May you be blessed with discomfort...?

Just read a reaction from Craig Groeschel's presentation at the Leadership Summit from Mark Beeson (long posting...). I'm planning to get Craig's book and was struck by an interesting Franciscan blessing that Mark shared from it:

“May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and the exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, and starvation, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.”


I found myself feeling uncomfortable after services this weekend. I couldn't put my finger on the reason for this discomfort then, but after reading this reaction to Craig's talk, I wonder if it was and is a sneaking suspicion that I (and my leadership) have been stretched a bit farther than the priorities of my role allow. In other words, just because I can do some things on the outskirts of my role, doesn't mean that I should do them. It depends on priority and whether the task/cause can be successfully delegated. So, questions to ask and answer are:
  • What am I doing that someone else can do just as well or better?
  • What am I doing now that adds minimal value to the role to which I'm called?
  • How thorough am I to ensure I am prayerfully fed and watered in the Scriptures?
  • What are we as a church doing (regardless of reason) which does not fulfill our mission?
  • Worse, what are we as a church doing (regardless of reason) which goes against our stated mission? (Yikes!)
  • How am I contributing to or enabling mission-less activities rather than mission-al ministries?
  • What is my sense of urgency concerning the mission of the church?
  • How am I balancing that sense of urgency with the requirement to be still know that He is God?

Questions, questions, questions. I don't pretend to have all this buttoned down (hence the open-ended questions) nor do I have all the answers. However, I know the One who does.

How would you answer these questions about your role in the kingdom?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Poignant and difficult questions, Greg. I'm reading Craig Groeschel’s book "It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It." The illusive "it" is what attracts people and makes ministries effective. Craig says "it" can't be taught, but "it" can be caught. God gives "it." "It" has a lot to do with the Holy Spirit. Churches that have "it" are incredibly focused, willing to fail, led by people who have "it," and those people see potential when others see problems. Craig says "the spark of passion ignites the fuel for innovation." And he says "it" follows big vision. God makes "it" happen. "It" is from him, by him, and for his glory. You may want to watch brief videos about the book's message at http://www.zondervan.com/it and http://floatingaxhead.com/2008/08/11/the-power-of-it/
August 12, 2008 at 2:41 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Storehouse of Goodness

Image
How great is Your goodness which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in You. Psalm 31:19 When I think about the LORD and His goodness to me and those around me, I am so thankful. And yet, I'm not sure I've thought often about how He stores up goodness for me.  Have you? If we fear Him alone (and that's a BIG IF), then we can be assured of this promise: that He will store up goodness for us! The doctor gives bad news. God has goodness stored up for us. A spouse asks for a divorce. God has goodness stored up for us. Children make decisions that grieve us. God has goodness stored up for us. Fellow students or colleagues at our place of employment treat us with contempt or worse. God has goodness stored up for us. Dreams and goals we thought were important are no longer possible. God has goodness stored up for us. No matter what we encounter along the Way - whether calm or storm, peace o
Read more

Lessons of Trust

As promised, here are a few of the lessons learned after the challenges wrought in the experience on Thursday night's Living Last Supper: When we do something intentionally to God's glory, He receives the glory and protects us. Continue to put trust in God alone. As we trust God, if an outside organization desires access to the church, one must perform due diligence to verify who they are and what they intend to do. If there is no time to perform due diligence, then the offer remains unaccepted. The farther away an interviewer/videographer lives, the more due diligence is required. Interviewers or videographers rarely (if ever) pay you to do their work. If sufficient due diligence is performed, review ALL waivers before signing or making them available for signatures. If after due diligence, a group is allowed on site, increase security to ensure the group behaves as promised. And, the oldest lesson of all: people may not do what you expect them to do, but they will do what you
Read more

Who is your king?

  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”    Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”    Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” John 18:36-38a In a culture that stresses having the “right” identity, you and I have many.    For example, I am a son of my parents, husband to my wife, father to my children, grandfather to their children, a neighbor, a friend, a pastor.    You get the idea.    All of these relationships mark us – identify us.    While we might like to consider all of these identities equally, there is a hierarchy whereby one identity overshadows or has priority over another.    As we raised our children, my k
Read more