I was reading about Paul's account of his visit to Mars Hill in Athens. This was the city that had that altar offered to the "unknown god". Anyway after I read it I was reflecting on the audience that Paul was speaking to. At this time Athens was the intelligentsia of the 1st century world. Finally Paul had an opportunity to speak to an audience that matched his caliber of intellect. Paul's mind was brilliant and his ability to articulate it was just as brilliant. At last! A chance to test his wits and meet these big shots right where they were.
However, most theologians consider Paul's message to the Athenians an utter failure. He walked away from that message with only two conversions. I don't know this to be true, but I think this to be true: Paul had to have left that moment feeling like a total failure. Since Paul was a "get it done and get it done now" type of guy, I don't think two conversions really set well with him. As the dust settled, I'm sure Paul, like most pastors after a sermon, took time to reflect on all that he said and all that he could have said better and all that he wanted to say but forgot to say. Paul preached about so many things that day. He preached about God as a creator setting everything in motion. He told the Athenians that God was the one true God and that their idols are nothing more than carved lifeless images. He even talked about repentance. He preached about everything you could think of...
except for the cross!
He never brought up the cross. He talked about Christ's resurrection, but never once about the cross. There's not one mention Jesus' sacrifice. There's not one mention of the atonement of his blood. There's not one mention of God sending His only son to the slaughter in order to replace our sins.
Now skip forward into Paul's life where we see him plant the church of Corinth. Paul is a different man in Corinth than he was in Athens. We see a more broken man, not committed to articulating the gospel in an impressive way, but solely committed to the full story of redemption. I love that famous line we read in 1st Corinthians:
Ch. 2 Vs. 1-2: And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
I can hear Paul saying to the Corinthians:
"I didn't come to you with lofty words or polished speeches in order to impress."
With tears forming in his eyes,
"No" he says. "I tried that at Athens."
I for one am relieved that Paul's account at Athens is recorded. How many times have I walked onto the pulpit behind that microphone and delivered a message that was all head and no heart. How many hours have I spent trying to find the perfect story or example while barely spending any time praying for the audience of that same message? How much thought have I put into the wording of my manuscript, the manner of my stage presence, and even the look of my wardrobe? How many sermons were wasted because I was trying to impress a crowd? God, forgive me for having my priorities flipped on their back.
To those of you who are in a platform of ministry and carry the heavy sacred responsibility of speaking for God, learn from Paul in his words to Corinth. Learn that just because you may be under the lights and for a moment have the ears of your audience... it is never about you! Never forget to place where preaching the word becomes secondary. Determine in your heart to not know anything except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
hampster wheel
I am a pastor. The reason I do what I do is for God, because of God, and only accomplished through God. But sometimes I can become so absorbed into my work that God becomes an afterthought. God becomes an element of what I do instead of its very foundation. I am embarrassed for even admitting to this, but every once in a while this happens to me. I can always tell when I lose my focus and the motives of ministry become cloudy. Anytime I get into this place I am tired and overwhelmed with frustration, because nothing I try to accomplish seems to land. At times like these I'm a hamster running on a wheel. My legs have run a marathon, but they haven't taken me anywhere.
As our age increases with technology and information, the ministry bar is in rapid ascent. This is not a bad thing, but a good and healthy thing. That is if your foundation is in alignment. In other words, centered on and relying totally on God. When that focus is moved even a few clicks off center... well, that's when you begin to work harder than you have ever worked only to stay put in the spot you currently are. Some may be able to make seemingly quick strides in ministry, but will eventually fall by the wayside, and it's because God has lost His place in their life. If we are going to make any kind of impact for Him, we are going to have to stay completely dependant upon Him. No matter how talented we are, who we have on our staff, what magazine awards our innovation, or how many hours we put into our ministry, God must be our air supply. If he is not we are nothing more than a ministry fad. I have seen a ton of rockstar pastors have moral failures and it is because somewhere along the lines God got reprioritized. I would have to be a fool to exclude myslef from the possibility of this happening. God must be my air supply.
No wonder God tells us, the tired and weary, to come to Him, because His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11). When we are tired and weary and frustrated and beat up and hopless and needing a win in life and rethinking if we were ever called to begin with- it is these times that communicate to us that we need to regain our focus and make it about Him again. When we are putting 100 percent of our energy into ministry and seem to be making no difference at all, it is probably an indicator that God has been reprioritized. You are tired and weary. It's time to get off the hamster wheel and and instead of running in place, run to Him. We can't help but be successful when we rely on Him the way we did when we started this thing. The only difference in this kind of success and the success you hope to get on the hamster wheel is that you may not get the credit... He will.
He DESERVES the credit.
I think too often those involved in ministry use the scipture in Matthew 11 to minister to others, but rarely allow it to minister to them. Pastors with moral failures, the ones who ran away from the call of God only 5 years into taking a ministerial position, ex-Christians- these were just people who were on the wheel and couldn't swallow enough pride at once to get off and run to Him.
If you are in the ministry and are at a place where you are frustrated because you are constantly working, but are rarley seeing results it may be because the person you are relying on to deliver success is you. Slow down. Revisit priorities and foundations. Do you pray the way you used to? Do you celebrate God the way you used to? Are you too tired to lift your hands to Him anymore? Do you do too much and trust too little? Are you tired? Are you weary? Come to Him.
As our age increases with technology and information, the ministry bar is in rapid ascent. This is not a bad thing, but a good and healthy thing. That is if your foundation is in alignment. In other words, centered on and relying totally on God. When that focus is moved even a few clicks off center... well, that's when you begin to work harder than you have ever worked only to stay put in the spot you currently are. Some may be able to make seemingly quick strides in ministry, but will eventually fall by the wayside, and it's because God has lost His place in their life. If we are going to make any kind of impact for Him, we are going to have to stay completely dependant upon Him. No matter how talented we are, who we have on our staff, what magazine awards our innovation, or how many hours we put into our ministry, God must be our air supply. If he is not we are nothing more than a ministry fad. I have seen a ton of rockstar pastors have moral failures and it is because somewhere along the lines God got reprioritized. I would have to be a fool to exclude myslef from the possibility of this happening. God must be my air supply.
No wonder God tells us, the tired and weary, to come to Him, because His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11). When we are tired and weary and frustrated and beat up and hopless and needing a win in life and rethinking if we were ever called to begin with- it is these times that communicate to us that we need to regain our focus and make it about Him again. When we are putting 100 percent of our energy into ministry and seem to be making no difference at all, it is probably an indicator that God has been reprioritized. You are tired and weary. It's time to get off the hamster wheel and and instead of running in place, run to Him. We can't help but be successful when we rely on Him the way we did when we started this thing. The only difference in this kind of success and the success you hope to get on the hamster wheel is that you may not get the credit... He will.
He DESERVES the credit.
I think too often those involved in ministry use the scipture in Matthew 11 to minister to others, but rarely allow it to minister to them. Pastors with moral failures, the ones who ran away from the call of God only 5 years into taking a ministerial position, ex-Christians- these were just people who were on the wheel and couldn't swallow enough pride at once to get off and run to Him.
If you are in the ministry and are at a place where you are frustrated because you are constantly working, but are rarley seeing results it may be because the person you are relying on to deliver success is you. Slow down. Revisit priorities and foundations. Do you pray the way you used to? Do you celebrate God the way you used to? Are you too tired to lift your hands to Him anymore? Do you do too much and trust too little? Are you tired? Are you weary? Come to Him.
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