Theology Archives - Page 15 of 21 -

Category: Theology (page 15 of 21)

Movers and shakers

Every church has ‘movers and shakers.’ You know who I’m talking about.

They’re restless. Never content with the status quo. Always have a good idea. Ready to move, grow, and change. They want things shaken up.

They tend to frustrate people…at least the people who are comfortable and content with the way things are. They’ve been called unruly and out of line. Disrespectful and clueless. They’re the ones who ‘just can’t be content with anything.’ They challenge the effectiveness of programs, methods, and the well-worn path.

Church leaders have to do something with these folks. Because they don’t just slowly and quietly disappear if you ignore them.

What to do with Movers and Shakers

1. Ignore them. This will end up going badly for everybody. Church leaders will be frustrated because these folks just keep stirring the pot. The movers will be frustrated because nobody is moving with them. Nobody will be happy. Trust me.

2. Shut them down. This way, you maintain the status quo, get fewer feathers ruffled, and squeeze out the mover. You stifle change, and avoid risk.

3. Listen to their ideas. Give them a voice, and hear how God is stirring their hearts. Work to see how their thoughts fit within the culture of your people. And be willing to adapt your methods if these ideas can help further the Kingdom.

I’m convinced that God stirs discontentment in people’s hearts for a reason. It’s no accident. And if you believe that God is sovereign, you’ve got to affirm the same.

God loves His Church and wants to see her prosper. And, yes, God doesn’t change. But He’s perfect…we’re not. We should be continually evaluating our systems and methods to help more and more people come to a saving faith in Christ. Because if what we’re doing isn’t increasingly leading those who are far from Christ to take steps of faith towards him…then let’s change some things and reverse that trend. And if the ideas that are brought to the table by the movers and shakers doesn’t seem to fit who you are and what God’s calling you as a local church to do and be…then consider sending them out as church planters to do what God’s calling them to do. Not sending them out as heretics…but as people on mission.

Continue to tweak. Improve. Move and shake.

Have you ever been a part of a church that pushes ‘movers and shakers’ away?

Are you a ‘mover and shaker’? How has the Church served you well?

Theological laziness

February 2, 2011 / Ben Reed / 7 Comments

Image by Redeemer Fellowship

We tend to take the easy road. The one that’s quicker, easier, and microwaved. And that’s not all so bad with a lot of things. Emails are much faster than letters. Cell phones are much faster and more efficient than landlines. Buying a book on Kindle is faster and cheaper than buying a physical copy and paying for shipping.

But when it comes to theology, don’t do it. Becoming a parrot is much easier than becoming a theologian. But it’s not helpful for the Church. And in the long run, it will leave you intellectually and theologically paralyzed.

At points in my life, I’ve felt pigeonholed into giving the right answer, quoting the right author, and listening to the right preachers. Learn to think, talk, and write like the good guys. Sure, I was encouraged to read the other writers/pastors, but just so I would know their side of the argument.

But we need to think for ourselves. Read. Study. Listen. And arrive at our own conclusions…not just haphazardly arrive at the same conclusions as the popular conservative, conference-speaking, book-writing pastors of our day. Because we can read the Bible for ourselves. And we can think for ourselves. And we can develop theology ourselves.* We don’t have to consult other men and women when we are articulating our theology. And when we consult them in place of thinking for ourselves, we miss out on a great benefit of study: discovery.

God still speaks

Call me crazy, but I still think that God speaks today, and He’s not just speaking to the popular pastors. He’s speaking to me. And you. And all other believers.

Standing on the shoulders of giants is different than standing behind them yelling, “Yeah…what he said!” Standing on the shoulders of giants means that we learn and grow from those who have gone before us. Standing on their shoulders means we don’t simply lay hold of their conclusions…the ones it took them years to arrive at. That borders on intellectual thievery.

Most people tend to take the easy way out. When it comes to theology, don’t short-circuit the work on God in your heart.

Have you ever been lulled into taking the easy way out when it comes to understanding the things of God?

Disagree with me? Leave a comment below and let’s discuss it!

*Hear me correctly: I’m not trying to divorce myself from our church fathers. There’s a depth and richness to their writing that’s difficult to find today. And there’s great wisdom in learning from those who have gone before us, and who are continuing to presently pave the way. I’m just not linking myself so tightly with them that I can’t use the brain that God has given me to actually do what it was intended to do. Think!

Unity, 11s on the 1s

February 1, 2011 / Ben Reed / 0 Comments

If you’d like to catch up on this series, click HERE.

Unity

Let’s not divide and condemn concerning secondary matters. God loves unity.

Yours to tell

January 27, 2011 / Ben Reed / 3 Comments

image by Rob Gros

The beauty of your story isn’t that it’s

clean

pretty

tidy

extravagant

shocking

intriguing.

The beauty of your story is that it’s

messy

raw

confusing

chaotic

unfinished

unpolished.

**The beauty of your story may be that it’s**

normal

tame

boring

expected

small

lame.

The beauty of your story is that God

redeems

reconciles

magnifies

deepens

clarifies

forgives.

The beauty of your story is that

it’s yours.

It’s time to tell it.

The Old is Gone, 11s on the 1s

January 21, 2011 / Ben Reed / 5 Comments

Graphic by Matt Gruber

In a concerted effort to use fewer words and drive home a more powerful point, I’m writing 11-word posts. You can see other posts in this series HERE.

They don’t attempt to answer every question you may have. They aren’t going to change your life. But, hopefully they’ll make you think. And since they’re so short, you don’t have an excuse not to read them.

The Old is Gone

God’s love is much bigger than your past failures. Believe it.

The know-it-all

January 20, 2011 / Ben Reed / 16 Comments

A word to young leaders* everywhere:

You don’t have it all figured out.

If a 19 year old, single college student comes up to me and starts telling me how I, a husband and a father, need to care for my 2 year old son, it’s going to feel weird. Why?

Not because he’s young. Or because I don’t respect him. Or even because he doesn’t know who I am.

It’s because he’s not a husband or a father.

We young leaders need to make sure we don’t have all of the answers to every question and scenario that’s thrown our way. It’s wise to sometimes say, “I don’t know…because I’ve never done it like that.”

John Maxwell says that there are two great teachers in life: pain and experience.

And since we’ve had less experience than so many other leaders, let’s back off on knowing it all.

I’m not saying that we don’t have innovative, company and ministry-altering ideas. But we’ve got to respect the years of life and ministry that older leaders have on us. Writing them off, speaking down to them, treating them with little respect, and acting like we, the younger leader, know it all

is damaging to their reputation.
is damaging to their organization.
is damaging to our reputation if we are gaining at the expense of someone else.
completely discredits the value of experience.
cripples you by chaining you to your limited ideas and insights.

Maybe those in leadership above us, or who outrank us based on experience, are stuck in the we-can’t-do-it-that-way-because-we’ve-never-done-it-that-way mindset. But somehow, someway, we’ve got to find a way to learn from their years of experience.

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”

(1 Peter 5:5)

* I include myself in the young leaders category, so this post is as much written to me as it is by me.

Truth, Love, & Relationships 11s on the 1s

January 11, 2011 / Ben Reed / 7 Comments

On every day ending in “1,” I’m writing an 11 word post.

Doing the same things over and over again bores me (see what I mean HERE)…which is why I’m trying this new 11-word series out. If you’d like to catch up with this series, click HERE.

11s on the 1s

Without love, Truth is

Obnoxious

Offensive

Empty

Impersonal

Insignificant.

Relationships matter.

Why you can’t see God right now

January 5, 2011 / Ben Reed / 1 Comment

You can’t see God right now because you don’t want to.

I read 95% non-fiction. The fiction I read is stuff like The Pilgrim’s Progress.

I know…I’m a nerd. But I’m a learner (StrengthsFinder confirmed that), and am always looking for some new concept to engage. Fiction doesn’t necessarily offer something new to learn…it offers a fun experience. A story that is engaging, funny, or exciting. And though there are definitely messages and truths to be found in fiction writings, be honest…that’s not why you read them. You read them because you enjoy getting lost in a good story.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Which is why, throughout the month of December, I decided to put down my nonfiction and pick up a good story. I’m reading (almost done) through the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Rick is a good storyteller, and I’ve enjoyed reading through the books.

The Mist

In the books, monsters and half-bloods (half-human, half-god) live, work, and fight right among mortals. There’s a Mist that’s present on Earth (hang with me…I’m going somewhere…it’s fiction, okay?) that causes mortals to see supernatural people and events in a way that is not supernatural…which explains why we never “see” any of these events. The main character (Percy Jackson) wields his sword and fights with a god in the city of Los Angeles…and the newspapers report that damage has been done by an earthquake. When he fights 3 demons in a city bus, mortals see something completely different, explaining away what they saw as a natural occurrence. In another instance, mortals saw a homeless boy that was big and goofy…through the Mist, he was really a Cyclops.

A little silly, yes. A little childish, maybe. But there are implications here for us.

We choose the Mist

Because we do the same thing every day. God is at work all around us. He’s causing the sun to rise and the rain to fall. (Matthew 5:45) He’s changing hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26). He’s turning the hearts of fathers to the hearts of their children. (Malachi 4:6) He’s holding the universe together. (Colossians 1:17) He’s healing relationships. Overcoming fears. (2 Timothy 1:7) Breaking the bonds of addiction. Restoring marriages. Drawing those who are far from Him closer. Answering our cries for help.

And yet we choose to still ask, “Where’s God?!?”

The reason you can’t see God right now is not because He’s absent. Or abandoned you. He doesn’t work like that.

The reason you can’t see God right now is because you’ve chosen not to. Even when you’re far from Him. And your story has taken you off the best path. And you’ve got more junk in your life than you’d like to admit.

God’s not far away (Acts 17:27). You’ve just got to look through the Mist.

Have you seen God working lately?

Have you ever chosen to not see what He’s doing?

All things new

January 3, 2011 / Ben Reed / 1 Comment

Photo by Natanis Davidsen

The start of a new year reminds us that there is a chance for renewal. New growth. New life. Fresh starts.

It’s a time of year that God uses to remind us that He’s in the business of renewing, changing, and making things (including our calendar) new. Making you into who you were meant to be.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5)

But this whole “making everything new” concept, though it sounds fantastic, isn’t done yet. And you know that to be true.

You work your tail off, and still only get a ‘D’ in your class.
You get sick.
You haven’t gotten that job you’ve wanted.
You can’t get pregnant and wish you could.
You are pregnant and wish you weren’t.
Marriage is more difficult than you anticipated.
You’re up to your neck in debt.
You’re in over your head with parenting.
Your friends abandon you when you need them the most.
Your car isn’t running right.
You need a new roof.
Your girlfriend just left you.
You try to do the right thing, and bad things keep happening.

So has God abandoned you? Is the Bible just plain wrong? Is God really not making things new?

We live in the already/not-yet tension of this present world. This is a broken, messed up place. But it won’t always be this way. It’s just that we are, in one sense, already new…and in another, seemingly more real sense, not new. Because all of God’s promises aren’t fulfilled yet. He’s renewed your heart and place His Spirit within you, but your body continues to waste away. He’s given you great relationships in the Church…but all around you, relationships are falling apart.

The start of our calendars is a great reminder. God is still making things new! He’s still renewing people. He’s still changing cold hearts. He’s still redeeming His children.

There’s no promise that it’s going to happen today, though. He’s making things new. He’s not done yet.

The new is coming. Hang in there.

The new is coming. Don’t give up.

The new is coming. That’s a promise.

The new is coming. But it’s not here yet.

Remind yourself of these things. Dwell on them. (Philippians 4:8) Remember that, one day, all things will be restored. Everything will be made new again.

What do you wish would be “made new” in 2011?

When the service is poor

December 29, 2010 / Ben Reed / 3 Comments

When the service is poor, I ________

a. Tip the full amount anyway. Hopefully, that’ll turn things around for them and they’ll serve better for the rest of their customers that day.

b. Tip less. They need to understand that they didn’t earn the full amount.

c. Don’t tip. Tipping is based on performance, and since they didn’t perform, they don’t get the tip.

d. Consult with the manager on duty. Poor service is unacceptable.

e. Let the sever know that you are the reason they have a job.

f. …have got a different kind of tip for this server…

f. Never go back to that restaurant again.

Do you think we, as followers of Christ, have a responsibility to offer grace, even to servers?

Do you think we, as followers of Christ, have a responsibility to offer love and mercy, even to servers?