. The next year, everything crystalized for me and I found my calling. So what I realized was that Satan was trying to come against me and destroy me before I could reach my potential.
So this is what I want to leave you with this week, when you receive trials that seem out of the ordinary, know that someone is trying to stop you. Someone who fears what you may become. And never forget Psalm 91.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
What Sports Taught Me About Religion
It is not often that I get ideas that combine two of my favorite things to talk about, but I think I hit the jackpot today! As March Madness winds down and football approaches draft time, I get excited because the sports world is abuzz with all sorts young guys who are finishing their college careers and have aspirations of going pro. This is one of the two most important times for General Managers (GM) in sports.
Being a long suffering Clevelander I am, I get especially excited as we mutter phrases such as “wait for next year” and “this coaching staff will be different.” More often than not, the regimes are very much the same.
When I look back at the past few years of the Cleveland Browns, I find that they always hire bad GMs. One major role of the GM is to find the right players to fit the system of the coach, who they trust will be successful in said system. The past few people with the Browns did not do that, which is why they are not very successful. One of them had a tendency and get talented players irregardless of the system that they are familiar with, which did not work since they were not good in the Cleveland system. The other one brought in an excessive number of guys that he was familiar with, even though they were mediocre. In the process, he retarded the growth or got rid of guys who could have helped the team, but he did not know them. So you now understand why the Browns are not so good.
I find that the church is similar. If we as leaders do not make a concerted effort to bring up people under us who could be successful in a system that they are good at, then we will be hurting the efforts of the church.
In my Spiritual Formation class, we have been learning about living in your strengths rather than your weakness. One illustration that I really liked from class last week was the idea of writing with your weaker hand. If I spent my life writing with my left hand all the time, yes, you would know what I am writing, but it is not as natural as my right hand. Living in your strength is much the same.
This is why I have always been committed to helping someone figure out who they are. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pastors out there who should not be pastors. Even in the church, there are people who want to be doing something but it is not their strength. When I become a pastor, my hope is that I will be able to see what individuals are capable of and be able to provide them with the leadership they need to become the best at what they are good at.
When I think of this, I think about how Jesus’ ministry worked. The twelve disciples that he picked were not the elite religious leaders of the day, but they had their purposes with in the group. They did not need to be elite for that time, because God was bringing “fools” to humble the “wise”. They also had Jesus to immitate, so that was extremely helpful. They also used his teachings and the Old Testament to keep them on track.
This is why I want to encourage leaders to be careful about who you bring in to ministry. The collateral damage can be severe, I know because I have been on the receiving end of misplaced leaders. Meanwhile, if you are reading this today and have no intention of being a leader in the church, do two things for me. Take the time to understand your unique abilities, and make sure that whoever is over you knows what they are doing so that you may grow properly.
Just like my team that starts out with great hope but always falls short, churches that are not have wise leadership will not get very far. Lets be concerted about helping those around us reach their full potential at what they are good at.
Being a long suffering Clevelander I am, I get especially excited as we mutter phrases such as “wait for next year” and “this coaching staff will be different.” More often than not, the regimes are very much the same.
When I look back at the past few years of the Cleveland Browns, I find that they always hire bad GMs. One major role of the GM is to find the right players to fit the system of the coach, who they trust will be successful in said system. The past few people with the Browns did not do that, which is why they are not very successful. One of them had a tendency and get talented players irregardless of the system that they are familiar with, which did not work since they were not good in the Cleveland system. The other one brought in an excessive number of guys that he was familiar with, even though they were mediocre. In the process, he retarded the growth or got rid of guys who could have helped the team, but he did not know them. So you now understand why the Browns are not so good.
I find that the church is similar. If we as leaders do not make a concerted effort to bring up people under us who could be successful in a system that they are good at, then we will be hurting the efforts of the church.
In my Spiritual Formation class, we have been learning about living in your strengths rather than your weakness. One illustration that I really liked from class last week was the idea of writing with your weaker hand. If I spent my life writing with my left hand all the time, yes, you would know what I am writing, but it is not as natural as my right hand. Living in your strength is much the same.
This is why I have always been committed to helping someone figure out who they are. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pastors out there who should not be pastors. Even in the church, there are people who want to be doing something but it is not their strength. When I become a pastor, my hope is that I will be able to see what individuals are capable of and be able to provide them with the leadership they need to become the best at what they are good at.
When I think of this, I think about how Jesus’ ministry worked. The twelve disciples that he picked were not the elite religious leaders of the day, but they had their purposes with in the group. They did not need to be elite for that time, because God was bringing “fools” to humble the “wise”. They also had Jesus to immitate, so that was extremely helpful. They also used his teachings and the Old Testament to keep them on track.
This is why I want to encourage leaders to be careful about who you bring in to ministry. The collateral damage can be severe, I know because I have been on the receiving end of misplaced leaders. Meanwhile, if you are reading this today and have no intention of being a leader in the church, do two things for me. Take the time to understand your unique abilities, and make sure that whoever is over you knows what they are doing so that you may grow properly.
Just like my team that starts out with great hope but always falls short, churches that are not have wise leadership will not get very far. Lets be concerted about helping those around us reach their full potential at what they are good at.
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