Tuesday 6 March 2018

Obedience


Ever felt like you’re called to something 'great'? You’re not alone, especially if you fit into the category of millenial and beyond. In the world of social media, cameras attached to the palm of our hands every where we go and being told we can do anything, dreams can come true and all the possible ‘self-help’ advice we could ever need, it's no secret we’ve all become a little, well, self-involved...
It’s no wonder we all think we’re the next big thing (insert context/ industry/ talent here). We all think we're special and wonderful in our own unique way, always on the verge of 'greatness'. The truth is I don't have a problem with us believing this at all, mostly because I believe there is validity in this mindset, however I often think our focus is way off mark...



In my twenties I certainly felt this weight of 'greatness' on my life, so much so that I was prepared to go down any path to find it, ultimately leading to publicly humiliating myself on a national singing competition... Years later I still have ambition for greatness but I also have a little bit of perspective (we're talking mustard seed level) :)
My perspective is a deeper understanding of the true greatness of God. This changes things, it changes how I think about this apparent 'greatness' I have been called to. It's not about my small human self-centred ambition, it's about entering the wild, allowing myself to be stretched and leaping wholeheartedly into the arms of Jesus.



Yet still I worry and want to control and sometimes even doubt. My humanity is a barrier to my death, death to myself every day because, others...



When we look to a biblical representation of following Christ into greatness it doesn't look like fame and affluence and comfort, it often looks like an earthly version of failure pure and simple.
‘...”Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul.”’ (Mark 8:34-36)



As a type A perfectionist, number 3 on the enneagram, failure is often not an option for me personally and when it does happen it is almost always followed by deep personal shame.
I struggle with the fact that God's calling does not always equal human success.
Yes, God loves you more than you will ever be able to know or imagine, He is for you, He is not against you, He is not waiting for you to trip up so He can come down hard on you BUT He is not looking for a performance, He's looking for your obedience.



This is not a popular message; No one wants to hear that they might give up everything they own for Christ and never get it back on this Earth. No one wants to hear that it's going to be hard and it might not always be smooth sailing, that's not encouraging, that doesn't give you the warm and fuzzy feeling we’re all addicted to.
True honest if your roots are not deeply grounded in the truth of His scripture you are going to shrink away in the first storm, just like Jesus warned in the parable of the seed; ‘Some fell on the rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had not root.’ (Mark 4:5-6)



Following Jesus does not come with a guarantee or a warranty, it's risky, it's messy and it's at times nonsensical. But when you feel the calling of the greatness of God on your life it's so much more than a performance of success it's one small yes after another, day by day walking with your creator.




I'm praying for courage and bravery for each of you today, may you know that true greatness comes after ultimate obedience.

Wednesday 3 January 2018

Happy New Year!

By the time Christmas had rolled around this year our family had been to about 10 different Christmas parties/services/ kids events at different churches... (My husband and I oversee the youth and children's ministries for The Salvation Army across South Australia.)
Christmas is a time that seems to be very conducive to events for children and families, of course it makes sense, themes of Christmas include a baby, some animals, a star, angels and gifts... All very appealing and engaging messages for children.
It is also a time when many families come together, therefore it seems only natural to capitalize on that and get the whole family in the building or to a special event or whatever it might be...
Some faith communities choose to focus more on the community element of Christmas, others focused more on the faith element. Some communities used it as an evangelical tool, others used it to encourage their existing children to 'be a part' of it all...

From my humble point of view, they're all right. The fact that this 'season' made our communities of faith consider 'others' a little more carefully than they would otherwise is a good thing, it's a very good thing.
In addition to that, observing how each community embraced, welcomed and reached our energetic two and a half year old has been an interesting exercise...
And I'm reminded of Jesus' words when He said;
'Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes not only Me, but the One who sent Me.' (Mark 9:36)

We know that almost 80% of Christians make their faith decision before the age of 21 with almost half being before the age of 13 (www.barna.com/research/evangelism-is-most-effective-among-kids). The way that a child is truly welcomed into a faith community really matters!
However, also, keep in mind that research conducted on Youth and Religion (USA) by the Association of Religion Data Archives, shows that parents faith by far outweighed any other influence on a child's faith. In fact 82% of children raised by parents who talked about their faith at home, attached great importance to their beliefs and were active in their congregations were themselves religiously active as young adults.
No pressure.
:)

So... When we intentionally welcome a child into our community we are following the example of Jesus.
However sometimes doing that is different to saying that we want to do that. Genuinely wanting a loud, active two and a half year old who hasn't (or won't) learnt the rules to be in your church is actually pretty hard, I'll admit it...
I struggle with wanting my own child to be in church with me, let alone everyone else's at times.
Actually I'm going to be really real here, it's harder when it's your own kid. I find I have so much more grace for other people's children ;)
Poor Jonny...

But I want to let you in on another little secret that I'm learning; Church is not about You...

Particularly if you are a mature christian, have potentially been going to church your whole life and have now reached adulthood; church is not about your environment of worship, your stillness, your style of music, the way you like things to look, the seats you sit in, the tokens on the walls...
Church is about 'others', and not just at Christmas...

Now that I have a toddler in tow every Sunday I have had to learn this at a whole other deeper level. My toddler is mine and my husband's priority for church. All of my grown up expectations of worship and fellowship and spiritual connection now take a back seat to his needs.
My priority now is for church to be a place for him to cultivate a faith and a relationship with his creator.
I have to get beyond the concept that church is my only place for spiritual fulfillment.
And how lucky are we that our current technology assists us in so many ways to be able to do that. In the palm of my hand we have the bible (in whatever translation we wish), we can watch a sermon (from the other side of the world) and we can read bible studies and have community through social media.
What a glorious world we live in where Jesus is shining through every corner of cyberspace!
Church is no longer the place we can go for spiritual nourishment. In fact, there will be seasons where we just won't be spiritually fulfilled at all by the church and these are the times we need to pay attention and be active 'outside the box' while we place the spiritual needs of others before our own in service.
And this includes to our own children...

So this year, I encourage you to keep in the fore-front of your mind:
Church is not about me
& When I welcome a child into my community I am following the example of Jesus.




Learn kids names, have real conversations with them about what they are interested in (hint: if they're doing most of the talking you're on the right track), allow kids to have real opportunities in worship and provide them with a safe place to fail. You're on the right track, keep going, it's never easy to put the needs of someone else above your own...
P.S Guess what Jonny's favourite t-shirt was over the festive period? :)