Doing Great Things For God

When I was growing up, I heard a lot about doing great things for God. In Bible college we were regaled with stories of those alumni who had gone on to be senior pastors in large churches, or youth pastors with large followings, or presidents of Bible colleges. These individuals were held up as the standard. As a teacher and coach in Christian schools, I told my students to dream of doing great things. I dreamed of winning state championships, of having former students and players go on to be leaders. I even dreamed of becoming a college coach and having a huge impact for Christ with my players, all while winning a lot of games.

Fast forward a few years. I now work as a paraprofessional in a middle school and an assistant basketball coach at a local high school. Over the years I have sent out a whole lot of resumes, added to my educational credentials, and done everything else I could to do something great. Nothing panned out. There have been many times when I felt as if I had missed my chance to do great things, to make an impact for God's Kingdom. I would look at others who did what was considered great, and wonder why it wasn't me. I felt let down, by God and by myself. I tried to soothe things by being "humble." You know, the whole "I'm just one of those folks that just tries to serve God any way I can" schtick. I would venture to say that there are a whole lot of Christians who have felt the same way.

Over the past couple of years, through Scripture and the encouragement of my family and close friends, I have come to change my definition of greatness. John Wooden used to tell his teams at UCLA that true greatness consisted of doing the best you can all the time (I know that's a rough paraphrase, but you get the idea). I believe that is also true in our walk with God. The Father does not expect us to "do great things," especially as the world defines greatness. He simply asks us to be faithful to the task he has given us. The funny thing is, that actually is doing great things. As followers of the King, and citizens of his Kingdom, we are involved in what C.S. Lewis called an invasion. We are representatives of a King who is in exile, and we are called to bring his Kingdom to bear in a world that is controlled by our enemy. That makes everything we do as followers of Christ significant. We are part of a great story, the story of the restoration of Creation. Jesus said that even giving a cup of cold water in his name was a great thing. Wow. That really changes a lot of things.

Don't let anyone sell you short. Don't buy the lie that you are insignificant, and the things you do don't matter. You are a child of the Creator of the universe, and God's Spirit lives in you. Your heart has been, and is being transformed. The Father has given you gifts and talents that he wants you to use to bless others. Even if the "only" thing you can do is love others as Jesus has loved you (and that's really pretty doggone huge when you think about it), you are playing a role in the greatest story ever. You are doing great things.

World Vision Wednesday

Weekend Wanderings

Autumn is here in the sunny South and the trees are beautiful. I enjoy this time of year with the colors of the changing leaves, the smell of wood fires, and the crisp temperatures. Things are about to get much busier here in the Shope household. Basketball practice begins Monday, so my schedule is going to be packed from then until February. At least it will be fun.

Here is the good stuff:

God, occupied.

The naked emperor.

Holy chaos.

Alan Knox on charitable organizations, sort of.

Where should Christians stand?

Dan Edelen on Steve Jobs, Jesus, and Christianity.

Desert Mothers and diapers.

Just chill.

Andrew Jones on the flight of capital from Egypt.

A miscellaneous person.

Alan Knox has a series on giving. Part 1 is here.

No-name to name.

Christians and capital punishment.

How we know love.

Have a blessed week.

World Vision Wednesday

See how giving the gift of a goat or chickens can keep on giving, and change lives.

In the book, In the Name of Jesus, Henri Nouwen wrote of the temptations faced by leaders in the church, and by the church as a whole. Those temptations are relevance, popularity, and leading.

The first temptation is to be relevant, to be able to do things, to fix things, to take care of things. All of us, individually and corporately, are called to minister to others. It is easy to think that we have to "make a difference" in the lives of the people we serve, and to fall into the belief that that they need us to change them. This is a trap that I have fallen into more than a few times. Nouwen writes that the way to change this thinking is to spend time contemplating the love of the Father for us and learning to grow in our love for him. Instead of worrying about positions on issues of the day, or trying to figure out how best to solve the problems of other people, we "must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source of their words, advice, and guidance."

The next temptation is to be popular. We all want to be thought well of, to accomplish things that will make folks look at us and applaud. If we were honest with ourselves we would have to admit that a great deal of what we do individually, and a great deal of what is done in the church, is to attract others to ourselves. The answer to this temptation is to remember that "We are not the healers, we are not the reconcilers , we are not the givers of life. We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who need as much car as anyone we care for." We all need to remain open and vulnerable to those we serve, keeping in mind that what they need is the love of God. We are simply to love God, and let him love others through us.

The third temptation is the temptation to be powerful. This is possibly the temptation that the church has succumbed to the most. The early church had no political, economic, or cultural power; and it turned the world upside down. Since then the church has bought into the philosophy that the way to change the world is through power. While the church has continued to do great things through the centuries, I wonder how much more good could have been accomplished for the Kingdom if Christians had remembered that our power is from the Spirit of God, and that our warfare is spiritual not physical. As someone who has been in a position of authority over my students and athletes over the years, that temptation has been hard for me to overcome. I still struggle with the tension between loving those I work with and exercising authority when needed.

None of us likes to be powerless. We have been taught to not be weak, or even be seen as week. I appreciate what Nouwen says about powerlessness: "Powerlessness and humility in the spiritual life do not refer to people who have no spine and who let everyone else make decisions for them. They refer to people who are so deeply in love with Jesus that they are ready to follow him wherever he guides them, always trusting that, with him, they will find life and find it abundantly."

In my own journey, I am learning more and more to love Jesus, to trust him to guide me and give me that abundant life. May we all realize that we are not the ones that change the lives of others. We are simply the vessels that the Father chooses to flow through.

Weekend Wanderings

You know those days when you just wonder why? I had one of those yesterday. The rest of the week went well, as fall has settled in for awhile. We had to bring our plants in for the night because there was a chance of frost here in the sunny South. The world lost another brutal dictator this week. I hope the Libyans end up with a better government.

On to the links:

No girls allowed.

Arthur Sido on real men.

Alan Knox has a series on running the race. Part 1 is here.

Gyroscopes or Gallup polls.

Tim King's thoughts on an important issue.

Yes, these churches are ugly (HT: iMonk).

Work is worship.

"Sweat it not...Dude."

Distorted Images of God Part 3.

This is good.

Let the kids play (HT: Scot McKnight).

False teaching...or not.

The dangerous world of dominionism.

Laura Ortberg Turner on disappointment with God.

David and the rich young ruler.

Jon Acuff on waiting.

Matt on Christmas. Sort of.

Two.

Jeff Dunn on dogma.

How rude!

I hope your weather this weekend is as nice as ours. Have a great one!

World Vision Wednesday

Here is another story of the impact child sponsorship can have.