Messiah, I know You are there / Within, without, holding me / Messiah, I know You are near / Catching, carrying this beautiful mess - "Within a Room Somewhere," Sixpence None The Richer
I am wretched, yet I am redeemed. A beautiful mess.
Couple of short initial thoughts/takeaways on the recently-completed WCC 2005... more fleshed out musings will probably appear in this space after I've had some time to process:
- Comment I jotted down during the middle of the conference: "Amazing things happen to passionate people."
- What I should have written: "Amazing things happen to obedient people."
- "Most of you just want to experience the miracles that God is so capable of and wants to perform, without taking the risk to put yourself in a position where you need one." -- Pastor Jimmy Seibert
- Most Christians I know (including myself) are stronger in their theology than in their daily relationship with Christ. We can rattle off Reformed principles and Five Points without problem, but have difficulty carving out time each day in our busy/thinking-heavy schedules to spend personal time with Jesus in the Word, prayer, and song. If theology doesn't draw us, and by extension others, closer to Christ, then what's the point? "I have never met an effective believer impacting people for God's Kingdom who did not spend at least an hour each morning loving on God." - Pastor Jimmy
- Many Christians, and Asian Christians in particular, think that "doing things for God" is the same thing as loving God, even when it just makes you tired and does not appear to bear fruit personally or in others. I suspect this may have something to do with the philosophy of "Love Languages" that Gary Chapman developed. Many Asians come from families where parents very specifically speak just a few love languages (in particular, Acts of Service) and don't understand why that in itself is usually not enough to show love to their child. Similarly, Asian Christians overload on our Acts of Service to God when perhaps He desires that we also express love through Quality Time and Words of Affirmation. This is not yet a fully formed thought.
- The Gospel is simple - share Jesus with others. We've made church too complicated. There appears to be an artificially high standard for so-called "spiritual maturity" in leaders and disciplers (one or more of the following: seminary-trained, knows x% of the Bible, already led some other ministry before, etc.). A new believer needs to be trained how to study the Bible, how to pray, how to witness and how to disciple. Once a believer has developed a daily relationship with and sensitivity to Christ, and has been obedient to God's command during the inevitable time of trial that will follow, he/she can be a candidate to disciple a new believer by modelling their Christ-following for them. He who is faithful with a little will be entrusted with more.
That's just off the top of my head. More later after I've gone back through my notes...
I am wretched, yet I am redeemed. A beautiful mess.
Couple of short initial thoughts/takeaways on the recently-completed WCC 2005... more fleshed out musings will probably appear in this space after I've had some time to process:
- Comment I jotted down during the middle of the conference: "Amazing things happen to passionate people."
- What I should have written: "Amazing things happen to obedient people."
- "Most of you just want to experience the miracles that God is so capable of and wants to perform, without taking the risk to put yourself in a position where you need one." -- Pastor Jimmy Seibert
- Most Christians I know (including myself) are stronger in their theology than in their daily relationship with Christ. We can rattle off Reformed principles and Five Points without problem, but have difficulty carving out time each day in our busy/thinking-heavy schedules to spend personal time with Jesus in the Word, prayer, and song. If theology doesn't draw us, and by extension others, closer to Christ, then what's the point? "I have never met an effective believer impacting people for God's Kingdom who did not spend at least an hour each morning loving on God." - Pastor Jimmy
- Many Christians, and Asian Christians in particular, think that "doing things for God" is the same thing as loving God, even when it just makes you tired and does not appear to bear fruit personally or in others. I suspect this may have something to do with the philosophy of "Love Languages" that Gary Chapman developed. Many Asians come from families where parents very specifically speak just a few love languages (in particular, Acts of Service) and don't understand why that in itself is usually not enough to show love to their child. Similarly, Asian Christians overload on our Acts of Service to God when perhaps He desires that we also express love through Quality Time and Words of Affirmation. This is not yet a fully formed thought.
- The Gospel is simple - share Jesus with others. We've made church too complicated. There appears to be an artificially high standard for so-called "spiritual maturity" in leaders and disciplers (one or more of the following: seminary-trained, knows x% of the Bible, already led some other ministry before, etc.). A new believer needs to be trained how to study the Bible, how to pray, how to witness and how to disciple. Once a believer has developed a daily relationship with and sensitivity to Christ, and has been obedient to God's command during the inevitable time of trial that will follow, he/she can be a candidate to disciple a new believer by modelling their Christ-following for them. He who is faithful with a little will be entrusted with more.
That's just off the top of my head. More later after I've gone back through my notes...
posted by Bob at
7:59 PM
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