Where Is Your Focus

I have to admit it. Somedays after a conversation I just sit and scratch my head and think what the heck are they thinking? Let me give you an example. When we read in Ephesians chapter 4:11-12 It was he who gave some to be Apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors, some to be teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so the body of Christ may be built up. It seems pretty straight forward right? WRONG! This is where a frustration crops up for me. Most people stop at verse 12 and immediately begin to try and figure out which one of the 5 they are. If you read further in this chapter, you find a stern warning from Paul. Verse 13 and on we read this.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
The issue we are having is this. We have prioritized these ministry areas instead of giving them equality. A word of prophecy is just as valuable as a great piece of teaching that is sound in the scripture and application. A missionary carrying the gospel to the unreached people groups of Africa is just as important as a local pastor leading a congregation to a deeper walk and outward focusing faith in Christ. An evangelist work is on the same level as all of these. Each area has it's specific purpose.

All that being said, whats your deal Dave? My deal is this.Know the who before you know the what. You must know who called you. It is a physical impossibility to be a representative of someone who you know nothing about. The sad truth is that many of our churches today have abandoned making disciples in exchange for something else. That something else could be a number of different things. Discipleship drives in the core belief and the realization of the nature of God and exactly what Christ has done for you. It cements the foundational pillars into place so the gates of hell can't prevail against it.

When a person becomes a Christian instead of next steps, we flood them with ministry areas and our opinions. We speak things out of conjecture instead of divine revelation. In short, we tell people what we think they are. Let's just back the truck up right here and unload some knowledge. God is the one who calls not man. He needed no help calling Saul a murdering zealot and changing him to Paul the great evangelist and preacher. Apollos when he went to Paul did not say brother Paul I feel like the Lord has told me to tell you that your going to be a great evangelist and many will come to know Jesus through you. Can God drop that tidbit of knowledge on someone and have them share it? Sure he can but unless he drops it, we need to just let him work it out.

In our quest to be used by God in different spiritual giftings, our zeal and lack of knowledge ourselves may be doing more harm than good. We fall prey to doctrines that are like the wind. One day we are reading one author who says everyone should be prophesying and another day we are reading an author who says we should all be doing miracles. Still another day we read an author who teaches word of faith, still another kingdom now. It is enough to make your head swim. Here is a novel idea. Lets read scripture and come to the realization we have only scratched the surface and significance of it's meaning and then, lets allow God to continue to do the calling.

If we were to spend as much time in the Word of God instead of the words of man, wouldn't we be better stewards of the scriptures in the first place? If we spent more time in prayer and seeking God's direction in our lives instead of seeking what spiritual gift I have, wouldn't we know then what gift or gifts we are actually given. Couple that with being more in tune with God than we are with being tuned into a television evangelist and you get a fulfilling spiritual life.

In my own personal life, I was told at a young age by a very well meaning woman that I was going to be a great teacher. I would have revelations on things and be able to teach them and make people see things that they hadn't before. Wait there's more. There was still another very well meaning young lady that told me I was going to be a pastor and would use simple things to bring people to Christ. (Point to her) There was another person who was telling me that I was going to be a prophet and speak the mysteries of the faith. All of this to a boy of 11 years of age. What did that do? Did it inspire me? Did it motivate me? No it drove me away from God because it overwhelmed me and I ran scared for 8 years of my life.

As I sat in a revival service as a 19 year old college student, a man who didn't call himself a prophet and who did not know me used the prophetic gift inside of him and he read my mail that evening. These words of assurance were so amazing to me. "There is a young man here tonight who is running from God. You are overwhelmed by the call that God has for you. It is not a call that is created by well meaning women and men but rather of God almighty. If you respond to this altar call tonight, God will show you what you are and tell you what you need to do to answer the call." The evangelist spent hours in prayer before that service to be used by God to share the message of hope, love, and redemption. He didn't need a title in front of his name. He simply flowed freely in the ministry areas of the church that he was told to flow in. He spoke the very words of God that wrecked me forever. I knew God was real and the call was real.

Stop pursuing an office to work in and let God place you in that office. Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher, each and everyone of them are vital to the forward advancement of the Gospel. If we allow Him to show us, we will become the mature body of him who is the head Christ Jesus.

Trying To Plug In

TRYING TO PLUG IN...

Maybe I am the only one who does this, but have you ever fumbled around feeling for a plugin. You can't really see where to plug in but that sudden dimming of your iPhone makes it an urgent thing to find. So you feel around and search and finally just when you think you have it...you have to flip the cord around and do it all over again.

Many people in church or to put it a little better who are not in church but used to be are going through the same thing. No, they are not trying to plug in their phones. They are trying to plug themselves in. When you attend a church for any length of time, you are encouraged to plug in. There is one question that churches have not been so good about answering. How do you plug in? Many people feel as though they should plug in but they cannot seem to find an outlet. So, they fumble around and just when they think they are about to get it, they are met with a protocol or procedure that was never explained and they have to begin again.

Sounds frustrating doesn't it. There are some very simple steps that you can take to get people plugged in.

1. Meet new people and get to know them so you can be the catalyst. 
I know. I know. You have heard it before. It is all about relationships and getting to know people. While this is no Earth shattering step, it is the most overlooked step by the modern day church. The normal way churches view individuals are in a numerical terms only at first. The greeter at the door has been coached in small talk instead of relation building and genuine interest. Ask questions that are a bit more than what they will or might fill out on an information card.

2. Make sure you know the others in your congregation so you can make an instant connection between two individuals. 
Again we see where a culture of relationship building is vital. It is difficult at first to cultivate but if you put in the time to get to know those that you are around you can help people connect personally and then it establishes a pattern of personal relationships. What does that do for the individual who wants to plug in or even just visits your church? It allows them to instantly be connected to another person instead of trying to connect to the body as a whole.

3. Don't just assume people know how to get connected. 
Be intentional about the information. If you require a probationary period, application, screening or some other prerequisite for getting involved, make sure it is readily available for people to read and make sure you and your entire church can explain why and how it relates to your vision. Also, offer times when people can ask questions about how to get involved or what opportunities are available.

4.  Set the length of time a person is committing to. 
Many people want to commit to a church and volunteer and connect. For most people they have an idea that if they volunteer they will continue to do that until Jesus comes or they die. Make sure people have an out. Imagine the thought of being 98 years old still weeding the grounds and mowing the lawn. That may sound a little out there but churches have had a bad habit of filling spots and not filling people.

5. Create a culture of honor. 
The recognition of individuals and groups of individuals are vital to people becoming plugged in. People can see the pastor and the leadership team, but who sees grandma Edna who has baked pies for sick people. Who knows about the transportation that the Sulliban family provides to 3 kids whose parents don't even attend church. What about your nursery volunteers? Are they celebrated? Everyone deserves to be honored. You must look for ways to do it. Not just once in awhile. Perpetual honoring creates long lasting volunteers and charges the atmosphere with the electricity of appreciation. Celebrate often.

There are many different things that can help people get plugged in. These were just 5 that seemed to stand out to me. Think about how you were able to plug in to a church or a community. What led you to do it? How did you keep connected? What about the negative? Have you ever just lost interest? What led to it? We have to get people plugged in. It will change their lives.