Winning on Wednesday - Fly Like God Intended

Sorry this post is late, but I didn't know what I was going to post on until I was at lunch with my wife on Wednesday. This post is a result of the lesson I came up with for the Youth at our church.

As a Christian, I believe we need to fly like God intended for us to. What does that mean? My kids got a book from their uncle for Christmas that has 10 different paper airplane designs. Each airplane design is different and gives that particular plane a special ability. Do you remember making paper airplanes as a kid? Each time you'd make one, you would make a slight change and then test the new design. Some planes would fly straight and far. Others would do loops or turns. Still others would glide gently over long distances.

Although these different paper airplane designs are different and accomplish different things, what do they have in common? All of these planes have one purpose - to fly. They also all have wings, a rudder of some sort and they share some aerodynamic qualities. I believe this is an analogy to our Christian life. Let's look at 1 Corinthians 12.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

God has given each of us, as Christians, a different spiritual gift. Just like the paper airplanes, we are all different. Here's my first question. Since all these gifts are different, should we all be living for the same purpose? Let's see what else Paul said to the Corinthians:

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

It appears we have our answer, as Christians we may "fly" differently, but our purpose is the same - to serve God. More specifically, Paul points out that "we all share the same Spirit". With that in mind, how should we view the spiritual gifts that God has given us? Let's find out:

Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?

Just like each part of the human body is important, each spiritual gift is important. We should never minimize the gift that God has given us. He gave us that specific gift for a reason. As in the example Paul gave above, if all Christians had the gift of serving, where would the teachers come from. If all Christians had the gift of preaching, where would the singers come from. In my opinion, when we minimize the gift God has given us - effectively saying our gift is not as important as another - we are telling God that His plan is flawed. Would you want to do that?

I know that I have minimized the gifts God has blessed me with at some time in the past. That is a personal matter and I believe it may have more to do with placing confidence in ourselves instead of depending on God. But, looking at the gifts God has blessed others with, is my view of their gifts and talents ever flawed. Paul covers this as well:

But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

I think the last two sentences sum it up pretty well, don't you. One part of our body cannot tell another part it isn't needed. The same should be true as Christians. If we are all part of the body of Christ, we are all necessary. Therefore, if we are all necessary, then the gifts God has given us are necessary as well. We shouldn't take pride in our gifts being any more important than anyone else's. In fact, I love the way Paul sums it up toward the end of Chapter 12:

Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not!

Here's this week's challenge. Fly like God intended. He gave you a specific Spiritual gift. We are all designed to serve God in different ways and all are important.

Now Playing: "City Without a Heart" by A Rotterdam November

Technorati: Winning on Wednesday, Spiritual Gifts

Winning on Wednesday - Timing is Everything

I listen to a number of podcasts during the week while working at my computer, exercising and driving. I find these times to be opportunities to grow and be challenged by different points of view. One of my favorites, among many, is James MacDonald from Harvest Bible Chapel in Illinois. He has a daily radio program called Walk in the Word. If you get a chance, I urge you to go to the site and listen to a few of his programs. You can even subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast aggregator.

Anyway, back on topic. I was listening to one of his recent messages on Walk in the Word. He said something that really stuck with me.

"When God is working, am I critiquing?"

This statement was part of a sermon on a completely different topic. Honestly, I don't remember what the topic of the sermon was because this one statement hit me so squarely. So, what was his point? He went on to elaborate with examples such as these - I'm using different ones because I don't remember the exact ones he used. Are these some of the thoughts we entertain while at church:

• The pastor wore matching clothes today, that's so much better.
  
• Why did they pick this music, I can't stand this type of music?
• Why is that person raising their hands and crying during the worship time, don't they know they're making a spectacle of themselves?
• You know, the screens they're using today just don't look that good.
• If I was working with the Youth, I'd really make them behave better in church.

I think we all have. But, why did his question hit me so hard? I have volunteered in Church Audio/Video production for 20 years. so, my thoughts are often these:

• The band just doesn't sound right today. I need to work on that.
• We could have done a better job on the worship and announcement screens.
• Do the vocalists or the pastor really sound right today? Where's that noise coming from?
  
• What could we have done differently to improve the service flow today?
• What video elements can we use next week to support the message?
  

But I work in a ministry that functions during the service. What is wrong with asking those questions?

It's about focus. While I'm critiquing the service/music/environment/ministries/sound/other members/etc, my focus is not on God. The Bible states (roughly): "Where two or more are gathered in His name, He is there. God is working, but I'm focused on my critique. I'm focused on what is wrong and could be done better. How does this impact me?

I may be completely missing what He is doing in the service or, most importantly, how He is speaking to me. If my focus is in the wrong place, church will just become another place I go or another item on my weekly calendar.

So, this week my challenge is mostly to me (as it is most weeks). Although some of the thoughts/critiques I entertain while at church are a necessary part of my ministry, it's all about timing. My focus should be on God and what HE is trying to accomplish in my life while I'm at church. Some of those critiques can wait until later. So, it is true, timing is everything.

Now Playing: "Love in Your Arms" by Eleventyseven

Technorati: Winning on Wednesday

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

This is definitely something I'm looking forward to this year. If you enjoyed the first movie Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, then this installment of CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia put to film, should be very enjoyable as well.



In case you're counting, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian will hit theaters May 16, 2008.

I'm sure I'll have at least one or two more posts leading up to the movie's release. But for now, watch the trailer, hit the website and let me know what you think.

Now Playing: "One World" by Toby Mac

Technorati: Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian

Chevy Claims a Vegetarian Vehicle

I guess "green" is in now. Chevy has recently started running the following ad:


What do you think? Nice touch - with the kids and all.

What kills me is the blatant "subliminal" advertising. Everything is green. You couldn't ask for a more diverse group of kids. Everything is just about perfect. So, what's the problem?

First, I have a problem with the huge focus on Ethanol. Most of the Ethanol production in the US is currently coming from feed corn. This has driven up food prices across the board. All so we can produce a fuel that is less efficient than the gasoline it replaces. Not to mention, the huge amounts of water required to produce it. Secondly, did you listen closely to the commercial? Where does the adult say Ethanol comes from? "...comes mostly from the Earth." Perhaps I'm missing something, but unless we're drilling for oil on the Moon or Mars, doesn't ALL the oil we drill for come from the Earth?

To be clear, I believe it's important to look for new energy sources. But, I don't believe Ethanol is it. And, although I've worked in Marketing, I can't stand obvious patronizing ads.

Now Playing: "Anything You Say" by Deas Vail

Technorati: Ethanol, Chevrolet, E85

Cry Out to Jesus - Third Day

I just wanted to share this with you. I created this compilation video for use before a sermon at our church recently. My wife commented that when you add the lyrics and images it makes the song more real. I think she's right for any song. Maybe that's why musical artists started creating music videos.

Sit back, watch the video and let me know what you think.



Now Playing: "Stretched Over" by The Myriad

Technorati: Third Day, Cry Out To Jesus

Winning on Wednesday - What Do You Know

I know my posting frequency has been abysmal. I hope to increase that in 2008. We'll see. But now is as good as any.

Doubt. We all have it. We all deal with it. In today's information age, we expect answers to be immediate. Cable news, bloggers, newspapers, email and text messages allow us to get information at all times. I would say that we demand proof for everything and crave information to support our beliefs.

Sadly, I believe this mentality has seeped into the church. We seek facts and proof to support our belief in God. We must "know" that what we believe is true.

As you know, I work in church multimedia. There's a production company, FortyOneTwenty, that produces really good material for churches to use. The name of this clip is perfect. You can click on the image below to go to their site to watch the video.

What a perfect example of our information overloaded society and its effect on the church.

I used this video with our church youth and asked them to tell me if they've ever felt this way. As expected, we all feel this way at times. But why? I believe it's a natural extension of our everyday lives. We want to know God like we know everything else in our lives...all based on facts. But, our belief in God cannot be based on facts alone, it must have some basis in faith as well.

Another point to ponder. In English, I believe we miss out on nuances that other languages give us. I also majored in Spanish in college. As I discussed with our Youth, in Spanish there are two verbs used to express the concept of "to know". One is saber which means "to know facts". The other is conocer which means "to know people." Another way to express the differences between these two verbs is that saber is head knowledge while conocer is heart knowledge.

In the video, the character expresses the need to know God. I think the differences between saber and conocer in Spanish give us the answer we are looking for. What is that answer? How do we need to know God? In our heart - that's how. Yes, it is important that we know and understand facts about God presented to us in the Bible. But, we have to internalize these facts and become involved with God in a one-on-one relationship so that can know God in our heart.

My challenge to you for 2008 = get to know God in your heart.


Now Playing: "We Are" by Kids In The Way

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