How are churches and government the same?
They want your money and then expect you to thank them IF they do something for you.
How are churches and beggars different?
Beggars don't expect you to give but if you do they always say thank you.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Simplicity - K.I.S.S. Keeping It Simple Sweety
It is not the complexity of the problem but the simplicity of the solution that confounds most people.
A truck driver, with a full load, thought he could get through a low tunnel. He couldn't and became jammed in the tunnel. Professionals came from all over to try and get the truck free but were stymied with the problem. A ten year old boy came by and suggested letting the air out of the tires.
Joseph gathered 20% of the crops during the years of plenty to save his family and the world of his day during the time of famine.
Paul got into the marketplace by making tents giving him opportunities to meet many people and practice caring for the weak. Acts 20:32-35
In Kenya, $100 will buy 4 goats that will create a lifetime of wealth for a family.
In Pakistan, a bicycle can make a huge difference in a family's life.
What other simple solutions are you aware of that can have a profound impact on people's lives?
A truck driver, with a full load, thought he could get through a low tunnel. He couldn't and became jammed in the tunnel. Professionals came from all over to try and get the truck free but were stymied with the problem. A ten year old boy came by and suggested letting the air out of the tires.
Joseph gathered 20% of the crops during the years of plenty to save his family and the world of his day during the time of famine.
Paul got into the marketplace by making tents giving him opportunities to meet many people and practice caring for the weak. Acts 20:32-35
In Kenya, $100 will buy 4 goats that will create a lifetime of wealth for a family.
In Pakistan, a bicycle can make a huge difference in a family's life.
What other simple solutions are you aware of that can have a profound impact on people's lives?
Friday, August 21, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
I Must Decrease - Kingdom Leaders - Oops I Meant Servants
In any kingdom there can only be one king. John the Baptist understood this and that's why he said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30
The world's leadership models demand followers. The greater the leader, the greater the number of followers. But the kingdom does not work on this principle. There is but one king.
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:42-45
In the kingdom a servant's role is to be there to help, then get out of the way. The human condition being what it is, makes it very easy for people to want a king. Hearing is easier than doing. Listening is easier than teaching. Some prefer to be led, some prefer to lead, and yet as brothers and sisters we each have something to contribute.
1 Corinthians 12.
Even Jesus said that it was better that he leave. "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."
John 16:7
Why do we need the Holy Spirit if a leader is there to tell us what to do and what to think?
It is subtly seductive to have people following us. Often times, leaders don't even realize that they have been making disciples after themselves. It has been said that the way to tell if someone is a leader is to see if someone is following him.
And yet the best way to measure the true impact of a servant is by how well people do when they are gone.
Paul said this, "Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears."
Acts 20:30-31
A simple safeguard from making disciples after oneself is to do what Paul did and not become financially dependent on anyone or any group. A golden cage is still a cage. I know it has become normative for some of God's servants to become dependent on other servants and live on their donations, but that doesn't seem to be a reproducible model that can be applied to everyone.
Paul went on to say to this to the pastors of Ephesus,
"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
Acts 20:32-35
Here's a simple question. Do children spend money on their father or do fathers spend money on their children to bring them to maturity?
I have often heard leaders trying to get people to do more and give more, not realizing that their physical presence might be causing people to do less.
I think that is why the great commission has the word, Go, in it.
When a leader is more quoted than Jesus or when people can talk more about a teacher's teachings than what Jesus said and did, you know they have made followers after themselves.
Paul gave a strong "warning" to the Corinthians about the problem of following someone,
"I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
Just as there are different roles within any family, the goal is that these roles change and each member rises up to their full potential. So it is in the kingdom. Without doubt, we all start out as babes, but we should all rise up to maturity of being fathers and mothers.
We all can rise up like eagles but we must also help baby eagles leave the nest.
The world's leadership models demand followers. The greater the leader, the greater the number of followers. But the kingdom does not work on this principle. There is but one king.
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:42-45
In the kingdom a servant's role is to be there to help, then get out of the way. The human condition being what it is, makes it very easy for people to want a king. Hearing is easier than doing. Listening is easier than teaching. Some prefer to be led, some prefer to lead, and yet as brothers and sisters we each have something to contribute.
1 Corinthians 12.
Even Jesus said that it was better that he leave. "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."
John 16:7
Why do we need the Holy Spirit if a leader is there to tell us what to do and what to think?
It is subtly seductive to have people following us. Often times, leaders don't even realize that they have been making disciples after themselves. It has been said that the way to tell if someone is a leader is to see if someone is following him.
And yet the best way to measure the true impact of a servant is by how well people do when they are gone.
Paul said this, "Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears."
Acts 20:30-31
A simple safeguard from making disciples after oneself is to do what Paul did and not become financially dependent on anyone or any group. A golden cage is still a cage. I know it has become normative for some of God's servants to become dependent on other servants and live on their donations, but that doesn't seem to be a reproducible model that can be applied to everyone.
Paul went on to say to this to the pastors of Ephesus,
"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
Acts 20:32-35
Here's a simple question. Do children spend money on their father or do fathers spend money on their children to bring them to maturity?
I have often heard leaders trying to get people to do more and give more, not realizing that their physical presence might be causing people to do less.
I think that is why the great commission has the word, Go, in it.
When a leader is more quoted than Jesus or when people can talk more about a teacher's teachings than what Jesus said and did, you know they have made followers after themselves.
Paul gave a strong "warning" to the Corinthians about the problem of following someone,
"I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
1 Corinthians 1: 10-17
Just as there are different roles within any family, the goal is that these roles change and each member rises up to their full potential. So it is in the kingdom. Without doubt, we all start out as babes, but we should all rise up to maturity of being fathers and mothers.
We all can rise up like eagles but we must also help baby eagles leave the nest.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Christian Culture
No doubt, many have been offended by the hypocrisy that is often found amongst Christians. But is it possible that the unique sub-culture that every Christian group eventually develops for themselves, keeps some non-Christians from looking more into the life of Jesus?
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The Kingdom of God and Money
Jesus spoke more about money than any other topic. It would seem that He said enough on the subject to offend everybody: rich, poor and the simply satisfied.
The New Testament actually contains,
215 Verses Pertaining to Faith
218 Verses Pertaining to Salvation
2,084 Verses Dealing with the Stewardship and Accountability for Money and Finance
16 of Jesus’ 38 Parables Deal with Money
If someone is thirsty give them a drink.
Matthew 25
If someone is your enemy, do good to them.
Mathew 5
Give money to your enemy. (cool promise if you do) Luke 6
He liked the idea of using worldly wealth to make friends. Luke 16
He commended those who made money. 10 minas. Luke 19 talents Matthew 25
He condemned those who hoarded it for themselves. Luke 12
He did not want or need a building to bring the kingdom.
Matthew 8
He told his disciples not to trust in a building.
Matthew 24
Stephen was stoned (at least in part) for mentioning the value they placed on their building.
Acts 7:48,49
The desire to belong to something localized can be (not always) one of the greatest distractions when it comes to the kingdom and the use of money.
God wasn't pleased with a group that decided they needed a building and a name. (for fear of being scattered)
Genesis 11
The great commission has the word GO. Build is not in it.
The only building that God is interested in is the one made of you and me.
1 Peter 2
The apostle Paul applied Jesus' teaching (it is better to give) by telling the elders of Ephesus to work hard as he had done with his own hands and support the weak financially.
Acts 20:32-35
Paul did not condone people becoming dependent on others.
1 Thessalonians 4
Jesus did not come to make servants of God, His royal priesthood, beggars looking for the next offering.
Our goal in handling worldly wealth should be EQUALITY on a global scale.
2 Corinthians 8.
If you haven't been offended by some point on this topic, hmmmmm.
The New Testament actually contains,
215 Verses Pertaining to Faith
218 Verses Pertaining to Salvation
2,084 Verses Dealing with the Stewardship and Accountability for Money and Finance
16 of Jesus’ 38 Parables Deal with Money
If someone is thirsty give them a drink.
Matthew 25
If someone is your enemy, do good to them.
Mathew 5
Give money to your enemy. (cool promise if you do) Luke 6
He liked the idea of using worldly wealth to make friends. Luke 16
He commended those who made money. 10 minas. Luke 19 talents Matthew 25
He condemned those who hoarded it for themselves. Luke 12
He did not want or need a building to bring the kingdom.
Matthew 8
He told his disciples not to trust in a building.
Matthew 24
Stephen was stoned (at least in part) for mentioning the value they placed on their building.
Acts 7:48,49
The desire to belong to something localized can be (not always) one of the greatest distractions when it comes to the kingdom and the use of money.
God wasn't pleased with a group that decided they needed a building and a name. (for fear of being scattered)
Genesis 11
The great commission has the word GO. Build is not in it.
The only building that God is interested in is the one made of you and me.
1 Peter 2
The apostle Paul applied Jesus' teaching (it is better to give) by telling the elders of Ephesus to work hard as he had done with his own hands and support the weak financially.
Acts 20:32-35
Paul did not condone people becoming dependent on others.
1 Thessalonians 4
Jesus did not come to make servants of God, His royal priesthood, beggars looking for the next offering.
Our goal in handling worldly wealth should be EQUALITY on a global scale.
2 Corinthians 8.
If you haven't been offended by some point on this topic, hmmmmm.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Servant Leaders
A popular idea that is often preached from a church pulpit is servant leadership. Those in full time ministry often express this as their heart’s desire. No one seems to see a strange paradox in how this message is practically worked out between parishioners and clergy.
Many Christians are very happy aligning themselves with and paying a minister to preach to them about servanthood. In fact, they are very uncomfortable with someone who doesn’t align themselves with a paid servant of God.
The average Christian makes no money as they serve and are often very committed to the group they are in. Their pastor on the other hand is usually only there because he/she receives a paycheque. If they don’t get paid they move on to a group that is willing to pay them. This is called servant/leadership.
Is it any wonder that those on the outside of the church question the leadership model within the church?
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:42-45
Many Christians are very happy aligning themselves with and paying a minister to preach to them about servanthood. In fact, they are very uncomfortable with someone who doesn’t align themselves with a paid servant of God.
The average Christian makes no money as they serve and are often very committed to the group they are in. Their pastor on the other hand is usually only there because he/she receives a paycheque. If they don’t get paid they move on to a group that is willing to pay them. This is called servant/leadership.
Is it any wonder that those on the outside of the church question the leadership model within the church?
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:42-45
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
The Tipping Point
In the book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, says this, “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behaviour crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. That’s what I’ve been dreaming about for the past year and a half.
I’m in a network marketing company that sells some really good nutritional supplements. I’ve been in the company for 2 years but didn’t understand network marketing at all when I got in.
Then one day it hit me. This thing I’m in could make a significant difference in the lives of children who simply do not get basic nutrition.
Iron deficiency, the most common form of malnutrition, affects 180 million children under age four. 684,000 child deaths worldwide could be prevented by increasing access to vitamin A and Zinc.
My company makes a great multi-vitamin/mineral that could help these children. Based on a simple business model of exponential growth, 10 million children could receive these multivitamin/minerals in 20 weeks.
How is this done? There are only 3 steps.
STEP 1 Spend $100 a month to purchase 5 bottles of these vitamins and send them wherever they desire. (or ask me where to send them)
STEP 2 Get 2 more people to do the same thing this week.
STEP 3 Help them get their 2 people in the following week. To keep things going each person simply needs to get 2 more people involved. Doubling the number of new people from the previous week.
This model is now reproducible through others and is like a perpetual motion machine. You continue to spend $100 a month but don’t need to recruit anymore people. (unless you want to) You have started the ball rolling and from then are in a business leveraging other people’s time for your financial benefit.
You also have the satisfaction of knowing that more children are being helped than you could have personally helped in a lifetime. If this happened steadily for 20 weeks, 10 million children would receive their vitamins.
This model is sustainable because it is based on business rather than donations.
Why is it sustainable? As soon as a person gets 2 people who get 2 people. 6 in total. The commission for the first person is $100. From then on the commissions grow exponentially. Everyone wins, even the person just starting because they have helped 5 kids immediately.
As it sits right now, the business plan is legit, the need is real, the answer is simple. I’m simply anticipating the tipping point when people catch this idea on mass.
Is there a lot of money to be made through this model? Yes. And the more you make, the more children are helped.
Maybe you’ll take some of the profits and drill water wells or some other humanitarian endeavour. That’s completely up to you.I'm looking forward to you joining me and being part of this dynamic tipping point.
I’m in a network marketing company that sells some really good nutritional supplements. I’ve been in the company for 2 years but didn’t understand network marketing at all when I got in.
Then one day it hit me. This thing I’m in could make a significant difference in the lives of children who simply do not get basic nutrition.
Iron deficiency, the most common form of malnutrition, affects 180 million children under age four. 684,000 child deaths worldwide could be prevented by increasing access to vitamin A and Zinc.
My company makes a great multi-vitamin/mineral that could help these children. Based on a simple business model of exponential growth, 10 million children could receive these multivitamin/minerals in 20 weeks.
How is this done? There are only 3 steps.
STEP 1 Spend $100 a month to purchase 5 bottles of these vitamins and send them wherever they desire. (or ask me where to send them)
STEP 2 Get 2 more people to do the same thing this week.
STEP 3 Help them get their 2 people in the following week. To keep things going each person simply needs to get 2 more people involved. Doubling the number of new people from the previous week.
This model is now reproducible through others and is like a perpetual motion machine. You continue to spend $100 a month but don’t need to recruit anymore people. (unless you want to) You have started the ball rolling and from then are in a business leveraging other people’s time for your financial benefit.
You also have the satisfaction of knowing that more children are being helped than you could have personally helped in a lifetime. If this happened steadily for 20 weeks, 10 million children would receive their vitamins.
This model is sustainable because it is based on business rather than donations.
Why is it sustainable? As soon as a person gets 2 people who get 2 people. 6 in total. The commission for the first person is $100. From then on the commissions grow exponentially. Everyone wins, even the person just starting because they have helped 5 kids immediately.
As it sits right now, the business plan is legit, the need is real, the answer is simple. I’m simply anticipating the tipping point when people catch this idea on mass.
Is there a lot of money to be made through this model? Yes. And the more you make, the more children are helped.
Maybe you’ll take some of the profits and drill water wells or some other humanitarian endeavour. That’s completely up to you.I'm looking forward to you joining me and being part of this dynamic tipping point.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Are You Financially Free or a Slave to Your Job?
(If you haven't read Principle #1 - Equality, read it first. The two principles only make sense when understood as a single unit.)
Desiring financial freedom should not be confused with being satisfied with gold. The streets of heaven will be paved with gold. Being satisfied with pavement is a very sad state of affairs.
Some have erroneously interpreted Paul’s caution to Timothy about desiring money to mean that money is somehow evil.
10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:10
But take notice that in this passage Paul isn’t referring to money itself but our desire for it. In other words, when money comes first there is a corruption that inevitably follows. Principle #1 – Equality is a very nice thing to keep in mind as I write about going for the gold. And let's not forget that it is difficult to bring equality to the less fortunate when you have just enough for yourself.
However we shouldn’t fear the effects of money as reflected in this prayer,
God, please don’t let me be so rich that I forget you or so poor that I curse you.
The poorest person can find peace with God and the richest person can be at peace as well. In fact there is no economic situation that can stop someone from knowing and loving God.
My goal is to somehow navigate between the extremes and see what the scriptures teach us about not being consumed by our circumstances, especially in the area of our use of TIME and our willingness to GO.
Abraham is considered the father of our faith. When he was asked to go to a land that he did know, he went. This should be normative for every child of God. When God says go, we go.
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
Genesis 12:1
But here’s what is sometimes forgotten in the equation.
4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Genesis 12:4,5
Abraham didn’t go poor. In fact there were a number of people that had to go with him because they were either indentured servants or slaves. (An indentured servant is a person who willingly gives their time to someone else for an agreed upon price.)
So here is Point #1
Slaves go where their master tells them to go. If Abraham had been a slave or an indentured servant he would not have been able to obey God’s voice.
You need to pause and let this one sink in.
We live in a country of opportunity and freedom that is the envy of most of the world. Our Canadian passport is one of the most sought after passports because it opens more doors for travel than any other passport in the world. And yet, how many Canadians feel free to go wherever and whenever God tells them to?
Something happened in the past two centuries that is different than any time in history. We became indentured servants without knowing it and the cost was to give up our personal freedom, especially in the area of time.
Henry Ford was a genius in creating a system of indentured servants. He paid men $5 a day to work on his production line. He also lowered the daily work day to 8 hours. (This was so he could get 3 shifts out of a 24 hour day.)
Families literally flocked to his factories from all over the country to work for Henry. In so doing, they gave up there personal freedom for about $1,500 a year. A large sum in 1910. Henry is known as the father of modern mass production. He also amassed one of the largest workforces of indentured servants that history had ever seen.
When I left my job at General Motors to go to Bible college a number of eyebrows were raised. How could I leave the security of such a good job?
Years later, I ended up being out of the ministry and my wife and I went to Korea to teach English. After a year, I came back and attended a conference from the organization I had pastored in. I was a little dismayed that they were pushing hard for missions funding. On July 31st of 2001, I knew nothing about teaching English as a second language and on August 28 we were making money and teaching there.
Meanwhile the old paradigm of begging for money to do God's work was alive and well when I arrived home. At the same time, the world is willing to pay for people to come and teach them English with the side affect of sharing our lives with them. I wasn't even financially free, in fact I was a month away from personal bankruptcy, but I was able to go without begging.
It was in Korea that my heart began to yearn to understand business from God's perspective. It wasn't until just recently that God opened my heart and mind to the possibilities that can only come through a business model.
Financially free people never have to ask for money to Go where God wants them to go.
This leads us to Point #2
Security is a myth that is dangled by the few to control the masses. If I said that just a few months ago many would have mocked me. But with the economic meltdown that is happening right now people are shocked to find out that what they had put so much trust in has let them down. Even those with jobs are sitting on pins and needles praying that they won't be next.
The slave has no control over where he goes or what his master decides. A slave’s only hope is that his master is benevolent and makes good decisions.
It has been suggested that immediately following the abolition of slavery in the United States that the slaves’ new freedom made them worse off economically than they had been as slaves. Without the gold, freedom is simply like floating on a raft in the middle of an ocean with no destination in sight.
So how does God speak to his children regarding being slaves.
Paul said, “I will not be mastered by anything.” (1 Cor 6:12)
Paul knew freedom. He travelled where he wanted, when he wanted. He not only provided for himself but others.
32"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. Acts 20:32-34
Paul’s business of tent making allowed him to travel where he wanted and when he wanted. Not only that, but it provided for others. Paul did not only talk or pray about equality, he brought it into existence. He was never diminished by doing so. The more he helped others, the more he gained. He really understood the idea of marketplace Christianity. As he ran his business he was able to mix with people and share his faith.
This story is often overlooked by many Christians who are caught in the mindset of being an indentured servant. The idea of rewards for those who increased in wealth and using it for kingdom purposes, like bringing equality, is a mystery and/or perplexes many Christians.
Luke 19:11-26 he tells the parable of the Ten Minas. A mina was equal to about 1/3 of a year’s wages. In this story, one man used the opportunity to make a mina into 10. The only way to do that would have been by using some kind of a business model. Another man made his mina into 5.
We need to pause and listen seriously to what Jesus thought of these two men.
17" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' The one with 5 was put in charge of 5 cities.
There were also 7 slaves who went and spent the money on themselves and it was not a good day for them when the master returned.
And then there was the one who hid his mina in the ground.
20"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
22"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'
24"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
25" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.
Luke 19:20-26
It seems in Jesus’ view of the kingdom, the rich do get richer.
Jesus’ encounter with the man who hid his mina leads us to Point #4
With the economic meltdown that is currently happening, are the millionaires of this world really afraid? Is the guy or gal that owns Tim Horton’s afraid. They might not get their biggest profits this year but more than likely they will take their trip to Cancun or Banff just likely they always do.
What I am hearing from many people, Christians and non-Christians who are indentured servants is fear? There is an endless list in the Bible for us to not be afraid and yet many Christians are caught in its vice-like grip.
Even churches are feeling the effects of this downturn. Pastors will be laid off and/or salaries will be decreased. Building programs will be scaled back or stalled altogether. The idea that God gave the vision but our economy determines its outcome is very real. The idea is to hang on until the economy goes back to what it was and we can have our sense of security and then we can move forward with God's vision.
Slaves are always stuck with whatever the circumstances are at the moment.
Interestingly enough, I was talking with a businessman this week and he is planning a significant expansion of his business. For him, this downturn simply means there are more people available to work for him and at a lower wage to boot.
Business people think differently. They are creative and expand when others are like deer caught in the headlights. Successful business people are never motivated by fear. Even if failure does befall them, they don’t shrink away in fear but rather they learn the lesson and continue to seek freedom.
Does that mean that everyone that works for someone else is motivated by fear. Of course not. Many have learned that whatsoever state they are in to be content. Nevertheless, without funds channeling through their lives they to will have to cut back on the number of orphans or widows they are currently caring for. They will miss simple opportunities of doing more and equality in our world will be an unrealized dream.
There are many people who only dream of the opportunities that we as Canadians have. They can’t imagine someone thumbing their nose at simple opportunities that they would literally give their right arm to have. They are the ones who will face the harshest realities of this economic collapse, as help from Canada decreases. There are many people who have been hard working employees and were very generous but even they can’t give what they don’t have.
But I also know many Christians who will be caught in the trap of fear and will not explore business opportunities to overcome their financial distress. They are hoping and praying that their place of employment will survive. They never for a moment consider going after financial freedom and still desire the myth of security. The goal of global equality has never seriously touched their imagination.
Even though their place of security has left them in fear, they will not open their minds to the possibility that perhaps financial freedom might have been a better goal.
While many people were thanking Henry Ford for the opportunity of being able to serve him, Henry travelled where he wanted, lived where he wanted and used his time the way he wanted.
The goals of equality and going for the gold are not exclusive ideas. In fact, they are two sides of the same coin.
Are there business models out there that would allow everyone to enjoy financial freedom and more importantly freedom to go when God says go? Of course there are. Paul had one 2,000 years ago. I’m in one that allows virtually anyone to enjoy personal financial freedom.
We are living in a day when the opportunity to be in business has never been more accessible. The current economic crisis gives us the opportunity to look at the myth of security without the possibility of being equal to the person we work for. Or we can challenge ourselves to step away from the false security of being an indentured servant and become the master of our time and our wealth.
Remarkably, in a time when our governments and corporate leaders are struggling for answers, those who are willing to make a slight adjustment in their goals and aligning themselves with Biblical values of being financially free with the purpose of bringing equality, we can radically impact our world.
If you are free to go when God says GO, you are not an indentured slave. This freedom isn’t even always tied to job security or even having lots of gold but is really tied to a mindset of obedience to God, desiring equality for all and understanding God does not have slaves. We are his children.
Desiring financial freedom should not be confused with being satisfied with gold. The streets of heaven will be paved with gold. Being satisfied with pavement is a very sad state of affairs.
Some have erroneously interpreted Paul’s caution to Timothy about desiring money to mean that money is somehow evil.
10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:10
But take notice that in this passage Paul isn’t referring to money itself but our desire for it. In other words, when money comes first there is a corruption that inevitably follows. Principle #1 – Equality is a very nice thing to keep in mind as I write about going for the gold. And let's not forget that it is difficult to bring equality to the less fortunate when you have just enough for yourself.
However we shouldn’t fear the effects of money as reflected in this prayer,
God, please don’t let me be so rich that I forget you or so poor that I curse you.
The poorest person can find peace with God and the richest person can be at peace as well. In fact there is no economic situation that can stop someone from knowing and loving God.
My goal is to somehow navigate between the extremes and see what the scriptures teach us about not being consumed by our circumstances, especially in the area of our use of TIME and our willingness to GO.
Abraham is considered the father of our faith. When he was asked to go to a land that he did know, he went. This should be normative for every child of God. When God says go, we go.
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
Genesis 12:1
But here’s what is sometimes forgotten in the equation.
4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Genesis 12:4,5
Abraham didn’t go poor. In fact there were a number of people that had to go with him because they were either indentured servants or slaves. (An indentured servant is a person who willingly gives their time to someone else for an agreed upon price.)
So here is Point #1
Only a free person can GO
WHERE they want WHEN they want.
WHERE they want WHEN they want.
Slaves go where their master tells them to go. If Abraham had been a slave or an indentured servant he would not have been able to obey God’s voice.
You need to pause and let this one sink in.
We live in a country of opportunity and freedom that is the envy of most of the world. Our Canadian passport is one of the most sought after passports because it opens more doors for travel than any other passport in the world. And yet, how many Canadians feel free to go wherever and whenever God tells them to?
Something happened in the past two centuries that is different than any time in history. We became indentured servants without knowing it and the cost was to give up our personal freedom, especially in the area of time.
Henry Ford was a genius in creating a system of indentured servants. He paid men $5 a day to work on his production line. He also lowered the daily work day to 8 hours. (This was so he could get 3 shifts out of a 24 hour day.)
Families literally flocked to his factories from all over the country to work for Henry. In so doing, they gave up there personal freedom for about $1,500 a year. A large sum in 1910. Henry is known as the father of modern mass production. He also amassed one of the largest workforces of indentured servants that history had ever seen.
When I left my job at General Motors to go to Bible college a number of eyebrows were raised. How could I leave the security of such a good job?
Years later, I ended up being out of the ministry and my wife and I went to Korea to teach English. After a year, I came back and attended a conference from the organization I had pastored in. I was a little dismayed that they were pushing hard for missions funding. On July 31st of 2001, I knew nothing about teaching English as a second language and on August 28 we were making money and teaching there.
Meanwhile the old paradigm of begging for money to do God's work was alive and well when I arrived home. At the same time, the world is willing to pay for people to come and teach them English with the side affect of sharing our lives with them. I wasn't even financially free, in fact I was a month away from personal bankruptcy, but I was able to go without begging.
It was in Korea that my heart began to yearn to understand business from God's perspective. It wasn't until just recently that God opened my heart and mind to the possibilities that can only come through a business model.
Financially free people never have to ask for money to Go where God wants them to go.
This leads us to Point #2
Security does not equal Freedom
Security is a myth that is dangled by the few to control the masses. If I said that just a few months ago many would have mocked me. But with the economic meltdown that is happening right now people are shocked to find out that what they had put so much trust in has let them down. Even those with jobs are sitting on pins and needles praying that they won't be next.
The slave has no control over where he goes or what his master decides. A slave’s only hope is that his master is benevolent and makes good decisions.
It has been suggested that immediately following the abolition of slavery in the United States that the slaves’ new freedom made them worse off economically than they had been as slaves. Without the gold, freedom is simply like floating on a raft in the middle of an ocean with no destination in sight.
So how does God speak to his children regarding being slaves.
Paul said, “I will not be mastered by anything.” (1 Cor 6:12)
Paul knew freedom. He travelled where he wanted, when he wanted. He not only provided for himself but others.
32"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. Acts 20:32-34
Paul’s business of tent making allowed him to travel where he wanted and when he wanted. Not only that, but it provided for others. Paul did not only talk or pray about equality, he brought it into existence. He was never diminished by doing so. The more he helped others, the more he gained. He really understood the idea of marketplace Christianity. As he ran his business he was able to mix with people and share his faith.
Jesus himself, put a high value on us increasing in wealth which leads us to Point #3
Wealth Gives Freedom and Authority
Wealth Gives Freedom and Authority
This story is often overlooked by many Christians who are caught in the mindset of being an indentured servant. The idea of rewards for those who increased in wealth and using it for kingdom purposes, like bringing equality, is a mystery and/or perplexes many Christians.
Luke 19:11-26 he tells the parable of the Ten Minas. A mina was equal to about 1/3 of a year’s wages. In this story, one man used the opportunity to make a mina into 10. The only way to do that would have been by using some kind of a business model. Another man made his mina into 5.
We need to pause and listen seriously to what Jesus thought of these two men.
17" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' The one with 5 was put in charge of 5 cities.
There were also 7 slaves who went and spent the money on themselves and it was not a good day for them when the master returned.
And then there was the one who hid his mina in the ground.
20"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
22"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'
24"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
25" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.
Luke 19:20-26
It seems in Jesus’ view of the kingdom, the rich do get richer.
Jesus’ encounter with the man who hid his mina leads us to Point #4
We are not to be afraid.
With the economic meltdown that is currently happening, are the millionaires of this world really afraid? Is the guy or gal that owns Tim Horton’s afraid. They might not get their biggest profits this year but more than likely they will take their trip to Cancun or Banff just likely they always do.
What I am hearing from many people, Christians and non-Christians who are indentured servants is fear? There is an endless list in the Bible for us to not be afraid and yet many Christians are caught in its vice-like grip.
Even churches are feeling the effects of this downturn. Pastors will be laid off and/or salaries will be decreased. Building programs will be scaled back or stalled altogether. The idea that God gave the vision but our economy determines its outcome is very real. The idea is to hang on until the economy goes back to what it was and we can have our sense of security and then we can move forward with God's vision.
Slaves are always stuck with whatever the circumstances are at the moment.
Interestingly enough, I was talking with a businessman this week and he is planning a significant expansion of his business. For him, this downturn simply means there are more people available to work for him and at a lower wage to boot.
Business people think differently. They are creative and expand when others are like deer caught in the headlights. Successful business people are never motivated by fear. Even if failure does befall them, they don’t shrink away in fear but rather they learn the lesson and continue to seek freedom.
Does that mean that everyone that works for someone else is motivated by fear. Of course not. Many have learned that whatsoever state they are in to be content. Nevertheless, without funds channeling through their lives they to will have to cut back on the number of orphans or widows they are currently caring for. They will miss simple opportunities of doing more and equality in our world will be an unrealized dream.
There are many people who only dream of the opportunities that we as Canadians have. They can’t imagine someone thumbing their nose at simple opportunities that they would literally give their right arm to have. They are the ones who will face the harshest realities of this economic collapse, as help from Canada decreases. There are many people who have been hard working employees and were very generous but even they can’t give what they don’t have.
But I also know many Christians who will be caught in the trap of fear and will not explore business opportunities to overcome their financial distress. They are hoping and praying that their place of employment will survive. They never for a moment consider going after financial freedom and still desire the myth of security. The goal of global equality has never seriously touched their imagination.
Even though their place of security has left them in fear, they will not open their minds to the possibility that perhaps financial freedom might have been a better goal.
While many people were thanking Henry Ford for the opportunity of being able to serve him, Henry travelled where he wanted, lived where he wanted and used his time the way he wanted.
The goals of equality and going for the gold are not exclusive ideas. In fact, they are two sides of the same coin.
Are there business models out there that would allow everyone to enjoy financial freedom and more importantly freedom to go when God says go? Of course there are. Paul had one 2,000 years ago. I’m in one that allows virtually anyone to enjoy personal financial freedom.
We are living in a day when the opportunity to be in business has never been more accessible. The current economic crisis gives us the opportunity to look at the myth of security without the possibility of being equal to the person we work for. Or we can challenge ourselves to step away from the false security of being an indentured servant and become the master of our time and our wealth.
Remarkably, in a time when our governments and corporate leaders are struggling for answers, those who are willing to make a slight adjustment in their goals and aligning themselves with Biblical values of being financially free with the purpose of bringing equality, we can radically impact our world.
If you are free to go when God says GO, you are not an indentured slave. This freedom isn’t even always tied to job security or even having lots of gold but is really tied to a mindset of obedience to God, desiring equality for all and understanding God does not have slaves. We are his children.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Evangelism or Discipleship?
The great commission is "go and make disciples...teaching them everything I commanded."
When it comes to evangelism most Christians will nod their heads that it is the most important thing in the world to them. Truth be told, very few Christians share their faith with anyone. It's my guess as to why they will give money to an evangelist: it relieves their conscience. And many evangelists will remind Christians that it is their sacred duty to evangelize. That's code for give me your money and I will do your job.
The reality is that evangelists don't want people to evangelize. Hmm, 1.5 billion Christians in the world. Everyone reaches 1 person for Jesus this year. That makes 3 billion. That 3 billion reach 1 person each in the following year. That pretty well covers the entire population of the world. Oops, no more need for an evangelist. Therefore no more money either.
Discipleship is what we have been called to. And even in this calling we don't have to feel some terrible shame. Nor do we have to feel some terrible angst about not doing enough evangelism. It's as simple and difficult as raising a child. Don't do it as some planned activity. "Tonight is discipleship night." It really is more like being friends and sharing things that are important to you.
There is a lot of emphasis on evangelism (especially the fund raising part) and yet the real work is in discipleship. It seems that talking about and giving to evangelism is much easier than loving our neighbor as ourself.
The difference between the two is that evangelism is like making babies whereas discipleship is about fathering/mothering adult children.
The gospel is about living our lives together with Jesus at the centre. We must guard our hearts from turning Jesus it into a ideology to be proclaimed without the reality being part of our daily lives.
How many people should we disciple? If we all cared for 1 or 2 others once in a while, that would get the job done.
When it comes to evangelism most Christians will nod their heads that it is the most important thing in the world to them. Truth be told, very few Christians share their faith with anyone. It's my guess as to why they will give money to an evangelist: it relieves their conscience. And many evangelists will remind Christians that it is their sacred duty to evangelize. That's code for give me your money and I will do your job.
The reality is that evangelists don't want people to evangelize. Hmm, 1.5 billion Christians in the world. Everyone reaches 1 person for Jesus this year. That makes 3 billion. That 3 billion reach 1 person each in the following year. That pretty well covers the entire population of the world. Oops, no more need for an evangelist. Therefore no more money either.
Discipleship is what we have been called to. And even in this calling we don't have to feel some terrible shame. Nor do we have to feel some terrible angst about not doing enough evangelism. It's as simple and difficult as raising a child. Don't do it as some planned activity. "Tonight is discipleship night." It really is more like being friends and sharing things that are important to you.
There is a lot of emphasis on evangelism (especially the fund raising part) and yet the real work is in discipleship. It seems that talking about and giving to evangelism is much easier than loving our neighbor as ourself.
The difference between the two is that evangelism is like making babies whereas discipleship is about fathering/mothering adult children.
The gospel is about living our lives together with Jesus at the centre. We must guard our hearts from turning Jesus it into a ideology to be proclaimed without the reality being part of our daily lives.
How many people should we disciple? If we all cared for 1 or 2 others once in a while, that would get the job done.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Evangelism 101
Can we all be evangelists? 85% of Christians have been saved before they were 18. But what if every adult did win just 2 other adults to Christ. Would that make much of a difference in the kingdom? Let's look at 2 models to see how the numbers work out. Neither model is normative, they are simply used to create discussion.
Model A
A charismatic pastor is able to inspire 100 people to join him in his church planting vision in the first year. This group of people is able to continue to reach others at the rate of 20% per year for 10 years. This growth rate is considered exceptionally good. The church hires staff, builds buildings and has a significant budget. The founding pastor is busy, busy, busy and is being asked by everyone to tell them his secret for such phenomenal success.
Model B
Another lover of God decides to pour his life into 2 people for a year. He disciples them in such a way that they do the same thing in the next year. He continues to work with them but they are the ones actually doing the discipling. He stays in their lives into the third year and is well respected and loved.
These disciples continue in this pattern of reaching out to 2 others. But the one that started this model is not known by most who continue to come to Christ through this model. He continues to work at his “secular” job, take care of his family and whatever else he enjoys doing. He never purposely disciples anyone again and has time for anyone that wants to talk to him.
(This last statement is only said to show the power of exponential growth through simply reaching 2 others. Of course he would reach more than just 2, as would those he discipled.)
In 10 years which model would have produced more people being discipled?
At the end of the 10 year period the pastor from Plan A is well known.
Nobody has heard of the guy that started Plan B.
After 20 years of unprecedented 20% growth, 2,600 people are in the Model A church.
Model B would have reached 2,097,151 in the same 20 years.
In 32 years, 8.5 billion people would have been reached through Model B.
How many people did each person have to reach in Model B?
Yep, it really is this simple. Why is this so hard to believe?
Model A
A charismatic pastor is able to inspire 100 people to join him in his church planting vision in the first year. This group of people is able to continue to reach others at the rate of 20% per year for 10 years. This growth rate is considered exceptionally good. The church hires staff, builds buildings and has a significant budget. The founding pastor is busy, busy, busy and is being asked by everyone to tell them his secret for such phenomenal success.
Model B
Another lover of God decides to pour his life into 2 people for a year. He disciples them in such a way that they do the same thing in the next year. He continues to work with them but they are the ones actually doing the discipling. He stays in their lives into the third year and is well respected and loved.
These disciples continue in this pattern of reaching out to 2 others. But the one that started this model is not known by most who continue to come to Christ through this model. He continues to work at his “secular” job, take care of his family and whatever else he enjoys doing. He never purposely disciples anyone again and has time for anyone that wants to talk to him.
(This last statement is only said to show the power of exponential growth through simply reaching 2 others. Of course he would reach more than just 2, as would those he discipled.)
In 10 years which model would have produced more people being discipled?
Model A
(20% growth per year)
100
120
144
173
208
250
300
360
432
520
Model B
(discipling just 2)
2 + 1 = 3
4 + 3 = 7
8 + 7 = 15
16 + 15 = 31
32 + 31 = 63
64 + 63 = 127
128 + 127 = 255
256 + 255 = 511
512 + 511 = 1023
1024 + 1023 = 2047
(20% growth per year)
100
120
144
173
208
250
300
360
432
520
Model B
(discipling just 2)
2 + 1 = 3
4 + 3 = 7
8 + 7 = 15
16 + 15 = 31
32 + 31 = 63
64 + 63 = 127
128 + 127 = 255
256 + 255 = 511
512 + 511 = 1023
1024 + 1023 = 2047
At the end of the 10 year period the pastor from Plan A is well known.
Nobody has heard of the guy that started Plan B.
After 20 years of unprecedented 20% growth, 2,600 people are in the Model A church.
Model B would have reached 2,097,151 in the same 20 years.
In 32 years, 8.5 billion people would have been reached through Model B.
How many people did each person have to reach in Model B?
2
Yep, it really is this simple. Why is this so hard to believe?
Sunday, August 2, 2009
We Can All Do It
What is your it?
If you ask an evangelist, it will be reaching the lost.
If you ask a mother, it will be loving her child(ren).
If you ask an entrepreneur, it will be the next great business plan.
If you ask an adventurer, it will be the next thrill ride.
If you ask a musician, it will some form of worship through music.
If you ask …, it will be whatever is important to them.
In our world of high profile leadership models that will often try to conform us to their image, it is easy to lose sight of our own uniqueness. We can end up chasing after whatever or whoever is the most inspirational in our life at that moment. In the end, we end up being nothing more than a wave being tossed about in the sea.
One of the most zealous and inspirational leaders in the early days of Christianity was the Apostle Paul. His passion was unique even amongst those who had personally known Yeshua. Paul was able to throw off his years of prejudice and reach out to the gentile world. Paul was the one that rebuked Peter for compromising grace by living a double standard of legalism and freedom. He had no problem with being cold and hungry as he sought out the next person for the kingdom. Stonings, floggings and imprisonment were simply a small part of the cost of knowing Yeshua.
However, he also had no problem zealously seeking out Christians prior to his conversion and having them put in jail or even stoned to death. What we sometimes miss about his life is that Paul simply stayed true to who he was. He knew what his “it” was.
Did he need to learn something beyond his "it"? Was Paul always loving and nurturing to those who were not like him? Not at first. It is difficult, knowing the character of Paul, picturing him writing the greatest love passage of all time, 1 Corinthians 13.
One of the great personal fights that came between 2 great friends, Paul and Barnabas, was over their young protégé, Mark’s homesickness. For Paul it was like Mark had abandoned the faith and betrayed him personally. (see Acts 15) Whereas, Barnabas (son of encouragement), recognized that his mentoring of Paul was no longer needed and left Paul in order to nurture young Mark.
Imagine the disaster that would have happened to the core message of the gospel (love) if both Paul and Barnabas had abandoned Mark for the cause. We might not have the gospel of Mark today.
Paul would likely have never had Mark in his life ever again, whereas near the end of his time he was able to say, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”
2 Timothy 4:11
It is possible to let our personal passions push out the people that God has brought into our lives. Our ideologies can erode the most important message of the cross, love. At the end of the day we need to know that Yeshua is desiring to work with each one of us individually and personally. When Peter was told all that would happen to him from the resurrected Yeshua himself, his very next question was what about John?
“When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
Each one of us needs to hear Yeshua’s rebuke to Peter.
Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
John 21:21,22
Our calling is to follow Yeshua, not like someone else does, not like the group might demand of us, but personally, as a friend does.
We can all do it, be who God wants us to be. We simply need to remind ourselves our “it” is for us alone, our love is for those that God places in our path.
If you ask an evangelist, it will be reaching the lost.
If you ask a mother, it will be loving her child(ren).
If you ask an entrepreneur, it will be the next great business plan.
If you ask an adventurer, it will be the next thrill ride.
If you ask a musician, it will some form of worship through music.
If you ask …, it will be whatever is important to them.
In our world of high profile leadership models that will often try to conform us to their image, it is easy to lose sight of our own uniqueness. We can end up chasing after whatever or whoever is the most inspirational in our life at that moment. In the end, we end up being nothing more than a wave being tossed about in the sea.
One of the most zealous and inspirational leaders in the early days of Christianity was the Apostle Paul. His passion was unique even amongst those who had personally known Yeshua. Paul was able to throw off his years of prejudice and reach out to the gentile world. Paul was the one that rebuked Peter for compromising grace by living a double standard of legalism and freedom. He had no problem with being cold and hungry as he sought out the next person for the kingdom. Stonings, floggings and imprisonment were simply a small part of the cost of knowing Yeshua.
However, he also had no problem zealously seeking out Christians prior to his conversion and having them put in jail or even stoned to death. What we sometimes miss about his life is that Paul simply stayed true to who he was. He knew what his “it” was.
Did he need to learn something beyond his "it"? Was Paul always loving and nurturing to those who were not like him? Not at first. It is difficult, knowing the character of Paul, picturing him writing the greatest love passage of all time, 1 Corinthians 13.
One of the great personal fights that came between 2 great friends, Paul and Barnabas, was over their young protégé, Mark’s homesickness. For Paul it was like Mark had abandoned the faith and betrayed him personally. (see Acts 15) Whereas, Barnabas (son of encouragement), recognized that his mentoring of Paul was no longer needed and left Paul in order to nurture young Mark.
Imagine the disaster that would have happened to the core message of the gospel (love) if both Paul and Barnabas had abandoned Mark for the cause. We might not have the gospel of Mark today.
Paul would likely have never had Mark in his life ever again, whereas near the end of his time he was able to say, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”
2 Timothy 4:11
It is possible to let our personal passions push out the people that God has brought into our lives. Our ideologies can erode the most important message of the cross, love. At the end of the day we need to know that Yeshua is desiring to work with each one of us individually and personally. When Peter was told all that would happen to him from the resurrected Yeshua himself, his very next question was what about John?
“When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
Each one of us needs to hear Yeshua’s rebuke to Peter.
Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
John 21:21,22
Our calling is to follow Yeshua, not like someone else does, not like the group might demand of us, but personally, as a friend does.
We can all do it, be who God wants us to be. We simply need to remind ourselves our “it” is for us alone, our love is for those that God places in our path.
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